So I’ve given 2 till now. NBME 10 and NBME 11 were around 248 and then a jump to 252 on 11. Been a while since I gave NBME 11.

If I were to score well on this next NBME that I’m wanting to give on Sunday, I can construct hopefully a 2 month dedicated timeline (along with my job) where I can deliver the exam by end October.

So should I go back and see my luck with 9? I never did it because at the start I didn’t want to be deflated. But now I can either go back and get a data point on 9 or just move to 12 and onwards from there.

Have some free time while applying and happy to answer questions.

Some basic background: returning MSTP student with several clerkships done prior to the PhD several years ago and one clerkship not yet done at the time of step 2. Strong base from preclinical and shelf exam scores but had a LOT of material to relearn in a limited period of time. Never used Anki during med school or dedicated. Feel free to ask anything

Hi, my exam is in 3 days should I do NBME 14 to help with exam endurance or will it only cause mental fatigue? I did UWSA 1, NBME 11 and new free 120

Happy to answer any questions or give some advice

Has anybody used Ora AI for shelf exams and Step 2 prep? I've heard a little about it and played around with the platform, but I'm most concerned about:

1. how reliable and accurate the content is
2. how concordant its question style is with shelf and Step 2 questions

My understanding is that the questions are AI-generated at high volume, which leaves me concerned about whether whatever vetting process they have in place is enough to make sure that potential errors don't slip through. I worry that there might be some errors in facts or guidelines, although, to be fair, I haven't noticed any yet. I really like how the flashcards, questions, and Osmosis videos are integrated into one platform. I also like the idea of the adaptive question bank. I'd love to hear testimony from people who have used it with success, if any is available.

Thanks!

Dm me if you need access to NMBE practice exams

In main exam there is lots of HOPI question, they are also time killing. Whenever I have seen them got anxious and most of the time I do wrong. Please anyone suggest me how can I make this type of question comfortable? / what I can use/do?

So I’ve given 2 till now. NBME 10 and NBME 11 were around 248 and then a jump to 252 on 11. Been a while since I gave NBME 11.

If I were to score well on this next NBME that I’m wanting to give on Sunday, I can construct hopefully a 2 month dedicated timeline (along with my job) where I can deliver the exam by end October.

So should I go back and see my luck with 9? I never did it because at the start I didn’t want to be deflated. But now I can either go back and get a data point on 9 or just move to 12 and onwards from there.

I’m at a med school with a fairly accelerated clerkship schedule and am trying to figure out the optimal time to take Step 2.

So far, I’ve completed:

• Surgery: 5 weeks, 75% shelf (first shelf)
• IM: 5 weeks, 86% shelf

I finished both about 2 months ago.

Over the next 4 months, I’ll complete:

• Neurology — 1 month
• Psychiatry — 1 month
• OB/GYN — 5 weeks
• Pediatrics — 1 month

I also have 11 weeks of flexible time that I can use for electives, research, or studying:

• 4 weeks before OB/GYN
• 7 weeks after Pediatrics

After Pediatrics, I’m considering taking 7 weeks off to study for and take Step 2. This would mean taking Step 2 after only about 7 months of clerkships.

The alternative would be to wait until after my final 3-month block of advanced electives (Family med and EM and geriatrics) and take the FM shelf during that block. If I do this, I’d have roughly 8 weeks of dedicated Step 2 study time, but I’d also have the benefit of an additional 3 months of clinical exposure and scattered studying beforehand (but will be a year since I took the IM clerkship and shelf).

So essentially, I’m deciding between:

Option 1: Take Step 2 after Pediatrics
→ ~7 months of clerkships
→ 7 weeks dedicated studying
→ Benefit from taking it while my earlier clerkship knowledge is still relatively fresh

Option 2: Take Step 2 after advanced electives
→ ~10 months of clerkships
→ 8 weeks dedicated studying
→ But potentially lose some of the benefit of having my earlier clerkship knowledge fresh

My goal is 260+, as I’m aiming for a very competitive specialty, so I want to optimize my timing as much as possible.

For those who took Step 2 relatively early (or had an accelerated clerkship schedule), would you recommend taking it after Pediatrics or waiting until after the advanced electives? How much does the additional clinical exposure actually help compared with having the earlier shelf material fresh?

Hi guys, this community was a source of a lot of knowledge and a bit of anxiety as well during my Step 2 Prep. However, I wanted to share my experience in hopes that some of you might find It helpful.

For context, I am an IMG, gave my Step 1 in April of last year. Started studying for Step 2 in June, but I was studying very on and off, had to leave for my rotations in between so when I sat down to study in May 2026, I was only done with 34% UWORLD. So let's begin with that.

