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Step II USMLE - Official 2015 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread
Started by WBecks0
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Just took the test recently. I agree with the above in that it was heavy on biostats (felt like 20+ Q's). I felt that reading FA Step 1's Biostats section beforehand helped significantly. You still have to know pretty much everything in that section, including biases, type I/II errors, etc.
Lots of insane bioethical scenarios. Stuff you could never prepare for. It'll frustrate you, and you just have to deal with it.
Speaking of frustration, this test sucks. It felt like the faculty from my school wrote the Q's, not the masterminds I came to respect from Step 1. In Step 1, I was confident that the question conveyed all the necessary information to answer the question; failure to answer the question was my fault. In Step 2, I absolutely did not feel that way. As the poster above said, they really cut back on the tips they give you in the question stem in such a way that prevents you from choosing between two correct answers. But even more than that, I felt the problem was that two answer choices were correct depending on how you looked at it. You have to use a lot of clinical feeling to discern what's probably better. So frequently, I had to ask myself what they wanted me to know, or what they were probably testing in a given question. I felt this way in the NBME practice tests, but more so on the exam.
My test felt most similar to the NBME exams (not UWorld or the free 131), just with longer stems. I took NBME 4, 6, and 7 as well as the free 131. I felt that these 4 tests added a lot of value in my knowledge base by thoroughly reviewing my corrects and incorrects, and I encountered probably 10-20 Q's that were very similar on my real deal.
The time constraint is real. On the NBME's, I usually finished with ~15 minutes to go to review all the Q's in a block one time through. On the real deal, mostly because of how consistently long every question was, I only had 5-7 minutes per 42/44 Q block and was lucky if I got through my marked questions. On a test that so heavily emphasizes thinking and deliberation over mindless word associations, time constraints are stressful.
Sorry to be so negative. Guess I just wanted to add another warning that you'll feel like crap after the exam and that's normal. I could go on and say more, but I'll reserve it for when I get my score. Hopefully I'll be one of those people that gets like 20+ higher than their last diagnostic, lol. I'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has.
Lots of insane bioethical scenarios. Stuff you could never prepare for. It'll frustrate you, and you just have to deal with it.
Speaking of frustration, this test sucks. It felt like the faculty from my school wrote the Q's, not the masterminds I came to respect from Step 1. In Step 1, I was confident that the question conveyed all the necessary information to answer the question; failure to answer the question was my fault. In Step 2, I absolutely did not feel that way. As the poster above said, they really cut back on the tips they give you in the question stem in such a way that prevents you from choosing between two correct answers. But even more than that, I felt the problem was that two answer choices were correct depending on how you looked at it. You have to use a lot of clinical feeling to discern what's probably better. So frequently, I had to ask myself what they wanted me to know, or what they were probably testing in a given question. I felt this way in the NBME practice tests, but more so on the exam.
My test felt most similar to the NBME exams (not UWorld or the free 131), just with longer stems. I took NBME 4, 6, and 7 as well as the free 131. I felt that these 4 tests added a lot of value in my knowledge base by thoroughly reviewing my corrects and incorrects, and I encountered probably 10-20 Q's that were very similar on my real deal.
The time constraint is real. On the NBME's, I usually finished with ~15 minutes to go to review all the Q's in a block one time through. On the real deal, mostly because of how consistently long every question was, I only had 5-7 minutes per 42/44 Q block and was lucky if I got through my marked questions. On a test that so heavily emphasizes thinking and deliberation over mindless word associations, time constraints are stressful.
Sorry to be so negative. Guess I just wanted to add another warning that you'll feel like crap after the exam and that's normal. I could go on and say more, but I'll reserve it for when I get my score. Hopefully I'll be one of those people that gets like 20+ higher than their last diagnostic, lol. I'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has.
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I had a plethora of these too and the part that annoyed me most is that in the real world 2 or 3 of the answers would be totally appropriate. Pick the best answer that the test writer is looking for.... I had 15+ of these, and only 1 heart sound. 1 CT scan and 0 stroke lesions. Random is random.
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everything? On my test I had little pharm, cv, neuro, but lots of endo. Friend's test was the opposite.
jeez! its like listening to all my weak areas. Biostat and ethics. Things you can do nothing about.
Did clinical mastery series help?
also looking back is the emphasis on uworld justified. I can hardly do more than two blocks of uworld. have still 1200+ plus Qs to go with 2 week to exam.
is there certain areas which are not well represented in uworld? i heard alot of insane endo. anything else?
