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UPDATE 6/28/2017: Hey guys so I don't think this guide would be very helpful. I don't know why it worked for me, it may have been a number of factors such as last minute desperation, just getting too frustrated with failing and tried to do something ridiculous, somehow found the strength to go through it. I tried my own guide for STEP 2 Ck, and while there is no book for step 2 ck as there is for step 1 (FA), I could not find the energy or motivation or whatever it was to follow this guide.
The reason I may have been able to go through FA this well for step 1 may have been because I had good understanding of concepts, and the memorization just made it easier. I don't know. I am leaving the guide up just in case it helps anyone.
I might be writing a step 2 ck guide later on how I studied and the mistakes I made so others don't do the same.
I Just wrote what I did for step 2 cs in case it helps anyone.
USMLE - Step 2 cs, I just passed, here's what I used
This guide is ONLY for those who are not scoring even passing on the NBMEs. This is not for people who already have scores higher than 220 and you should go look else where as I cannot help you. My guide is limited because I scored in the 220/230 range and for me to say you can score higher with this guide will be wrong. Although, I DID INCREASE MY SCORE BY 70 – 90 POINTS, and below is how I did it.
Post 1: My study plan and scores
Post 2: How to score 220s – 230s
Post 3: SCHEDULE (NEW)
Post 1
Started studying last November, my basics were horrible. I understood a lot of concepts but I couldn’t commit anything to memory until I figured out the right plan in April.
Material used:
Kaplan videos 3x
Kaplan live lecture
Pathoma 5x
Uworld 3x
DIT 1x
First Aid 2014
I watched pathoma 3 times over, while taking notes, during the time I was taking pathology in school. It was much better than what my school was teaching me but I realized that after I went over a chapter, it didn't take long for me to forget the material or confuse the details.
Uworld average scores around this time 38 – 40% - 1st pass
Watched Kaplan videos once during MD 5 and twice after that during my dedicated study period. By the time I was done watching the pharm videos at the end, I had forgotten all about biochemistry.
Uworld average scores still 38 – 40% - still 1st pass
NBME 7: 147 horrible score, was extremely disappointed and did not know what to do.
At this point thought taking a live lecture course would help me. Amazing lectures and teachers, I recommend to anyone who has time to take this course.
Uworld average scores 65% - 2nd pass. I know second pass doesn't count for much but I had forgotten almost every single question and for me personally it was as if I was doing uworld for the first time.
Anyways, after completing kaplan I thought I would take another NBME.
NBME 11: 160. No improvement, not even close to passing, not sure what to do at this point, I was extremely depressed.
Started going over DIT videos and finished them within 2 weeks. Did not take an NBME after so not sure how helpful they were.
Good friend of mine, who was also preparing for step told me to try and commit the topics and details to memory. This is when I started memorizing the FIRST AID. Took me about a month and there were days that I was memorizing 70 pages in a day because I knew most of the stuff already. The way I memorized and recommend memorizing is in post 2.
Result of memorizing FA:
June 16: 360/198 – NBME 11 – passing!
June 17: 400/207 – NBME 12 - was extremely happy about this score (considering where I started)
After this I started going over uworld for the 3rd time. My average was around 72% this time but that doesn't mean anything. I was doing it just to cover the topics that were not in FA.
I went through FA about 50 times, maybe more, from the time I was done memorizing to the day I took my exam. My scores platued around 211:
June 27: 390/205 – NBME 13 (this was HARD)
Jul 07: 420/211 – NBME 16
Jul 13: 420/211 – NBME 17
I was sad that the score didn't change at all through nbme 16 and 17 but I didn't give up.
This is where I changed my studying a little and started going over my wrong answers from NBMEs and focusing on my weak areas. For example reproductive system pharm (was getting every single question wrong). I focused hard on areas like that and my last NBME:
Aug 12: 520/232 – NBME 15 - fell off the chair due to happiness on this score…
I would've done more tests to see if my score stayed or increased from this point on but I was out of NBMES to do therefore took my step within a week of NBME 15.
I'm not going to post my score but it was around what NBME 15 predicted +/- 10.
All in all I improved my score by 70 – 90 points (starting with a 147 ending around 232) by mostly focusing on the First Aid. I feel like that book is a cheat sheet and almost all the questions in the exam come from it.
