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!!

 

[The kitchen sink]

Is DIT worth doing for Step 2?

or am I better off using MTB2/3 or reading SUTS2 on my own + UW? and of the 2 sources MTB and SUTS2, which one is preferred?

 

[netminder]

Dont be an asshole. . .

I cannot stop laughing. This is hilarious.

 

[CDI]

So what, I'm going to have to read MTB 2, 3, SUTM and SUS2 just to cover most of the bases? A classmate of mine just scored a 270 on the step 1 exam and now my pride really hurts. Another classmate told me that nothing in the books or UWorld could have prepared him for the numerous bouncers. Knowing how well the predictions worked out for me last time, am I going to have to read Harrison's textbook?

(Of course I'm not being completely serious. Yet.)

I don't get it.

 

[jwalker12]

Idk im trying to figure out same thing. Someone please help

 

[thehundredthone]

I don't get it.

My Step 1 experience was a little underwhelming (relative to predictions). I'd like to do better one Step 2. On one hand no one book seems to be enough, thus the question of how many books to read. On the other hand I have people saying all the books in the world (even UWorld) won't help much when it comes to the real thing.

 

[EaglesAllDay]

My Step 1 experience was a little underwhelming (relative to predictions). I'd like to do better one Step 2. On one hand no one book seems to be enough, thus the question of how many books to read. On the other hand I have people saying all the books in the world (even UWorld) won't help much when it comes to the real thing.

Lol Who told you UWorld wont help much?

Any and everybody who has taken step 2 has said how uworld is the single most important study source for the exam

 

[thehundredthone]

Lol Who told you UWorld wont help much?

Any and everybody who has taken step 2 has said how uworld is the single most important study source for the exam

At the end of the day, anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, whether yours or mine. If this person didn't say what everybody else did, it kinda puts a dent in that second statement of yours. I'm just thrown by his account of the kinds of questions asked, he's a smart guy and I believe what he says completely. I don't mean that everyone's exam will be the way he described it, but that's a possibility and I have to prepare for it somehow.

 

[CDI]

At the end of the day, anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, whether yours or mine. If this person didn't say what everybody else did, it kinda puts a dent in that second statement of yours. I'm just thrown by his account of the kinds of questions asked, he's a smart guy and I believe what he says completely. I don't mean that everyone's exam will be the way he described it, but that's a possibility and I have to prepare for it somehow.

No.

UW > all else.

 

[Muscledoc]

I take my exam next week. I sure hope Uworld was the way to go -- finishing up my 2nd run through now. I've had several high scoring buddies who have told me that it was, and from what I've read on this 87 page thread, the vast majority of people seem to agree with this; so I'm going to trust in them.

I think people who say that Uworld didn't help are people who maybe just memorized the answers to the questions and objectives only, hoping that they'd see exact replicas of Uworld Qs on their actual step. I think that's gotta be the reason for the disconnect here.

I think that if you read each question explanation thoroughly, and clear up any gray areas of treatment algorithms with a book of your choice, you're bound to do well on Step 2. I.e. be able to work through the steps in managing each condition in addition to memorizing the hy piecemeal info presented in the educational objectives of Uworld. I feel that's this exam is more of a "now that you know these things, how can you apply them" test, than a test of rote memorization.

Either way, always be careful of the advice you choose to listen to (even this garbage that I just wrote, ha). There may be more to it than meets the eye. i.e. are they just rationalizing because they didnt use the study material properly?

My 3rd year experience was poor. I knew Uworld itself wasn't enough for me and that I'd need to supplement with a textbook. Step up to medicine is awesome and it's an easy read but there are some deficiencies there as well that I've had to clear up with MTB, or whatever. With each condition ask yourself, "How would I manage and treat this condition? What would be the first step. What would be the gold standard?" If you can't answer these questions from the info you've derived from one source, I'd supplement that info from elsewhere to make your understanding of a condition more complete. The best resources out there have all been posted. Pick one or two as your main ones, and supplement with the others PRN. That's my two cents. But what do I know. We'll see what happens this upcoming week.

 

[thehundredthone]

No.

UW > all else.

That doesn't really say anything about the overall usefulness of UWorld. I don't see why you're taking my doubt as an attack on everything you hold sacred.

I take my exam next week. ... so I'm going to trust in them.

As am I, but I wonder if it covers all the bases especially given the reported disconnect between the prep material and the actual exam.

I think people who say that Uworld didn't help are people who maybe just memorized the answers to the questions and objectives only, hoping that they'd see exact replicas of Uworld Qs on their actual step. I think that's gotta be the reason for the disconnect here.

I'm sure a lot of them are, but I'm also sure that my colleague wasn't one of them.

