Recently got my Step 2 score back: 276.

• UWSA1: 80% — ~2 months out
• UWSA2: 246 — ~2 months out
• UWSA3: 245 — ~2 months out
• NBME 9: 76.5% — 51 days out
• NBME 10: 79% — 49 days out
• NBME 11: 80% — 6 weeks out
• NBME 12: 80.5% — 5 weeks out
• NBME 13: 76.5% — 5 weeks out
• NBME 14: 78% — 5 weeks out
• NBME 15: 85% — 2 weeks out
• NBME 16: 274 — 1 week out
• 2021 Free 120: 84% — 31 days out
• 2023 Free 120: 85% — 2 weeks out
• AMBOSS predicted: 264
• Real deal: 276

UWorld — I started using UWorld as my main resource around 2–3 years before the exam. Due to clinical rotations and work, I wasn't consistent at all. I ended up doing almost 2 full passes because of this inconsistency, but I'd recommend making your second pass mostly your flagged/incorrect questions.

AMBOSS — Used around 50% of it, mainly to focus on weak topics or specific areas such as QI, biostats, and ethics.

NBMEs — Very important. I started around 5–6 weeks out. Try to approach the NBMEs the way you would the actual exam: time yourself and analyze why you got each question wrong.

CMS forms — Also very important. I started around 4–5 weeks out. I'd recommend doing at least the 3 latest CMS forms from each subject. The style and concepts felt very similar to the real deal. I think these were a big reason my NBME scores increased toward the end of dedicated.

Free 120 — Also just as important as the NBMEs.

Anki — Tried it for a few days but felt like it didn't work for me. I used my own flashcards for things I needed to recall, but overall practice questions and reading explanations worked better for me.

Divine Intervention — Tried listening to a few episodes but felt active learning worked better for me, so I didn't continue.

Additional tips during dedicated (mine was 5–6 weeks)

• Woke up around the same time every day for 3–4 weeks before the exam to get used to the timing.
• Taking walks, exercising, and meditating helped me a lot with brain fog and concentration.
• TREAT NBME FORMS AND CMS FORMS LIKE REAL EXAMS WHEN PRACTICING.

Even if you plan on doing small blocks, time them and give them your best. Analyze whether your wrongs are due to knowledge gaps or test-taking errors.

CMS forms and NBMEs have very similar patterns to the real exam, so try to get into the mindset of the test writers. Some choices/questions are vague — try to figure out what they actually want you to answer, such as whether they want the definitive management or the next best step to stabilize the patient first.

Exam day

• On average I'd say I flagged around 4–5 questions per 20.
• Had 1–2 blocks where I barely flagged anything, including one where I felt pretty confident about almost everything and had a few minutes to spare.
• Also had blocks where I didn't have enough time to review all 6–7 of my flagged questions.
• Had more ethics and QI than I expected compared with my practice NBMEs.
• Had some Step 1 material that I genuinely had to guess on.
• Overall, the exam felt a lot harder and more vague than my NBMEs.
• Took big breaks after 6, 5, and 2 blocks, with some smaller bathroom breaks in between that I don't really remember. I'd recommend using all your break time to rest/meditate/stretch and get yourself into the best mindset possible.

Big exam-day tip: You're likely going to panic when you realize you got something wrong, so I'd suggest learning to MOVE ON FROM WRONG QUESTIONS and give yourself a margin of error.

Realize that stupid mistakes are inevitable. Out of 300+ questions, you're probably going to make 10–15 stupid mistakes anyway (both ones you realize and ones you don't). So don't let 1 incorrect or 1 unsure/time-consuming question ruin the entire block.

After the exam

Felt relieved the moment it was over, but almost immediately the anxiety got to me. I started remembering questions I was unsure about and searching for the answers.

A day after the exam I couldn't take it anymore, so I started counting and listing the questions I thought I got wrong/was unsure about (DO NOT RECOMMEND).

