Official 2019 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

[curiousmind8]

Please, limit your posts and questions to only CK exam experience related. It's hard for others to go through so many unrelated posts to finally a post about CK exam.

Thank you very much to all those who share their experience with everyone.

Best of luck!

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[nebuchadnezzarII]

Thanks for replying back also What was your uw average? Also did you do it time and random?

My UW average was a 72%. I did some specific 20 Q sets at the beginning so let’s call it 70% since 5% of the questions were subject specific which would skew the data set slightly.

 

[super_mom]

My UW average was a 72%. I did some specific 20 Q sets at the beginning so let’s call it 70% since 5% of the questions were subject specific which would skew the data set slightly.

Thank you

 

[ciestar]

Two weeks to go. Getting through 3000 UWorld questions in a month is not as easy as I thought it would be. And it didn't sound very easy to begin with.

I did not finish UWorld

 

[mdstudent22]

Anyone get results yet?

 

[SurgeonAtlas]

Background: Non-US IMG Step 1 265, Step 2 CS Pass 1st attempt. I used UWorld, MTB and FA step 2 + FA step 1 for biostatistics. Studied for 4-5 months.

-UWorld first pass 82,5% (2275 correct, 484 incorrect), 90th percentile
-NBME 6 --> 250 (14 fails) (7 weeks before)
-UWSA 1 --> 271 (20 fails) (5 weeks before)
-NBME 7 --> 264 (16 fails) (3 weeks before)
-UWSA2 --> 269 (22 fails) (2 weeks before)
-NBME 8 --> 273 (11 fails) (1 week before)
-UWorld 2nd pass 16th June--> 94,7% 99th percentile


-Step 2 CK 20th June--> 268!!!

 

[mdstudent22]

Background: Non-US IMG Step 1 265, Step 2 CS Pass 1st attempt. I used UWorld, MTB and FA step 2 + FA step 1 for biostatistics. Studied for 4-5 months.

-UWorld first pass 82,5% (2275 correct, 484 incorrect), 90th percentile
-NBME 6 --> 250 (14 fails) (7 weeks before)
-UWSA 1 --> 271 (20 fails) (5 weeks before)
-NBME 7 --> 264 (16 fails) (3 weeks before)
-UWSA2 --> 269 (22 fails) (2 weeks before)
-NBME 8 --> 273 (11 fails) (1 week before)
-UWorld 2nd pass 16th June--> 94,7% 99th percentile


-Step 2 CK 20th June--> 268!!!

Unbelievable! Congratulations!

 

[sasao2012]

Background: Non-US IMG Step 1 265, Step 2 CS Pass 1st attempt. I used UWorld, MTB and FA step 2 + FA step 1 for biostatistics. Studied for 4-5 months.

-UWorld first pass 82,5% (2275 correct, 484 incorrect), 90th percentile
-NBME 6 --> 250 (14 fails) (7 weeks before)
-UWSA 1 --> 271 (20 fails) (5 weeks before)
-NBME 7 --> 264 (16 fails) (3 weeks before)
-UWSA2 --> 269 (22 fails) (2 weeks before)
-NBME 8 --> 273 (11 fails) (1 week before)
-UWorld 2nd pass 16th June--> 94,7% 99th percentile


-Step 2 CK 20th June--> 268!!!

CONGRATS!!

 

[EngineertoDoctor]

So has anyone else who took it the 19th gotten their score? Because I haven't and I feel like I'm dying.

 

[bananafish94]

I did not finish UWorld

Any hot tips for the last 1.5 weeks?

 

[SNAMJ]

Got my scores today 213 thanks God i passed this rough exam

 

[exitonly29]

Did scores come out early? I thought it was always exactly 11am EST

 

[Thelonious Chunk]

Did scores come out early? I thought it was always exactly 11am EST

I don’t have mine yet. 6/14

 

[apollo4321]

Congratulations!! I just got mine 221. So happy that I pass.

 

[xraylover20]

Congratulations!! I just got mine 221. So happy that I pass.

