USMLE World Scores and Step II Scores

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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!!
 
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rocketbooster said:
Can you guys point out where in UWorld the drug ads are? All in IM? I finished like 75% of UW over 3rd year, reset it and now doing it again but I will probably only have time to finish 80% of it. I want to make sure I do all those drug ad questions. Thanks.
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Drug ads and abstracts are in the stats section.
 
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KTD said:
Drug ads and abstracts are in the stats section.
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I had a stupidly easy one on my test. (This is not the correct answer FYI to not break any rules...)
It told you in the drug ad, "drug x is an antihistamine"... Then one of the questions asked "what kind of drug is drug x" ... Most of these questions aren't rocket science, for the most part I think they just want to make sure you read it and can interpret English...
 
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Sooo...I feel like tomorrow is gonna be insane lol. After reading all these comments I'm preparing myself to 1) read very quickly 2) know that I'm not going to understand about half the questions lol
 
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pillowface said:
Sooo...I feel like tomorrow is gonna be insane lol. After reading all these comments I'm preparing myself to 1) read very quickly 2) know that I'm not going to understand about half the questions lol
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I don't think "reading quickly" is really an option. It's better to do well and not miss an easy question, then to half a** more questions. If you're consistently short on time, leave the drug ads for later or just accept having to guess on them. They kill all your time and momentum.

USMLE is teaching us to pay attention to our patients and ignore the drug reps and their distracting methods. :laugh:
 
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CDI said:
I don't think "reading quickly" is really an option. It's better to do well and not miss an easy question, then to half a** more questions. If you're consistently short on time, leave the drug ads for later or just accept having to guess on them. They kill all your time and momentum.

USMLE is teaching us to pay attention to our patients and ignore the drug reps and their distracting methods. :laugh:
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I just meant try to keep track of time (I'm a slow test taker). Any other advice for the exam??
 
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pillowface said:
I just meant try to keep track of time (I'm a slow test taker). Any other advice for the exam??
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Stop reading SDN before your test: it's going to freak you out. You've been preparing for this exam since starting third year. At this point you should relax and go with the flow of the test.
 
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JRjcu08 said:
I had a stupidly easy one on my test. (This is not the correct answer FYI to not break any rules...)
It told you in the drug ad, "drug x is an antihistamine"... Then one of the questions asked "what kind of drug is drug x" ... Most of these questions aren't rocket science, for the most part I think they just want to make sure you read it and can interpret English...
Click to expand...

Some sets are really hit or miss. Sometimes they are easy as stated above, sometimes they get a little harder like asking you to pick out a certain point of information, and othertimes they ask you calculate statistics on the fly based on information in the question.

Generally the calcluations are nothing beyond sensitivity/specificity/PPV/NPV though.
 
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QuackaDO said:
Anybody take it on July 26th have their permit link disappear yet? Mine was gone last week but no score but I also ran out of my eligibility period so I think that's why my link was gone, not because of anything else. Just wondering if anyone that took it on the 26th and had a link a day or two ago now noticed their link is gone and that we MAY be getting our score on Wednesday! 🙂
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Took it July 26, permit link is gone. So, tomorrow at 8 am EST?
 
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July 27th test taker here. Print permit link is still there. I guess July 26th is the cut off for this week. Boo.
 
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SweetD2014 said:
Took it July 26, permit link is gone. So, tomorrow at 8 am EST?
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Oh nice, I was wondering... took it on the 26th but my link was gone last week with no love. Heard people on the 25th say link was gone and the 27th say their link was gone so wasn't sure if it was gonna be a cut off of the 25th or 26th. REALLY hope it's tomorrow!
 
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Isn't the turn around 3 weeks, meaning you would to have taken your test no later than July 24 to get your score tomorrow?
 
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WaylonS said:
Isn't the turn around 3 weeks, meaning you would to have taken your test no later than July 24 to get your score tomorrow?
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3 Wednesdays not counting the week of your test usually, so July 27th is still technically in time. We'll know this evening. (tomorrow morning for you guys)

pillowface said:
I just meant try to keep track of time (I'm a slow test taker). Any other advice for the exam??
Click to expand...
Make sure you read the final question before the initial stem. Tried and tested method, it can save you time.

