Official 2017 Comlex Level 2 CE Experiences and Scores Thread

Your USMLE Scores Increased, Guaranteed!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
M

Mdincorporated

Full Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
lets do this! For those who have taken it, any tips or advice on what you used and worked?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I'm mostly in the Class of 2018 thread, but I'll keep an eye on this, too.

I'm using OnlineMedEd, Step Up to Medicine, and Master the Boards for everything but medicine. And obviously UWorld, Combank and Savarese.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
ortnakas said:
I'm mostly in the Class of 2018 thread, but I'll keep an eye on this, too.

I'm using OnlineMedEd, Step Up to Medicine, and Master the Boards for everything but medicine. And obviously UWorld, Combank and Savarese.
Click to expand...
When are you taking your exams? I had to push mine back until August...

Sent from my LG-TP260 using SDN mobile
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm taking Mid June. Using DIT, Step up to Medicine, Combank/Comquest, and Savarese.

Just ready for this thing to be over with.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
Mdincorporated said:
How late is too late to take the Level 2? What are the harms of taking it in Mid July for example?
Click to expand...

Our rotations start back up the first of July, so I didn't want to deal with studying while trying to impress on auditions. Also, I'm a firm believer of more time isn't always better. There comes a point where studying more isn't beneficial, and I begin to decline on qbank performance. For step 1, I chose a later date and definitely peaked too early.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Taking Step 2 on June 26 and Level 2 on July 1. Step 1: 251 and Level 1: 695. So far have done 1 pass of UWorld, 1 pass of COMBANK, watched all the OnlineMedEd videos, and read through some sections of First Aid and Step Up to Medicine during rotations --> this method helped me get honors in all the COMATs (still waiting on Peds COMAT score).

My plan is to redo UWorld again, rewatch OnlineMedEd videos, and read through First Aid in the next three weeks. NBME 4 (258 - 6/3), 6, and 7 along with UWSA 1 and 2. Saverese and COMBANK OMM questions in between Step 2 and Level 2.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ninjaman22 said:
Taking Step 2 on June 26 and Level 2 on July 1. Step 1: 251 and Level 1: 695. So far have done 1 pass of UWorld, 1 pass of COMBANK, watched all the OnlineMedEd videos, and read through some sections of First Aid and Step Up to Medicine during rotations --> this method helped me get honors in all the COMATs (still waiting on Peds COMAT score).

My plan is to redo UWorld again, rewatch OnlineMedEd videos, and read through First Aid in the next three weeks. NBME 4 (258 - 6/3), 6, and 7 along with UWSA 1 and 2. Saverese and COMBANK OMM questions in between Step 2 and Level 2.
Click to expand...
How was your UW performance? Did you do it after doing COMBANK?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I took it roughly a year ago. Used onlinemeded and did several passes of uworld/combank/comquest and scored mid 600s.

I don't think books helped that much when I took it. I did go through MTb throughout third year and studied for shelves.

Hardest part on my test was all the imaging questions. Some were very difficult to even see.

Edit: I also did a lot of those cms, uworld test, nbmes and comsaes going over the answers. I did a ton of questions
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took my COMLEX May 2nd got scores back today!
Did 1 pass of UW with final avg of 70% reset it and did about 20% of second pass with avg 84%
Did a few hundred comquest qs - i feel like my actual exam was very similar to these was kind of kicking myself during the exam wishing I had done more
Scores honors (>108) on all core rotation COMATs
COMLEX Level 1- 650
COMLEX Level 2- 695!
Felt my test was truly an equal spread of all topics-
During the exam I honestly didn't feel NEAR as badly as I did during Level 1. Questions were much clearer/better written for the most part and images were better quality. Timing was also much better I guess due to shorter q stems. Overall I felt it went wayyyy better walking out than I felt for USMLE Step 2


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Anatomyjane0410 said:
Took my COMLEX May 2nd got scores back today!
Did 1 pass of UW with final avg of 70% reset it and did about 20% of second pass with avg 84%
Did a few hundred comquest qs - i feel like my actual exam was very similar to these was kind of kicking myself during the exam wishing I had done more
Scores honors (>108) on all core rotation COMATs
COMLEX Level 1- 650
COMLEX Level 2- 695!
Felt my test was truly an equal spread of all topics-
During the exam I honestly didn't feel NEAR as badly as I did during Level 1. Questions were much clearer/better written for the most part and images were better quality. Timing was also much better I guess due to shorter q stems. Overall I felt it went wayyyy better walking out than I felt for USMLE Step 2