Did clinical mastery series help?
also looking back is the emphasis on uworld justified. I can hardly do more than two blocks of uworld. have still 1200+ plus Qs to go with 2 week to exam.
is there certain areas which are not well represented in uworld? i heard alot of insane endo. anything else?
Lol, yeah, there's an annoying emphasis on things you can't prepare for.
I did the clinical mastery series along with shelfs during MS3. I felt Step 2 was a lot "easier" than the shelf exams (and therefore those NBMEs) in that it wasn't as nitty-gritty. The Psych on Step 2 was bipolar vs. psychosis instead of bipolar vs. MDD w/ manic features vs. schizoaffective disorder vs. adjustment disorder. You get the idea -- think of UWorld depth. So while the clinical mastery series helped me for my shelf exams and for building the knowledge base I used for studying, I'm ambivalent as to how helpful it would be during dedicated. Maybe do only the ones you're weak in.
Emphasis on UWorld is justified. I'd say it was my #1 most helpful resource, even though it was far less helpful than it was for Step 1. Do as much as you can, triaging topics that you're weak in. I only got through ~60% of my UWorld (2nd pass) and stopped in favor of reviewing notes I had taken on UWorld 1st time around.
Haha, you know, I didn't get any insane endo really. Pretty straightforward, actually. I think just the biostats and ethics weren't enough with UWorld alone. The preventative medicine and questions involving screening tests unique to various patient populations that UWorld covers were pretty much spot-on for me.
hahaha! exactly thats what i felt about clinical mastery its black and white. Nothing in gray area lol.
for now i am focusing on uworld, its been a while since i have done some these topics so taking me a while to do them.
thanks. best of luck. I am sure you will do great. your step 1 was awesome. it will in the same ballpark for sure.
I really like the idea of using UTD as the primary source of information for both general rotation study and boards, because obviously its the most updated and free for many, but what is everyone using as a framework for what to study? Ive been reading and it seems that not only are FA and MTB2/3 inaccurate in some places, but they lack some topics entirely. At least FA step 1 had the framework in place and we could fill in the details with lecture, UW, etc. To be honest I'm feeling pretty lost in terms of what to do during rotation to be ready for boards study.
On another note, reading online about "Yale-G's" notes, which were referenced earlier in this thread, and it does not look right at all. Weird internet vibes all over this book haha
Originally had Step 2 CK scheduled for July 2nd. Did DIT during the last rotation. Last rotation ended 3 days ago. One month ago took NBME 3 for a baseline and got 233.
Did all of Uworld during rotations. Did well on all shelfs. Originally had about 13 days to study from end of 3rd year to Step 2 CK.
Just took NBME 4 and got a 265. Redoing Uworld questions and getting 85-95% per block.
I just moved my test date up to tomorrow at 1 PM. I don't really feel like studying anymore so I'm 'DOIN IT LIVE'. YOLO.
I just hope I'm not knee jerking into a mistake. Just figured I'm feeling confident right now, doubt I'll top that last NBME. Material feels very fresh on my mind. Also, 1 PM time is AWESOME since I tend to suck at sleeping the night before exams.
Did all of Uworld during rotations. Did well on all shelfs. Originally had about 13 days to study from end of 3rd year to Step 2 CK.
Just took NBME 4 and got a 265. Redoing Uworld questions and getting 85-95% per block.
I just moved my test date up to tomorrow at 1 PM. I don't really feel like studying anymore so I'm 'DOIN IT LIVE'. YOLO.
I just hope I'm not knee jerking into a mistake. Just figured I'm feeling confident right now, doubt I'll top that last NBME. Material feels very fresh on my mind. Also, 1 PM time is AWESOME since I tend to suck at sleeping the night before exams.
Took the test last Thursday. I was suprised to only have 1 block of 42 questions with 1 research paper and 3 associated questions. NO drug adds. I did have a crap tone of stand alone biostats ranging from easy in your head calculations to tedious calculator stuff to make sure your math is correct. Also alot of conceptual biostats as well. to be honest nothing that isnt in FA though. The ethics stuff is what got to me but i tried to remain diplomatic on most cases. If I had to review anything the day before my exam I would do biostats and general ethical priciples that could potentially be applied to the weirdly specific situations they throw at you.
Other than what I said above, the test is very well balanced like that perfect beer with just enough hops and malt. (can you tell what Ive been doing since Thursday).