Congrats! Did you take any practice exams, and if so how was it compared to them?

 

[Thelonious Chunk]

Now I got my score. beat step 1 by 40 points. Today is a good day.

 

[thinkingitout]

Any scores from those that took the test on the 22nd?

 

[bondbond]

Hi everybody.

I took my exam 6/17/19. I found my first three blocks super tough because they had a lot of questions with long, confusing stems. I was pinched for time on each of them and ended up having to randomly guess on about 20 in total I'd say. The rest of the exam met my expectations and felt pretty similar to Uworld. Something that has been bothering me, though, is the difference between my NBME scores and Uworld percentage/UWSA scores.
NBME 6 (two weeks before real deal): 220
NBME 7 & 8 (taken back to back one week before real deal) 222 and 224, respectively.
UWSA 1 (two days before real deal): 257
Uworld first pass: 62%
Uworld 2nd pass: 79% (got about 63% of the way through)
I've heard that the NBMEs for this exam are kind of garbage and have really strict curves but it made me a little nervous that their scores were all so close to each other and that the gap between them and my UWSA score was so significant. I've also heard that the UWSAs can overpredict pretty heavily in some cases. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
P.S. I'll update when I get my score back.

Real deal: 231
I’m pretty bummed out. My worst fear came true, but I’m happy to have have some improvement from Step 1, even if not much. Congrats to everyone getting their scores back today.

 

[docisthegoal]

Any scores from those that took the test on the 22nd?

I took it on the 22nd too and nothing on my end

 

[TTPpentad]

I took it on the 22nd too and nothing on my end

Same here. Onto next week...

ETA: my permit buttons are still there too so I figured it would be pretty unlikely to get my score today

 

[thinkingitout]

Same here. Onto next week...

ETA: my permit buttons are still there too so I figured it would be pretty unlikely to get my score today

I saw where some that took it on the 22nd had their permits disappear, so I was hoping for today. Doesn't make sense that they would release 6/17 - 6/21 today and just leave 6/22 for next week. But they play by their own rules, so we'll see.

 

[GREY20]

I saw where some that took it on the 22nd had their permits disappear, so I was hoping for today. Doesn't make sense that they would release 6/17 - 6/21 today and just leave 6/22 for next week. But they play by their own rules, so we'll see.

Doesn’t make sense to me at all. I’m hoping this doesn’t mean waiting until end of August.

 

[exitonly29]

Took it 6/21 got my score today.

 

[apollo4321]

Congrats! Did you take any practice exams, and if so how was it compared to them?

I took only "free 120" one day before the exam and get 86.5%. I finish FA once and didn't do any Uworld or NBME. (i know this sounds really stupid)
I'm an IMG. I already finish my residency in my home country. My goal is to do the fellowship in the US and need to be ECFMG certified.
my step 1 : 240-245
CK : 221

this is definitely not a good idea and I know this was a very stupid&risky plan LOL. I was shocked on the exam day because the exam was much more difficult than I thought. I felt like I was guessing through the test and fail. If I could turn back time, may be I would take couple of NBME or UWSA to see where I am.
thank god that I pass.

 

[super_mom]

Now I got my score. beat step 1 by 40 points. Today is a good day.

Congratulations I have a low step 1 too and want to you step 2 to makeup. Pls what where you assessment scores and UWorld average. Also what resources did you use?how long did you take to study for this exam

 

[TB_13]

Took it 6/20..

Got a 219. Super bummed out. Dropped about 15 points from my Step 1. All my practice scores were in the 230s-low 240s. Considering a score recheck.

On my score breakdown, none of the bars on the right side are moved in either direction of lower or higher, they are just all down the middle under “same”. Anyone else see this?

 

[ciestar]

Any hot tips for the last 1.5 weeks?

Focused studying. Cardio was the most represented on my exam. Trust your practice scores!

