USMLE World Scores and Step II Scores

[lmh14]

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Probably been discussed before, but can't find a recent thread....

I'm just curious about what scores people were getting on USMLE World, and then how you ended up doing on Step 2.

All you have to do is post two numbers...... 🙂

Thanks folks, and good luck with everything!!

 

[TheFlash]

how cryptic of you, deb.

 

[princess chloe]

i GOT 87% IN USMLE STEP 1 AND STEP 2 84% ANYWAY GUYS DO YOU KNOW WHETHER THIS HAS A VALIDITY PERIOD???????????????????????????
HELP ME😕😱🙄

 

[TheFlash]

Online scores no less! 👍

Some general info--
Car: '95 Camry (holla!)
Resting heart rate: 48
Favorite video game: Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye (tie)
TV show of choice: Entourage
Step I: 245
Shelf scores (percentile): Medicine (98), Surgery (97), Ob/Gyn (94), Peds (90), Neuro (92), Psych (88)

Strategy: After I took Step I last year, I had zero desire to push step II up and take the test earlier than necessary. But during M3 I decided to take a year off from medical school for research leave and, after a fair amount of arm twisting from the administration, I was mandated to take step II before I left. Likewise during my studying I oscillated between not caring how I did on step II to freaking out about passing due to lack of motivation. Additionally I didn't want to bomb the test badly enough to make my step I score look like a fluke.

I studied for just over 2 weeks after taking a weekend off post-M3. I used mainly Step-Up Medicine (which I ADORED during the rotation) and UW, supplementing as necessary with Kaplan notes for Surgery (Pestana is awesome!), Peds and Ob/Gyn. I was familiar with Step-Up from my rotation otherwise I do NOT recommend using it to study for step II-- it'll just bog you down and take forever to read. In retrospect, I should have spent more time on Psych since I had a maybe 4 relatively difficult psych questions per block in which I had to ddx the psych dx from other likely medical dx. For psych I flipped through my FA psych for 4ish hours (resulting in "borderline" performance on the exam ). I should have also finished all of UW instead of the 75% I did, but I was really crunched for time since I only took like 15 days to study. Literally 7-8 questions during the test were word for word from UW.

UW: overall 68%, getting high 70's to 80's over the last 10 blocks; all untimed and random
Step II: 250

SO SO happy I won't have to worry about another standardized test until after I start residency. Wooohooooo! 🙂

Oh wait, there's Step II CS.

 

[Options]

Congrats, nice score.. those shelf scores are even more impressive..

 

[Options]

i GOT 87% IN USMLE STEP 1 AND STEP 2 84% ANYWAY GUYS DO YOU KNOW WHETHER THIS HAS A VALIDITY PERIOD???????????????????????????
HELP ME😕😱🙄

Haldol, Stat

 

[TheFlash]

Congrats, nice score.. those shelf scores are even more impressive..

Thanks man. I really busted my ass third year for those shelf exams (I actually studied much harder for those than for step II, go figure), and my rotations in general. All the other posters who allude to "the best way to study for step II is study hard third year" are absolutely right.

Sucks that you've got another week to wait. I know that feeling all too well. But if you didn't get an online score report today, I'm almost positive you'll have it next week. It's so much more efficient than waiting for the mail!

 

[randomedstudent]

Though it seems like for the most part, all of you were scoring in the 60's on UW....anyone out there who was scoring in mid 50's that did well on the real thing? With two weeks left, I have been fluctuating in my scores between 50's and sometimes 60% with my average being a 54% right now and I'm wondering how that will translate, although I am hoping to keep improving.
Also, is there a lot of room for improvement in 2 weeks?

I think I ended up with an average right about 60, but some of those were repeats so my true average was probably just under 60% - which made me nervous after reading all the 68-70's on here. Nevertheless, I ended up with a 252 on the real thing, even surprised myself! This was with only 1.5 weeks of studying - I only read Crush and did about 70% of the USMLEworld questions.

 

[josehernandez94]

Step I: 231

Did reasonably well on the shelf exams (really well in peds and ob/gyn), a little above average in all the others except surgery in which I was a little under average (my first shelf).

Studied for Step II for 16 days, probably about 5 hours/day. Read through First Aid twice and did about 90% of USMLE World questions, averaging overall of 64%. Always did random 46 question timed blocks. Strangely, I didn't really improve throughout my time of studying... pretty consistently in the mid 60s, with occasional 70s and some 50s as well. Incidentally, I had just finished my medicine rotation, which was invaluably helpful. For those of you wondering when to schedule Step II, try to take it as close to medicine as you possibly can. Studying for the medicine shelf is great prep.