JRjcu08 said:
I had a stupidly easy one on my test. (This is not the correct answer FYI to not break any rules...)
It told you in the drug ad, "drug x is an antihistamine"... Then one of the questions asked "what kind of drug is drug x" ... Most of these questions aren't rocket science, for the most part I think they just want to make sure you read it and can interpret English...
Click to expand...
I think that's one of the staple drug ads in the test, my colleague and I both had the same question as well.
 
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Dreams can come true.

Step 1: 200+

Studied for four weeks, about 6-10 hours a day an average of 5 days a week. Used UWorld and Kaplan Qbanks and Kaplan videos. UWorld was second pass at 75%, but I had Surgery, IM, and OB/GYN early in third year so didn't remember most of the questions. Kaplan first pass was 70%. Had Crush and Secrets on hand, rarely referred to SU2M.

NBME 4, 4 weeks out: 233
UWSA, 1 week out: 253

Step 2: 250+

Not quite up to SDN standards (haha), but I am thrilled. Now, here's hoping I passed CS so this score isn't worthless.
 
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Did anyone who took it on the 26th get the notification email? I didn't but some people who took it on the 26th said their permit link disappeared so trying to see if I am the only one left out or if everyone from the 26th is missing out
 
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I took mine on the 26th also. No email. Didn't check my permit link before but it is not accessible today. No scores back.
 
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Booster said:
I took mine on the 26th also. No email. Didn't check my permit link before but it is not accessible today. No scores back.
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Yeah, me too except my link was gone last week and no score. I figured the link disappeared cuz my eligibility period was up on July 31 so I was kind of in the dark but when others started saying theirs disappeared for the 26th as well I assumed it was go time. Wtf? Tempted to call but you know that will not produce any results.
 
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step 1 high 250s

went through uworld during 3rd year except for peds section.
took 3 weeks to study, much of which was spent laying on the beach. took it 7/23.
2nd time through uworld, 100% complete, during studying period. average 74%.
Read through secrets x1 in the last week before test.
UWSA 248 one week before test

*felt like absolute garbage coming out of the test, much worse than step 1. was hoping for >230.

step 2 ck actual: mid 250s
I guess the uworld % correlation mostly holds true for me.

good luck everyone!
 
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Step 1: 200-210
I'm a heinously bad test taker, and was trying to improve by listening too much to others' study habits rather than making my own.

NBME 3 (4.5 weeks out): 185
This was my only practice test, and after the fact I saw posts saying that few people use it because it seems to underestimate. I now think that is indeed the case.

4 weeks 2 days total study time, used UWorld throughout 3rd year, but still had 1100 IM questions to do during dedicated study time. Took super detailed notes on every question, which was really time consuming but yielded ~200 pages of handwritten review book, essentially. Reread that once, read 1/2 of Secrets, looked stuff up online as I went along.

Step 2: 246

I'm stoked, and pretty sure a strong breeze could knock me over right about now.

Good luck to everyone still waiting.
 
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UWorld average: ~65%
Step 1 score: 261
Step 2 score: 271
Bottom line: don't let a low UWorld score get you down - so long as you learn from every question you get wrong, everything will be ok

😀
 
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I have a week left before my test. Would you suggest I take a day to do the UWSE (uworld practice test) or rather use that day to get further to finishing UW for the 2nd time? I don't know if UWSE is the best use of my time at this point when I haven't finished the qbank since it will basically give me an estimate of my score and that's about it. Why do I really need to know an estimate of my score now if I am going to take the test next week no matter what anyway? You could argue it'll point out my weak areas, but the qbank feedback already does that. What do you think I should do?

Like I said in an earlier post, I did ~75% of the qbank over 3rd year. Doing the UWSE will probably allow me to repeat 70% of the qbank vs. only doing the qbank from now on and repeating ~80%.
 
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gardengnome said:
My only real advice is to do UWorld bank timed and like your pants are on fire. If you're not finishing with 10 minutes, you're too slow. Questions are just a bit longer and seemed there weren't hardly any one-liners to catch up on.
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definitely true. step 1 gave me timing issues in the first few blocks because i didn't anticipate a difference. so i went into step 2 preparation thinking i'd need to practice being quicker on uworld practice... like i finished each block with 15-20 minutes left. that way, i went into the real thing going at that pace, feeling okay with submitting each block at that pace, and having 5-10 minutes to review.

