- Joined
- May 1, 2017
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 8
For background
Step 1 - 233(2011)
Step 2 Cs- Fail - CIS portion ☹(2013)
Step 2 - 221(2018)
Step 2 CS - pass on 2nd attempt(2018)
Applying for 2020 match
Started studying casually in Jan exclusively uworld tutor mode. End of Jan took uwsa1 - 185... was a little bummed. Finished uworld 1st time and restarted it mid feb. Took Uwsa2-194....still bummed so rescheduled. Started studying uworld more seriously. Studied wrong answers and tables extensively. Finished uworld 2nd round end of march and took nbme 4 - 240/800 and nbme 5 - 390. Started uworld 3rd time. Mid April took uwsa-1 again - 220. Then took the exam day 1 a week later. First few blocks seemed relatively easy in that it took only 30 seconds for me to answer alot of the questions which gave me a couple minutes at the end of each block to review. Last 4-5 blocks, I didnt have time to answer 1-2 questions since I ran out of time and had to guess. I think poor time management while answering the drug ad questions was a big factor, which I doubt was even worth it since I wasnt sure about half of the drug ad questions. But overall I felt confident coming out of that day and not so drained like Step 1 and CK. Day 2 was a week later which Im so glad I did because I took these days between test days to do only the 50 uworld practice simulation cases and 1 block a day of uworld mcqs. I didnt bother with the other 40 cases but I skimmed a few just for extra knowledge. On exam day 2, same feelings, had alot of questions i answered within 30 secs but there were definitely 1 or 2 questions per block where I had to completely guess which made me feel good since most questions I either knew it or could narrow it down to 2. Mcqs on both days were very similar to uworld so I'm glad I went through uworld mcqs 3 times around. Biostats is heavy on day 1 so know it. Uworld biostats mcqs is all the practice you need for that I think. If you want to understand the concepts a bit more, check out some youtube vids the day before the exam to help solidify your techniques.
For the CS half of Day 2 there were 13 cases. Six 10 minute ones and seven 20 min ones. I felt the lag between clicking on orders was the biggest factor during the 10 min ones since a few of them i couldnt even finish the case in time for the 2 minute warning but I didnt have any time issues with the 20 min ones. I think 3 of the cases I didnt do right and it kept giving me updates on the patients lack of improvement until the time expired which I kinda freaked out so i had to take a few mins break after those sims lol. But the rest were relatively simple and I felt was very prepared by thoroughly studying the uworld cs cases the week before (like practice each case 4-5 times minimum).
Just found out my exam score...233.
All my practice exams significantly underestimated the real score..Even the uwsa which i took twice haha. Overall Im just relieved to be done with Usmle and now full focus on residency apps.
Step 1 - 233(2011)
Step 2 Cs- Fail - CIS portion ☹(2013)
Step 2 - 221(2018)
Step 2 CS - pass on 2nd attempt(2018)
Applying for 2020 match
Started studying casually in Jan exclusively uworld tutor mode. End of Jan took uwsa1 - 185... was a little bummed. Finished uworld 1st time and restarted it mid feb. Took Uwsa2-194....still bummed so rescheduled. Started studying uworld more seriously. Studied wrong answers and tables extensively. Finished uworld 2nd round end of march and took nbme 4 - 240/800 and nbme 5 - 390. Started uworld 3rd time. Mid April took uwsa-1 again - 220. Then took the exam day 1 a week later. First few blocks seemed relatively easy in that it took only 30 seconds for me to answer alot of the questions which gave me a couple minutes at the end of each block to review. Last 4-5 blocks, I didnt have time to answer 1-2 questions since I ran out of time and had to guess. I think poor time management while answering the drug ad questions was a big factor, which I doubt was even worth it since I wasnt sure about half of the drug ad questions. But overall I felt confident coming out of that day and not so drained like Step 1 and CK. Day 2 was a week later which Im so glad I did because I took these days between test days to do only the 50 uworld practice simulation cases and 1 block a day of uworld mcqs. I didnt bother with the other 40 cases but I skimmed a few just for extra knowledge. On exam day 2, same feelings, had alot of questions i answered within 30 secs but there were definitely 1 or 2 questions per block where I had to completely guess which made me feel good since most questions I either knew it or could narrow it down to 2. Mcqs on both days were very similar to uworld so I'm glad I went through uworld mcqs 3 times around. Biostats is heavy on day 1 so know it. Uworld biostats mcqs is all the practice you need for that I think. If you want to understand the concepts a bit more, check out some youtube vids the day before the exam to help solidify your techniques.
For the CS half of Day 2 there were 13 cases. Six 10 minute ones and seven 20 min ones. I felt the lag between clicking on orders was the biggest factor during the 10 min ones since a few of them i couldnt even finish the case in time for the 2 minute warning but I didnt have any time issues with the 20 min ones. I think 3 of the cases I didnt do right and it kept giving me updates on the patients lack of improvement until the time expired which I kinda freaked out so i had to take a few mins break after those sims lol. But the rest were relatively simple and I felt was very prepared by thoroughly studying the uworld cs cases the week before (like practice each case 4-5 times minimum).
Just found out my exam score...233.
All my practice exams significantly underestimated the real score..Even the uwsa which i took twice haha. Overall Im just relieved to be done with Usmle and now full focus on residency apps.