STEP 3 Score VS USMLE WORLD AVERAGE

[FirstMANdown]

There is a great thread for Step 2ck VS UW%. I though it might be helpful if anyone out there can give us there input with there Step 3 VS UW%...etc as well. Anyways Thanks for the contribution.

I'm do to take Step 3 in the next month. Will update this thread as well. For better or for worse.

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[familyfirst]

I hope this message suppresses the anxiety of those who took the test and are waiting and for those who will take the test soon.

I am currently an intern in urology, in my prelim gen surg year.
Just like for step 2 CK, I only used UW. I was able to do all the questions, but was extremely rushed as I only studied for 3 weeks occassionally after work (2hours), which was difficult since I was tired, and usually post-call (4 hours). So the quality of the studying was poor compared to 10 days for step 2 during a vacation month.

Anyway, I averaged overall, a 59% on UW, but my scores were never consistent, ranging from 45-74%. I thought UW questions were very difficult as well compared to UW for step 2.

I took the test last month and thought the test was very difficult, the hardest of the all the steps. Maybe Im just an idiot, but not suprising given my intensity of studying. I walked out of the first day thinking I failed but the second was much better, but combining the two days I was worried. It only took 21 days to recieve my score, in fact I wasn't even expecting it. I just opened my email and I had gotten my score back. Much, much worse than step 1 and step 2, but still got a 229. Comfortably higher than the score needed to pass. So if you are looking just to pass, then don't worry, cause if I passed, many others will too. Just remember its a 97% pass rate for US grads. I literally mark every question I was not certain of and I had at least 50% marked in each section, certainly an uncomfortable feeling walking out of the test given that this did not happen for the other steps. So hard...yes....passable....definitely.

Good luck and don't worry!

I am very worried please see my prior thread (PLEASE HELP!!!)

I did UW also. Like you said, my score varies from 40's to 60's. Averaged at low 50's% when I completed 100% of the QBank Questions. But I got the same exact score (5 POINTS from passing, 3 digit 3s). What can do I differently for the future??? I have to pass the exam. I am in Ob/Gyn residency, PGYII. For the first time, like you, I barely have 2 hrs per day in one month. Study time was poor in quality. 2nd attempt was better. I gave myself more time (2 months) to prepare.

sigh******anxiety******depressed***********

 

[FirstMANdown]

I am very worried please see my prior thread (PLEASE HELP!!!)

I did UW also. Like you said, my score varies from 40's to 60's. Averaged at low 50's% when I completed 100% of the QBank Questions. But I got the same exact score (5 POINTS from passing, 3 digit 3s). What can do I differently for the future??? I have to pass the exam. I am in Ob/Gyn residency, PGYII. For the first time, like you, I barely have 2 hrs per day in one month. Study time was poor in quality. 2nd attempt was better. I gave myself more time (2 months) to prepare.

sigh******anxiety******depressed***********

I am not a great test taker but I read Premier Review notes and passed with a 196(80). Its nothing to brag about but I passed on 2nd attempt. First attempt was a 175(69) one year prior. For limited time you should pass fine by sticking with only one source of reading. Premier Review and Kaplan qbank (since you already did UW...I did both.) Read PR notes as many times as possible and revise notes with Kaplan qnak. You will diffenatly pass. Your almost there. Good luck

 

[familyfirst]

I am not a great test taker but I read Premier Review notes and passed with a 196(80). Its nothing to brag about but I passed on 2nd attempt. First attempt was a 175(69) one year prior. For limited time you should pass fine by sticking with only one source of reading. Premier Review and Kaplan qbank (since you already did UW...I did both.) Read PR notes as many times as possible and revise notes with Kaplan qnak. You will diffenatly pass. Your almost there. Good luck

I am having some self-doubts...does my failed attempts mean I have poor clinical judgment and skills??

 

[FirstMANdown]

I am having some self-doubts...does my failed attempts mean I have poor clinical judgment and skills??

No, not at all. It just means that you need to practice on your reading speed or practice with timed questions and to interpret what they are asking. Many times just putting yourself in the patients position and answer the questions the way you would logically in real life rather than answering whats "best" can go a long way. I mean to say, the best way to understand what they are really asking on these questions is by doing as many questions as possible and supplementing this with review. I don't think it has anything to do with you being capable or lacking in medical knowledge. These exams can get the best out of otherwise people who tend to do well on previous Step 1 & 2 examinations, so I definitely don't think its your knowledge or lack of common sence. Hope this helps. Good luck and keep crack-en at this. You are almost there. Wish you the best of luck!


