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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[Benesyed]

Took it today.

My uworld after reset had a 94%tile (still have about 300 questions left) done on random
Took 4 forms, 2, 6, and 7 (250s) and then form 4 Saturday 265

My thoughts:
More challenging than NBME but not the level of despair I had for step 1 (ended with a 246 there). I think a lot of it is psychological. I found myself rereading gimme questions just to make sure i didn't miss something on my gut answer. I normally never do that. Whatever I think it is I go with. That being said I had roughly 7-15 minutes to look over questions except one block where I lingered.

Big benefit came from not lingering after I did on an early block. Each additional minute on one question costs you valuable thinking time on all the test!

I will post my score when I get it 😀

Step 2 CK actual score: 265+

Good luck to the rest of you guys!!

 

[Melkor]

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.

Awesome score Res1cue!

 

[Doc2b82]

Res1cue is there any one qbank you liked more than the others? You did a lot of questions but I just dont have that kind of time but I had been thinking about adding another just to get variety and see questions from a different source. Any that you would recommend?

 

[res1cue]

Thanks Melkor!

Doc2b82: Uworld is always the best, obviously, although I think the benefit it gives is diminishing every year, if I were to rank them, it would be

1) Uworld
2) USMLErx
3) combank/testweapon/Kaplan
4) usmleasy - bought it , tried for one day, decided I hated it, and got a full refund fortunately (good customer service)

Kaplan I hated, and it was really buggy, and there was tons of minutia and also poorly worded questions, so I hated it so much while doing it, but turned out to be good practice for exam because the real thing is equally infuriating. Uworld questions may be difficult, but there is a clear thought process that you can figure out if you know the information. Kaplan and real thing, you have an easy question with 5 bad answer choices to pick from. I don't think Kaplan netted me any points but if you want to see what its like taking the real thing, and wanting to tear your hair out, give it a whirl.

Short answer: USMLErx is my recommendation. Easier than Uworld but similar

 

[Doc2b82]

thanks so much. hopefully i can do as well as you did. enjoy your success

 

[lordman]

Thanks Melkor!

Doc2b82: Uworld is always the best, obviously, although I think the benefit it gives is diminishing every year, if I were to rank them, it would be

1) Uworld
2) USMLErx
3) combank/testweapon/Kaplan
4) usmleasy - bought it , tried for one day, decided I hated it, and got a full refund fortunately (good customer service)

Kaplan I hated, and it was really buggy, and there was tons of minutia and also poorly worded questions, so I hated it so much while doing it, but turned out to be good practice for exam because the real thing is equally infuriating. Uworld questions may be difficult, but there is a clear thought process that you can figure out if you know the information. Kaplan and real thing, you have an easy question with 5 bad answer choices to pick from. I don't think Kaplan netted me any points but if you want to see what its like taking the real thing, and wanting to tear your hair out, give it a whirl.

Short answer: USMLErx is my recommendation. Easier than Uworld but similar

Congrats rescue. In retrospective, do you think you had a great base of knowledge before you started doing questions? I am confused between go with questions or cram through MTBs/ Kaplans in order to refresh my clinical knowledge (I have been away from rotations because two research years).
Do you think FA was necessary?
Also, what edition of Secrets you used?4th or 3rd? I have the 3rd edition
Did you do questions randomly or subject wise?
Lastly, Did you take notes heavily and/or searched other resources like uptodate or rebiew books while doing questions?

Congrats again!

 

[res1cue]

Congrats rescue. In retrospective, do you think you had a great base of knowledge before you started doing questions? I am confused between go with questions or cram through MTBs/ Kaplans in order to refresh my clinical knowledge (I have been away from rotations because two research years).
Do you think FA was necessary?
Also, what edition of Secrets you used?4th or 3rd? I have the 3rd edition
Did you do questions randomly or subject wise?
Lastly, Did you take notes heavily and/or searched other resources like uptodate or rebiew books while doing questions?

Congrats again!

Thanks lordman, My advice is to do more questions rather than read, even if you have been away for a while. Don't think FA is necessary, and probably equivocal to MTB or SUS2.. maybe a good place to start, but by no means sufficient on its own.

