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!!

 

[Kitra101]

I saw that one person got their score back today after taking it on July 15th. I am curious when everyone else who got their exams back today took it. If it was taken on the 13th, would you get the score back today or the previous day? I took mine on the 27th of July and am wondering if I can expect to hear back next Wednesday or the one after that. any thoughts?

thanks

 

[eldoctoraz]

DO student here and I just got my scores back today - 243/99! I'm still in shock because I walked out of it feeling like crap, hoping to at least match my step 1 score (228/95).
I did 100% of UW and then went over missed questions again and again until I got them right. I also went over correct questions that I had marked because they were weird or I didn't understand them. I was at 59% at the 1X times through point, but my scores were all over the place.
I only used B&W which was pretty good after I added a TON of stuff to it. Would use Crush or Secrets if I could do it over just to have a bigger book to write in.
My school (AZCOM) just implemented the NBME Shelf Exams for my 3rd year, so studying for those probably helped my cause a little. They curved our scores like crazy, but I had passed every test except 1 (ob/gyn) before the curve.

 

[moinmoin]

Test date: 7/14. got score back today.
Step 1: 241/99
Step 2: 243/99

I'm happy with my score, especially since I realized several questions I missed on the drive home... Our school makes us take Step 2 before Oct and I was worried about hurting my Step 1 score (planning on applying to Dermatology).

Here is what I did:
3 weeks, 4-8 hours per day, no weekends. I usually studied close to 6-8 hr/day but took some half days off here and there. No nights. Didn't hit it hard like for step 1.
UWorld: ~60% complete with 62% average. Wanted to finish UW but I always took so long to review the tests.
Books: Read maybe 1/10th of First Aid and 1/10th of Secrets. Wish I had bagged First Aid and read all the way through Secrets. It seemed not detailed enough to me at the time but after the test I realized it had lots of good info.

My test did not have a single question on identifying shock! After doing UW, I thought I would have a shock question on every block. Otherwise my test was full of questions that I could narrow down to 2 and then had to pick one.

So, I kind of wish I had studied differently (no FA, read Secrets, finished UW) but whatever. Bye bye CK. Now just CS to go.

One more thing: took the UW assessment test 1.5 weeks prior to the real thing and got back a predicted score of 207. (I did run really short on time during one block when I ran an errand outside and forgot to stop the test). It freaked me out and didn't help much at all.

 

[kjmtthws]

Hey,

I am not taking step 2 until the 24th and I am doing terrible on my first couple of blocks in U/W (mostly 40-50%).. I have been doing them mostly on timed/unused mode.. I have been supplementing U/W with secrets and those Kaplan notes that they put out for step 2.. Cardiology, Rheumatology, and ID are kicking my butt.. What should I do differently, when can I expect to start getting more of these damn questions right... Should I panic...

 

[bluntdissector]

This sortof seems like the 'experiences thread' for Step II, and I could really do with some advice...

From running some searches, it seems the most important things for Step 2 prep is to
a) Work hard during 3rd year
b) Question Bank, mostly world it seems
c) Additional source like Crush/Secrets/Deja Review if you really want.

But from an IMG point of view, I need some additional advice! I work hard in medschool, but I dont have a specific 'year' coming up that I can work extra hard on (like 3rd year in the states) and plan to take Step II in January. So I suppose I have to establish my baseline, and then work through uWorld and an additional resource? I got 261/99 for Step I which I took about a month ago, and I am aiming for a 260+ score on Step II.

So I will:
Take a NBME soon
Reassess whether I need anything more than uWorld and Secrets/Deja Review.
Study and do uWorld

Would an NBME serve as a good enough indication of my 'baseline'? What do you think about the plan? I am tempted to get Deja Review Step II, since it's nice and new, but not THAT many people have praised it in the threads I found - most people stick with Secrets/Crush/FA...Any other advice?

Thank you so much, this forum is the best... 😀

EDIT: Sorry, I see Deja Review is only 1 year newer than Secrets, but that the latest Crush is another 2 years newer than Deja Review...

 

[OTO]

UW avg ~65%; scoring 70-80% prior to exam
NBME 1, 3 weeks out- 660 (250)
NBME 2, 1 week out- 680 (254)

Step 2- 266

Received score on 3rd wednesday after exam.

