USMLE Official 2014 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

[exudate]

With all the changes going on, I think it is a good time to start a new thread and keep all the scores and experiences organized in one thread. Similar thread was really helpful for step 1, so I am hoping this one will be equally great and helpful to all.

Good luck to all the Step 2 CK'ers in 2014!

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[UMN]

Sure - I basically write out the information from text books into handwritten notes so that I can format it in a way that sticks more easily. I then flesh out the initial notes with annotations from uWorld, UpToDate, my rotations, and whatever other resource I find useful as I do practice questions and try to better understand the material. By the end, all the pertinent information I came across during the process is in one place where I can access it quickly.

While on a given rotation, I would read my text resource for that subject and make my notes. Toward the end of the rotation I would do the Kaplan questions for that subject, provided by my school, in preparation for the shelf. May and June were my very laid-back FM months, which provided ample time for dedicated study for Step 2. I finished going through Step Up to Medicine in the first half of May, then spent the next three weeks going through uWorld and doing practice tests. I got through uWorld once and did my incorrects once, and did NBME 4 and UWSA. I don't read the whole explanation for the questions I easily get right because it drastically cuts down on time.

Kaplan Qbank: ~2100 qs
uWorld: ~2200
Practice tests: 400 qs
Total ~4700 unique questions before Step 2

I used Step Up to Medicine
Kaplan books for Peds and Psych
Kaplan book and Casefiles for OB
Pestana for surgery

I tried and didn't like MTB, FA Step 2, surgical recall.

Congrats on the great score
How many days b4 the exam day did u take ur assessments? And u didn't do nbme 7 right?

 

[D0CYAN]

Thanks ... I did NBME 4 on June 9, three days before my test. I didn't do 7.

 

[alkaabi]

Is it possible to prep for step2 along with the clerkships?

 

[autumnwoods]

Took the exam on the 24th of June....permit still available. I don't know if I can wait another week.

 

[res1cue]

Took the exam on the 24th of June....permit still available. I don't know if I can wait another week.

Took it a couple days after you, was hoping to get mine this week too. Permit link still there....

 

[UMN]

Took it on the 26th. Permit link is still thr but gives an error msg. Pretty sure we'll get the scores on the 16th.

 

[res1cue]

Took it on the 26th. Permit link is still thr but gives an error msg. Pretty sure we'll get the scores on the 16th.

Same here. Is that what they mean though? thought the whole link disappears

 

[ewokka]

Not to burst your bubble but I was in the same boat last week and nothing :-/. Link still there but error appeared when clicked. Took mine on June 18 so this Wed I should be getting my score. Now my link is completely gone (has been since last Thurs). Maybe you will, but I wouldn't get your hopes up like I did last week. Made this last week of waiting even WORSE ... Ahhh... Good luck otherwise

 

[odemi]

My permit was gone for at least a week, took my test on 6/24. Hope it does not mean bad news. Anxious and in need of a chill pill. ;-)

 

[res1cue]

Not to burst your bubble but I was in the same boat last week and nothing :-/. Link still there but error appeared when clicked. Took mine on June 18 so this Wed I should be getting my score. Now my link is completely gone (has been since last Thurs). Maybe you will, but I wouldn't get your hopes up like I did last week. Made this last week of waiting even WORSE ... Ahhh... Good luck otherwise

That's what I was afraid of. Looks like another week..permit link still there

 

[JoshSt]

Question to all - should I bother taking NBME 3 (the only one available without expanded feedback)? Is there a point to take one just to see a score if I can't see what I got wrong?

 

[UMN]

Not to burst your bubble but I was in the same boat last week and nothing :-/. Link still there but error appeared when clicked. Took mine on June 18 so this Wed I should be getting my score. Now my link is completely gone (has been since last Thurs). Maybe you will, but I wouldn't get your hopes up like I did last week. Made this last week of waiting even WORSE ... Ahhh... Good luck otherwise

Thats wat Ive been hearing. Guess ill have to wait another week

 

[ewokka]

Took test on June 18 - Got Scores Today

1st Uworld Avg. 72% random timed tutor
Reset--> 2nd round Uworld 65% completed at 87% random timed
UWSA 240 <2wks out
Real Thing 258

** When I took UWSA I had not completed uworld yet (~20% left) -- finished, reset, and completed 65% during second go round before test day**

Studied for < 3 weeks using primarily Uworld, MTB, Step Up 2 CK, and Secrets just before the test. Mostly uworld. Read less than half of MTB and skimmed the rest. Questions on test day markedly different than Uworld. Felt like crap walking out and drug ads punched me in the face. Bottom line - it will be ok. Have faith and think happy thoughts. Good luck everyone

 

[tripwm]

Grats on the score Ewokka!