I used 4th edition, never saw 3rd, so cant say as to how different they are

I did take notes on any question I missed or anything I felt like was not obvious, and I only used uptodate/other resources when I felt like there was a discrepancy between 2 sources or something.

 

[kayemm]

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.

That's an amazing score Res1cue. I felt that I grossly underachieved in step 1 (253) which was my own miatake of underestimating the exam too much while preparing. So this time I've prepared better than before.
UWSA 265/800
NBME 4 offline got 91% correct.
Fred 150 was stupidly low cuz of my exam related stress insomnia this time- 88% (and I say stupidly bcz I was drowsy enough to answer a question of sudden painless vision loss as ARMD)
Kaplan Qbook multiple tests ~82%

I'm taking my exam on 25th. Would love to get any last day/minute useful advice from you.

The stakes are too high for me this time. Really wanna do well.
PS. I'm doing ok in regards to the timing of the block. Mostly feel short of it.
Thanks and Congrats man!

 

[Geekchick921]

That's an amazing score Res1cue. I felt that I grossly underachieved in step 1 (253) which was my own miatake of underestimating the exam too much while preparing. So this time I've prepared better than before.
UWSA 265/800
NBME 4 offline got 91% correct.
Fred 150 was stupidly low cuz of my exam related stress insomnia this time- 88% (and I say stupidly bcz I was drowsy enough to answer a question of sudden painless vision loss as ARMD)
Kaplan Qbook multiple tests ~82%

I'm taking my exam on 25th. Would love to get any last day/minute useful advice from you.

The stakes are too high for me this time. Really wanna do well.
PS. I'm doing ok in regards to the timing of the block. Mostly feel short of it.
Thanks and Congrats man!

Is this a typo?

 

[kayemm]

Is this a typo?

I didn't mean for it to sound like that but considering the amount of hard work and effort that I had put in during my med school clearly makes that score look like an underachievement. I just hope that this score compensates for the last one.
PS. SDN anyways has atleast a Mean of 260..lol.

 

[DrDrummer]

Did everyone who got a score back today get an e-mail earlier in the day / have their permit disappear beforehand? Took my test on 7/5, wondering which week's release date I fall into.

 

[res1cue]

That's an amazing score Res1cue. I felt that I grossly underachieved in step 1 (253) which was my own miatake of underestimating the exam too much while preparing. So this time I've prepared better than before.
UWSA 265/800
NBME 4 offline got 91% correct.
Fred 150 was stupidly low cuz of my exam related stress insomnia this time- 88% (and I say stupidly bcz I was drowsy enough to answer a question of sudden painless vision loss as ARMD)
Kaplan Qbook multiple tests ~82%

I'm taking my exam on 25th. Would love to get any last day/minute useful advice from you.

The stakes are too high for me this time. Really wanna do well.
PS. I'm doing ok in regards to the timing of the block. Mostly feel short of it.
Thanks and Congrats man!

PM'd you



Dr. Drummer, permit link disappeared last fri, got email in morning saying scores available at 11 EST

 

[Vexare]

Thanks Melkor!

Doc2b82: Uworld is always the best, obviously, although I think the benefit it gives is diminishing every year, if I were to rank them, it would be

1) Uworld
2) USMLErx
3) combank/testweapon/Kaplan
4) usmleasy - bought it , tried for one day, decided I hated it, and got a full refund fortunately (good customer service)

Kaplan I hated, and it was really buggy, and there was tons of minutia and also poorly worded questions, so I hated it so much while doing it, but turned out to be good practice for exam because the real thing is equally infuriating. Uworld questions may be difficult, but there is a clear thought process that you can figure out if you know the information. Kaplan and real thing, you have an easy question with 5 bad answer choices to pick from. I don't think Kaplan netted me any points but if you want to see what its like taking the real thing, and wanting to tear your hair out, give it a whirl.

Short answer: USMLErx is my recommendation. Easier than Uworld but similar

Would you recommend Kaplan and/or USMLERx during the year in addition to UWorld? Like you, I learn best by doing questions (did all 3 qbanks for step 1) and really couldn't be bothered with reading 2-3 primary sources like some people do during rotations. Would supplementing with qbanks and other rotation-specific question books be worthwhile preparation during 3rd year?

 

[Dude Man Bro Man]

Recently received my score.

