USMLE - Official 2017 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

[Jesus1]

Since there's no thread for the 2017 Step 2 CK, I figured I'd go ahead and create one. Happy new year in Step 2 CK land.

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[MudPhud20XX]

Anyone taking the CK this Sat? At this point, I just want to pass and move on. lol. After all these years of studying, for some reason I feel not ready....

 

[Trollest]

Got my score today from Nov. 30th step 2 ck exam. It felt horrible doing it. I had 3 weeks of dedicated (approximately 6 hours/day) with Sundays off.

Internal NBME Shelf: 97%
Surgery NBME Shelf: 92%
Psych NBME Shelf: 100%
Ob/Gyn NBME Shelf: 100%
Peds and family med (Uwise): nothing great
Step 1: 264
UWSA 1 for Step 2 CK: 272 (2 weeks out)
Real Deal Step 2 CK: 266

was not feeling confident at all and thought I got my butt kicked by the exam, but I think the curve was far more gracious. I want to wish everyone the best of luck and say thank you for the support I received on here.

How did you study for it?

 

[MudPhudHopeful]

Anyone taking the CK this Sat? At this point, I just want to pass and move on. lol. After all these years of studying, for some reason I feel not ready....

I am. Feel the same.


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[MudPhud20XX]

I am. Feel the same.


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you are mudphud too? lol nice to meet you~

 

[Smurph]

How did you study for it?

I just used UWorld for my 3 week dedicated. I studied a lot during third year when I came home at night (UWorld and a rotation-specific text). I also enjoyed watching OME but didn't use that resource during dedicated.

 

[MudPhud20XX]

I am literally freaking out now. I am thinking about postponing my CK to mid-Jan. Does anyone know the latest date you can take CK but still be able to report to the program your score before they finalize their rank order? It's like Feb 21st, so technically you can take the CK on 1/13/2018, correct?

 

[pre med 2014]

anybody get results out yesterday?

 

[Spodermin]

Got my grade back several months ago but was afraid to post it because I was terrified it would be all for naught after Step 2 CS lol

My score: 270

My strategy:
6 week dedicated study period
UWorld x2
OnlineMedEd videos during dedicated. Didn't watch all of them but did most of them
500 OnlineMedEd Questions
USMLE Step 2 Secrets x2

Did every NBME, both Uworlds. Had a good baseline because I did every subject exam NBME during my core clerkships and read a book twice with question bank for each one. By Ob-Gyn, I was in the 95th percentile.

Started at 244 on NBME at baseline. Climbed to a 269 on UWorld as my last test.

Congrats on your score!
By read a book for each clerkship. Do you mean separate review book for each specialty or something like MTB or step up to ck?

 

[DZKMD]

Anybody else expecting score report today? Took my test on Dec 11th, this would be 3 1/2 weeks...

 

[pre med 2014]

There is no link for my scheduling permit, does that mean my score is coming today?

 

[DZKMD]

There is no link for my scheduling permit, does that mean my score is coming today?

I've read about this before in here, and I'm really hoping this is not the case, 'cause I still have my schedulling permit visible on my IWA ‍♂️

 

[pre med 2014]

I've read about this before in here, and I'm really hoping this is not the case, 'cause I still have my schedulling permit visible on my IWA ‍♂️

sent you a pm. But apart from the link thing my major concern is nobody reported getting their score last Wednesday so I am concerned they are behind a week.

 

[jakep2]

Been lurking around this thread. I wrote 12/19 and I am hoping for results next week. I got worried with the recents posts stating no score reporting and called inquiring about any delays.

They stated that there are no delays... I don’t know if this helps anyone, but the dude on the phone said I should get scores by next week.

 

[jakep2]

I am literally freaking out now. I am thinking about postponing my CK to mid-Jan. Does anyone know the latest date you can take CK but still be able to report to the program your score before they finalize their rank order? It's like Feb 21st, so technically you can take the CK on 1/13/2018, correct?

I think I read on some program websites that they want the scores in by latest sometime after interviews and rank order deadline? I recall some programs stating that they won't review/rank application until after the scores are released to them (which might take a couple weeks, iirc... I think?). Take what I say with a grain of salt. Try looking at the webpages for your program of choice to find out for sure.