 

[res1cue]

Congrats ewokka, you worked hard and you deserve it

 

[lordman]

Took test on June 18 - Got Scores Today

1st Uworld Avg. 72% random timed tutor
Reset--> 2nd round Uworld 65% completed at 87% random timed
UWSA 240 <2wks out
Real Thing 258

** When I took UWSA I had not completed uworld yet (~20% left) -- finished, reset, and completed 65% during second go round before test day**

Studied for < 3 weeks using primarily Uworld, MTB, Step Up 2 CK, and Secrets just before the test. Mostly uworld. Read less than half of MTB and skimmed the rest. Questions on test day markedly different than Uworld. Felt like crap walking out and drug ads punched me in the face. Bottom line - it will be ok. Have faith and think happy thoughts. Good luck everyone

Congrats! Would you mind telling us what was your step 1 score?

 

[Kniveschau29]

So here goes my experience. Very happy considering I walked out feeling like I was brutally beaten on the street.

UWorld Average: 76%
Uworld self assessment: 244
Free USMLE (on nbme website): 89%
Nbme 4: 252
Nbme 6: 241
Real deal: 251

I'm a DO student still awaiting COMLEX. I thought the following was helpful: Step up to medicine (definitely read during IM rotation), step up to step 2 I did along with DIT don't use if not doing DIT pretty crappy book, USMLE secrets is a MUST buy it boosted my score for sure, boards and the wards was a good supplement for random stuff like derm and obgyn

Good luck to all, feel free to PM me if you have any questions

Ps for those of you afraid of being discouraged by nbme 7 I highly recommend taking the free exam on the nbme website. It had the abstracts and drug ads which were a great practice.

 

[wannabie]

Congratulations on your scores guys! Well done.

Now to ask the dumbest question ever asked on these forums: is the "free NBME test" the same thing as the practice questions on the FRED software file? Else, can someone point me where I can find the free test? Also, why does everyone who does the free questions get 89% right and never any other number?

 

[Kniveschau29]

Thanks! http://www.usmle.org/practice-materials/

Congratulations on your scores guys! Well done.

Now to ask the dumbest question ever asked on these forums: is the "free NBME test" the same thing as the practice questions on the FRED software file? Else, can someone point me where I can find the free test? Also, why does everyone who does the free questions get 89% right and never any other number?

hanks

 

[ISU]

I just received my Step 1 score. I passed but it was not the score I was hoping for. Anyone in the same situation that could help me prepare for Step 2. I need suggestions for a successful score. Thank you so much in advance! Is it possible to do clinicals / tests while studying for Step 2?

 

[SportsDOc2251]

Any ideas when scores will come out for those who took it 6/23?

 

[med20140]

Kaplan QBank (1st pass tutor mode): mid 60s
Kaplan Full Length Simulated Exam 1: 73%
UWorld QBank (1st pass random timed full blocks): 80%
NBME 4: 256
UWSA: 265
NBME 6: 267
NBME 7: 254

Waiting for my score to be released next Wednesday, what do you guys think? I thought the exam was more difficult than UWorld & NBMEs, I'm hoping to break a 250, but I'm not sure I can do that...

 

[res1cue]

permit link finally gone!

 

[UMN]

Mine too

 

[odemi]

What time of day do they post the scores?

 

[Kniveschau29]

Around 11am, they email you at like 10:40 do give you a heads up

 

[MRSAful Fate]

Just took the beast, feeling pretty wiped out. I had 74% on UWorld first pass and 247 on the UWSA. Hoping for >245. In the meantime I'm going to crack a Sierra Nevada Torpedo and watch UFC Fight Night on my couch, cheers!

