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msVII

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I took step 2 CK yesterday and coming out I felt AWFUL. *I really feel like I could have failed. *I couldnt sleep the night before (maybe I got two hours) and by the last two blocks I was so tired and frustrated I started to kind of despair. *Anybody else feel like this coming out? Or am I totally screwed? :scared:

Thought my prep was ok. Uworld average was 67-68. Uwsa four days before the exam was 236(but this felt much easier to me than the real thing).
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i would say most people do feel pretty awful coming out of the step 2, even though it's supposed to be "easier" than step 1. 67-68 uworld average is pretty solid, and your UWSA isn't something to be worried about either.
 
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msVII said:
I took step 2 CK yesterday and coming out I felt AWFUL. *I really feel like I could have failed. *I couldnt sleep the night before (maybe I got two hours) and by the last two blocks I was so tired and frustrated I started to kind of despair. *Anybody else feel like this coming out? Or am I totally screwed? :scared:

Thought my prep was ok. Uworld average was 67-68. Uwsa four days before the exam was 236(but this felt much easier to me than the real thing).
Click to expand...

Not uncommon. Admittedly, I didn't feel awful, but I didn't feel good. I was frustrated and I kept remembering easy questions that I missed. Anytime you take an 8 hour test, you're fonna feel like crap. It's the academic equivalent of running a marathon.

Try to relax. Good luck.
 
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I haven't taken Step 2 yet, but I felt great coming out of Step 1. My score turned out to be about 25 points lower than expected.

So, by that logic, if you feel awful, your score will probably be amazing.
 
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Lol, I share Shan's experience regarding Step 1.

Hopefully I don't have a "feeling" coming out from Step 2 on account of the handsome amount of liquor I will have consumed.

IV 5% ETOH Bolus is where its at.
 
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msVII said:
I took step 2 CK yesterday and coming out I felt AWFUL. *I really feel like I could have failed. *I couldnt sleep the night before (maybe I got two hours) and by the last two blocks I was so tired and frustrated I started to kind of despair. *Anybody else feel like this coming out? Or am I totally screwed? :scared:

Thought my prep was ok. Uworld average was 67-68. Uwsa four days before the exam was 236(but this felt much easier to me than the real thing).
Click to expand...


I took the exam on the 24th. I also found it to be very difficult. There weren't very many gimme's. I am quite unsure of how I did. I can only hope and pray for the best. Majority of the questions were vague at best. I even found the abstracts and drug ads to be challenging.

I had UW avg of mid 60's, with second round of about 81%. Uwsa was 224. I actually found uw questions and uwsa to be much more straight forward than the real exam itself. I felt horrible after taking step 1 but was pleasantly surprised with a very respectable score. Hoping and praying for the same this time as well.

The first block I found to be okay. Second block was little more challenging. The rest were, well, crazy. I was unsure of nearly half my answers from block 3 onwards. By the last block my mind was so fried that I think I could have made silly mistakes even on kindergarten level questions. You are not alone, many of us have to go through this crazy uncertainty for next 3-4 weeks.
 
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I took mine the 25th and felt exactly the same! You are not alone in this one, now is just the waiting what kills!
 
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shan564 said:
I haven't taken Step 2 yet, but I felt great coming out of Step 1. My score turned out to be about 25 points lower than expected.

So, by that logic, if you feel awful, your score will probably be amazing.
Click to expand...

Well, I just took the test, and I know exactly how you guys feel. I hope I was right with my previous comment...
 
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septoplasty said:
Any tips?

How many drug ads / abstract q's did you have? I'm freaking out about those considering the sheer lenght of the stupid questions.
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I had a handful. I wouldn't stress over them. About half were ridiculously easy - I mean, felt like a trick question it was so easy. The other half were really tough and I don't think a lot of studying will change the result.

Moral of the story, don't stress over the drug q's.
 
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septoplasty said:
Any tips?

How many drug ads / abstract q's did you have? I'm freaking out about those considering the sheer lenght of the stupid questions.
Click to expand...

