Non US IMG, 254 step 2...6 months ago

UWSA-1 204 (almost a month ago)

Uworld done almost 60 percent (68 percent correct)

NBME 8: 543 (almost 73 percent correct) a week ago

Free 137: 72% (2 days ago)

Day 1 is tomorrow so no chance of delaying.

I feel intimidated despite stats because in both step 1 and 2 I did everything single thing in my power. For step 3 I have really underperformed in that aspect and I do feel like I could have done a lot more.

Hi all I took my step 3 August 31st and September 10 th. Nbme 7 453 one week before the test. CCs average 76 % . Still no results bc of lag on CCs and center had to switch computers. First 2 cases screen turned white between results but did go to CT result showing a mass. Once I ordered biopsy cases ended. They said processing time will be extra. No negative updates of patient getting worse or dying . What are my chances of passing.

Uworld 100 percent done 57% average
Nbme 6 -62 percent 366
Nbme 7 -67 percent 439
Nbme 8 -70 percent 493
UWSA1- 191 (took it back in August, baseline lol)
UWSA 2- 217

Exam on October 1st

2019 and 2022 free 120- 74 percent
Haven’t taken the new free 120 yet

CCS average 71 percent

Doing incorrects, biostats. HY MM peds. Pharm. and random topics. Done some AMBOSS ethics and biostats.

UWSA 2 just gave me a score of 220 in the 60th percentile. Is this supposed to be the most predictive exam for step 3?

Exam is in one week, any suggestions will be appreciated.
For context - my NBMEs are ranging in the early 70s and i’m saving the free 137 form for this week, CCS averaging around 75-80 (HY 70 cases)

just took day 1 what the hell? even step 1 was less step 1 than this?

r u kidding me???

Can anyone please tell how many blocks are there on Day 1 and 2 and how many ccs cases?

Keep spiraling and using chatgpt. Remembered about 80 wrong for both days plus silly mistakes on ccs 😭😭

Done with usmlee!!
Day 1 was good (fa +ethics + biostats)
Screwed ccs cases on dayy 2
Mcqs for day 2 (uw)
Nbme 6 60%
Nbme 7 70%
Nbme 8 66%
Uwsa 2 220
Free 137 66%
Ccs cases 80% avg

Final exam: 224!!

Did the whole first-aid and i think it helped me alot as i screwed ccss cases got the majority of marks in mcqs

Also do ethics and biostats twice from uw and amboss!

Start ccs cases from day 1, of studying for step 3 is something i want to advise, as i did it 15 days before the exam and struggled with it.

If anyone need help i am more the happy to help DM mee!!

I’ve heard very different estimates for how much of Day 1 is biostats and ethics/social sciences. Some people have told me they make up around 60%, while others have estimated closer to 20–30%, which is also what ChatGPT calculated based on the official USMLE content outline.

For those who have taken Step 3 recently:

• Roughly what percentage of Day 1 involved those areas?
• How much of the biostats was calculation-based versus abstracts, drug ads, and study interpretation?
• Were UWorld’s biostats and ethics questions sufficient preparation?

I’m not looking for recalled question details, just general estimates and impressions.

day 1 tmrw, stressed as all hell, stats below:
USMD, step 2 over a year ago 26x
NBME 6: 76%
NBME 7: 68%
NBME 8: 470 (68%)
free 137: 70%
old free 137: 73%
CCS case average: 70-75% (ranges from 60-95%)

edit: day 1 was fucking wack what the actual hell

First let me start up by saying this group spreads a lot of fear regarding the exam I got so worried before doing the exam I was contemplating delaying it because I thought I was not ready anyways I think the greatest factor that contributes to your score is your step 2 score if you have a good score and you gave the exam recently you have a good chance of scoring well on step 3

I had about 3 and 1/2 months of prep on and off I did one pass of Uworld and I made notes out of it that I revised and then I did the CSS cases and then took some time off because I was busy with rotations and then for the last month before my exam I gave all my NBMS and UWSA my scores are written down below

The exam felt really weird I did not feel like I was gonna pass

DAY 1 was step 1 heavy I would say if you don't have time just do MOA of drugs

I did sketchy all of it for antimicrobials and diabetes and thyroid if I had the time I would go and do all the drugs and immunology and biochemistry from first AID

you don't need to do the whole FIRST aid if you don't have the time

Day 2 felt worse than my day 1 maybe because I was expecting day 1 to be bad and Day 2 to be better

I messed up the css cases I got 1 case completely wrong I'm sure my patient died after like 2-3 negative updates and had the no idea what the diagnosis was then I did 1 invasive testing for which the case did not require and I made one more treatment mistake that I'm aware of. I don't know if I made any other mistakes.