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[familyfirst]

No, not at all. It just means that you need to practice on your reading speed or practice with timed questions and to interpret what they are asking. Many times just putting yourself in the patients position and answer the questions the way you would logically in real life rather than answering whats "best" can go a long way. I mean to say, the best way to understand what they are really asking on these questions is by doing as many questions as possible and supplementing this with review. I don't think it has anything to do with you being capable or lacking in medical knowledge. These exams can get the best out of otherwise people who tend to do well on previous Step 1 & 2 examinations, so I definitely don't think its your knowledge or lack of common sence. Hope this helps. Good luck and keep crack-en at this. You are almost there. Wish you the best of luck!


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In your opinion, which live course is better, Premier Review or Kaplan? Any other ones out there that can help me get those few points from a passing grade? I am willing to invest to get over this obstacle.

 

[pmpkn219]

I did UWorld Qbank and CCS-bank for about 50 days (I bought 60, didn't start it right away). Also read Crush Step 3 twice, highlighting the second time. Briefly skimmed my highlighting the evening before the test. No other materials or NBME tests

Got a 242/99 (similar to Step2 almost exactly a year prior)

 

[FirstMANdown]

In your opinion, which live course is better, Premier Review or Kaplan? Any other ones out there that can help me get those few points from a passing grade? I am willing to invest to get over this obstacle.

If time is an issue go with Premier Review(new notes) and either the Video lecture(not audio) or the live lecture. It really helps sink the notes in better that way. Read the notes 2 or 3 times and do Kaplan qbank-timed,unused 1x through and you should be good to go. Make sure to take the UW assessment exam 1 week before the actual exam. My UW assessment score was 6 points off from the actual score but I heard a lot of folks were doing around + or - 3 to 5 points from the actual exam on the lower side because UW assessment is very tough. Good Luck and keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Fousticor]

Since the first weeks I started with my study for the USMLE step 3, it was a little frustrating because I had to review all the subjects in medicine again. Adding that, the results in the preparations questions were not that promising. So I looked over the internet and found various blogs and sites were different people shared their experiences. It helped a lot, specially to know that you are not the only one getting average to poor scores and that the study is sometimes hard and long. However, eventhough I am thankful with everyone in the blogs, the important thing is to know that YOU are a different case. It does not matter how others did in the exam, your experience is going to be unique and you are going to have strengths and weaknesses that the rest lack. Based on that, I recommend to everybody to believe in theirselves and plan everything the way they have done with the other tests (when those were successful). I am not saying that you should not read this blogs. Of course, they HELP and a LOT and that is why I am writing here but the bottom line is YOUR experience and how do you handle it.
Obviously most of you do not want to read all these words and want to know how I did.
First I have not started with any specialty yet, I am an IMG that graduated 3 years ago and have been working in my country for all these years and preparing all the steps. I took the Step 2 CK about a year and a half prior of taking the Step 3.
I prepare the Step 3 within 8 weeks of the date of the exam, studying for 6 hours daily average. I read the Crush one time and took notes from it, which I reviewed later. I bought the USMLE World for the questions and for the Cases. I also did the Self assessment exam 2 weeks prior to the exam - try to do this one earlier cause anyway you are going to get about the same score-. There is a debate over which Questions bank is the best? I cannot tell, I have not tried the others so I cannot compare, however I think USMLE World is good enough. The cases are also good and the interface is pretty similar (almost identical) to the real exam. I only had some problems with a couple of cases but nothing to worry about, you can study from these (USMLE World) and be sure you are well prepared. I know that everybody tells you that and you still think is not enough, don’t worry If you do them a couple of times is going to be fine.
The first day of the exam is as everybody says kind of exhausting. The first few blocks were ok since you just got there and you are fresh, but later it becomes more difficult based on the time not the question and secondary to your exhaustion. Do not worry but do not over relaxed cause the time is going to get you. Also, for me, the office-inpatient questions were easier than the ER-ICU ones. But this is my appreciation, it should not be for everybody. The second day is better. Again, do not get over relaxed cause you can get out of time. The cases are straight forward, most of them. I had trouble with one that I ended up not knowing exactly what he had and the last one was easy to diagnose but the treatment was not helping much. You will have plenty of time so do not worry about that in this part.
As most of USMLE test, you get out without really knowing how you performed. Do not worry, if you studied well you will pass but the score is always UNKNOWN until you get it. You can get either number and since you are not sure how you really did you will be “fine” with the score you get, you will never know which questions were correct or not. Unfortunately that is how it is.
My score, I wish it would had been a little better but is fine: 84/203. It took 3 weeks to get published.
For the people that bought the USMLE World, my total average for all the questions, ONE TIME, 48 QUESTIONS BLOCKS, TIMED (ALWAYS except the first 5 blocks): 54%. Again, I am publishing these numbers because I was once one of you looking for answers specially when the study is not going well. I know it helps but as I said earlier, all the experiences are unique so trust yourself.