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Congrats! Are they still using those ridiculously long OMM videos for SD diagnosis? Did you feel Savarese was enough for the exam?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
For those who have taken it, do the common topics seem to be the same as previous years? (i.e. OB/GYN, Peds, GI, Cardio, OMM, of course). I keep hearing not as much Neuro, hoping that's true. I've also heard of several step-1 style questions for micro that seemed to focus on pathogenesis and genetic factors, etc...
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
gram_positive700 said:
For those who have taken it, do the common topics seem to be the same as previous years? (i.e. OB/GYN, Peds, GI, Cardio, OMM, of course). I keep hearing not as much Neuro, hoping that's true. I've also heard of several step-1 style questions for micro that seemed to focus on pathogenesis and genetic factors, etc...
Click to expand...
Common stuff was common. Didn't see much neuro on my test surprisingly, though I was surprised by the amount of optho I had. Had a few micro questions but nothing crazy
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
fallen9210 said:
Congrats! Are they still using those ridiculously long OMM videos for SD diagnosis? Did you feel Savarese was enough for the exam?
Click to expand...

I didn't have many videos at all (like maybe 3-5 the entire exam) and none were OMM related. I used savarese and some of my notes from my OMM rotation but I think savarese is def adequate + the chapman/viscerosomatix chart


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pps34 said:
Common stuff was common. Didn't see much neuro on my test surprisingly, though I was surprised by the amount of optho I had. Had a few micro questions but nothing crazy
Click to expand...

Does the NOBME still think we need to prepare ourself for a bioterrorism attack?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Nervous as hell about this one because there does not seem to be a universally agreed upon (S)UFAP(S) method. I can take some solace in having done pretty well on the COMATs, but I feel like those are sprints vs. a marathon.

I can't with Step Up to Medicine. I've used it mostly for problem areas, but I got paranoid that it was too important of a resource to blow off and ended up reading more of it than I had initially planned. We'll see how much it actually ends up helping me, but I was a bigger fan of resources like OME, Emma Holliday, Pestana, and the various Qbanks. Also I am obsessing over the green book because last year on Level 1 there was one OMT concept that I got mixed up which of course was asked in like 5 different questions. This haunted me for the 5-6 weeks I spent waiting for my score and I don't think I can go through that again so I MUST become an OMT expert before test day!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ThreeCheers said:
Nervous as hell about this one because there does not seem to be a universally agreed upon (S)UFAP(S) method. I can take some solace in having done pretty well on the COMATs, but I feel like those are sprints vs. a marathon.

I can't with Step Up to Medicine. I've used it mostly for problem areas, but I got paranoid that it was too important of a resource to blow off and ended up reading more of it than I had initially planned. We'll see how much it actually ends up helping me, but I was a bigger fan of resources like OME, Emma Holliday, Pestana, and the various Qbanks. Also I am obsessing over the green book because last year on Level 1 there was one OMT concept that I got mixed up which of course was asked in like 5 different questions. This haunted me for the 5-6 weeks I spent waiting for my score and I don't think I can go through that again so I MUST become an OMT expert before test day!!
Click to expand...

haha thats what happened to me with lower extremity vasculature and innervation. First Aid covered the UE well, but completely omitted the LE. At lunch, I distinctly remember sitting there going "Hell, I've already missed like 4 questions on it now, theres not reason to look it over, because surely there won't be any more questions". Came back to like 3 more questions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
gram_positive700 said:
For those who have taken it, do the common topics seem to be the same as previous years? (i.e. OB/GYN, Peds, GI, Cardio, OMM, of course). I keep hearing not as much Neuro, hoping that's true. I've also heard of several step-1 style questions for micro that seemed to focus on pathogenesis and genetic factors, etc...
Click to expand...

Yeah I was wondering if anyone else could comment on this?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T-Minus 60 hours. Taking it Monday morning. We had the Kaplan USMLE Qbank we had to finish during rotations, Finished COMBANK, and did almost 70 percent of UWorld. Watched Online MedEd for stuff I was weak on. Made notes in FA like I did for Level 1. I felt there was no way I could do DIT again.

