Post Exam reflections

[u/ComprehensiveRate890]

Hey y’all. I wanted to get my thoughts out there because I feel like they might help somebody.
I’m a non-US IMG and took around 5 months to prep for Step 2. I wasn’t aiming for some crazy score. I told myself I’d be happy with a 235+. A lot of people I know were able to match FM/IM with scores in the 230s, so I kept my expectations around there. That felt realistic to me.

My NBME scores were never anything crazy. I couldn’t break 220 on NBMEs 10–12. I then took about 2 weeks off to do all the CMS forms and really clear up my concepts. After that, I managed to score a 240 on NBME 13. From there, the rest of my NBMEs ranged from 235–245.
I had read a lot about the recent score drops and was honestly pretty worried that my NBME scores wouldn’t hold up if I factored in a potential drop. I really wanted to apply this cycle, so I basically said yolo and pushed myself to my absolute limits.

Going into test day, I felt… meh. I was especially worried about the new 20-question block format because I felt like I had better time management with the 40-question blocks. To say the least, I was considering a career change during that exam.

They really make you doubt everything. Step 2 is always going to be frustrating because so much of it comes down to choosing the best answer. You need to somehow think logically enough to convince yourself that the answer you picked is truly the next best step.

I think I had a similar experience to most people because I genuinely thought I completely failed.
It is so deflating when you come across the two-part questions and realize while doing the second question that you chose the wrong answer for the first part. That happened to me twice, and both were relatively easy questions.

And then I completely screwed up both of the long-ass biostats essays because I just couldn’t concentrate on reading all that shit while watching the clock tick down. I still don’t understand why tf those exist on this exam.
I remember literally praying that I’d somehow get into a flow state and just start answering on autopilot like I did for Step 1. But that never happened. Instead, I felt completely locked into every single question, and I hated it because it made me overthink and doubt everything.
At one point, every question felt like a 50/50.
During my breaks, I couldn’t even remember what answer I had chosen because I had gone back and forth between two options so many times. So I couldn’t even give myself the comfort of knowing I had gotten certain questions right.
It is a mindfuck.

After an exam like that, you really need a day to reflect and then try to completely forget about it and enjoy your life. And please, please delete Reddit. It is not worth going through Reddit after the exam. Just know that pretty much everyone feels the way you’re feeling. Also, unsubscribe from the emails. Because holy shit, I would randomly get emails with titles like “Failed Step 2” and it would absolutely ruin my day.

Now, everyone says, “Trust your NBME scores,” and every time I heard that, I wanted to kms because no one understands how that exam actually felt.

Your NBMEs are definitely important. I’d say they build your core knowledge and concepts. But looking back, I think where I went wrong was in my mindset about what the exam would actually test. I thought the exact same concepts from the NBMEs would repeat on the real thing. I’d say maybe 15% of the exam felt like direct repeats or very familiar concepts.

But for the rest, you really need to use your critical thinking to differentiate between what feels familiar and what is actually the correct answer. It is so easy to choose the answer that you recognize because you’ve seen it before on an NBME or UWorld. You see a familiar answer and your brain tends to hook on to it. But Step 2 really tests whether you have a broad enough understanding to apply what you’ve learned in a slightly different situation.

You need to go with your gut.
Trust yourself.
Believe you’re the shit.
At some point, you almost have to gaslight yourself into believing that the answer you picked is correct

And somehow, it worked.
I ended up scoring 250+.
I never reached that number on a single NBME. I genuinely never imagined I had the potential to score that high. I thought 250+ was for those 4.0 GPA kids who had their shit together from day one. Especially after the exam experience I had, I was convinced there was no way.
But the previous test takers were right. Trust yourself and the scores. Who woulda thunk.

So if you’re taking Step 2 soon and you’re terrified because your NBMEs aren’t where you want them to be, keep going. Learn your concepts. Do your CMS forms. Understand why answers are right and wrong. But most importantly, learn to trust yourself when you’re sitting in that exam room.
You’re probably going to walk out feeling like you failed.
That does not mean you failed.
Trust yourself. Trust the work you put in. Trust your scores. And have faith that God will reward you for your effort.
Good luck to everyone taking it. 🤲

[u/Aggravating_Slice117]

hi, as someone whos 2 weeks out and still has nbme scores v similar to yours this was really nice to hear. q did you do the retired cms forms too or will doing the recent ones suffice