USMLE Official 2021 Step 2 CK Experiences With Scores Thread

[EMDoc22]

All right y'all, let's get this party started. Here's to a smooth sailing third year, no Prometric drama with Step 2, in-person aways and interviews, and no CS/hopefully PE.

School: bone wizard

Step 1: mid 230s
Level 1: mid 570s

Step 2 goal: 250+
Level 2 goal: 600+

Interests: EM, OB/GYN (distant second)

Rotations (in order): Peds, IM, FM, Psych, Neuro, Surgery, EM, OB/GYN and then several electives mixed in

Resources: UWorld, Online MedEd, Tzanki deck since it's shorter and the Step 1 decks burned me out, might check out B&B for Step 2 when it comes out since Dr. Ryan saved my butt on Step 1

My rotations go until the end of June and unfortunately my schedule is pretty backloaded with my final 3 rotations being EM, OB and ICU so I guess that means I'll be taking Step 2 in early July. Obviously I'm not sure how auditions/aways will be playing out next summer and if PE will be a thing so a lot up in the air right now in terms of scheduling. My school does COMATs for our shelf exams but I don't plan on using any DO-specific resources for COMATs or Level 2 as I've heard UWorld is all you need.

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[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

Awesome! Yeah my first pass has not been so hot I am 52% completed at 68% right now. I havent done dorian I just did UW and comquest for every rotation still have ambulatory med neuro and a bit under half of IM to finish. I am going to take CK after ERAS goes out because my step 1 was high enough where my advisor (I trust him- hes not from my school lol DO school residency advisors are garbage so I bought my own) said I dont need it for ERAS and can take in the fall plus I am not confident in my ability rn to get at least a 255 or higher and dont want to run risk of getting below my step 1. I am beyond burnout so I am going to take about 10 weeks off and just do nothing this summer do a SubI in late august then take a bunch of easy rads and psych electives in the fall while i study

That makes sense with your score! I'm just taking mine now to get it out of the way. My fourth year is top heavy where I take all my required courses within the first four months, and I didn't want to take it in December. Are you stuck taking level 2 though this summer?

 

[Deecee2DO]

That makes sense with your score! I'm just taking mine now to get it out of the way. My fourth year is top heavy where I take all my required courses within the first four months, and I didn't want to take it in December. Are you stuck taking level 2 though this summer?

Thats smart! Youre going to crush it man you always do. What specialty are you applying again? Yeah I am taking level 2 in Late aug lol but im just gonna walk in and take it maybe study a few days before or something my comat avg was pretty high so im banking on that carrying me and i seriously only care about passing level 2 since im taking CK and only applying to academic IM programs

 

[fldoctorgirl]

What order have y'all taken the practice exams? I'm probably only planning on doing UWSA 1&2, Free 120, and NBME 8

UWSA1, NBME 6, NBME 8, UWSA2, free 120.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

I am going to take CK after ERAS goes out because my step 1 was high enough where my advisor (I trust him- hes not from my school lol DO school residency advisors are garbage so I bought my own) said I dont need it for ERAS

I thought about doing this too but wasn't sure how exactly it would work out and didn't want to stress about it. It makes sense though. I've been wondering where you've been on this thread ha.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Free 120 is just the sample questions pdf on NBME's website right? And you just have to like write your answers down on paper or something? Crazy how I completely blanked out everything from Step 1 lol.

 

[ohmanwaddup]

Free 120 is just the sample questions pdf on NBME's website right? And you just have to like write your answers down on paper or something? Crazy how I completely blanked out everything from Step 1 lol.

no, its online and timed. they give you the percent correct at the end. just google free 120 nbme

 

[fldoctorgirl]

no, its online and timed. they give you the percent correct at the end. just google free 120 nbme

Thank you!!

 

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

Thats smart! Youre going to crush it man you always do. What specialty are you applying again? Yeah I am taking level 2 in Late aug lol but im just gonna walk in and take it maybe study a few days before or something my comat avg was pretty high so im banking on that carrying me and i seriously only care about passing level 2 since im taking CK and only applying to academic IM programs

Probably DR/IR!