 

[ciestar]

Congratulations I have a low step 1 too and want to you step 2 to makeup. Pls what where you assessment scores and UWorld average. Also what resources did you use?how long did you take to study for this exam

Not who you addressed, but, I went from a 211 to a 245. Scores were NBME 6 226, UWSA 1 247, UWSA 2 245. UWorld average 78%.

I only used UWorld and OME. Studied for a month.

 

[super_mom]

I took only "free 120" one day before the exam and get 86.5%. I finish FA once and didn't do any Uworld or NBME. (i know this sounds really stupid)
I'm an IMG. I already finish my residency in my home country. My goal is to do the fellowship in the US and need to be ECFMG certified.
my step 1 : 240-245
CK : 221

this is definitely not a good idea and I know this was a very stupid&risky plan LOL. I was shocked on the exam day because the exam was much more difficult than I thought. I felt like I was guessing through the test and fail. If I could turn back time, may be I would take couple of NBME or UWSA to see where I am.
thank god that I pass.

When you say u didn not do any uworld do you mean you did not do Uworld practice questions or u mean just the UW assement?

 

[apollo4321]

When you say u didn not do any uworld do you mean you did not do Uworld practice questions or u mean just the UW assement?

I didn't do both of them.

 

[super_mom]

I didn't do both of them.

Wowwww you are very brave and bold to take the exam without practice questions. But you are also very smart to pass with a 221 without doing the Holy grail= Uworld questions. Congratulations on passing and being done with this exam....I can’t wait to be done with it.

 

[apollo4321]

Wowwww you are very brave and bold to take the exam without practice questions. But you are also very smart to pass with a 221 without doing the Holy grail= Uworld questions. Congratulations on passing and being done with this exam....I can’t wait to be done with it.

Thank you. but my advice is not to try this.LOL
Before the exam I just want to passed and done with the exam. I thought I'd be ok with any score.
But after the exam I was so afraid that I would fail and had to do this all over again. Also the 4 weeks of waiting was terrible.
my advice is to give your best shot . I hope you pass easily and get great score on the exam.

 

[Thelonious Chunk]

Congratulations I have a low step 1 too and want to you step 2 to makeup. Pls what where you assessment scores and UWorld average. Also what resources did you use?how long did you take to study for this exam

Well it can be done. I focused on UW starting at the beginning of 3rd year. I used anki throughout the year (WiWa deck) and in dedicated made cards for what I had not learned yet. I completed the OnlineMedEd audio files for each rotation during my commute. I completed one pass of UW during the year and another pass during a 3.5 week dedicated. I also did about 700 Amboss questions before my dedicated period. My UW for first pass (I learned from this pass) was a 65% and my second pass was 82%. I took two practice tests. I took NBME 6 3 months before my test and got a 206. I took UWSA1 6 weeks before my exam and got a 238. Have fun!

 

[echidna001]

Is it common to feel rather panicked and like you remember absolutely nothing the day before the exam?

UWSA 1 and 2: Both 256 (weeks 1 and 2 of dedicated)
NBME 8: 267 (week 3 of dedicated, complete outlier I think)
Free 120: 90%
UWorld % 2nd pass (will finish a little over 2000 of the questions): ~ 79%
About 200 questions in Amboss: % in the mid 60's (I'm hoping those represent the worst of what I'll see tomorrow)

Strategy: UWorld + online med ed notes (watched videos during clerkships) + step 2 secretes for weak spots + FA Step 1 (skimmed through bio-chem, biostats, parts of pharm/immunology)

Will update when I get my score in late August. I was not able to sleep at all before Step 1. Hopefully I have better luck this time.

 

[super_mom]

Thank you. but my advice is not to try this.LOL
Before the exam I just want to passed and done with the exam. I thought I'd be ok with any score.
But after the exam I was so afraid that I would fail and had to do this all over again. Also the 4 weeks of waiting was terrible.
my advice is to give your best shot . I hope you pass easily and get great score on the exam.

