Official 2017 Comlex Level 2 CE Experiences and Scores Thread

[Mdincorporated]

lets do this! For those who have taken it, any tips or advice on what you used and worked?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[KP2AZ]

Same formula as everyone above has described but you have less time.

Savarese, UWORLD, +/- COMBANK... do not neglect OMM, there was A LOT on my exam.... like at times I wondered if I was just taking an OMM test. Review basic biostats (FA topics), bioethics.

Agree with all of this. Honestly thought going through all of Comquest's OMM at once and making my own notes on the subject was the most helpful thing for OMM. there large chunks of Savarese that arent applicable to Level 2 like they were for level 1. If you have the time for Savarese, then go for it.

 

[Mscarn2014]

Another regular/average ish student reporting here. Was a great test taker in college (4.0, 32 MCAT, etc), but these medical board exams just wipe me. Was upset with both my Comlex 1 and USMLE Step 2 score, so happy to see a bump up on my Comlex 2. Hopefully will still be competitive for EM (??)

Didn't Take Step 1
NBOMEs (515, 531 2 weeks out)
Comlex 1: 480's

UWSA (230, 222 2 weeks out)
Step 2: 220's
Didn't take any NBOMEs
Comlex 2: 570's

If I were to tell you one thing - you have to do UWorld, even for Comlex. I know people who only used comlex q banks and their scores all suffered from that. It doesn't matter if Combank/quest's question stems and style are more like the Comlex exam, UWorld definitely prepares you better with quality questions and reminds you of the foundational phys you need to do better. You can read Savarese in literally 2 days.

My USMLE step 2 score definitely reflects how rushed I was for that exam. Definitely didn't have the time I thought I needed to do well, and literally finished within seconds of each section with no time to go back and check. Hopefully that doesn't bite me in the ass when I go to apply.

Also - for all those who are reading this, there are TONS of people who didn't do as well on the test as most of these posters. Congrats to those with crazy scores and glad to see you're sharing youre study schedule and all to try to help others, but for the other 80% of students who are well below those scores, dont get too freaked about this thread and work as hard as you can to the best of your ability. I've been extremely humbled by being in medical school and as weird as it is to say this, am also happy to be around (if not also below) the average genius medical student.

 

[KP2AZ]

Another regular/average ish student reporting here. Was a great test taker in college (4.0, 32 MCAT, etc), but these medical board exams just wipe me. Was upset with both my Comlex 1 and USMLE Step 2 score, so happy to see a bump up on my Comlex 2. Hopefully will still be competitive for EM (??)

Didn't Take Step 1
NBOMEs (515, 531 2 weeks out)
Comlex 1: 480's

UWSA (230, 222 2 weeks out)
Step 2: 220's
Didn't take any NBOMEs
Comlex 2: 570's

If I were to tell you one thing - you have to do UWorld, even for Comlex. I know people who only used comlex q banks and their scores all suffered from that. It doesn't matter if Combank/quest's question stems and style are more like the Comlex exam, UWorld definitely prepares you better with quality questions and reminds you of the foundational phys you need to do better. You can read Savarese in literally 2 days.

My USMLE step 2 score definitely reflects how rushed I was for that exam. Definitely didn't have the time I thought I needed to do well, and literally finished within seconds of each section with no time to go back and check. Hopefully that doesn't bite me in the ass when I go to apply.

Also - for all those who are reading this, there are TONS of people who didn't do as well on the test as most of these posters. Congrats to those with crazy scores and glad to see you're sharing youre study schedule and all to try to help others, but for the other 80% of students who are well below those scores, dont get too freaked about this thread and work as hard as you can to the best of your ability. I've been extremely humbled by being in medical school and as weird as it is to say this, am also happy to be around (if not also below) the average genius medical student.

Congrats!

 

[Acc1989]

Congrats to those with passing scores! I am about 2.5 weeks away from my level 2 exam. I've had very minimal dedicated study time. Currently trying to tackle DIT and question banks. Any advice?? Has anybody used DIT and felt it really helped? I am usually an average student but failed level 1 by 3 points. I am terrified of failing again.. doing family medicine and would be content with just passing!

 

[PianoMedic]

Congrats to those with passing scores! I am about 2.5 weeks away from my level 2 exam. I've had very minimal dedicated study time. Currently trying to tackle DIT and question banks. Any advice?? Has anybody used DIT and felt it really helped? I am usually an average student but failed level 1 by 3 points. I am terrified of failing again.. doing family medicine and would be content with just passing!

