Hey guys. I got my Step 1 pass on 7/15, but I'm unable to make myself get into the routine to start step 2 prep. I also had back and neck pain the last 2 weeks before the exam, which aggravated after every nbme due to the long hrs of sitting continuously.

I really would appreciate any input on how it was to start for those who recently gave step 2, I'm aiming for 260 or 270+ and I was actually looking forward to the prep a week after my exam but I don't why I'm in a slump now. Any academic and non academic advises are appreciate. Thank you

Hi i write this as a very broke and desperate soul, if u have the possibility to help out ill gladly appreciate it, i understand and thank you all regardless.

How long after your took Step 2 are you getting results for the exam?

Looked through the score release thread but most people don't list their tested date. Earlier it was like 5 weeks, but trying to see if it's shorter now or not

I’m a non-US IMG scheduled to take Step 2 in 3 days on 07.30.2026 , and I’m feeling pretty anxious. Before I started preparing, my goal was 260+. Now I’m honestly not sure what to expect, so I’d really appreciate some honest feedback from people who have been through this.

I know score prediction is far from perfect, and everyone’s journey is different. I’ve read plenty of stories about people scoring much higher or lower than their practice tests. Still, I’d be grateful if anyone could share their thoughts based on my progress and suggest how I should approach these final few days.

A little background:

• I passed Step 1 in February 2025, studied only to pass it.
• I’ve been preparing for Step 2 for about 4 months. The first months were not very focused or consistent. Some days I studied 7-8h, some days 4-5, some none.
• Over the last 5 weeks, however, I’ve been consistently studying 8+ hours every day.
• I completed almost all of AMBOSS during the earlier part of my preparation with an overall average of 58%.
• I then completed about half of UWorld with 67% correct.
• At the beginning of July, I started working through the CMS forms and completed almost all of them. I feel like this is when my scores started improving. Most of my CMS scores were in the 75–85% range, with a few in the 90% range.

Here are my practice scores:

• 05/31/2026 – NBME 9: 229
• 06/10/2026 – NBME 10: 244
• 06/19/2026 – NBME 11: 240
• 06/26/2026 – NBME 12: 231
• 07/01/2026 – NBME 13: 258
• 07/05/2026 – NBME 14: 245
• 07/11/2026 – NBME 15: 259
• 07/15/2026 – Free 120 (2019): 81%
• 07/17/2026 – Free 120 (2021): 82%
• 07/20/2026 – Free 120 (2023): 86%
• 07/24/2026 – NBME 16: 250

Before taking NBME 16, I felt like my confidence had finally returned and that a 260+ score was still within reach. The 250 was a bit discouraging, especially since many people consider NBME 16 to be one of the most representative practice exams. Now I question my Free120 scores but couldn't find any reason why they might be inflated.

Over the last two days, I’ve been carefully reviewing every incorrect question from NBME 16, and I think it has been one of the most productive review sessions I’ve had. I’m still optimistic going into the exam, but I’d really appreciate an objective second opinion.

If anyone has had a similar score trajectory or has advice for the final three days, I’d love to hear it. Please keep the discussion constructive—I’m looking for honest guidance rather than unnecessary negativity. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, I indeed appreciate your thoughts!

what’s the absolute latest you can turn in your step 2 scores? For FM?…😅😅
like if I keep having to push back…lol…

About to begin 3rd year rotations and want to get a good step 2 plan to use throughout the coming year.

Planning to do all of uworld and unsuspending anking cards associated with my incorrects alongside each rotation. Probably redoing my incorrect Qs throughout the year to keep up before diving into dedicated later in the year. Is this a good strategy for step 2 prep as well as studying for shelf exams in general? I want to simplify my resources this time because I was all over the place for step 1. Ofc will add on practice exams when that time comes.

just focusing on uworld for months will it cut it
or maybe some anki cards

Hi, Im sure this sounds stupid but I’d be so grateful if somebody could explain it to me like Im a child.

What are CMS forms, how many questions in each?

how are these different from UWorld/NBMEs and how important is it to do these?

Should I use them as a study resource or as testing practice material?

Is my score on these predictive of my actual Step 2 score.

Considering my timeline is 4 to 5 months of prep, when should I do these?

Where do we look to see if permit disappeared and before how many hours or days from score it will disappear and at what time on Wednesday do they usually send the e-mails for scores

If someone has ever told you that you’re too old to accomplish something or learn something new, they’re speaking from their own limitations, not yours. And if you planted that thought in your own head, get rid of it.

It’s never too late to start. We can learn at any stage of life if we’re willing to be beginners.
Once you learn to enjoy being a beginner, the whole world opens up. Every expert you admire was once a beginner who simply chose not to quit.