I think I had one huge abstract with about 3 ridiculous questions. I guessed on all 3 questions without even reading the article. The drug ads were actually pretty easy. I didn't feel totally like crap after I took it but I didn't feel that good about it and I still scored a 258. So my advice would be guess on those and answer the rest of the test and go back if you have time.
 
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I also had a tough abstract with three questions and it was hard to grasp, I took my educated guess on those. The drug abs were not as bad as those in Uworld.
 
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septoplasty said:
Any tips?
Click to expand...

Depends on how much time you have. If I could go back in time, the biggest thing I'd change would be to spend more time on Secrets and the new Kaplan HY program. Everybody says that UW is like gold, but I didn't think that my exam had a lot of concepts that I learned from UW... maybe I just didn't do UW correctly.



How many drug ads / abstract q's did you have? I'm freaking out about those considering the sheer lenght of the stupid questions.
Click to expand...

I had three drug ads and one abstract. As far as time - I hadn't realized this previously, but they actually give you a bit more time for the sections that contain drug ads and abstracts... instead of 44 questions, you only have to do 42 questions.

I had one abstract with three questions and three drug ads with two questions each. So there were a total of 9 questions involving drugs ads/abstracts. I think that there was only one that I wasn't too sure about, but it was a vague/poorly-written question, so I'm hoping that it was experimental. The other 8 were pretty straightforward... but I have a bit of experience in drug research, so maybe it was disproportionately easier for me.
 
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septoplasty said:
Any tips?

How many drug ads / abstract q's did you have? I'm freaking out about those considering the sheer lenght of the stupid questions.
Click to expand...

I took mine last week and agree with the above posters about the drug ads- either it was stupid and simplistic or you have no clue. I had 3 blocks, 2 with ads and one w an abstract. the ads are shorter than in UW. There were some tricky stats questions not associated with the ads/abstracts on mine.

I also felt like I failed- coming out of this and out of step 1- and I got a 250 on step 1 so I'm hoping that's a good thing.
 
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shan564 said:
Depends on how much time you have. If I could go back in time, the biggest thing I'd change would be to spend more time on Secrets and the new Kaplan HY program. Everybody says that UW is like gold, but I didn't think that my exam had a lot of concepts that I learned from UW... maybe I just didn't do UW correctly.





I had three drug ads and one abstract. As far as time - I hadn't realized this previously, but they actually give you a bit more time for the sections that contain drug ads and abstracts... instead of 44 questions, you only have to do 42 questions.

I had one abstract with three questions and three drug ads with two questions each. So there were a total of 9 questions involving drugs ads/abstracts. I think that there was only one that I wasn't too sure about, but it was a vague/poorly-written question, so I'm hoping that it was experimental. The other 8 were pretty straightforward... but I have a bit of experience in drug research, so maybe it was disproportionately easier for me.
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Hm, never heard of Kaplan HY Program, but with limited time (3 weeks, of which 1 is going towards finishing UW) I dont think I want to start anything new, I'll stick to MTB 2/3 for last couple weeks and UW notes. Still have to do a couple NBME's to see where I'm at. Feel notoriously short of time.

I didn't know about the 42 questions/block, that sounds reasonable I guess.
 
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I also feel like I bombed my exam. Took it on 7/20 and have been avoiding SDN since :p to be honest, I only check in on Wednesday's to get an idea of when my results will come out.

the drug ads were horrible for me...the verbal comp section of the MCAT was always my worst and I had moments of PTSD during CK. I think I guessed a lot on those (ads), and on probably 40-50% of the exam. It felt really hard, sadly, but it's kind of helpful that others have experienced the same thing.

I honestly don't think I would change much (so I say now...). I probably should have done my ob/gyn rotation before the exam...otherwise I liked UW and Secrets.
 
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I feel the exact same as the rest of you. Took mine today. Absolutely dreadful. I got 250+ on Step I and felt like crap afte that too... but this felt worse for some reason. Why does everyone say Step 2 is easier than 1? It definitely did not feel that way for me. So many low-yield left field vague questions. Ambiguous. So damn ambiguous.
 