 

[EaglesAllDay]

Just took the beast, feeling pretty wiped out. I had 74% on UWorld first pass and 247 on the UWSA. Hoping for >245. In the meantime I'm going to crack a Sierra Nevada Torpedo and watch UFC Fight Night on my couch, cheers!

Congrats on being done! I got the beast on Wed, how would you say the exam was in comparison to uworld and uwsa? Thanks

 

[MRSAful Fate]

Congrats on being done! I got the beast on Wed, how would you say the exam was in comparison to uworld and uwsa? Thanks

UWorld definitely prepared me for a lot of questions but there were certainly plenty that I was unsure about. It's hard to say until I get my score back. All I can say for sure is good luck!

 

[swimfastlane]

Any ideas when scores will come out for those who took it 6/23?

I took mine on 6/18 and got my score this past Wednesday so I wouldn't be surprised if you get yours back this upcoming Wednesday. Good luck dealing with the anxiety.

 

[Geekchick921]

Hey guys.

I didn't participate in this thread before, though I was active in the Step 1 version last year. I did really well on Step 1 (249) and I took Step 2 on Friday. I wasn't nose to the grindstone for 5 weeks likes I was for Step 1, obviously, but I did all of Uworld (I forget what my average was for the first pass through... I think low 70s) for Step 2 and felt pretty good going in, especially since most people will tell you Step 2's not as hard, in a way, and you will most likely do better than you did on Step 1 (I was constantly paranoid I would not).

I feel like I got steamrolled. There was just so much stuff on there that I feel like wasn't touched on in UWorld, you know? It's one thing to feel like you saw something before and just forgot it and another entirely to feel like you've never seen something before. I also got a question on Pap smear protocols for a woman in their 20s that had NO correct answer, based on the guidelines from 2012, which I assume is what they base those questions off now. I seriously cried to my husband when I got home. I felt good when I walked out of Step 1 and I did not feel that way at all on Friday. I hope I'm just freaking out for no reason, but I am scared to see my score right now.

Ugh.

 

[wannabie]

Hey guys.

I didn't participate in this thread before, though I was active in the Step 1 version last year. I did really well on Step 1 (249) and I took Step 2 on Friday. I wasn't nose to the grindstone for 5 weeks likes I was for Step 1, obviously, but I did all of Uworld (I forget what my average was for the first pass through... I think low 70s) for Step 2 and felt pretty good going in, especially since most people will tell you Step 2's not as hard, in a way, and you will most likely do better than you did on Step 1 (I was constantly paranoid I would not).

I feel like I got steamrolled. There was just so much stuff on there that I feel like wasn't touched on in UWorld, you know? It's one thing to feel like you saw something before and just forgot it and another entirely to feel like you've never seen something before. I also got a question on Pap smear protocols for a woman in their 20s that had NO correct answer, based on the guidelines from 2012, which I assume is what they base those questions off now. I seriously cried to my husband when I got home. I felt good when I walked out of Step 1 and I did not feel that way at all on Friday. I hope I'm just freaking out for no reason, but I am scared to see my score right now.

Ugh.

Hey you did really well on Step 1 and were doing well on UWorld. By all indications, you'll get a fine score! There were plenty of questions you got right--you just don't remember them!

Is there any advice you'd give people preparing for it? If that stuff wasn't covered in Uworld, where can it be learned?

 

[Geekchick921]

I can't articulate it. The questions were just weird to me. It's probably more accurate to say that there were a lot of questions that felt like minutiae and nitpicking to me for things that WERE covered in UWorld. Like physical exam findings I'm not sure I've ever seen described anywhere but I think I figured out based on the disease, or choosing the most common long-term sequelae of a disease that goes untreated when you always just see a list of what can happen eventually and three of the answers are are always near the top of the list. Many questions described things strangely and gave me pause about what I was reading/choosing. That said, there were also plenty of things that felt completely unfamiliar to me.

I don't have any suggestions about additional studying materials. I didn't buy Step 2 FA because I was told repeatedly UWorld would be adequate. I would go off what other people have said in this thread.

I'm sorry. I'm probably just being a spaz. As I said, I've been paranoid that my score would drop and make my Step 1 look like a fluke and right now I'm worried that's actually what's going to happen.