 

[ohmanwaddup]

Comlex is tmr. Hoping that only doing 30 cards from each subject a day will have been enough for the past week lol. focusing on omm and ethics today. heard from some friends that the test sucks.

 

[HopeImakeit]

Does anyone know how long it takes for scores to be released?

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Does anyone know how long it takes for scores to be released?

~2 weeks has been the recent trend. So I expect I might see mine this coming Wednesday since my exam was the 11th.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

85% free 120 (93/80/83).

Predictmystepscore gives me such a huge CI ahh

 

[Deecee2DO]

85% free 120 (93/80/83).

Predictmystepscore gives me such a huge CI ahh

you will murder CK. Im predicting you at 265 +/-5

 

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

85% free 120 (93/80/83).

Predictmystepscore gives me such a huge CI ahh

What confidence interval did it give you?

 

[fldoctorgirl]

What confidence interval did it give you?

259 +/- 14.

 

[ohmanwaddup]

259 +/- 14.

also have a 14 point confidence interval. feels super gross

 

[HopeImakeit]

259 +/- 14.

If you remove the free120 it will give you a significantly lower interval.

 

[EMDoc22]

259 +/- 14.

Based on that the worst you could do would be a 245 which is still a very solid score. Since you scored so high on Step 1, all you need is to do as good as that on Step 2 which I think is totally doable. When is your exam?

 

[fldoctorgirl]

If you remove the free120 it will give you a significantly lower interval.

Eh. 10 now lol.

Based on that the worst you could do would be a 245 which is still a very solid score. Since you scored so high on Step 1, all you need is to do as good as that on Step 2 which I think is totally doable. When is your exam?

Monday!

 

[calivianya]

I figured! I remembered you took 6 early on and got in the 230s, so you could probably do better on 8! Was there a significant difference in percent correct between 7 and 8? Kinda curious what equals what on that exam.

I didn’t even have the energy to look until now.

7: 80% overall (85/74/80/80): 226
8: 86% overall (80/91/87/87): 246

So I did much worse on 7, raw numbers-wise - missed 12 additional questions on 7 compared to 8. I was also sleepy while I was taking 7, but seeing that score woke me all the way up and I was wide awake for 8. Looking back at the questions though, I really think some of the difference was just the different material tested. Scares me a little that my score could possibly swing by so much just depending on the test form.

 

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

I didn’t even have the energy to look until now.

7: 80% overall (85/74/80/80): 226
8: 86% overall (80/91/87/87): 246

So I did much worse on 7, raw numbers-wise - missed 12 additional questions on 7 compared to 8. I was also sleepy while I was taking 7, but seeing that score woke me all the way up and I was wide awake for 8. Looking back at the questions though, I really think some of the difference was just the different material tested. Scares me a little that my score could possibly swing by so much just depending on the test form.

Wow. The 12th to 44th percentile. That's a giant swing for just 12 questions. I just don't understand how a 80% = 226 nowadays. I wonder if the real deal will be this harsh

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Got the call from the testing center. Last study day today (will do Anki tomorrow but that doesn't count at this point). Ahhh.

Wanted to wake up early today, couldn't do it lol. Will try to wake up at like 6 am tomorrow so I'm hopefully tired tomorrow night.

 

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

Another question for recent test takers --

Was components to the healthcare system heavily tested? (payment models, types of insurance}}. There's several questions on amboss about these things as well as postmortem care (clinical vs. forensic autopsy}}. Wondering how relevant this is

 

[RADSTEPMD]

How much did you guys think radiology was on the exam?

 

[RADSTEPMD]

How much did you think radiology was on the exam?

 

[ohmanwaddup]

Comlex was awful, my god.

 

[EMDoc22]

Comlex was awful, my god.

Not surprised. What were the heaviest topics on it?

 

[ohmanwaddup]

Not surprised. What were the heaviest topics on it?