Thank you, no I won’t try that lol...been doing UW questions and will taking my first UW assessment soon

 

[super_mom]

Well it can be done. I focused on UW starting at the beginning of 3rd year. I used anki throughout the year (WiWa deck) and in dedicated made cards for what I had not learned yet. I completed the OnlineMedEd audio files for each rotation during my commute. I completed one pass of UW during the year and another pass during a 3.5 week dedicated. I also did about 700 Amboss questions before my dedicated period. My UW for first pass (I learned from this pass) was a 65% and my second pass was 82%. I took two practice tests. I took NBME 6 3 months before my test and got a 206. I took UWSA1 6 weeks before my exam and got a 238. Have fun!

Thank you for this

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

Took it 6/20..

Got a 219. Super bummed out. Dropped about 15 points from my Step 1. All my practice scores were in the 230s-low 240s. Considering a score recheck.

On my score breakdown, none of the bars on the right side are moved in either direction of lower or higher, they are just all down the middle under “same”. Anyone else see this?

Sorry to hear about this. Which exams did you take (practice exams) and how long before CK did you take them? How did you feel during the exam?

 

[OlivesandChips]

Test date: 6/21

UWSA 1: 252 (2 weeks out)
UWSA 2: 249 (1 week out)
NBME 6: 237 (2 days before)
UWorld 1.5x (64% first pass, 80% halfway through second run)

Real Deal Step 2 CK: 258

exam feels: felt badly after my practice exams and felt poorly coming out of the exam.
resources: UWorld, Step up to Medicine, Online Med Ed during two weeks dedicated and a month of easier rotations prior to dedicated. Throughout the year used UWorld, OME, Step up to medicine, FA for the OBGYN clerkship, FA for the psychiatry clerkship. There were others but these were most helpful.
background: failed COMLEX level 1 first attempt (D.O). comebacks are possible!

 

[Medit8A]

Just a follow up, I am part of the “pack” that felt like this exam was super hard. I’ve had insecure feelings for weeks like I’d get a 220 or worse. I felt like I would have flagged over half the exam but eventually just gave up flagging and answered many questions feeling very unsure and like there was no clear answer.

UW first pass 64% then did incorrects and flagged
UWSA1 244
UWSA2 252
NBME 7 235
Step 1 233

Real deal CK 244

While I was slightly bummed it wasn’t higher like my UWSA2 I am relieved I didn’t bomb it. I’m a DO going into psych so feel I’m in a good spot. Just reassurance to anyone else out there to trust in your practice scores, this test is a beast.

 

[LogisticalMD]

Took it 6/20..

Got a 219. Super bummed out. Dropped about 15 points from my Step 1. All my practice scores were in the 230s-low 240s. Considering a score recheck.

On my score breakdown, none of the bars on the right side are moved in either direction of lower or higher, they are just all down the middle under “same”. Anyone else see this?

Hi TB. Just wanted to address your question at the end of your post, since I didn't see anyone answer and I have seen some other posts where people are confused by the new score report... the new score report breakdown, unfortunately, is almost useless compared to the old version. This is because the boxes for "lower, same, higher" are telling you how you performed on those subjects RELATIVE TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL OVERALL SCORE on the exam. They are not telling you how you performed relative to the mean or relative to the other test takers (the old score report gave performance indicators relative to "borderline" which I assume is the minimum to pass, but in my opinion that is far more useful information). So for example, since you stated that all your bars are in the middle "same" category, this means that your performance on all the categories was pretty much the same; i.e. your proficiency across categories is not erratic where, for example, you do really well in cardio and pulmonary, but perform really poorly in psych and renal, and it just all averaged out to a 219. Rather, it's telling you that you were consistent and performed at roughly a 219 level across all categories.

But I think we can make some deductions with this information. Since the passing score for CK is 209 and the mean is currently 244 (I think?), we can reasonably conclude that you performed below average, but above borderline, on all subjects; probably a bit closer to borderline since 219 is closer to 209 than it is to 244. I hope this helps clear up the confusion!

