USMLE World Scores and Step II Scores

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Originally Posted by Soccer171983

IN some ways the exam way exactly as people on here described but my exam definitely was different IN MANYYYYYYY ways. IF interested i can answer specifics if messaged. Best of luck!

Could you just post on here an overview of what was "different" about it?

Originally Posted by jd123

I took my exam on Thursday 7/21 and the "print permit" link disappeared today for me..... Wednesday can't come soon enough.

Is this "print permit" thing only visible to American med students? Which website do you see it on? I'm an IMG, we use the ECFMG website.

Originally Posted by medschool84

when did you take your step 2ck. i took my on july 26th. I wanted to see if you took it around the same time or if anybody had any guesses on when i would get my score report. Im hoping for august 10. Or do you think it will be the 17th?

I took mine on July 26 as well...I think we will be in the Aug 17 batch of scores.

Our "3 Wednesdays" probably began on Aug 3, since our test was on a Tuesday (so too close to Wednesday, July 27 to consider that one of the 3 Wednesdays).

Originally Posted by Captopril

I took mine on July 26 as well...I think we will be in the Aug 17 batch of scores.

Our "3 Wednesdays" probably began on Aug 3, since our test was on a Tuesday (so too close to Wednesday, July 27 to consider that one of the 3 Wednesdays).

hey captopril so whats your take on the exam? which resources helped the most?

Took mine on July 19th and my "print permit" has disappeared. Wednesday it is!

Originally Posted by kryptik

hey captopril so whats your take on the exam? which resources helped the most?

I don't think I did very well, but I used DIT and UW. They were decent resources, with UW being the one to throw your weight behind.

Originally Posted by drrockstar140

Took mine on July 19th and my "print permit" has disappeared. Wednesday it is!

Pardon my ignorance, but where do you go to look for the "print permit"?

Originally Posted by Captopril

Pardon my ignorance, but where do you go to look for the "print permit"?

They are referring to the link you use to print your permit that you needed to take to the test. That link is found on the nbme website and is a few columns left of where I think the score report link will show up.

Test: 7/20/11. My link was there last Friday - I had logged in to print my CS permit. Today, gone.

Originally Posted by shantster

Could you just post on here an overview of what was "different" about it?

biggest difference was that mine did not have as much ob/gyn and peds as expected. What was on there was fairly uncomplicated, especially when compared to the shelfs. A few odd ball stats that i have not seen in any of the resources i used. The drug ads were wayyyyyyy easier than the ones on uworld. Some were as simple as stating what the drug is used for and that literally is just looking for indicated uses that were shown to have significance. A couple zebras on my exam that i could not find in bw zebra section or first aid. Lots of allergy/anaphylactic reactions, you gotta know your immuno really well, especially illnesses presenting before and after 6 months. Know second line drugs for allergies for common illnesses like pharyngitis etc. A lot more kidney transplant management and drugs thatn i truly expected.Rads pics were exceedingly easy especially when given the history. Most biostats straight out of most review books but a few that i had nooooo clue how to do. straight forward derm q's.

Every test varies i am sure but i was shocked at how little peds and obgyn because what was on there was not bad......

Just took it... man, I really don't know how I felt about that thing. It wasn't super difficult, but it wasn't easy either. It felt like I had a quite a decent amount of ob/gyn and psych. The psych questions were somewhat killer: vague, and I think I counted one at 22 lines. Freaking LONG...

Overall, it started off OK. But man, towards the last two sections, every time I saw a question that took up the WHOLE freaking page, I wanted to throw the monitor against the wall. I'd say about half of the test had questions that were 3-4 lines, the other half had super long questions.

The drug ads weren't too bad, mostly biostats stuff, but one 3-question ad, I had no freaking clue what they were getting at. Sigh....

Not many classic presentation questions. I understand now what previous posters meant when they said the questions were vague. Often times they would present someone with 2 distinct problems, and expect you to know which one was more important to treat (when both seemed important).

Quite a few mechanism-Step-1 type questions.

Had a 1 or 2 verbatim questions from the practice test.

UWorld was definitely the best resource. Had 2 or 3 questions verbatim from UWorld that I would have gotten wrong had I not seen a similar question before hand.

Only had 1 section were I had like 30 sec to answer the last question, otherwise usually finished with about 5 min to spare, although I am somewhat of a slow test taker. Was the last one to leave at 5pm....

Had some random derm pictures that I wasn't sure what they were getting at... epidermoid cyst vs ganglion cyst vs other stuff....