Couldn’t even tell you lol. It felt like a mess designed to make everything you know a weak spot. I felt decently confident going in. I had kept up with OMM, done a **** ton of ethics, micro was always a strong point of mine, and I just got kicked in the face over and over .
Low key considering starting to study for a retake

 

[Hippocrates II]

So, step 2... that was humbling. If you have time, I would seriously suggest getting a master's in ethics, and an MBA in hospital administration before the test.

Edit - on a more helpful/uplifting note, I felt that uworld more than adequately prepared me for 85% of the test. The remaining 15%, which at the time felt like 50% of the exam, was what I felt like were impossible ethical scenarios that I sometimes couldn't narrow down past 3 options. I don't think there's much you can really do to prepare for it and you'll just need to remind yourself that we're all wtf'ing these questions as we take the test.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

How much did you think radiology was on the exam?

- RadstepMD

Almost none, and for those with radiographs, you can almost always figure out the answer without them or they're incredibly classic radiographs.

 

[Deecee2DO]

Couldn’t even tell you lol. It felt like a mess designed to make everything you know a weak spot. I felt decently confident going in. I had kept up with OMM, done a **** ton of ethics, micro was always a strong point of mine, and I just got kicked in the face over and over .
Low key considering starting to study for a retake

Dude dont be so pessimistic about yourself you always come out good haha

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Well, nothing else for me to do now but go in ready to get f***ed in the moment. Last day of Anki today, read through my incorrects word doc. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I'm 100% prepared to feel like crap based on everyone I've talked to about this exam, but I'm going to go in with the mindset that the curve will end up evening everything out. I probably could've studied ethics more (pretty much just did UWorld), but I'm done.

Honestly wish my Level 2 was on Wednesday instead of Friday, I'm gonna feel like I failed regardless and I'm not going to do much studying in between honestly. The worst part about Level 2 is how much absolute trash you feel like during/after, and then they make you wait like 2 months for your score. Rip.

Anyways, see y'all on the other side.

 

[HopeImakeit]

Well, nothing else for me to do now but go in ready to get f***ed in the moment. Last day of Anki today, read through my incorrects word doc. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I'm 100% prepared to feel like crap based on everyone I've talked to about this exam, but I'm going to go in with the mindset that the curve will end up evening everything out. I probably could've studied ethics more (pretty much just did UWorld), but I'm done.

Honestly wish my Level 2 was on Wednesday instead of Friday, I'm gonna feel like I failed regardless and I'm not going to do much studying in between honestly. The worst part about Level 2 is how much absolute trash you feel like during/after, and then they make you wait like 2 months for your score. Rip.

Anyways, see y'all on the other side.

Good luck! You'll kill it!

 

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

Took UWSA2 yesterday! Got a 260.

Confidence interval with free 120 is 259 +/- 15
Confidence interval w/o free 120 is 261 +/- 10

 

[EMDoc22]

262 on UWSA1 today. 78/83/85/83, 82% overall which is the 84th percentile. Literally had at least half of each block marked up, that was hard af. Test is 3 weeks from tomorrow.

 

[Deecee2DO]

262 on UWSA1 today. 78/83/85/83, 82% overall which is the 84th percentile. Literally had at least half of each block marked up, that was hard af. Test is 3 weeks from tomorrow.

260s and still 3 weeks out? ur golden man wow

 

[iforget2]

Well, nothing else for me to do now but go in ready to get f***ed in the moment. Last day of Anki today, read through my incorrects word doc. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I'm 100% prepared to feel like crap based on everyone I've talked to about this exam, but I'm going to go in with the mindset that the curve will end up evening everything out. I probably could've studied ethics more (pretty much just did UWorld), but I'm done.

Honestly wish my Level 2 was on Wednesday instead of Friday, I'm gonna feel like I failed regardless and I'm not going to do much studying in between honestly. The worst part about Level 2 is how much absolute trash you feel like during/after, and then they make you wait like 2 months for your score. Rip.

Anyways, see y'all on the other side.