By the way, everything I wrote was meant to be 100% objective analysis based on the numbers you posted. I was not trying to make you feel bad or anything of the sort, so I hope you do not interpret it that way. We are all in this together. I know you are bummed about your score and I'm sorry to hear that your CK score dropped from your Step 1 and your practice exam scores. This is actually one of my biggest fears with board exams - that we put in all the hard work, countless study hours, sacrifices, emotional highs & lows only for the final result to be below our capability and expectations. I will feel the exact same way if this happens to me. I took my CK on 6/28 so I am still waiting with fear and anxiety to see my fate. I thought the exam was very difficult.

Thank you for sharing your results. Keep your head up and know that your score on one stupid test does not define you as a person, nor does it accurately assess your ability to be a good physician and your dedication to the field of medicine. I know 3 students from my school who matched this past March with step 1 scores of 198, 206, and 209. It's far more common than we are lead to believe on the internet. Best of luck!

 

[TB_13]

Thank you for sharing your results. Keep your head up and know that your score on one stupid test does not define you as a person, nor does it accurately assess your ability to be a good physician and your dedication to the field of medicine. I know 3 students from my school who matched this past March with step 1 scores of 198, 206, and 209. It's far more common than we are lead to believe on the internet. Best of luck!

Thank you for the explanation of the score report and your positivity. I'm starting to get over it. I'm not trying to go into a super competitive specialty so I still might be okay, I just really don't know what happened. I felt pretty good on my test day, much better than I did with Step 1. And like I previously stated my practice test scores were much higher. I absolutely did not see this coming, but I'm trying to keep my head up!

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

Thank you for the explanation of the score report and your positivity. I'm starting to get over it. I'm not trying to go into a super competitive specialty so I still might be okay, I just really don't know what happened. I felt pretty good on my test day, much better than I did with Step 1. And like I previously stated my practice test scores were much higher. I absolutely did not see this coming, but I'm trying to keep my head up!

Which practice exams did you take exactly?

 

[TB_13]

Which practice exams did you take exactly?

NBME7: 228 (2 weeks out)
UWSA1: 230 (1 week out)
UWSA2: 243 (4 days before)

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

NBME7: 228 (2 weeks out)
UWSA1: 230 (1 week out)
UWSA2: 243 (4 days before)

I'm so sorry this happened. That's ridiculous since you did so much better on the practice exams. I guess it must have been just bad luck. But glad to hear you're starting to feel a little bit better about it. Rejoice - you passed!

 

[NotYou20]

Got my score back today.
Step 1 245+
NBME 6: 260
UWSA1 265
UWSA2 263
UWorld first time through on clerkships got 73%, high 90% on the 400 questions I did on the second pass.
Did some amboss, don't remember my scores. I thought it was helpful for the real exam because they're similar in having some real WTF questions.
Completed Zanki, started in December.
Watched most of OME. The week before I watched videos in my weak subjects

Felt like the hardest exam ever. Like after reading the vignette and question I usually had an idea what the answer they were looking for was then that answer just wasn't there and I was choosing between 2 or 3 answers. Others I didn't know what the vignette was getting at but thought I could kinda sorta make an argument for something and found an answer choice to go with it. Only a few questions I felt really confident in the answer. I had a few minutes of time remaining in a few of the middle blocks so I went over unmarked questions and looking at things again my answers seemed reasonable. It helped reassure me that I probably wasn't totally bombing it.

Real score: 268!!

Trust your practice scores. When studying UWorld just be aware that the real test won't just give you the exact answer UWorld does. You need to try to understand what that test/med/whatever does, why you're doing it, and in what variations of the question you'd do something different. The test picks at small differences so each time you pick an answer take a few seconds to think if there's something in the question telling you not to pick that (ex contraindication for a medication, sending an unstable patient to CT when you can do something in the ED.) Right after the test I couldn't think of a single question Zanki helped me get. But I think it was really useful because it allowed me to focus in the details of UWorld explanations because I knew there would be Zanki cards to make me remember the main points.

 

[JHUDJA]

Not who you addressed, but, I went from a 211 to a 245. Scores were NBME 6 226, UWSA 1 247, UWSA 2 245. UWorld average 78%.