Step II: 252

I really wish I could offer some amazing advice. I did like USMLE World a lot, in that I thought it was a lot harder than the real test. I felt that the UW questions often tried to trick you or would just ask ridiculously obscure questions. The real test, I thought, was much more straight forward. There weren't any real tricks, you either knew it or didn't know it. I guess all I can really say is, don't let UW get you down. I was frustrated as all hell with it until I came on here and saw that scores in the 50s and 60s correlated to really good scores on the real test. I guess I'm proof of that.

 

[MonkeyRalph]

I'm not exactly ecstatic about my score, but I've been reading this thread for months, so I thought I would contribute.

To study, I used FA, Secrets, and Deja Review. I studied for ~2wks. Medicine was my last clinical rotation before I started studying. I did slightly above average on all my shelf exams (high 70s/low 80s on all of them).

Step I: 219/89
USMLEworld: 64% (83% of questions completed) (untimed tutor mode 1st time through)
NBME free test: 89%
test taken 7/25
score received online 8/21

Step 2CK: 232/96
Good luck to you all.

 

[Tiki]

I had a 238/96 on Step 1.

Did pretty well during third year (honored 5/7 rotations with a HP in OB and Family Med). My best shelf by far was Medicine and Peds in which I scored in the 90's. For studying, I read First Aid for Step 2 CK and did about 40% of USMLEworld questions. I averaged about 72% on USMLEworld. I took the first NBME practice test and they predicted a score of 247, but I took that test a week before the actual exam. I expected to do worse than the NBME because I slacked off of studying the last week, I was just burnt out from third year and I felt like I didn't have anything left.

Step 2 CK score--257 (99).

I actually cried when I saw it. What a journey it's been the last four years. Going from the girl who had to take the MCAT twice (and still only got a 28) to getting a freaking 257. I am seriously getting drunk tonight! YAY!

 

[Options]

I had a 238/96 on Step 1.

Did pretty well during third year (honored 5/7 rotations with a HP in OB and Family Med). My best shelf by far was Medicine and Peds in which I scored in the 90's. For studying, I read First Aid for Step 2 CK and did about 40% of USMLEworld questions. I averaged about 72% on USMLEworld. I took the first NBME practice test and they predicted a score of 247, but I took that test a week before the actual exam. I expected to do worse than the NBME because I slacked off of studying the last week, I was just burnt out from third year and I felt like I didn't have anything left.

Step 2 CK score--257 (99).

I actually cried when I saw it. What a journey it's been the last four years. Going from the girl who had to take the MCAT twice (and still only got a 28) to getting a freaking 257. I am seriously getting drunk tonight! YAY!

Wow, congrats on that score.. not surprising considering your shelf scores and how well you did on usmleworld going into it. Very impressive..

 

[FamilyDoc5]

I'll add my numbers to the pile:

Step 1: 243/98
NBME Clerkship Exams (raw scores): Psych 99, OB 80, Family 74, Medicine 85, Peds 80, Surgery 85
USMLE World overall average (all blocks were random 46-q): 62% on ~2,000 q's, although my average over the last 10 or so blocks was closer to 65%
NBME Form 2 approximately 2.5 weeks before exam: predicted 261

Step 2 CK: 260/99

I put in a leisurely 4 weeks of study time as I was on a clinical rotation. Generally, I would do a couple of hours of question blocks on UW and read every single explanation (sometimes a painfully long and mind-numbing process) and then lightly read FA before going to bed each night. I don't have any particularly sage advice for this exam. I think all studying after the clerkships is more or less review. I agree with many posters that the best way to do well is to study for clerkship NBME exams and read during that particular clerkship. Good luck to all!

 

[gclax30]

What an ordeal, glad it is over with!

USMLE world = 64% overall, untimed, did each subject individually
Studied my rearend off for a solid month.

Step 2 CK = 240 👍
Step 1 = 239

And I seriously thought I had bombed it when I left the test, I was ready to punch a hole in the computer screen.

USMLE World was still the absolute best preparation for this test. Goodluck to the rest of yall😀

 

[vr4nut]

Took 7/20/07

Step 1 - 249
Step 2 CK - 249


Quite disappointing because I was really hoping to go up, plus it looks like crap compared to what everyone else is posting, but I know that I wanted realistic data when I came to this site, so now I am contributing it.