Studied using only UWorld Q-bank, done over the course of about 3 months while on rotations. Only went through the bank once, plus repeated about 200 flagged questions the week before my exam.

UW Qbank - 69%
UWSA #1 (2 days before exam) - 252
Real exam - 263

Good luck everyone!

 

[Hopeful Dr]

Recently received my score.

Studied using only UWorld Q-bank, done over the course of about 3 months while on rotations. Only went through the bank once, plus repeated about 200 flagged questions the week before my exam.

UW Qbank - 69%
UWSA #1 (2 days before exam) - 252
Real exam - 263

Good luck everyone!

What was your step 1?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[deleted550937]

Step 2 CK score: 263.
Just did UW 1.5x for twelve days after 3rd year ended, as I was pressed for time with my first away rotation looming. I had already done UW once during M3 year.
Step 1: 261
M3 Shelf exams >= 95%

Can't add much more advice than know U-world. I'm sure more book reading could have helped, I just didn't have time for it. Also would recommend a thorough biostats review.

 

[enterthepanda]

I did not so great on Step 1, so I knew I had to do good on Step 2, but even so, I hated studying. Took a month off, tried to get in 6 good hours a day of reading Step Up and Secrets, and doing UWorld, scoring in the 70s-80s. Don't know how I wasted the other hours in the day. Felt totally slammed by the test, and was so miserable and upset that I just wanted to leave, so I blew through it in 5hrs. Never expected to get more than 230s-240s. Today, was scared of checking score...finally looked, 258. Now I feel like an idiot for being so lazy and rushing through the test; if I had slowed down and studied a few extra hours a day, I might have been able to do 260s, 270s. So if you are still studying, and are tired and thinking of taking a break, push through! Just think how dumb you'd feel if you didn't give it your all! You are smarter than you think!

 

[Benesyed]

I did not so great on Step 1, so I knew I had to do good on Step 2, but even so, I hated studying. Took a month off, tried to get in 6 good hours a day of reading Step Up and Secrets, and doing UWorld, scoring in the 70s-80s. Don't know how I wasted the other hours in the day. Felt totally slammed by the test, and was so miserable and upset that I just wanted to leave, so I blew through it in 5hrs. Never expected to get more than 230s-240s. Today, was scared of checking score...finally looked, 258. Now I feel like an idiot for being so lazy and rushing through the test; if I had slowed down and studied a few extra hours a day, I might have been able to do 260s, 270s. So if you are still studying, and are tired and thinking of taking a break, push through! Just think how dumb you'd feel if you didn't give it your all! You are smarter than you think!

I agree with the overall sentiment but take breaks here and there so that when you do study, it is focused. Worked out very well for me 😀

 

[Sugar87]

Got my score back today, took it June 30th.

Step 1 score: 264
Step 2 ck score: 270

UWSA: 265
Nbme 4: 275
Nbme 6: 269
Nbme 7: 254

3rd year shelf exams: scaled scores >90%

I studied for 3 weeks, about 8-10 hours a day. I did UWorld twice, once during my third year clerkships, and once during my study time, read the explanations thoroughly, I did about 3 blocks per day and went through the explanations. The only book I used was USMLE secrets which I really read about 3-4 days before my exam to cram in the details. I used it on and off during M3 year for random topics, the only biostatistics I had was from secrets. This exam is such a wild card in my opinion. On my score report, a lot of my bars were without asterisk but somehow still made a good score. I felt horrible coming out of the test and started second guessing myself about the few resources I used. I think if you have a solid background from your shelf exams that helps a lot. I was pretty burnt out at this point in the year, I actually ended up taking the entire weekend off before my exam and I think that helped calm my nerves.

Even if you think you did bad, you probably did way better than you think 🙂

 

[tripwm]

Very similar story to you Sugar87 with a lower Step 1 score (250s). Amazing scores by the way!

Here are my scores from memory:

Nbme 2: 249 (prior to Psych/ObGyn so ~3 months before studying)
Nbme 6: 269 2 week prior
Nbme 7: 251 1 week prior (crapped my pants)
UWSA: 265 1 week prior
Nbme 4: 271 3 days prior

Third year: 95+% on all NBMEs, so the 2 digit score 90+ on all but Family Med.

