who else is sucking on USMLEWorld for Step 2 right now?

[sophiejane]

Come on, let's hear it from those brave ones among us...and no I don't want to hear from anyone claiming 75% from the beginning. I don't believe you, anyway.

I'm talking hanging onto 50% with our fingernails here.

I like to think that part of it is because I'm doing 100 Qs/day in a coffee shop while listening to pandora.com and checking in every song to rate it thumbs up or thumbs down, which may affect my concentration...

My plan is to do 2000 Qs in 20 days. So far I've done 400 and I'm making little anal notecards on things I get wrong and/or didn't know. It's taking forever.

Taking weekends off. Last 1.5 weeks for reading B&W, parts of FA, going over notecards, and NBME practice exam.

But I gotta say the percentages are kinda scary at this point...

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[DHMO]

Come on, let's hear it from those brave ones among us...and no I don't want to hear from anyone claiming 75% from the beginning. I don't believe you, anyway.

I'm talking hanging onto 50% with our fingernails here.

I like to think that part of it is because I'm doing 100 Qs/day in a coffee shop while listening to pandora.com and checking in every song to rate it thumbs up or thumbs down, which may affect my concentration...

My plan is to do 2000 Qs in 20 days. So far I've done 400 and I'm making little anal notecards on things I get wrong and/or didn't know. It's taking forever.

Taking weekends off. Last 1.5 weeks for reading B&W, parts of FA, going over notecards, and NBME practice exam.

But I gotta say the percentages are kinda scary at this point...

I'm with ya. Just got rocked at 54%. Ouch!

 

[manning18]

Technically, the conversion factor between USMLEworld (UW) and the actual
Step 2-CK exam is as follows:

Step 2-CK score = 2.3(UW average) + 84

The minimum UW score to pass Step 2-CK is, roughly, 43%, based on this formula. The two of you should be clearing 200 based on this formula. I think it's a bit optimistic, to the tune of 5-10%, however (ie one should be at 50%, maybe even 55% at the least to think they'll pass). That said, it might be smarter to use the questions to guide the remainder of your studying than to let the percentages freak you out. That's what I've done. I focused my studying on: OB/GYNE, Peds, Psych, Cardiology, GI, Heme/Onc, Neuro, Renal and Endocrine based on my UW results. By this, I mean that these are the sections I am reading carefully from First Aid, while the remainder of my studying (including both the acquisition of knowledge and questions) will come from UW. My scores were only 40-45% by the time I began this strategy about 2 weeks ago and I am now averaging around 50%. I hope to be in the 55%+ range by the end of the month or early next month, in which case I would be confident going into the exam. To the Original Poster, if you're really that concerned, I would recommend doing the questions is a more serious environment, without the noise of a coffee shop and other distractions on the web. Also, why take weekends off when you're concerned about passing and losing a few weekends here and there is much better than having to retake the exam? It's your decision, but you've basically said yourself that the pandora.com and coffee sop are distractions, so why bring them into the picture, when the exam and the UW questions are tough enough themselves?

 

[sophiejane]

To the Original Poster, if you're really that concerned, I would recommend doing the questions is a more serious environment, without the noise of a coffee shop and other distractions on the web. Also, why take weekends off when you're concerned about passing and losing a few weekends here and there is much better than having to retake the exam? It's your decision, but you've basically said yourself that the pandora.com and coffee sop are distractions, so why bring them into the picture, when the exam and the UW questions are tough enough themselves?

I was being a bit sarcastic about the coffee shop thing, which wasn't apparently too clear, but I appreciate the well-meant advice. I'm well aware of how to decrease distractions, having made it this far and having passed many standardized tests. My point was that I've just started studying and I'm not totally into it yet.

I'm also not worried about passing...and I'm not sure I put a lot of faith in that equation, anyway. There are so many factors.

My typical MO is to ramp up slowly with studying and I know I do my best learning in the week or so before the test, when I'm reviewing. I think 5 weeks, 2000 Q's and reading up on things I'm weak in is more than sufficient to pass the test.

 

[manning18]

It sounds like you've got a solid plan. I have about 5 weeks left myself (test date of
8-1-06). I'm not so sure I'd pass if the exam were, say, this Monday, but I do have a clear idea of what I need to do between now and then to boost my score. Regarding UW scores, a lot of the scores people have reported on this site have not necessarily been super high (ie 70%+). Most UW scores have fallen between 50-65%. If the posters are telling the truth between their UW scores and their Step 2-CK scores, the conversion has held up fairly well, as I have noticed people with UW scores between 50-60% scoring 200+, even in the 220s. The conversion predicts a score of 222 with a UW average of 60. Most people with UW scores of 60%+ have done quite well on Step 2, ie 230+. Good luck to you!