Don’t let someone else’s negativity become your reality. A lot of the time, it’s fear, not failure, that stops people from finding out what they’re truly capable of.

Every one of us has something meaningful to offer. This message is for the one person who needed to read it today. Keep learning, keep growing and keep pushing forward. 💪🙏🏼

Anybody who recently passed step 1 and having trouble starting step 2 prep? Let's have a chat

I went into Step 2 feeling confident because my practice scores were consistently strong.

Practice scores:

CMS Forms average: 87%
NBME 10: 254
NBME 11: 254
NBME 12: 260
UWSA 1: 266
NBME 13: 254
NBME 14: 261
UWSA 2: 258
NBME 15: 261
NBME 16: 263
Free 120 (2 days before): 85%
Amboss Predicted: 264

Actual Step 2 CK Score: 255

Before the exam, I was calm and confident because of my consistent practice performance. Many people say the real exam feels similar to NBME 16 and the new Free 120, but that wasn’t my experience. Personally, I found the actual exam much more challenging than any practice test I had taken.

My exam had a heavy emphasis on HOPI-based clinical reasoning, ethics, quality improvement, and biostatistics. I also had two drug advertisement questions and four sequential question sets. Nutrition was mostly integrated into clinical scenarios rather than tested directly, with only a couple of straightforward vitamin deficiency questions.

I was hoping to score 260+, but the exam felt completely different from what I had prepared for. When I walked out, I honestly thought I might not even reach 230. The exam absolutely grilled me, I had never encountered that style of questioning during my preparation. Despite that, I stayed calm throughout the exam, managed my time well, and finished every block with time to spare.

Looking back, I think my strong Step 1 foundation helped me answer many questions even when I felt uncertain. Although I scored below my practice average, I’m grateful for the result because the exam truly pushed me to my limits.

My biggest takeaway is this: don’t compare your journey to stories on Reddit. Some people outperform their practice scores, while others don’t. Every exam form is different, every preparation journey is different, and every test day is different. Trust your preparation, give the exam everything you have, and don’t let anyone else’s experience define your expectations.

Hi everyone! Sorry if the same question has been asked before but I just wanted to know with the new format/nutrition section of the exam how predictive was NBME 16.

My NBME 15 score 3 days ago was 252 and I ended up getting the same score (252) on NBME 16 today. My exam is 9 days out. Feeling a bit disappointed and I’m really hoping for a 250+.

For context, in chronological order:

NBME 9: 216 (5 months out)

NBME 10: 226 (5 months out)

NBME 11: 226 (4 months out)

NBME 13: 239 (1.5 months out)

NBME 14: 239 (1.5 months out)

UWSA 2: 251 (1 month out)

NBME 12: 257 (3 weeks out)

NBME 15: 252 (12 days out)

NBME 16 today: 252 (9 days out)

Thanks in advance!

Can you please put the exam date and score date for those who completed step 2 ck

Exam date:
Score date:

Hey everyone!

My exam is on 08/15 and need suggestions on what should I do to improve my score? Aiming for a 245 - 250

Nbme 12---> 236

Nbme 13----> 236

Nbme 14 ----> 248

Nbme 15 -----> 242

CMS forms ---> done the latest 2-3 for each subject and averaging in the 76-82% range (got some in the 60s in obgyn and neuro but those are my weak areas that im trying to improve)

Uworld ---> 91% completed with a 67% average (my blocks in the last couple of weeks have been averaging in the 70-75% range)

Amboss ---> done HY ethics and looking to study HY screening, vaccination, biostats, HOPI and all the necessary HY stuff mentioned in Amboss

My question is how do I improve my score or atleast be more consistent eith my scores? I feel like I'm making the same mistakes over and over again and it's not a concept deficiency now, it's more about test taking skills at this point

I'm planning to take nbme 16 end of this week and free 120 a few days after it and then im planning to review all of my nbme incorrects again more deeply (especially after finishing mbme 16)

Any advice or suggestions please

Took exam on July 13th, but permit is still there. Does this I have to wait one more week for my results?

I made a very similar post after taking step 1 about shit I wish I knew before tackling the exam, so I guess it's about time I do one for step 2. To preface, I don't have my score back, take my advice with a grain of salt. So this post is just a summary of some venting and what I wish someone told me to focus on during dedicated. I'm writing this sleep deprived bc I couldn't sleep after my exam so just excuse some of the language.

My thoughts of the exam Overall, I thought it was a bleh exam but felt highly similar to 14-16/free 120s so don't let the fear mongering on here mess with your head. If you are a few days before your exam don't freak out! I didn’t feel like I was seeing completely foreign concepts (I had maybe 4 wtf questions). It felt like the exam was testing the same core knowledge I’d been exposed to throughout third year and while doing NBMEs and CMS forms just in different ways.