Walked out of Step2CK, felt like crap and drank self to oblivion. Had decided to take CK without taking any time off, and simply studying through ObGyn and Psych. Reread SUTM, MTB, then 1xUWorld with extensive notes and Secrets 3 days before.

Tested on July 5th, will update next Wed….

 

[Lifeislove]

Hello all! For all the 250 pluses I am just curious as to how many questions ppl come out thinking they got wrong? Trying to see if my dreams are shattered with about 50 wrong waiting on results.

 

[autumnwoods1]

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.

What the hell did I just step out of??

That wasn't anything like anything I've ever taken before.

Glad to see all the test prep I did was worthless. Seriously.

Can't remember my login, so made a new account.


Finally got my score. Ended up doing fine. NMBE 4 was most accurate. What a relief.

Advice: forget MTB 2/3, use 98% uworld and 2% secrets. Nothing else. There is so much randomness you simply cannot prepare for on the exam, just do your best and move on (you will understand when you take it). Good luck all.

 

[EaglesAllDay]

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.

Exactly how I felt coming out of this thing yesterday. I'm just hoping to pass at this stage to be honest. Gonna be a long long wait.

 

[autumnwoods1]

Hello all! For all the 250 pluses I am just curious as to how many questions ppl come out thinking they got wrong? Trying to see if my dreams are shattered with about 50 wrong waiting on results.

Unlike step 1, that's harder to say here. There are so many questions where you simply do not know what the right answer is, even after the fact. I'm convinced there are quality points for certain questions, or just a very large number of experimental.

 

[Wolverines83]

Took it June 24th. Used uworld and secrets for about two and a half weeks. I read through secrets throughout the year, studied hard for shelf exams then reread secrets before starting uworld. Did only about 70% of u world getting anywhere from 70-80% right. Rather than try to finish it, I decided to redo marked questions to ensure I got the information solidified.

Nbme 4 two days before test said 256, got 253. If I could do it over again I would not have done that reread of secrets, I would have gone straight 100% uworld but I'm happy enough with my score. Definitely take nbme 4!!

EDIT: NBME 4 had questions that were waaaay easier than those on the actual Step 2 exam but they must have adjusted the scoring accordingly because it's still a very good predictor. If you do 4 and find yourself sweating during the real thing, don't worry; the prediction is still accurate

 

[Geekchick921]

Can't remember my login, so made a new account.


Finally got my score. Ended up doing fine. NMBE 4 was most accurate. What a relief.

Advice: forget MTB 2/3, use 98% uworld and 2% secrets. Nothing else. There is so much randomness you simply cannot prepare for on the exam, just do your best and move on (you will understand when you take it). Good luck all.

That you also felt that way after walking out of the test gives me hope. Congratulations on a great score!

 

[Dude Man Bro Man]

What was your step 1?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

245

 

[wannabie]

Can't remember my login, so made a new account.


Finally got my score. Ended up doing fine. NMBE 4 was most accurate. What a relief.

Advice: forget MTB 2/3, use 98% uworld and 2% secrets. Nothing else. There is so much randomness you simply cannot prepare for on the exam, just do your best and move on (you will understand when you take it). Good luck all.

All the prep you did was worthless? I take my exam on Monday. ALL THE PREP YOU DID WAS WORTHLESS? Brb, panic attack.

 

[res1cue]

Would you recommend Kaplan and/or USMLERx during the year in addition to UWorld? Like you, I learn best by doing questions (did all 3 qbanks for step 1) and really couldn't be bothered with reading 2-3 primary sources like some people do during rotations. Would supplementing with qbanks and other rotation-specific question books be worthwhile preparation during 3rd year?

I don't think its necessary for during the year, and you probably wont have time with it. For shelves, you are better off finding a good book and doing uworld, and save Kaplan/usmlerx for closer to step 2 study. For subject specific you could try mksap or acog questions, but I never did.


Congrats on some great scores you guys have been getting, esp autumnwoods, I know you were feeling particularly rundown afterwards.

 

[Bagheera]

Damn you guys are killing it!! making us 240s and 250s guys feel like crap lol.. congrats everyone

 

[CaliAtenza]

Man i hope i get 240+, i have a subpar Step 1 that i need to make up for 🙁

 

[wannabie]

Yeah! Good job guys! It's good to see hard work pay off. The one thing that strikes me about most of you is that your baseline starting knowledge was solid.