USMLE W- 75% average with tests composed of "ALL" questions almost every time. I finished maybe 1300 distinct questions. REALLY regret not finishing the whole thing. I just got too lazy 🙁

For goodness sake, do the whole question bank!!

ps- walking out of step 2, I seriously thought I got a 215. MUCH harder than step 1. Thought it was exact same difficulty as USMLE W ( = hard).

 

[Trenchcoat]

Step 1 - 229

For Step 2 all I did was First Aid, Step 2 Secrets and Kaplan QBank with my final exams all in the 70's and overall score of 63%

Took Step 2 on 25th of July, 2007

Step 2 - 240

 

[chocomorsel]

Took 7/20/07

Step 1 - 249
Step 2 CK - 249


Quite disappointing because I was really hoping to go up, plus it looks like crap compared to what everyone else is posting, but I know that I wanted realistic data when I came to this site, so now I am contributing it.

USMLE W- 75% average with tests composed of "ALL" questions almost every time. I finished maybe 1300 distinct questions. REALLY regret not finishing the whole thing. I just got too lazy 🙁

For goodness sake, do the whole question bank!!

ps- walking out of step 2, I seriously thought I got a 215. MUCH harder than step 1. Thought it was exact same difficulty as USMLE W ( = hard).

Seriously dude,
chill out and be ecstatic with your score. Some of us would love to be in your shoes. What friggin' difference does it really make as far as competitiveness once you are above 240 anyway? Doesn't it all translate to 99%. So get over your bruised ego, jump for joy and realize that you can probably get into any residency you want with those scores.
Some of you people need to take a chill pill. "Quite dissapointing" with a score of 249? Get over yourself!!!!!!!

 

[TheFlash]

Congrats on the great scores everyone! Seeing it online does take some getting used to, no?

Took 7/20/07

Step 1 - 249
Step 2 CK - 249


Quite disappointing because I was really hoping to go up, plus it looks like crap compared to what everyone else is posting, but I know that I wanted realistic data when I came to this site, so now I am contributing it.

USMLE W- 75% average with tests composed of "ALL" questions almost every time. I finished maybe 1300 distinct questions. REALLY regret not finishing the whole thing. I just got too lazy 🙁

For goodness sake, do the whole question bank!!

ps- walking out of step 2, I seriously thought I got a 215. MUCH harder than step 1. Thought it was exact same difficulty as USMLE W ( = hard).

Bro, relax. Your 240+ on step I has ALREADY opened all the necessary doors for you, so why do you even care if you didn't really "improve" on that score? Be happy that you did well! I'll be a monkey's uncle if it affects your residency chances at all, even if you want to go into something uber competitive.

 

[Options]

Just got my scores by email a few minutes ago.

Step I: 243/98
Shelf scores: Medicine 85, Surgery 79, Peds 78, OB/GYN 75, Psych 85
USMLEworld: 90% complete, 69%
NBME #2: 630 (245) week before
Free NBME questions: about 89%

Step II CK: 261/99

I knew I would do fair, but I never dreamed of hitting that score. My goal was 250 and my reward for that was I promised myself a new TV.. I guess I don't get the TV now. As other's have said, just study hard for your shelf exams. I only really studied 4-6 hours a day during my real month long ck prep because I was so bored of reading the same books again. I only used the review books I used for my subject exams (blueprints etc..).. no FA for CK, Crush or the others. The only book I especially recommend is Step Up for Medicine... truly the best review book I have ever used in medical school. I read this probably 6 times.

I'm a caribbean student hoping this will help me get into OB/GYN. Good luck to all.

 

[mrdowntoearth]

Seriously dude,
chill out and be ecstatic with your score. Some of us would love to be in your shoes. What friggin' difference does it really make as far as competitiveness once you are above 240 anyway? Doesn't it all translate to 99%. So get over your bruised ego, jump for joy and realize that you can probably get into any residency you want with those scores.
Some of you people need to take a chill pill. "Quite dissapointing" with a score of 249? Get over yourself!!!!!!!