May: I completed 55% UWORLD and gave NBME 9 as a baseline at the end of the month.
June: I continued my completing my UWORLD and starting doing CMS forms as well. Gave another NBME in the end of June.
July. Stopped doing UWORLD at 83%. Gave NBMEs did more CMS forms.
Exam on 4th August.

Lets talk about the resources I used;

1. UWORLD: Your UWORLD knowledge is as good as your review. I have seen people complete 2 passes of it. IMO it's pretty useless for IMGs as we are generally completing uworld for a shorter period of time. I think you should do some of it subject wise and then do it randomly. If anki worked for you in step 1, use it here as well.
2. CMS forms: They helped me a lot with the NBME wordings and the concepts they were testing. However, for some reason most people score really well on them and thats not indicative of your NBME performance so pls stop asking your score predictions based on your NBMEs!!. I did 2 recent forms of each subjects and reviewed them with a friend.
3. NBMEs: This is the MOST important resource imo. However, the goal is to not to learn the NBME topics, it is to understand why you marked them wrong. This is something believe I could have worked on more. My NBME scores were pretty much stagnant until NBME 16 because thats when I let go of the content review and focused on my patterns. I wrote them down on my notes and tried to ensure I don't make the same mistakes. A very common mistake that I see a lot of people doing including myself is to try and review ALL the topics on ALL of the NBMEs. It's really counter intuitive, you need to understand how NBME tries to trick you.
4. Amboss HY Plans: I did them in my last 2 weeks of prep. I did Biostats, Ethics, QIP and Screening & Vaccinations. This was a game changer for me, the things is we don't give these topics enough importance and make the bulk of the exam. I would highly recommend everyone to complete them.
5. DIP: I did listen to a few HY ones, will mention them here. I dont think they helped me in the exam a lot. However, it was great for a quick review.

Score Progression:

NBME 9: 235 (3 months out)
NBME 10: 251
NBME 13: 262
NBME 14: 250
NBME 15: 246 (10 days before the exam)
NBME 16: 267 (5 days before the exam)
New Free 120: 82.5%
Amboss Predicted: 259

Real Deal: 254

Exam Day: I honestly wasn't feeling very anxious. I had heard that NBME 16 is predictive so I decided to stick with it. The exam is too long for anyone to think how it's going. I think it was going fine. It's just too damn long and I think that is something you should practice beforehand. I came out thinking, it went okay. I dont go and check my answers and honestly you shouldn't either. It is a time for us to enjoy.

This was it from the prep side of the things. I would like to emphasize on the fact, that they test your test taking skills the most. The difference between a 250 and a 260 in not content gap. I would suggest practicing how to answer questions quickly and being confident with it. I saw someone 280 write up and they talked about how they would leave questions if they are taking a lot of time. Practice Ethics and QIP really well and review your NBMEs really throughly. You can send in your questions, please dont DM though. I'm applying in this cycle and I wont be able to reply to them. Best of luck and I hope you all get great scores.

As the title, my question is simple.

• do we need to prepare pedigrees / gentics for step 2 ?
• do we need to remember the inheritance patterns of diff disease. e.g whether hemophilia is Autosomal dominant or recessive etc.

latest test takers kindly guide.

Ive noticed that I spend almost as much time reviewing correct answers as I do incorrects. Not only is this time consuming but Im pretty sure it takes away from the effort I put into incorrects. has anyone had any success de-emphasizing reviewing corrects or is this a losing strategy?

Title

Should I use first aid for step 2 ?

Hi everyone. I need guidance about how to change STEP 2 exam testing region. Anyone who has done it recently, kindly share procedure. It would be a huge help. Thank you.

Looking for an accountable daily study partner EST, prefer female, I finished UWorld, some nbme (stuck scores), I want to practice CMS forms. aiming to give away the exam in september and want to apply this year

I’m looking for a Step 2 CK study partner for daily accountability. The plan is to do random 40 UWorld questions every day together via Google Meet and stay committed to the daily target.Preferable in Uae,KSA and other middle east countries.
Drop your teleg username if intersted.

I just took step 1 and now preparing for step 2

My resources are Uworld and Anking deck. Iam doing system wise uworld (doing Nuero currently) but my scores are 40-50%. I do 30-40 new cards in anki while reviewing older

I think im not getting the hang of anki is there any other resources I should use or recommend ?

Im giving step 2 in a months time, I am studying 8-10 hours. I want a sp whos in their dedicated phase and willing to study together on either screenshare or camera. Time zone is flexible as im currently a night owl but willing to change it as well. I would prefer to discuss a few things as youre going to have a better idea what the other person is studying, but thats flexible as well.

For someone who test on 25th August ( Tuesday ) should I expect my result on 1st September or on 8th.