 

[PreMedAdAG]

Well - I better post b/c I'm starting to flip out.

I'm so frustrated with world and with the CCS stuff - I'm just sick of studying and want to take the damn thing.

I've been studying for 6 weeks - about 1-3 hours after work - usually closer to 1-2 hrs after work. Anyway - I just finished Qbank (timed 48 q blocks) and got 61% - the crappy part was that I just took my last block - and got a 46% - my percentage creeped down this week and I"m discouraged the week before my exam.

Sight... anyway - I also took the USMLE practice test - the three blocks - and i averaged 71%

When I took step 2 I remember avg 65% on Qbank and 87% on the USMLE test.

I"m going to take the NBME practice test and the USMLE WORLD assessment tests this weekend and see how they go - I"m scared

Plus I"m worried about the CCS cases - sometimes I feel like I get stuck and literallly don't know how to treat the patient (I'm a first year psychiatry resident with only one month of internal medicine to claim - the rest has been pure psych)

Well enough complaining, I guess I better start learning over the next 10 days - I have a long way to go!! I"ll keep everyone posted (not like it really matters)

 

[joejabjab]

AMG, PGY2, Medicine

Studied on and off for about three months prior to test during semi-busy rotations.

Read Kaplan Master the Boards Step 3 twice, did USMLE World once avg about 56% while taking notes, did Kaplan Medical USMLE Step 3 QBook once (it was easier than UW)

score, 88/212

Not great, but I'm okay with it. Onward!

 

[Noondoo]

just got score back on wed. at 12:02 am. thought i would share, to pay it forward, as I've been a long time reader of this thread:

AMG
Currently in Intern year
UW: 54%
UW Score Assessment/Predictor taken 2 weeks before exam: 205
Actual Step 3 score: 220/93

took it in sept. only 3 months into intern year. was very nervous about it but ended up doing just fine all things considered. I did UW and read Crush. Nothing else, didn't have time. I would recommend taking it early and getting it out of the way. In my opinion this is essentially a straight up medicine exam. Yes there are other topics but still the overwhelming majority is internal medicine.....

 

[PreMedAdAG]

Okay - I"m nearing the end of my prep - so I thought I would start the posting:

Here is what I did to prepare....
Read through Crush x 1 - leisurely - just to jog my memory.

100% random timed blocks USMLEWorld - Cum: 61% (range 46%-77%)
USMLE Practice Test questions: 71% avg
USMLE World Practice Assessment: 5 days prior to test: 580 (235)
NBME Practice Exam 4 days prior to test: 580 (235)

This is how I practiced for CCS
Did all interactive USMLE World Cases (52) - took notes on notecards - and reviewed about 3 of them per day over the last two weeks.
Did all non-interactive World Cases (41) - same as above
Did USMLE practice CCS casess (5)
Practiced a few days before, some of the old interactive cases - to make sure I felt comfortable with the pattern of ordering, and the software.

I'll let you know how I did. I started reading Crush (like 15-20 min/day starting about mid August and finished it about Mid September.

I ended up studying about 1-2 hrs per day after work for 6.5 weeks - and really did most of my studying on the weekend before the test. I"ll let you know how it went in about 4 week - eeK!

 

[PreMedAdAG]

That test blew!!!

OMG - seriously - I feel like a pile of sewage at the bottom of a porto-potty - no joke

Day 1: Tolerable - but still questioned about 48-50% of my answer choices
Day 2: Awful - still questioned about 48-50% of my answer choices - the ccs cases were mostly difficult and mostly inpatient with some weird diagnosis - I pretty much screwed up on a least 3 - and the rest I definitely missed some big things - they all lasted anywhere from 8-25 minutes - most of them were in the 18-20 minute range... now I have to sit here and cross my fingers that I don't have to do that again - and ignore the humiliation of telling my program director it didn't go so well - UGH!!!!