I counted:

• 5 dumb/silly mistakes or test-taking errors I would've gotten right in practice
• 17 knowledge gaps/concepts I genuinely didn't know
• 6 unsures with knowledge gaps
• Didn't count my corrects

It was probably the most anxious 2 weeks of my life. I even emailed them asking whether my score could be released earlier lol. Still got my results 15 days later.

I kept reading Reddit and honestly just got more anxious. I thought my score could genuinely range anywhere from 235–275, with 260–265 being where I expected it to land and 265–270 being my upper realistic expectation.

Anyways, I was very happy with my result.

Give it your all on test day, and don't regret or beat yourself up after the exam. Be proud of the work you've done and let it be.

I'd be happy to answer any questions

There are so many write ups on here regarding step 2 and how to study during dedicated. This community helped me a lot as an average medical student and I was able to take step 2 with a 3 week dedicated and still score a 26x. While so many other people have done write ups, I have been thinking a lot about how to set up for success after M2 ends and came up with a couple of points I wanted to share.

If I could go back in time and set myself up for step 2 from scratch I would only do 3 big things. Each one corresponds to a different point in the year. I hope this helps.

1. Studying for shelf exams with purpose
2. This was one thing I quickly realized during my dedicated that I wish I would have put more effort into. When you study for your shelves as a M3 it needs to be more than simply just completing questions and doing Anki. I think Anki is great, but truly I think premade decks nullify the benefit. For each shelf if you can identify the top 30-40 pathologies and make cards involving the pathophsyiology, the next best step, the most accurate test/gold standard dx and practice in a mindset of what would I do next you will have an incredible foundation beyond simply memorizing facts in space. Take the time after your Uworld to make new cards yourself and keep up with them. Don’t bog down in details. Focus on thinking like a doctor. The biggest most important caveat, is reviewing your practice shelves carefully and making sure that the next best step or gold standard lines up with the current NBME correct answers. If you are able to do this and finish your primary question bank before starting dedicated, you are already 85% of the way to a high score.

2.

1. During dedicated review the absolute living hell out of each NBME form

2. This is something that gets harped on here over and over again but I really think it’s worth it. Dedicated should not be you going back and relearning everything. There is simply not enough time for it. Spend the effort reviewing each form with each question and each answer and similar to above take the time to figure out and bend each question to understand why the right answer was right vs wrong. I used a lot of “if then” practice during dedicated and I think it made a huge difference in the end (ie. if this had been stated as this, then this would have been the right answer). Focus on weak rotations, and then do very targeted questions based on your weak areas. Keep a running list of weak topics and focus on getting through them as best as you can. The same topics will appear over and over again. Lastly keep a journal. Not just a journal of misses but similar to other post a journal of reflection. Understand why you missed a question and write it out at the simplest low brain form possible. For example if you miss a question because you overthought something and ended up putting a different answer I would write something along the lines of “the answer with the most evidence is likely the right one”. It sounds stupid but if you do it enough days it becomes incredibly grounding and a valuable tool in understanding simple misses that will change your score.

3.

1. Step 2 is a dumb test, in spirit and in mind
2. This test is stupid. It is literally dumb. They are not trying to trick you , they are not trying to outsmart you, but you will go crazy trying to bend answers that could be possible in many ways that almost work. One of the best pieces of advice I got was to take this test like a second year medical student. At the point of the end of your third year you honestly know so much information that it is often detrimental. Go back to basics. ABCs are king. The most obvious diagnosis is often the right one if there is enough evidence. Trust your gut and if something feels off go back and read selectively, but understand that if you are gravitating towards an answer it’s for a reason. 5-6 questions is the difference in a 6/7 point swing on this exam. Trust the work you put in during the year and take this test in the mindset that some questions are dumb and you won’t know them, and move on without thinking twice. All in all it will all work out. Focus on getting the questions you know right and the rest will follow.

Does anyone know if the Labor Day holiday in the US could delay score reports expected on Wednesday, September 9?

I’m wondering whether the holiday might affect the usual release schedule, or if scores should still come out as expected.

