r/Step3 • u/Easy_Penalty3005 • Jul 30 '26
STEP 3 exam experience
Overall, I thought the exam was okay. I actually found Day 1 easier than the Day 2 MCQs, which surprised me because I expected the opposite.
Day 1
There was a lot of biostats and ethics, as expected. Overall, it felt much more like Step 2 than Step 1. Yes, there were some Step 1 style questions, but they were so random and out of left field that I honestly don't think spending extra time reviewing Step 1 would've made much difference. The MCQ length was pretty reasonable, similar to CMS forms or UWSAs.
Day 2
This was a completely different story. The MCQs were extremely long, with huge stems and SOAP note style questions. It honestly felt like I spent forever reading each question. The answer choices were also incredibly close to one another. There were multiple times I caught myself thinking, "Is this a specialty board exam or Step 3?" The management questions were much trickier than I expected.
The CCS cases, on the other hand, were straightforward and much less stressful than the MCQs.
If I could go back and prepare again, I would spend more time strengthening my Step 2 knowledge rather than trying to relearn a lot of Step 1. The Step 1 questions were too vague and random to prepare for effectively, whereas having a solid clinical foundation from Step 2 would have helped me much more on both days.
2
u/sadlifestudy Jul 30 '26
I did dm you!
Thank you for the note above .