 

[GATORANALYST]

passed!!
51% USMLE World all timed 48 ? blocks
did 50% of old ?'s
scored 220

shocked by my score!!!!!

 

[rezam71]

by score do you mean average correct or percentile?

 

[GATORANALYST]

by score do you mean average correct or percentile?

51% correct. I never really looked at the percentile.
good luck-it's just a long test, if you do uworld and review the ?'s you missed you'll do fine.

 

[PreMedAdAG]

Okay - I"m nearing the end of my prep - so I thought I would start the posting:

Here is what I did to prepare....
Read through Crush x 1 - leisurely - just to jog my memory.

100% random timed blocks USMLEWorld - Cum: 61% (range 46%-77%)
USMLE Practice Test questions: 71% avg
USMLE World Practice Assessment: 5 days prior to test: 580 (235)
NBME Practice Exam 4 days prior to test: 580 (235)

This is how I practiced for CCS
Did all interactive USMLE World Cases (52) - took notes on notecards - and reviewed about 3 of them per day over the last two weeks.
Did all non-interactive World Cases (41) - same as above
Did USMLE practice CCS casess (5)
Practiced a few days before, some of the old interactive cases - to make sure I felt comfortable with the pattern of ordering, and the software.

I'll let you know how I did. I started reading Crush (like 15-20 min/day starting about mid August and finished it about Mid September.

I ended up studying about 1-2 hrs per day after work for 6.5 weeks - and really did most of my studying on the weekend before the test. I"ll let you know how it went in about 4 week - eeK!

Final Score 226/96 (not feeling so bad after the crappy test day that I had - all things considering - I'm cool)

 

[whatever1]

-I am a medicine resident at a university-affiliated program (US grad, non-AOA). I took the test just after finishing an inpt service. I studied at night and on my days off for about 2 weeks, which probably added upt to around 30-40 hours time.

-I did about half of USMLEworld questions and half of the cases, I averaged 56% (huge variation 20-80%--i did blocks of 10-20 on tudor mode) but the real useful part was reading the answers.

-I read FA once through and reviewed some of the non-medicine cases the night before

228/97

I am happy with my score. If you are a medicine resident (can't speak to anyone else) and looking to comfortably pass, I would think what I did would be sufficient.

USLME world was good and quite detailed; the real test was for the most part more general and quite a bit easier.

First Aid was too general and not enough to rely on by itself, although I hear this about ALL review books in this category (like Crush).

Good luck to everyone else trying to pass this two day marathon of a test!

 

[razorback58]

Only did CCS Dr. Red's pay per view - this is an absolute MUST
USMLEWORLD average of 58% untimed in tutor mode
Studied for about 10 days
Took the first day on Saturday and the second day on Monday
The Friday before the Saturday I took the Inservice Training Exam
Did not do NMBE because the CCS cases can make or break you.
Very stressed out in residency and actually had a cardiac cath 3 weeks before I took the exam

Passed 79 - 194

Did not rock it - but passed it and I am DONE.
That was my goal.

 

[argo]

Just wanted to put in my own contribution.

I took Step 3 Nov. 11 & 13 (center was closed on the 12th).

Got my results exactly 4 weeks from the 11th (Dec. 9).

I averaged around 57% on USMLEWORLD questions. Had a few lows (39%) and some highs (high 60s%) but my score pretty much played around the 55-60 or even 60s range.

I finished all the questions and went through them twice. Read all the answers. Tried to figure out why I was wrong, etc. Some of the questions were pretty similar to USMLEWORLD.

Also did some Kaplan questions in the past but mostly USMLEWORLD. Their questions are closer to the real thing. Really makes you comfortable on the exam day.

My references were the Kaplan Step 3 lecture notes and my own.

I also did all the USMLEWORLD cases. Then I just redid the most likely ones to appear on the exam the day before CCS (figured it was likely the straightforward ones). Did quite well on the case simulations despite the fact that I completely effed up 2 cases as I couldn't figure out what the heck they wanted me to fix. In any case, I think the others were right that the CCS does help pull up your scores if you do well in them.

This is the first time I used USMLEWORLD but I think its really good. Makes you feel really dumb and stupid in the beginning but the degree of difficulty and pressure makes you a little more comfortable and in control on exam day.

Sorry for the rambling, almost forgot, I got 224/95. Hope that helps.