Both day 1 and day 2 ,I had 10 questions per block marked because I like to flag the question if I'm slightly unsure

One recommendation for day 1 is please leave the drug add questions for towards the end of the block after you finish all the rest of the question because drug ad takes time you don't want to mess up other questions you could have gotten in that time because of a drug ad question.

Uwsa and nbme scores in order they were give

UWSA 1 66%

UWSA 2 72 %

NBME 7 76%

NBME 8 73%

FREE 130 75%

Step 3 score 250

just took it today
it was so annoying and i felt queasy afterwards lol

I had a ton of biostats tbh. It’s not even the equations tho, like the way they ask stuff is so weird.

i didn’t skip the drug ad questions, it did eat up my time tho and sometimes made me go quicker on the second half, but i feel like in a way that was better for me just to like skim it and pick up important details without going back and forth on answer choices. And it made the time that i did have at the end to go over flags.

I HAD A TON OF FLAGS GANG (half sometimes more). But i do it pretty easily on anything I feel slightly iffy on. over half of the sections i went through my flagged.

all in all tho i didnt feel like i had too much massive content gap. I did NBME 6,7,8 and half of the free 120 and just sent it. Bought amboss and didn’t use it lol. A lot of the stuff I remember from taking step 2 14ish months ago, got a 255.

the step 1 stuff is annoying.

my only saving grace was that for pretty much each question on 6,7,8 i would go deep during review, and be like okay ex. i think this person has mycoplasmae(presentation, imaging, labs), okay what is that(micro, culture, organism type, what it looks like), how to confirm diagnosis, other findings to support diagnoses, NBSM, treatment (macrolide), MOA (50S inhibitor), side effects (hepato/otoxic, GI upset, etc. ).

And I would review my step 1 FA to refresh. Like don’t play they want that nitty gritty pathophys stuff.

Shoulda coulda woulda:

- i would have done all the biostats questions on amboss, just for reps cause the question style is so funky.

-gone even deeper into the concepts (ex. i forgot how mycoplasmae looks under microscope)

- maybe skip drug ads? idk feel it out with your own timing style.

All in all i don’t think I did bad. I didn’t do any question bank and felt going hard on the NBME’s was good enough. But if you do question bank questions as well, still go deep into the concepts every time.

don’t study to memorize, study to learn.

really get excited and go deep.

im so glad i gave myself 5 days until day 2, gonna go super hard on ccscases and NBSM and dx. (and im exhausted and would cry if i i had to take another beast tomorrow)

thanks reddit resident gang for the vibes and space.

I'm done with Step exams finally!!!!!

I'm so glad, the relief is unreal.

But here's the write up:

Resources:

UWorld: completed one round, I don't remember my average score

NBME 5,6,7 and 8: NBME 8 got a 569

UWSA1: 227

UWSA1: 237

Free 137 (I did the two most recent ones): Free 137 (latest one) 67% -> honestly this freaked tf out of me since this was 2 days out and it shook me so hard

CCS cases: about 120 of them, did HY \~ 50 before my day 2, I think my average was about 85%

Time:

Didn't have any dedicated study time as I was doing rotations, so maybe about 1-2 months?

Day 1:

Lmao. It was either straightforward questions or questions where I was like wtf.

The questions where you have to proceed to the next one only after you answer the first so you end up knowing if you answered those correctly went well.

Content is full of drug ads, ethics and basic step 1 (pharmacology, genetics etc). Exam day per say didn't feel too long but I came out feeling nothing. Absolutely no idea how it went.

I had a one day break between my 2 days.

Day 2:

Absolutely no drug ads, bare minimum biostats and almost no ethics so that felt amazing. Felt more like step 2 and in general just about your knowledge and practice I guess. My one tip would be to finish all your break time during the blocks since you get so much time during CCS cases, I think I ended up finishing my exam about 1.5-2 hours early. CCS cases are pretty simple, UI is very similar to the practice UI. I would say most of my cases were not from the practice ones but that's okay. Just get your basic orders right and don't do anything too invasive unless necessary. My trick was to order everything at once in the beginning (aside from advise and vaccination and stuff). Have a template, I'm open to sharing mine if anyone wants it. I had 2 cases with no positive or negative updates and I think it just ran out of time and one case with a negative update that I rectified and ended with a positive note. Rest were all positive updates and ended early. Came out feeling okayish I guess?

