Step 2 experience

[IntrinsicFactor]

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I took step 2 the other day. Here's what I think:

Crush Step 2 is a great review book. I pretty sure every question on the exam could have been answered by that book.

qBank was highly representative of the exam, in the length, complexity and content of the questions. I know others disagree on this, but this is my experience.

I used NMS questions, the sample USMLE questions on their site, and any other questions I could find. And I still think qBank was closest to the mark on representing the actual exam, though these other questions helped alot just for reviewing the material.

I also used Prescription for the Boards, though I didn't read it completely. I used it for reference when I wanted a more in-depth review than what Crush offers.

My advice is was you may have read elsewhere: Review from Crush Step 2, and then do tons of questions. There is only a finite amount of material they can test you on, so the more questions you do, the more likely you will have covered most/all of the testing points.

Good luck!!

 

[hamza4ever]

hey, thanks for the post, appreciate that. i'm busy with my step 2 prep and it was good to hear about ur experience.
i've pretty much stuck with kaplan notes for step 2 and am doin qbank right now...
anyways, good luck with the results.......
take care and keep smiling..🙂
by the way, what approach did u use while readin the questions. did u start from reading the last line of the question stem or ......

 

[tetris]

any opinions on the kaplan simulation CD with 360 questions - the one you get when you take the kaplan step 2 review course?

how do the questions on it compare with Qbank as far as length and difficulty?

 

[Santiago]

Originally posted by tetris
any opinions on the kaplan simulation CD with 360 questions - the one you get when you take the kaplan step 2 review course?

how do the questions on it compare with Qbank as far as length and difficulty?

The Kap simulated CD has plemty of mistakes so be aware when you do it.Kap Q bank is def better.It hits the HY topics pretty hard.

 

[IntrinsicFactor]

When I started a question, I always looked at the last sentence first. Then I glossed over the answers, then I read the question. Sometimes, I was able to answer the question by reading only the first sentence, last sentence, and answers, but the questions were *usually* a little more complex than that.

BTW, several of my friends have said that Kaplan's review notes are a bit too much. You can't read all that, then remember what you read in the first set. I think they found them best to use throughout the year as they studied for shelf exams.

Once again, good luck!

 

[notstudying]

I took Step 2 last week-I thought the real questions were much pickier than CTB-same topics covered, but CTB wouldn't have any review of mechanisms, and I got some really nit picky mechanism qs (Deja vu of Step 1). Q bank was better-still not quite as hard as the real deal, but I was pleasantly surprised at how familiar the format was, and that the ratio qbank had was similar-I had lots of psych and OB questions. I even had several questions that were very very (suspiciously!) similar to actual Step 2 qs!

 

[tetris]

do any of you look at the tons of questions posted on valuemd.com and usmle.net? do you know where they're from - actual exams, review books, or just made up by the person who posts them?

 

[IntrinsicFactor]

The few that I looked at on usmle.net do not bear any resemblance to the questions I had on step 2.

 

[tetris]

i agree. for some of the questions, it look like these people are just trying to quiz each other (i.e., they're made up), especially the "poll"-style questions. but then others look pretty realistic. any other thoughts?

 

[sbear]

I've been using qbank and becoming a bit flustered as test day gets closer. I'm worried b/c I keep reading here that the real thing is much harder than qbank. I know there's much dispute about whether there is any score correlation with the real thing but what has been your experiences so far?

Thanks.

 

[IntrinsicFactor]

Keep doing qBank until you can get all the questions correct. You will then be in great shape for the exam. If you are getting, say, 30% wrong, study those areas and then take qBank again until you get these questions correct.

Who knows about the correlation between qBank and the actual Step 2. Maybe Kaplan has stats on that. I almost postponed my exam a week before I was to take it, then decided to go ahead and do it. I think many of us think we aren't ready for it as the exam date approaches.

People have different experiences with the exam. I didn't think the real thing was remarkably harder than qBank; I thought they were very similar.

 

[notstudying]

Just got my results today... 145/99. I was averaging 70% on qbank (no repeats)-by the end my scores were often in the mid 70s. I ended up just doing about a quarter of them. I also used Crush the boards (thought it wasn't detailed enough but I guess I did OK), and a little of NMS medicine.

Good luck to everyone who still has to take it!

 

[scrupulous79]

i was doing q bank in the 4 weeks leading up to the exam....i never got to finish it, but i averaged in the 70's (mostly 70's, a few low 80's and one 68).....my scores went up as i got closer to the exam....i did nms questions and got 70's and some 60's on those....i also did step 2 mock exam and got 80's on those.....i read crush the boards(but not boards and wards which is also a good book)....crush the boards was very high yield and is a good review in the few days leading up to the exam....i also got the kaplan series for step 2 about a month before the exam and read that while doing my rotations up until step2...i focused on the medicine, peds and OBGYN books....i ended up with a 249/99....i was very surprised by my score....the test is closest to the qbank, only it is somewhat harder and the questions are longer....i would definitely say qbank was worth it...though this may seem stupidly obvious, in order to do well on the exam, you need to know the most common cause, the way to diagnose, and how to treat diseases...that should be the way you try to focus your studying for this exam....knowing buzzwords alone wont really suffice...also, the more questions you do, the more familiar you will become with the vignettes presented on the actual test....
good luck