 

[arorasha]

Hey - Thank you everyone for your input
Im about ready to take my exam next Saturday

What I am wondering - is Does USMLE WORLD CCS cases cover all that you see on the actual exam? Or are there things that are entirely different?

Thanks!

 

[leorl]

I gave myself plenty of time to complete all the UW questions. Scores for Step 3 are likely to drop because we're all residents taking it with very little dedicated study time and removal from fields that our own specialities aren't involved in. I took it in early November, but I started doing questions in late september. I completed all the UW questions once, but I was worried because it was very broken study. A week before the exam, I practiced ALL the UW CCS cases.

I have to say, a lot of the questions on Step 3 you cannot study for. They don't appear in UW, and they don't appear in books. A lot of them are like...prognosis questions. I even got a western blot (which I fortunately remembered how to interpret from my molecular bio classes 10 years ago as an undergrad!)

Anyway, I think I averaged 52% (some tests were 40s, some tests were high 60%'s).
I got an 87 / 214 on the test. Not fantastic but a very comfortably pass. I didn't think I failed coming out of day 1, but there were definitely some questionable ones. Day 2 was much easier.

 

[turquoiseblue]

I did premier review x2, UW = 60% (untimed) (I've done UW a few times before). Master the Boards x 1. USMLE ccs cases x 1 (have gone over it a few times in the past also)

On the other hand I recently took the timed NBME (score = 340), which isn't quite passing.

My question is: Am I ready? any advice on what else to study?

 

[kwire]

hey everyone, im replying to this thread cause I read it before i took my test and it really does help for knowing where you stand


first off im a PGY4 in Ortho, which doesnt help much with step 3. in fact i remember laughing at the questions where you had to listen to the heart beat....its been 4 yrs since i used a stethoscope to listen to a heart much less figure out if it was s1 or s2 that sounded weird. and dont get me started on medications, i barely remember much pharm.

anyway, I read the obgyn and pedi sections (dont remember anything about bloody vaginas or kids with runny noses) from kaplan master the boards book and I used usmleworld and studied 2 hrs/day for about 3 weeks. averaged 54% on the untimed questions and went through all but about 200 questions. did really well on ID, surgery, and believe it or not peds, but couldnt get above 40% on obgyn questions.

glad to report I passed with a 226...which was reasonably above average and plenty good for a stupid orthopod.

 

[aprilpremed]

I took my USMLE Step 3 in early December and walked out of the exam with a cringe of doubt. I waited until my 4th year of residency to take it and pretty much blew off serious studying. My studying consisted of the USMLE World questions - did all of them the week prior to the exam and reading through First Aid. My USMLE World average was 53%.

I would say that of the multiple choice questions, about 40% of the questions I was uncertain about and was either torn between two answers or took a guess.
Of the clinical cases, the first case I didn't put in a final diagnosis (thought I could do it after it timed out) and in one case it ended before I could come up with a solid diagnosis.

Anyway, I spent the past 4 wks worrying about failing the test. I checked my score at 12:13am on Wed morning after hearing scores come out midnight on Wed. I really felt I would be lucky to barely pass. I came out of Steps 1 and 2 feeling much more confident.

My score: 236. So there you go ... if you took Step 3 and worrying about failing - I'm coming to the conclusion most people feel this way after the test.

 

[faithnotsight]

This is probably not the right thread to post on, but seems the most active. I figure I should post about my experience since I read these forums to prepare.

I took Step 3 as an IM resident at the end of my PGY2 year. I was really afraid of the Ob/Gyn and Peds sections given the time lapse between med school and my taking the exam. I actually did not use UW or Kaplan q bank. I read the entire FA once (thoroughly) and Crush (thoroughly) over a 10 day period. In general, it seems that most people like doing questions to learn, but not me. I only do questions once I feel I have read enough and I ran out of time for this exam. For example for Step 1, I did only 20% of Kaplan qbank and for Step2, I only did 30% of UW q bank and did well on those tests just by reading. I did do all of the USMLE CD questions - multiple choice and CCS the day before the test. I actually really walked out of the test worried that I had failed. I had one section where I ran out of time and had to guess on the last question without reading it. On most sections, there were about 15-20 questions where I was not certain on both days. On the CCS cases, most of the cases ended really quickly, like within 5-7 minutes. Two of the cases went on for about 10-15 minutes. I have to say I do feel my exam had a good amount of peds, ob gyn, and derm which is why I was worried. I got my score 3.5 weeks later. 248/99. Very happy and glad to be done with these exams.