30 points better than step 1. i'll take it 🙂
 
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Had about 3.5 weeks of dedicated study time. Got through about 2/3 of UWorld with around 65% average. Used DIT, Step Up, and Secrets. Really struggled with timing issues because stems seemed so much longer plus drug ads. Didn't feel too strongly after coming out of it, and was just hoping to pass.

Step 1: 226, UWSA: 230 (2-3 days out), Step 2: 231

Relieved that it's over, and happy I went up a few points. Not quite up to SDN standards, but I just wanted to improve on Step 1. Crazy that my UWSA was bascially dead on.
 
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Congrats to all those that got their scores today. I'm REALLY bummed that mine didn't come since my permit (and others apparently that took it the same day) was gone but I guess (hope) maybe it won't be but another week of waiting. If anyone took the test on the 26th and got their results today PLEASE post to let us/me know!
 
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QuackaDO said:
Congrats to all those that got their scores today. I'm REALLY bummed that mine didn't come since my permit (and others apparently that took it the same day) was gone but I guess (hope) maybe it won't be but another week of waiting. If anyone took the test on the 26th and got their results today PLEASE post to let us/me know!
Click to expand...

If you took your test on the 26th, your first Wednesday was July 31, so you will be at the three week mark next Wednesday.
 
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Not sure how accurate that is, for Step 1 I took it on a wednesday and got my score 3 weeks from test-day, but I had a few friends who took it the day after me (thursday) and still got scores same wednesday as me. I am still amazed at how long it takes for these exams to be graded...
 
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WaylonS said:
If you took your test on the 26th, your first Wednesday was July 31, so you will be at the three week mark next Wednesday.
Click to expand...

Umm... my test date was Friday the 26th
July 31= 1
August 7th= 2
August 14th= 3
Not sure where you came up with that figure. Besides, my permit and other people's permits disappeared (although mine probably was from my eligibility period ending... not sure about others) AND people that took the test LITERALLY the day before got their results. Considering next Wednesday will be just 2 days shy of one month since I took my exam I'm not sure how you arrived at your idea that my date would not be the three week mark if people that took the test the day before me were at theirs 😕
 
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QuackaDO said:
Umm... my test date was Friday the 26th
July 31= 1
August 7th= 2
August 14th= 3
Not sure where you came up with that figure. Besides, my permit and other people's permits disappeared (although mine probably was from my eligibility period ending... not sure about others) AND people that took the test LITERALLY the day before got their results. Considering next Wednesday will be just 2 days shy of one month since I took my exam I'm not sure how you arrived at your idea that my date would not be the three week mark if people that took the test the day before me were at theirs 😕
Click to expand...

July 31 to July 7 is one week, July 7 to July 14 is your second week

Also, my CS permit disappeared, but I won't be getting my score until October. Just because you no longer have the permit may not mean your score release in imminent
 
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WaylonS said:
July 31 to July 7 is one week, July 7 to July 14 is your second week

Also, my CS permit disappeared, but I won't be getting my score until October. Just because you no longer have the permit may not mean your score release in imminent
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Then explain how people who took it on Thursday the 25th got theirs today? Your math is off... it's not 3 Wednesdays from the first Wednesday AFTER your test... it's always been stated as 3 Wednesday after your test and is why people who took it on the 25th (and arguably the 24th) got theirs today. Your permit probably disappeared for CS cuz your eligibility period ended, just like mine did.
 
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Mid 230s for Step 1 and 2Ck... Step 1 score is lower but percentile is higher so I don't know how to feel about my performance other than to say it was anti-climactic when I learned of my score both times. Gyn absolutely killed me... which came as kind of a shock to me. Guess I'm happy it's over and I won't have to worry about any more scores.

Here's my advice: Secrets (my primary resource) was good but not great. I would definitely have read it again but it's not the magic bullet like FA was for Step 1 although word for word it's probably the highest yield of any book. I should have focused on UW instead, which is definitely the best resource.
 
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Step 1: 214

Used DIT for 4 weeks
U world first round during 3rd year 61%
Second round 73%
UWSA 247 (1 week before)
NBME 6 225 (4 days before), Honestly, I don't think that is a good test at all. Many of the questions are exactly same questions from U world bank. I got over 80% right and only scored 225 points.

Real Step 2: 251 🙂🙂

I am so happy. I think UWSA is definitely better prediction.

I came out of the exam thinking I could only get around 220s. I felt it was much harder than U world. So don't be disappointed after taking the real exam. You may get higher than you expected.
 
