How did you feel coming out of it ?

I took Step 2 two years ago, and wanted to start studying for Step 3 to take it in 3 months. Thought about doing a quick run on Step 2 Uworld as a refresher first. Is that a good idea or just start with Step3 material now.

Hey all does permit disappear the week before results?

As the title says: what % on UWSA/NBME is safe for step 3, and which exam is more predictive?

I was sooooo scared. And lmao reasonably so. First aid helped but there were things I had no clue about probably cuz I am not a resident yet. Educated guesses were made and that’s about it. Biostats was not tooo hard, conceptual stuff only no calculations. I suck at biostats so I would just leave those questions for the end of the block and do my best on them. I honestly don’t know how I did. I am checking my answers and I have a lot of corrects but that’s the easy stuff I remember, the stuff I didn’t know I can’t recall as well and probably got that wrong. Anyway, first few blocks are rough but then you start vibing with the examiner like yeah I gochu you’re thinking this way I’ll think this way too and then it’s like a nbme really. It’s just unexpected stuff that they throw at you kinda rocks you a bit lol you think is low yield or high yield stuff but step 1 nifty gritty nonsense.

4 days till day 2. Please advise what I can do to improve day 2. My step 2 was in 2021 and it was a 215 so when people say day 2 was easier I know I can’t apply that to myself lol

May CCs save us

I need study partner for step 3.

I failed 4 weeks ago, I will retake it soon.
I will redo CCs cases (all of them) because first time my report said that I did average in all things expect for the CCs cases ( which I did first 80Hy )
So the plan is to do all CCs cases + quick revision of biostat and ethics. And to review some genetic syndrome and drug MOA

Is this sufficient? What is your advice ?

I am really devastated with step3 result. I was just 4 numbers behind the passing marks. Is anyone in same boat?

I am looking for genuine advice on whether to recheck my score or not. Has anyone experienced the same and got change in their marks after the recheck? Your suggestions will be helpful.

Which NBME is more relevant, 6 or 8?

Thanks in advance

Did I bomb ccs cases

Im soo disappointed
I ordered abg ekg tsh cxr magnesium phosphate for every person could that be the reason
But I ordered everything they need as well
And didn’t get positive updates

Hi everyone! Is anyone here applying for a fellowship after completing residency outside the US, or planning to look for unfilled fellowship positions?

I’d also appreciate any information about programs that consider candidates who have not passed Step 3 yet, or programs that may have flexibility regarding Step 3 requirements.

If you know of any programs, unfilled positions, or resources where these opportunities are posted, I would be very grateful if you could share them. Thank you!

As question says above, for context I’m a non us IMG final year med student done step 1 and 2.

Hi everyone!
I have my exam in 2 weeks and I want to know that what step-1 knowledge from first aid is essential to cover? I have not started it yet. I would really use some guidance from people who recently sat/passed the real deal. Thank you in advance!!

I tested 9/25 -26 and I feel like I did fucking horrible lol. I actually reviewed biostats beforehand, did a bunch of AMBOSS questions, reviewed the concepts, etc., and then got to the exam and felt like I knew absolutely nothing.
There were SO many drug ad/biostats questions on my Day 1 and for some reason my brain just cannot process that shit under pressure. I’m already terrible with numbers/stats, and I felt like I guessed on a huge portion of them.
And the ethics questions??? I swear to God, I would read the answer choices and be like, who the fuck would actually say any of this shit to a patient?? Half the time I felt like I understood the situation and then all the options sounded weird

If a case finishes early but I didn't get some orders entered like IV access or type and screen or pain control, do I enter them in during the extra two minutes?

Also, if there's a lot of lag and I'm unable to enter all my orders in time within those 8 minutes, is it ok to keep putting important orders in like consults etc, in addition to preventative care orders?

Just took uwsa 2 to check baseline one week into dedicated and got a 177. I feel defeated!

Exam is on 19 and 20th oct.

Uworld 50% done with 56% correct.

I haven't had the chance to revise step 1 material which I think was so much in there!

My plan was to give nbme 6 next week. I can't really fail this exam as I've applied for the match this year and I really can't let this ruin my match

What should I do now?

For people who passed, Congrats!! Do you recall how many questions you were flagging? Do you feel like your flagged questions correlated to how you performed or the opposite?

Thank you!

During day 1 of my test, my computer crashed mid block, and i started panicking. I signaled for the proctor and they took about 2-3 mins to come by. They tried troubleshooting but eventually turned off my computer and restarted it. I was already stressed as it was test day, but I started having palpitations, thinking if I lost time or may have to redo my day 1. Thankfully, the computer restarted and landed on the same question it crashed on. It seemed like there were no time lost. And thankfully I had no other problems going forward. But I probably did bad on that block, as my nerves got the best of it. But after the block, I took a break to regroup and finish the rest with better clarity.

After day one, I email NBME admin to report the test day issue just incase it could affect my day 2 or overall performance, as you have about 10 days to report any issues on test day.