 

[mig26x]

usmleworld: 52%

usmle 3 taken dec 16-17 and scores reported today--> 205.

Im horrible at taking tests, I get to anxious and any sound f@cks my concentration. I had this guy next to me typing so hard that I just wanted to tell him to STOP!!!

Im done now, no more Steps for the rest of my life.

 

[headshrinkerMD]

Just got my results back 3 minutes ago, took 4 weeks to get them. I want to pass on the love that everyone else here has shared. Some background first: 3rd year Psych resident, AMG, failed both Step 1 & 2 on the first attempts (passed on the second), did 400 USMLEWorld questions during the 5 days before my exam with a 48% correct average, and did 5 of the UW CCS cases (though I lightly reviewed all 50 of the walkthroughs on the cases). I had bought Crush Step 3 but I cracked open the PEDS section and it scared the bejeezus out of me, so I quickly put it back and never opened it again. Passed with a 198, 81%. I can definitely say that doing well on CCS means big points and is surely the difference between passing and failing if you're average (or worse, like me) on the MCQs. I only ran out of my 20 minutes on one case (though he was on his way to punching his ticket), and didn't do so hot on 2 others, but apparently that was pretty damn good.

 

[leaft]

World 54% (only did 1/2 of questions, random blocks, untimed)
Step 3 240/99

I spent a lot of time reviewing ccs case format and going through UW cases as well as cases from the usmle website. I feel that knowing ccs format is key. Gotta learn to play the game!

 

[arorasha]

58% USMLE World - did all questions once, repeated about 1/2 the wrong answers. did not touch statistical questions.
Did all CCS cases 2x

Exam on the website: 56% --> 231

USMLE Step 3, real deal --> 96/225

 

[melnyc]

USMLE world one time through 61% correct, 25% of CCS completed. I also read through crush step 3 once. Score:239/99

 

[Scut]

Someone clarifies for me this: Which % are you all referring to on USMLE World? The "Overall Correct" or "Percentile" in the "Cumulative Performance" tab?

I am getting 56% Overall Correct in the "Cumulative Performance" tab, but only at 34th Percentile!

Those two numbers stress the heck out of me, especially the 34th percentile number. I just feel so darn stupid! What the heck have I been learning all these years of med school and internship!!?? I worry I am going to fail this exam.

 

[Adruidan]

Step 1 98/243
Step 2 99/249
Step 3 99/236

I did USMLE World and completed all of the questions with a 72% correct. I read First aid for Step 3 and Used my first aid for Step 2 as an adjunct. Just a note---I get really, really nervous before tests to the point of dizziness, so I often score lower then predicted (for instance scored 98th percentile on in-service exam for internal medicine, but as that test doesn't count, I wasn't nervous)

Mean on test was 214 with SD of 17. Thus I scored 1.3 SD above the mean on Step 3. On Step 1 and 2 I scored around 1.15 above the mean.

Thus, I scored a better percentile on Step 3 with a worse three digit score. Is this going to hurt my fellowship application as there is a large drop off from Step1 and Step 2? Technically I did better then more people on Step 3, but I am concerned about the three digit score. Anyone know??

 

[guitarguy09]

Someone clarifies for me this: Which % are you all referring to on USMLE World? The "Overall Correct" or "Percentile" in the "Cumulative Performance" tab?

I am getting 56% Overall Correct in the "Cumulative Performance" tab, but only at 34th Percentile!

Those two numbers stress the heck out of me, especially the 34th percentile number. I just feel so darn stupid! What the heck have I been learning all these years of med school and internship!!?? I worry I am going to fail this exam.

Relax. I believe that should be a "passing" percentage. People are reporting the "overall correct", not the percentile rank. You should be fine.

 

[cubsrule4e]

The last USMLE nuisance finally out of the way! I studied a length of about 3 weeks, but it was complicated by 12 hour ER shifts on certain days, and pure laziness other days. Overall id say i studied 10 days non consecutively, with about 5 of those being 4-6 hour days devoted strictly to doing questions. I did about 80% of UWorld in tutor mode by topic. Overall average in the mid 50%. Test day 1 was complicated by a raging pharyngitis which weakened my ability to concentrate and my stamina. As others have stated i felt like i was making educated guesses on most all of the questions. Day 2 went much better, felt like a preschool version of day 1 and the cases were a joke (and i hadnt done but 2 or 3 practice cases just to understand the format).

Overall I'd say i had more than minimal but below average preparation, and the illness didnt help, but i came out with a 205 and im not looking back. So long USMLE!