Good luck!

[Edit: added the word "rank"]

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

Yeah I took mine 12/12 and thought I’d get it this week. Called and they said it’s all a week off so it’ll be next week. Permit still there and hasn’t disappeared.

 

[jakep2]

Yeah I took mine 12/12 and thought I’d get it this week. Called and they said it’s all a week off so it’ll be next week. Permit still there and hasn’t disappeared.

Oh God, I hope that doesn't mean everything delayed a week.. I wrote exactly 1 week after you did. But, thanks for the info

 

[AThousandTrees]

Yeah I took mine 12/12 and thought I’d get it this week. Called and they said it’s all a week off so it’ll be next week. Permit still there and hasn’t disappeared.

That's interesting because I took mine about a week and a half after yours and my permit's gone already. Wonder if I should be expecting my score at the standard three weeks.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

That's interesting because I took mine about a week and a half after yours and my permit's gone already. Wonder if I should be expecting my score at the standard three weeks.

Has your scheduling period expired? Mine goes to February

 

[jakep2]

My scheduling permit expires end of this month. My link is still present, although if I click it it just gives me an error stating that permit isn't available because I already took the exam or registration is inactive.

With this whole permit disappearing thing, is it the link itself disappearing? Or the hyperlink giving an error as I mentioned above? I've never utilized this in the past so I'm pretty unfamiliar with how this works.

 

[jakep2]

Hope I’m not posting on a dead/dying thread.

This whole permit thing got me paranoid as mine is still there. So I asked a couple classmates who have informed me that they received their score report when their permit didn’t disappear.

A hopeful post for those of us still waiting and expecting results tomorrow!

 

[Ibrahim...]

Anyone waiting for the mark today.. please keep us updated
I took mine dec.18

 

[jakep2]

Anyone waiting for the mark today.. please keep us updated
I took mine dec.18

I’ll keep you posted. I am hoping the permit thing really isn’t true because mine is still there.


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[Ibrahim...]

I’ll keep you posted. I am hoping the permit thing really isn’t true because mine is still there.


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Mine too still there...

 

[DrGCM]

Anyone waiting for the mark today.. please keep us updated
I took mine dec.18

I'm an IMG, got my step 2 CK score today. Took my test on Dec 13th (1 week delay because of the holidays).

Did part of UWorld only once ˜ 70% of the questions;
Dedicated 2-3h/day (maximum) to step 2 studies;
Took my test 6 weeks after Step 1 (that was key!);

Qbank assessment test 1: 265 (4 weeks before)
Qbank assessment test 2: 262 (2 weeks before)

Didn't take NBME tests because my score for Step 1 was waaay underestimated (which obviously freaked me out)...

Real deal: 262

Recommendations for other fellows: Step 1 taught me that feeling hopeless/afraid before/after the test is just normal - it's also just a waste of time/energy.

Peace, focus and good luck for everyone!

 

[Ibrahim...]

I'm an IMG, got my step 2 CK score today. Took my test on Dec 13th (1 week delay because of the holidays).

Did part of UWorld only once ˜ 70% of the questions;
Dedicated 2-3h/day (maximum) to step 2 studies;
Took my test 6 weeks after Step 1 (that was key!);

Qbank assessment test 1: 265 (4 weeks before)
Qbank assessment test 2: 262 (2 weeks before)

Didn't take NBME tests because my score for Step 1 was waaay underestimated (which obviously freaked me out)...

Real deal: 262

Recommendations for other fellows: Step 1 taught me that feeling hopeless/afraid before/after the test is just normal - it's also just a waste of time/energy.

Peace, focus and good luck for everyone!

thanks, and congratulations for your score
it seems to next week

 

[NSánchez]

I'm an IMG, got my step 2 CK score today. Took my test on Dec 13th (1 week delay because of the holidays).

Did part of UWorld only once ˜ 70% of the questions;
Dedicated 2-3h/day (maximum) to step 2 studies;
Took my test 6 weeks after Step 1 (that was key!);

Qbank assessment test 1: 265 (4 weeks before)
Qbank assessment test 2: 262 (2 weeks before)

Didn't take NBME tests because my score for Step 1 was waaay underestimated (which obviously freaked me out)...