DIT OMM is awesome. I bought it again this year, and felt that it helped immensely on exam day. I am not the greatest at OMM though... I would watch it somewhat closer to your exam, maybe 1-3 days before, and then you should be golden on anything OMM related. Didn't use their step 2/level 2 material at all so can't speak to that. Good luck!

 

[KP2AZ]

Congrats to those with passing scores! I am about 2.5 weeks away from my level 2 exam. I've had very minimal dedicated study time. Currently trying to tackle DIT and question banks. Any advice?? Has anybody used DIT and felt it really helped? I am usually an average student but failed level 1 by 3 points. I am terrified of failing again.. doing family medicine and would be content with just passing!

How attached to doing DIT are you, and how much of it have you completed (percentage-wise, and how long will it take to complete)? did you feel like it was necessary for your prep for level 1?

 

[CrayXMP14]

DIT OMM is awesome. I bought it again this year, and felt that it helped immensely on exam day. I am not the greatest at OMM though... I would watch it somewhat closer to your exam, maybe 1-3 days before, and then you should be golden on anything OMM related. Didn't use their step 2/level 2 material at all so can't speak to that. Good luck!

I've heard DIT is garbage when it comes to Level2 .

 

[KP2AZ]

I've heard DIT is garbage when it comes to Level2 . i was told to do one Q bank and know all the concepts cold with 2-3 passes. that's a better use of time then doing 1 pass of Q bank and watching those useless videos except OMM

I have only heard discouraging things about DIT level 2, but if it works for you then more power to you.

 

[Thedothraki100]

Level 1- 657
Level 2- 700

Leaving level 2, i felt like crap. Worst test ever. Idk how i got that score but whatever...
anyways, my practice test scores.
Comsae B (3 months out)- 595
Comsae A- (2 weeks out)- 557
combank assessment- 88%.
uWorld avg 1st pass- 67%, 2nd pass- 78%
combank average- 80%

Like level 1 and step 1, stick to a few sources. I watched online med ed throughout the year, memorized his notes and tables (god bless that man lol) for the COMATS. Started Uworld in December and finished it by April, while taking notes on a word doc. Then did it again 1 month before the test. Didn't really use a book, used a combo between MTB and FA CK, i would pick which ever one you're comfortable with but just pick one. SUTM is a great resource however its to dense and too much to read the month before the test so my advice to anyone who is taking the test next year, is to read that book throughout third year while studying for shelfs and only look at it as a reference while your dedicated study time.

uWorld is gold standard for both USMLE and COMLEX. sure you can use combank but the explanations are not that great. use combank to learn the weird **** comlex asks, biostats, ethics, legal and weird surgical questions. good luck

 

[PianoMedic]

I've heard DIT is garbage when it comes to Level2 . i was told to do one Q bank and know all the concepts cold with 2-3 passes. that's a better use of time then doing 1 pass of Q bank and watching those useless videos except OMM

I also have not heard great things about their Level 2 content. I find the DIT OMM videos very useful, but it was otherwise not part of my studying for either Step 2 or Level 2.

 

[tnesus]

If I am short on time, are there any sections in uworld that are most helpful for comlex? I was thinking cardio, OB and peds? Otherwise I'm using OME and comquest.

 

[CrayXMP14]

Hey everyone !I have done 50% of my comquest qbank scoring 66%, and am listening to OME videos. Scheduled my comlex for Aug 15th but took the COMSAE A and got a 400. what would you guys recommend ? Postpone (duh) ! Uworld subscription to hit those weak areas (IM, and EM primarily) ?

 

[LittleFoot]

If I am short on time, are there any sections in uworld that are most helpful for comlex? I was thinking cardio, OB and peds? Otherwise I'm using OME and comquest.

If I were you, I would just do as much Uworld as possible, without focusing on certain sections. And I would only do the OMM section of comquest.

 

[LittleFoot]

Hey everyone !I have done 50% of my comquest qbank scoring 66%, and am listening to OME videos. Scheduled my comlex for Aug 15th but took the COMSAE A and got a 400. what would you guys recommend ? Postopone (duh) ! Uworld subscription to hit those weak areas (IM, and EM primarily) ?

Yeah, if you're scoring significantly lower on IM an EM, then I would focus on the Medicine category of Uworld. Cast comquest aside at this point except for the OMM questions.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Just FYI, I felt UW prepared me better for comlex than for step2 this time around, so make sure to not skip UW if you are only taking comlex

 

[CrayXMP14]

wonder why is comquest and combank still so popular when it keeps you so unprepared to handle COMLEX. Such a rip off

 

[KP2AZ]

wonder why is comquest and combank still so popular when it keeps you so unprepared to handle COMLEX. Such a rip off

they do okay if you add them in conjunction to UW (gotta get through UW though). The more questions the better. COMLEX is a weird test...