 

[John Deere Gree]

PGY-1 Family Medicine Residency

QBank average (timed, random) 56%
USMLEWorld (timed, random) 53%
USMLEWolrd Sim Test Score Prediction 203

Actual Score 198

Not the best score in the world, but a pass is a pass.

 

[Pollux]

I'm a recent medical graduate (IMG) who'll be starting pathology residency in July.

Step 3 Score: 254/99
UW: 73%
NBME: 720
UW Simulated exam predicted a 254, which was right on the money.
Step 1 & 2 = 270+

I studied for about 2 weeks and only had time to do UW MCQs and 52 CCS cases. Very glad to be finally done with USMLEs.

 

[lp=md]

step 3 score: 207 (86)

used 1/2 the questions on usmleworld w/ 53% average (tutor mode, untimed)- i found this to be extremely helpful. the UW questions are similar to the step 3 q's.

for the CCS portion, used usmleconsult, did about 75% of the cases- also found this to be very helpful, especially since I have an ADHD personality and tend to forget an order, only to remember it a few minutes later

Good luck!

 

[anesonia]

UsmleWorld Avg 54% timed, 48q blocks, almost finished
UsmelWorld CCS- did all cases x 1
Step 3: 221

Good luck

 

[stookie]

How do the test questions compare to UW questions?

 

[Nuriko]

I am getting worried. I take Step 3 in the next few weeks and have been getting high 40s on USMLEWorld. I know there is a 97% pass rate for US grads. However, people said the same thing about CS and I was one of the unlucky 3% that time after having passed Step 1 and CK without any problems. Im trying to use First Aid, but Im not really finding it helpful. Everyone tells me that I dont really need to study for this test, but Im starting to get anxious.

Any advice?

 

[blue2000]

* 5th year GS resident; haven't thought about many many many conditions that are tested on USMLE since I graduated from medical school.

* Needed to pass the first time or else wouldn't been able to get unrestricted medical license in time to start my new post-residency attending job, so the stakes were pretty high (all of you thinking, hmm, she's a bit of a procrastinator)

*Studied pretty solidly for a month a head a time (1hr/day). Did all of USMLE world questions on tutor mode, untimed; ended up with a % right in the mid 50s (55-57% if I recall). Also read Master Step III (but not all of it) and did a lot but not all of the questions in the Kaplan Q Book. Also did a bunch of the scenarios in USMLEWorld CCS for preparation for that part.

Got a 249/99 on the test, which felt pretty great. Didn't get my score back for 6 weeks, I think they were switching something with the computer.

My advice? DO NOT put it off. As painful as it is to study for it as a junior, it is 100X more painful as a chief resident. I had literally forgotten dermatomyositis existed, and trying to keep that straight with polymyalgia rheumatica and all the others was painful (all my patients have fibromyalgia)

 

[Eta Carinae]

I'm a recent medical graduate (IMG) who'll be starting pathology residency in July.

Step 3 Score: 254/99
UW: 73%
NBME: 720
UW Simulated exam predicted a 254, which was right on the money.
Step 1 & 2 = 270+

I studied for about 2 weeks and only had time to do UW MCQs and 52 CCS cases. Very glad to be finally done with USMLEs.

I'm sort of aiming for this ballpark for my step 3.

Had you already completed a residency in your home country, if you don't mind my asking?

I'm wondering if a 260 pre-residency is possible at this point- haven't seen any.

 

[Eta Carinae]

I'm a recent medical graduate (IMG) who'll be starting pathology residency in July.

Step 3 Score: 254/99
UW: 73%
NBME: 720
UW Simulated exam predicted a 254, which was right on the money.
Step 1 & 2 = 270+

I studied for about 2 weeks and only had time to do UW MCQs and 52 CCS cases. Very glad to be finally done with USMLEs.

^ OOPs forgot to say, nice score, and congratulations on the score and on landing a residency spot

 

[Arena99]

I'm doing a surgical preliminary year before starting my CA-1 year in anesthesiology this July. I only used Crush and USMLEWorld, just like I did for Step II and it worked out well both times.
I didn't have an awful lot of time to study, but took off three days and bargained for a golden weekend giving me a total of 5 days to study, then took the exam the following Monday and Tuesday.
I read Crush through once highlighting the parts I didn't know and rereading those. Then I did about half of USMLEWorld MCQ's unused/timed with a cumulative average of about 58% ranging anywhere from individual scores of 48%-70% right and did all the CCS cases on USMLEWorld.
The test itself felt pretty awful the first day, but much better the second. I was really unsure of how I did. It was very nervewracking to wait almost 2 months until the end of April to get my score. Most of the March dates weren't reported until the end of April this year because of recent format changes.
I ended up with 215/90. I'm so glad to be done!