 

[pillowsleeper]

UWorld-64% average, mostly timed 46Q
Recently averaging between 65-73% with some sporadic 55% (I don't know how)

NBME 2-560 (felt it was the worst test I ever took, actually fell asleep a bit)

Step 2 in one week.
Hoping these sporadic 55% blocks are just an anomaly

 

[am731]

World - first time, tutor mode 59%
Kaplan ( only 60% done) tutor mode 65%
Free 150- 78%
NBME 1: 199
NBME 2: 213
NBME 3: 222
World Assessment 222

Step 2 ck: 247/99

Kaplan, Uworld, Crush, Secrets, Conrads step 3. ( Step 1 229/95)

how helpful was kaplan for you in boards studying?

 

[JerseyDoc]

Would an NBME serve as a good enough indication of my 'baseline'? What do you think about the plan?

I thought the same way and took NBME 2 before I did any questions whatsoever. I completely bombed it (174 predicted score) and freaked myself out for no reason. I just got my score back yesterday and I got a 238/99. Baseline exam wont tell you anything - just start studying.

 

[JerseyDoc]

Hey,

I am not taking step 2 until the 24th and I am doing terrible on my first couple of blocks in U/W (mostly 40-50%).. I have been doing them mostly on timed/unused mode.. I have been supplementing U/W with secrets and those Kaplan notes that they put out for step 2.. Cardiology, Rheumatology, and ID are kicking my butt.. What should I do differently, when can I expect to start getting more of these damn questions right... Should I panic...

This is a thought that annoys the hell out of me on this board. USMLEWORLD is NOT a good indicator of your score. People take it at all different times in their studying, some take it timed, some dont, some take it 2-3 times through. If you want a relatively good indicator take an NBME. Dont use UWorld as a marker of where you're at but instead to learn from.

Just to add to that, I only had 62% overall on UWorld (remember you're bound to get higher scores towards the end - so you're sittin ok) and just got my score: 238/99.

 

[tfom08]

This is a thought that annoys the hell out of me on this board. USMLEWORLD is NOT a good indicator of your score. People take it at all different times in their studying, some take it timed, some dont, some take it 2-3 times through. If you want a relatively good indicator take an NBME. Dont use UWorld as a marker of where you're at but instead to learn from.

Just to add to that, I only had 62% overall on UWorld (remember you're bound to get higher scores towards the end - so you're sittin ok) and just got my score: 238/99.

If you take your last 6-8 blocks on UW (must be timed/random/unused) then UW is as good a predictor as anything.

 

[swman]

If you take your last 6-8 blocks on UW (must be timed/random/unused) then UW is as good a predictor as anything.

Just my experience, but for me the equation (2.3 X total UW score + 84) predicted my Step 1 and Step 2 scores exactly.

 

[wjm]

Hey,

I am not taking step 2 until the 24th and I am doing terrible on my first couple of blocks in U/W (mostly 40-50%).. I have been doing them mostly on timed/unused mode.. I have been supplementing U/W with secrets and those Kaplan notes that they put out for step 2.. Cardiology, Rheumatology, and ID are kicking my butt.. What should I do differently, when can I expect to start getting more of these damn questions right... Should I panic...

Hey I think if you are scoring above 50% it "should" be able to pass, but 40% is risky. according to med friends that would be a score of about 186. You should probably see if you can get at least a 55 just to be on the safe side. I started around 50 too so keep working at it as you still have a lot of time left. I got it up to mid 60s in about 2-3 weeks after I started

Have my exam tomorrow 😱, we'll see how it goes. Thankfully my electro-physiology service gave me a day off to relax/cram.. Overall USMLE world score 62%, all unused/timed. Last 6 blocks 67% with USMLE self assessment at 510/220 exactly a week ago. We'll see how it goes. I didn't have time to do any of the NBME's or go through the questions again. I'm planning on going over my notes and do the remaining USMLE world questions just to keep me going today (39Q left of that beast).

Good luck!

 

[wjm]

If you take your last 6-8 blocks on UW (must be timed/random/unused) then UW is as good a predictor as anything.

I agree with you here. I've been taking the USMLE world in 46 blocks and everytime, no matter what I get ~10-15 percentage points above the average. So if it says avg is a 51 I would get a 65. When it says 58 I may get a 67 etc. Very consistent, so it has to count for something.

Plus, when I contacted USMLE world support, they had told me that even though the self assessment through them cannot be used as an estimator of your score, majority of the times (from feedback) test takers end up getting something within 10 points of what the self assessment says they will get (with higher variability beyond 7 days). BTW I was told the avg on that UWSA is a 487.

