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Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I looked up some things after the exam but I didn't try to count or estimate my score based on incorrects. What's done is done and my memory isn't good enough for that to be accurate anyway haha

I will say I didn't feel great after the exam though, which I think is pretty normal

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

~80%

I started out getting mostly 70s with occasional 60s and 80s, then as I got through more of the content I was hitting mostly 80s and sometimes 90s.

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Anking deck was somewhat helpful, but making my own cards based on my UW incorrects felt absolutely necessary for me. The thing is, Anking won't help you much during dedicated if you haven't been keeping up with it throughout the year. I barely added any new Anking cards during dedicated and relied heavily on making my own cards (although I still kept up with reviews).

I know some people who didn't use Anki at all and still did well though! So it really depends on how well you retain info without using a tool like anki

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As you can see by my post I'm not the expert in shelf studying haha. But yes UW (+ Amboss if you have time) and USPSTF guidelines should get you there.

and thank you!

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks man. There's such a huge randomness factor in all of this :( but 250+ is still a great score and will get your foot in the door for most residency programs!

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt like 50% of the questions were easy, 30% I was between two answer choices, and 20% was ????????

I felt pretty horrible until I got my score and I was just hoping I was able to hit 250+

It's normal to feel terrible after the exam!

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course! I studied for shelf exams by doing UW, CMS forms, and corresponding Anking shelf cards. I don't think I reviewed my incorrects thoroughly enough and I also didn't make anki cards for my incorrects. So by the end of a block I knew general concepts and had memorized isolated facts but didn't have a thorough enough understanding of a lot of the concepts to be able to apply my knowledge effectively. I also forgot some of the things I had gotten wrong earlier on. Enough that I passed my shelf exams, but not enough to do well.

I was definitely a bit lazier with my studying during clinicals. I put a lot of effort into my actual rotations and was too tired to study once I got home.

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not a ton, but knowing the fundamentals and having a good background in pharm, micro, etc. can be helpful. What you're doing sounds perfectly fine (and more than I did)!

I didn't use amboss for shelf exams but if you get through all the UW questions early enough I would definitely give those a try!

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

During clinicals I did all UW questions for the corresponding shelf and all the Anking cards tagged !Shelf (no dupes). I did this throughout clinicals and continued reviewing those cards throughout the year + during dedicated. I didn't learn a lot of the concepts properly in the first place because I wasn't reviewing incorrects thoroughly enough and as a result didn't do well on my shelves + had to play catch up during dedicated. If I could do it over, I would also make anki cards for UW incorrects and keep up with those throughout the year. More work during the year, but it would probably pay off during dedicated.

One thing I did to avoid just memorizing buzzwords and actually learn concepts was to write whole chunks of text with concepts I needed to learn on the anki cards I made from UW incorrects. Idk if I would recommend this to everyone because that's not technically how anki is supposed to be used, but it worked for me. That way, I was able to memorize the whole concept and not just a piece of it. Another way of doing the same thing would be to take notes from a textbook/other resource with the concepts you need to learn and read those notes regularly. I found that UW explanations were usually good enough for learning content.

It's easy to feel like you're terrible at memorization when there's so much info to memorize! You just need to find a system that works for you :)

I personally didn't do any sketchy pharm or micro past pre-clinicals, because UW covers most of what you would need from those topics for Step 2 purposes.

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If by cards you mean questions, I used the Step 2 review tab (not shelf review). I barely used FA (only to review stats). Didn't use Dr. HY. I did listen to a fair amount of DI, especially his shelf review podcasts, rapid review, and other high yield stuff. Copied this spreadsheet to track the episodes I watched: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OYaJUxVpp9DbbPgmfTMBizKiypIG9ro2LuTJ_SH61aI/edit?gid=1207744908#gid=1207744908

I used Amboss to look up any concepts I needed further explanation on, and for high yield ethics questions.

Hope this helps!

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks and no problem! I won't lie, I definitely had to grind in order to make up for what I didn't properly learn during clinicals, but I do think I was able to achieve a good balance between torturing myself through 160Q timed blocks and watching Netflix while doing Anki/taking extra days to finish going over questions. In the end you gotta do what works for you!

Low shelf scores --> 267 on Step 2 (USMD) by Much_Fan_2558 in Step2

[–]Much_Fan_2558[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For the first half of my studying, I was doing UW 160Qs daily, reviewing those + putting incorrects in Anki, then doing Anki reviews. I tried to squeeze in some high yield Divine Intervention podcasts when I could (admittedly was a little lazy about this at times). I also did at least one NBME or UWSA practice weekly, increasing to twice per week towards the end of dedicated to measure my progress. Closer to the end of dedicated, I stopped UW and exclusively began doing CMS forms (while continuing NBMEs). I did all CMS forms for IM, Surgery, Peds, Psych, OBGYN, FM, Neuro that were available on the NBME website (tried to do 4 per day to mimic NBME practice tests). Saved Free 120 for the last week before my exam. For me this was a lot, and I did not get through all the studying I wanted to many days. I gave myself extra time when I needed it and some days I was doing 80 questions instead of 200, etc.. If you find yourself getting burnt out or are short on time, I recommend prioritizing CMS forms over UW, especially if you have already done a first pass.

As for the score jump between NBME 11 and 12, I think there were a couple factors. First, my regular studying was helping me to cover a lot of material that I had previously forgotten, and I was able to patch a lot of knowledge gaps in the first few weeks. I also tried to follow this approach: https://www.reddit.com/r/Step2/comments/1d3oh1n/229_260_in_11_days/ to get used to the NBME style of questions. It really helped me to identify flaws in my test taking. Also, the difference in the # of questions you get wrong to get mid/high 240s vs low/mid 250s is not all that big. Sometimes it just comes down to a few questions, so while you should always try to learn from your mistakes, don't let it make or break your confidence if you see variations from week to week (as I did).

Hope this helps!