I think that if you read each question explanation thoroughly, ... than a test of rote memorization.

Agree completely. Except that doing well is a very subjective thing.

Anyway, all I'm saying is that I was rattled by my colleague's report.

 

[Muscledoc]

That doesn't really say anything about the overall usefulness of UWorld. I don't see why you're taking my doubt as an attack on everything you hold sacred.


As am I, but I wonder if it covers all the bases especially given the reported disconnect between the prep material and the actual exam.


I'm sure a lot of them are, but I'm also sure that my colleague wasn't one of them.


Agree completely. Except that doing well is a very subjective thing.

Anyway, all I'm saying is that I was rattled by my colleague's report.

I hear ya. I've had buddies say the same thing about their experience with Step II recently who said they'd wish they'd read up on some of the algorithms with sources outside of Uworld. That's why I've been doing just that. I think that using Uworld is a sole resource would be a mistake unless your foundation is already very strong.

For what it's worth, I also used DIT and I think that its given me some extra comfort in knowing that I've pretty much done all that I've can to prepare for the exam given the time I've allocated to studying for this beast. You may want to look into doing that as well if you're having doubts.

Also, believe me, I agree with you in that doing well is a very subjective thing but from the looks of it, I think we're both trying to crush this exam. The high scorers I spoke of that said Uworld was the way to go were people who pushed 260-270.

In any case, good luck to you. I'll try to write a quick synopsis of my experience sometime next week.

 

[EaglesAllDay]

At the end of the day, anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, whether yours or mine. If this person didn't say what everybody else did, it kinda puts a dent in that second statement of yours. I'm just thrown by his account of the kinds of questions asked, he's a smart guy and I believe what he says completely. I don't mean that everyone's exam will be the way he described it, but that's a possibility and I have to prepare for it somehow.

What other sources would you add? How many books will you read? I understand your frustration but now is not the time for experimentation, go with the tried and tested ways of uworld + MTB 2/3 or Step up to medicine.

And its usually the smartest guys who completely rape the exam who come out with these quarrels. I bet your friend gets more then a 250.

 

[Transposony]

I hear ya. I've had buddies say the same thing about their experience with Step II recently who said they'd wish they'd read up on some of the algorithms with sources outside of Uworld. That's why I've been doing just that. I think that using Uworld is a sole resource would be a mistake unless your foundation is already very strong.

For what it's worth, I also used DIT and I think that its given me some extra comfort in knowing that I've pretty much done all that I've can to prepare for the exam given the time I've allocated to studying for this beast. You may want to look into doing that as well if you're having doubts.

Also, believe me, I agree with you in that doing well is a very subjective thing but from the looks of it, I think we're both trying to crush this exam. The high scorers I spoke of that said Uworld was the way to go were people who pushed 260-270.

In any case, good luck to you. I'll try to write a quick synopsis of my experience sometime next week.

I absolutely agree. My test was nothing like anything I read, and I read almost everything except Harrison.
It was like you booked a ticket to London and somehow your flight ended up in Beijing!

 

[CDI]

I hear ya. I've had buddies say the same thing about their experience with Step II recently who said they'd wish they'd read up on some of the algorithms with sources outside of Uworld. That's why I've been doing just that. I think that using Uworld is a sole resource would be a mistake unless your foundation is already very strong.

For what it's worth, I also used DIT and I think that its given me some extra comfort in knowing that I've pretty much done all that I've can to prepare for the exam given the time I've allocated to studying for this beast. You may want to look into doing that as well if you're having doubts.

Also, believe me, I agree with you in that doing well is a very subjective thing but from the looks of it, I think we're both trying to crush this exam. The high scorers I spoke of that said Uworld was the way to go were people who pushed 260-270.

In any case, good luck to you. I'll try to write a quick synopsis of my experience sometime next week.

I've yet to see someone really tear this exam down and determine what score level various resources can get you too.

For example, with Step 1, several people have shown/confirmed that reading & attempting to memorize FA can get you between a 210-230, even with a poor foundation at the start. That's the "limitation" of FA's scope. A score beyond that can be achieved with Qbanks + other resources. And to get the 260+ you need to know minutiae.

With CK, I wonder if UW gets you a similar "minimal" score range. Would the average student get a 230-250?

 

[CDI]

I absolutely agree. My test was nothing like anything I read, and I read almost everything except Harrison.
It was like you booked a ticket to London and somehow your flight ended up in Beijing!

Yet, you broke 260, right?

 

[Transposony]

Yet, you broke 260, right?

No, I got 250+

 

[CDI]

No, I got 250+

Close enough for me.