 

[bluntdissector]

I thought the same way and took NBME 2 before I did any questions whatsoever. I completely bombed it (174 predicted score) and freaked myself out for no reason. I just got my score back yesterday and I got a 238/99. Baseline exam wont tell you anything - just start studying.

Thanks, I was mostly concerned of my resources - I'd have to order them and it takes 4-6w...But I have looked around and through friends/libraries/etc. I should have access to Step 2 Secrets, some Blueprints and FA for Step 2. So unless Crush Step 2 is clearly better, I'll just do uWorld once random/unused/timed and then read through it again, whilst working through Step 2 Secrets. If I feel I need more info on something I'll check out Blueprints/FA. Still sortof tempted to read Secrets once and then take a NBME to see how far away from 260 I start!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[tfom08]

I agree with you here. I've been taking the USMLE world in 46 blocks and everytime, no matter what I get ~10-15 percentage points above the average. So if it says avg is a 51 I would get a 65. When it says 58 I may get a 67 etc. Very consistent, so it has to count for something.

Plus, when I contacted USMLE world support, they had told me that even though the self assessment through them cannot be used as an estimator of your score, majority of the times (from feedback) test takers end up getting something within 10 points of what the self assessment says they will get (with higher variability beyond 7 days). BTW I was told the avg on that UWSA is a 487.

Use the medfriends step 2 ck estimator (www.medfriends.org) and it is probably an even better estimate than the UW self assessment. I say this because thousands of people have put in their real step 2 ck scores as well as their averages on the last 6 blocks of timed/random questions on UW. This is a very large sample and 6 blocks of UW is probably a truer test than the 4 blocks on the self assessment. I did the assessment before I started to get an idea of weaknesses, but I think the actual qbank is a better predictor. The self assessment seems to underpredict most of the time.

 

[ellgh1]

this thread was very helpful to me while studying for CK so I will contribute. Took CK 2 weeks into my 4 week family medicine rotation which happened to be the last rotation for me. All shelf exams except psychiatry and family med had been taken.
test date: 7/13
score report:8/5
stepII CK: 260
read extensively during each rotation, did USMLEWORLD questions during my clerkships. In the 2 weeks leading up to the exam, read FA and did all my wrong questions in world.

 

[synapse lapse]

Took this beast today. Thought it was pretty tough, tougher than UW in my opinion, but who knows when you're nerves are going. Also thought I had way too many oncology questions, but probably because I can never keep them straight. Had about 3 step 1 basic science type questions, 2-3 audio, and a video that was freaking 4 minutes long. Had a combo question extremely vaguely written regarding those peds immunodefiniency, pretty sure I missed those lol. Made a few dumb mistakes, oh well, typical test. We'll see how it shakes out. Made a 60% overall on UW (all on tutor mode unused but done by subject block without studying before hand). Read about half of step 2 secrets.

 

[bluntdissector]

how helpful was kaplan for you in boards studying?

I'm wondering the same thing. I will obviously get uWorld and then I'll read through USMLE Step 2 Secrets once and perhaps look at Blueprints Medicine, but I was wondering whether it would be worth doing a second Qbank, either Kaplan or USMLErx (I'm thinking Kaplan, but USMLErx is so cheap)...

😕

 

[Jeep23Guy]

I've been lurking on this board for a while and thought I'd finally come on in and ask some advice (or maybe just reassurance).

First off, it's been close to 3 years since I took step 1...I transferred to a US school from a Caribbean school and had to repeat 3rd year and the almost 1/2 of 4th year that I had finished. I've pretty much forgotten everything from step 1 (but I've been listening to Goljan step 1 for the last few weeks). I really want at least a 240 on step 2, but I need to be at least in the 230's. Here are my stats...

Step 1: 226/92 (11/06)
Started USMLE world slowly in mid-late June...finished 78% so far...total avg: 69% (maybe slightly falsely elevated a few points at the start). Getting consistently 69-71% now.
NBME 1: 500/217 (Late June)
NBME 4: 630/245 (Late July)
NBME 3: 620/243 (Yesterday)

I only have an hour or so to study per day for the next week and then I have another 6 or 7 days of studying until my exam. Is it worth my time to go over any step 1 stuff? Also, does anyone think I should read through a book like secrets, or should I just keep doing world questions?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lipofuscin232]

Given that you have a short period of time to study, I would not waste your time going over step 1 stuff...I had very few questions on my test. This exam was much more clinical based. I think spending a day going through secrets wouldn't be that unreasonable, but definitely do as many usmleworld questions as you can. If you're scoring around 60% i'm sure you'll have a shot at getting over 240...good luck!