Real deal: 262

Recommendations for other fellows: Step 1 taught me that feeling hopeless/afraid before/after the test is just normal - it's also just a waste of time/energy.

Peace, focus and good luck for everyone!

Hi, congratulations on your score! Did you only do uworld or did you read anything else? I want to take the test in march but I dont know if only uworld would be enough?

 

[jakep2]

Congrats on the score!

I refuse to believe that scores are delayed! It’s still slightly past 11am... the days still young!


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[jakep2]

thanks, and congratulations for your score
it seems to next week

I just called the reps, they said that I will most likely get the score next week. Damnit!


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[GrabSlamBoot]

Score back today>260. Long story short just did Uworld. Practice tests were all over the place going from 235 to 260 on NBME 6. Felt pretty awful coming out of the exam. I think the curve is pretty generous on this so don’t worry you will be ok.

I def think Uworld is enough. I was a few years out from my clinical rotations.

 

[QueenJames]

.

 

[Liverpool1892]

Hey everyone... I'm new here... I'm planning to take my step 2 ck in two weeks time ... I'm half way through my Uworld first pass and I'm averaging around 77%. I did UWSA1 and scored a 260 ... Just wanted to ask whether I'm on the right track to a 260 on the real one or should I postpone the exam

 

[USMLE_Pro]

Hey Liverpool1892, I did exactly half of the Step 2 CK Qbank and got 83% correct. Scored a 267 on UWSA1, 274 on UWSA2 (both within a week of the actual) and scored a 281 on the real deal, so I would definitely argue against postponing (but you know yourself better than anyone else--if you tend to score significantly more poorly on the actual exam than practice tests in general, you should keep that in mind).

 

[DZKMD]

Well, this is not your average >260 on CK story. I'm a Mexican IMG, average med school student, no phenomenom.

I studied for 5 months around 8 hours a day. Step 1 score: 239. I read MTB2 and hated it, one month of Kaplan's QBank did UW twice, always random and timed. UW First pass 63%, then Kaplan's 75% and lastly UW 2nd pass 82.5%; my NBMEs where always below 255 and above 235. For me, UWSA were totally predictive and on the money. UWSA1 250 and UWSA2 240, Step 2: 246.

In the end, I feel very happy, aiming for a Family Medicine residency in California, so I'm within what's expected in an applicant.

So, for all the IMGs out there, if I could do it, ANYONE CAN. Cheers!!!

 

[Liverpool1892]

Hey Liverpool1892, I did exactly half of the Step 2 CK Qbank and got 83% correct. Scored a 267 on UWSA1, 274 on UWSA2 (both within a week of the actual) and scored a 281 on the real deal, so I would definitely argue against postponing (but you know yourself better than anyone else--if you tend to score significantly more poorly on the actual exam than practice tests in general, you should keep that in mind).

Hey thank you.... Guess I'll just do UWSA2 before I decide✌

 

[sja9090]

I want to start preparing for step 2 ck and give the exam end of April! Can you please help me with the best resources to use during this period.

I have not heard much about kaplan videos and there are mixed reviews on kaplan notes. What about Step up to medicine and MTB and onlinemed videos? Somebody please help!

 

[sss2g2]

I want to start preparing for step 2 ck and give the exam end of April! Can you please help me with the best resources to use during this period.

I have not heard much about kaplan videos and there are mixed reviews on kaplan notes. What about Step up to medicine and MTB and onlinemed videos? Somebody please help!

OnlineMedEd and Uworld.

 

[sja9090]

OnlineMedEd and Uworld.

Thank you for your reply!
So you would not recommend reading MTB also? And what would you recimmend will be the ideal way to do uworld? Subject wise so it can be used as an assessment tool?

 

[jakep2]

Thank you for your reply!
So you would not recommend reading MTB also? And what would you recimmend will be the ideal way to do uworld? Subject wise so it can be used as an assessment tool?

I haven't gotten back my score report yet, but I thought I'd give some input.

I gave myself 3-4 weeks of dedicated studying, I used MTB and UWorld (mostly as an assessment tool, but I did read explanations to learn things here and there). I used UW in random, timed, tutor mode. I think it's better to use UW in random (rather than by subject or specialty) because if it is done by subject/specialty, then sometimes you can eliminate a couple answers just by knowing which subject you are being tested in.