 

[thehundredthone]

What other sources would you add? How many books will you read? I understand your frustration but now is not the time for experimentation, go with the tried and tested ways of uworld + MTB 2/3 or Step up to medicine.

And its usually the smartest guys who completely rape the exam who come out with these quarrels. I bet your friend gets more then a 250.

Which is why I said that I wasn't really being serious. I have MTB 2, FA and will do UWorld. I think I will need to take a look at MTB 3 just to see if it brings anything new to the table. I really hope he breaks a 250, he put in a good amount of effort for this exam.

I absolutely agree. My test was nothing like anything I read, and I read almost everything except Harrison.
It was like you booked a ticket to London and somehow your flight ended up in Beijing!

Sigh. This is why I'm unnerved, my Step 1 seemed ordinary enough and still the score didn't match my experience, I can only imagine what will happen if my exam is anything like yours.

I've yet to see someone really tear this exam down and determine what score level various resources can get you too. ... With CK, I wonder if UW gets you a similar "minimal" score range. Would the average student get a 230-250?

That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'm sure it gets you close but I don't think it gets you all the way up to a 250, a lot of people have said the real thing is quite different.

 

[Sir Gillies]

I have a very unusual question. Just had my exam yesterday, and some blocks were 43 or 44 or 45 questions + last block was 25 questions. Is it normal I had 1 hr for 25 questions? Wasn't I supposed to have 43/43/45 questions even in the last block?
Hope to hear from someone soon because I'm a bit worried.
Thanks a lot.

 

[CDI]

I have a very unusual question. Just had my exam yesterday, and some blocks were 43 or 44 or 45 questions + last block was 25 questions. Is it normal I had 1 hr for 25 questions? Wasn't I supposed to have 43/43/45 questions even in the last block?
Hope to hear from someone soon because I'm a bit worried.
Thanks a lot.

Someone else here had the same. Nothing to worry about.

What'd you think of the exam and your prep?

Congrats on being done!

 

[thehundredthone]

I have a very unusual question. Just had my exam yesterday, and some blocks were 43 or 44 or 45 questions + last block was 25 questions. Is it normal I had 1 hr for 25 questions? Wasn't I supposed to have 43/43/45 questions even in the last block?
Hope to hear from someone soon because I'm a bit worried.
Thanks a lot.

My colleague had 30 in his last block so I guess it's not unheard of. Congrats on being done with it. Come back with your experience once you're done unwinding, maybe?

 

[nVictus]

just took my step today.... not sure how i feel about it but ill give you the objective stuff

step 1: 207 (there's a story to this but good god 🙁)

3rd year: all B's/Passes. all my shelf exams were mid B's except one A in obgyn.

step 2 prep:

NBME 2 (4 weeks before the test) - 225
UWSA 2 (3.5 weeks before the test) - 219 (uh oh)

for some reason i did these assessments before i did DIT or uworld.
i read step up to medicine for third year and it was a good book. i made a bunch of notes in it as i was doing uworld throughout 3rd year.
did uworld during 3rd year and had a pretty crappy average. probably high 50s/low 60s but im not sure (cant remember at this point haha). did DIT/SUS2 then i reset uworld and did it again and averaged 73%. some blocks ill average low 80s and some i would average high 60s. i always finished with 5-10min to spare. i had 500ish wrong, 1000ish marked. i went over the marked ones (third pass) and averaged like 85-90%. i read step 2 secrets here and there. some uworld questions really annoyed me.... like 2 hypotensive acute abdomen questions with inconclusive FAST.... one says go to lap, the other says get DPL. ahhhhhh

actual test:

my questions were 41, 41, 43, 43, 44, 44, 45, 45 blocks. i ran out of time in pretty much all but one or two blocks. always had 1 or 2 questions where i had to scan quickly and pick an answer at the end. as far as content, it was pretty close to uworld. it was pretty evenly split in terms of material. it wasn't tough but man, those zebras really killed my confidence. i also have a habit of quickly picking the answer and second guessing myself because it seems too obvious. it wasnt a hard test at all but i was aiming for the "i know i didnt get everything, but im confident in 80-90% of my answers" feeling.... which i didnt get. im probably confident in 70-80% of my answers. im not really sure what kind of score ill be expecting.... i'd say maybe 5% of the questions were from left field and something i had never seen or thought about in all my readings (SUM, SUS2, DIT, uworld) there were a lot of ppl from thailand (i hate ID) and a lot of patients i needed to give reassurance too lol. the big pain in the butt are the answer choices that were just reworded terms/conditions. question stems were also a lot longer than uworld.


at this point im just glad it's over but i hope i get a solid score to make up for my step 1.
i dont know when scores will come out but someone told me the 3rd wednesday after your exam?