 

[wwspeeds]

All right. I'm giving my opinions and experiences here.

I've completed 71% of Qbank (kaplan)

I've completed 50% of UW with overall 68% average.

UW is quite a bit tougher than Qbank, with my scores about 6% higher in Qbank. (I also did UW second so the knowledge I gained from Qbank must be taken into account). I also think the UW questions are better written and force you to think more -- i.e. less buzzwords. I'm not gonna do kaplan qbank anymore.

The only studying I have done is with B&W (2nd ed) , Crush (read it once) and USMLE step2 secrets (which I read once); I've been taking notes diligently on the concepts I don't understand from the q-banks and reviewing those. I think Step2secrets/Crush (the same damn book and author ba$ically)
is an excellent outline of the basic important knowledge and concepts that will be on the exam for sure, with B&W containing a lot more detail, and finally the q-banks providing practice of application and learning even more detail. I'd focus on knowing everything in Crush/Step2secrets before worrying too much about the minutae in the q-banks.

g'luck everyone. (my test is this thursday)
ww

 

[sophiejane]

woo hoo! Cleared 50%, finally! It must have been that 72% that helped me bounce back from the previous day's 36%

There sure does seem to be a lot of treatment specific stuff in UW. Big emphasis on what to do first, second, etc. Some of it seems a bit esoteric, to be honest. Quibbling over whether to do esophagoscopy or 24 hour pH testing or trial of H2 blockers first for GERD, etc. And sometimes they contradict themselves.

But overall I'm happy I chose it over Kaplan. I'm learning a lot by going slow and reading all the explanations.

 

[wwspeeds]

hey -- nice job.

I think UW is much better; I've been recommending it to my classmates (the ones I don't dislike).

ww

 

[sophiejane]

hey -- nice job.

I think UW is much better; I've been recommending it to my classmates (the ones I don't dislike).

ww

Good luck on Thursday! Sounds like you are in good shape.

Be sure to check back in and tell us how you did...

 

[wwspeeds]

thanks; even though my scores are okay, I feel very uncomfortable when i'm taking those UW practice blocks - they make me feel dirty all over. Like i'm answering from the gut . Maybe I just need some confidence.

-- and if you hear from me again on this board, it's because I did well (isn't that how it works on these messageboards anyway?)

ww

 

[sophiejane]

thanks; even though my scores are okay, I feel very uncomfortable when i'm taking those UW practice blocks - they make me feel dirty all over. Like i'm answering from the gut . Maybe I just need some confidence.

-- and if you hear from me again on this board, it's because I did well (isn't that how it works on these messageboards anyway?)

ww

On the contrary, I think answering from the gut means that you have internalized the information and are using your instincts. That's a great place to be. Not that the gut is always right, but I find when I follow my instincts, I'm more often right than wrong.

Of course it's good once you have a gut reaction to be able to explain it rationally,but sometimes you can't--and in those situations I think you just have to go gut all the way!

Best of luck.

 

[wwspeeds]

haha - thanks

that "from the gut" thing was also reference to stephen colbert

 

[moviefreak]

I certainly feel I am using a lot of intuition with UW. Sometimes I say (to myself, of course) "bring it on" I know I can make an educated guess. Then there are times when I 'd just get a series of wrongs and I feel like, in the words of my friend, "a chicken pecking on the keyboard could have done better." I mean come on, I should be able to get greater than 20% in a 5-choice question. But in the end of the 46-question run, it all sums up to around 50% and I say to myself, "this test is going to be a coin toss." that's all. rant ovah for now.

 

[applecore]

After having done 80% of UW questions and an NBME practice exam, I must say that UW questions seem to be much easier than the NBME. I can usually get the answer right on UW by picking out the buzz words. Half the time I dont even read the full question. I wonder if this will get me in trouble when I take the actual exam. Anyone else feel the same?

 

[wwspeeds]

I thought the 138 NBME questions were much easier than UW's. Friends who have taken the real step2 generally say the exam is similar to UW in length per question, but easier in terms of content.

depends on what you mean by "buzzsaws" -- any collection of a few words can be "buzzsaws" for any diagnosis. like "post mi + JVD + clear lungs + no pulsus" = RV infarct. i mean, sure, there are sometimes classic buzzsaws like "weepy crusty rash" but it'll be somewhat similar on the real test, I'd hope.

 

[Bevo]

I dunno. I had been doing reasonably well on UW, ~58-60% right then I took nbme #1 and expected a low passing grade. I just bombed the nbme exam. I found the questions harder than UW. I scored the equiv to a 176 or something.

