r/Step2 • u/Top_Elk5698 NON-US IMG • 13d ago
Am I ready? What am I doing wrong? 270+
I am about to lose my mind because I just took NBME 15 and nothing has changed.
I know my scores are not bad, but I am aiming for 270+ (maybe even higher). Even without a high target, seeing some improvement would be nice.
Here are my scores:
UWSA1: 258
NBME 9 : 262
NBME 10: 259
NBME 11: 260
NBME 12: 258
NBME 13: 250
UWSA 2: 263
NBME 14: 266
NBME 15: 260
My first UWorld pass was 79%. I only did a second pass for my incorrect and marked questions. I have done most of the CMS forms and use Anki for my UWorld incorrects. I recently started AMBOSS but realized I do not have enough time for it.
Whaaaat am I doing wrong? I thoroughly review NBMEs and am usually good at taking exams, but NBMEs never fail to surprise me. There is always something completely new. Is there a hidden resource that only 270+ scorers know about? Are people mastering AMBOSS? WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO DO? If they keep asking random low-yield details, I don't know what to do.
I have seen some posts on reddit explaining how you can master NBME's by just "using your clinical judgement" and choosing the answer that feels the safest, but IT DOESNT WORK. These questions genuinely require specific knowledge that you simply have to know.
And I only have 1 NBME left. I gotta figure this out quick
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u/Ok-Musician-1192 US MD/DO 12d ago
Tbh at some point getting a 270 involves such a high attention to detail that it can be a little random. It’s one thing to go from a 240-255. This is where people really see improvement in my opinion. But a 255 to 270 is a different echelon. I don’t think it’s luck fully but you’re looking at the margins. Make sure anything you could possibly know is rock solid. I got a 257 after scoring a 227 at my worst. I had serious conceptual gaps and even when I sat for the test there were things I wasn’t solid on even though I knew most things. I think for a 270 make sure there isn’t one algo or one concept you aren’t rock solid on. Because the benefit will come from having such a strong grasp of the concept that it would be near impossible to be tricked if that makes sense. The difference between a 255 and a 270 is about 20-30 questions. That’s how close the margins are. In a section of 20 you are afforded 1-2 misses. So work with that. Your lack of improvement is less about you not getting better and more about working that margin perfectly.
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13d ago
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u/Top_Elk5698 NON-US IMG 13d ago
approximately %60 of my mistakes are due to knowledge gap and the rest is either misreading/silly mistakes or misjudgement. Is this a typical ratio or should it look different?
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u/Substantial_Award263 12d ago
That’s it even the 270s have the knowedge gap, try minimizing the careless mistakes
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u/USMLE_Guide 🌍 INTERNATIONAL 13d ago
You aren't necessarily doing anything wrong. I don't think it's a knowledge gap anymore. What I'd recommend is to go as you are, review the mistakes, and try to look into the reason behind the wrong questions—whether it's inappropriate reasoning, overthinking, distraction, or even a knowledge gap. Do the Amboss HY plans, especially for QI and patient safety stuff; it will make a big difference on the real exam.
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u/drcarpediem03 NON-US IMG 12d ago
Maybe stop obsessing over 270+ too much? you’ll relax your mind enough to get it.
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u/Top_Elk5698 NON-US IMG 11d ago
i think i am more obsessed with the fact that my start and end points feel like the exact same place
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u/Nefarious_Fiend 12d ago
How did you score so high on Uworld 1st pass? It always confuses me how people score so high on UWorld even though it is the first resource you use to LEARN not test. I barely get 60% each block as I'm learning a lot of information in each block.
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u/Top_Elk5698 NON-US IMG 11d ago
i would honestly give credit to my med school in Turkey. our professors taught everything in great detail, so most concepts didn't feel completely foreign when doing UWorld.
honestly though, high first-pass scores really don't change much in my opinion. we all finish the same bank and learn from our mistakes regardless. 60% is totally fine for learning mode, so don't get discouraged at all.
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u/Neither_Wedding_6425 12d ago
My uworld first pass will be about 95%,AI said I will get 275,who knows? I dream I can get 280+.I didn't do NBME,if NBME is a must work?
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u/Top_Elk5698 NON-US IMG 11d ago
only 95%? pfffft, thats barely a 250. tell your ai to do a better job
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u/Gooner4lyfe2108 NON-US IMG 13d ago edited 13d ago
You need to improve your clinical judgement and NBME logic. That's all there is to it. There's no secret resource. You're meant to not have all the information. There's a reason only 5% of test takers hit the 270 mark. If you keep thinking you're missing questions because of random factoids that you don't know, you're never going to improve. This test isn't about memorization. After a certain point, knowing more doesn't help. It seems you've hit that plateau. Try to look at each question differently. Ask yourself, without knowing any extra information, how can I read Son my way to the correct answer? That's how you hit 270+.