Other than what I said above, the test is very well balanced like that perfect beer with just enough hops and malt. (can you tell what Ive been doing since Thursday).
I wish there was some consensus about the Clinical Science Mastery series. I haven't done any of them, and don't know if I want to blow that much money if they aren't very helpful.
I didn't think MTB was that great, so I'm just sticking with UWorld + UWSA + 1-3 NBMEs at present. Test is in 4.5 weeks.
I didn't think MTB was that great, so I'm just sticking with UWorld + UWSA + 1-3 NBMEs at present. Test is in 4.5 weeks.
curious to know this as well
Step 2 CK: ?
NBME 4 (3 weeks out): 227
UWSA (1.5 weeks out): 247
NBME 7: (3 days out): 235
I regret taking NBME 7 so close to my exam. It really rattled my confidence and unfortunately, might have affected my performance on the real thing. I kept second guessing myself on questions I wouldn't have questioned otherwise. That sucked. Really, really hoping my real deal score is closer to my UWSA. Goal is 250+. We'll see...
My exam also had a TON of standalone biostats questions. I didn't get a drug ad (which also freaked me out... like maybe I had missed it?!) The biostats I was tested on was all covered in FA for step 1. But, I didn't review biostats as heavily as I should have, so I'm sure I missed a lot of "easy points." UWorld alone didn't adequately prepare me. Spending 3 hrs looking over the biostats in FA would have been a much better use of my time.
Otherwise, I thought the exam was pretty well balanced. I didn't get a ton of peds questions, which I was upset about because that's one of my stronger areas. Ob/gyn and psych were straightforward (and I actually sighed in relief when those questions popped up).
The emergency med type questions (unrestrained 27 year old driver comes in to ED with chest pain, yada yada) were really tricky, in my opinion. Lots of imaging vs. straight to OR. In real life I've never seen someone go straight to the OR without imaging, but I know that's often the right answer on the test... so that was tough...
Internal medicine was like the IM shelf on steroids. Tons of what's the "next step in management," or "next step in diagnosis." Which unfortunately, are often different. I tried to be cognizant of what they were asking... management vs. diagnosis. I thought a lot of the answer choices were good options for these questions. I answered those on gut feeling and quickly moved on. I had very few ask me what THE diagnosis was. And when they did, it felt like there wasn't enough information :/ Ugh. There's no one great way to prepare for those kinds of questions.
Overall, it was just a really, really long day. My pathetic study stamina came into play during the last two blocks (which didn't happen on Step 1 because I was better "trained" to sit in one place for 8+ hrs). I don't think there's one great resource for Step 2 prep. UWorld is the best, but it misses the mark somewhat. Doing well throughout 3rd year and having a solid foundation (aka step 1 score) is the best way to prepare for the exam (I know, I know, no one likes to hear this... but, it's the truth!)
NBME 4 (3 weeks out): 227
UWSA (1.5 weeks out): 247
NBME 7: (3 days out): 235
I regret taking NBME 7 so close to my exam. It really rattled my confidence and unfortunately, might have affected my performance on the real thing. I kept second guessing myself on questions I wouldn't have questioned otherwise. That sucked. Really, really hoping my real deal score is closer to my UWSA. Goal is 250+. We'll see...
My exam also had a TON of standalone biostats questions. I didn't get a drug ad (which also freaked me out... like maybe I had missed it?!) The biostats I was tested on was all covered in FA for step 1. But, I didn't review biostats as heavily as I should have, so I'm sure I missed a lot of "easy points." UWorld alone didn't adequately prepare me. Spending 3 hrs looking over the biostats in FA would have been a much better use of my time.
Otherwise, I thought the exam was pretty well balanced. I didn't get a ton of peds questions, which I was upset about because that's one of my stronger areas. Ob/gyn and psych were straightforward (and I actually sighed in relief when those questions popped up).
The emergency med type questions (unrestrained 27 year old driver comes in to ED with chest pain, yada yada) were really tricky, in my opinion. Lots of imaging vs. straight to OR. In real life I've never seen someone go straight to the OR without imaging, but I know that's often the right answer on the test... so that was tough...
Internal medicine was like the IM shelf on steroids. Tons of what's the "next step in management," or "next step in diagnosis." Which unfortunately, are often different. I tried to be cognizant of what they were asking... management vs. diagnosis. I thought a lot of the answer choices were good options for these questions. I answered those on gut feeling and quickly moved on. I had very few ask me what THE diagnosis was. And when they did, it felt like there wasn't enough information :/ Ugh. There's no one great way to prepare for those kinds of questions.
