USMLE World Scores and Step II Scores

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Originally Posted by Phloston

Nobody scoring that high is normal, but she'd earn herself a date.

Good point.

Originally Posted by Phloston

Nobody scoring that high is normal, but she'd earn herself a date.

This whole time I'm on here reading this whole step 2 studying bit and find this gem.

Anyways, I've been through my 1st pass of uworld - 68% average. In the process of doing DIT 2011 course, half way done and doing the questions I missed in uworld. Contemplating on whether I should do the DIT 2013 course [purchased by my school] + another pass of uworld or just stick to doing another pass or uworld until my exam [July 16th scheduled]. What you guys think?

Step 1 = 225, shooting for neurology or PM&R but would like to get 240s or higher just to be safe

Originally Posted by apevo8

This whole time I'm on here reading this whole step 2 studying bit and find this gem.

Anyways, I've been through my 1st pass of uworld - 68% average. In the process of doing DIT 2011 course, half way done and doing the questions I missed in uworld. Contemplating on whether I should do the DIT 2013 course [purchased by my school] + another pass of uworld or just stick to doing another pass or uworld until my exam [July 16th scheduled]. What you guys think?

Step 1 = 225, shooting for neurology or PM&R but would like to get 240s or higher just to be safe

"neurology or PM&R"?

Btw, what book did DIT 2011 follow? That's a solid UW average, and you have a lot of time left (2 months). I'm guessing you're in great shape to get that 240+.

Originally Posted by CDI

"neurology or PM&R"?

Btw, what book did DIT 2011 follow? That's a solid UW average, and you have a lot of time left (2 months). I'm guessing you're in great shape to get that 240+.

I get the same reaction from attendings lol. prior to my neuro rotation I was all PM&R but I loved neuro and so I am most likely leaning towards that, but still doing some PM&R elective to officially rule it out.

DIT 2011 follows the step up to step 2 2nd edition. It is missing a lot of things but I just filled them in and DIT takes care of the missing stuff in the handout. I had been doing UW over the last 4-5 months [1st 4-5 months of 3rd year was spent doing NOTHING lol]. I am still weak on some things though[ob/gyn] so def need to study more to get my into the 240. Whats a good NBME to take after I am done with DIT to gauge where I should go over the next 2 months.

Timing question.

With 8 blocks of questions and 1 block of rest would this be an appropriate breakdown of the time?

1 - 5 min break - 2 - 5 min break 3 - 5 minute break - 4 - 10 min break - 5 - 15 min break (lunch) - 6 - 10 min. break - 7 - 10 minute break - 9

what do you all think?

Originally Posted by skk3

Timing question.

With 8 blocks of questions and 1 block of rest would this be an appropriate breakdown of the time?

1 - 5 min break - 2 - 5 min break 3 - 5 minute break - 4 - 10 min break - 5 - 15 min break (lunch) - 6 - 10 min. break - 7 - 10 minute break - 9

what do you all think?

What happened to Block 8?

Mis-typed. The "9" should be "8"

Originally Posted by skk3

Timing question.

With 8 blocks of questions and 1 block of rest would this be an appropriate breakdown of the time?

1 - 5 min break - 2 - 5 min break 3 - 5 minute break - 4 - 10 min break - 5 - 15 min break (lunch) - 6 - 10 min. break - 7 - 10 minute break - 9

what do you all think?

Play it by ear. If you find yourself making too many mistakes or unsure about a bunch of stuff or feeling tired take a break.

I wish I could have taken a break before the first block, as ridiculous as that sounds. In going over my mistakes I've counted around 5 dumb mistakes from that first block alone and I can remember about as many from the rest of the test combined.

I've noticed that the psych section in MTB2 is quite UNDERwhelming. Should I supplement with another book? Is it sufficient for the exam? (By sufficient, I mean that if I memorized and understood the psych section in MTB2 would I be able to correctly answer 95% of the questions on the exam)

Get MTB 3...I started off with MTB 2, and realized that MTB 3 is actually a better step 2 than MTB 2. Really like it...especially for psych, peds, OB/GYN, and surgery.