This was about a month or more ago I think. Since then I've changed my study approach with the material, started kaplan live lectures this past week. We'll see what happens.

Using Kaplan materials plus UW primarily. Aiming for the end of august for the exam, but considering my commute time, and I'm essentially participating in research and still in clinicals (albeit a very light elective) I might have to push my test back some.

 

[gunit07]

this might be stupid or naive, but i dont understand how these percentages can correlate to your score....
i get about a 50-60% when i take the test before I study or after just reviewing first aid.
but after i REALLY study, i usually get around an 80%
but that means my average includes 50s and 80s.... and it's not really representative of what i know right? though I am sure i'll forget some things by the time the test rolls around.. it's not like i can review EVERYTHING the day before... so who knows...
all i know is i hate the usmle.

 

[gunit07]

also, i never heard of pandora.com before i read this post - it seems cool!!

 

[sophiejane]

also, i never heard of pandora.com before i read this post - it seems cool!!

It's very addictive.

I agree about the correlation...my percentages are all over the place, from 36% to 68%...but the overall trend has been upward. I haven't really cracked a book yet--just exclusively doing Q's for the first 1000, then I'll do book study for a week and see how I do on the 2nd half.

Best of luck.

 

[dynx]

this might be stupid or naive, but i dont understand how these percentages can correlate to your score....
i get about a 50-60% when i take the test before I study or after just reviewing first aid.
but after i REALLY study, i usually get around an 80%
but that means my average includes 50s and 80s.... and it's not really representative of what i know right? though I am sure i'll forget some things by the time the test rolls around.. it's not like i can review EVERYTHING the day before... so who knows...
all i know is i hate the usmle.

Are you talking about studying a subject and then taking the test in just those subjects? I think most people are refering to the scores they are getting on 46 question blocks including ALL the subjects.

 

[wwspeeds]

ok, it's all over. The test, that is.

I felt that the subject matter was no more difficult than UW, but there was something just unsettling about that test. Usually for UW, I can say " I am picking this answer for these reasons" but during the real thing, I felt vaguely uncomfortable with a lot of the questions. Maybe a third of them.

I notice that they definitely insert a lot more garbage into the stem to distract you. Seemed like everyone had a huge smoking history and vague complaints. They generally did tend to stay away from buzz words, using more generalized descriptions (not surprising). And there were tons of physiology questions. Instead of asking for the diagnosis, they'd ask "what is the underlying cause of the presentation?" -- Something like that.

Fatigue also played a factor for me. After the first 5-6 hours, my brain started to become blurry. It felt increasingly difficult to filter out the garbage in the stems.

At least I stayed awake for the entire test. Big accomplishment for me.

 

[sophiejane]

Yippee! It's OVER!!



I felt the same way about Step I...just unsettling...there were so many Q's that I answered from my gut. Apparently my gut knows about 85% of what my brain is supposed to know.

Thanks for the tip about physiology...sounds like I need to hit FA a little harder.

Congrats!

 

[DNASplicer]

yeah, i am all over the board on UW. I can hit 50% then 70%. Those were small blocks of 20 ?s though. Now I am ramping up my studying with 150?s/day.

I think for me that's a key point: be able to answer ? after ? for freaking hours on end! It seems like now after 45 min of questions my brain gets bored. It's tough to keep sitting, clicking and thinking...

Thanks for the tip on step 2. I did notice today that many of the UW ?s are ... what's the underlying cause for this condition.

Keep your chin fwd y'all! Good luck with your studying!

 

[lama]

OK people... just got done taking the nbme step 2 assesment online... didn't score what I thought I would, nor did it correlate with my UW preparation. I have been scoring in the high 60's on UW, have completed 75% of the questions. I noticed a couple of huge differences between the nbme assesment and UW:

The NBME test questions were shorter, much more detailed with superfluous information and distractors, to the point that it was confusing as hell trying to decide what they are even talking about, much less what they're asking. Funny thing is, the style reminded me a lot of step 1.

UW, as most of you know, has long question stems that are fairly easy to follow. However, there are a fair number of zebras, minutia and "out-there" questions.

Just wondering if anyone else has made similar observations? I would highly recommend doing one of the three assesment tests before the real thing. If the nbme writes the real thing and these assesments mirror the real thing, it would be wise to get some practice with their writing style so you aren't so used to UW that it throws you off, like it did me. Im planning to take at least one more assesment before the real thing, not so much for the score, but for the practice. I'd be interested in anyones opinion or experiences with the above observations. Good luck everyone.