Had quite a few peds developmental/behavior questions were they tried to trick you into picking a pathological disease when in fact it was just "normal behavior" (think: teen acting out= not necessarily antisocial)

Had no pure ophtho. Only 1 or 2 path images. A few CXR (ARDS, etc)... a couple of EKG's, 2 or 3 audios for heart murmurs...

Otherwise, all the systems were pretty much evenly distributed, other than what I mentioned above. I'd say IM>ObGyn>Psych>>>>others, but that could just be my subjective feeling of questions I wasn't sure on...

Anyway, UWSA said 235. Want 240+ but not sure if I'll attain it after walking out of that thing... I really hope I can clear 240 but I guess I'll have to wait until end of September to find out.

If you guys have more questions, feel free to ask. My brain is fried!!! Gonna crack a beer...

so i guess its safe to say that i wont be getting my scores tomorrow since i took it on the 26th of july. i wish it would come tomorrow. then i could plan some post exam activities.

Originally Posted by PistolPete

Just took it... man, I really don't know how I felt about that thing. It wasn't super difficult, but it wasn't easy either. It felt like I had a quite a decent amount of ob/gyn and psych. The psych questions were somewhat killer: vague, and I think I counted one at 22 lines. Freaking LONG...

Overall, it started off OK. But man, towards the last two sections, every time I saw a question that took up the WHOLE freaking page, I wanted to throw the monitor against the wall. I'd say about half of the test had questions that were 3-4 lines, the other half had super long questions.

The drug ads weren't too bad, mostly biostats stuff, but one 3-question ad, I had no freaking clue what they were getting at. Sigh....

Not many classic presentation questions. I understand now what previous posters meant when they said the questions were vague. Often times they would present someone with 2 distinct problems, and expect you to know which one was more important to treat (when both seemed important).

Quite a few mechanism-Step-1 type questions.

Had a 1 or 2 verbatim questions from the practice test.

UWorld was definitely the best resource. Had 2 or 3 questions verbatim from UWorld that I would have gotten wrong had I not seen a similar question before hand.

Only had 1 section were I had like 30 sec to answer the last question, otherwise usually finished with about 5 min to spare, although I am somewhat of a slow test taker. Was the last one to leave at 5pm....

Had some random derm pictures that I wasn't sure what they were getting at... epidermoid cyst vs ganglion cyst vs other stuff....

Had quite a few peds developmental/behavior questions were they tried to trick you into picking a pathological disease when in fact it was just "normal behavior" (think: teen acting out= not necessarily antisocial)

Had no pure ophtho. Only 1 or 2 path images. A few CXR (ARDS, etc)... a couple of EKG's, 2 or 3 audios for heart murmurs...

Otherwise, all the systems were pretty much evenly distributed, other than what I mentioned above. I'd say IM>ObGyn>Psych>>>>others, but that could just be my subjective feeling of questions I wasn't sure on...

Anyway, UWSA said 235. Want 240+ but not sure if I'll attain it after walking out of that thing... I really hope I can clear 240 but I guess I'll have to wait until end of September to find out.

If you guys have more questions, feel free to ask. My brain is fried!!! Gonna crack a beer...

I just took it on the 8th......Mine had way less ob/peds than i expected.

270/99! More than I ever dreamed!!!

Studied for 1 month. Completed 85% of USMLE World (all on timed tutor mode, which was torture) and skimmed USMLE Secrets. Took no practice exams.

USMLE World: 68% correct overall

If the prediction per the equation floating around is correct:
(UW avg. x 2.4) + 84 = three digit score
I would have got a 247.

In my case the prediction came pretty close.

Actual score on Step 2CK: 251/99
Actual score on Step 1: 246/99

Took the exam July 21st. Results came today August 10th. Just shy of 3 weeks.

Good Luck everyone!!

LA Doc & Captopril - go to IWA on the ECFMG home page. When you log in, you'll see the print permit link for Step 2CK on the main screen. Fingers crossed for next week!

Didn't do so hot on step 1 (in 220s), so studied my ***** off for about 4 weeks 12-15 hrs a day straight. Did DIT, I thought it was pretty good, it's helpful if you need a structure and a set schedule to go over the material. If you are disciplined enough to stick to your own schedule, I would probably not bother.

I did UWorld during 3rd year, my average was probably around low 70% on 1st pass. Did 2/3 of UWorld after resetting it during the 4 weeks, the average on the second pass was ~85%. Did all random, timed, 44 q blocks.