 

[puffsea]

Hi Guys,,I have always been a silent reader of this frum ,,mostly during the last few weeks when I was desperately waiting for my score.so I promised myself to share my experience after getting the score..
I am an IMG and took my step 1 about 1 year ago,after that I was having a tough time due to some personal problems and I could get back to face step 2 after a while..my score in step 1 was just average and as I am going to apply for internal med. I knew that I had to come up with sth better in step 2 ..and now about my preparation:
7 months ,but only 6 months of dedicated studytime. I went through all the just kaplans once..master the boards for step 2 twice(only for internal medicine). after studying each book I went through the UWORLD questions for that topic ,time mode. I started with the 59% and made it to the average of 75% till the end of each topic.I was also taking notes while doing the tests ,so it was really time consuming but very helpful. then for the second round I was just going through the marked questions( I had marked about 60-65%) of the questions! when I was doing the questions I tried to stay focused on the parts of the books which were related to the UWORLD questions. I took the NBME 6 and I got a score above 250 the month before the exam but again due to some personal issues I couldn`t get a good use of the last 30 days ..anyway ,I took the test on May and now the test day:
I did n`t sleep the night before ...literally I did n`t sleep even for a minute!! I wasn`t stressed the much ,,but I had such a horrible insomnia that prevented me from sleeping ..for all you there having your tests in future,,please use whatever method you know to be relaxed and get a good full night of sleep.
I started my test late due to some technical problems in the prometric center...I freaked out..what was going to happen next?
finally I started and oh my God: my first block was super hard..many quality of care,health maintenance..safety questions..and of course many images which was predictable..in the middle of the forst block again the computers all got locked! the screen was frozen ..technical problems..I got so nervous and wondering if it I am running out of time for it ! after 20 minutes of stress when i was about to pass out there ,they fixed the computers and I was able to continue from my last questions and they assured me that my other questions are still there!!!! anyway,,nothing else happened till the end of the test..overall I got sth about 4 or 5 drug ads and 2 research studies!!I think about 16-17 questions...I was saving them as the last questions and unfortunately I was always running out of time and I had to make a guess for most of them.the last 2 blocks felt very difficult and I was so exhausted that I think everything could feel the same way to me ..I just wanted to get out of that center,no matter how I performed.
about the test materials: I think for internal medicine UWORLD and Master the Boards were good,still there were some questions that I had no idea about them and I am sure that there was no clue in UWORLD,nor in MTB !!! so for those questions someone needs another source!
for PED: Kaplan and UWORLD were good enough..
for OBGYN: for the questions that I got, Kaplan even worked better than UWORLD ,and i cannot imagine answering those questions without it.
for Psych: UWORLD was good,,but one time review of Kaplan helps too,,or any psych book you have.
for bistatistic and Epi : Kaplan is good enough along with UWORLD ...the questions are prteey much straight forward.
for the last few weeks I was suffering so bad because I thought I would fail this exam! no joke! I am not one of those people who just pretend they did bad and they turn out getting a 260! during the exam I marked about 14 questions in each block for which I was so uncertain about the answer and later i found out that I took many of the questions wrong which I could relate to the high level of stress I had and all the drama with the test center...
I got my test result today:248
for all of you there who are freaked out by the posts from the people getting 260 who say oh,,it wasn`t hard,,we had 15 minutes extra time for each block..or I just studied 6 weeks and got a 250!!! don`t let them discourage you or stress you out! you will be fine...I am the one who had a miserable time for 3 weeks!! you don`t need to do UWORLD 3 times or FA 100 times!!!
what I have learned is that we are very different in our study method,,test taking method ,etc. so if someone needs to do UWORLD 3 times you may need 2 times!! for someone Crush works,,for me MTB !! or some people are fast readers,and some others are not..and the fact that your classmate said she/he had 10 min extra time on the exam doesn`t mean that they did better than you you should believe in yourself and God will be with you .

hey sara.first congratulations on your wonderful score.I too am an IMG.I got a pretty poor score on step 1.Just a sloppy 213....I had multiple things going on just before my exams and to be honest I shouldn't have delayed taking it as my brain was starting to lose the information it had gathered.....Anyways I really need to score well on step 2.I'm interested in family med/int med.I'm much better at clinical stuff then biochem and genetics.I wanted to know realistically how much time should I devote for taking this exam?how many hours should I put in everyday?and is it possible to get a good score with a step 1 score of 213?

