USMLE Official 2018 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

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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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congrats!!
How were the length of the questions? Were you able to got through the marked questions? Or was it right like down to the wire..
 
congrats!!
How were the length of the questions? Were you able to got through the marked questions? Or was it right like down to the wire..
Mixture of long and detailed and a couple short vague questions. I marked alot of questions and got through most of them but alot of guess work
 
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Unlike my name I feel completely hopeless after taking that exam today :(
First block I was still in panic mode not believing I was actually sitting there taking it
Second block wasn't so bad
3rd and 4th I don't even remember how I feel now
5th and 6th I remember just thinking how I should be a patient on the exam at this point
By the time i got to the 8th block I had lost 2 minutes due to checking back in after the break, honestly one of the worst blocks I have ever done to date. I think I skipped half initially and marked all the others.
Walked out feeling like I haven't even learned anything in the last few months let alone the past few years at this point.
Questions were pretty long and detailed, maybe had 1 or 2/block that were medium sized. Lots of skimming labs..similar to UW in that sense.
At this point just praying that I somehow manage a 209 because I don't ever want to have to go through that again!!! :(
So many questions you're down to just 2 and both sound right..and brain just gives up on you being like you can do both!!!!
Ethics, I think I read somewhere on here a while back someone explaining, pretty much 1 throw out answer, the rest of the 3-5 answer choices are legitimately all answer choices that a Doctor could say. Just so upset at this point, just want to either runaway or go to them and ask for the score now so I can be done with it or start studying again uggh :arghh::dead:
 
Unlike my name I feel completely hopeless after taking that exam today :(
First block I was still in panic mode not believing I was actually sitting there taking it
Second block wasn't so bad
3rd and 4th I don't even remember how I feel now
5th and 6th I remember just thinking how I should be a patient on the exam at this point
By the time i got to the 8th block I had lost 2 minutes due to checking back in after the break, honestly one of the worst blocks I have ever done to date. I think I skipped half initially and marked all the others.
Walked out feeling like I haven't even learned anything in the last few months let alone the past few years at this point.
Questions were pretty long and detailed, maybe had 1 or 2/block that were medium sized. Lots of skimming labs..similar to UW in that sense.
At this point just praying that I somehow manage a 209 because I don't ever want to have to go through that again!!! :(
So many questions you're down to just 2 and both sound right..and brain just gives up on you being like you can do both!!!!
Ethics, I think I read somewhere on here a while back someone explaining, pretty much 1 throw out answer, the rest of the 3-5 answer choices are legitimately all answer choices that a Doctor could say. Just so upset at this point, just want to either runaway or go to them and ask for the score now so I can be done with it or start studying again uggh :arghh::dead:

Still congrats on finishing that hell of an exam. Now is the time to rest and chill. hopefully you did well or enough for CK. All I can say is stop worrying. Hopefully, it would turn out fine for all.
 
Unlike my name I feel completely hopeless after taking that exam today :(
First block I was still in panic mode not believing I was actually sitting there taking it
Second block wasn't so bad
3rd and 4th I don't even remember how I feel now
5th and 6th I remember just thinking how I should be a patient on the exam at this point
By the time i got to the 8th block I had lost 2 minutes due to checking back in after the break, honestly one of the worst blocks I have ever done to date. I think I skipped half initially and marked all the others.
Walked out feeling like I haven't even learned anything in the last few months let alone the past few years at this point.
Questions were pretty long and detailed, maybe had 1 or 2/block that were medium sized. Lots of skimming labs..similar to UW in that sense.
At this point just praying that I somehow manage a 209 because I don't ever want to have to go through that again!!! :(
So many questions you're down to just 2 and both sound right..and brain just gives up on you being like you can do both!!!!
Ethics, I think I read somewhere on here a while back someone explaining, pretty much 1 throw out answer, the rest of the 3-5 answer choices are legitimately all answer choices that a Doctor could say. Just so upset at this point, just want to either runaway or go to them and ask for the score now so I can be done with it or start studying again uggh :arghh::dead:

I feel you, not sure if you read my recent exam experience but I also posted something similar. You will feel miserable for a few days and then you will slowly start to feel better with time. Congrats on finishing! Step 2 CK is super long and sucks the life out of you for sure. We just have to hope for the best now. p.s. also just praying I somehow managed a 209 :(
 
I feel you, not sure if you read my recent exam experience but I also posted something similar. You will feel miserable for a few days and then you will slowly start to feel better with time. Congrats on finishing! Step 2 CK is super long and sucks the life out of you for sure. We just have to hope for the best now. p.s. also just praying I somehow managed a 209 :(

Have high hopes for both of you!!! Good luck!!
 
Congratulations to everyone that’s recently finished! Quick question, was there a ton of stats on it? I heard recently there’s quite a bit so have been debating buying the uworld stats qbank, but I’m somewhat limited on time. I have 4 weeks off now, going to take the first week to finish uworld (do what I didn’t get to during 3rd year) then reset it and redo it my last 3 weeks. And as of a couple weeks ago my scores nowhere near my target so I definitely need to use my time wisely
 
Congratulations to everyone that’s recently finished! Quick question, was there a ton of stats on it? I heard recently there’s quite a bit so have been debating buying the uworld stats qbank, but I’m somewhat limited on time. I have 4 weeks off now, going to take the first week to finish uworld (do what I didn’t get to during 3rd year) then reset it and redo it my last 3 weeks. And as of a couple weeks ago my scores nowhere near my target so I definitely need to use my time wisely
Stats aren't that heavily tested, be sure with the basics and practice solving drug ads..Focus more on IM coz that's the bulk of it..
 
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I feel you, not sure if you read my recent exam experience but I also posted something similar. You will feel miserable for a few days and then you will slowly start to feel better with time. Congrats on finishing! Step 2 CK is super long and sucks the life out of you for sure. We just have to hope for the best now. p.s. also just praying I somehow managed a 209 :(

I did see your post before the exam actually. Slowly getting back to real life, but counting down the days to doomsday right now :/ But like you said, can just hope for the best! I'm sure you did well, you were scoring pretty well on your assessments. That exam is just so mentally and physically draining..I know its an endurance race, but still totally not cool.
 
Stats aren't that heavily tested, be sure with the basics and practice solving drug ads..Focus more on IM coz that's the bulk of it..
I agree, focus more on IM. Stats is tested, and I think its recall bias that people think it's heavily tested..tend to remember those more easier because they stand out. Definitely go over the basics and know that well. The stats questions in the regular UW Qbank should be enough. There's always of course questions out of left field that you have to make the best effort for. Definitely practice the drug ads as azetronam said, reading quickly and finding the pertinent information..I always found this difficult with time constraints.
 
Does anyone else feel like Step 2CK scores have been generally lower ever since the "new questions" were implemented? I've been browsing the threads for a while now, and not that some of these scores aren't impressive, but I feel like the scores reported on SDN on average seem lower to me.
 
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I agree, focus more on IM. Stats is tested, and I think its recall bias that people think it's heavily tested..tend to remember those more easier because they stand out. Definitely go over the basics and know that well. The stats questions in the regular UW Qbank should be enough. There's always of course questions out of left field that you have to make the best effort for. Definitely practice the drug ads as azetronam said, reading quickly and finding the pertinent information..I always found this difficult with time constraints.

Thank you! I'll save my time and not get the stats uworld qbank then and just practice the ones in the regular bank. Yeah the drug ads are tough, definite time suckers :/
 
Congratulations!!! That is an amazing score. Care to share how you prepped? Exam day experience etc.
Tnx !!!! I did only uworld , while studying uworld I took notes and made 2 notebooks of it. Last month I reviewed the notes and did uworld ( my marks ones (about 1000 Q) for second time . Did only UWAS 1 = 258
UWAS 2 = 255
Noght before exam I didnt sleep at all !
The exam I thought the Qs were easier than uworld (except for some of them that I never heard of ) but you cant find answers in choices , so complicated , but I know somthing uworld is just enough !! And believe in your assessments , good luck to everyone
 