Overall, it was just a really, really long day. My pathetic study stamina came into play during the last two blocks (which didn't happen on Step 1 because I was better "trained" to sit in one place for 8+ hrs). I don't think there's one great resource for Step 2 prep. UWorld is the best, but it misses the mark somewhat. Doing well throughout 3rd year and having a solid foundation (aka step 1 score) is the best way to prepare for the exam (I know, I know, no one likes to hear this... but, it's the truth!)
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Thanks for th feedback. So I'm taking the test in a few days. Other than looking over biostat, what else should I go over that would benefit the most these last few days?
Also is there any ethics basic guidelines I could go over, seeing as that is one of my weak areas?
Yay [emoji4] [emoji4] [emoji4]
Hang in there [emoji22]
I'm in the same boat.
I think we'll be surprised (in a good way)
Nbme 7 sucks testicles.
Nbme 4 is probably best bet from what I hear.
I took the beast yesterday..obviously feel like i did terrible like everyone else does. A lot of weird biostats and ethics type of questions. They had a good way of taking classical presentations of cases and throwing in a twist to make you second guess things. Basically the entire test is fairly easy to narrow down to a couple answer choices but beyond that I have no clue. I ended up screwing up my last block losing focus and not feeling very well so I hope that didnt ruin my score. Overall I feel like i could easily have score from a 200-250 lol I have absolutely no clue after that. Wasn't really confident with any answer choice and always educated guessing. Time was also a struggle and had about 6min left after my first pass on each block. Let me know if anyone has any questions!
Got my score back today. Just an idea of practice tests vs. real deal. The practice tests listed are in the order I took them.
NBME 4: 260
NBME 7: 228
UWSA: 236
NBME 6: 246
USMLE Step 2 CK: 256!!!!
It's really hard to tell which test is the most predictive, but my exam was far easier than NBME 7. Seemed to be most similar to NBME 6, but my score was way above my average of all the practice tests combined. Good luck to all--there is hope!!!
NBME 4: 260
NBME 7: 228
UWSA: 236
NBME 6: 246
USMLE Step 2 CK: 256!!!!
It's really hard to tell which test is the most predictive, but my exam was far easier than NBME 7. Seemed to be most similar to NBME 6, but my score was way above my average of all the practice tests combined. Good luck to all--there is hope!!!
Congrats on being done! I have a few days left before my exam. Other than stats and ethics what should I go over in particular?
Also did u do any clinical mastery series? How did they compare to the real deal?
You give me hope my friend
Sure thing. I can't really recommend anything else in last-minute prep except for the Free 131. That scored me probably 1-3 Q's on my real deal. But it's not like you can cram a topic last-minute because it's particularly high-yield.
Honestly, I wouldn't even bother with the ethics. If you did particularly poorly on the UWorld ethics, then review FA Step 1's ethics section, but other than that there is literally no way to prepare for what they throw at you.
I totally agree. Everyone reading this thread probably already knows from UWorld and NBME's, but on the exam you'll get:
-Sarcoidosis in 50+ yo white men
-Initial presentation of DM1 with completely normal labs
-Cholecystitis in a man with a BMI of 24
-Men with ectopic pregnancies
...Kidding about that last one. But yeah.
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Received my step 2 score today.
Real Deal: 264
UWSA: 262 (4 days before)
NBME 4: 258 (1 week before)
NBME 6: 256 (2 weeks before)
Did all of UWorld during third year. Had high 80s - 90s on all my shelf exams and studied for those by doing questions. For step 2, I redid Uworld once and repeated my incorrects once. Tried reading MTB but couldn't do it as I study mostly with questions.
Extremely pleased because my step 1 was only 230.
Real Deal: 264
UWSA: 262 (4 days before)
NBME 4: 258 (1 week before)
NBME 6: 256 (2 weeks before)
Did all of UWorld during third year. Had high 80s - 90s on all my shelf exams and studied for those by doing questions. For step 2, I redid Uworld once and repeated my incorrects once. Tried reading MTB but couldn't do it as I study mostly with questions.
Extremely pleased because my step 1 was only 230.
