USMLE Official 2018 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

[Qester]

As 2018 approaches and people are starting to rev up for their CK studying I figured I would start the 2018 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread.

As always please follow all of the forum / NBME / USMLE etc.. rules and regulations when posting.


My dedicated starts tomorrow, have about 6 weeks to study over the holidays. Hoping for a 250 +, scored a 26x on step 1.

Good luck to everyone taking the exam in 2018!

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[Adamantinoma]

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[chromuffin]

For those of you who took exams on Wednesdays, how long did you have to wait for scores to be released? I took my exam on 9/12/18. Not sure if I should be expecting my score this Wednesday or not.

Check and see if report is out. You should be good. Took mine 9/10 and my permit is gone

 

[DocSpy332]

Hey guys last month of preparation for me... quick question: How important do/did you find the free 120 questions offered?

 

[Zatorith]

is it normal to take 4+ hours to do and review a 40q block on uworld?

 

[DocSpy332]

is it normal to take 4+ hours to do and review a 40q block on uworld?

Yes it's totally normal. When I first started my preparation I needed approximately 6h-7h for one block. Now I need 9-10h for 2 blocks.
You are faster than me and there are many people faster than you but that does not mean that you should go slower or faster.

 

[bbb002]

took my exam on 9/13 .. should i expect my score tomorrow or the next Wednesday? a friend just told me if we take it later than Wed, we get it back on the 4th not 3rd Wed. can't take one more week of anxiety :S

 

[chromuffin]

took my exam on 9/13 .. should i expect my score tomorrow or the next Wednesday? a friend just told me if we take it later than Wed, we get it back on the 4th not 3rd Wed. can't take one more week of anxiety :S

Is your permit gone? Took mine 9/10 and I get my score tomorrow (permit is gone).

 

[bbb002]

Is your permit gone? Took mine 9/10 and I get my score tomorrow (permit is gone).

sept was last month of eligibility, so yeah its gone

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

Has anyone received their scores yet?

 

[bbb002]

Has anyone received their scores yet?

Not yet

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

Not yet

The anxiety is real

 

[Dresal]

Nothing..

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

Nothing..

I was starting to freak out, I received the rest of the scores much earlier, but it seems I'm not alone

 

[Dresal]

I was starting to freak out, I received the rest of the scores much earlier, but it seems I'm not alone

Same. I don't know how long we should wait before assuming today isn't the day.

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

Same. I don't know how long we should wait before assuming today isn't the day.

I'm starting to lose faith lol

 

[chromuffin]

Well.. I dropped 17 points from UWSA2..

 

[chromuffin]

Did you get just get your score? What was your exam date?

9/10. Got my score

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

9/10. Got my score

i took my exam on 9/13, still waiting

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

Well.. I dropped 17 points from UWSA2..

Well this makes me feel even more nervous, I'm sorry this has happened to you.

 

[golfdoctor1489]

Well.. I dropped 17 points from UWSA2..

Im sorry about your score. Im sure you did the best you could. Now its time to look forward and stay positive. At least you never have to take this test ever again. Good job on passing one of the hardest tests in the world.
I get my score hopefully next wednesday. Ill keep you posted.

Good luck with everything!!

 

[bluemagik5]

Well.. I dropped 17 points from UWSA2..

Dont feel bad. My UWSA-1 was 230 and UWSA-2 was 240 and ended up getting a 211 on CK (think I may be f****d, but who knows). Just keep on trucking, you'll get a spot somewhere

 

[Regional pain syndrome]

Well, I just got my score, I have mixed feelings about the results, scored a 238 after 2 months of studying but my UWSA1 =244 and UWSA 2= 248 so yeah...

 

[bluemagik5]

Well, I just got my score, I have mixed feelings about the results, scored a 238 after 2 months of studying but my UWSA1 =244 and UWSA 2= 248 so yeah...

I'll take your score any day. I honestly think USMLE sits in a room and throws darts on random numbers and assigns scores. I was beyond upset when I saw my score report.

 

[quincyfuturemd]

I know a lot of people rag on the nbmes for ck and most do score closer to UWSA but my nbmes were almost dead on to my real score and both my UWSA overpredicted as well.