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Got my score back today and got a 265+! I honestly did not think I did well at all after the test just like many others have posted, so please don't feel too bad if you felt terrible after. Good luck to everyone waiting for their scores/taking the test soon :)
 
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Got my score back today and got a 265+! I honestly did not think I did well at all after the test just like many others have posted, so please don't feel too bad if you felt terrible after. Good luck to everyone waiting for their scores/taking the test soon :)
Wow congratulations! Would you share your experience with us? Study plan etc.
 
Can anyone please tell me if uworld is enough for infectious diseases? I am trying to read that section in MTB 2 but I don’t think it is helping one bit. Thoughts?
 
Got my score back today and got a 265+! I honestly did not think I did well at all after the test just like many others have posted, so please don't feel too bad if you felt terrible after. Good luck to everyone waiting for their scores/taking the test soon :)


What were your practice tests if you don't mind me asking?
 
Does anyone know what a good score for the NBME CMS would be? Are they similar to the real deal and is there any correlation to CK scores? I feel like I'm shooting in the dark.
 
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Hey everyone, I'll be writing Step 2 CK in a couple months. I have a few questions:
1. Has anyone taken the NBME CCSE? How accurate are the NBME 6/7/8 forms in relation to the CCSE?
2. I recently took NBME 6, scored a 520 (243). I've seen that this is inaccurate with respect to CK scores - but is it an overestimation or underestimation?
3. I scored >240 on Step 1. What are the chances that I'll score higher on CK? I've heard the CK average is in the 240s, but the data I've seen is a few years old. For those that took CK recently, is this average up to date?
Thanks y'all, good luck to everybody with their studies.
 
I took the exam last Wednesday, and as expected most of the questions offered some challenge. I have to think an extra mile compared to UW or UWSA. And few Qs in each block are beyond the scope of UW. I hope that my experience is nothing different from other test takers.
 
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I took the exam last Wednesday, and as expected most of the questions offered some challenge. I have to think an extra mile compared to UW or UWSA. And few Qs in each block are beyond the scope of UW. I hope that my experience is nothing different from other test takers.

Definitely not different, don't worry. I actually thought MOST questions were beyond the scope of UW and only some of them were "gimmies." If you thought only some of them were challenging then I'm sure you will be fine! :)
 
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I haven't done any uworld assessment tests yet (didn't do them for step 1 either bc I heard they over predicted by a lot) but I know they come with answer explanations that I'm assuming are similar to the regular qbank. I haven't been able to get through 4 blocks of questions+review doing the qbank so should I plan 2 days for the practice test (1 day to take and start review, 2nd to finish review) or are the explanations shorter and easier to get through in 1 day? I'm getting limited on time and planning my needed study progress for every day at this point lol
 
Take the test in 2 weeks. Did 1st pass UWorld (all but peds) during clerkships.
Started UWorld 2nd pass a week ago, average is 79% on 2nd pass thus far (about 25% in). Got a 247 on UWSA1 a week ago. Did NBME 6 yesterday, and got a 220....I was tired and not in a great mental state but still. I'm supplementing with MTB a little bit but mostly just doing UWorld and Anki for incorrects. Would love to get >250 but am skeptical at this point.
Any thoughts or advice?
 
I haven't done any uworld assessment tests yet (didn't do them for step 1 either bc I heard they over predicted by a lot) but I know they come with answer explanations that I'm assuming are similar to the regular qbank. I haven't been able to get through 4 blocks of questions+review doing the qbank so should I plan 2 days for the practice test (1 day to take and start review, 2nd to finish review) or are the explanations shorter and easier to get through in 1 day? I'm getting limited on time and planning my needed study progress for every day at this point lol

It is doable in 1 day (each test +review) but you could stretch it into 1.5 or even 2 if you have the time.
 
251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!
 
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251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real I worked so hard. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!
Wohooo!! Congrats! Now go celebrate. You deserve it.
 