Grats on the score -- I just wanted to ask your opinion on the difficulty of UWORLD questions vs. the real deal? I have it in my head that the UWORLD questions are too simple - in that they give too much information to lead you to the correct answer that NBME exams don't give. Would greatly appreciate your thoughts on that! Again, congrats on a sweet score
Recently got my score, >270.
My advice is if you have done well on shelf exams during the year, just take 1-2 weeks, do some UWorld and the UWSA, then just take the test. Use the extra time for vacation, an elective, etc. The exam is too broad to study beyond the core details you learned for the shelfs. As some of the other posters have detailed in their post-exam breakdown, there are a lot of clinical reasoning questions that you can't really study for.
My advice is if you have done well on shelf exams during the year, just take 1-2 weeks, do some UWorld and the UWSA, then just take the test. Use the extra time for vacation, an elective, etc. The exam is too broad to study beyond the core details you learned for the shelfs. As some of the other posters have detailed in their post-exam breakdown, there are a lot of clinical reasoning questions that you can't really study for.
Anyone that took the exam. Is MTB 3 enough for Psychiatry on CK?
hey, firstly, congrats on being done.
I know you said it was vague and that it was more about clinical scenarios, gut feeling, but was the scenario reasonable and something we may have encountered in uworld and thus have a fair chance of guessing? Also, were most of the question vague or a couple in each block? Looking back, what would you have done differently?
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Says the guy with the 270! Hahaha! I kid... I kid. That's a baller score there! Congrats!
Which is why I said my advice was relevant to students with high shelf scores. Back when I was mapping out my schedule I didn't know what was an appropriate amount of time to take for someone in my situation. Hopefully the previous post helps another student in a similar situation.
I walked out of my exam sincerely believing that I had failed. It was just so much harder than I expected. So if you feel the same way, don't lose hope!! That being said, here are my details.
UWSA (2 weeks prior to exam): 227
NBME 4 (5 days before exam): 260
Real deal: 257
Study materials: UWorld (did once during school year than again during my month long study period). Also a little bit of FA and Secrets.
ps- my Step 1 and 3rd year shelf scores were far from spectacular. So there's def room for improvement on the exam!
Goodluck!!!!
UWSA (2 weeks prior to exam): 227
NBME 4 (5 days before exam): 260
Real deal: 257
Study materials: UWorld (did once during school year than again during my month long study period). Also a little bit of FA and Secrets.
ps- my Step 1 and 3rd year shelf scores were far from spectacular. So there's def room for improvement on the exam!
Goodluck!!!!
I was joking with you BFBB. We get it.
Took it today- overall it was a fair exam, I felt it was much more straightforward than Step 1 and easier than the shelf exams. I used NBME 4, UWSA and Uworld to prepare. The stems on the real deal are long like Uworld Qbank, much longer than NBME and UWSA but with less hardcore distractors so you can skim some stuff and skip it to save time.
As for content- quite a few biostats/research type questions. probably 25 or so. Some of the research questions were like wtf...guess and move on. A bunch of ethics- probably 10-150- nothing crazy, I thought they were all straightforward. Good amount of OBGYN, know your PCOS, POF, birth control, fetal monitoring, newborn complications and management, labor complications, vaccines. Tons of IM- Endo, CHF, COPD, Amyloidosis, CKD, vaccinations, etc. Had like 5 "listen for the murmur" q's. Felt like it was light on peds. Psych was very straightforward, only a couple psych med questions and the rest MDD vs. schizo vs adjustment disorder vs OCD vs Tourettes vs GAD stuff. Surgery was critical questions and -who to operate on, what test to do, etc. I felt like every surgery question began with "XX is a XXy/o X who was the driver in a high speed car wreck".
There were some WTF type questions- meds I had never heard of, strange phrasing, and a couple I couldn't figure out what the hell they were asking. This may have been fatigue on my part, or hopefully those were the "experimental" questions they will end up dropping.
I felt good about it but was struggling to keep up by the end, its a long day. I finished the first 4 sections with 10-15 minutes left to go back over the 15-20 I had marked. The last 4 sections my time dwindled and I ended up with on 5-10 minutes to go back and review and I felt like I was marking more. Again, probably fatigue, but I felt like the second half was a bit harder and had more of the WTF questions. Overall the timing was fine though, I went straight through the first 4 sections, took 45 minutes for lunch and then took a 15 minute break after the 6th section. Timer ran down and ended the last section and then something happened during the survey and it timed me out only halfway through...oh well, their loss.
Good luck to everyone one else taking it soon!