Hey guys! I haven't posted on here in a looong time, but I just took CK yesterday. Does anyone know if I should expect my score in 4 weeks? Or are they doing that weird cut-off date thing like last year where if you were after May 18th or something you had to wait 6-8 weeks?

Originally Posted by VBaller12

Hey guys! I haven't posted on here in a looong time, but I just took CK yesterday. Does anyone know if I should expect my score in 4 weeks? Or are they doing that weird cut-off date thing like last year where if you were after May 18th or something you had to wait 6-8 weeks?

Congrats!

I'm not sure on that specifically, I'd guess 3-4 weeks.

Care to post your opinion of the exam, and your study timeline/plan?

Sure! I guess I'll start with stats.

Step 1: 245
Step 2: just want higher than my step 1 score, since getting lower looks bad

Shelf Scores:
Med: 82
Surg: 95
Rad: 86 (not real shelf)
Neuro: 83
Family: 76
Psych: 80
OB/GYN: 82
Peds: don't know yet, just took it 1.5 weeks ago

NBME (8 wks out, without peds rotation): 223
NBME (8 days out, no studying for step 2 yet other than shelf exams): 231
NBME (2 days out): 254 <--- liking this score, hoping it's close to actual CK

Study Method:
I'm not good at sticking to schedules, so my method is not very strict. I did all of the UW questions for each rotation during the rotation, so I was finished with my first pass about a week before my test. (UW first pass = low 70s) I forgot most of medicine by the end of 3rd year because it was my first rotation and I did all of those UW questions during the rotation, so I never went back to them. My last shelf exam was May 10th, so I didn't have very long to strictly study for Step 2. I relied on NBME practice tests to tell me which sections I really needed to work on. I used Step up to Step 2 mostly and Kaplan Internal Medicine for the sections I was really struggling with. I managed to get through 50% of UW a second time before running out of steam the day before my test.

Test Day:
I felt more prepared for Step 1 since I had actually studied for 3 weeks straight without worrying about classes or rotations. Because my NBME scores jumped 231-->254 in only a few days, I'm not sure which one is more accurate right now, but obviously hoping for the 254. The real test felt about the same to me as the NBME exams: ranged from being 100% sure of the answer to not having any idea. I actually had a lot of biostats questions, which I was not at all prepared for. I haven't looked at biostats since studying for Step 1 and my practice tests barely had any. For the most part, those were the questions I had no idea and just chose an answer randomly. The test is just so long that during the last two blocks I didn't want to think anymore and literally started eliminating obviously wrong answer choices, but not thinking through questions enough to narrow the choices down any more and then just picking one. I wish I had the focus and stamina to think for 350 questions straight, but I don't so that will probably hurt my score in the end.

And now the waiting begins...

Originally Posted by VBaller12

Sure! I guess I'll start with stats.

Step 1: 245
Step 2: just want higher than my step 1 score, since getting lower looks bad

Shelf Scores:
Med: 82
Surg: 95
Rad: 86 (not real shelf)
Neuro: 83
Family: 76
Psych: 80
OB/GYN: 82
Peds: don't know yet, just took it 1.5 weeks ago

NBME (8 wks out, without peds rotation): 223
NBME (8 days out, no studying for step 2 yet other than shelf exams): 231
NBME (2 days out): 254 <--- liking this score, hoping it's close to actual CK

Study Method:
I'm not good at sticking to schedules, so my method is not very strict. I did all of the UW questions for each rotation during the rotation, so I was finished with my first pass about a week before my test. (UW first pass = low 70s) I forgot most of medicine by the end of 3rd year because it was my first rotation and I did all of those UW questions during the rotation, so I never went back to them. My last shelf exam was May 10th, so I didn't have very long to strictly study for Step 2. I relied on NBME practice tests to tell me which sections I really needed to work on. I used Step up to Step 2 mostly and Kaplan Internal Medicine for the sections I was really struggling with. I managed to get through 50% of UW a second time before running out of steam the day before my test.