 

[ron2006]

So here goes my experience. Very happy considering I walked out feeling like I was brutally beaten on the street.

UWorld Average: 76%
Uworld self assessment: 244
Free USMLE (on nbme website): 89%
Nbme 4: 252
Nbme 6: 241
Real deal: 251

I'm a DO student still awaiting COMLEX. I thought the following was helpful: Step up to medicine (definitely read during IM rotation), step up to step 2 I did along with DIT don't use if not doing DIT pretty crappy book, USMLE secrets is a MUST buy it boosted my score for sure, boards and the wards was a good supplement for random stuff like derm and obgyn

Good luck to all, feel free to PM me if you have any questions

Ps for those of you afraid of being discouraged by nbme 7 I highly recommend taking the free exam on the nbme website. It had the abstracts and drug ads which were a great practice.

Congrats on your score ! May I know many days before the exam day did u take your assessments & the Free USMLE ?

 

[ron2006]

Kaplan QBank (1st pass tutor mode): mid 60s
Kaplan Full Length Simulated Exam 1: 73%
UWorld QBank (1st pass random timed full blocks): 80%
NBME 4: 256
UWSA: 265
NBME 6: 267
NBME 7: 254

Waiting for my score to be released next Wednesday, what do you guys think? I thought the exam was more difficult than UWorld & NBMEs, I'm hoping to break a 250, but I'm not sure I can do that...

Your assessment scores are amazing ! I am sure you will score 260+.
How many days before the exam day did u take your assessments ? Did you take the Free USMLE qs (FRED) ?
Good Luck !

 

[Student DO c]

.

 

[med20140]

Your assessment scores are amazing ! I am sure you will score 260+.
How many days before the exam day did u take your assessments ? Did you take the Free USMLE qs (FRED) ?
Good Luck !

Thank you, unfortunately I didn't feel that way walking out of the exam, and am doubting myself more and more each day lol. I took all my practice assessments the last 2.5 weeks before the exam. I didn't take the FRED.

 

[MEN2C]

I can't articulate it. The questions were just weird to me. It's probably more accurate to say that there were a lot of questions that felt like minutiae and nitpicking to me for things that WERE covered in UWorld. Like physical exam findings I'm not sure I've ever seen described anywhere but I think I figured out based on the disease, or choosing the most common long-term sequelae of a disease that goes untreated when you always just see a list of what can happen eventually and three of the answers are are always near the top of the list. Many questions described things strangely and gave me pause about what I was reading/choosing. That said, there were also plenty of things that felt completely unfamiliar to me.

I don't have any suggestions about additional studying materials. I didn't buy Step 2 FA because I was told repeatedly UWorld would be adequate. I would go off what other people have said in this thread.

I'm sorry. I'm probably just being a spaz. As I said, I've been paranoid that my score would drop and make my Step 1 look like a fluke and right now I'm worried that's actually what's going to happen.

Remember guys, a significant part of the test consists of test questions. Many of those will never make it precicely for the reasons that it is 'minutiae' and 'nitpicking' that most med students would get wrong. People tend to remember those because you'll go 'why the hell are they asking me about the role of the abnormal expansion of SCA type 3 gene in Shy Drager Syndrome? What the hell is a shy drager and does it have anything to do with Khal Drogo?' You'll spend three minutes looking at it and end up stressed.

You don't remember the straightforward questions that asks you to differentiate between obstructive and restrictive lung disease because you got it in 30 seconds and moved on (or went back to the shy drager question again....)

 

[Benesyed]

Shy drager is PD with autonomic instability. It's in s2m

 

[Kniveschau29]

I took uworld self assessment about 2 months out, NBME 4 about 6 weeks out, NBME 6 about a month out and free USMLE about a week out

 

[MEN2C]

Shy drager is PD with autonomic instability. It's in s2m

 

[CaliAtenza]

Shy drager is PD with autonomic instability. It's in s2m

it's also in Uworld lol .

