Step 2 in 2 weeks question

[ZOX]

I've got Step 2 in two weeks. I've done UW once and averaged exactly 60%. I obviously want to do better and my goal is to score 220 or higher on the real thing.

My question is: which option should I do

1. Reread all of the UW questions two more times. (8 question sets per day= one run through in a week so in 2 weeks = 2 run throughs)

2. Repeat the questions once. I do timed sets and then go over the answers again. That will take more time because it will take at least an hour to do a question set and another hour to review

I feel like I know my basics well but I don't know that extra piece of knowledge. For example, I didn't know that Strep Bovis is associated with Colon Cancer. I also didn't the type of mitral valve deficiency (SAM) that is associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There are a lot of topics like that which are not covered in Secrets or other common review books.

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[MCYan]

I don't know how it is physically possible to do 8 tests a day - unless you don't read through the answer explanation.

I would redo the ones you got wrong and read through the explanation carefully to make sure you learn it. I also want to say that uworld will only help you tackle 2/3 of questions on the real thing, while the remaining 1/3 will either be things you see during 3rd year of med school or the wtf type questions.

 

[badgerred]

I don't know how it is physically possible to do 8 tests a day - unless you don't read through the answer explanation.

I would redo the ones you got wrong and read through the explanation carefully to make sure you learn it. I also want to say that uworld will only help you tackle 2/3 of questions on the real thing, while the remaining 1/3 will either be things you see during 3rd year of med school or the wtf type questions.

He or she has already done the entire qbank once so it's not that unusual that one could read 8 of their previous exams a day assuming they have all day to study. Unless you are a slow reader, I don't see how you couldn't read through them quickly since you have already done the enitre qbank

To the OP, I wouldn't read the entire qbank. I'm sure there are many answers you guessed on but didn't really know. Unless you marked those questions, I would try to go over the whole test at least one more time.

And regarding UW only helping with 2/3 of the test. I don't think I agree with that

 

[PlutoBoy]

You may be already over 220... I dont believe that repeating questions can substantially improve scores... I'd say work on what you already know. You've got the hang of it by now. So just fix in your head the things you should know and that must be memorized like target LDL levels and other things like that... Dont overlook preventive medicine and care of the healthy child. Stick to your review book!

 

[ZOX]

Thanks Pluto, MCYan and Badger for your responses. Do you think USMLE Step 2 Secrets is worth reading in the final week? Last question, how does the real exam compare to UW in format? Is it harder? Does the real test have a lot of zebras like UW?

 

[IM Substance P]

I'd say 90% of 2CK questions are the same difficulty level as the easiest 60% of UW questions.

Does that make sense? For the most part, 2CK is easier than UW.

I don't know about you, but I'm certain you'll recognize most of the repeat questions. It's amazing how well you can remember one out of 2,000 questions, but you'll remember them.

 

[ZOX]

I'd say 90% of 2CK questions are the same difficulty level as the easiest 60% of UW questions.

Does that make sense? For the most part, 2CK is easier than UW.

I don't know about you, but I'm certain you'll recognize most of the repeat questions. It's amazing how well you can remember one out of 2,000 questions, but you'll remember them.

Yes, it does make sense and that's kind of what I was hoping for because many of the topics on UW are not covered in Crush, Secrets or First Aid like knowing SAM is the specific mitral valve defect in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the psychiatric disorder folie a dieux or distinguishing between between ARDS and Cardiopulmonary edema by analyzing the PCWP. I hear people rave about Secrets and it always puzzled me how it could be a good source if the 30-40% of the teaching points on UW are not even covered in Secrets, Crush or First Aid. But I can see that if 90% of the real Step 2 covers the easiest 60% of UW, then a book like Secrets would be really helpful