 

[CDI]

just took my step today.... not sure how i feel about it but ill give you the objective stuff

step 1: 207 (there's a story to this but good god 🙁)

3rd year: all B's/Passes. all my shelf exams were mid B's except one A in obgyn.

step 2 prep:

NBME 2 (4 weeks before the test) - 225
UWSA 2 (3.5 weeks before the test) - 219 (uh oh)

for some reason i did these assessments before i did DIT or uworld.
i read step up to medicine for third year and it was a good book. i made a bunch of notes in it as i was doing uworld throughout 3rd year.
did uworld during 3rd year and had a pretty crappy average. probably high 50s/low 60s but im not sure (cant remember at this point haha). did DIT/SUS2 then i reset uworld and did it again and averaged 73%. some blocks ill average low 80s and some i would average high 60s. i always finished with 5-10min to spare. i had 500ish wrong, 1000ish marked. i went over the marked ones (third pass) and averaged like 85-90%. i read step 2 secrets here and there. some uworld questions really annoyed me.... like 2 hypotensive acute abdomen questions with inconclusive FAST.... one says go to lap, the other says get DPL. ahhhhhh

actual test:

my questions were 41, 41, 43, 43, 44, 44, 45, 45 blocks. i ran out of time in pretty much all but one or two blocks. always had 1 or 2 questions where i had to scan quickly and pick an answer at the end. as far as content, it was pretty close to uworld. it was pretty evenly split in terms of material. it wasn't tough but man, those zebras really killed my confidence. i also have a habit of quickly picking the answer and second guessing myself because it seems too obvious. it wasnt a hard test at all but i was aiming for the "i know i didnt get everything, but im confident in 80-90% of my answers" feeling.... which i didnt get. im probably confident in 70-80% of my answers. im not really sure what kind of score ill be expecting.... i'd say maybe 5% of the questions were from left field and something i had never seen or thought about in all my readings (SUM, SUS2, DIT, uworld) there were a lot of ppl from thailand (i hate ID) and a lot of patients i needed to give reassurance too lol. the big pain in the butt are the answer choices that were just reworded terms/conditions. question stems were also a lot longer than uworld.


at this point im just glad it's over but i hope i get a solid score to make up for my step 1.
i dont know when scores will come out but someone told me the 3rd wednesday after your exam?

Congrats on being done!

With a Step 1 207, and now scoring 60s-80s on UW CK (more recently) it sounds like you will do significantly better. Your pre-dedicated prep scores were pretty good to start off.

Any reason you chose DIT/SUS2 over MTB?

 

[colts]

can people or people you know who only used MTB2 IM and MTB 3 for everything else (or if any other 1 book, please post which one) and uworld post their scores?

 

[nVictus]

Congrats on being done!

With a Step 1 207, and now scoring 60s-80s on UW CK (more recently) it sounds like you will do significantly better. Your pre-dedicated prep scores were pretty good to start off.

Any reason you chose DIT/SUS2 over MTB?

i didnt read about mtb until it was too late. i did download MTB3 in pdf format and skimmed 1 or 2 sections that i was weakest in but i didnt get through it like i got through SUM or SUS2. i read good things about DIT and i have classmates that did well with it. one got a 219 on step 1 and a 249 on step 2... so i figure id give it a shot 😀 hopefully it all works out. i felt really crappy coming out of step 1 (thinking i failed).... not the same feeling i got for step 2... so hopefully that bodes well for my score but im not going to get my hopes up.

 

[futuredoctor10]

can people or people you know who only used MTB2 IM and MTB 3 for everything else (or if any other 1 book, please post which one) and uworld post their scores?

I'd be interested in seeing this as well.

 

[CDI]

i didnt read about mtb until it was too late. i did download MTB3 in pdf format and skimmed 1 or 2 sections that i was weakest in but i didnt get through it like i got through SUM or SUS2. i read good things about DIT and i have classmates that did well with it. one got a 219 on step 1 and a 249 on step 2... so i figure id give it a shot 😀 hopefully it all works out. i felt really crappy coming out of step 1 (thinking i failed).... not the same feeling i got for step 2... so hopefully that bodes well for my score but im not going to get my hopes up.

Makes sense, I'm sure you did well and brought this score up.

This might be a reach, but have any of your classmates tried using the CF flashcards? (Basically MTB but in flashcards) I scored fairly low-average on Step 1 - so I'd be real happy with anything 240+.

 

[nVictus]

nope, never heard of those flashcards except on sdn.

another anecdote: my classmate got a 215 on step 1 and a 252 on step 2 using only uworld (71% avg).