 

[Eta Carinae]

There are angels among us.

thanks, automan2, you rock!

 

[automan2]

No problem, but I thought I might share my info with everyone.

My Background - scored high on both step 1 and step 2. Just finished taking step 3 last week.

Here are my tips:

1.) I am convinced that USMLE World has inside information on what is going to be on the test. Whether they got it from recalls or they know someone at the testing center, they have somehow figured out what will be asked on the real exam. While the great majority of the Step 3 questions are standard bread and butter, about 20% are weird. Weird = esoteric, stuff you would never need to know. Stuff you would never encounter in practice. I gave up on UW since I was getting frustrated with these useless questions. I did about 1/2 of the questions, was averaging anywhere from 70-80%. I felt like I was wasting my time because I didn't think there was any way the NBME would test on such random useless facts. I was wrong.

The real Step 3 exam was much easier than UW, but it contained some really stupid and useless questions. Very much like the UW questions. In fact, identical to the UW questions. Random questions on side effects of drugs that haven't been used for 20 years, or contraindications to weird sports. I don't know how UW does it, but they have questions in their question bank that are pretty much identical. I would have never gotten them correct without the UW practice questions.

Bottom line: do the UW questions and pay attention to the weird question that you don't think would ever be on the exam - because UW has them included in their qbank for a reason.

2.) Don't pay any attention to your UW percentile. It is utterly useless. Why? Because many people repeat questions, many people do the questions in tutor mode and if they get a question wrong, will select the correct answer anyway. Many people will select the correct answer just so they don't have to go over that topic again if they plan on repeating questions. So, your percentile comparison to others is useless. ignore it.

3.) If you are really serious about this test, you can fork over $45 to do the official NBME practice test. It will give you a much better feel for how you are doing. (UW also has one but I don't have any experience with it - seems to be fairly close based on what I have seen in other posts). TIP: I had about 10 questions from the practice test appear on my real exam. Not similar questions, exactly the same questions. Most of these were the questions with pictures.

4.) If you want to score high you need to do well on the CCS portion of the exam. It counts for 25% of your grade, and if you do the math, each case is worth about 18 mcq questions. Knowing that puts the importance of the CCS in perspective. The UW practice cases are way overboard, but the first aid cases in the back of the book are great.

5.) Don't expect to score as high on step 3 as you did on step 1 or 2. The average is lower, and the SD is smaller. Getting a 260 on step 2 is easy and common. I have never seen a 260 on step 3. In fact, the 254 posted on this thread is the highest I have ever seen. Proof of this is that a low 230s on step 3 is a 99, not so with step 1 or 2.

6.) Don't forget that your score on this exam means essentially nothing. No fellowship looks at it. NONE. No employers look at it. None. The only reason for a person to try at score high on this exam is ego. (That said I still want a 99!)

 

[Eta Carinae]

No problem, but I thought I might share my info with everyone.

6.) Don't forget that your score on this exam means essentially nothing. No fellowship looks at it. NONE. No employers look at it. None. The only reason for a person to try at score high on this exam is ego. (That said I still want a 99!)

That's definitely true for me.

I know it means squat. Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that I've still got it.

Or maybe I don't want my Step 3 score to look like an outlier juxtaposed with my other step scores.

There is definitely a HUGE ego component for me, though laugh I have to admit as much.

And anyway, I feel like if something's going to have my name on it, dammit, it better be top notch.

 

[Eta Carinae]

Thanks again, Automan2, you def rock!

 

[limopa]

i read this forum before taking the exam because i was freaking out at my usmleworld scores.
long story short:

IMG on PGY-2 of peds
step 1: 77 (second attempt)
step 2: 77

took live lectures for step 3 @ kaplan 7 months before exam and only did 25% of usmleworld averaging 59-60%. never opened a book.
got 96 on step 3. (score back in exactly 3 weeks)

i'd say most of the exam is about you not killing the patient. think ABC's ALWAYS. learn thyroid, breast, MI, DM, COPD and that's pretty much it.
Practice for CCS beforehand.

and the posts above are right. you only need to pass. nobody looks at this score.

good luck all.