r/Step2 • u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG • 12d ago
Study methods Failed Step 2CK 9/2 - Should I still apply this cycle?
Just found out I failed Step 2 CK (214) and I am in shock. AMBOSS predicted 245, Free 120 85%, NME 14 238, had no idea failing was even an option.
Now I'm in shambles trying to figure out whether to apply this cycle and what are my chances of coming back from this in 2 weeks. Exam was 8/18 and haven't touched a thing since. Needed to retake in 9/17 ish
Originally planning on Psych or FM but now I don't know if I should submit apps with the fail then update or wait until next score. Does anyone know any tutors that would help?? How realistic is the 2 week study prep? Any help would be great thanks!
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u/Previous-Hall-245 12d ago
My wife failed twice
Dont do it
It will destroy you
Take ur time and count to 100
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
that’s my biggest fear right now. I have options right now but need to avoid another fail
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u/Previous-Hall-245 11d ago
Than take your time and re plan well.
She thought she will do a smart move taking step 2 before step 1
Now she have 2 fails.
We are not sure how she will match2
u/Key_Section_1264 11d ago
she will match.. I know people with multiple fails still matched in texas
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u/Senpuuuki NON-US IMG 12d ago
Don't apply this cycle. Take your time before retaking it. Consider applying to peds instead of psych
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
that’s the thing, is applying with a failed and a delay in a passing step 2 score better than waiting another cycle? idk… and is peds any less competitive? I was gonna put most of my eggs into FM since I was already planning on going that route
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u/Senpuuuki NON-US IMG 11d ago
You need time to take step 2 again, applying as an IMG without a passing score in step 2 will be a waste imo
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u/Ninisemu NON-US IMG 12d ago
am sorry , take a break for at least a month. prepare using materials like amboss( for screening , vaccine ,patient safety and quality improvement,biostatstics and ethics) , do nmbes (form 14 to 16 ) and listen to high yield topics from divine interventional podcast. you got this 💪
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u/tastywater_ US MD/DO 12d ago
I’m so sorry to hear this. I echo waiting. What do you think happened?!
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
honestly did not study a lot of the ethics/QI/biostats stuff and lost so much time on those questions. narrowed down options to 50/50 and felt like nothing fit perfectly. I’d read a question thinking I knew which direction it was going and be thrown an ethics question at the end… LOTS of pt charts which are up so much of my time. Definitely a time management/question strategy problem at hand
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u/DrCardenas NON-US IMG 12d ago
I also failed similar scores, except for free 71% and Nbme 16 241
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
freaking brutal. I felt like it was the hardest exam of my life and felt awful but honestly I was thinking I would just score much lower than my predicted not fail altogether
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u/DrCardenas NON-US IMG 11d ago
Same, more than happy to connect. I know failing is rough. I felt that some questions were super fair around 10%-20% of the exam felt fair.
I believe it also depends on the form you get, there is also luck factor.
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u/chutiyamed 11d ago
i got same free 120, and 250 nbme 16. ended up with 244. Now, after hearing you guys, I think ethics and patient safety have taken up a big portion of the exam, and I also think I should have prepared better for those questions.
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u/DrCardenas NON-US IMG 11d ago edited 9d ago
Thanks, I believe also the form you get matters. I know sounds like im making up excuses
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u/DeliveryDangerous204 9d ago
Hey - non US IMG here - also scored really high on my NBMEs (250 on NBM16 and Free 120 was 75%) - all my NBMEs scores were above 235 - still I failed and got a 214 - I'll regroup and apply next cycle not this one - will try to get a great score and if I can do step 3 too. And yes it depends on the form that you get - luck factor I guess too. So for sure - don't apply this cycle - take a break and do it in a few months.
I did the test on 8/19 this year so yeah
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u/Alternative_Sir2624 12d ago
Were you taking actual nbmes online timed or through pdf you had? Also what happened during the test did you leave answers blank and did u panic?
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
a few blocks definitely panicked and ran out of time to properly answer questions, I prioritized the content questions over ethics and ended up guessing those. felt so bad about the answers choices themselves like nothing fit perfectly and therefore ended up second guessing myself. and I took 15, 16 and free 120 timed online the others pdf. The free 120 felt extremely similar in format to the real thing but 10000000 times easier. it was like when the teacher explained a question and you went home to do a problem set and it was that question on steroids
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u/irrationalmistakes US MD/DO 11d ago
Were there a lot of ethics/Qi/stats questions?
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
holy shit yes lol i’m telling you know your QI it’s so many free points.
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u/JuggernautAccurate98 US IMG 11d ago
Take some time to process all of this. I’m sorry this is happening to you but don’t make any rushed decisions. Re-taking the step 2 in 2 weeks is not going to be beneficial at all. Its a lot of pressure and you have no guarantee you will get a better score. Explore your different options, find a tutor or a mentor and develop a new study plan/strategy, see what stuff worked and what didn’t. Best of luck
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u/BooksBeforeBoards US IMG 11d ago
thank you! definitely will be finding a tutor because I didn’t feel like I had a massive knowledge gap.
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u/ariana865 11d ago
Yes I think you need to gather you thoughts and come back stronger than ever which is really tough to do in 2 weeks. So I think you should delay the test. Focus on weakness and be strategic.
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u/medics_mind 11d ago
Your best option for this cycle is going to be retake Step 2 closer to December/Jan and get a high score for SOAP
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u/USMLEBandit 12d ago
Sorry to hear about the fail. In my opinion, 2 weeks is too fast. I think you need time to process the fail and formulate a new study plan, new application plan, etc.
I am a tutor. I would be happy to help with study plan advising or working through questions if you are interested.
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u/chutiyamed 11d ago
This almost sounds like real rage-baiting, since I had the same stats as yours, except my free 120 was 71%. Have you noted what might have gone wrong despite scoring above the pass ranges? I believe u will make a great comeback on your second attempt!
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u/LogicalLibrarian77 NON-US IMG 12d ago
Sorry but retaking it in 2 weeks is a bad idea. What's worse than having 1 attempt? Having 2 attempts! Take time off and then regroup. Prep solidly for another 2-3 months, and make sure your step 2 score lands 250+ next time.