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251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real I worked so hard. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!

congrats!! :D
 
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251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!

Congratulations !!!, Hard work pays ;)
 
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251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!
Hey man, congratulations...have party...my exam in a week can you please tell us about your assessment scores?.Thanks
 
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251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!

Hi have been following your study schedule here since the beginning and seriously am so happy for you right now. Knew you could do it and that this was just post exam feelings if you follow my comments. Hope you can pay it forward by helping a fellow IMG out whose just about to start prep while everything is fresh in your mind. Please share your study prep, do's and dont's, strategy advice, what you would do differently? Thanks again and please celebrate with your loved ones! You deserve it!
 
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Hey man, congratulations...have party...my exam in a week can you please tell us about your assessment scores?.Thanks
Hi have been following your study schedule here since the beginning and seriously am so happy for you right now. Knew you could do it and that this was just post exam feelings if you follow my comments. Hope you can pay it forward by helping a fellow IMG out whose just about to start prep while everything is fresh in your mind. Please share your study prep, do's and dont's, strategy advice, what you would do differently? Thanks again and please celebrate with your loved ones! You deserve it!

I took my first NBME 2 months before my exam. Here's what my practice scores looked like:
NBME 6: 209 lol (2 months out)
NBME 7: 218 (1.5 months out)
NBME 8: 247 (1 month out)
UWSA 1: 253 (1 week out)
UWSA 2: 244 (3 days out)
Free 120 (1 day out): 89%
UW 1st pass: 72%
Real Deal: 251

Prep: UW x2, FA for CK, Online MedEd, and I also skimmed the Emma Holiday PDFs. I had a binder with the algorithms from Online MedEd that I would read over every night leading up to the exam. Random youtube videos for biostats helped as well. For difficult concepts, I tried reading Step Up To Medicine but I did not read it cover to cover (no time for that). ANKI saved me on Step 1 and I also used it for CK by turning my UW incorrects into flashcards that I would go over every day. Sometimes there are things you just need to memorize so whatever I had trouble with I would turn it into an ANKI card. Repeat all day everyday lol. That's the only way I can get info to stick. I guess it pays off in the end.
 
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I took my first NBME 2 months before my exam. Here's what my practice scores looked like:
NBME 6: 209 lol (2 months out)
NBME 7: 218 (1.5 months out)
NBME 8: 247 (1 month out)
UWSA 1: 253 (1 week out)
UWSA 2: 244 (3 days out)
Free 120 (1 day out): 89%
UW 1st pass: 72%
Real Deal: 251

Prep: UW x2, FA for CK, Online MedEd, and I also skimmed the Emma Holiday PDFs. I had a binder with the algorithms from Online MedEd that I would read over every night leading up to the exam. Random youtube videos for biostats helped as well. For difficult concepts, I tried reading Step Up To Medicine but I did not read it cover to cover (no time for that). ANKI saved me on Step 1 and I also used it for CK by turning my UW incorrects into flashcards that I would go over every day. Sometimes there are things you just need to memorize so whatever I had trouble with I would turn it into an ANKI card. Repeat all day everyday lol. That's the only way I can get info to stick. I guess it pays off in the end.
Congratulations!! I am so happy for you!!:claps:
 
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251!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much guys for believing in me I am shaking!!! That exam was absolutely brutal and I had to check the score report twice to see if my name was actually correct... this doesn't feel real. I cried for a week after the exam thinking I ruined my life and shots at residency as an IMG since I made so many mistakes from mental exhaustion. Please take care of yourself to avoid such feelings.

Remember, it really is true that post exam feelings do not correlate with your score at all. This entire time I had hopes of passing and I knew that if I pass it will be like a 210 or something... I guess my exam had to have a ridiculous question set and many people found it hard and messed up. That is the only explanation. I don't understand the USMLE curves at all lol. I felt much better after step 1 and I scored a 233... crazy!!!!
Big congrats bud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is awesome news :) I guess all that mental torture is worth it huh
 
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