mom2,
I can reassure you that your S. did much better than he feels right now. Do not worry, enjoy the fact that he is a bit free for some time before all other things will roll.
As D. commented, Step 2 does not have as much effect on residency application as Step 1. She did not have her Step 2 result when she applied (to competitive residency). She scored exactly 10 points higher than Step 1 on her Step 2 and somebody mentioned here (Kristin?) that they scored 20 points higher.
D’s SOM also is p/f, so basically AOA was out the window (only one person in D’s specialty got AOA and this person did not match as well as others, although the ultimate goal is to match, period, which was accomplished).
D. did not do “away” rotations either, while another person in her specialty did 5 of them. The result was that while D. had only 12 interviews, the person with “away” rotations had 20 and was able to attend 18 of them. However, at the end D. and the person with 20 interviews matched to a very comparable residencies. I would say that after 10-12 interviews, additional interviews seem NOT to make any difference. So, since “away” rotations are for the goal of obtaining the additional interviews, they may or may not make any difference. On the other hand, one person who did not match in D’s specialty, had only 6 interviews.
D. also did NOT have publications. Her big research paper (first author, no other med. students, all co-authors are MDs and other practitioners, will receive award at graduation for it) has been submitted, but we do not know results yet. She tried to publish few smaller things, but was not successful. But not all specialties are as research oriented as D’s specialty, so it may or may not be as relevent
What I am trying to say is that there are other factors in residency application than just Step 1 score. However, I am not in position to determine the weight of these other factors as my D. could not “show” them on her application.