@fldoctorgirl slaying the beast rn.

 

[EMDoc22]

260s and still 3 weeks out? ur golden man wow

If I wasn’t still finishing third year rotations I’d move it up to get it over with but I feel like I should take 2 weeks of pure dedicated since Step 2 is highly valued by EM. But I’m so ready to be done with these exams.

 

[aaronrodgers]

Permit hasn’t disappeared today so guess reveal day is next week 😭

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Permit hasn’t disappeared today so guess reveal day is next week 😭

I haven’t checked yet because NBME is a big ole pain in the ass and even though I updated my password, it’s still giving me errors.

when did you take it?

 

[Steve_Zissou]

1/4 of the way through level 2, so far it’s been significantly easier than step. Feel confident on maybe 85-90% of my answers

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Finally got logged into NBME, I think my permit is gone. Gonna be a long week till Wednesday.

 

[aaronrodgers]

I haven’t checked yet because NBME is a big ole pain in the ass and even though I updated my password, it’s still giving me errors.

when did you take it?

6/13 😛 a few days after yours

 

[ophthalmologist_tr]

hi all. has anyone tried fsmb trick with step 3 eligibility? my permit has dissappeared today and i can take myself checking the step 3 application..

 

[Steve_Zissou]

1/2 way through level 2. I find that questions are either a complete joke/super easy or so far out there that I just pick one and move on. Tends to lean towards super easy though.

 

[aaronrodgers]

Well, nothing else for me to do now but go in ready to get f***ed in the moment. Last day of Anki today, read through my incorrects word doc. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I'm 100% prepared to feel like crap based on everyone I've talked to about this exam, but I'm going to go in with the mindset that the curve will end up evening everything out. I probably could've studied ethics more (pretty much just did UWorld), but I'm done.

Honestly wish my Level 2 was on Wednesday instead of Friday, I'm gonna feel like I failed regardless and I'm not going to do much studying in between honestly. The worst part about Level 2 is how much absolute trash you feel like during/after, and then they make you wait like 2 months for your score. Rip.

Anyways, see y'all on the other side.

You finished it! How did it go??

 

[fldoctorgirl]

@fldoctorgirl slaying the beast rn.

Y'all. It was honestly so hard. I flagged like 1/2 the block on almost every block. But, I don't think I could have prepared any better than I did. Honestly, I felt the same taking UWSA2 and then got a 266, so trying to stay positive. But damn, it was hard. Not in the way everyone says: I didn't find the ethics too crazy, the military questions didn't seem too crazy, and I only had 1 SOAP style question. But just....hard.

 

[EMDoc22]

Y'all. It was honestly so hard. I flagged like 1/2 the block on almost every block. But, I don't think I could have prepared any better than I did. Honestly, I felt the same taking UWSA2 and then got a 266, so trying to stay positive. But damn, it was hard. Not in the way everyone says: I didn't find the ethics too crazy, the military questions didn't seem too crazy, and I only had 1 SOAP style question. But just....hard.

How was timing? I feel like no one walks out of this exam feeling like they aced it, I'm sure you did great! When do you take Level 2?

 

[fldoctorgirl]

How was timing? I feel like no one walks out of this exam feeling like they aced it, I'm sure you did great! When do you take Level 2?

Fine. Didn't have as much time left as I sometimes do, but overall fine, I always had time to review all my flagged (and there were a lot lol). Probably ended most blocks with somewhere between 5-10 minutes left after review.

Level 2 is Friday.

 

[Thesimplelifeofamyloid]

Y'all. It was honestly so hard. I flagged like 1/2 the block on almost every block. But, I don't think I could have prepared any better than I did. Honestly, I felt the same taking UWSA2 and then got a 266, so trying to stay positive. But damn, it was hard. Not in the way everyone says: I didn't find the ethics too crazy, the military questions didn't seem too crazy, and I only had 1 SOAP style question. But just....hard.

Congrats on writing! What do you think was ultimately most/least helpful? Anything you wish you looked over in your final days?