EDIT: Showed up this morning (19JUN17) to take it. The A/C was out in the testing center and they didn't know when it would be fixed. They told all of us taking COMLEX and USMLE that we could reschedule with no penalties for free, since it was already 81 degrees at 0730 and getting hotter by the minute. Took the option and now I have an extra month to prep.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took the test this past week...

1). OB/Peds/Cardio heavy. But lets be real, thats no real surprise.
2). The OMM was very straight forward. Much less convoluted/confusing than Level 1
3). The last questions of each section were series questions like usual, but much more vague than in the past.
4). Ethics was quite heavy on my exam. The calculator wasn't needed at all.
5). The lab value reference ranges being included was incredibly nice. Really saved a lot of time

Edit: The test was a good mixture of Combank and Comquest style/length
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
CajunMedic said:
T-Minus 60 hours. Taking it Monday morning. We had the Kaplan USMLE Qbank we had to finish during rotations, Finished COMBANK, and did almost 70 percent of UWorld. Watched Online MedEd for stuff I was weak on. Made notes in FA like I did for Level 1. I felt there was no way I could do DIT again.
Click to expand...
You were required to use and finish that kaplan qbank?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
CajunMedic said:
Yep. School purchased it. Blocks of questions were assigned based on what rotation we were on, they were relevant most of the time. 10 percent of our score was based on percent of the assigned questions completed.
Click to expand...
that's pretty cool of the school to do that. it's nice to have a resource that's pertinent to both rotations and licensing exams provided by the university.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Taking it tomorrow. Cant wait to get this over with. I was pretty checked out after taking the USMLE last week and now even more so after my friends have told me how ****ty of an exam it is.
I've gotten everything from:

"The questions were so vague there were 5 correct answers"
"No amount of studying would prepare you for their crappy questions"
"Zebras, statistics, and ethics"
"Each answer had 2 parts to it and one part was right and one was wrong"
"I commented on every single question saying they need new writers"
"I guess the NBOME still thinks bioterrorism will be a big threat"

Will report back on wednesday after I sober up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Mscarn2014 said:
Taking it tomorrow. Cant wait to get this over with. I was pretty checked out after taking the USMLE last week and now even more so after my friends have told me how ****ty of an exam it is.
I've gotten everything from:

"The questions were so vague there were 5 correct answers"
"No amount of studying would prepare you for their crappy questions"
"Zebras, statistics, and ethics"
"Each answer had 2 parts to it and one part was right and one was wrong"
"I commented on every single question saying they need new writers"
"I guess the NBOME still thinks bioterrorism will be a big threat"

Will report back on wednesday after I sober up.
Click to expand...

Please do. You just scared me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Mscarn2014 said:
Taking it tomorrow. Cant wait to get this over with. I was pretty checked out after taking the USMLE last week and now even more so after my friends have told me how ****ty of an exam it is.
I've gotten everything from:

"The questions were so vague there were 5 correct answers"
"No amount of studying would prepare you for their crappy questions"
"Zebras, statistics, and ethics"
"Each answer had 2 parts to it and one part was right and one was wrong"
"I commented on every single question saying they need new writers"
"I guess the NBOME still thinks bioterrorism will be a big threat"

Will report back on wednesday after I sober up.
Click to expand...
can confirm. It was a thoroughly frustrating exam.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
^ Can you recommend anything to study that you wished you did more of? Were they basic ethics/stats questions or more complex?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
emkayveedee said:
Either

can confirm. It was a thoroughly frustrating exam.
Click to expand...

Can also confirm. ~30% of the test was random ass ethics, insurance/payment BS, and biostats. Vague as hell questions stems and answer choices. Bioterrorism and Step 1 micro/topics still exist. No amount of studying prepares you, just go in and embrace the BS. Then drink like I'm doing rn

Surprisingly OMM was the most straightforward...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Faced this today,
I felt it was more fair than Comlex level 1, I felt so decimated after that exam. I took step 2 last week and I did feel like crap after that.

I could understand what they were getting at with most of the questions, good mix of long and short question stems, about 8 questions in each block that were paired and you absolutely had to get the first right if you had any chance of getting the second question right.