 

[offpiste909]

Hello all! For all the 250 pluses I am just curious as to how many questions ppl come out thinking they got wrong? Trying to see if my dreams are shattered with about 50 wrong waiting on results.

I would also like to know the answer of this question.

 

[Doc2b82]

I want to know how can you possibly know how many questions you got wrong or right? Its a 9 hour exam I cant even tell my right from my left once I am out of the exam let alone figure out how many questions I got wrong or right.

Anyways as far as I know its not a simple percentage/percentile and noone really knows exactly how the score is calculated.

 

[painmd87]

EDIT: NBME 4 had questions that were waaaay easier than those on the actual Step 2 exam but they must have adjusted the scoring accordingly because it's still a very good predictor. If you do 4 and find yourself sweating during the real thing, don't worry; the prediction is still accurate

I'm not disagreeing with you, but for anyone in the future that takes NBME 4 and panics, then searches and comes upon this thread:
NBME 4 (6/11/14): 212 (39 questions wrong, 79%, mass panic in my head)
NBME 6 (6/16/14): 248 (24 questions wrong, mass relief)
Step 2 (6/23/14): 257

NBME 4 managed to underpredict my score by > 40 points.

Also, don't panic. It doesn't help.

 

[CaliAtenza]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but for anyone in the future that takes NBME 4 and panics, then searches and comes upon this thread:
NBME 4 (6/11/14): 212 (39 questions wrong, 79%, mass panic in my head)
NBME 6 (6/16/14): 248 (24 questions wrong, mass relief)
Step 2 (6/23/14): 257

NBME 4 managed to underpredict my score by > 40 points.

Also, don't panic. It doesn't help.

So the real exam; how was it compared to the NBMEs?

 

[lordman]

Congrats to all those passed the beast and received great scores. I would like to ask if secrets 4th edition is different than the 3rd one? I own the third edition but would like to know if both are same or I need to buy the 4th edition (> $40)

 

[wannabie]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but for anyone in the future that takes NBME 4 and panics, then searches and comes upon this thread:
NBME 4 (6/11/14): 212 (39 questions wrong, 79%, mass panic in my head)
NBME 6 (6/16/14): 248 (24 questions wrong, mass relief)
Step 2 (6/23/14): 257

NBME 4 managed to underpredict my score by > 40 points.

Also, don't panic. It doesn't help.

Hey thanks for sharing--I'm in that exact position. Congrats on your score!

 

[Benesyed]

11 days is a lot of time to improve. I'd bet three were small mistakes here and there that added up on form 4

 

[Kniveschau29]

Can anyone comment on the scoring? I received a 251 which I thought is a very good score however the average was 238 with a SD of 19. Any idea what to make of this. Do you need to score above a 270 now?

 

[Bagheera]

Can anyone comment on the scoring? I received a 251 which I thought is a very good score however the average was 238 with a SD of 19. Any idea what to make of this. Do you need to score above a 270 now?

251 is a very good score. For all specialities for step 2ck, I think 253 was the highest average for plastics, so with a 251, no doors are really closed unless you are applying to high end radiology programs in california or the like where most of the applicants have a 260 or higher.

 

[VivaLaVida]

NBME 6 2.5 weeks out: 227 (probably not the best testing environment, finished clinic at 4 then started the exam)
USWA 1 2 weeks out: 244
NBME 4 1 week out: 258

step 2 ck: 265+

Step 1: 250+

I did some Uworld through 3rd year especially OBG and Surgery but had not touched Internal med. I did do well on my shelf exams especially OBG and surgery. I had one week of vacation that I used to study, other than that I studied in the evenings during my last rotation (4 weeks). I did the second pass of Uworld basically in the last 2.5 weeks. Definitely the best resource out there. I used First Aid basically solely to annotate into because if I don't annotate I feel I don't retain the information. I read a couple of first aid chapters to strengthen some weaker areas (Neuro, MSK). I skimmed a few chapters of Step 2 secrets again of weaker areas. Other thing that helped me was being fresh off of my psych rotation so that was one of my highest scoring areas (otherwise would have been my lowest probably!)