If you allocated a generous amount of time for dedicated studying, I'd say attempt various resources and methods for yourself and see what works best for you. Everyone has different foundation of knowledge and learn differently.

Good luck.

EDIT: I also used OME for like a week or so, and dropped it because I honestly felt the information was either outdated/incorrect or too shallow to perform well on the actual exam. (Others would probably say the same for MTB, though).

 

[Infin!ty]

Thank you for your reply!
So you would not recommend reading MTB also? And what would you recimmend will be the ideal way to do uworld? Subject wise so it can be used as an assessment tool?

In my opinion MTB and onlinemeded are essentially similar, so I would do either/or depending on whether you are a video or book learner. They both give you a 1000 foot overview of what's on the test without getting into the details that might separate a 230 vs a 240, 250.

For the "details", I would refer to SUTM and UpToDate while doing UWorld.

 

[Ibrahim...]

Hello guys,

Those who expecting thier score tomorrow, wanted to update you that my scheduling permit disappeared today, even though mine ends on feb.28, tomorrow is the 4th wed for me.

 

[sja9090]

I haven't gotten back my score report yet, but I thought I'd give some input.

I gave myself 3-4 weeks of dedicated studying, I used MTB and UWorld (mostly as an assessment tool, but I did read explanations to learn things here and there). I used UW in random, timed, tutor mode. I think it's better to use UW in random (rather than by subject or specialty) because if it is done by subject/specialty, then sometimes you can eliminate a couple answers just by knowing which subject you are being tested in.

If you allocated a generous amount of time for dedicated studying, I'd say attempt various resources and methods for yourself and see what works best for you. Everyone has different foundation of knowledge and learn differently.

Good luck.

EDIT: I also used OME for like a week or so, and dropped it because I honestly felt the information was either outdated/incorrect or too shallow to perform well on the actual exam. (Others would probably say the same for MTB, though).

Thank you! That is really helpful!

 

[sja9090]

In my opinion MTB and onlinemeded are essentially similar, so I would do either/or depending on whether you are a video or book learner. They both give you a 1000 foot overview of what's on the test without getting into the details that might separate a 230 vs a 240, 250.

For the "details", I would refer to SUTM and UpToDate while doing UWorld.

Thank you for your help!

 

[MudPhudHopeful]

TL;DR: Took the CK exam on Saturday, 12/30, and got my score back today: 244. Not great by SDN standards, but I am satisfied with it. Just read subject specific resources. Did not do any questions or self-assessments. More detail below.


Background: MD/PhD student (Step 1 - 233 back in 2011); Coming back into my MS3 year after five years in the lab was rough, since I forgot literally everything and didn't even remember some of the most basic stuff. To top it all off I defended late, made even more late since my school made curriculum changes during my PhD which shorted MS2 and lengthened MS3, so the MS3 year started earlier after I finished compared to when I started grad school. The net result was I was always being compared to my peers who were five months ahead of me and fresh out of step 1. Needless to say my shelf scores were rough (passing cutoffs were almost always 10% nationally at my school). Barely passed the first two shelves, failed the third (Peds, which was the first clerkship that really required a broad knowledge base of medicine, which I hadn't had yet), but my subsequent shelves including the retake showed a definite upward trend with my most recent shelf at the 61% mark nationally, which is not great by SDN standards, but it told me that I was doing something right.

