Step II vs. Step I Score

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Hi everyone!

I've been viewing SDN for years, but this is my first time posting. So thank you all for the excellent advice I've been seeing since I started school.

My question is this: I am currently a week away from taking Step II CK. I scored a 254 on my Step I (which I was shocked and beyond thrilled about). What I've heard is that most people do about 20 points better on their Step II score from Step I. However, I don't really know if I can go up that much. Would it look bad on residency applications if I did worse, like got a 220-240??

I'm currently on track to do very well. My first NBME practice test before starting to study for step I was a 220. I took NBME 4 before starting my step 2 studying and got a 239. But I just wanted to know if I should continue breaking my back or if I can take a little break and be reassured if my Step II isn't as stellar as my Step I.

There is no way people do 20pts higher because the average is 10pts higher :-P

Having said that, I'm pretty sure that if your Step 1 is stellar they don't expect your grade to shift that much since this isn't some simple linear extrapolation.

Originally Posted by terriers

My question is this: I am currently a week away from taking Step II CK. I scored a 254 on my Step I (which I was shocked and beyond thrilled about). What I've heard is that most people do about 20 points better on their Step II score from Step I. However, I don't really know if I can go up that much. Would it look bad on residency applications if I did worse, like got a 220-240??

You did well on STEP 1 and that's most important. STEP 2 is not as important to your chances of matching in your chosen field. It would be hard to do that much better on STEP 2 given your score and the SD of the exam. 250+ is already more than a full SD above the average, and to score significantly higher would require near perfection on the test. If you score within the ballpark of your STEP 1 no one will blink an eye, plus you can always chalk up a worse score to the demands of clinical rotations during 3rd year.

Thank you both for your feedback, it is definitely comforting with my exam being 4 days away and my motivation to continue studying, after a LONG third year, being zilch.

Trying to decide now if I should focus on the last 23% of QBank I have left (did it once during third year to study for the shelves, almost done my second time) or if I should just read my First Aid (annotated with QBank and Crush Step 2).

Almost done though!!!! Then it's just Step 2 CS, Step III, recertification exams for the rest of my life.......so much more to look forward to after CK!

Originally Posted by terriers

Thank you both for your feedback, it is definitely comforting with my exam being 4 days away and my motivation to continue studying, after a LONG third year, being zilch.

Trying to decide now if I should focus on the last 23% of QBank I have left (did it once during third year to study for the shelves, almost done my second time) or if I should just read my First Aid (annotated with QBank and Crush Step 2).

Almost done though!!!! Then it's just Step 2 CS, Step III, recertification exams for the rest of my life.......so much more to look forward to after CK!

Whatever you choose take the last night off to rest your brain. The real challenge with STEP 2 CK is endurance. You know the material, but after 6-7 hrs you just want to run out of the test center and scream. Treat it like running a marathon, carb load, then relax. Good luck!

Thank you all so much for your input, wanted to update with my score that I received today.....

259/86! So excited, especially since I felt way worse coming out of Step 2 than Step 1. Best of luck to everyone!

Hey Terriers, many congratulations for your stellar score! Can you please give some details about how you did UW and your scores on that so that we could benefit from your prep? Thanks!

:-D Already posted in the Step II Scores forum!

Yup, saw it there.. Thanks!