Love it 👍

 

[shwtime11]

I don't post here much, but I always found it useful to read what people did to study and what score they received...so I guess I'll contribute

Step 1- 255
Shelf Exams- don't remember individual grades but raw score range was 80's-90's

Studied for 3 weeks for 6-7 hours a day using USMLEW and First Aid
Finished 90% of USMLEW with an avg of 74%
NBME Practice Test - 720

Step 2 CK- 265

Best advice is do USMLEW but don't get caught up in the nitty gritty details they go into with some questions...the real thing is more straight forward. Also take it as soon as you can after 3rd year...the shelf exams are great practice. And don't forget to have fun too ...there are better things to do than study 24 hrs a day in the summer

 

[mjbklyn]

I studied for ~1month on and off and 1 month ~8hrs/day. I mostly just used Kaplan notes with a little secrets and first aid to fill in gaps.
Step 1- 205

My UW scores were all over the place- ranging from 50s-60s and I only finished about 50% of the questions.
NBME Form 1- 3 weeks before- 213
NBME Form 2-10 days before- 213
USMLE released items- 2 days before 83%

Step 2CK score: 240/99!

Test date 7/24. Score report: 8/22.

I can't believe it.

 

[chocomorsel]

I studied for ~1month on and off and 1 month ~8hrs/day. I mostly just used Kaplan notes with a little secrets and first aid to fill in gaps.
Step 1- 205

My UW scores were all over the place- ranging from 50s-60s and I only finished about 50% of the questions.
NBME Form 1- 3 weeks before- 213
NBME Form 2-10 days before- 213
USMLE released items- 2 days before 83%

Step 2CK score: 240/99!

Test date 7/24. Score report: 8/22.

I can't believe it.

You go boy/girl!!!!!! Congrats!!!! I sure hope to make an improvement from my step 1 of 210. Shooting for a realistic 230. Anything above that would be icing on the cake for me.

 

[chocomorsel]

I don't post here much, but I always found it useful to read what people did to study and what score they received...so I guess I'll contribute

Step 1- 255
Shelf Exams- don't remember individual grades but raw score range was 80's-90's

Studied for 3 weeks for 6-7 hours a day using USMLEW and First Aid
Finished 90% of USMLEW with an avg of 74%
NBME Practice Test - 720

Step 2 CK- 265

Best advice is do USMLEW but don't get caught up in the nitty gritty details they go into with some questions...the real thing is more straight forward. Also take it as soon as you can after 3rd year...the shelf exams are great practice. And don't forget to have fun too ...there are better things to do than study 24 hrs a day in the summer

Good Lord, somebody will take you even if you went to school on Mars with scores like that.😀😀 Good luck. You will do fine and get in somewhere I bet pretty decent. Congrats that all your hard work paid off.

 

[Tiki]

Wow, congrats on that score.. not surprising considering your shelf scores and how well you did on usmleworld going into it. Very impressive..

Thanks! Congrats on rocking it as well! I'm sure you'll get into a great OB residency!

 

[DebDynamite]

how cryptic of you, deb.

Sorry about that. I had a computer meltdown moment when trying to edit some long post I have long forgotten. Carry on...

 

[vegasdo]

hey mjbklyn, that's a pretty good improvement, nice job!

 

[QuinnB]

I took that beast on August 3rd. It was tougher than people made it out to be. I didn't feel that great when I left the test center - actually felt pretty crappy. There was definitely a lot of electrolytes, peds, trauma (every 5th question was 35 yo female taken to the ED after MVA as unrestrained passenger, etc...) and a whole truck load of ob/gyn (every 4th question was 28 yo G2P1 presents to...). I felt completely unprepared for the ob/gyn. Other than that, there was reasonable balance of third year stuff, except they were fairly light on the neuro.

I studied for 3.5 weeks fairly lightly (6 hrs daily at most). Still was able to watch a bunch of TV, see several new movies and get outside on nice days. The first week I started doing kaplan Qbank and realized that I was not going to get through it AND UW, so I switched to UW. I didn't get through a lot of UW and in retrospect, I should've just stuck with UW from the beginning. I read secrets and maybe a total of 15 pages in FA. Read about 100 pages of B and W as well. I just couldn't concentrate (just finished 3rd year and 2 4th year sub-Is). I definitely recommend taking it as close to the end of third year as possible if you care about doing well.

Stats:
Qbank - 70.2 % (finished 42% of ?s)
UW - 67.8% (finished 68% of ?s, no repeats, timed blocks of 46)
NBME free exam - 45/43/41 (93.5% = ~256), taken about 2 weeks before exam (bad idea - lost what little motivation I had)
NBME form 1 - 680 (~254), taken 4 days before exam (again bad idea, but I freaked b/c I had a string of horrible scores on UW)
3rd year shelf exams (in order, raw score only) - Psych 86, Ob/gyn 76, IM 83, FM 79, Peds 85, Surgery 81
Step I - 254/99

I'll post my results when I get them. Thanks to everyone on this board, which I was completely obsessed with.