UWorld Self Assessment about 10 days before the test = 255. Was really hoping to break 250, as I would like to go into a highly competitive specialty.

Got the score today: 247/99, with mean being 230. Slightly disappointed, was really hoping to kill this thing, but at least happy that I showed a significant improvement.

I don't know if I am just not smart enough, or not a good test taker (if there is such a thing) but my practice tests have always been significantly better than the real thing, even going back to MCAT days. And this time, I didn't really put much faith in the 255 I got on UWSA.

I wasn't born and raised in the US, so English is my 2nd language. However, I don't think it has anything to do with it.

Originally Posted by SweetTonics

LA Doc & Captopril - go to IWA on the ECFMG home page. When you log in, you'll see the print permit link for Step 2CK on the main screen. Fingers crossed for next week!

Hi there,

I took Step2CK on Monday July 25th. I'm expecting my scores Aug 17th.

I just logged on to ECFMG and went to IWA. I saw a link for Print/Reprint Step 2 CK Scheduling Permit.

I clicked on it, and it said "Application error: Permit is not available. The candidate may have sat for the exam or the registration is no longer active."

I'm guessing this means nothing though, right? When should the "Print Permit" link completely disappear? Next week? Or on the day that scores should be posted?

Originally Posted by LouisianaDoctor

Hi there,

I took Step2CK on Monday July 25th. I'm expecting my scores Aug 17th.

I just logged on to ECFMG and went to IWA. I saw a link for Print/Reprint Step 2 CK Scheduling Permit.

I clicked on it, and it said "Application error: Permit is not available. The candidate may have sat for the exam or the registration is no longer active."

I'm guessing this means nothing though, right? When should the "Print Permit" link completely disappear? Next week? Or on the day that scores should be posted?

i took my exam on the 27th and got the same error note. I'm not sure either...

Thanks everyone for posting their experience. I would like to know, what do you guys recommend to study for OB and peds during rotations and CK?

1. DIT for 15 days straight (used it for step I, if it ain't broke...)
2. UW once with last 10 sets of new questions avg 79. Reviewed 2/3 of questions I got wrong

Studied for a total of 23 days after finishing my 12wk IM rotation (probably a helpful rotation to end on). Ended up reading about 40-60% of step-up to medicine a second time (first pass for IM rotation) and step up to step 2 twice during the 23 days.

267

Sooo... in hindsight I'd probably do the same thing I did. I was higher than my step I by 10-15 pts. I think finishing on IM and getting mid/high 80's on shelf's throughout the year helped. My worst shelf (truly a poor score, trust me) was psych which was my highest section on step II (without any remarkably unique effort in studying this field).

DIT really is helpful in my opinion. Alot of stuff is added or explained in a way that helps things click while not giving you enough time to waste on material that's low yield.

Just like step I, learning alot during your rotations is key. Also, falling asleep and daydreaming can be detrimental to your performance. It's seriously hard to sit down and give each of those questions 100% of your effort.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by kissmyasthma99

UWorld (1st pass - during 3rd year rotations) - 70%
UWorld (2nd pass - during board study) - 81%
NMBE 2 - 256 (6 days in)
NBME 4 - 262 (2 weeks in)
UWorld SA - 268 (3 weeks in)

I mainly used UWorld as my primary study tool. I also used Secrets and I read half of Step Up to Medicine. I really spent my first week reading different books trying to find the one I thought was best. I tried First Aid, Secrets, Step Up to Step 2, and Step Up to Medicine. I really, really did not like Step Up to Step 2. I thought it was way too short and riddled with mistakes. I think this might be a good book if used along with DIT, because he would add to it and correct the mistakes. However, I would steer clear of this unless I was doing DIT. Overall, I felt Secrets and Step Up to Medicine were the best. So I spent the 2nd week reading these 2. I only finished 1/2 of Step Up to Medicine. I had to set it aside the 3rd week in order to study OMM for the COMLEX. The final week I spent going over my notes from UWorld, Secrets again, and the questions I missed on UWorld.

Overall, I felt this test was tough. The first block, I think I marked around 12 and I was pretty shocked. It got a little easier on the 2nd block, and blocks 3-6 were pretty straight forward. 7 was a little tougher, and I felt like I got totally owned on the last block. I think I marked like 17! I think it was mostly fatigue, I was beat down. Afterward, I wanted to double check where they were sending my test results, and I needed to write down my address. I had to think really hard to remember my address, so needless to say I was pretty tired. I think the last block totally screwed me.

