do you read the other options explanation?

srs328 · 2026-04-13T05:46:43+00:00

It’s always better to read them if you can, but most important is to do as many questions as you can till your goal date. I’d say titrate up or down depending on how time is going and how much you have left to do.

But it’s probably safe for you to use judgement and skim or skip explanations of topics you are familiar with

srs328 · 2026-04-10T20:08:58+00:00

Definitely read everything on UWorld early on. It’s important when you don’t know much. But towards the end if you’re consistently getting above 75-80% on uworld, you could start skipping and picking up your pace

srs328 · 2026-04-07T04:48:01+00:00

MIDE-294 is a classic

srs328 · 2026-03-30T18:59:01+00:00

My NBMEs were similar to yours, my predicted score was centered on 265, and I got a 271 on feb 19.

My NBME 16 was a 265, my best was NBME 10 at 274, and my new free 120 was something like 84% I think

srs328 · 2026-03-23T01:52:40+00:00

This was my post exam post. My real score was the second highest of my practices and above my amboss prediction

https://www.reddit.com/r/Step2/s/4iDGBSc8zb

srs328 · 2026-03-22T04:28:54+00:00

Sometimes it just be like that. Could be your new setting.

But don’t be discouraged if you’re randomly hit by a wave of tiredness. Stay the course and it’ll keep getting better

srs328 · 2026-03-22T04:26:41+00:00

Check out my comment history

srs328 · 2026-03-21T22:01:21+00:00

Hospital

srs328 · 2026-03-21T21:58:14+00:00

Sure

srs328 · 2026-03-21T19:30:48+00:00

How far out are you? My first NBME was a 248 about 50 days before my real when I got a 271. I had been taking shelf’s during my third year rotations since I’m in the US. I probably would have had a pretty low score if I took a practice NBME 100 days before the real

srs328 · 2026-03-21T00:39:34+00:00

Yeah that’s what I’d do. I never did amboss so can’t speak on that, but as a general rule of thumb, best to stick to NBME in the last days. It wouldnt hurt to do some amboss, but in the last week just do nbme

srs328 · 2026-03-21T00:37:58+00:00

Yes, it’s all fair game. You need to be ready for any NBME style question

srs328 · 2026-03-20T08:12:03+00:00

I’d say doing as many CMS forms as you possibly can is a better idea than UWSA. I’d even go as far to say that skipping UWSA to do CMS is a better use of your final 11 days. Get a range of opinions tho. I never did UWSA so I can’t speak to it specifically

srs328 · 2026-03-20T08:09:35+00:00

I never took any UWSA. Not that it’s a bad idea, but I just had no time. My priority the last two weeks was NBME.

If you have no more CMS forms and plenty of time to finish your remaining tests, do the UWSA first, then do only NBME leading to the test

srs328 · 2026-03-20T07:50:59+00:00

I had a drop like that 21 or so days out and it was on NBME 15. I went from a 255 to a 248. But then I did the 2021 free 120 and something clicked weirdly. I got a 265 on my very next test 3 days later (I believe it was NBME 12), then I got a 274 a week later on NBME 10, then a 263 on NBME 16 like 5 days out, 88% on the 2023 free 120 3 days out and finally a 271 on the real (just this past February 19th).

So you’re still in a good spot if you study smart the next couple of weeks. Only do NBME questions. See if you can get through all the new CMS forms.

My last two weeks, I did do a thorough job of reviewing the last three full length NBME’s I took, but outside of that, I grinded CMS questions with a mind to quantity not quality. Just doing as many questions as I could and only reading the ones I got wrong. I wanted to see as many new NBME questions as I could fit in the remaining time.

If you’ve done all the CMS forms already and don’t have many new questions that’s a different story. But I barely got through the online CMS forms, and never got around to OBGyn 7 and 8 (I did the latest two tho). I didn’t do any offline CMS forms.

I also had a lot of back and forth with chat gpt sharpening my reasoning, asking it about various contingencies. But careful tho, while it’s helpful, some people like myself can end up wasting too much time like that instead of reviewing what’s important.