 

[volcanicglass]

I found this thread pretty helpful to me during my studying, so here's my experience: per this forum I used USLMEworld, Step Up to Medicine, and Step 2 Secrets for ~4 weeks. I didn't really read Step 2 Secrets till the last 1.5wks which was a mistake - this is a deceptively awesome book...wish I'd read it in the beginning.

I did my best to get through as much of UW as possible but I think I did it more slowly than most...I mean, doing 2 sets of 46 questions + reviewing the answers would take 3-4 hours alone so at the beginning I was only doing 1-2 sets/day which I eventually increased to 4 sets/day (when I was down to only doing UW and done w/ my reading). In the end, I was ~80% done with the bank. My scores were really all over the place. At first I was in the 40s-50s, then I had a good 1.5 wks where I was hitting mid/high 60s or even low 70s consistently, and then the last 1.5wks I was hitting mid 50s to mid 60s. It was kind of painful, no idea why that happened... I thought the real exam's difficulty was similar to UW and definitely think it was a great bank to use (I just wish I'd finished the bank - one of my regrets with step 1 too which I tried to fix this time but still didn't quite succeed).

Anyways, here are my scores:
Step 1 - 226
Step 2 - 238

Not SDN numbers, but good enough for me.

 

[Medstudent50]

I finished an external rotation on 7/5/09 and started studying for STEP II CK. During my clearkship year I honored Peds, Medicine, and Family.
I scored an average of around 60% on USMLE WORLD on all questions. I did these questions from March of 09 until my test date with about 1300 over the 2 weeks before the test on 7/23/09

NBME exams 520-540 on three seperate exams.

USMLE World Self assessment 229
STEP I - 222
STEP II - 248

I was really nervous because I didn't know how i would do. I ended up only studying for step II for what I would say would be a good 5 days after loosing all motivation. I also quickly read through First Aid (2005 edition) making notes.

 

[lanzarlaluna]

I was obsessed with this thread during my Step 2 studying, so I thought I would contribute hopefully to give some hope to people like me. I basically had a horrific Step 1 score, and really busted my ass to do better on Step 2. My biggest problem with Step 1 studying was that I did not do enough questions. It's one thing to know the material, but UWorld does a fantastic job of throwing the information at you from all angles and asking it in ways you may never have imagined. UWorld is the bible of Step 2, hands down.

My school has two weeks off between third and fourth year, and I took July off as a study month. Started studying right after my last shelf exam. Total study time was five weeks, 10-12 hours/day. I did very little studying on Saturdays, and took practice tests on Sundays (my school bought everyone vouchers for all four practice NBME exams, which was really, really nice.) Used UWorld as my primary next (no-brainer here), with Step-Up to Medicine, Step-Up to Step 2, First Aid for Step 1 (mostly for the list of autoimmune antibodies and antibacterial section), and Secrets as reference only. The day before the test I read the top 100 in the back of Secrets, read over the list of autoimmune antibodies, and read the side effects of antibacterials, basically the "regurgitationable" stuff that never seems to stick in my brain. After that I played some video games, popped some melatonin, and went to bed early.

As everyone says, the test is brutal. Personally, every section had 5-10 super easy questions, about 5 ridiculous questions, and the rest were a matter of narrowing down as much as you can and making an educated guess. Some people complain of too much Ob/Gyn, but I felt like every section was just like a random/unused 46 question test in UWorld. *shrug* Since I realized I scored very poorly in UWorld when I was tired, I worked very hard on limiting fatigue. I took a break after every section to pee and throw water on my face. Snacked randomly throughout the day for little bursts of energy, but no big meals. I also took some prophylactic ibuprofen because of my PITA caffeine-withdrawal headaches. I never felt tired until about 1/3 of the way through my last section, for which I am thankful.