I have my own opinion on timing. I think when you are studying (Uworld, NMBEs, whatever) you are much more likely to pick an answer and go with it. However, on the real deal you agonize more over every answer and you double check more. I think this is what slows you down more and makes the timing worse. I never had problems with timing on UWorld or NBMEs, but I definitely had a couple of blocks where I barely finished in time and wasn't able to go back and check the ones I marked.

There were more gimmes on the actual test than on UWorld or the NBMEs, but there were also tougher questions than on either of these. I felt the tougher questions were tough either because of a lack of information or because of a flood of information. They would give you 5 or 6 problems and make it really complicated and you weren't sure which was causing the issue or which to address first. I felt like I had a large amount of OB. If I could do one thing different it would have been to study more OB. I felt like this was overly represented on my test, and much of it was very tough. A lot of it was kind of weird stuff, like the woman was home and had a baby last week, and then stuff starts hitting the fan. I had some wild questions that I wasn't sure about (ex: Who is more likely to get AIDs - the pitcher or the catcher? lol. I dunno). Overall, I thought the test was extremely tough. My goal going in was 260+, but I don't think there is any way I did that. I would be thrilled with anything over a 250, and I really, really hope it isn't lower than my Step 1 (mid 240s).

If I could do it again. I would stick with UWorld of course, and definitely Secrets. I wish I had more time to use Step Up to Medicine, and I would have added something for OB. I definitely could have studied harder. I was scoring well on my practice tests, and I think that may have given me a false sense of security. Good luck to everyone.

Holy. Balls. 275/99! Can't believe it!!!!!

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS.

Hate to be a broken record, but UWorld is the key!!! I also highly recommend Secrets. (See above). Questions, questions, questions. Also, don't freak out after you leave the test. I thought I got destroyed. Good luck to everyone.

Originally Posted by shivasHeroLike

i took my exam on the 27th and got the same error note. I'm not sure either...

That same scenario is what happened with my permit (test 7/15, score 8/3).

The permit will most likely have that same error until it is taken down the Monday/Tuesday before your score is reported. At that time, the scheduling permit link should disappear.

Originally Posted by SweetTonics

LA Doc & Captopril - go to IWA on the ECFMG home page. When you log in, you'll see the print permit link for Step 2CK on the main screen. Fingers crossed for next week!

Hmm, mine hasn't shown up on IWA since this weekend, but no score today. Maybe this method isn't legit for IMGs?

Originally Posted by kissmyasthma99

Holy. Balls. 275/99! Can't believe it!!!!!

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS.

Hate to be a broken record, but UWorld is the key!!! I also highly recommend Secrets. (See above). Questions, questions, questions. Also, don't freak out after you leave the test. I thought I got destroyed. Good luck to everyone.

Congratulations on your sick score!!!

I read your post prior to taking my Step II last week and found it really helpful, thanks for that. I think I even had that 1 week post partum develops crazy depression question! My stats were very similar to yours and I'm praying it works out well because I felt like I got killed.

Originally Posted by kissmyasthma99

Holy. Balls. 275/99! Can't believe it!!!!!

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS.

Hate to be a broken record, but UWorld is the key!!! I also highly recommend Secrets. (See above). Questions, questions, questions. Also, don't freak out after you leave the test. I thought I got destroyed. Good luck to everyone.

Congrats!! What an awesome score! I told you you would do great. Now, I hope I can at least break the 240 mark. I didn't feel like I got destroyed after the test and that is what is bothering me. Maybe I should have felt like that? lol

Originally Posted by kissmyasthma99

Holy. Balls. 275/99! Can't believe it!!!!!

Jesus...

Originally Posted by PistolPete

Jesus...

You said it man. Nobody f***s with the Jesus.

For those of you who have taken the exam, would it be too dangerous to just go with World, and know it pretty well? I took very detailed notes based on my first pass through World and was planning on going through World a second time in the next few weeks along with the notes. Does it sound dangerous to just stick with knowing World really well, or should I supplement it with Secrets or something else?

Originally Posted by shivasHeroLike

i took my exam on the 27th and got the same error note. I'm not sure either...

Is there anyone out there (non-IMG) that didn't get this error after they took the exam? I wonder if this error comes up when a person fails, like, maybe the permit is still fully visible if you fail.

Feelin like I'm being nitpicky, but it would be nice to have some degree of comfort knowing I probably passed... would really help during the long wait for the scores.