 

[gozes]

Got my score today. I took it on 9/14. I ended up getting a 232, which I am stoked about since my step 1 score was <210. To prepare I just read through U world on tutorial mode twice through. I didnt take any practice test though. Good luck to anyone else getting their scores!

 

[Sad99]

UWSA1 260
NBME 6 245
UWSA 2 254
NBME 7 260
NBME 8 271


Made a ****ty 256 on the real thing. Gonna try and not hang myself

 

[Docsub101]

^^^ Really? Don't mean to be a D, but relax. And yes, please don't hang yourself. Most ppl would love to have this score.

 

[madrid1117]

I took my exam on Saturday 9/22 and my permit disappeared (my eligibility for STEP2 ended in September).
Should I expect my score to be back on 10/10 or 10/17?

 

[qwertyuiop78]

I took my exam on Saturday 9/22 and my permit disappeared (my eligibility for STEP2 ended in September).
Should I expect my score to be back on 10/10 or 10/17?

I think that if you take your exam on a Saturday you need to count 4 Wednesdays. That would be 10/17.

 

[jwalker21]

is a step 2 ck score of 230 or higher considered good?

 

[DrStrangeisDoomed]

is a step 2 ck score of 230 or higher considered good?

The average was 243 this year, I believe. So I guess it depends on what the person's expectations and requirements are.

 

[Doc2b82]

for those of you who have taken the nbme on Macs....were you able to increase the font size and cross out answer choices etc? The nbme interface that I have been getting has been pretty "basic"....I cant do anything except highlight....its really annoying to deal with such a small font. If I zoom I cant "move" the screen.

 

[golfdoctor1489]

Hey guys.. I took my exam 9/24... i was expecting my score this morning.. since its been 3 wednesdays... I guess I was wrong and it will be ready until next week.. This wait is killing me.. couldnt sleep last night

 

[josh999]

Hey guys.. I took my exam 9/24... i was expecting my score this morning.. since its been 3 wednesdays... I guess I was wrong and it will be ready until next week.. This wait is killing me.. couldnt sleep last night

You will be fine man. Take it easy. I take mine tomorrow....so I have to wait even longer than you since its gonna be a thursday.
I took the free 120 and got 81%. Not really happy with it but. I have faith.

 

[lofibeats]

Step 1: 251
3 weeks dedicated - all I did was repeat uworld
Uwsa 1/2: 240s
Free 120: 85%
Step 2: 261!

 

[josh999]

Step 1: 251
3 weeks dedicated - all I did was repeat uworld
Uwsa 1/2: 240s
Free 120: 85%
Step 2: 261!

Congrats man! Great jump from 240's

 

[The Chemist]

Step 1: 248
6 weeks period of dedicated, but was very sick for 2-3 weeks in the middle and didn't study much at all for one of those weeks. Studied First Aid for CK, UWorld 1x through and then redid the ones I got wrong, UWorld Assessments, NBME 6,7,8.
8 days out NBME 6 260
8 days out UW1 266
4 days out NBME 7 254
4 days out UW2 260
3 days out NBME 8 254
actual: 267

 

[jwalker21]

If we received our score after oct 1. should we email the programs about the release?

 

[ZML]

Step 1: 248
6 weeks period of dedicated, but was very sick for 2-3 weeks in the middle and didn't study much at all for one of those weeks. Studied First Aid for CK, UWorld 1x through and then redid the ones I got wrong, UWorld Assessments, NBME 6,7,8.
8 days out NBME 6 260
8 days out UW1 266
4 days out NBME 7 254
4 days out UW2 260
3 days out NBME 8 254
actual: 267

omg WOW! congrats! do you think first aid CK was helpful?

 

[Ashantua]

UWSA1 260
NBME 6 245
UWSA 2 254
NBME 7 260
NBME 8 271


Made a ****ty 256 on the real thing. Gonna try and not hang myself

This is a bit irresponsible to post. 256 is an amazing score and suicide is not a joke !!!

 

[The Chemist]

omg WOW! congrats! do you think first aid CK was helpful?