What would I do differently If I could do it all over again?
I would start with memorizing FA in MD 5, that way when I took the Kaplan course and went over pathoma, it would help me increase my score by going over the minute details not covered by first aid.
The reason I may have been able to go through FA this well for step 1 may have been because I had good understanding of concepts, and the memorization just made it easier. I don't know. I am leaving the guide up just in case it helps anyone.
I might be writing a step 2 ck guide later on how I studied and the mistakes I made so others don't do the same.
I Just wrote what I did for step 2 cs in case it helps anyone.
USMLE - Step 2 cs, I just passed, here's what I used
This guide is ONLY for those who are not scoring even passing on the NBMEs. This is not for people who already have scores higher than 220 and you should go look else where as I cannot help you. My guide is limited because I scored in the 220/230 range and for me to say you can score higher with this guide will be wrong. Although, I DID INCREASE MY SCORE BY 70 – 90 POINTS, and below is how I did it.
Post 1: My study plan and scores
Post 2: How to score 220s – 230s
Post 3: SCHEDULE (NEW)
Post 1
Started studying last November, my basics were horrible. I understood a lot of concepts but I couldn’t commit anything to memory until I figured out the right plan in April.
Material used:
Kaplan videos 3x
Kaplan live lecture
Pathoma 5x
Uworld 3x
DIT 1x
First Aid 2014
I watched pathoma 3 times over, while taking notes, during the time I was taking pathology in school. It was much better than what my school was teaching me but I realized that after I went over a chapter, it didn't take long for me to forget the material or confuse the details.
Uworld average scores around this time 38 – 40% - 1st pass
Watched Kaplan videos once during MD 5 and twice after that during my dedicated study period. By the time I was done watching the pharm videos at the end, I had forgotten all about biochemistry.
Uworld average scores still 38 – 40% - still 1st pass
NBME 7: 147 horrible score, was extremely disappointed and did not know what to do.
At this point thought taking a live lecture course would help me. Amazing lectures and teachers, I recommend to anyone who has time to take this course.
Uworld average scores 65% - 2nd pass. I know second pass doesn't count for much but I had forgotten almost every single question and for me personally it was as if I was doing uworld for the first time.
Anyways, after completing kaplan I thought I would take another NBME.
NBME 11: 160. No improvement, not even close to passing, not sure what to do at this point, I was extremely depressed.
Started going over DIT videos and finished them within 2 weeks. Did not take an NBME after so not sure how helpful they were.
Good friend of mine, who was also preparing for step told me to try and commit the topics and details to memory. This is when I started memorizing the FIRST AID. Took me about a month and there were days that I was memorizing 70 pages in a day because I knew most of the stuff already. The way I memorized and recommend memorizing is in post 2.
Result of memorizing FA:
June 16: 360/198 – NBME 11 – passing!
June 17: 400/207 – NBME 12 - was extremely happy about this score (considering where I started)
After this I started going over uworld for the 3rd time. My average was around 72% this time but that doesn't mean anything. I was doing it just to cover the topics that were not in FA.
I went through FA about 50 times, maybe more, from the time I was done memorizing to the day I took my exam. My scores platued around 211:
June 27: 390/205 – NBME 13 (this was HARD)
Jul 07: 420/211 – NBME 16
Jul 13: 420/211 – NBME 17
I was sad that the score didn't change at all through nbme 16 and 17 but I didn't give up.
This is where I changed my studying a little and started going over my wrong answers from NBMEs and focusing on my weak areas. For example reproductive system pharm (was getting every single question wrong). I focused hard on areas like that and my last NBME:
Aug 12: 520/232 – NBME 15 - fell off the chair due to happiness on this score…
I would've done more tests to see if my score stayed or increased from this point on but I was out of NBMES to do therefore took my step within a week of NBME 15.
I'm not going to post my score but it was around what NBME 15 predicted +/- 10.
All in all I improved my score by 70 – 90 points (starting with a 147 ending around 232) by mostly focusing on the First Aid. I feel like that book is a cheat sheet and almost all the questions in the exam come from it.
What would I do differently If I could do it all over again?
I would start with memorizing FA in MD 5, that way when I took the Kaplan course and went over pathoma, it would help me increase my score by going over the minute details not covered by first aid.
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