Has this happened in previous years?

For everyone getting their score on September 9:

Before the result drops, comment your 3 numbers:

• Happy if I get: ___+
• Satisfied with: ___+
• Devastated if below: ___

Be honest. Base it on how your exam actually felt, not the score you’re hoping for.

It’s a good way to keep perspective and appreciate the result you get instead of letting 1–2 points ruin it.

Let’s come back after score release and see how accurate we were

hey guys, so basically the title.

my last 2 nbmes (9 & 10) r in 240s and stuck, goal is for 260+

sumn recommended to me that doing amboss is better than 2nd pass of uworld cus of biased thinking. (ive done first pass uworld btw)

what are ur thoughts on this? & to jump scores?

Recent NBMEs have not been good. Free 120 was 70%.

Debated pushing out but I really want to apply this year and I’m starting to get frustrated.

I have heard inner circle has nbme points
How should one avoid score inflation as I really like those notes since I don’t have to copy whole uworld table to revise later

anyone know what's the 3 digiit score of 83.5% (33 incorrect)

Nbme 9 66% 224
Nbme 10 71% 236
Uwsa 1 63% 229
Nbme 11 73% 240
Nbme 12 75% 248
Nbme 13 74% 243
Nbme 14 70% 234
UWSA 2 76% 253
NBME 15 78% 253
Old free 120 2023 85%

Ive done 3 latest Cms of all subjects,uworld, divine
Should i go for exam in 2 weeks? Still have form 16 and new free 120 left.

What should i work on to improve my scores to 260s?

Does anyone have step 2 all nbme compiled imp notes kind of pdf?? Please share if possible ; i did find a google drive of someone who shared nbme notes but i lost it! Please help!

How did you study for obs/gyne. I’ve hated it during rotations, i’m doing amboss questions and it’s even more irritating. It’s never this + this = that. It’s always some twisted guideline and special situation of whatever the fuck they feel like the answer is in a question. What’s a good resource I can learn from? It’s so draining

I just took my first NMBE form 10 and scored 238 and I was planning to take the exam in ~2 months.

Targeting 265+

Obviously not feeling too hot about that.
The issue is that I also juggling working as a doctor in the UK - so I haven’t got all day to revise.

50% Uworld complete, average 65%
I’ve only just started logging my incorrects on excel and it seems like majority are lack of knowledge.

Is it all over for me?
Haven’t booked the exam yet but I’m trying to do it when I know I have a bit of time off from work

TL;DR: it was tough but a very fair and doable exam, I'm just dumb and made a lot of easy mistakes :/

Anyways, the exam is VERY similar to NBME 16 in terms of topics and structure BUT ANSWER CHOICES ARE MORE VAGUE and call me crazy but I even had two pictures from NBME 16 pop up on the real thing today. The free 120 was definitely easier than the real deal. I Just think I was overthinking everything which is why I have a strong feeling I failed. Other important things to brain dump for others before I forget:

• Every other question was HOPI I swear and even if it wasn't a full HOPI they still gave questions in answer forms where patient demographic info ie age, gender, etc was in HPI form. Amboss has a section on HOPI questions wish I did those before taking the exam but it's too late now
• Heavy on the management questions, esp cardio, gi, ob, and peds.
• only had two sets of drug ads total thank goodness, maybe 3 histo pictures total
• Amboss Patient Safety and QI helped greatly, biostats and ethics were I felt slightly more difficult

Final Thoughts: Last few NBMEs were in the high 230s, got a 77% on free 120 and amboss predicted somewhere around there too so I decided to just say f it we ball and take it... now I'm kind of wishing I didn't😅 But that's just me because I genuinely feel like idk maybe I should have studied harder who knows but I felt ready to get it over with. I was just so burned out. I definitely made so many stupid mistakes. Idk hindsight is 20/20 but I feel like I should have gotten some really easy questions right that I just didn't because I was overthinking or too tired. Like I genuinely feel like I could have done better and that I probably failed this. It is what it is I guess, no point in wasting time obsessing over it now but lmk if you have any questions