Took the exam on 8/3 and received scores today (8/22) morning. Scores were available online.

Ended up with 264/99. Thanks again to everyone on this site.

 

[MSI-Scrub]

Hey Congrats! That's awesome

 

[joesmithy]

Hey all,
I thought I would let you know that I used Kaplan Qbank to study for step 2 (My school includes it in tuition, so it was sort of free). I finished 95% of it, scoring an average of 74%. I also did about 25% of USMLE World scoring 68%. I actually thought that Kaplan was slightly better....World was kind of obscure at times. Anyway, as everyone has said, it's all about doing as many questions as possible. I would recommend doing as much as both and not even bothering with any of the books. I spent too much time with first aid on step 1.

Step 1 : 238/96
Step 2: 256/99

Took the test the last day of July, got the scores online today 8/22.
Well thanks for the advice I got from lurking!

 

[Jatpot]

Took mine July 20. Got score yesterday by email. Not quite as exciting as opening the envelope, but heaps more convenient.

Step I: 211.
Australian student.

Used first aid and Usmle World, finished 80% with an avg of 61% (49--78) if I remember correctly. Felt decent about the test; meaning I knew I passed and probably broke 220.

Step II: 232/96.

NBME 1 had predicted a 237 so I dropped a bit, but a 20 point improvement over Step I is good when you want to match in Gen Sx. I had told myself I'd be happy w/anything over 230, but of course once I saw my score I wanted it to be higher, but that's how it always is.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[PurrPle]

Took the exam on 8/3 and received scores today (8/22) morning. Scores were available online.

Ended up with 264/99. Thanks again to everyone on this site.

I also took the exam on 8/3 and received the score 8/22 in the afternoon (didn't check it earlier, didn't expect it to arrive so soon). Ended up with 264/99!

 

[missbonnie]

Wow that's really quick turn around time, that means I might get my score next week?!!😱

 

[QuinnB]

I also took the exam on 8/3 and received the score 8/22 in the afternoon (didn't check it earlier, didn't expect it to arrive so soon). Ended up with 264/99!

congrats. It feels good to be done.

 

[peds2134]

.

 

[BushBaby]

I knew I could do better than my step 1. took 3 weeks off, studied ~8 hours a day, took it easy on the weekends. used UW, FA step 2 ck, step 2 secrets and deja vu review. good luck!! don't blow this test off!

What is this "Deja Vu" review?

 

[peds2134]

What is this "Deja Vu" review?

it's a thin review book, about the size of secrets - it's got the format of surgical recall. it's a good book to quiz yourself 🙂 pretty basic, easy to get through.

 

[jay426k]

Hey how'd you feel coming out of the exam? Did you feel like you crushed it or would get the score that you got? Anyways congrats on a great score!

 

[BushBaby]

it's a thin review book, about the size of secrets - it's got the format of surgical recall. it's a good book to quiz yourself 🙂 pretty basic, easy to get through.

OKay thanks. I am currently using CRUSH now. I finished FA but I still go thru it because sometimes Crush doesn't give enough info and I have to refer back to FA.

QUES: I've heard that Crush and Secrets are similar...so since I'm reading Crush, should I try to read Secrets?

I will add StepUp medicine to my study aids once I finish Crush this weekend. My medicine needs improvement.

 

[MonkeyRalph]

What is this "Deja Vu" review?

If you can't find it, that's cuz it's called "Deja Review" not deja vu.

 

[BushBaby]

If you can't find it, that's cuz it's called "Deja Review" not deja vu.

lol..thanks, i founf the proper name when I looked it up on Amazon. At first it was giving me a bunch of denzel washington results.

 

[spumoni620]

Bro, relax. Your 240+ on step I has ALREADY opened all the necessary doors for you, so why do you even care if you didn't really "improve" on that score? Be happy that you did well! I'll be a monkey's uncle if it affects your residency chances at all, even if you want to go into something uber competitive.

😀 Yay! SDN's nicest cheerleader is back! (A "monkey's uncle?".) And now I must regard you with an air of newfound respect for those amazing test-taking skills (or ability to bribe NBME???? That is just an amazing record of shelf scores! 😱 😱 Where were you when I needed a study partner? )

Hope your year off is treating you well. 🙂

 

[missbonnie]

Ok, is it me or is EVERYONE improving their step 1 scores big time, and/or it seems like step 2 is way easier than step 1? Don't have my scores yet for step 2 but I was just hoping it wasn't gonna drop by more than 20 points.