As for content- quite a few biostats/research type questions. probably 25 or so. Some of the research questions were like wtf...guess and move on. A bunch of ethics- probably 10-150- nothing crazy, I thought they were all straightforward. Good amount of OBGYN, know your PCOS, POF, birth control, fetal monitoring, newborn complications and management, labor complications, vaccines. Tons of IM- Endo, CHF, COPD, Amyloidosis, CKD, vaccinations, etc. Had like 5 "listen for the murmur" q's. Felt like it was light on peds. Psych was very straightforward, only a couple psych med questions and the rest MDD vs. schizo vs adjustment disorder vs OCD vs Tourettes vs GAD stuff. Surgery was critical questions and -who to operate on, what test to do, etc. I felt like every surgery question began with "XX is a XXy/o X who was the driver in a high speed car wreck".
There were some WTF type questions- meds I had never heard of, strange phrasing, and a couple I couldn't figure out what the hell they were asking. This may have been fatigue on my part, or hopefully those were the "experimental" questions they will end up dropping.
I felt good about it but was struggling to keep up by the end, its a long day. I finished the first 4 sections with 10-15 minutes left to go back over the 15-20 I had marked. The last 4 sections my time dwindled and I ended up with on 5-10 minutes to go back and review and I felt like I was marking more. Again, probably fatigue, but I felt like the second half was a bit harder and had more of the WTF questions. Overall the timing was fine though, I went straight through the first 4 sections, took 45 minutes for lunch and then took a 15 minute break after the 6th section. Timer ran down and ended the last section and then something happened during the survey and it timed me out only halfway through...oh well, their loss.
Good luck to everyone one else taking it soon!
Sat for Step 2 today and feeling pretty miserable. My experience is lining up fairly well with what others have said -- the questions were vague and the topics they focused on were not heavily covered in UW or the NBMEs. I've always been pretty liberal with marking questions, but I felt like today took it to a whole new level.
Went in feeling fairly confident (Step 1: 250, NBME7: 250, NMBE6: 271, UWSA: 264, UW: ~88-90%) but the actual test felt like a totally different beast. I left Step 1 with some confidence left in me but that definitely wasn't the case today. Anyone else have a similar experience (i.e., please commiserate with me)?
Went in feeling fairly confident (Step 1: 250, NBME7: 250, NMBE6: 271, UWSA: 264, UW: ~88-90%) but the actual test felt like a totally different beast. I left Step 1 with some confidence left in me but that definitely wasn't the case today. Anyone else have a similar experience (i.e., please commiserate with me)?
We will all be fine, trust your prep and your predictor scores. They obviously look at Uworld when they write the questions because they make damned sure nothing is similar to it. Its amazing that they always find new stuff to test on. I think if they have a guy writing a hypothyroid question they will have him review all of the qbanks and prep books that mention hypothyroid so he can make sure that he tests on the one obscure detail they all skipped over.
I had 5 or 10 questions where they described some vague symptoms like RUQ/MEG pain and then let us choose the "best" diagnosis from a list of basically every disease process that could ever cause RUQ or MEG pain.
Hey guys
So I'm taking the test in a few days after, unfortunately, taking an unexpected break of 3 weeks of little to no studying. I've been able to finish uworld once. I've taken pretty legit notes though so I decided to not do Uworld for the 2nd time and review my notes for the remaining 2 wks leading up to the test.
I really really really want to take some sort of an assessment test just to see if that break I took affected my performance but I'm worried that it might rattle my confidence. I'm literally taking the test the day my permit ends so I feel like taking the UWSA isn't going to "change much"...But I'm worried that I might be scoring very low....any advice? I'm 5 days out.
Thanks everyone!
So I'm taking the test in a few days after, unfortunately, taking an unexpected break of 3 weeks of little to no studying. I've been able to finish uworld once. I've taken pretty legit notes though so I decided to not do Uworld for the 2nd time and review my notes for the remaining 2 wks leading up to the test.
I really really really want to take some sort of an assessment test just to see if that break I took affected my performance but I'm worried that it might rattle my confidence. I'm literally taking the test the day my permit ends so I feel like taking the UWSA isn't going to "change much"...But I'm worried that I might be scoring very low....any advice? I'm 5 days out.
Thanks everyone!
+/- on the UWSA. Its not going to help you learn much now, it might be a confidence boost if you do well or killer if you don't. Personally I've always avoided predictors less than a week out. I would focus on hitting those Uworld notes again. I'm reviewing mine now for a quick refresher prior to Comlex this Friday and even though I joked about it above there is a ton of stuff I nailed today because of Uworld.