Yes! I know some people use FA Step 1, but honestly I think that is too much detail especially for the standalone biochem, pharm, micro, as well as pathology through the systems sections. Admittedly, FA CK is not thorough enough, but if you annotate heavily from UWorld CK and add the missing conditions that UWorld covers, then it works well. Strokes, Optho, MSK, Rheum and Peds is prob where you need to annotate the most. I occasionally referenced MTB CK, Med Bullets, and Wikipedia when I wanted a little more annotation detail than UWorld provided for a disease that UWorld tested. There is no ideal main study book for CK. MTB CK could prob work too, but I would still use FA CK if I had to do it again.

 

[qwertyuiop78]

Has anyone waiting for test results on Wednesday been able to apply for step 3 on FSMB?

My step 2 CK permit disappeared yesterday so I will be getting my result on Wednesday but I still have not been able to apply for step 3.

Does this step 3 trick still work?

 

[futuredoc937]

Hey guys! Anyone taking their CK this month of October?

 

[ikhandy22]

Has anyone waiting for test results on Wednesday been able to apply for step 3 on FSMB?

My step 2 CK permit disappeared yesterday so I will be getting my result on Wednesday but I still have not been able to apply for step 3.

Does this step 3 trick still work?

i dont know, im literally in the same panic atm

 

[ikhandy22]

Hey guys last month of preparation for me... quick question: How important do/did you find the free 120 questions offered?

not at all - too generic/easy

 

[ikhandy22]

i dont think i completely understand, -- what if permit disappears after because it expires, but the application to start a new one is still there? is the new application link supposed to disappear as well?

Posting this to help with anyone else who is trying to figure out how to make sense of the "disappearing permit" and "Step 3 FSMB" tricks.

I took my exam on Thursday Sept 6th, and my scheduling permit disappeared yesterday (Monday week 3) sometime mid-day to evening. This is noteworthy because a previous poster took their exam the day before me on Wed Sept 5th and had the permit disappear a day earlier than me. At the time that my permit link disappeared, I still could not sign up for Step 3. However, just this morning (Tues) I was able to sign up for Step 3.

This makes sense: the ECFMG sends the score to the FSMB, so you'd expect a delay between when the ECFMG registers my score and when the FSMB registers my score (putting my step 2 critical thinking to good use here!).

(To those just joining the thread now, the step 3 FSMB trick is described in much greater detail in earlier posts, but essentially it is believed that if you passed a given step exam AND have already taken all the other step exams prior to step 3, you will be able to sign up for the step 3 exam a day or two before the final score comes out)

Conclusions
1) The day your permit link disappears is not conserved across all people who will receive their score on a given Wednesday, and possibly correlates to the day you sat the exam originally (perhaps Wed, Thurs, Fri exams correlate with Sun, Mon, Tues link disappearing, for example).
2) You may be able to do the "FSMB step 3 trick" a day after your permit disappears.

I really hope I passed, as with the rest of you I was freaking out over this exam... good luck everyone.

 

[ikhandy22]

Mine was disappear 1 day before release (3th Tuesday )

can the permit disappear because it also expired? i took it on the last possible day of the permit lol

 

[qwertyuiop78]

I still cannot sign up for step 3 on FSMB. I am currently in a panic state.

 

[golfdoctor1489]

Just got my CK score... it was 4pts lower than UWSA2, 12pts lower than nbme 8, and 21 pts lower than UWSA1...
It is not a good score at all.. but I guess it could be worse...
Hope this helps..

 

[josh999]

Just got my CK score... it was 4pts lower than UWSA2, 12pts lower than nbme 8, and 21 pts lower than UWSA1...
It is not a good score at all.. but I guess it could be worse...
Hope this helps..

Hey man....keep your head high. You gave it your best shot! And like I always say....these exams do not determine the quality of doctor you become. I know a lot of doctors who told me they did their residency in one field but ended up in a completely different area. So just see it as a way to get your foot it and once youre there you can make decisions to guide you into something you're passionate about.
You got through it and its one less exam to worry about.

I get my score 3 Wednesdays from now. I had very similar scores with you....exam experience was horrible. The transformer for the building blew out so we had to wait extra 2 hours half way through the exam for them to change it. Lights kept flickering etc. But I completed every question to the best of my knowledge. At this point I would take your score if that is God's will. So be grateful nonetheless and I'm sure you will make a fine doctor.