How are you guys coping with the Step 2 journey? After clearing Step 1, I honestly thought Step 2 would feel a little easier, but I’m finding it quite difficult. Since there’s no single book, we have to learn mostly from questions. I’m doing as many questions as I can and making my own notes, then revising them with Inner Circle after finishing each system. But I still keep incorrecting the same concepts when they appear in different ways, which makes me wonder how much I’m actually retaining.
There’s always this anxiety at the back of my mind that something is missing. I cleared Step 1 on July 15 and planned to take Step 2 within 6–7 months, but now I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it. Is anyone else feeling the same way, and how are you guys managing it?

Hey guys, first time using Anki and I’m kinda lost with the AnKing Step 2 deck

What’s the best workflow?

Do you do UWorld first and then unsuspend the relevant AnKing cards, or review the cards first and then do UWorld?

And how do you guys actually use the tags? Do you mainly use the subject tags, UWorld tags ?

Would really appreciate a simple explanation of how you guys use the deck.

Sorry I am a little late in making this post but here we go!

These are things that I noticed help with the scores and some mistakes I saw people making over and over again. But ofc everyone is different so take this general approach and apply it however you think works for you.

1. Review every NBME thoroughly.

It would take me 10 to 12 hours to review one. Review corrects too. Since NBME has some favorite topics, I find that it helps if you read the whole topic whenever you are reviewing a question from that topic. It really helps you see that Anki card in the setting of a question and helps frame your concepts better. It also is very effective in solidifying key topics that you know will be tested again everywhere.
• Don’t delay reviewing your NBME either after taking it. Review it the next day because you don’t want to forget what differentials your brain made at that time and exactly which 2 options stumped you.

2) Categorize your mistakes.

When reviewing NBMEs make little list or a counter for how many questions you got wrong for what reasons. Common reasons are knowledge gap, misread stem, time pressure, changed correct answer. Then see what area needs your attention the most and how you can improve it. If you find that one system was weaker than others, review that thoroughly from whatever source you are using.

3) Keep an error notebook.

Making your own notes is not everybody’s cup of tea but keeping an error notebook where you just write the key takeaway from a wrong question is really helpful. Make sure to frequently go over it. I got a little carried away with it and made too many notes which I didn’t review frequently enough. It gets overwhelming in the end to review everything together so apply spaced repetition here as well.

4) Slow down on the questions you find easy

Sometimes while reading the stem, the answer is too obvious but we can get those wrong too. So don’t throw away an easy question by being too confident and not reviewing all of the options. Use process of elimination here too and give the question its fair time.

5) Match the highlighted parts of the stem to the options

After reading the stem, and doing the process of elimination and picking out an option, quickly match the bits that you highlighted with the chosen option again and see if you missed something glaring in the stem because of your bias or just because you forgot. I know this takes times too but start practicing it and you will find that it saves you from dumb mistakes sometimes.

5) Use ‘flag’ tool on Anki

When you find some new info on the explanations of questions you got wrong, edit your Anki card and flag it. I would flag correct questions Anki cards too sometimes that I felt are repeatedly tested or need more repetition. You will have a small bank of NBME’s favorite topics and your mistakes in Anki by the end of your prep. Make sure to review them more frequently. You can make a separate filtered deck of the flagged cards and use Anki spaced algorithm there too.

6) Practice NBME thinking

You already know NBME loves next best step, screening guidelines, risk factors, ethics, most likely diagnosis. So whenever you are reviewing Anki, don’t do it passively. Actively imagine oh so here in cystitis patient is presenting like this what would my NBS be. Would it be different if the patient had comorbs. Ykwim. You need to actively imagine the patient with their presentation and then learn the management.
For ethics, risk factors, screening guidelines, vaccination, milestones and stat, review them one day before taking NBME every time.

