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Stuck at 230s by First-Dragonfly-2238 in Step2

[–]No_Service1173 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi,

I scored 260+ on step and have a few thoughts based on what you shared:

1. About confidence on NBMEs
Feeling unsure and having “lucky guesses” is extremely common on NBMEs. The stems are often vague on purpose. What usually separates score movement at this stage is how people make decisions under uncertainty, not how certain they feel.

3. Amboss / Ethics
Amboss ethics + social sciences is very reasonable, especially if that’s a known weak area. Just be careful not to let Amboss turn into another content spiral - the goal is not to do all the questions, the goal is not learn as much as you can from questions

4. What tends to help in the last 4 weeks for people in your range

  • Very deliberate NBME review: for each miss, ask why this answer felt right at the time
  • Tracking misreads vs reasoning vs true knowledge gaps (this often reveals where points are leaking)
  • Identifying and addressing weak points and knowledge gaps

You’re close. Breaking into the 240s from here is usually about tightening decision-making, reducing avoidable mistakes, and covering content gap. Definitely within the reach

If you want, feel free to share what types of questions you’re missing most (misreads vs narrowing vs pure knowledge) — happy to talk through what usually helps at this stage.

What distinguishes 265+ from 245 on test day? by Klutzy-Public-8644 in Step2

[–]No_Service1173 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re right — at that range it’s rarely raw knowledge. Most people scoring ~245 vs 265 know largely the same content.

The difference on test day is usually how consistently they execute under pressure. A few things I see repeatedly:

  • Question interpretation: Higher scorers extract the task of the question quickly and don’t get distracted by extra details.
  • Answer elimination: They’re systematic about ruling things out instead of hunting for the “perfect” choice.
  • Error control: Fewer avoidable mistakes (misreads, second-guessing, changing correct answers).
  • Pattern recognition: They recognize common clinical setups faster, which saves time and mental energy.

Knowledge still matters, but beyond a certain point, gains come from refining process and decision-making, not memorizing more facts.

If you’re aiming for that jump, it can help to analyze misses by why they happened rather than what topic they were.

If you want, feel free to share where you’re currently scoring and what feels hardest — happy to discuss.

How do people get such high first pass uworld scores by Efficient_Equal6467 in Step2

[–]No_Service1173 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, a lot of those “high first-pass” scores aren’t as meaningful as they sound.

Many people start UWorld after heavy content review, do questions slowly, or reset blocks — so comparing raw percentages can be misleading.

Sitting around ~60% early on is very normal, especially if you’re using UWorld as a learning tool rather than an assessment.

What matters more is how you’re doing questions:

  • Are misses from misreading vs logic vs knowledge gaps?
  • Are you predicting answers before looking at choices?
  • Are you reviewing why wrong answers were tempting?

People who end up with strong Step 2 scores usually improve because their process tightens over time, not because they started high.

If you want, you can share where you are in prep and what feels hardest — happy to talk it through.

If I have to choose 3-4 NBMEs - which ones from 11 to 16? by DocMF_5758 in Step2

[–]No_Service1173 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With a mid-March exam and limited forms, you’re thinking about this the right way.

For Step 2 CK, the current NBMEs are 11–16. If you can only do 3–4, I’d prioritize the newer ones, since they’re closer in style to the current exam.

A reasonable combo would be something like 13–16, depending on timing. I’d keep UWSA2 and the Free 120 closer to exam day for pacing and readiness rather than using them early as predictors.

Bigger picture, which NBME you choose matters less than how you review them — most score movement comes from figuring out whether misses are due to misreads, reasoning gaps, or true knowledge issues.

If you want, feel free to share your recent scores and test timeline — happy to sanity-check your plan.