Recently got my score back!
Step 1: ~260
NBME 6 and 7: high 260s
NBME 4: low 270s
UWSA: 265
Real deal: mid 270s
I was SO happy with my score! The key is to study hard for shelf exams all year long to set up a good foundation for step 2 review. All I ended up doing for step 2 specifically was redoing UW and looking through FA step 1 for biostats and some of the congenital diseases. I tried step 2 secrets but I didn't like it much.
G00d luck everyone!
Step 1: ~260
NBME 6 and 7: high 260s
NBME 4: low 270s
UWSA: 265
Real deal: mid 270s
I was SO happy with my score! The key is to study hard for shelf exams all year long to set up a good foundation for step 2 review. All I ended up doing for step 2 specifically was redoing UW and looking through FA step 1 for biostats and some of the congenital diseases. I tried step 2 secrets but I didn't like it much.
G00d luck everyone!
I really enjoyed a simplified regimen studying for Step 1 (just First Aid and annotations from U World in to FA) and was hoping to ask if any one had any suggestions for something similar for Step 2. I basically want one reference text that is a good solid foundation I can beef up with U World. I'm wondering if any one has had success/experience studying like that and if they could recommend me that one amazing reference text. Thanks!
I dont know if its just me but sometimes i feel like according to the scores ppl report on this forum, the avg for both step 1 and step 2 should be somewhere in thr 50s.... Like im happy for these ppl but i somehow have a hard time believing some ppl. Some ppl like @Phloston and a couple of others r regulars and theyve contributed to the forum enuf for us to know if theyre scores are somewhat accurate/truthful but them other ppl....i dont know. Makes me anxious at times....But then again why lie? Its not like we know who u are...idk im just thinking outloud here.
Thanks. Scenarios were reasonable, I suppose the phrasing is what tripped me off. They'd ask "which of the following risk factors has the highest chance of complication" when the question stem has 4 risk factors that can cause a sum total of 8 complications. You'd have to read their mind to know which complication they're talking about. It's often important to understand the high-yield things they want you to know.
Most of the questions weren't vague. I'm just obsessing over the ones that annoyed me haha.
Wouldn't have done anything differently except given myself more time. I did ~60% of USMLERx before my dedicated, then had 3 weeks dedicated, in which I did UWorld (2nd pass), and OnlineMedEd. I only got through around half of each due to time constraints. It wasn't just because 3 weeks was too little, it was because I had a bunch of other commitments (school activities, ERAS, VSAS, freelancing) that I didn't have when I took Step 1 that really cut into my studying. But I wouldn't change my resources.
My Step 1 and diagnostics are similar to yours. Felt really good walking out of Step 1, and felt pretty sucky walking out of this one. Hopefully we both ace it.
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There's definitely a trend of higher scores that get reported on here, but just like @Jlaw said, people are a lot more keen to post about a 260+ than they are on a 218. The scores on here can definitely be intimidating but take them with a grain of salt
Looking for some input here: Just took UWSA. 242. Meh. Taking the exam early next week. Already finished UW but still going through my notes (which are solid and will help IF I get through them). Only have done one CMS (IM form 1) and no NBME yet. A few options I have in mind:
a. take NBME 4, free 131, maybe 6 during the next few mornings, and focus on notes in the afternoon/evening (doesn't leave time for a review of the tests themselves)
b. forget the practice exams and just focus on my notes
c. postpone my exam (I'm past the 5 day mark) and use that time to go through CMS, more NBME, my notes, etc
Part of me just wants to get on with this and take the darn thing. I originally was hoping to crack 250 but I guess it's not a huge deal if I don't. mid 230s on Step 1. Nothing to go crazy over, but not horrible either.
Thoughts? Thanks guys!
a. take NBME 4, free 131, maybe 6 during the next few mornings, and focus on notes in the afternoon/evening (doesn't leave time for a review of the tests themselves)
b. forget the practice exams and just focus on my notes
c. postpone my exam (I'm past the 5 day mark) and use that time to go through CMS, more NBME, my notes, etc
Part of me just wants to get on with this and take the darn thing. I originally was hoping to crack 250 but I guess it's not a huge deal if I don't. mid 230s on Step 1. Nothing to go crazy over, but not horrible either.
Thoughts? Thanks guys!