Notes on the exam: Felt I moved a little slower than Uworld but did have plenty of time. The drug ads were like Uworld, definitely mark and save for end of block. WAY more biostats than I anticipated, and deeper too although First Aid would be sufficient. There are absolutely "gimmes" on this test, but plenty more where I felt I was choosing between two "okay" answers...or the answer I expected wasn't a choice. I think the best prep you can do is have a very solid, involved third year with active patient management and doing well on shelf exams. Yes Uworld is the best sole resource, however I feel that many of these questions relied on sort of a "gut feeling" about what was the right thing to do.


Edit: Also I felt like the test went horribly for me. The few questions I could recall, I looked up at home and got them all wrong. Every single one. Was very convinced I had done worse than Step 1. Clearly I did not, so if you also feel horrible leaving, you probably did fine.

 

[microshar88]

Whats the free 150 you guys are talkin about? good luck to all who took it! 🙂

 

[normtheniner]

Did anyone's permit disappear? I took my test 7/10 and permit is still up. Does it usually disappear the Monday before??

 

[painmd87]

So the real exam; how was it compared to the NBMEs?

Actual test was a lot more random and broad, but it had more softball questions.

 

[CaliAtenza]

Actual test was a lot more random and broad, but it had more softball questions.

ah okay...yeah its the random part that tends to throw me off sometimes.

 

[Amemus]

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.

Awesome! What resources did you find most helpful? Did you think DIT and Rx were worth it?

 

[ERDoc2b2014]

Hi All,

I'm an IMG, did my all my rotations at foreign hospitals affiliated with my school, graduated this spring and returned to the US. I have a fair amount of US clinical experience from being back here for a few months in a year on breaks, and pre-med school work as a tech and scribe. I jumped right into a Kaplan 6 week live lecture after graduation and was able to get a good comprehensive review of topics that I wasn't taught well at school, picked up some minutiae and thought I had a fair shot of being able to score well on CK. Here's my prep and progress so far, hoping that you all would be able to shed some light on what I have to do to get out of my plateau phase -

-I've been through Kaplan lecture notes twice, one full pass during lectures, and one pass through important points afterwards
-Did some of Kaplan QBank but didn't like it much, still have access for a few more weeks, might try to use it just for exposure to more questions (if quantity>quality matters)
-Finished a full pass through UWorld with an average of 55-60% within 5 weeks, annotating through MTB and using step up to medicine as a supplement as/where needed
-7/13/14 - NBME 7 - 191 - was crushed, as I had basically worked exclusively on this for ~4 months and still didn't come within passing range. I did a thorough review through my extended feedback and found that a lot of questions I got wrong by simply second guessing myself when having to narrow down to 2 choices and ending up picking the wrong one - This worries me because I can't really figure out if it's because I'm not thoroughly fluent in those topics, or I'm mind gaming/sabotaging myself through test anxiety.
-I'm making my second pass through UWorld now, going through explanations with a fine tooth comb, and hoping for a bump in my scores on serial NBMEs over the next few weeks - I scheduled to take the test on 9/9 - I hope that's enough time. I've found MTB only semi useful, I think I'm just keeping it around as a comfort measure since it's certainly no FA for step 1.

In reference to someone who posted above, saying that there's a lot of "gut feeling" involved in answering the questions on the real test - I now have this anxiety that maybe my gut feeling isn't fine tuned enough and that just sticking to UWorld might only fetch me a score somewhere around or below average. Thoughts?

 

[wannabie]

Hi All,

I'm an IMG, did my all my rotations at foreign hospitals affiliated with my school, graduated this spring and returned to the US. I have a fair amount of US clinical experience from being back here for a few months in a year on breaks, and pre-med school work as a tech and scribe. I jumped right into a Kaplan 6 week live lecture after graduation and was able to get a good comprehensive review of topics that I wasn't taught well at school, picked up some minutiae and thought I had a fair shot of being able to score well on CK. Here's my prep and progress so far, hoping that you all would be able to shed some light on what I have to do to get out of my plateau phase -