Step 1: 194/79
Shelf exams ranged from high 60s to low 70s. Very mediocre.
USMLEWorld: 46 question tests random/unused, 94% complete, 64% correct, 68th percentile. No real upward trend, even versus the average (yes, I plotted this.) First 10-12 tests were tutor mode to work on reading carefully and hopefully eliminate stupid mistakes, then all the rest were timed.
NBME 1: 490/215 (four weeks out)
NBME 2: 490/215 (three weeks out)
NBME 3: 460/207 (two weeks out) <<<This scared the feces out of me.
NBME 4: 580/235 (one week out) <<<I then I thought this was a fluke.
Step 2 CK: 235/97 😀

Anyway, it's not a SDN score, but I am super stoked beyond belief. I'm rather proud of a 41 point improvement; I busted my ass, and it paid off. Sorry to be a bit long-winded, but I wanted to provide some encouragement. I scoured this thread looking for people who bombed Step 1 and improved on Step 2, so I know there are others doing the same.

 

[jbp100]

Very simple formula for me... all UWORLD questions (not saying that everyone can get by with this).

UWORLD AVG = Around 60% with about 2/3 of the test bank completed over a 2.5 week period
3rd year Shelf Exams = Mostly B's
USMLE Step 1 = 230
UWORLD Diagnostic Test (day before real deal) = 242

REAL DEAL = 249/99!!!!!

Not that it really matters, because I am doing internal medicine....

 

[Pollux]

IMG at an Australian medical school. Going into Pathology.
Step 1: 276/99
Step 2 Goal: 270+

Total prep time: 250 hours over 9 weeks while on light clinical rotations. On average, I spent 3 hours studying on weekdays and 8 hours on Sat/Sun. Spent around 80 hours learning Obstetrics/Gynecology because I hadn't done my OBGYN rotation when I took the exam. (Pediatrics and OBGYN are 4th year rotations at my school.)

NBME 1: 266 (Pre-study, 10 weeks out)
NBME 2: 268+ (3 weeks out)
UW self-assessment: 268 (2 weeks out)
NBME 3: 267 (4 days out)
NBME 4: 268+ (2 days out)

UW average = 81% (Tutor mode, by subject, unused, first-time through)

Resources used: USMLE World, Crush Step 2, Step 2 Secrets. FA OBGYN and Kaplan notes for OBGYN material.

Step 2 CK: 279/99

 

[HIJay]

took on 7/22
score back 3 weeks later, today on 8/12
used UW, overall 59% timed, random mostly 46qs block but also did some random 10, 20, 25 qs block
NBME 4 about 3 weeks out was at 229 predicted
actual score 237/98

step 1 was 230/96

 

[lanzarlaluna]

Step 2 CK: 279/99

Pollux, you are a freak of nature. Congratulations!

 

[Doctor1day]

Step 1- 200
NBME 1-222 (one week in)
NBME 3-220 (two weeks in)
UW average 66%

Step 2CK- 244/99

Here's my contribution:

I found all the advice on the site very helpful. Also, made a bet with my friend that if I somehow got in the 99th percentile (which I thought was impossible for me) that I would tell my story, since I was starting to wonder if people here were being compeletly truthful about their scores or if only the "gunners" post their exam scores/advice. Guess I was wrong.

Studied 5 weeks. Used Step up to Medicine (just to get a good foundation in medicine), Secrets, and of course UW. When I was lurking on this forum a few days into my studying there was someone on here that gave the advice of reading answers before reading questions during the exam. I tried it and I feel it made a real difference for me. May not work for everyone.

So moral of the story there is hope after a bad Step one. I did it and you can too. Goodluck!

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Step 1- 200
NBME 1-222 (one week in)
NBME 3-220 (two weeks in)
UW average 66%

Step 2CK- 244/99

H

I hate to bust your bubble and be THAT guy 🙂meanie🙂, but that 99 does not mean the 99th percentile. It's a separate scaled score...

BUT ANYWAY
👍 Very nice!!!! Awesome, 44 point improvement is VERY impressive!! You totally rocked it 😀

 

[Relatively]

Dear All

I never really post but here is my story. Took 3.5 weeks post last 3rd year clerkship. Barely studied the first week, went out, relaxed, typical post 3rd year activities. Bought FA but mainly used it for brute memorization crap included all those random peds and ob/gyn facts. Could barely make myself open it after Step1.

Uworld: 62% overall average all random blocks of 46 (87% complete).
Last 6 block average was like 69-73%.

Step 1: 227
Step 2: 256

Just shows hard work 3rd year can pay off in test scores.

Good luck to all.

 

[Doctor1day]

It's a separate scaled score...

BUT ANYWAY
👍 Very nice!!!! Awesome, 44 point improvement is VERY impressive!! You totally rocked it 😀

Thanks. I always wondered what that two digit score was. I guess I'll just have to except the 244/99 "scaled score". Not the usual 260s that lurk here but I'll take it.

