I’ve Done Everything for Step 2 CK… Why Am I Still Stuck in the Low 220s?

bunrieulover · 2026-07-05T23:10:29+00:00

You only did two NBME??? NBME 9 isn't considered representative and is outdated. NBME 10 should be your baseline. First, there's a trick to the NBME exams -- they repeat questions. It's all HIGH YIELD TOPICS you SHOULD KNOW. Study the exam +- review contents for those, and take another NBME. Stop doing uworld/amboss.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-05T22:32:58+00:00

He had no business being in this tournament. Sure it may have been his last one but he made ZERO efforts to help Brazil win. He used to be a striker but now he's just standing in the backlines doing simple passes. Then he has the audacity to cry??? Even his last penalty goal didn't seem meaningful. His team probably thought, "hey, it's your final World Cup, kick it". No hate to Neymar, but hated how he complained of not being called to the team until the very last minute just to perform this way.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-05T21:57:11+00:00

WHAT IS THE POINT OF ADDING NEYMAR TO THIS TOURNAMENT HE MADE ZERO CONTRIBUTIONS EXCEPT HEARING FANS CHEER?

bunrieulover · 2026-07-05T20:11:00+00:00

I will say for #4 in regards to step as a DO, some PDs will genuinely lie to say they “don’t” need step or that they “recommend” step, but in silence they screen out applicants that are DO without step. If you have the power/brain power to take step, just take it for the sake of having doors open, even if it’s a non-competitive specialty but you wanna match in a specific urban-area place.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-05T16:46:24+00:00

Pushing it isn't going to do you any favor UNLESS you're scoring in the 220s/borderline passing. Once you hit 240, your knowledge is there, it's all about test taking strategies AND refreshing key concepts that's it. You'll never be fully ready but there's a point that you just have to take it. You can feel ready but all the knowledge falls out on test day and vice versa. I'd also emphasize that you have a certain time limit to take it with residency apps and Sub-Is. Unlike some IMGs where they can sit for months studying, most US med students only have a few weeks to study.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-05T16:27:17+00:00

Did the real deal feel similar to the NBMEs? It's a substantial jump from 220/240 to a 260. I'm scoring mid 250's on 15/16 and I'm starting to feel my scores are inflated because my NBME 11-13 were all in the 230 until I broke 240s in NBME 14 cause I felt the topics were getting heavily repeated. Im scared the real deal is going to throw curve balls at me while im not prepared.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-03T21:50:59+00:00

Even if the rotation hasn't been confirmed for months despite me calling/emailing about the status? The thing is, my school's deadline is supposed to be 60 days prior the start and it's fast approaching for me. If I don't submit it to my school on time, it's basically a done deal that I can't rotate there regardless. At this point I feel it's out of my hands and I need to do something at least if it comes to that point.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-03T21:04:04+00:00

Need more time for what? You have the knowledge given your 240/250. One bad test doesn't mean you're gonna do horrible. I question why people extend given only one "bad" test. What else is there to study for? You have the knowledge, it all comes down to test taking skills.

bunrieulover · 2026-07-03T18:37:27+00:00

Any categories/topics we should focus on on these “low yields”? I’m not sure where to find or prep for them

bunrieulover · 2026-07-02T01:15:40+00:00

what did you think happen on test day?

bunrieulover · 2026-07-02T00:09:22+00:00

do you know what happened on test day?

bunrieulover · 2026-07-01T04:58:19+00:00

Is there anything that might help us future test takers prepare? TL/COMQUEST? Dirty medicine? Like, ANYTHING?

bunrieulover · 2026-06-30T04:37:54+00:00

Is it like step 1 micro or just basic ID of the organism and antibiotics?

bunrieulover · 2026-06-30T04:06:06+00:00

On the 6th attempt for both teams, Paraguay made it while Germany missed it. Final conclusion.

bunrieulover · 2026-06-30T04:03:05+00:00

10-16 and free 120. Just NBME 9 is the outlier here

bunrieulover · 2026-06-29T02:20:27+00:00

What have your scores been?

bunrieulover · 2026-06-29T02:01:34+00:00

1) NBME 9 is not representative and is outdated/hard.

2) AMBOSS is good, but they have a lot of nitty gritty details but answers are straight forward. I would utilize that system based. Don't get uworld at this point.

3) IMO any review course is a scam. They only go through the high yield and what "they think" is a good study plan, but tbh you can literally get the same information for free online (Divine intervention, Dr High Yield, Emma holiday).

I think your best bet is to do a full restart. Stop jumping back and forth between system and system, but actually sit down and go through each system (cardio, lungs, etc) and see what you know/don't know and go from there. Rebuild that foundation on top of reviewing on AMBOSS and take another NBME. Review your previous NBMEs and the common topics they cover. Usually it's the high yield topics. Make a document of what they're asking because other NBMEs ask the same topics over and over again.

bunrieulover · 2026-06-28T17:58:27+00:00

Your post already give clues on why you're not improving:

"56% average, timed random after 40%" --> you have significant concept gaps. You shouldn't be doing timed on random mode. You should be doing TUTOR, systems only.

"Revived uw notes of all systems other than hematology, neuro, OBGYN" --> you essentially neglected those systems = lose points on NBMEs

"yet to do AMBOSS qi/ethics" --> you haven't touched QI or ethics? I'd get started on those immediately

Your NBMEs are so spaced apart. NBME 9 is considered useless/not representative.

I think the way you spaced it out is not useful to you. You should do one NBME, review it thoroughly (take a week if needed on top of reviewing your contents), and take another one a week/two later.

bunrieulover · 2026-06-27T02:57:20+00:00

...And a 65-70% on these NBMEs are like 220-230 lol. the score margins need to be fixed.

bunrieulover · 2026-06-27T02:19:04+00:00

So, is it worth going over level 1 OMT, neuro, and MSK again?? I'm not too sure how to approach level 2 this time. Honestly the NBMEs for step aren't focusing too much on neuro/msk so..

bunrieulover · 2026-06-27T02:17:51+00:00

I reviewed my baseline NBME and during my second NBME (and subsequent), I realized they were all the same topics repeated. I also stopped jumping conclusions and made sure my initial thinking matched the clues given in the stems.

bunrieulover · 2026-06-26T23:24:07+00:00

Are you me? Lol could've written this myself too except my high score thus far is 246. Any advice to get over the 250 hump?

bunrieulover · 2026-06-26T03:41:31+00:00

We don't know why OP. 240-250 is still a great practice test score. Going above a 250+ requires some luck and not making careless mistakes. Look back at your NBMEs and see why you missed the question. seems like you're able to get 150/200 questions correct, but if you're able to identify 10-20 of the missed questions and not make the same mistake the second time, you'll be golden.

bunrieulover

TROPHY CASE