 

[CrayXMP14]

they do okay if you add them in conjunction to UW (gotta get through UW though). The more questions the better. COMLEX is a weird test...

if i reschedule my tests in 2 weeks from now and am just starting UW, I don't think i'll be able to hit more than 400-500q, if i do a block to block and a half a day.

 

[LittleFoot]

if i reschedule my tests in 2 weeks from now and am just starting UW, I don't think i'll be able to hit more than 400-500q, if i do a block to block and a half a day.

Do you have dedicated board study time for those 2 weeks? If you do, you should be able to do at least 3 blocks per day which would get you through most/all of the medicine uworld questions.

 

[CrayXMP14]

Do you have dedicated board study time for those 2 weeks? If you do, you should be able to do at least 3 blocks per day which would get you through most/all of the medicine uworld questions.

I have 2 weeks off. Would you recommend i do it in tutor mode or timed mode to maximize learning and information processing ?

 

[MelMcT2009]

I have 2 weeks off. Would you recommend i do it in tutor mode or timed mode to maximize learning and information processing ?

Timed tutor is the way to go!

 

[LittleFoot]

I have 2 weeks off. Would you recommend i do it in tutor mode or timed mode to maximize learning and information processing ?

I think regular timed is good and then review the block.

 

[CrayXMP14]

thank you everyone. I can't wait for this phase to get over

 

[CrayXMP14]

Do you have dedicated board study time for those 2 weeks? If you do, you should be able to do at least 3 blocks per day which would get you through most/all of the medicine uworld questions.

how do you review 3 blocks of UW in a day. It takes a long time to review 40 q thoroughly!

 

[LittleFoot]

Be thorough but not OCD when reviewing. If it was a topic I was mostly comfortably with, then I would just read the take home at the bottom, and move on. If i struggled with the question I would review more thoroughly. And IMO, annotating is a waste of time. How long does it take you to review one block?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[CrayXMP14]

Be thorough but not OCD when reviewing. If it was a topic I was mostly comfortably with, then I would just read the take home at the bottom, and move on. If i struggled with the question I would review more thoroughly. And IMO, annotating is a waste of time. How long does it take you to review one block?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

takes me almost 4 hrs

 

[Back 5]

Wednesday cannot come soon enough for scores

 

[1lifeleft28]

Wednesday cannot come soon enough for scores

There's a underlying fear/nervousness though haha

 

[Acc1989]

How attached to doing DIT are you, and how much of it have you completed (percentage-wise, and how long will it take to complete)? did you feel like it was necessary for your prep for level 1?

Seems like the consensus is that it isn't the best. Wondering if it would be enough to pass? I am about 40% done. Goal was to complete those and some daily Qs by Aug 23, then hammer down with Qs and some OME til exam Sept 6. I'm open to suggestions.. keep going and get thru it fast? Ditch it? And how can I use OME at this point, maybe just reinforcement for weak topics? Stressing out here. Test is in roughly 3 wks.

 

[CrayXMP14]

Seems like the consensus is that it isn't the best. Wondering if it would be enough to pass? I am about 40% done. Goal was to complete those and some daily Qs by Aug 23, then hammer down with Qs and some OME til exam Sept 6. I'm open to suggestions.. keep going and get thru it fast? Ditch it? And how can I use OME at this point, maybe just reinforcement for weak topics? Stressing out here. Test is in roughly 3 wks.

the advice i got was assess your performance via comsae and then hit the weak areas with Qbank /OME/UWorld

 

[KP2AZ]

Seems like the consensus is that it isn't the best. Wondering if it would be enough to pass? I am about 40% done. Goal was to complete those and some daily Qs by Aug 23, then hammer down with Qs and some OME til exam Sept 6. I'm open to suggestions.. keep going and get thru it fast? Ditch it? And how can I use OME at this point, maybe just reinforcement for weak topics? Stressing out here. Test is in roughly 3 wks.

honestly ball out hard on Comquest/Combank and UW. I mentioned that I didn't use DIT for level 2, so I can't give much personal experience advice. I'd maybe do OME where you feel weak. I don't think you should go try and knock out all of OME with 3 weeks left, you would be wasting too much time I think. Maybe try to squeeze in Peds and OBGYN sections. Just remember that there is no written source that is like FA was for level/step 1. Prioritize Questions, and don't worry about the percentile scores- they are LEARNING TOOLS.

 

[KP2AZ]

takes me almost 4 hrs

as long as you try to get 2-3 blocks done a day, that's solid. @LittleFoot is probably a faster reader than you, and that's okay! I'm a slow reader too and found that 100Q's was about my limit. You can learn A LOT in 100 UW questions.