 

[dragon529]

****ted my pants when I saw shy drager and couldn't recall what it was... then wiki tells me it's aka multiple system atrophy (which is something I do know!).... things that sdn does to me sometimes >.>

 

[CaliAtenza]

****ted my pants when I saw shy drager and couldn't recall what it was... then wiki tells me it's aka multiple system atrophy (which is something I do know!).... things that sdn does to me sometimes >.>

haha yeah; that's the answer for shy-drager in Uworld (its in the neuro section). Even i had forgotten about shy-drager and i was initially clueless when i saw that question. I think i just guessed the right answer when it came up in the q bank.

 

[kayemm]

Taking the beast this week. Prep of UWORLD x2, secrets, and MTB 2/3

UWSA: 263
NBME 3: 258
NBME 4: 267
NBME 6: 273
NBME 7: 263

Sorta disappointed on nbme 7, felt the questions were super nebulous. Hope the real is exam is written better than that. Planning on just reviewing notes the last few days; it seems the questions I'm missing are mostly peds (development), OB junk, and psych randomness.

@ autumnwoods- Hey man, how was your score. I'm guessing its 265+.

 

[waitlist22]

Took it today. Was pretty much on par for what I expected. I always use all of the time on UWORLD blocks so I was definitely pressed for time and had to blind click a few questions. Questions are a bit longer than UWORLD which has been said before plus the added overthinking/double checking that comes with a test that actually matters. As for my impression of the test, walked out feeling decent enough, felt like taking UWORLD blocks most of the way through so that of course is your best resource. Had what I felt were 2 rough blocks and a couple of good blocks that I hope will even out to my average on UWORLD in the end.

About 60% of the test felt pretty straight forward, not a lot of distractors or crazy presentations, somewhat easy to narrow down the answers and feel pretty confident about one. I'd say about 25-30% were more complicated in that they were either loaded with extraneous information or that 3 different disease risk factors or symptoms were being described and you were expected to separate it all out in the one minute you have to spend on the question. 10% were not quite to the category of WTF questions but the diagnosis or condition was fairly readily apparent but some off the wall question about it was asked or some other ridiculous question or obscure biochemistry or disease I've never heard of. Seemed there were about 20% of questions that two answers were correct and it was difficult to make a decision which was "best".

Fair amount of biostats both within drug adds and study results and as stand alone questions. Straightforward questions if you know the equations and what each type of study is. Do yourself a favor and review this for practically guaranteed points. Sorry for the long post.

MTB2- got about 2/3 through it, didn't care much for the format and felt it may not have been detailed enough for what I wanted/needed
UWORLDx1- 75% correct first pass
UWSA- 256 1 week out
Step2- will update in 3-4 weeks when I get my score

 

[ddraper420]

Hello all, long time lurker. I wanted to give back to the forums.

Exam date: June 30th
Report date: 07/23

Studied for CK for about 8 weeks or so...on and off...during and coming off rotations.

Self-assessments:
I started with UWSA - 232,
then two weeks later did NBME 6 - 227
NBME free 150 - approx 85% correct
NBME 4 - 206 (wed before the exam) --> this killed my confidence and just made me completely amotivated. My eligibility was expiring on 06/30 so I just went ahead and took it.

Score: 243 it's not much by SDN standards but happiness for a mere mortal

Materials: MTB 2,3; Uworld
I highlighted the **** out of my MTB 2 and it looks like it went through the ringer. I did almost 97% of uworld during my third yr rotation and reset and did it again before this exam.

Exam experience:
Most of the answers felt very ambiguous to me, I could narrow down to 2 and then just picked one. I took breaks at the end of every block and punched my pancreas with purple drink, energy drink, gatorade and two PB&J sandwiches. At the end, I was just reading questions and picking simply because I was so out of it and was sure on the road to completely failing it and felt that my brain went on vacation and I was just rushing to finish. Didn't really run out of time but had close calls with one or two blocks with only a few sec remaining.