 

[CDI]

nope, never heard of those flashcards except on sdn.

another anecdote: my classmate got a 215 on step 1 and a 252 on step 2 using only uworld (71% avg).

😱 That's a sick jump!

I got a 217 on Step 1. If I manage to go up 20 pts and break a 237, I'd be set.

 

[link2swim06]

Anyone use USMLE Step 2 Secrets or Kaplan high yield?

Starting to put a study plan together for this summer.

I was planning on doing:
USMLE Step 2 secrets + Kaplan High Yield + Uworld and Kaplan qbanks

Been scoring between 30th percentile and 80 percentile on shelf tests

Thoughts?

 

[willen101383]

😱 That's a sick jump!

I got a 217 on Step 1. If I manage to go up 20 pts and break a 237, I'd be set.

I went from a 218 to a 241, so its def doable.

 

[EaglesAllDay]

I went from a 218 to a 241, so its def doable.

👍 What did you do differently from your step 1 prep if you dont mind?

 

[CDI]

I went from a 218 to a 241, so its def doable.

You hardly studied for yours so that's even more impressive. I think you had said like 2 hrs a day for a month during some rotation. (?)

 

[willen101383]

You hardly studied for yours so that's even more impressive. I think you had said like 2 hrs a day for a month during some rotation. (?)

Prob like 6 weeks. I did a tonnnnn of questions. I dont think step up even helped that much, It was the questions. PS sorry for calling you an ******* earlier in the thread I was hardly serious lol.

 

[willen101383]

👍 What did you do differently from your step 1 prep if you dont mind?

It was mainly the content difference. Not going to lie, hard science has never been my strongest suit. Memorizing minutiae for step 1 absolutely sucked and I really couldnt be bothered to do it. Secondly I couldnt fall asleep the night before step 1 and only got like 20 mins of sleep total, so im sure that majorly hurt me.

Step 1 I did FA+UW.

Step 2 I did Step up+UW+Secrets.

At any rate, I wish I did a bit better than I did, but being a DO student I cant imagine a 241 is that bad vs my peers.

 

[CDI]

Prob like 6 weeks. I did a tonnnnn of questions. I dont think step up even helped that much, It was the questions. PS sorry for calling you an ******* earlier in the thread I was hardly serious lol.

Haha, no worries! Online misunderstanding...I really didn't know there wasn't a Comlex thread at the time.

Anyways, hope I can get a score like yours. I take it July 9th. Trying to crank UW out now.

 

[willen101383]

Haha, no worries! Online misunderstanding...I really didn't know there wasn't a Comlex thread at the time.

Anyways, hope I can get a score like yours. I take it July 9th. Trying to crank UW out now.

I am sure you will! Get on those questions! 🙂

 

[Muscledoc]

I said I would write something after my exam experience. So here goes:

Overall, I'd say that 75% of the material covered I had seen somewhere in Uworld, DIT, step up to medicine, etc. As everybody else has said, I would say that Uworld was probably the best resource and that the exam itself was similar to UWSA (some blocks a bit more difficult).

My 3rd year experience was poor (many times I was out in clinics pretty much just shadowing), so I feel like there were some questions I would've been able to easily get if I had just "seen it" in practice. That being said, it's true that there are some things on this exam that you simply can't study for.

4-5 of the blocks I felt pretty good about, I'd say I was unsure of about 5-6 questions on those. 3 blocks I pretty much felt like I got dominated - ~10 questions per each that could've gone either -- in one block I literally had to guess on 2 questions because I ran out of time. The exam stems are real long for the most part and they wear you down.

My best advice would be to study your *** off to make sure you don't miss the simple questions (I missed 3-4 off the top of my head d/t brain exhaustion) then just hope you've seen how to manage the rest of the questions during your rotations or you can reason through them.

Step 1 I score ~260.
Practice exams ranged between 250-260s.

Honestly, I don't know how I did. Definitely missed a good number of questions. I'm just hoping the curve is huge as others have been saying it most likely is.

Sorry if my summary of the exam was vague. My brain hurts and it was just that kind of exam.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[CDI]

I said I would write something after my exam experience. So here goes:

Overall, I'd say that 75% of the material covered I had seen somewhere in Uworld, DIT, step up to medicine, etc. As everybody else has said, I would say that Uworld was probably the best resource and that the exam itself was similar to UWSA (some blocks a bit more difficult).

My 3rd year experience was poor (many times I was out in clinics pretty much just shadowing), so I feel like there were some questions I would've been able to easily get if I had just "seen it" in practice. That being said, it's true that there are some things on this exam that you simply can't study for.