Study strategy: I basically stuck with what worked for me for step 1 and throughout this last MS3 year, which was very much the opposite of what everyone says to do on here. I simply read the recommended textbooks during my clerkships (ie Beckman for OB/GYN, Nelson's Essentials of Pediatrics for Peds, Symptom to Diagnosis for Medicine) without doing questions. I don't think I ever successfully finished a given textbook during a rotation (I'm a slow reader; see below), unless it was short, like Blueprints for Neurology, but I ultimately made the effort to finish reading those textbooks at some point, like during winter break. Due to my late start, I did not finish my third year clerkships until early October of this year, after which I had a week with three interviews, then I started my medicine sub-I. I started reading SUTM during the interviews prior to my sub-I, throughout my month-long sub-I, and finished it up shortly after my medicine sub-I ended (I'm a slow reader and my strategy is to try to read and retain everything on a slow, single pass). About 1.5 weeks after my medicine sub-I ended I took step 2 CS. I only was able to get through all the minicases and a few of the full-length cases from FA with a friend prior to taking CS, because I felt like I had to prioritize CK. After CS was done, I had 4 weeks off to study for CK. During this time I was going on 2-3 interviews a week, or on holiday break with family during Christmas week, so it wasn't purely focused time as I would've liked. After I finished SUTM, I read through about 3/4 of BRS pediatrics (didn't finish it before my test date), read through all Blueprints OB/GYN, went through an 800-card anki flashcard deck for surgery (pestanas + pretest) that I got from a friend, a 1500 card psych deck that I made during my rotation from FA psychiatry, and finally the Step up to step 2 CK chapter on stats/bioethics. I did not do any questions or any self-assessments.

Test Day: Overall, I thought the test was fair and comparable to the difficulty of questions I had seen on my shelves. I had timing issues on the first block and had to guess randomly on at least 6 questions, but that is because I was stupid didn't use the strategy of reading the question and glancing through the answers first before reading the stem. After I switched to that approach and was able to finish each block with a few minutes left.

 

[MemberYAY]

UWorld Questions: first pass was by organ system in order to study for shelf exam (Average 60%); second pass shuffled for step 2 ck (Average 74%)

NBME 7: 226 (5 days before test)
Actual score Step 2 CK: 249

Reflection
-doing uworld questions everyday helped with timing
-would have taken uwsa practice test instead to boost confidence
-there is no way to prepare for the endurance required for this 9 hour test, so the best way is to know yourself - know when you are starting to tire out and need a break during the exam. there was a strong correlation in my practice uworld question sets between being more tired and lower scores.

 

[FlourWaterSaltYeast]

I figured I'd post here.

Score: 257

10 days earlier UWSA1: 234

I studied for 10 days in December. The first 8 days, I just did about 100-200 UWorld questions a day, averaging about 140. By the end, I'd done about 1300. I did NOT read the whole answer and definitely did not read the wrong answers. Just the educational objective.

On the last day, I watched one of the Emma Holliday videos and made my way through most of her powerpoints. I also read the educational objectives for about 400 more UWorld questions.

The thing which most helped was just doing UWorld blocks. I was very conditioned by test day. The actual test was a breeze and I was unfazed. The previous 8 days I was doing more UWorld questions, faster.

In the end, I was just trying to pass this thing in preparation for match day. Turned out doing alright (just below average for my specialty).

Best of luck to everyone.

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Step 1 - 218
UWSA1 - 240
UWSA2 - 230
Step 2 - 241

I know it's not a set-the-world-on-fire score by SDN standards, but I'm pretty damn happy. Should keep me in the running for EM.
Just did Uworld and OnlineMedEd to prepare, not a thousand different resources.

For step 1, do you think uworld is enough to pull a 240 on the exam if one were to master all of the knowledge in the q bank (theoretically spreaking)

 

[USMLE_Pro]

For step 1, do you think uworld is enough to pull a 240 on the exam if one were to master all of the knowledge in the q bank (theoretically spreaking)

Totally depends on you. Theoretically yes, but my experience has been just UWorld is not enough for most students even if you use it in exactly the right way. Are you a good test taker?

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Totally depends on you. Theoretically yes, but my experience has been just UWorld is not enough for most students even if you use it in exactly the right way. Are you a good test taker?

Tbh im not a good test taker but im trying to improve by reducing my test anxiety which is the culprit for doing poorly on standardized exams. Any advice or tips?

 

[USMLE_Pro]

Tbh im not a good test taker but im trying to improve by reducing my test anxiety which is the culprit for doing poorly on standardized exams. Any advice or tips?

PM me with details (about your anxiety, why you think you're not a good test taker, test taking history, etc.) and I can give advice!

 

[LChristmas]

For step 1, do you think uworld is enough to pull a 240 on the exam if one were to master all of the knowledge in the q bank (theoretically spreaking)

You should use UW, FA, Pathoma, & sketchy micro. When you see the same thing presented in different ways, you are more likely to retain it for test day. As stated above, I don't think one resource is enough.