Originally Posted by SoMD

For those of you who have taken the exam, would it be too dangerous to just go with World, and know it pretty well? I took very detailed notes based on my first pass through World and was planning on going through World a second time in the next few weeks along with the notes. Does it sound dangerous to just stick with knowing World really well, or should I supplement it with Secrets or something else?

That's a hard question to answer. Some people could take step 2 half way through their m3 year and probably score above average. Others need lots and lots of extra help and study time and doing UW alone would be academic suicide. It also depends on what kind of score you want. If you're shooting for <240, UW alone is probably fine if you have done decent. Look at what your average UW test scores are, that will tell you what how much work you need to do to get a score you will be happy with. If you want to crush it, like alot of folks on here do, you should be getting like 70-80% or greater on UW.

Originally Posted by Captopril

As a rule of thumb, you should avoid any USMLE exam until you are hitting 75% on UWorld blocks (if you have the luxury of postponing, that is). You'll never know for certain unless you take an NBME though.

I know this comment is old, but I just came across it and I can't tell if it's for real. It's not for real, right...? 'Cause that's ridiculous.

75% on UW = 265 according to MedFriends, and that's just a tid bit above average.

Originally Posted by Chromatid

For the normal people out there. 202 on step 1(regretted only getting through 50% of uworld big time). 238 on step 2 6/29. did uworld x2, once throughout 3rd year and then again during my study break leading up to the exam. You won't remember most of the questions, granted some you will so there was some concern with my avg the 2nd time being artificially high (73%, high for me, but not for this thread). Had read step up to med during third year and taken notes on it, but never really reviewed it during core studying. My real board studying consisted mostly uworld and then usmle secrets. Echoing everyone else, that is all you need. I didn't have a chance to go through the 600+ i got wrong on uworld, and that probably would have helped and I really mostly skimmed through secrets. The key is reading the explanations and understanding what is being asked, took tons of notes on them, especially on ones you may have guessed and gotten right or used completely incorrect thinking, but still gotten right. I am still slowly going through the ones I got wrong right now for the upcoming comlex and only scoring ~60 which is demoralizing, but again, its about learning, not scoring high. Also, had numerous questions I got that I could relate the answer to either some lecture or a pt or rounds, that's always nice.
My progression was 185 on some 4 no break nbme exam our school gives us (ran out of time with 20 questions marked C). Then 220 on uworldSA about 8 days before. I guess I peaked at the right time. I'm slow on tests/add, finished last question of every section just as the time ran out, never had a chance to go back and look at any question again. Glad it worked out that way, no over thinking and pure gut instinct. No idea how people remember what is on their tests. It's a blur. I just suggest doing no more than two blocks in a row, this is a long test, but this is just based on my personal experience. I went 2-break-2-break, then breaks after every section. not taking a break after section 3 was a mistake for me as I just remember getting taken to town on block 4.
PDs dont care if your score drops by ~10 (esp if its like 246 to 236), unless your first score is a 210 and step 2 is a 200. Just had a talk by the PD of a big name EM program and he said how unfortunate that boards are relied on so much (but they are, and a good step 2 can be gold!) because all they show is your ability to do well on future MC tests and have nothing to do with your ability as a doc. If you did well on step 1like >230-235, there is no reason to take this now, or at least that is what the PD also told us, this is also for EM, perhaps if different for the ROADEnts type people.
You guys all know this stuff well, trust your knowledge and everything you've put into it. Good luck to all on the next part of the journey.

Inspiring to see some #s from my neck of the woods! Awesome improvement!! I'm hoping to do just what you did this week to show those residency directors that I'm not a dumb-dumb Congrats on the sweet score!

Originally Posted by apricotattack

I know this comment is old, but I just came across it and I can't tell if it's for real. It's not for real, right...? 'Cause that's ridiculous.

75% on UW = 265 according to MedFriends, and that's just a tid bit above average.

I was being for real....BUT you should also realize that MedFriends takes your UW score on your first pass. What I meant to say is, you should repeat UW until you have 75% on the blocks. This will translate to a score much lower than 265, since it is your 2nd or 3rd pass of the questions.

Took Step II CK on July 26.

Here is the breakdown...

