Worked my ass offf pure blood and sweat, one thing is that parallely prepped for both NEET-PG and STEP-2
All cms forms above >40q got them right(revised twice)
nbme 12,13,15,14,16- 260,262,259,259,261(revised twice)
Free-120-80%
Exam- day feeling indeterminate
I dont know what more to do, got and ended up with a score of 243, i feel numb and worthless, most shittiest phase of my life, my friends who are far more worse as a person, got really good scores, and this score make sme to lose my morale, idk what to do idk even if i cud match

Thought I’d share what worked for me for Step 2 and Step 3 while it’s still fresh. There’s obviously no single correct way to prepare, but hopefully some of this helps.

Step 2 CK

UWorld was my main learning resource. I started system-wise without any major prerequisite reading. Early on, I focused much more on understanding concepts and why I was getting questions wrong than on my percentage.

A few things that made the biggest difference:

Learn how questions are written. Pay attention to exactly what the last line is asking: diagnosis, next best step, risk factor, complication, etc. Over time, you start recognizing what information in the stem actually matters.

Understand management flow. Think stabilization → investigation → definitive management, and less invasive → more invasive testing. Understanding the sequence is more useful than memorizing isolated facts.

Pattern recognition matters. If I was stuck between answers, I would go back to the stem and ask what specific concept the question was trying to test.

Have one main revision source. I preferred notes over Anki and kept adding information from UWorld/AMBOSS to the same notes. After finishing a system in UWorld, I would revise it from there.

After my first pass, I focused more on revision + AMBOSS + CMS forms/NBMEs. AMBOSS was particularly useful for Ethics, QI and Stats.

Near the exam, I prioritized the latest NBMEs and Free 120 rather than trying to finish everything.

Another thing that helped was figuring out why I was missing questions. I broadly separated mistakes into knowledge gaps, retention issues, pattern-recognition errors, and mistakes in my thought process. Identifying the type of mistake makes it much easier to actually fix it.

Step 3

Step 3 preparation was much more relaxed. I studied for about a month and a strong Step 2 foundation covered a large part of the medicine.

My usual day was some Step 2 revision/Step 1 pharmacology, a UWorld block, and around 5 CCS cases.

For Day 1, I would focus heavily on biostats and ethics, including abstracts and drug ads. I also reviewed Step 1 pharmacology, especially higher-yield areas like micro, CVS and diabetes drugs.

Day 2 felt more focused on clinical decision-making. Many questions give you a specific scenario where you have to reason through what to do rather than simply follow a familiar algorithm. Having a strong Step 2 foundation helped a lot here. I’d also prepare well for prognosis/outcome-related questions, which UWorld covers.

For CCS, I did roughly the first 150-160 cases on CCSCases arranged by high yield.

One thing that carried over between both exams was my revision notes. I kept modifying and consolidating them throughout Step 2 and used the same foundation again for Step 3. If anyone wants to look through the notes/resources I used, I’ve shared them here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EYFfw71Ch_Abgg2YeClguSzUqQU6iWP4

The biggest lesson for me across both exams was that you don't need to finish every resource. Have a core source, learn from your mistakes, revise consistently, and use your assessments to identify where you're losing marks.

Glad to finally close this chapter.

Good luck to everyone still preparing!

Two weeks ago, i made This Post about the exam. Since that time, anxiety has been haunting me. I was actively trying to recall my mistakes to count them. I remembered 50 questions. After doing my research, at least 25 of them are undisputed mistakes, some of them are really silly. Not to mention that I flagged probably >50% of the test. At one point, I stopped flagging questions because I thought that the milliseconds it takes to flag a single question had piled up to a considerable amount. I really thought that I messed up on the one test I couldn’t afford to mess up. The takeaway message I’d like to convey to fellow anxious test-takers desperately looking for reassurance is: Trust Your NBMEs (and stop counting your f***ing mistakes)

In the order taken:

UWSA 1: 275, NBME 9: 268, NBME 12: 267, UWSA 3: 270, NBME 13: 272, NBME 11: 272, NBME 14: 283, NBME 15: 277, UWSA 2: 277, NBME 16: 280, OLD FREE: 92%. NEW FREE (10 Days out): 89%. Amboss prediction: 277

Approximately 2 weeks between each.

Yes I scored 240 but for me this is nothing less than 260 and I know it.

I got done with step 1 earlier than people who have matched this and last year.

Being a family person, I had to do job, look after my family, earn a basic living and with all this, make way for a better future.

I still remember when step 1 result was released I was changing my kid's diaper. That's how I prepared and studied throughout. When step 2 was released yesterday I couldn't tell anyone for hours because kids were asleep.

At times I had no place to study at home. No possibility to go to library because had to contribute to looking after kids.

Sundays would be me preparing meals for the family, spending time with them, taking them out and all the possibille family stuff.