4-5 of the blocks I felt pretty good about, I'd say I was unsure of about 5-6 questions on those. 3 blocks I pretty much felt like I got dominated - ~10 questions per each that could've gone either -- in one block I literally had to guess on 2 questions because I ran out of time. The exam stems are real long for the most part and they wear you down.

My best advice would be to study your *** off to make sure you don't miss the simple questions (I missed 3-4 off the top of my head d/t brain exhaustion) then just hope you've seen how to manage the rest of the questions during your rotations or you can reason through them.

Step 1 I score ~260.
Practice exams ranged between 250-260s.

Honestly, I don't know how I did. Definitely missed a good number of questions. I'm just hoping the curve is huge as others have been saying it most likely is.

Sorry if my summary of the exam was vague. My brain hurts and it was just that kind of exam.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Thanks for the write up! Congrats on being done.

You got a 260 on Step 1, so I guess this was more like a formality for you. Probably killed this one too.

 

[Phloston]

Has anyone tried to substitute the Conrad Fischer flashcards (physical diagnosis, diagnostic tests, common diagnosis) in place of the MTBs?

I've gone through about one-quarter of the diagnostic test flashcards so far (and I've also read ~one-quarter of MTB-2), and I'd say the flashcards are only okay. If I were using Amazon, I'd rate them 2/5 stars at the moment.

In MTB-2, they'll talk about a pathology (e.g. cardiac tamponade), and then they'll mention the best initial vs most diagnostic test. The reason I bought the flashcards was because I was hoping they'd have a pathology on one side and then the best initial/diagnostic tests on the other side. That way, I could get used to seeing the condition and then immediately knowing the appropriate tests to order. Instead, the cards just list the name of a test/lab study on one side, and then any/all of the conditions it's used for on the other side. Quite frankly, I find them fairly useless so far. If my thoughts change later on, then I'll mention it.

 

[CDI]

I've gone through about one-quarter of the diagnostic test flashcards so far (and I've also read ~one-quarter of MTB-2), and I'd say the flashcards are only okay.

In MTB-2, they'll talk about a pathology (e.g. cardiac tamponade), and then they'll mention the best initial vs most diagnostic test. The reason I bought the flashcards was because I was hoping they'd have a pathology on one side and then the best initial/diagnostic tests on the other side. Instead, the cards just list the name of a test/lab study on one side, and then any/all of the conditions it's used for on the other side. Quite frankly, I find them pretty average so far. If my thoughts change later on, then I'll mention it.

Sounds good, thanks!

I'm doing the common diagnosis and physical findings cards now (when I eat or before I crash at night). They're fine for their purpose and I'm going to continue with them at least to run through once.

There is definitely plenty of easy high-yield stuff I don't know (I'm sure its partly due to my Step 1 deficiencies, the other reason being I'm an IMG) and this quickly exposes those topics for me to improve on using MTB.

 

[thehundredthone]

I said I would write something after my exam experience. So here goes:

...

Sorry if my summary of the exam was vague. My brain hurts and it was just that kind of exam.

I apologise if you've mentioned this detail in your earlier posts, but what was your UWorld percentage while starting out and at the end?

 

[colts]

so what would people suggest from these 3:

First Aid Step 2 CK +UWORLD

or

MTB 2 IM, MTB 3 for everything else, +UWORLD

or

Step up to Step 2 +UWORLD

 

[Muscledoc]

I apologise if you've mentioned this detail in your earlier posts, but what was your UWorld percentage while starting out and at the end?

1st time through - 83% did about 800 start last june. then in Jan--April - finished the remaining 1400 or so.

2nd time through - Started in May til last week - 94% - didn't get through 400 of them. wish i had.

i'd recommend doing like 200 questions a day for the last week. that's what I did last week and versus how I felt on one step I, i definitely was not nearly as fatigued this time around.

I think having a well rested and sharp mind the day of the test is just as important as your exam preparation. Even though I got a good 7-8 hrs of sleep the night before, I still missed a good 10 questions because I ran out of steam on certain blocks and made stupid mistakes.

 

[MrBeauregard]

1st time through - 83% did about 800 start last june. then in Jan--April - finished the remaining 1400 or so.

2nd time through - Started in May til last week - 94% - didn't get through 400 of them. wish i had.

i'd recommend doing like 200 questions a day for the last week. that's what I did last week and versus how I felt on one step I, i definitely was not nearly as fatigued this time around.

I think having a well rested and sharp mind the day of the test is just as important as your exam preparation. Even though I got a good 7-8 hrs of sleep the night before, I still missed a good 10 questions because I ran out of steam on certain blocks and made stupid mistakes.

These are your scores and you're worried about your performance?

Did you do them in timed/tutor/random/by specialty/etc?