Step I--247/99

Shelf scores (raw scores, not the "adjusted" scores the school gives)
1st shelf IM--92
2nd shelf OB/Gyn--94
3rd shelf Psych--"100" the psych department did not release this raw score...go figure?
4th shelf fam med--86ish? I had a tough time during this clerkship...definitely the outlier of the year...I was shocked with this score
5th shelf peds--96, was surprised by this score...felt it was a tough test
6th shelf sugery--98 (whooooo hooo) but hey it was the last one of the year and by that time it feels like all the shelfs are the same! The school actually refused to "adjust" this one lol

NBME CSSA taken "pre-study" the day after my last shelf exam (surgery): 253/600

Then, two weeks completely off, then two weeks of 8 hr study days later I took UWorld SA which was a three digit estimated score of 266 (+13 from pre-study NBME) if you can compare an Uworld SA and NBME?...

Study tools:

• USMLE World (most helpful, most "high yield" for the exam IMO)

• Internal medicine section only of Conrad Fischer's Master the boards book. The rest of that book is ridicilous! SOOOO vague and useless. Even the IM section is at times, but overall it was ok...I think Step Up to med. is better but it's just so out of date...I struggled with which one to read and ended up just using the IM sec of CF's MTB. I had also read step up to medicine for the IM shelf and then for the surgery shelf, so I wanted something new

• OB/GYN--Nothing b/c I felt comfortable w/it. Was a mistake, wish I would have glanced through blueprints or kaplan notes at least.

• Psych--my weakest scores across the NBME and Uworld SAs so I read First aid for psych. Very very glad I did but not sure how much it helped

• Peds--Nothing, I was comfortable with it. Was a good decision, not high yield for my step 2 ck

• Surgery--Had just finished the clerkship ...nothing here and felt the surgery questions were easier than the ones on the shelf

• Biostats--Don't forget this, glad I didn't. I am very weak with this subject. Read HY Biostats...it's such an easy read, if you're not comfortable with NNT, sens, spec, PPV, NPV, cohort studies, etc etc then you should kick yourself if you skip studying this subject...IMO it's actually "high yield"

Impression of exam: Similiar to NBME I took pre-study with a twist...several (up to 15 or so) very obscure diagnoses/facts that were tested. Otherwise a fair exam, much better than Step I
I feel that UWorld was PLENTY, however OBGYN was a little too far away to have not looked over an actual review book/source for it. I feel that I was "stuck" on those questions often.

Joining the July 26 step II CK crew awaiting the scores!!!
Do most feel it will be Aug 17 for us? My "print permit" is still there if that acutally means anything...good luck to everyone and I'll post results when I get them...

Originally Posted by xxRJxx

Took Step II CK on July 26.

Here is the breakdown...

Step I--247/99

Shelf scores (raw scores, not the "adjusted" scores the school gives)
1st shelf IM--92
2nd shelf OB/Gyn--94
3rd shelf Psych--"100" the psych department did not release this raw score...go figure?
4th shelf fam med--86ish? I had a tough time during this clerkship...definitely the outlier of the year...I was shocked with this score
5th shelf peds--96, was surprised by this score...felt it was a tough test
6th shelf sugery--98 (whooooo hooo) but hey it was the last one of the year and by that time it feels like all the shelfs are the same! The school actually refused to "adjust" this one lol

NBME CSSA taken "pre-study" the day after my last shelf exam (surgery): 253/600

Then, two weeks completely off, then two weeks of 8 hr study days later I took UWorld SA which was a three digit estimated score of 266 (+13 from pre-study NBME) if you can compare an Uworld SA and NBME?...


Study tools:

• USMLE World (most helpful, most "high yield" for the exam IMO)

• Internal medicine section only of Conrad Fischer's Master the boards book. The rest of that book is ridicilous! SOOOO vague and useless. Even the IM section is at times, but overall it was ok...I think Step Up to med. is better but it's just so out of date...I struggled with which one to read and ended up just using the IM sec of CF's MTB. I had also read step up to medicine for the IM shelf and then for the surgery shelf, so I wanted something new

• OB/GYN--Nothing b/c I felt comfortable w/it. Was a mistake, wish I would have glanced through blueprints or kaplan notes at least.

• Psych--my weakest scores across the NBME and Uworld SAs so I read First aid for psych. Very very glad I did but not sure how much it helped

• Peds--Nothing, I was comfortable with it. Was a good decision, not high yield for my step 2 ck

• Surgery--Had just finished the clerkship ...nothing here and felt the surgery questions were easier than the ones on the shelf

• Biostats--Don't forget this, glad I didn't. I am very weak with this subject. Read HY Biostats...it's such an easy read, if you're not comfortable with NNT, sens, spec, PPV, NPV, cohort studies, etc etc then you should kick yourself if you skip studying this subject...IMO it's actually "high yield"

Impression of exam: Similiar to NBME I took pre-study with a twist...several (up to 15 or so) very obscure diagnoses/facts that were tested. Otherwise a fair exam, much better than Step I
I feel that UWorld was PLENTY, however OBGYN was a little too far away to have not looked over an actual review book/source for it. I feel that I was "stuck" on those questions often.