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msVII said:
I took step 2 CK yesterday and coming out I felt AWFUL. *I really feel like I could have failed. *I couldnt sleep the night before (maybe I got two hours) and by the last two blocks I was so tired and frustrated I started to kind of despair. *Anybody else feel like this coming out? Or am I totally screwed? :scared:

Thought my prep was ok. Uworld average was 67-68. Uwsa four days before the exam was 236(but this felt much easier to me than the real thing).
Click to expand...

I started this thread in a panic a couple of weeks ago (as you can see above); I got my score back this week, and to my very pleasant surprise I ended up with a 241. I really did walk out feeling awful, and up to the time I saw my score report, I still felt like I could have easily failed. I just wanted to follow-up on my original post in the hopes that this thread might help to give hope to another test-taker that walks out of the exam feeling the way I did. :)
 
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hopelessmd said:
I feel the exact same as the rest of you. Took mine today. Absolutely dreadful. I got 250+ on Step I and felt like crap afte that too... but this felt worse for some reason. Why does everyone say Step 2 is easier than 1? It definitely did not feel that way for me. So many low-yield left field vague questions. Ambiguous. So damn ambiguous.
Click to expand...

I found the exam to be harder than step 1, in that I found each question more challenging than step 1. However, it was easier in the sense that I got about the same score for 1/5 of the dedicated study time.
 
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msVII said:
I started this thread in a panic a couple of weeks ago (as you can see above); I got my score back this week, and to my very pleasant surprise I ended up with a 241. I really did walk out feeling awful, and up to the time I saw my score report, I still felt like I could have easily failed. I just wanted to follow-up on my original post in the hopes that this thread might help to give hope to another test-taker that walks out of the exam feeling the way I did. :)
Click to expand...

Nice job dude...

Can you tell me what the average score and standard deviation listed on your score report was?

If someone else recently who got their score back wants to chime in, that would be great as well.....
 
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princechef said:
Nice job dude...

Can you tell me what the average score and standard deviation listed on your score report was?

If someone else recently who got their score back wants to chime in, that would be great as well.....
Click to expand...

Average was 233, Sd 22.
 
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msVII said:
I started this thread in a panic a couple of weeks ago (as you can see above); I got my score back this week, and to my very pleasant surprise I ended up with a 241. I really did walk out feeling awful, and up to the time I saw my score report, I still felt like I could have easily failed. I just wanted to follow-up on my original post in the hopes that this thread might help to give hope to another test-taker that walks out of the exam feeling the way I did. :)
Click to expand...

Nicely done. :thumbup:
 
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msVII said:
I took step 2 CK yesterday and coming out I felt AWFUL. *I really feel like I could have failed. *I couldnt sleep the night before (maybe I got two hours) and by the last two blocks I was so tired and frustrated I started to kind of despair. *Anybody else feel like this coming out? Or am I totally screwed? :scared:

Thought my prep was ok. Uworld average was 67-68. Uwsa four days before the exam was 236(but this felt much easier to me than the real thing).
Click to expand...
msVII - I think we had the same exam based on the number of questions you had and level of difficulty. I hardly got any sleep the night before as well.

Super depressed after the step 2 ck - Chocolate in one hand and pizza in the other. I'm depressed to the point of freaking out every day. I took it Aug 22nd, results won't be out until Sept 26th (even though I've called USMLE and know the results are just sitting there). I thought my prep was okay too - averaging 75-85, sometimes 90's on usmleworld but still feel like I failed. Questions were so left field - tiny details and many were just ambiguous. I studied my arse off (went over UW 3 times!) I can't believe how hopeless I feel.

BTW...in order to calm myself down I started re-studying UW - every question and every answer choice, looking up details of each answer choice from varying sources. I remembered A LOT from the exam while doing this.

I just hope I passed. Took a gamble and sent my residency app in yesterday. I guess I'm ALL IN. Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice. I could take it again and focus WAY more on details, management etc... Still freaked out and very depressed. They don't make these tests so you feel good afterwards.