 

[Muscledoc]

These are your scores and you're worried about your performance?

Did you do them in timed/tutor/random/by specialty/etc?

Lol, I'm not worried that I did poorly. Not to mention, after reading about all the 270s on here, it just increases the standard in your mind. In any case, I'm not sure if I got what I needed, but I'm positive I did okay. Shooting for a highly competitive field. But I know whatever I end up getting, there was nothing else I could've done in the time I had to improve my performance -- except maybe to relax more the day before. The rest is up to the big dude upstairs.

I started with tutor and did single subjects at a time (i.e. if I was on cards, I did cards. If i was on peds I did peds, etc) Then I figured I should be reviewing more of the other topics so I started doing multiple topics. Then the last 1400 or so I did on all random tutor mode. Wasn't really worried about time since timing is never usually an issue for me unless I'm sitting for the actual exam.

2nd time through I did all random timed.

 

[MrBeauregard]

You did fine. I know what you mean by the standard being increased after reading about all these crazy scores. After reading about multiple 270s it makes you think it's truly a possibility for you to achieve. And then if you miss 3 questions you start feeling like a failure. Vicious.

Looking back, would you say that timing and fatigue are the biggest obstacles here? Or do you think some treatment algorithms and diseases/conditions that seemed low-yield during studying made more of an appearance than you thought they would?

 

[norealname]

Hello everyone, I am going to post my USMLE Step 2 CK experience here. I am a Caribbean-IMG. I did my Step 1 in 2011, and my score then was 266.

I did my exam May 14. I took 4 weeks of break to prepare for this exam as well as my canadian licensing exam.

Studying method: I tried to study as much as I could during my clerkships (all done in US or Canada). For each clerkship, I would use the popular review resource to study, as well as supplementary material given out by my attending physicians/residents. I went through one question resource for each clerkship as well. During each clerkship, I did my best to finish all my USMLEWorld questions for that specialty. Needless to say, I had about 1200 questions left to do after all the rotations were over (i.e. was not able to finish everything during rotations)

In the review period, I would do 1-2 blocks of usmle world a day, and finish an entire chapter of Master the boards (Step 2 for IM, Step 3 for everything else). I used the Toronto notes for a few things here and there. I was really stressed out in the review period because I felt that no one single resource was comprehensive for Step 2 preparation (unlike for Step 1, where First Aid was fairly comprehensive).

Anyways, I still went on with reviewing, then reset my UWorld and did it over again. Below are my stats for pre-exam prep

UWorld 1st pass: 86%, 95 percentile
UWorld 2nd pass: 98%, 99 percentile
NBME 4 (3 weeks out): 262
Free 150: (1 week out): 92% (sort of messed up that one)
UWSA (1 week out): 265+

Exam experience: This exam is a marathon, simply put. You gotta keep your pace or you will get exhausted quickly. Make sure you snack frequently, have tiny amounts of coffee (if that's your drug of choice), and take your tylenols with you (you will get a headache, it's almost inevitable). My blocks all range from 42 - 46 questions, except for my last block which was 32 questions. Toughest questions for me were the drug ads questions. They are completely unlike the UWorld questions and ask a whole different set of things (more like the free 150 questions). Also, questions are really not that long, and are more similar to Free 150 in length. In terms of difficulty, the exam is mostly doable but there are many many weird out-of-the-blue questions. I remember walking out with at least 15 questions that I knew I got wrong (plus more that I'm sure I don't remember). Definitely much worse coming out of this exam compared to Step 1.

Real score: 280

I am still in shock , and absolutely thrilled. I got the score when I was rounding on patients earlier today and almost wanted to scream. I guess the lesson here that everyone will feel crappy after coming out of this exam no matter how you prepare. All my friends and colleagues have similar experiences. You just have to make sure you did all you could before going in to this exam and accept the fact that you will miss many questions.

Best of luck to everyone on here. Gotta start thinking about those residency applications now 😀

 

[CDI]

Hello everyone, I am going to post my USMLE Step 2 CK experience here. I am a Caribbean-IMG. I did my Step 1 in 2011, and my score then was 266.

I did my exam May 14. I took 4 weeks of break to prepare for this exam as well as my canadian licensing exam.

Studying method: I tried to study as much as I could during my clerkships (all done in US or Canada). For each clerkship, I would use the popular review resource to study, as well as supplementary material given out by my attending physicians/residents. I went through one question resource for each clerkship as well. During each clerkship, I did my best to finish all my USMLEWorld questions for that specialty. Needless to say, I had about 1200 questions left to do after all the rotations were over (i.e. was not able to finish everything during rotations)

In the review period, I would do 1-2 blocks of usmle world a day, and finish an entire chapter of Master the boards (Step 2 for IM, Step 3 for everything else). I used the Toronto notes for a few things here and there. I was really stressed out in the review period because I felt that no one single resource was comprehensive for Step 2 preparation (unlike for Step 1, where First Aid was fairly comprehensive).