I only used UWorld and OME. Studied for a month.

Congrats!!! I’m in a very similar boat with similar scores. Really hoping for a 240 something at least. My UWSA’s were 244 and 242. Deathly afraid I somehow bombed again and my practice exams overestimated. But I took it on 7/3, so I have a little while to wait. Apparently dates after June 28th are delayed until August 28th. :-/

 

[whydididothistomyself]

So I took Step 2 yesterday...
The length of the test got to me. My endurance is definitely not as strong as it was for Step 1. I am almost certain I made many dumb mistakes because of "fog brain". I also overthought easy answers and am kicking myself for it now.. seriously cannot stop thinking about all the questions I got wrong.
Hopefully in the grand scheme of things it won't knock me down too much...
I'll let you guys know the verdict on that.

It felt a lot like UW. But I was really annoyed with how many Step 1 style questions I got because I DID NOT prepare for that at all. Like histology findings on lung biopsies... okay cool dude. But overall, I do have to say the exam was fair. I didn't walk out feeling like I was under-prepared for the exam in its entirety. All I did was UWorld questions and occasionally referred back to First Aid or Sketchy Micro for basics I had forgotten.

First round of UWorld my average was whatever the average is for it. I kinda half-assed that one tbh.
Second pass of UWorld I did all random, either tutor or timed, and ended up with 84%

NBME 8 (took a few months out just to see my base): 222
NBME 7 (1 month out): 245
UW1 (2 weeks out): 252
UW2 (5 days out): 257
Free 120 (2 days out): 88%

Step 1: 246
Step 2: ???

P.S. I didn't really study much more than the day before my shelf exams, so I am of no help there. But I can definitely say it would've helped me tremendously to have that base going into my whopping 9 days of dedicated. But I did my best to study as much as I could on my last rotation because I knew I had so little time for dedicated.

Praying for >250

Score came back today: 257!!

 

[flanais]

step 1: 250+
USWA1:268
USWA2:267
practice nbmes between 254-256
UW qbank first pass: 75%

Step2 CK: 269

i had just under two weeks of dedicated study time where i just powered through all of ome. i finished uworld once throughout my clerkship year and made it around half way through the qbank once again before i sat my test. those were the only two resources i used. i felt like garbage walking out of the testing center. marked at least half of each block and second guessed almost every question. i truly thought i bombed it, which seems to be the pattern i've been seeing here.

tl;dr: test was brutal, but trust your gut and your USWA practice tests

 

[Messengeri]

step 1: 250+
USWA1:268
USWA2:267
practice nbmes between 254-256
UW qbank first pass: 75%

Step2 CK: 269

i had just under two weeks of dedicated study time where i just powered through all of ome. i finished uworld once throughout my clerkship year and made it around half way through the qbank once again before i sat my test. those were the only two resources i used. i felt like garbage walking out of the testing center. marked at least half of each block and second guessed almost every question. i truly thought i bombed it, which seems to be the pattern i've been seeing here.

tl;dr: test was brutal, but trust your gut and your USWA practice tests

Did you use any premade deck? Or did you make your own cards?

 

[LogisticalMD]

Real score: 268!!

Score came back today: 257!!

Step2 CK: 269

Congratulations to all of you!! These are amazing scores! I will be doing backflips and handstands if I get a score anywhere near this. It's always nice to hear success stories on this beast of an exam. Thanks for sharing your results.

Can one of you please tell us what the current average and standard deviation are? Is it true that the average is 244? My girlfriend took CK last year (August 2018) and the average on her test form was 240. So that would be a pretty crazy jump in less than one year.

 

[Fobo911]

Can one of you please tell us what the current average and standard deviation are? Is it true that the average is 244? My girlfriend took CK last year (August 2018) and the average on her test form was 240. So that would be a pretty crazy jump in less than one year.

Yup, average of 244, SD of 17. Crazy that the mean last year is now 40th percentile this year.