I did get some hope when I saw your post. Beforehand I just felt completely alone. It urged me to join the sdn. thanks
 
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medcrazytrain said:
msVII - I think we had the same exam based on the number of questions you had and level of difficulty. I hardly got any sleep the night before as well. Chocolate in one hand and pizza in the other - super depressed after the exam. I mean to the point of freaking out every day. I took it Aug 22nd, results won't be out until Sept 26th. I thought my prep was okay too - averaging 75-85, sometimes 90's on usmleworld but still feel like I failed. Questions were so left field - tiny details and many were just ambiguous. I did get some hope when I saw your post. it urged me to join the sdn. thanks
Click to expand...

i walked out feeling terrible too and i made a 245, which is less then my step 1. i still feel terrible about it since everyone on studentdoctor makes a 260+. hopefully they aren't applying to neuro!!!!!!
 
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msVII said:
I started this thread in a panic a couple of weeks ago (as you can see above); I got my score back this week, and to my very pleasant surprise I ended up with a 241. I really did walk out feeling awful, and up to the time I saw my score report, I still felt like I could have easily failed. I just wanted to follow-up on my original post in the hopes that this thread might help to give hope to another test-taker that walks out of the exam feeling the way I did. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah this makes me feel a little better
 
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It is now a different exam - much more difficult than it was before. They changed the format and all the questions. That's why folks who took it in July and August are completely freaked out. Initially it was quite a bit easier than step 1. I guess the USMLE wasn't making enough money off our failures.
 
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medcrazytrain said:
It is now a different exam - much more difficult than it was before. They changed the format and all the questions. That's why folks who took it in July and August are completely freaked out. Initially it was quite a bit easier than step 1. I guess the USMLE wasn't making enough money off our failures.
Click to expand...

tumblr_lw9u8fwJ0s1qhik5p.jpg
 
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medcrazytrain said:
It is now a different exam - much more difficult than it was before. They changed the format and all the questions. That's why folks who took it in July and August are completely freaked out. Initially it was quite a bit easier than step 1. I guess the USMLE wasn't making enough money off our failures.
Click to expand...

So all the grades are going to be trending down? Would they really fail that many people? Would they not curve? That absolutely sucks.
 
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gbejna said:
I have to ask this: Is this rumor or do you have proof?

Changing ALL the questions sounds like loads of work and it is highly unlikely to make such a radical overhaul.

I do like that maybe the exam is now harder so that the Step 2 curve moves towards the Step 1 curve. That common 20-point increase from Step 1 to Step 2 was really more of a confidence booster than actually meaning that one had more knowledge. Step 2 CK should start being the real influencing factor. Clinical knowledge trumps basic science knowledge any day of the week, and nobody can deny that.
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Given, I haven't taken step 2 yet (just started MS3) but I have been doing the USMLE world q-bank on my phone during downtimes (ie anesthesia rotation while the patient is resting comfortably) and have been averaging around 85%, not having studied specifically for step 2 (254 on step 1). It really seems that, you'll score about what you got on Step 1 without much work. I wouldn't mind if it was made a bit harder, though it'll suck that there will be no q-banks of the appropriate difficulty.
 
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gbejna said:
I have to ask this: Is this rumor or do you have proof?

Changing ALL the questions sounds like loads of work and it is highly unlikely to make such a radical overhaul.

I do like that maybe the exam is now harder so that the Step 2 curve moves towards the Step 1 curve. That common 20-point increase from Step 1 to Step 2 was really more of a confidence booster than actually meaning that one had more knowledge. Step 2 CK should start being the real influencing factor. Clinical knowledge trumps basic science knowledge any day of the week, and nobody can deny that.
Click to expand...

Yeah I will say the exam was pretty hard but I still did better, absolute points wise. And the average for my cohort was still better than the typical step 1 average, which is maybe in the low 220s. My group's average was 237. So if I had to hazard a guess I'd say the exam hasn't been changed all that much.
 
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Waqas1184 said:
.
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You're full of ****. You just reported your STEP 2 CK score as a 272 in another thread yet you took it last week. If you're going to spam the forum with your advertisements at least make the story internally consistent. Your employer will appreciate it.
 
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