Anyways, I still went on with reviewing, then reset my UWorld and did it over again. Below are my stats for pre-exam prep

UWorld 1st pass: 86%, 95 percentile
UWorld 2nd pass: 98%, 99 percentile
NBME 4 (3 weeks out): 262
Free 150: (1 week out): 92% (sort of messed up that one)
UWSA (1 week out): 265+

Exam experience: This exam is a marathon, simply put. You gotta keep your pace or you will get exhausted quickly. Make sure you snack frequently, have tiny amounts of coffee (if that's your drug of choice), and take your tylenols with you (you will get a headache, it's almost inevitable). My blocks all range from 42 - 46 questions, except for my last block which was 32 questions. Toughest questions for me were the drug ads questions. They are completely unlike the UWorld questions and ask a whole different set of things (more like the free 150 questions). Also, questions are really not that long, and are more similar to Free 150 in length. In terms of difficulty, the exam is mostly doable but there are many many weird out-of-the-blue questions. I remember walking out with at least 15 questions that I knew I got wrong (plus more that I'm sure I don't remember). Definitely much worse coming out of this exam compared to Step 1.

Real score: 280

I am still in shock , and absolutely thrilled. I got the score when I was rounding on patients earlier today and almost wanted to scream. I guess the lesson here that everyone will feel crappy after coming out of this exam no matter how you prepare. All my friends and colleagues have similar experiences. You just have to make sure you did all you could before going in to this exam and accept the fact that you will miss many questions.

Best of luck to everyone on here. Gotta start thinking about those residency applications now 😀

😱

 

[MindyLahiri]

Longtime lurker here. This information is a bit outdated (took Step 2CK last Sept) but with all of the discussion on DIT and score jumps I thought I should chime in since I have benefited so much from SDN advice.

Step 1: 220s
Really ran out of time/poor study strategy. I only read Goljan once, FA once and did about ~25% of Uworld. No practice exams. In hindsight it is a miracle I scored a little above average.

Shelf exams (when I started taking SDN advice)
Psych: 88
OBGYN: 77 (had back to back redeye flights 2 days before the exam and took the test pretty exhausted)
Peds: 90
Neuro: 80
Medicine: 85
Surgery: 83

After a pretty strong performance third year I decided to try for a huge score jump to hopefully get residency interviews at higher tiered schools. I also had a good chunk of time to study because I was taking a research year and had an easier workload. My roommate suggested DIT for me because I am a HUGE procrastinator (hence running out of time on my Step 1 studying). I went through DIT 2 months before I took Step 2, only watched the videos once. For me I felt like the real usefulness of DIT was that since I had paid good $$ it forced me to stay on a study schedule.

Right after finishing DIT I had 2.5 weeks of vacation/research distractions. When I got back home I took UWSA and scored a 247, this was 3.5 weeks before my test. I stopped my research activities at this point and shifted my focus to Step 2. Then I reset my UWorld and did Qs on timed tutor from 8am through midnight for 2.5 straight weeks (minus time spent on homework and classes). I took notes on each question using the UWorld note interface. I went through each question once and ran out of energy to look at marked and missed. Qs I began the blocks scoring low 70s and by then end I was scoring 88-90s pretty consistently. Overall avg was ~77%

My last week of studying I was pretty burned out from the UWorld marathon and so I took off 3 days completely and just slept, exercised and watched Netflix. I then read the notes I took on UWorld and skimmed half of Secrets. I was confident going into the exam that I would score 240s at least and so that helped me get a good nights sleep (unlike Step 1 where I got 3 hours of sleep and prayed I would survive).

On the actual test day I felt the questions were a little vague and less about factoids and more about clinical reasoning. I felt okay coming out of the exam but not great. I don't remember specifics because I tried to block Qs out of my head so that I wouldn't torture myself looking up answers in the weeks after the test.

Step 2CK: 260s

In the end I felt the best preparation was learning on the wards and performing well on the shelf exams. I think having the month (mostly) off before the test was necessary because I am slower at doing the Qs than some SDNers but really all you need to do is UWorld one month before the test, however you can fit it in. DIT didn't add much to my score I don't think but it did keep me on schedule and help me feel confident that I had covered most topics.

I hope this is helpful. Also, SDN messes with your head. I was happy with my Step 2 score for about one week before I felt bad about myself for not having a 270 😉 ...and now apparently a 280 (congrats, norealname !!!)