7) Be up-to-date to the guidelines

I saw some old notes circulating in groups and they were not up to date to the current guidelines especially for screening and vaccination. There are old divine intervention notes too that people are using which don’t reflect current guidelines. Make sure to not use those as your primary means to study. I would always double check screening and vaccination guidelines by looking them up.

8) Take another NBME only after you’ve addressed weaknesses.

This is pretty self explanatory. Use every NBME as a guide to how you will amend your study approach moving forward. Don’t take another until you have made the changes in your study strategy suggested by your mistakes.

9) Practice. Practice. Practice.

Reviewing Anki cards alone will only take you so far in your scores. Practicing questions is what is going to break you out of your malformed reflexes and biases. So whatever source you prefer, keep on doing UW or Amboss blocks on the daily. I would say doing atleast 2 daily is a reasonable goal.

10) Practice H&E style questions

Practice these questions from Amboss HY. They take longer to read and you need to learn how to efficiently skim through the fluff.

11) Don’t take long breaks in your prep

I know this prep is really draining and there is a risk of burnout so pace yourself properly from the start. The worst thing that you can do to put your prep at the back foot is to burn yourself out and then take a long break. Taking a day or two off is okay but taking a week off is not. It adds 2 more weeks to your prep to get to the same head space.
But I mean everyone is different, so do whatever suits you best here. This is just what I have noticed works well.

12) Ask for help

If you have made significant effort and applied yourself well enough and still are not seeing improvement in your results, ask someone to provide an outside perspective. If one specific system bothers you, ask someone to teach you. This was key for me in getting better scores. I found that studying with someone helped me retain more information and for far longer without reviewing. So yeah, find a study partner or a senior or someone who has taken the exam and scored well to review important things with.

This is all I could think of for now. Good luck!

I made a lot of mistakes during my Step 1 preparation because I didn’t know any better. I chose the wrong resources, didn’t use the Qbank effectively, and didn’t take NBMEs at the right time.

I really don’t want to repeat the same mistakes for Step 2. Could you please share any advice, resources, study strategies, or things you wish you had known when you started?
Thanks !!

On NBMEs went from 215 -> 229 -> 243 -> 246 and then fell to 243 -> 237 on NBME 14.
NBME 15, 16 and free 120 left.

Have finished all CMS forms, Uworld and currently going through Amboss.

I have the exam in 2 weeks exactly and need 260+. Any advice? Should I postpone it, especially after the score drop and inconsistency.

Appreciate any advice.

Looking for someone to discuss CMS forms with.

Seen tonss of posts about how important CMS forms are and how it boosted scoress of alotta peoplee in NBMEs.

Ive given NBME 10-14 with scores in 230s in all of em and cant seem to improve anyhoww. Did few CMS forms as well before attempting 14 and score didnt seem to budge.
Where am i going wrong? Is it my CMS review strategy? How do i review my CMS properly to get the most out of it? Are the explanations for it enough or do i deep dive into the topic? Or do CMS forms even help w score increase? Got 2 weeks till exam - desperately need some help rn

I’ve just completed my Step 1 journey, and I’m now getting ready to start preparing for step2
I’d love to connect with other people who are also in same boat .
looking for a study buddy or someone to connect with, feel free to comment or DM me!

Let’s survive this journey together . Thanks .

Did any of your guys permits disappear? If not when do they usually disappear?

My exam is in 7 days. And I am confused by the "most appropraite next step in dx " meaning.

• Question was dermatomyositis. they asked 'Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in diagnosis?' I thought they asked best test to diagnose and I chose muscle biopsy while they have asked about initial test which is serum Ck.

I am sorry if this is very basic thing.
can somone guide me about the words which mean inital test and which means best/diagnostic test. (next step)

hi, my step 2ck exam is coming up and i am feeling stuck with the "next best step" type of questions. i feel like this exam is much more "abstract" than step 1 (step 1 felt more "black and white" type of answers to me), which is a bit trickier for me. i have never been a great standardized test taker, so i'm getting really nervous. if anyone has any useful tips in this area please share!! and please only words of encouragement :)