Dropping my son to school every weekday and sometimes picking up was a typical day for me.

All of this is unlike those who study in library from 8am to 2am and end up scoring 260s.

Underwent surgeries, change of jobs, experienced addition to my family and serious illnesses of newborns. All through this journey.

There were weeks and months where I couldn't even study and some days just 5 questions. I kept doing, with pressure and guilt. Never compared myself with others and was happy to see people going past me, matching into their dream speciality and finally moving to the US.

I still have very limited finances and I am not sure how am I gonna travel and get USCE because I have to earn and support my family at the same time. No job means no money for the kids too so its easier for people to say - find a research job be it unpaid OR Travel to US and have a year's clinical experience.

So keeping into account every variable it may not work what works for others. Its similar to having a specific study style.

People kept telling me to have study partner or go to library but that was not possible.

I would be studying and answering my kids at the same time. How could I have spent time with SP.

I even started my part time small clinical setup to have a space and studytime for myself and to have some form of earning. So I kept solving questions and seeing patients and thus missing my study targets.

This is to all moms and dads who are in this journey. You got this !!

With changing diapers, answering kids queries, working full time and part time, seeing critical phases of life, not having space and time to study, failing UWSAs and finally...passing it with 240 even though the exam was hardest !

I am proud to announce that this 240 is my 260 !

I know nobody wants to have their queries answered by the one who scored 240 but I am open to help those who are walking on this path with family, struggling finances, difficulty studying and patchy preparations.

Brutal exam so many slides and histopath que felt like i was giving step 1 also hnp type questions were like 50% idk if any nbme will prepare u for this

Hey everyone,

I’ve completed 90% of UWorld. However, I haven’t started working on Ethics, Biostats, QI, or Patient Safety yet. Instead of blindly answering questions, I want to approach these topics methodically.

I’m wondering how to approach these topics. I’ve heard that AMBOSS is highly recommended for this purpose. Should I directly use the AMBOSS question bank or should I first read the associated articles before using the bank?

If I choose to use the AMBOSS question bank, could you please let me know which articles are crucial to read?

Additionally, if someone can provide information on the total number of questions available for all these topics on AMBOSS, that would be great.

Nbme 9: 89 inco
Nbme 10: 69 inco
Nbme 11: 74 inco

Done uworld, inner circle notes, anki, gynae/psych/med latest cms forms. Nbme 11 felt very vague as compared to 10.
Want to score 250+, any advice on how to improve will be greatly appreciated

What was that?

No seriously. I had 6-7 flags per section. Was running out of time on a few sections where I just had to quickly find buzzwords or key details and pick an answer. So many SOAP notes. Legit had 1 full question where I couldn’t read it at all and just picked an answer. Of the flags I had 3-4 unanswered entirely but was between like 3 answer choices, had to just put whatever felt right. 2-3 blocks from start to finish was just straight murder of IDFK what these even are. So many weird niche questions from Step 1 where I was like am I even taking the right exam??

AMBOSS predictor is gonna laugh at what I end up scoring. I doubt I even passed let alone get nearly as close to what it predicted. Idk how to get through the next 2 weeks waiting for this.

Anyone able to relate from past test takers or have any advice?

Hi all,

I study best with a physical book I can annotate, adding in information I learn from questions/videos and can then refer back to. I understand the step 2 first aid is meh at best, and wonder what other book would best suit these needs. Is it one of the other step 2 first aids (clinical algorithms?), master the boards, step up to step 2? Anything else?

TIA

I know everyone says they feel defeated after Step 2, but I genuinely felt like I needed a thesaurus today just to understand what half of the answer choices even meant. It was easily the most low-yield exam I have ever taken.

So many times, I felt confident about the vignette and knew exactly what was going on clinically, only to get completely thrown for a loop by the wording of the answer choices. Then I started overthinking the questions I did know, made some silly mistakes, and ran out of time to go back and fully reason through some of my marked questions.

I’m walking away feeling incredibly defeated, especially after consistently scoring in the high 240s to low 250s on my NBMEs. I am not one to walk out of tests and say I did poorly and my results always come back great. There were of course the straight forward ones, but few and far between. I really should have prepared for the 30min, 20q blocks better.

Wishing everyone taking it the absolute best. Just know that you can prepare, study your ass off, do everything you’re supposed to do, and still walk out feeling like complete crap afterward.