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Long time lurker, first (or second) time poster. This thread helped, scared, and focused me quite a bit during my prep, so I thought I'd give my $0.02.
Background: IMG from Ireland with a step 1 score of 230. 3rd year grades in or around the 75th centile in my class.
Prep time: 3 weeks full time. Then another 2 weeks in the evenings after a busy rotation.
Resources used: UWorld and Secrets only. And I only read secrets once, 2 days before the exam.
UWorld score: 70% average first time. Some timed random, some untimed random. Always random though. My final 5 blocks probably averaged 75%.
Self assessments: None. I didn't feel like I had time, and there was no way I was pushing it back. So there was no point in wasting 4 hours to know my score.
Actual score: 254

I'll admit, I was pretty apprehensive when opening my score report. I had read some long-time posters (CDI I think) saying UWorld was out of date and not sufficient. I don't believe that at all. I did UWorld very comprehensively. I took note of every bit of information I didn't know, not just from the correct answer, but also from the incorrect answer choices too. I compiled all this into a word document that ended up at around 35 pages and revised that a few times. No matter what you use to prepare there will be questions you have never seen before, but I felt UWorld was a lifesaver for CK. If I had more time, sure I would have done some other stuff. I probably would have done an NBME to make myself feel better. I would have gone through my wrong answers in UWorld once or twice. I might even have given DIT a go because I liked it for step 1.

So in summary, for those on a time budget: UWorld+secrets+somewhat average student+ 4/5 weeks=252.
 
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DO student. Took Step 2 July 20th.

Step 1: 255
Step 2: 267

UWorld 1st pass: 83% (untimed/tutor by specialty throughout third year)
UWorld 2nd pass: 95% (timed/random; only finished ~70%, made sure to hit my weak areas)
UWSA: 265 (1 week out)

I took 4 weeks off to study, which was entirely too long, and was pretty burned out at the end of my prep. I set a goal of 270+ but I'm happy; made a few dumb mistakes during the exam mainly due to stress and fatigue. The exam was very fatiguing for me and I was completely exhausted by the end. I found myself having trouble staying focused for the last block or two, especially the last (which also happened to be my most difficult by far). I usually marked 10-15+ per block (I'm somewhat of a compulsive marker) and usually had 12-15 minutes to spare at the end of each block. They went something like 45, 43, 44, 43, 45, 43, 43, 38 but I can't quite remember. The test was very similar to UWorld in overall content with some really random things thrown in. There were definitely a few "I have no idea what you are even asking" questions and so I narrowed it down to two good answers and just took a good guess.

Overall, go into the test trusting your preparation. Try not to get frazzled when you run into questions regarding information you have never seen. Just do your best and trust your instinct.

Here are the resources I used:
Board prep: UWorld and SUTM; UWorld is essential and definitely the best resource. Studying hard throughout third year will make a world of difference. SUTM was good for me but I can't compare it to anything else since it was all I used.

FM: Case Files and PreTest
Peds: Case Files and PreTest, UWorld
OB/Gyn: Case Files, PreTest, UWorld
IM: SUTM, UWorld
Psych: NMS, FA, PreTest, UWorld
Surgery: Case Files, UWorld

If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me.
 
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Took 3 1/2 weeks to study. Did mostly U-world with MTB/kaplan notes for weak areas. Overall I felt the exam was really tough. I left not feeling to great.

Step 1: 248
U-world percentage: first pass 73% (during 3rd year), second pass 89%
Shelf scores: avg of 85
NMBE 4 2 weeks before exam: 262
UWSA: 254: 1 week before
REAL DEAL 254:

Overall I was happy, but kinda wanted a 260 oh well.

Good luck. Advice: take it earlier rather than later. I felt like I peaked and then started to lose info I had already studied.
 
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NAC Attack said:
I'll admit, I was pretty apprehensive when opening my score report. I had read some long-time posters (CDI I think) saying UWorld was out of date and not sufficient. I don't believe that at all. I did UWorld very comprehensively.
Click to expand...

It was me who said that, but unless you took it after 7/27 the testing pool changes wouldn't have been in effect.
 
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Ha come on I took it in August. Yes the test was hard but to say Uworld is out of date is a little extreme huh?...I do not have anything to compare it too but its not like this new testing pool was 300 new questions. And we all took the same test from the same additional testing pool so its a wash
 
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