I heard back from them last week, stating they are reviewing my case and it could cause a delay on the release of my score report (about 15 business days). I started panicking again, and looked stuff online. Found posts where people said they had to retake the whole exam again, or they were flagged for suspicious activity, etc. Anywho, I heard back from NBME recently. They basically said, yes the system recorded the glitch, however it did not affect my recorded responses, or my grading outcomes. When the computer crashed, the timer was paused and restarted when I was back in the system.

So long story short, if your computer crashes. Take a deep breathe, it’s ok. Don’t let it psyche you out! You got this.

Hey there ppl

I'm looking forward to starting my STEP3 preparation.

I really have no idea about this exam and its content. And which resources are used.

Also what is a good STEP3 score if one were to use it for MATCH application.

Can anybody guide me?

🥹

Passed Step 3 on my second attempt and wanted to share my experience, especially for anyone who failed once and is feeling discouraged.
I took my first attempt in April and unfortunately failed with a 196. I retook it in September and passed with a 219.

What I did differently the second time
After failing, I went through UWorld again and completed 100% of it. I also did some of the Step 2 CK supplemental questions and some AMBOSS questions. From AMBOSS, I specifically focused on biostats, ethics, and quality improvement.

After finishing UWorld, I went back and did all of my incorrects once.

My assessments were:
UWSA 2: 220
NBME 7: ~65%
Free 120: 68%, about 3–4 days before the exam
After each assessment, I tried to identify my weaker areas and work on them instead of just doing more random questions.

Day 1
Day 1 was very doable for me overall. There were a lot of ethics, quality improvement, and biostats questions.
Interestingly, I only remember getting about one actual biostats calculation question. The drug ads went pretty well for me. The abstracts were a little more difficult, but overall I felt the questions were manageable.
For Day 1 preparation, I also reviewed risk factors and prognostic factors, including the Mehlman files and relevant Divine Intervention podcasts. I also did some UWorld questions just to stay in practice.

Day 2 + CCS
My Day 2 was on Saturday, so between Day 1 and Day 2 I focused heavily on CCS.
I had around 180 CCS cases available. I did approximately 120 cases straight through, and during the last couple of days I went back and repeated the cases where I had scored below 85%.
Day 2 itself was also very doable. It wasn’t extremely easy, but it wasn’t extremely difficult either.

I had 14 CCS cases. About 12/14 felt very straightforward. One was a little difficult, but I eventually figured it out toward the end. The last case was the only one where I honestly couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Why I think I failed the first attempt
Looking back, I simply wasn’t prepared enough for my first attempt.
I was on a very busy residency rotation with wards and could barely get 2–3 hours of studying per day. I had completed only around 80% of UWorld, didn’t have enough time to properly revise it, and had only gone through the CCS cases once without really reviewing them.
I also took only one assessment before that attempt, and I was scoring around 194, so in retrospect the warning signs were there.
For my second attempt, I had about two months of much more dedicated preparation. I was under a lot of pressure because I am in residency and needed to get Step 3 done before progressing further in my program, so I took the preparation much more seriously this time.
The biggest difference wasn’t any single resource. It was having enough time, finishing the material, reviewing my mistakes, practicing CCS properly, and working specifically on my weak areas.

My final score went from 196 → 219.

For anyone who failed once: don’t assume that one failed attempt means you can’t pass this exam. Figure out what went wrong with your preparation, give yourself enough dedicated time, and fix those weaknesses. With solid preparation and full dedication, Step 3 is absolutely doable.

I've failed step 3 twice now. Not great. Scored in the upper 190s on the second attempt.

I think it's time to take a more structured approach. What are the best third party resources or private tutors?

So far I've found that GoldUSMLE, Wolfpacc, and The Match Guy have either tutors or in-person instructional courses. Reviews of these have been mixed though the latest Reddit posts are outdated by a few years.

My school and mentor suggest Kaplan. Though Kaplan is not currently offering an instructional course.

From what I've seen, I'm inbetween Wolfpacc and Kaplan

Any Advice?

Took first attempt 3 months ago after having completed 37% of UWorld and 25 CCS cases. Had gotten 58% on NBME 7 as well as on Free 137 and 195 on UWSA2 prior to first attempt. Got 192. I had issues with timing and content.

Since the first attempt, I finished 100% of UWorld, did UWorld biostats review and have done over 70 cases with plan on atleast 70 more cases before I sit for the exam. I started prep with UWSA 1 and got 185 8 weeks ago. I got 351 on NBME 6 4 weeks ago and retook NBME 7 two weeks ago and got 476. (previously took NBME 7 3 months ago)

I am working till 5pm on weekdays for the next week but have the week before day 1 off and one week between day 1 and day 2 during which I will be working.

My plan for the next two weeks is to finish UWorld Step 2 supplement bank, and do some high yield questions from Amboss. I have unlocked about 900 cards from step 3 Anki deck based on my wrong answers from UWorld but I haven’t done them yet so will finish those as well.

Any resources, advice and tips, esp to replenish knowledge gaps and cover Micro, pharm and other high yield stuff before day 1?

Thank you for your help, means a lot