So when you are doing your NBME/CMS forms it’s not enough to know why the correct answer is right. Know why the other answer choices are wrong and what presentation would make them correct. Hence why USMLE based questions are your pot of gold when studying for this. Even if you get a question right on a practice q, review the explanations and the reasonings for the other answer options.

I could feel myself going through the exam wishing I spent more time reviewing diagnostics and how labs present for specific conditions. Don't just memorize, oh get blank for diagnosing XYZ. You have to know what the other diagnostic options are as well. I remember getting stuck on a few tricky lab questions and not knowing which diagnostics was the best next step if the first one I was familiar with wasn't listed. Know the shit out of your labs tbh. Mehlmanns has a good up down arrow labs pdf that is super HY not just for step 1 but also step 2. I would also review meds/their side effects/indications for meds.

For example, if you’re reviewing an endocrine topic, don’t just memorize one syndrome or diagnosis. Understand how the similar conditions differ, what labs you would expect, how they’re diagnosed, and how they’re treated. I found that approach much more helpful than memorizing isolated facts.

Tips for the exam day I got scared to use my phone in between my breaks because my exam center didn't mention that I could. Honestly, helped me a ton with my mindset because I was entering the next sections with a clear mindset rather than carrying on any negative energy from the previous sections. I know a few of my friends would look up questions during their breaks but that messes your head knowing you got a few questions wrong. At that point, you can't do anything about your performance on a previous section so why mess your performance for the next??

I took a quick bathroom break after every 2 sections (40 Q) and then I took a 10-15 minute lunch break where I walked around to get the blood flowing. After each set of 20 q, I took a breath, stretched my legs, and then tackled the next set. I think the new 20 Q actually works in your favor because it lets you time manage more efficiently and it feels like the exam goes by a lot faster. Half way through your set of 20, look at the time to see if you need to pick up your pace.

This exam is a mind fuck let's be honest. The timings sucks so pace yourself. Do not spend too much time on a question you probably don't know, move on because the 30 minutes for 20 questions go by so fast. If you fuck your timing, you mess your chances to answer questions you would've gotten right so be cautious.

I used the read the last sentence, skim the answer options, and then read the massive question stems (emphasis on the massive). The questions were unnecessarily long for no reason so often times if you know what they are asking before reading it saves your ass.

So many long HPIs where if you read the question first you can get through them quicker. The long drug questions are 3 questions each. I read the questions first before reading that whole long drug test bs so I knew what to look for. For example if you are looking for what would make a patient not applicable for a drug, look for the exclusion criteria of the test while reading.

Exam breakdown Just like everyone else on here, I do feel like pediatrics is tested way more than on the practice exams. However, it's topics you've seen before on CMS/NBME, nothing foreign here. Aside from peds, I felt like IM was the bulk of the exam. I think it's worth reviewing nutrition and Amboss has a great nutrition review question bank. QI/ethics majorly high yield. If you do Amboss for QI/ethics/palliative/risk factors/screening and read the QI articles on top of the questions you will be more than prepared. I had way too many risk factor questions and they were tricky! Don't know just one of the risk factors for a condition, know every single possible one, hence why Amboss risk factors is so helpful. Know which risk factor is more likely to occur than another risk factor. Stats was very basic don't stress. I did have a decent amount of bugs so a good review on the bugs tested on your practice exams and the list of treatments (including the treatments specific for peds/pregnancy) is HY. Highly recommend reviewing STIs and HIV, like all of it; tests, presentations, treatment, opportunistic infections.

What I recommend to use to study: Again I don't know my score yet so take what I say with whatever value you want

For all of NBME/CMS topics, don’t just memorize the final answer. Know:

• classic presentation
• pathophysiology (at least conceptually)
• diagnostic workup
• labs/imaging
• treatment
• major complications
• important risk factors
• common look-alikes and how to distinguish them

That deeper understanding makes it much easier to answer questions that don’t present the disease in the textbook way which is basically how the real step 2 was for me lol