 

[grapefruit17]

Good grief. When I took this a little over a year ago I scored in the mid 600s and thought that was good. Now I see all these 700s and 800s. Wow. well done. I wonder what the difference in questions right is between a 650 and 700.

 

[1lifeleft28]

Seems like the consensus is that it isn't the best. Wondering if it would be enough to pass? I am about 40% done. Goal was to complete those and some daily Qs by Aug 23, then hammer down with Qs and some OME til exam Sept 6. I'm open to suggestions.. keep going and get thru it fast? Ditch it? And how can I use OME at this point, maybe just reinforcement for weak topics? Stressing out here. Test is in roughly 3 wks.

Echo above about questions. Just make sure you're commiting to memory. Faster is not always better if you can't recall what you've done on question 1 when you're on question 15...

 

[jrlob91]

Good grief. When I took this a little over a year ago I scored in the mid 600s and thought that was good. Now I see all these 700s and 800s. Wow. well done. I wonder what the difference in questions right is between a 650 and 700.

...the mid/high 600s is good, that's roughly 90%ile. There's extremely strong reporting bias that goes on through SDN. The difference between 650 and 750 is probably about 20 questions if you imagine that a 650 is 90% right and 750 is 95% right.

 

[1lifeleft28]

...the mid/high 600s is good, that's roughly 90%ile. There's extremely strong reporting bias that goes on through SDN. The difference between 650 and 750 is probably about 20 questions if you imagine that a 650 is 90% right and 750 is 95% right.

...the mid/high 600s is good, that's roughly 90%ile. There's extremely strong reporting bias that goes on through SDN. The difference between 650 and 750 is probably about 20 questions if you imagine that a 650 is 90% right and 750 is 95% right.

Exam is also curved so I don't think a 750 means you only missed 20 questions out of 400

 

[jrlob91]

Exam is also curved so I don't think a 750 means you only missed 20 questions out of 400

That was just an example, seemed pretty obvious I thought. Next time I'll put a disclaimer in there sorry

 

[theosteoblasts]

Wednesday cannot come soon enough for scores

Literally just want to see a 4 as the first digit. Thats how much the fear is real.

 

[jandm]

Hey guys, wanted to jump in on the "oh my God I'm so worried I failed!" party. I tested on July 24th, still anxiously waiting. My test was typical comlex, at points I was like c'mon this question is too easy, but then others...what 1980 annals of internal medicine article did they take this question from!?!?

But keep hanging tight everyone, we've made it through 3 years of med school, and a ton of tests. Hoping it's good for everyone. I'll post more when I see a score release.

 

[em20178]

Why is it that we don't know how many questions we need correct to earn x score? That makes no sense to me. I think it would be nice to know how many questions you need right for getting the 600 etc..

 

[KP2AZ]

Why is it that we don't know how many questions we need correct to earn x score? That makes no sense to me. I think it would be nice to know how many questions you need right for getting the 600 etc..

good point. It's because of the whole "comparing you to other DO students" aspect of a bell curve, which makes it even harder to predict.

 

[jandm]

Geez, are these scores coming out at 4:59pm

 

[Samson1]

Geez, are these scores coming out at 4:59pm

I called and the woman said probably not until 6pm CT. . . .This day could not go any slower!

 

[Back 5]

I called and the woman said probably not until 6pm CT. . . .This day could not go any slower!

I really wish I understood why it takes this long to release scores. Were they still ironing out the curve today? I absolutely don't get it.

 

[runthiscity]

I called and the woman said probably not until 6pm CT. . . .This day could not go any slower!

FFS are you serious?

 

[Back 5]

Just got my email for score released.

 

[Herbspalsy]

Scores are up!

 

[jandm]

Scores are up. Passed! 524. Only studied dedicated for a week, kinda felt lazy after step 2 a few weeks prior.

Good luck to everyone and I hope you all passed/got what you wanted!!

 

[em20178]

Got my score... 570+... a definite disappointment. Worked my butt off the entire year for comlex and usmle only to find myself with average scores on step 1 and 2 and only slightly above average for comlex 1 and 2. I guess I've never been a great test taker and even after a lot of studying I guess I'll forever be average in test taking.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Got my score... 570+... a definite disappointment. Worked my butt off the entire year for comlex and usmle only to find myself with average scores on step 1 and 2 and only slightly above average for comlex 1 and 2. I guess I've never been a great test taker and even after a lot of studying I guess I'll forever be average in test taking.

I got in that range too. What was your step2?