Test Day:
I felt more prepared for Step 1 since I had actually studied for 3 weeks straight without worrying about classes or rotations. Because my NBME scores jumped 231-->254 in only a few days, I'm not sure which one is more accurate right now, but obviously hoping for the 254. The real test felt about the same to me as the NBME exams: ranged from being 100% sure of the answer to not having any idea. I actually had a lot of biostats questions, which I was not at all prepared for. I haven't looked at biostats since studying for Step 1 and my practice tests barely had any. For the most part, those were the questions I had no idea and just chose an answer randomly. The test is just so long that during the last two blocks I didn't want to think anymore and literally started eliminating obviously wrong answer choices, but not thinking through questions enough to narrow the choices down any more and then just picking one. I wish I had the focus and stamina to think for 350 questions straight, but I don't so that will probably hurt my score in the end.

And now the waiting begins...

Thanks for the write-up. Sounds like you were pretty solid all-around (even without significant prep) so I bet your score will be reflective of that.

The length of this exam both overall and individual question stem length is certainly a concern of mine as well.

Good luck with the result!

Originally Posted by Ronin786

Just got out of my test. Definitely a long test, and its challenging to stay focused all the way through.

As far as prep goes, I started around February along with my regular coursework. I only had 2 weeks of dedicated time, which was in the middle of my prep. I began with MTB and UWorld, didn't like my scores so I switched to Step up to Step 2, didn't see an improvement so I switched back to MTB. Definitely didn't like SUS2, and I'd recommend sticking to one main source (MTB series, Step Up series) since it allows better retention.

Like everybody else says, UWorld is the way to go for Step 2. No book is going to have all the info, but UWorld sure does. I did it around 1.75 times and I annotated into MTB which I did twice.

I was originally planning on taking it on April 1st, but a week earlier I took an NBME and didnt like my score so I scheduled it for today. Another tip is to not schedule your test until you're ready, as long as you have an available test center. I scheduled mine around 20 days before the exam.

As far as tests and scores:
Step 1: 235
NBME 4 (1 week before first date, 30% UWorld left): 244
UWorld first pass: 72% (did the first half in timed, non-random blocks, and the second half in random blocks)
UWorld second pass: 90% with 800 questions left.
UWSA (10 days before the actual exam): 259

Test itself felt very fair. I marked a lot of questions, but there were 2-3 questions per block that I was sort of stumped by. I had some transfusion reaction stuff on my first block, and surprisingly 3 questions where I'm pretty sure the answer was Epinephrine. A lot of allergy IMO, but I felt that MTB and Uworld covered all the basics.

Thankfully I didnt have too many OBGYN questions, cause that was a weak point throughout which made me go out and buy MTB 3. I think for OBGYN MTB 2+3 is a good combo, but neither is sufficient as a standalone.

Biostatistics were a lot easier than the stuff in UWorld. Lots of calculations, but no so much bias and stuff. The drug ads were hilariously funny. Like reading comprehension funny.

Time management is essential for the test, as every block I finished on time except the last block which was 60 minutes but only 28 questions surprisingly. One personal recommendation that I found helpful was to take a break after the first block to calm your nerves. I made a lot of silly questions in the first block, but I went outside immediately afterwards, used the bathroom and calmed myself down.

Good luck to everybody, and now for the wait. Anybody know if Sunday tests need a 3 Wednesday or a 4 Wednesday wait?

Just got my report, 257 thank God.

Originally Posted by Ronin786

Just got my report, 257 thank God.

Holy.

Congrats!

Originally Posted by CDI

Holy.

Congrats!

Thanks. Was hoping to break the 260 mark, but I'll take it any day of the week.


Interestingly, I felt the wait for this score was more gut-wrenching than Step 1. Even though I felt better coming out of the exam.

Originally Posted by Ronin786

Thanks. Was hoping to break the 260 mark, but I'll take it any day of the week.


Interestingly, I felt the wait for this score was more gut-wrenching than Step 1. Even though I felt better coming out of the exam.

Damn. I didnt even check my score till 3-4 days after Step 1 cause I figured I actually failed. Better go into this way more prepared.

Any hindsight 20/20 advice now that you officially killed it?

Originally Posted by CDI

Damn. I didnt even check my score till 3-4 days after Step 1 cause I figured I actually failed. Better go into this way more prepared.

Any hindsight 20/20 advice now that you officially killed it?