Congrats on your 247/99! With a 250/99 on Step 1, I'm surprised you took Step 2 so early. Great JOB on both!

 

[Clippers00]

.

 

[AFDuck]

Clippers, what would be your studying advice if you had to do it over again? Like you mentioned, on this forum UW is generally regarded as the top resource and people's UW averages seem to correlate fairly well with their final scores. Where did you see it as deficient?

 

[tfom08]

I pretty much focused on Uworld, and read secrets. This was clearly not enough. My average ended at 75%. I was re-doing questions towards the end with averages around 80-97%! I am confidently able to say that Uworld is not the answer. The test was much more similar to the shelf exams than anything else. I did much better on step1, and I hope that this result will not affect my application for Optho. Let this be a reminder that not everyone goes up on step 2! In fact, 50% go up and 50% go down. Ask your school dean for confirmation.

Step 1: 230/95
Step 2: 210/86

I'll also say that the only reason I took step 2 early was because I was repeatedly told everyone goes up! My plan was to earn 250+ like all the others with similar Uworld scores!

Was your 75% on UW first time through, timed, and random blocks of 46? I don't doubt your story, I'm just trying to figure out what the catch is. You answered the entire qbank at 75%? I really find it almost unbelievable that this could be the case based on statistics. Did you have a bad experience on test day that might have affected your score? I wish you all the best and hope that you are able to match into ophtho. USMLE scores are not everything, even in ophtho.

Edit: Sorry, I looked back and saw that I asked you that same question a couple of weeks ago in this thread. I think the problem with UW in this case is that if you had already completed it and are going through it again, the percentages don't mean much as far as predicting a score. Getting 100% the 3rd time through doesn't necessarily mean that you will be able to answer similar questions correctly on Step 2 ck because you might not have mastered the material, but are able to recognize the correct answer because of remembering the question.

 

[AFDuck]

Knowing that there was this extenuating circumstance does clarify Clippers situation somewhat. When most people post their UW averages in relation to their test scores they are first-time through averages, so its hard to compare averages when someone has seen the questions before. Clippers, best of luck with the match - your step I was stronger and thats the one residency directors tend to emphasize (according to the polls that get released).

 

[It'sElectric]

Just took the beast today, and I wanted to make a quick comment that I still stand 1000% behind UWorld. I have no idea what my score will end up, but the number of questions that were eerily similar to World was unbelievable. Sure, I thought some of the biostats and ethics questions were a bit tricker than what I found in World.

World is definitely spot on. Hopefully, my brain didn't let me down today.

Secrets and B&W throughout 3rd year were my only other sources. I used pretty much only world for the 2 weeks I set aside to study.

Finished about 85% untimed, random blocks of 46 first time through at 62%. Last several blocks between 65 and 73%. Will post more when scores come back....2 friggin' months from now!!!

 

[Caligirl98]

Did the test you took today have the decreased number of questions on it? Just curious since the message from the NBME said testing centers would start transitioning over this past week but that not all test centers would change over right away. I'm taking mine on the 24th of this month.

 

[GlobalMed]

Did USMLE World for both Step 1 and Step 2, finished about 4/5 of the questions each time. Ended up with 63% average for Step 1 and 66% average for Step 2. Read all of First Aid Step 1 and about 2/3 of First Aid Step 2 (which I found less helpful than FA Step 1).

Step 1: 245/99
Step 2: 258/99

USMLE world is by far the best Qbank for BOTH steps. Good luck to all of you!!

 

[It'sElectric]

Did the test you took today have the decreased number of questions on it? Just curious since the message from the NBME said testing centers would start transitioning over this past week but that not all test centers would change over right away. I'm taking mine on the 24th of this month.

Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. I meant to remark on that. Yes, my exam had 44 questions per block. I also probably had 1 audio question per block (a heart murmur every time, I believe), no videos, and I have no idea what new questions with more emphasis on the basic sciences were on my exam. There was never a time where I thought, "wtf, that's soooo Step I", for what it's worth.

 

[Clippers00]

[

 

[Jeep23Guy]

The concepts presented in Uworld were similar to those of the exam! However, the real exam required a very intense clinical understanding! Similar to the shelf exams I took third year. Other than that, I am not able to better characterize the test. I can only assure you that knowing why all the right answers were correct and wrong answers wrong would have been inadequate for the exam I took! Others feel opposite, with scores that reflect it. I'll add more later when I have time.