Some of the ethics questions were ridiculous, no amount of studying is going to get you those points, either you read minds or you don't.
OMM was cake, and I didn't even study that.
Level 1 material seemed quite prevalent at times I thought I was taking level 1, although question were more straight forward and worded better. I would have looked at Immunology, Path, and Micro had I expected it, and don't forget that terrorism.
Someone above said maybe less Neuro, that definitely was my exam though, I had tons of the stuff.

If I could go back and tell myself anything it would be don't sweat it. You've already taken the shelf exams, which were similar. Really none of this material is new. A lot of the questions you already know well, and no amount of studying is going to help you with the off the wall stuff. Relax

My only concern right now is hoping I passed PE, I experience moments of terror every day as I wait for those results.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
radsgrad said:
Faced this today,
I felt it was more fair than Comlex level 1, I felt so decimated after that exam. I took step 2 last week and I did feel like crap after that.

I could understand what they were getting at with most of the questions, good mix of long and short question stems, about 8 questions in each block that were paired and you absolutely had to get the first right if you had any chance of getting the second question right.

Some of the ethics questions were ridiculous, no amount of studying is going to get you those points, either you read minds or you don't.
OMM was cake, and I didn't even study that.
Level 1 material seemed quite prevalent at times I thought I was taking level 1, although question were more straight forward and worded better. I would have looked at Immunology, Path, and Micro had I expected it, and don't forget that terrorism.
Someone above said maybe less Neuro, that definitely was my exam though, I had tons of the stuff.

If I could go back and tell myself anything it would be don't sweat it. You've already taken the shelf exams, which were similar. Really none of this material is new. A lot of the questions you already know well, and no amount of studying is going to help you with the off the wall stuff. Relax

My only concern right now is hoping I passed PE, I experience moments of terror every day as I wait for those results.
Click to expand...

I take it tomorrow afternoon and was going to study a little today and a little in the morning. Review omm, and FA step 1 micro, immune and path?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
LOL. Glad thats over with. Confirmed everything that was said over the last few posts. Vague, vague, vague. Not concerned about passing, more concerned that I'm not sure if I beat the "average." With a lot of questions, I was thinking to myself - I think I know what they're getting at/what answer they want me to pick but also had internal conflict because other answers were halfway right as well.

Some of the ethics questions werent even ethics - more like... hospital policy, chain of command, etc. Since this is Comlex however, I picked the most... goody 2 shoes answer possible for just about all of those questions.
Definitely some annoying micro that relied on a couple buzzwords (and nothing else).
The linked questions at the end of every section (case with 3 questions about it) were either really easy or too vague that I contemplated putting different answers for all 3 questions to get at least one right lol.
Extra day or two of studying won't help anyone.

Yo NBOME. Can I get an AGE, a set of vitals, and how long the chief complaint has been going on for every patient? That would really help, THANKS.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Mscarn2014 said:
LOL. Glad thats over with. Confirmed everything that was said over the last few posts. Vague, vague, vague. Not concerned about passing, more concerned that I'm not sure if I beat the "average." With a lot of questions, I was thinking to myself - I think I know what they're getting at/what answer they want me to pick but also had internal conflict because other answers were halfway right as well.

Some of the ethics questions werent even ethics - more like... hospital policy, chain of command, etc. Since this is Comlex however, I picked the most... goody 2 shoes answer possible for just about all of those questions.
Definitely some annoying micro that relied on a couple buzzwords (and nothing else).
The linked questions at the end of every section (case with 3 questions about it) were either really easy or too vague that I contemplated putting different answers for all 3 questions to get at least one right lol.
Extra day or two of studying won't help anyone.

Yo NBOME. Can I get an AGE, a set of vitals, and how long the chief complaint has been going on for every patient? That would really help, THANKS.
Click to expand...
The whole no vitals things drive me insane. Mother****er. It's in the name. VITAL.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took it last week. Mine felt heavy OB/GYN, peds, cardio. I remember some GI, but not heavy on it. Ethics: I don't even know what to say about those questions. OMM was the saving grace of it for me. I thought their OMM was super straightforward, although I answered a ton of questions with similar or the exact same diagnosis. If you haven't gotten the memo: Comlex wants you to be ready for a bioterror attack. I remember only one "true" surgery question on the whole test that wasn't OB/GYN related. Normal vague vignettes with answer choices that make you scratch your head all still there. Had a couple questions that hinged on gram stains or path slides. That was really weird... Number of matching questions at the end was down from my Level 1 exam. I remember a significant number (maybe 6-10 questions or 2-4 vignettes) per bock last year. I felt lucky if I had 2 vignettes with 5 questions total at the end of a block.