Joining the July 26 step II CK crew awaiting the scores!!!
Do most feel it will be Aug 17 for us? My "print permit" is still there if that acutally means anything...good luck to everyone and I'll post results when I get them...

Hmmm.... not saying I don't believe you, but that's a pretty ridiculous performance history of raw scores on shelf exams...pretty ridiculous indeed. Especially with a 247 step 1.

Permit link disappeared! Took it July 27. Excited for score this Wednesday.

Originally Posted by EddieIndy

Permit link disappeared! Took it July 27. Excited for score this Wednesday.

I believe that mine disappeared too. Can anyone please verify this is "disappeared" and that it pretty much means that I passed the dang USMLE Step 2 CK?



Previously, the "Print permit for USMLE Step 2 CK" part was under the "Print/Reprint Documents" heading.

I remember for Step 1, once you passed, but before you got the scores, you could try to apply for the exam again and it would give you a red screen telling you that you already passed. I tried this for the Step 2 CK, and it would not let me, but did not give the same "you already passed" screen as Step 1. Edit: In searching this thread, I see that someone else asked this and did not get an answer. Perhaps this doesn't work for Step 2 CK.

Sorry if I'm being absolutely stupid about this. I quit medicine because I couldn't motivate myself to study for Step 2. I worked two years as a college professor. I finally realized I was wasting my education (so to speak). I quit my job, I busted my ass studying for ~3 months and if I passed this dang test, my entire life will be changed!

Originally Posted by ThePursuit

Hmmm.... not saying I don't believe you, but that's a pretty ridiculous performance history of raw scores on shelf exams...pretty ridiculous indeed. Especially with a 247 step 1.

I agree I did very well on the shelf exams with "only" a 247 step 1 but not to make excuses (and why I didn't include this beside my step 1 score in the previous post), my sister passed away the same month I took step 1. Emotionally I was such a wreck I attempted to postpone my third year until I could get my life together, however one of my mentors talked me into starting IM, and I'm glad I did, to take my mind off everything.

Otherwise I'm 4th in my class as of the end of 2nd yr, no rank has been released since third yr ended, I expect to be two or three of 161. So, yes I hate to act like this w/a 247 but I'm disappointed with my score. "Dissppointed" only in the way that I know I could and should have done better but it just wasn't in the cards that summer.

Now to make this post relevant to the discussion, my print permit link disappeared over the weekend, wed the 17th it is.

Took my test on the 25th, today there is no longer the "print permit" option to be found. Looks like this is my week to find out!

I took the test yesterday. Anyone else walk out thinking, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be?"

For context, I didn't score very well on step 1, have worked hard to do better this time. Did DIT, Uworld, and some Kaplan. Scored okay on practice tests, but nothing to set the world on fire. Felt like the real thing was a little bit easier than Uworld. Had enough time to finish each section.

So...did I do okay, or did I just miss all the subtle clues that made the test harder than it looked? It seemed pretty straightforward to me, but only time will tell.

Originally Posted by jace's mom

I took the test yesterday. Anyone else walk out thinking, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be?"

For context, I didn't score very well on step 1, have worked hard to do better this time. Did DIT, Uworld, and some Kaplan. Scored okay on practice tests, but nothing to set the world on fire. Felt like the real thing was a little bit easier than Uworld. Had enough time to finish each section.

So...did I do okay, or did I just miss all the subtle clues that made the test harder than it looked? It seemed pretty straightforward to me, but only time will tell.

That's how I felt too. I was surprised that I didn't feel "destroyed" like some of the 250+ ers felt here. But, link disappeared today, will get score on wed and will let you know how I did.

Originally Posted by angleoflouise

That's how I felt too. I was surprised that I didn't feel "destroyed" like some of the 250+ ers felt here. But, link disappeared today, will get score on wed and will let you know how I did.

I'd appreciate that. I'm in the score delay, so I'll be wondering for awhile.

Originally Posted by jace's mom

I'd appreciate that. I'm in the score delay, so I'll be wondering for awhile.