Did you take any of the NBME or other practice step 2's?

 

[Clippers00]

/

 

[It'sElectric]

We're all behind you, Clippers. Good luck on the upcoming match!

 

[AFDuck]

This is a great source but I would use it with a grain of salt. Many people in my class saw differences of greater than 15 points when they finally got their scores back. It also serves as a source of anxiety if your scores are not as high as you want them to be.

What source are you referring to?

 

[Jeep23Guy]

There is a formula that can be used to convert your USMLE world scores into an estimation of your actual USMLE Step score. This has worked pretty well for a lot of people but others had noted a large variance. So, just take it with a grain of salt.

There are a few websites that has this formula. I will post the one I remember. It should be there.

http://step123usmle.com/greatlinks

I sure hope that formula works...

 

[docmd2010]

So the time has come where i can give back to all of wonderful people on this forum who calmed my nerves throughout stressful nights of studying.

I pretty much exclusively relied on uworld. what i did:

1st time through in uworld: did the bank in it's entirety, took notes on the questions, did this in 3 weeks. overall average 66%, 71% on last 6-8 blocks.

next 2 weeks, I did subject-based studying, I would read step up to medicine for half the day, and study a subject (either psych, surgery, ob/gyn/peds) for the rest of the half. i would read and do uworld questinos. for example here was one of my days:
read step up first 30-40 pages, then do 30-40 uworld questions corresponding to the subject. second half of day: read pysch in kaplan, do u world kaplan questions,
by the end of the 2 weeks, i had finished about 400-500 uworld medicine questions, and all of the questions in the other subjects for the second time. so in all, i probly did about 1300 uworld questions again the second time around. overall avg here was 86%

i took nbme's too:

nbme 2 (taken 1.5 weeks into studying) 237
Nbme 4 (taken 2 weeks before the test) 248

the test: was fairly similar uworld, my question stem lengths were pretty long, but manageable, most of the longer questions stems are actually the easiest questions. had about 5-8 step 1ish kinda stuff, that i just happened to remember luckily. the test was primarily medicine, had really hard psych that u cant study anywhere, like 2-3 ethics questions, and 6 biostats (all were hard-this is one area that uworld doesn't prepare you for that well). my ob/gyn questions were either really hard or really easy. surgery wasn't bad, had a lot more than i expected. i had 3 milestone questions, which i didn't study at all, and missed them as a result, prolly could have gotten a 250 if i would have known them, ah well. had 3 media questions, 2 murmurs (didn't need to listne to media, could get answer from stem, and 1 really annoying milestone one).

Step 1: 238/99
Step 2 CK: 248/99

I didn't use any rview books, none of that secrets, crush, first aid junk. just straight up uworld and kaplan notes and step up to medicine.

another thing: i'm a do student that comes from a school and our third year shelf exams are a freaking joke. so i basically hardly even studied my 3rd year. just goes to show u that 6 weeks of hard work (10 hour days) can get you a desirable score. all in all, USE UWORLD!!!!! people aren't kidding, when they said that bank is money. it truly is a wonderful resource. this test is manageable, and it's hard, but not as hard as step 1.

i hope this helps some of you, you can pm me if u want

 

[Lynda]

just got my score back from July 29th. I studied for 4 weeks around 8 hrs a day reading first aid for step 2 ck (read cover to cover once then used as reference) and usmle world (using unused test timed mode the whole time then reviewing every test). I used Uworld all of 3rd year to study for shelf exams (averaged 80-90ish percentile for all except OBGyn and Surg which I got 99th percentile) and then reset it to study for step 2. I used 82% of the questions during July - overall correct 70%.
Step 1 238/99
Step 2 264/99

Very happy with the results - i would recommend usmle world to anyone anyday!

 

[kkc620]

Any feedback from those who took the test after Aug 10th? Just wondering if the different format was drastically different or if UWorld is still the way to go.

 

[malariarus]

DO Student. Pretty happy today with results.
Test date 7/27, report date 8/19

USMLEworld total avg 56%, last 6 blocks 63% (dont remember mode, i did all sorts)

Combank 70%

Shelf 60's and 70's...didn't study but to pass for first 3 so i got 60's in 3 tests..passed though for my school

Did not take Usmle step 1
COMLEX 1 503
COMLEX 2 534
USMLE 2 228/94 👍 😀 i beat the mean by 2 points lol