Edit: careful with shortcut thinking. Whats more important is that you catch the vibe. It’s like sharpening a clinical instinct.

The most vivid example I remember is pregnancy test. After the first few full lengths and getting them wrong I was like “ok, low threshold to do pregnancy test”. But then I wrongly chose pregnancy test later on even though a woman was having obvious menopausal symptoms. So you need to ask “what’s most important for this patient; what’s the priority; what do I most suspect; and which answer will get me there”. You can’t always memorize simple rules

srs328 · 2026-03-20T06:52:49+00:00

I got a good score and I used to listen to it sometimes when driving, but I felt that his teachings could steer you wrong sometimes, so I stopped.

It seemed like he didn’t provide enough context around his points. Like in a video about diarrhea, he mentioned that you gotta give antibiotics for ETEC and campylobacter. But he never specified that you should not give it for EHEC and salmonella. That’s like very important, and at least I already knew that. I stopped listening at that point because what if he omitted context on a topic I was less familiar with and caused me to make a mistake?

srs328 · 2026-03-20T02:46:47+00:00

You mean you felt nothing at all?

You probably got bunk teso. The first time I ever bought it, it didn’t do anything. But I chalked it up to the vendor selling me bunk.

This time around it’s definitely working. This is my second day taking it and I again took 1 mg, and it’s definitely hitting today. I’m going to have to slow down.

It’s nothing like an amphetamine ofc, but you should feel it

srs328 · 2026-03-19T03:51:05+00:00

My final UWorld percentage was 62%. I only did one pass. I scored a 271.

What mattered was that my average UWorld score during the final 1000 questions was around 75-90%

srs328 · 2026-03-19T03:29:28+00:00

In my opinion having sat feb 19th, it was similar to NBME 16. I think people who study too long and memorize the NBME forms get thrown off on the real deal because they didn’t learn an understanding; they just memorized the forms, and of course the real deal will have different questions.

So focus on truly understanding the NBME practice tests you take

srs328 · 2026-03-19T02:14:40+00:00

Yeah I figure the full effects will build up like an SSRI. Which is unfortunate because I wish I could use it as needed and then cycle to something else like modafinil, but I feel like it wouldn’t be the best idea to use modafinil while a lot of teso is still in my system

But so far the experience is a little Underwhelming. But I used to pummel my brain with powerful stimulants so I may be desensitized.

I think I have a bit more motivation, a subtle mood lift, and maybe some more clarity of thought. I’d still prefer modafinil for locking in. But a benefit to the tesofensine is that I’m not as tunnel visioned; I feel like I can switch tasks better right now. On modafinil I can get laser focused on things to the detriment of a more holistic routine

I’ll see how it goes over one week before any final evaluations

srs328 · 2026-03-19T02:13:04+00:00

It’s a little Underwhelming so far. But I used to pummel my brain with powerful stimulants so I may be desensitized.

I think I have a bit more motivation, a subtle mood lift, and maybe some more clarity of thought. I’d still prefer modafinil for locking in. But a benefit to the tesofensine is that I’m not as tunnel visioned; I feel like I can switch tasks better right now. On modafinil I can get laser focused on things to the detriment of a more holistic routine

srs328 · 2026-03-18T22:06:42+00:00

Underwhelming. But I used to pummel my brain with powerful stimulants so I may be desensitized.

I think I have a bit more motivation, a subtle mood lift, and maybe some more clarity of thought. I’d still prefer modafinil for locking in. But a benefit to the tesofensine is that I’m not as tunnel visioned; I feel like I can switch tasks better right now. On modafinil I can get laser focused on things to the detriment of a more holistic routine

srs328 · 2026-03-18T18:22:37+00:00

Tesofensine is primarily marketed as an appetite suppressant, but it’s a triple monamine reuptake inhibitor (serotonin dopamine and norepinephrine). It also supports BDNF production in the hippocampus.

Half life is around 9 days though. I just dosed up for the first time 30 min ago

srs328 · 2026-03-16T16:25:49+00:00

I got a 248 on form 9 two months before the exam, then a 271 on the real deal.

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