 

[Shakeys]

UWorld SelfAssessment (04/16/14): 219
NBME 4 (05/04/14): 380 --> 212
NBME 6 (06/01/14): 430 --> 223
NBME Free 150 (6/15/14): 82% --> 240?
Uworld 1st Pass: 63%
Uworld 2nd Pass: 75% --> 262
NBME 7 (6/22/14): 244

Real Deal Score (7/3/14): 253

Study Methods:
I studied hard for each Shelf exam using Kaplan videos & notes, First Aid, Case Files, MKSAP, some MTB, Miscellaneous study material and going through UWorld questions. For my dedicated Step studying I did it during 5 weeks of easy electives and did DIT with Step Up, along with First Aid, some MTB, re-did UWorld and did some UslmeRx. There was a lot of miscellaneous study material too. Studied all day every day outside my elective, hardly slept or ate. Had twice weekly study groups and a wall of white boards for repetition.

I just hope I can be a motivation to someone who did NOT do well on Step 1. I absolutely BOMBED Step 1 with a 198 (yeah...embarrassing), but I managed to learn how to study well for myself.

 

[res1cue]

Thanks though it did not feel like I got much of anything during this exam. Time is everything. I am a very very fast test taker, NBME's I had about 25 min left per section. I was down to about 10 min/ section on real thing leftover. Worst is the drug ads/abstracts. There were 2 sections in which I had neither. There were also 2 sections where I had 2. Each was 2-3 questions, so its quite a bit of time to get through them



Thanks man, I know exactly how you feel now. It was a really frustrating exam. The worst part of it was how each time I wasn't sure about the answer to something (which was >50% of the test), I wouldn't know where to find that information in any of the books I had. I felt like there were a shockingly few amount of questions that were like "what is the next best step in management" and a huge amount of step 1 type questions. Like what chromosome is this disease on?

It really is not like Uworld and not like the NBME's at all.. I seriously thought I was taking the wrong test multiple times. My theory is that too many people are using the same sources (like Uworld) and so they have to go out of their way to ask obscure stuff that not everybody will know. My test was very light on OB/GYN, but there were a lot of really tough psych questions.

For those that haven't taken it, really look at psych alot, because there were some very very tricky ones. way harder than U world.

There was only one set that you cannot change your answer on the first one (and like an idiot i got that wrong, was #2 on block 1, so that was not a good way to start the exam).

BTW the "next best step in management" were mostly gimmes, part of the reason why I felt like it just plain wasn't a good representation of what I should have learned on rotations.

Thing is also, I had a bad step 1 experience, so I was prepared to feel crappy coming out of it (esp after talking to autmnwoods and one of my buddies who recently took it) but it was still surprising how frustrating it was. I just pray that I wont do worse than step 1 so I don't look like I dont have good clinical common sense.

Worst part of it all is I could have taken it a month ago and it wouldn't have made a difference. The gimme's are super easy but they are rare. Everything else is a guess anyways. Could have been goofing off instead of killing myself trying to learn every fact in Uworld that isn't tested on.

I really gained alot from SDN so now its time to give back. Here has been my study experience:
Uworld 1st pass during third year rotations -69% cumulative

Shelves - all just a few pts above average (except ob which was a few pts below average)
Started really studying 2 months out during family med, then had 4 weeks dedicated studying, secrets x 3, FA x 1, read some other peoples notes that were floating around online, but no reading can equate to doing questions IMO. Started yale-g, but that book was so infuriating that i stopped. Same with MTB

Bulk of my studying was questions, almost every day doing full 8 blocks of questions, with reviewing answers in evening, burning through a qbank every week
Testweapon ~ 70%, cant remember exactly
Combank ~70%, cant remember exactly
Kaplan question book ~ 80%
FA Q&A ~ 80%
Usmlerx ~ 85%, 269 predicted
Kaplan qbank ~ 70%
Uworld second pass - 83%
Nbme7 - 248 8 days out
Nbme6 - 277 6 days out
Free150 - 92% 4 days out
Uwsa - 265/800 3 days out
Nbme4 - 265 2 days out
Test day: See above

Step 2CK: 265+
Usmle step 1 ~ 250

all of the predictors were pretty close except NBME6

Note that many other SDN posters get better scores with less questions, but I just rather do questions than sit around reading all day. Only thing I really read was Secrets, and that was only bc it fit into my white coat pocket so I can read it during rotations.