I felt the same way, I didn't think it was too bad. I know there were a few each block that I absolutely it wrong bc they were ridic and I recall a few easy mistakes (frontotemporal vs Pick's), but I thought it was mainly pretty straight forward. I really hope it turns out ok for me as my practice score 10 days before was good (254). I'm in score delay- I'll let u know as well.

I took the exam 8/1, the print permit is no longer available. I am desperately hoping that my score is released on 8/17 as I am trying to decide between specialties. I didn't do well on step 1...anyone think that I'll get my score on the 17th or will I have to wait until the 24th?

Originally Posted by LouisianaDoctor

I believe that mine disappeared too. Can anyone please verify this is "disappeared" and that it pretty much means that I passed the dang USMLE Step 2 CK?



Previously, the "Print permit for USMLE Step 2 CK" part was under the "Print/Reprint Documents" heading.

I remember for Step 1, once you passed, but before you got the scores, you could try to apply for the exam again and it would give you a red screen telling you that you already passed. I tried this for the Step 2 CK, and it would not let me, but did not give the same "you already passed" screen as Step 1. Edit: In searching this thread, I see that someone else asked this and did not get an answer. Perhaps this doesn't work for Step 2 CK.

Sorry if I'm being absolutely stupid about this. I quit medicine because I couldn't motivate myself to study for Step 2. I worked two years as a college professor. I finally realized I was wasting my education (so to speak). I quit my job, I busted my ass studying for ~3 months and if I passed this dang test, my entire life will be changed!

did you always have that request to extend eligibility for step2ck link (under Begin a New Application)?

i'm in the same boat as you btw, my "print permit" link disappeared today.

Originally Posted by shivasHeroLike

did you always have that request to extend eligibility for step2ck link (under Begin a New Application)?

i'm in the same boat as you btw, my "print permit" link disappeared today.

I don't know.

I think we are going to drive ourselves crazy with all of this. Just two more agonizing days. ARGH! I really wish 1 person who failed would comment on the print permit thing!

Originally Posted by medsend

I took the exam 8/1, the print permit is no longer available. I am desperately hoping that my score is released on 8/17 as I am trying to decide between specialties. I didn't do well on step 1...anyone think that I'll get my score on the 17th or will I have to wait until the 24th?

I took mine on 8/2/2011 and my print permit link is still available, still showing an error message when you click on it. Next week will be 3 weeks for me. I didn't think we'd be getting the scores this soon. I guess maybe since you were the last group to take the old format?

If I have my test in a 5 days should I try and read secrets as a review or just review what I have learned? which is more effective?

Took Step II CK on July 21.

Made 1 pass of UW during 3rd year (which helped immensely on every shelf exam) and probably averaged low 60s.

Studied for 3.5 weeks with the following tools:
-USMLEWORLD: This was my 2nd pass of UW (got through ~70% of it, probably averaged mid 70s). This is the best study tool period. You learn so much from the explanations.

-Step Up to Step 2 and DIT: Used this for my first 2 weeks. Fantastic combination. SUTS2 is a solid book, and DIT complements it very well by emphasizing things that seem to turn up in UW, as well as other topics that did show up on my exam and are not in the book. The lectures themselves aren't immensely entertaining, but it does help you get through a very dense book.

-Secrets: Read this once during 3rd year and read it again my last 3 days before the exam. As high yield as any book can be.


NBME4: 232
UWSA: 238

STEP2CK: 252

Test day:
Hardest part about the real thing was being able to focus for 8 straight blocks. When I was studying, I never did more than 3 or 4 in a day because it took time to go over the answers as well as read. So being able to stay focused the entire time was a real test of mental stamina. Otherwise, it "looked" like UW and had a fair balance of questions with an emphasis on Medicine. The questions that left me feeling the least confident were the Ethics ones because they always come up with unique/complex scenarios that I can't get a good feel for. Otherwise, try to spend time on whichever rotations you had earlier in the year (I had to put in work for Ob and Psych), and less time on the most recent rotations.

Originally Posted by medsend

I took the exam 8/1, the print permit is no longer available. I am desperately hoping that my score is released on 8/17 as I am trying to decide between specialties. I didn't do well on step 1...anyone think that I'll get my score on the 17th or will I have to wait until the 24th?

Is the link no longer available or do you just get the error message? From what I've read here if you take it Sat-Tues you technically wait 4 Wednesdays but it's strange if your link disappeared so soon, unless you were at the end of your eligibility.