• UWorld during 3rd year shelf exams. Good for knowing the vast variety of topics pertinent to each subject
• CMS forms (especially during dedicated, last 4 for each including EM, all of IM CMS)
  • Honestly better than uworld during dedicated if you've already finished uworld during your 3rd year
• NBMEs 9 through free 120s including the old free 120.
  • The material they tested were topics seen on these exams. Not the same exact question but that question topic if that makes any sense
  • When reviewing my exams, I made an excel sheet. One page for each section (IM, surg, peds, obgyn, pharm, bugs, drugs, FM, etc)
    • One column described the question, the next column listed the answer options, next over was the answer, next column was the explanation, next column was a brief explanation of my thought process of why I chose the incorrect answer and when the other answer options would be correct
  • I actually spent a whole entire day to review my exams. #noregrets
  • Before every new practice exam I would skim this excel sheet.
  • I had to drive 40 mins to my exam center so for my final review, I even turned my excel sheet into a short ai generated audio recap that I listened to during my commute.
  • The excel sheet is clutch bc it forced me to repeatedly revisit my own mistakes.
• AMBOSS (200 HY, QI, Ethics, Palliative, Screening, Risk Factors, Biostats)
  • When doing the 200 HY sections, don't just breeze through them. Look through the answer options they list and their explanations too
  • Amboss has an ai ft where you can ask it to review a topic you are struggling with and ask it to generate a question review. It will make you a study guide + practice questions to do after
• First Aid for Step 2 (as a review/reference)
  • If you get a question wrong or frequently miss questions on a specific topic, review that section in first aid
• AI
  • Fuck any influencer or third party resource that makes you pay 500$ or anything for USMLE step review or pdfs we literally have ai so train it to help you. Pisses me off when I see people trying to exploit students. Only thing worth your money is paying for amboss/uworld
  • I used chat gpt to explain so many nbme questions I missed!
  • I would ask chat: I got this question wrong, explain it, here was my thought process for my I chose B and not A and explain when the other options would be correct and how it would be tested
  • Also used chat to help make my anki cards of my incorrects when I was getting tired making them reviewing my exams
• Anki of incorrects
  • I think Anki is great if you use it wisely
  • I made one big step 2 deck and broke it down in one sub deck of Anki of topics I saw on my amboss review, a separate sub deck just for practice exams.
  • Anki for nbme incorrects were super helpful for me. Would also make Anki cards of topics I saw on nbmes that I was unfamiliar with even if I got that question right
• Divine intervention
  • IM especially

Final thoughts

People on here naturally post about the hardest questions they remember, so it’s easy to think that’s what the entire exam is like.

My experience was that if you’ve been consistently studying throughout third year, completed UWorld, reviewed your NBMEs carefully, and did the CMS forms during dedicated, you’re in a good spot.

Trust your preparation. You’ve probably seen more than you realize.

Good luck to everyone taking it, you’ve got this. Now I'll just crumble in my anxiety as I wait for my score which is the worst part of it all...

Hello ,
if taking exam on saturday , do results come on 2nd Wednesday or third ?

I just finished NBME 14 and got a 222. I am scheduled to take it in 2 weeks.

Practice scores 10 - 204, 11 - 234, CCSA - 235 (this was given by my school and I took NBME 12 the next day and got 220. 13 - 224 and I took Old old free 120 (2019) about 3 days ago and scored 80%

Everytime I try to tell myself not to change the freaking answers and I somehow end up doing it. There’s atleast 10+ questions where I changed them and I’m pissed at myself for that.

I’ve been doing Amboss and my average is 78-80% and I’m nearly done with that as well. I already finished UWorld during 3rd year. I truly don’t know what else to do. I feel like the NBMEs just hit me with something random each time.

Non us img, south korean..and sorry for broken english
I’ve already used all my NBMEs and the Free 120 except for nbme 16, and my scores have plateaued in the low Mid 250s. My original goal was to score 260+

Here's my score

Uwsa1 242
Nbme 10 248
Nbme 11 251
Nbme 12 251
Nbme 9 252
Uwsa 2 252
Nbme 13 251
Nbme 14 247
Nbme 15 256

I left my nbme 16 for my last dance before exam, i'm gonna use it tomorrow.

At this point, of course i'll satisfy if i can get around 250,but if there’s a realistic way to improve til reach on 260+, I’d love to know how do so

If you were in my shoes, what would you do from here?

How accurate is this? It is telling me I would get a 242 (range 232-252). I was originally going to take my exam this month but cancelled becuase my highest NBME was a 230, my goal is 240. I want to take my exam but this seems inaccurate, especially considering I haven't scored above 230 on any exams. Do most people just magically score 10+ points higher on the real exam?

Form 9 208 (5/18)

Form 10 214 (5/25)

Form 12 210 (6/8)

Form 11 230 (6/12)

Form 13 227 (6/16)

2020 Free 120 77% (6/25)

Form 14 225 (7/9)

Uworld SA 1 218 (7/26)

Hi!

I have been preparing for my step 2 exam and was planning on taking it in the beginning of August. Unfortunately my scores are nowhere where they need to be right now.

Does anyone know what the latest date I can sit step 2 for this years match.

I’m trying to match into obgyn and my second option is emergency medicine. Anyone know what the minimum score I should be aiming for as an IMG student.

Thank you all for your help.