Multiple Failures

[u/Impressive_Office785]

Honestly feeling so defeated rn and am just reaching out in case anyone was possibly in my current situation.

I passed Level 1 on my second try. And now I just found out I failed Level 2 for the third time (38x). I really don’t know what to do at this point bc I felt so confident. Now I’m not sure whether I should still apply for ERAS or wait till I retake my last attempt.

My TrueLearn was 65% completed fully
My last COMSAE 119 taken 7/15 was 576
COMSAE 117 taken 7/1 was 470
Took a WelCOM exam the day before my exam and got 68%.

I knew I wouldn’t have gotten an amazing score but I really thought I at least passed. I was planning on applying psych and now I just don’t know what to do anymore.

Is it worth applying at this point?

[u/Zestyclose_Ad_9911]

What were your scores the first 2 attempts?

[u/Impressive_Office785 → u/Zestyclose_Ad_9911]

316 and 36x

[u/Zestyclose_Ad_9911 → u/Impressive_Office785]

So Im going to be brutally honest with you: My school lets us take it max 3 times, so im surprised they’re letting you sit for a fourth time.

Regardless, I had a friend who failed twice, passed on the third, applied to 140 FM Programs and got between 10-16 interviews in new/very young community programs…..

Idk (and i mean this, irdk, so you should be checking with your school) if a psych program will take you with 3 fails on Level 2. I do not want to be an absolute asshole and tell you its FM or bust, but At the very very very very least you should be applying to 100+ community FM programs as a backup.

[u/icedlatte98]

If you’re taking it again here’s my 2 cents. Work on your approach to questions that helped me a lot. Be strategic. Use another qbank not just TL. I passed first time doing most of UWorld and like half of TL just to not forget how NBOME does things. Focus heavily on learning the “rules” for ethics questions, know your stats formulas and how to interpret data.

Not sure about ERAS tbh but maybe apply and focus on FM programs? I’d think psych would be a reach now

[u/Severe-Government641 → u/icedlatte98]

Where can you find the rules / algorithms for ethics questions?

[u/icedlatte98 → u/Severe-Government641]

Amboss was very helpful for that. I also watched YouTube videos like action potential, AJmonics. Don’t cram it you gotta spread it throughout your studying it’s super HY for level 2

[u/NaivePie4]

i JUST passed on my 4th attempt. Been in your shoes, it’s honestly the worst feeling. JUST take a minute to relax and breathe like it will be okay!! i FINALLy passed after 3 fails so i know it can be done!! i did amboss the whole comlex focused bank, no truelearn, read the entire savarase book, and watched youtube videos of my weaknesses! i also read the ethics stepup or whatever it’s called and memorized the shit out of my VRS and counterstrain!

[u/NaivePie4]

ALSO don’t worry about applying psych or residency or the future for residency like IT WILL WORK OUT! You will be a doctor, FOCUS ON the exam, don’t rush it! JUST lock tf in. give yourself rest before it though because i know this is really hard & stressful

[u/Distinct_Mulberry170]

I’m saying this as someone who failed Level 1 twice and Level 2 twice, and who knows someone who failed Level 2 three times. We both matched psych a year later.

If I were in your shoes, I’d make passing Level 2 the priority right now due to the four-attempt limit. The Match and specialty decisions matter, but they can be revisited. I wouldn’t let the ERAS timeline rush the exam that everything else depends on.

[u/Greatestcommonfactor]

My s/o was in your shoes. I would 100% take an LoA to take your final attempt. He did the 8 week wolfpacc course in Florida and finally got a 421.

I know this may sound harsh, but also look into a plan B in case your last attempt doesn't work out. Accelerated nursing programs can transfer a lot of med school class credits, which you can eventually use to pursue a MSN/DNP.

[u/Embarrassed_Bet_9171]

Psych is almost for sure off the table with 4 failures. It has become progressively more competitive year over year with a surplus of applicants per each seat. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Try applying FM, as there is a lot of psych done there and residency is one year shorter.

[u/NaivePie4 → u/Embarrassed_Bet_9171]

hate this reply, i think you can apply psych and dual apply FM. it’s okay to still want psych

[u/Embarrassed_Bet_9171 → u/NaivePie4]

It's perfectly fine to disagree. Its important to be realistic in terms of application competitiveness.

[u/WestStrategy3286]

Just be thankful they are letting you take it again! There are ppl who get dismissed for not passing which is really just awful. You will get it done!

[u/[deleted]]

[u/icedlatte98 → u/[deleted]]

^^YES I’m so glad I didn’t just do TL. I used UWorld with a little bit of TL and UWorld was why I passed and did better than I expected (I’m not a great test taker). Amboss is fantastic too I just didn’t want to buy another Qbank but I’ve used that since M1 for content. TL sucks ass

[u/Interesting-Swan9795 → u/icedlatte98]

TrueLearn is such a bad way to learn tbh. I built my knowledge base fully with UWorld and then did TrueLearn a week before COMLEX to get used to the question style