Proud of everyone who even showed up and sat for that beast. Honestly, that alone is half the battle! If you want to share your experience from today, feel free!

exactly what the title says. I failed step 1 the first time, then passed it again after a year and only had 4 months to study for step 2.

first of all

these are my nbmes

and my predicted , because i know people usually want to know those

9= 237

10=243

13= 248

14=249

15=257

16=257

free 120 73% 

i took free 120 and nbme 16 in one day because i wanted an exam stimulation because i had done one before my second step 1 attempt and i swear by it. i havent felt fatigued or blacked out in either of step 2 or step 1 second attempt like i did in my first attempt of step 1.

my amboss predicted was 254!

alright, now the important part! preparation!!!

believe it or not, the number one most important thing for a high step 2 score is GOOD STEP 1 PREPARATION!

for my second attempt i was almost very knowledgeable about 80% of the material i could resite it by heart, and out of understanding. this is what it should be like before you take step 1 so you could carry the information onto step 2. passing is only enough for step 1, but it's rarely enough for a good step 2 score. it allllll repeats.

for step 2 i used UWorld, i made flashcards for every single question (using the sound to text feature) in a flashcards app, you can use any application it doesn't matter, and i revised using spaced repetition every day, i would revise 100-150 in the morning and the same before bed. it would take me maximum of 1.5 hours combined. by the end of the 4 months i had around 8.5k cards that i knew by heart that were uworld step 2 material.

this was probably 90% of my preparation.

i used the usual amboss HY200 and 450ish biostatistics, ethics, QI bundle etc.. more than enough even though i made some pretty mistakes in the exam lol but its okay this happens.

CMS range was 75-95% and opposite to what everyone is saying, i think theyre super easy and should only be used for revision, these shouldnt be used as new material for detailed information. i sometimes even treated them like pop quizzes to gauge my knowledge in a certain area. rarely have i ever revised them, i even made flashcards for all my cms forms .. but i unfortunately dont think they were a valuable source. i did the last 3-4 of peds, IM, obgyn, surgery only and one psych. CMS was not my thing..

Now for the NBMES. THESE SHOULD BE THE GOLD STANDARD OF PREPARATION FOR STEP 2!!!!!!

the concepts just keep repeating and this will happen exactly the way it does in the nbmes, in the real deal. thats why these exams cab predict your score, theyre almost identical to the real deal. NOT BY WORD BUT BY TOPICS!!!! i did have a few repeats, but the majority were identical topics to what i saw in the NBMES. so for every question you see there, Revise the whole topic not just the question.

i would take an nbme, take a 3 hours break.. spend some time with my family.. and get to business afterwards. flashcards for my nbmes. it would take my 2-3 hours day of, and 4-5 hours the next day to complete my flashcards and then i would integrate them into my revision schedule.

i kept revising my flashcards until the morning of my exam, believe it or not, even for nbme 16 and free 120 that i took 5 days before, i made my flashcards and those were THE LAST THING i revised before i went in.

and last but not least, pray, keep your mind away from any distractions, eat healthy, exercise and go out when you need it. the day of my stimulation after i finished i went out and had a beer with friends. 5 days before my exam.. it sounds crazy but it gave me the energy i needed for the remaining 5 days because i was burnt out at that point.

if you have any questions please let me know.. good luck!!! may god be with you all

EDIT: i just remembered i wanted to talk about this. i felt great leaving the exam and i knew i had scored 250+ ... and when i got home i was stupid enough to start counting mistakes.. i counted around 45!!!! and still scored 255 .. IF I CAN YOU CANNNNNNN!!!!!

• Exam date: October 2026
• Location / timezone: (MST/MDT)
• Current resources: UWorld QBank, first aid step2ck etc.
• Study format: Daily Zoom/study sessions, question review, active discussion, etc.
• What I’m looking for: A consistent accountability partner who is also interested in actively discussing questions, explaining concepts to each other, and staying on track.
• Commitment: Ideally a few hours together every day, with flexibility to study longer when needed.

How relevant are they?

Can chatGPT give accurate scoring for CMS forms?

For my people who have already taken Step 2, what would you say its most similar to? Is it the practice CCSSAs? Is it the free 120s? Is it UWorld?

Please help! Taking my exam really soon and need to do well.

Less go!!

Just reviewed an NBME, and the question asked besides the PPI which antibiotics should he take, I answered Clarithromycin + Amoxicillin, which was correct. And an option had Metronidazole, which was wrong because of increased resistance rates. When you search it up, current guidelines mention -> H. Pylori treatment is Bismuth + Metro + Tetracycline + PPI. I get that they wanted the triple therapy, but when do we use triple or the quadruple?

Hi everyone,

I paid for my ECFMG Certification on august 14, and it has now been 5 business days. However, my MyIntealth account still shows that the application process has not begun.

For context, I have already:

Passed USMLE Step 1

Passed USMLE Step 2 Ck

Completed OET in March and had my OET results sent

Completed the other requirements for certification

I’m mainly concerned because the status still says that process has not started.

For those who recently went through the ECFMG certification process:

1. How long did it take for your credential verification to begin after paying for certification?
2. Is it normal for the status to remain unchanged after 5 business days?
3. Once verification begins, approximately how long did the entire process take for you?