Step II Score going down???

[persia]

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I started off on UW doing ok, some really high scores like 80% and then did all of psych and was averaging 58%. Now, doing everything else (without the psych) I am getting killed and my scores are hovering around 50%. Usually like 47% or 52%. Now I have done about 40% and my score is down to 52%. 😱

I dread doing each 46 timed block now because my scores aren't budging but my overall score is coming down. I was hoping to take the exam in two weeks and am studying all day everyday but it doesn't look good. Right now according to the score calculator I have a wopping 181 estimated score. 🙁

what is happening to my brain??? I look up the answers and write them out after each block. I would think that I would feel smarter but I just keep feeling stupider and stupider. Anyone else in this situation? I get depressed reading about 70% averages. There's no rhyme or reason either, I mean sometimes I get the really really hard ones and then miss the ones where 81% of people got the answer right. I am really freaking out!!

 

[Jatpot]

#1: Stop reading these forums. Ok, I'm one to talk b/c my exam is the day after tomorrow and I'm on here, but seriously, you sound like you're psyching yourself out by reading peoples' UW averages.

I've resigned myself to the fact that my UW scores are what they are (which is totally random and all over the shop), and the most important thing is to LEARN from UW, not try to correlate it to a predicted score.

I just finished my psych rotation, so I've only had the past three days to study w/no other committments. I've taken so many tests and gotten anywhere from a 50%--73%. UW is awesome for step 2 prep, but it's hard, and difficult to predict how you've done on a particular test. For example, my 50%...thought I did allright. A 67% today that I thought for sure I'd had me a$$ handed to me.

Just keep plugging away and learning from the ?s you get wrong. If you need a morale boost, try an nbme or at leased the released practice ?s. I only did nbme #1, but I heard they are all easier than UW. I felt way more relaxed after taking that (btw--I did way better on it than my UW score would predice).

Good luck. 👍 I'll try to remember to post after I get my score. But for now...back to grading UW exams/cramming for the next 36 hours...

 

[manning18]

Don't focus on the scores so much as the breakdown of where you're doing well and where you're missing the boat, both in terms of subject and types of questions. If there are certain subjects and or types of questions where you're doing poorly consitently, focus on those as your exam approaches.
Don't worry about the high flying scores you see on this forum. They may all be true (which I doubt), but it's just a small sample of all examinees. If these boards were that accurate, it seems like one would need to be AOA with a 240+ just to get any Residency in any field.

 

[persia]

Thanks guys for your comments. I am sort of freaking out here. I don't understand how I can be so 'dumb.' 50%??? I do the questions and now they just seem like an endless stream of meaningless factoids. When I look up the answers I can say, well yes I guess that makes sense. But I didn't know that for instance, the best treatment for cluster headaches is O2. Does everyone keep O2 by their bedside? Wouldn't ergotamine be a better answer??

The level of detail seems ridiculously deep and I am despairing of how I can keep all these individual facts in my head. I don't seem to be building on my knowledge base. Bleh - 🙁