 

[peds2134]

Hey how'd you feel coming out of the exam? Did you feel like you crushed it or would get the score that you got? Anyways congrats on a great score!

thanks jay. i felt more comfortable comign out of this exam compared to step 1, but still didn't feel like i crushed it. i thought i had the possiblity of getting this score, but it was still feeling like a reach! good luck! most people improve on their step 2 scores 🙂

 

[Quixotic]

Well, I've been doing USMLE World and have been suckin. I've been averaging around 54% with my last test being 58%. Granted I've done less than 8% of the questions but it says I'm in the 27% overall for people who have answered the same questions. Should I pay attention to this number? Is USMLE World a good representation of the real test? All I want is to break 230, is this possible with this these scores?

 

[Salt Creep]

UW is a good representation, though I think it had more minutia than the real thing. There were a few questions that seemed to be straight-up repeats too. Made me mad for not learning the answer to them better than I did!!

My UW scores sucked too - usually barely over average, and I ended up at the 50th percentile.

I just took it Friday, so I'll post my score when I get it; I'm sure it won't be the 250+ numbers that are on here. I was just praying for 220+, since I only got a 191 on Step 1, that would be a great score for me.

 

[hitemup]

USMLE Step 1: 239/97
USMLE Step 2: 251/99

COMLEX 1: 658
COMLEX 2: 661

USMLE World: 66% (100% complete)

I felt that USMLE world was a great resource, more so for the USMLE. The COMLEX questions were poorly written and didn't give much info such as vitals. However, using USMLE world did not hurt my performance on the COMLEX.

 

[walker]

unlike >80% of other SDN posters, I consider myself only an average med student and promised myself i would post after finding out my scores (regardless of how well or poorly i did), since these boards were helpful while i was studying for step II.

Anyway, i spend 4 weeks of very casual, relaxed 12-hour days studying. Sounds like long days, but took like 3.5 hrs/day for lunch/dinner and spend much time daydreaming. Overall much more relaxed than Step I and not as boring.

Used Step-Up to Medicine, reviewed Blueprints Peds, Case Files Psych, and read Secrets twice. In retrospect, I would spend more time with Step-Up.
Anyway, I did 98% USMLEworld and had an overall average of 61% (all random, 46Q blocks). Last 6 blocks - 65%.

Took the exam and walked out thinking it was MUCH harder than USMLEworld...actually seriously worried that I may not pass.

Pretty much high 70s - low 80s on shelf exams during 3rd year.

Step I - 220/89
Step II - 247/99

I received the e-mail with my scores 3.5 wks later.

Was very happy considering my improvement. Good luck to all taking it...the whole Step II process was much more benign than Step I.

 

[BushBaby]

I feel that internal medicine is my weakest subject area when doing UW. Now I am cringing at the thought of having to read StepUp Medicine which was recommended by a friend.

Do I really have to? Granted I have read FA and Crush. I am now reading Secrets (from the library) just to review my Crush knowledge. Things sound familiar but yet my internal medicine score still sucks (in the grand scheme of things) when I do UW.

Does this mean I now to make love to StepUp book(since it appears I don't have my med basic knowledge)? or should I just keep doing questions and try to learn that way?

 

[Options]

I feel that internal medicine is my weakest subject area when doing UW. Now I am cringing at the thought of having to read StepUp Medicine which was recommended by a friend.

Do I really have to? Granted I have read FA and Crush. I am now reading Secrets (from the library) just to review my Crush knowledge. Things sound familiar but yet my internal medicine score still sucks (in the grand scheme of things) when I do UW.

Does this mean I now to make love to StepUp book(since it appears I don't have my med basic knowledge)? or should I just keep doing questions and try to learn that way?

Step Up is hard to read because it has so much good information not contained in other books. I found it to be the best book I had during third year but required a large time commitment. I used it during my 3 months of medicine and reviewed it over again several times during my step 2 prep. Probably took a total of 15 weeks on that book alone. I think if you are not dedicated to mastering the book, you should not waste your time on it and just stick to the easier review materials. It is not a crammable review book, and will bog you down if you are short on time.. good luck to you.

 

[Salt Creep]

I did 100% of Kaplan qbank, and then repeated some missed questions while doing UW. I found it especially helpful to do the missed questions again; some I had learned from and others I hadn't. Making a list of the things that aren't sinking in, and reviewing those particular topics would have been a wise thing for me to do (but I ran out of time).

I'd say be weary of spreading yourself too thin on too many resources. Take the one you like the most and go through it more.