Surprisingly, no. After Step 1 I felt that I should have done more UWorld and First Aid instead of other materials I used. After Step 2, I honestly didn't feel that the questions I got wrong were from a lack of knowing material.

I probably wouldn't have done Step up to Step 2 at all, but I think the test is so much about management and your thought process that really being calm has a huge effect. I've said this before, but my biggest regret is not being more relaxed during my first block.

Originally Posted by Ronin786

Surprisingly, no. After Step 1 I felt that I should have done more UWorld and First Aid instead of other materials I used. After Step 2, I honestly didn't feel that the questions I got wrong were from a lack of knowing material.

I probably wouldn't have done Step up to Step 2 at all, but I think the test is so much about management and your thought process that really being calm has a huge effect. I've said this before, but my biggest regret is not being more relaxed during my first block.

Sounds pretty similar to many I've spoken to.

I'd like to reach the US average (or better this time). So, hopefully I can follow your advice to get there.

Anyone getting Comlex 2 CE yet? Its been 4 weeks ago now for me. Got usmle back in 3 weeks, wish NBOME was as reliable.

Originally Posted by willen101383

Anyone getting Comlex 2 CE yet? Its been 4 weeks ago now for me. Got usmle back in 3 weeks, wish NBOME was as reliable.

Ask in a Comlex thread?

Originally Posted by CDI

Ask in a Comlex thread?

Dont be an asshole. There is nothing in the thread title that says this is a USMLE only thread. I posted my UW and USMLE scores above.

Originally Posted by willen101383

Dont be an asshole. There is nothing in the thread title that says this is a USMLE only thread. I posted my UW and USMLE scores above.

Um, okay?

"USMLE World and Step II Scores"
Maybe there's no Comlex thread? I didn't search, so I wouldn't know. Not sure why I'm supposed to assume that when all recent posts were about the USMLE.

Edit: Looks like there is no Comlex specific thread. (Sorry for the confusion.)

Originally Posted by willen101383

Dont be an asshole. There is nothing in the thread title that says this is a USMLE only thread. I posted my UW and USMLE scores above.

LOL - what a simpleton. This post is hilarious.

I will add that there should be a separate COMLEX thread, like there is for Step 1. It reduces clutter and confusion.

Originally Posted by Syncity

I will add that there should be a separate COMLEX thread, like there is for Step 1. It reduces clutter and confusion.

Fixed that for you and started one.

Originally Posted by willen101383

Fixed that for you and started one.

Who's the man? You're the man.

Originally Posted by Ronin786

Just got my report, 257 thank God.

Congrats, bud.

Hi ronin,

congrats on the awesome score!

few questions:

you said there were a lot of calculation for biostats. do you recommend reviewing stuff from step 1 because there is so much bias stuff as you said in uworld and not many calcuations in the uworld qbank?

Did you read MTB3 for all subjects, or just non- IM subjects?

I know you mentioned you saw a question or two in MTB that wasn't in UWORLD on your exam. Was it really that few, and if you could be honest about it, do you think you would have done the same on your exam using UWorld as a sole study source versus doing MTB2 and MTB3? thnks

Originally Posted by Phloston

Congrats, bud.

Thanks man!

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Hi ronin,

congrats on the awesome score!

few questions:

you said there were a lot of calculation for biostats. do you recommend reviewing stuff from step 1 because there is so much bias stuff as you said in uworld and not many calcuations in the uworld qbank?

Did you read MTB3 for all subjects, or just non- IM subjects?

I know you mentioned you saw a question or two in MTB that wasn't in UWORLD on your exam. Was it really that few, and if you could be honest about it, do you think you would have done the same on your exam using UWorld as a sole study source versus doing MTB2 and MTB3? thnks

I'd say just make sure you have all the Sensitivity, Specificity, PPV and NPV down. Also had a question about NNT, which is in UWorld. I think the biostats section in Step 2 Secrets is pretty good, but just have those basics down. There is no section in the CK profile breakdown about my biostat performance, but I think I did well.

I only did OBGYN from MTB 3. I don't think I would have done otherwise if I had to do it over. MTB2 and UWorld was really enough. Interestingly, Psych was my lowest performance but I think thats cause I didnt have that many questions on my test and I messed up on an extremely easy one.