Oh random thought that I felt helped me on the test: Try to figure out what concept they're trying to test. It's a a bit easier than it sounds. Example (not from my test, making something up at random): Vignette describes someone with CHF. They're on a few meds, have an EF <35%. Question: What is the most appropriate next step? (this is seriously the wording Comlex loves) Answer choices: Mix of interventions and diagnostic tests- A: Dipyridamole nuclear scan B: Automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillator insertion C: Digoxin D: Coronary angiography E: Furosemide. So you have to figure out what concept they think you should know. This example: what should you do if someone has CHF and an EF<35%? Put in an AICD.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
PianoMedic said:
Took it last week. Mine felt heavy OB/GYN, peds, cardio. I remember some GI, but not heavy on it. Ethics: I don't even know what to say about those questions. OMM was the saving grace of it for me. I thought their OMM was super straightforward, although I answered a ton of questions with similar or the exact same diagnosis. If you haven't gotten the memo: Comlex wants you to be ready for a bioterror attack. I remember only one "true" surgery question on the whole test that wasn't OB/GYN related. Normal vague vignettes with answer choices that make you scratch your head all still there. Had a couple questions that hinged on gram stains or path slides. That was really weird... Number of matching questions at the end was down from my Level 1 exam. I remember a significant number (maybe 6-10 questions or 2-4 vignettes) per bock last year. I felt lucky if I had 2 vignettes with 5 questions total at the end of a block.

Oh random thought that I felt helped me on the test: Try to figure out what concept they're trying to test. It's a a bit easier than it sounds. Example (not from my test, making something up at random): Vignette describes someone with CHF. They're on a few meds, have an EF <35%. Question: What is the most appropriate next step? (this is seriously the wording Comlex loves) Answer choices: Mix of interventions and diagnostic tests- A: Dipyridamole nuclear scan B: Automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillator insertion C: Digoxin D: Coronary angiography E: Furosemide. So you have to figure out what concept they think you should know. This example: what should you do if someone has CHF and an EF<35%? Put in an AICD.
Click to expand...
This is really to anyone who took it.
For Pediatrics ... was there a lot of vaccinations and developmental milestone questions?

Also for OBGYN what resources did you use. I never looked into Blueprints and it seems too late at this point. I just used First Aid, and MTB, with DIT/onlinemeded vids + questions. Is that enough
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Anyone else have no dedicated study time? I can't use my vacation time for the test because I have to go out of the country for my sister's wedding. I've had 3 days off and barely got anything done because I'm so burned out. 3 weeks until the test, my new rotation looks like it's going to be pretty chill but 8am-4pm, hoping to study 4-6 hrs a day and obviously take materials with me on rotation. Tips from anyone whose been in this situation?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took it today. Felt like **** walking out of the testing center. Questions were super vague, images were poor qualities, tons of ethic questions and bioterrorism.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MelMcT2009 said:
Anyone know of a correlation between comsae D and the real deal?
Click to expand...
There's not, although for level 1 I took B, D, and then E a week before the test and E happened to be 3 points off of my real score. They are all bs questions anyway, so all it really does is let you know if you'll probably pass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

AceMedBoards
  • Question
Official 2020 COMLEX Level 2 CE Experiences and Scores Thread
Replies
9
Views
8K
getfat
getfat
M
Step 2 or Level 2 Practice Test - High Quality but cheap - TruCurio
Replies
0
Views
470
MEDWINNER1
M
Schwifty
  • Question
Official 2022 Step 2 CK Experiences With Scores Thread
Replies
47
Views
12K
scorpiondr_intospace
S
P
  • Question
COMLEX Level 2 CE Question
Replies
2
Views
2K
phagocytosis41
P
PathoTurnUp1865
  • Question
Official 2019 COMLEX Level 2 CE Experiences and Scores Thread
6 7 8 9 10
Replies
480
Views
149K
mang0
M
Top