-I've been through Kaplan lecture notes twice, one full pass during lectures, and one pass through important points afterwards
-Did some of Kaplan QBank but didn't like it much, still have access for a few more weeks, might try to use it just for exposure to more questions (if quantity>quality matters)
-Finished a full pass through UWorld with an average of 55-60% within 5 weeks, annotating through MTB and using step up to medicine as a supplement as/where needed
-7/13/14 - NBME 7 - 191 - was crushed, as I had basically worked exclusively on this for ~4 months and still didn't come within passing range. I did a thorough review through my extended feedback and found that a lot of questions I got wrong by simply second guessing myself when having to narrow down to 2 choices and ending up picking the wrong one - This worries me because I can't really figure out if it's because I'm not thoroughly fluent in those topics, or I'm mind gaming/sabotaging myself through test anxiety.
-I'm making my second pass through UWorld now, going through explanations with a fine tooth comb, and hoping for a bump in my scores on serial NBMEs over the next few weeks - I scheduled to take the test on 9/9 - I hope that's enough time. I've found MTB only semi useful, I think I'm just keeping it around as a comfort measure since it's certainly no FA for step 1.

In reference to someone who posted above, saying that there's a lot of "gut feeling" involved in answering the questions on the real test - I now have this anxiety that maybe my gut feeling isn't fine tuned enough and that just sticking to UWorld might only fetch me a score somewhere around or below average. Thoughts?

Yes hello fellow IMG. First thing's first: if you plan to participate in the upcoming match, you're making it VERY difficult for yourself by taking the exam in September.

I might be qualified to answer this question because I've scored in a similar range in the past. To answer your question: you have to keep working hard--really really really hard. Keep doing questions and working on your knowledge base. There are things you're forgetting--things you're not mastering. Find a way to get them down.

Try taking FRED, the free 150 USMLE/NBME questions or whatever and see how you do. When I'm tired/bored/anxious I've trolled the internet looking for self reported correlations. Now there's a LOT of evidence that UWSA, NBME 4, and 6 are HIGHLY predictive in the 240-265 range. I haven't seen more than five or six self reports of people who score in the 200-215 range and take the test shortly before their exam. They all somehow managed to score 230+ (I have no explanation). Others maybe failed, or too embarrassed to post their scores--WHATEVER. So, it's really hard to predict. But people here say that NBME 7 UNDERPREDICTS by a bunch of points. So keep that in mind too. I HAVE seen one correlation that doesn't seem to ever get mentioned--scoring above 80-82% on the free 150 questions seems to point to scoring 235+ (n >50). Just keep in mind that most people take that one or two days before the exam.

TLDR: Keep working hard. Don't lose hope. Try UWSA, NBME4 or 6. And if you're still not sure, try FRED. Hope this helped. Good luck.

 

[ERDoc2b2014]

Yes hello fellow IMG. First thing's first: if you plan to participate in the upcoming match, you're making it VERY difficult for yourself by taking the exam in September.

I might be qualified to answer this question because I've scored in a similar range in the past. To answer your question: you have to keep working hard--really really really hard. Keep doing questions and working on your knowledge base. There are things you're forgetting--things you're not mastering. Find a way to get them down.

Try taking FRED, the free 150 USMLE/NBME questions or whatever and see how you do. When I'm tired/bored/anxious I've trolled the internet looking for self reported correlations. Now there's a LOT of evidence that UWSA, NBME 4, and 6 are HIGHLY predictive in the 240-265 range. I haven't seen more than five or six self reports of people who score in the 200-215 range and take the test shortly before their exam. They all somehow managed to score 230+ (I have no explanation). Others maybe failed, or too embarrassed to post their scores--WHATEVER. So, it's really hard to predict. But people here say that NBME 7 UNDERPREDICTS by a bunch of points. So keep that in mind too. I HAVE seen one correlation that doesn't seem to ever get mentioned--scoring above 80-82% on the free 150 questions seems to point to scoring 235+ (n >50). Just keep in mind that most people take that one or two days before the exam.

TLDR: Keep working hard. Don't lose hope. Try UWSA, NBME4 or 6. And if you're still not sure, try FRED. Hope this helped. Good luck.

Thanks for that - it's basically what I expected to hear, but good to confirm that it's possible to make it out of this place/scoring range where I feel stuck. Definitely not ready to apply this year, that's why I'm taking the extra time where I need it and will of course be doing the necessary things during the next year to create a great looking app.