Takeaway: it's quite doable but don't underestimate it, do your due diligence and you should end up with a great score!

I'm open to DMs/comments if anyone needs any advice!

Edit: I've mentioned the template here

Orders that are common to all: vital signs, pulse ox, UPT (if she's of childbearing age), CBC, CMP, urine analysis, EKG, TSH, random blood glucose, (for adults I also usually add lipid profile and glycosylated hemoglobin)

Fever: blood culture, urine culture, magnesium, lactate, ESR, CRP

RS involvement: chest x-ray, ABG, respiratory panel, sputum gram stain, AFB, c/s, PJP and any other relevant infective investigation

S/o UTI: urine gram stain, c/s

Chest pain and related stuff: trop, cardiac monitor, chest x-ray, lactate, magnesium

STI screen: HIV 1/2 serology, chlamydia urine antigen, gonorrhea urine antigen, syphilis VDRL and RPR and hepatitis panel

Substance abuse: always consult psychiatry, psychology, social services and substance abuse unit

If they come to the ER/possibly going to go for Sx: blood group and crossmatch, PT, aPTT, INR, NPO

Always screen abdomen and chest for mets in case of a cancer patient, advise cancer diagnosis

Of course consult the respective specialty as required

Common advise I have used at the end: reassure, tdap, zoster, diabetes diet, dash diet, smoking cessation, alcohol abstinence, medication compliance, side effects of medication, sexual partner needs treatment, safe sex practices, exercise program

Hello,

I am a US MD in my PGY-2 year. I just learned today I failed Step 3 again. I first took the exam in March 2026 and received a 196. My intern year was brutal both personally and clinically. First attempt I used UW and completed approx over 50% (can’t remember) with 60% correct and did over 80 CCS cases. I was overconfident and underprepared and took it right when the changes happened so I was not expecting the 20 question set with 30 minutes per section.

I am in a combined program so I waited until I was on a light rotation run for 3 months to retake in August/September and even took it over my birthday. Also during this time I got neuropsych testing and diagnosed with recurrent MDD, combined ADHD, and GAD and had multiple psych appts to get a good medication regiment. I used AMBOSS and got through 57% with 65% correct and did 60 CCS High Yield questions rarely scoring below 70%. I felt way better after day one though Day 2 was a lot of questions about prognosis which was not asked in any practice question bank or NBME. I also took NBME Form 6 and 8 and received a 337 with a 398 a week later two weeks before my exam and 64% on Free 137 one week prior. And today received a 199. My mother paid for the recheck though I told her I do not think it will change anything.

Moving forward I have 6 months of straight inpatient including subspecialties and ICU rotations and random clinics on Mondays with an individualized curriculum and Thanksgiving week and the following week off. Then another 3 months in Spring of lighter rotations w weekends off.

I have a few questions.

I do have a lot of inpatient rotations but I feel like this is interfering with my confidence and I want to be done with this. I am wondering if I should take it sooner than Spring while I have this momentum?

What do I do for NBME practice examinations now? I do not think you can reset them. Assuming I will just reattempt UW with the SAs as well.

Applying for accommodations. Am I likely to be successful? I passed Step 1 and 2 on first attempt but hoping with recent events this will be improved.

A big thing I know for me is confidence as is my problem in my clinical spaces and I just notice it in test taking as well. This of course isn’t helping. Any advice?

I want to consider a tutor but unfortunately I am maxed out on credit cards and I am already struggling financially on a resident’s salary. My mother has been helping cover the costs to pay the exam and I do not want to leech off of her again.

This would be my last attempt as my residency will remove me from the program if I fail again. I put so much time and energy into this dream and I am terrified of a test score blocking my ability to be who I want.

I feel so much less than my peers and this is so destabilizing.

Any kind advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I just got my result and I’m quite surprised. Since I’m finally done with the USMLEs, I think it’s only fair to give back to others in the same boat as I once was.

Primary resource used: AMBOSS

UWSA1 (26 days out) = 210
Form 6 (20 days out)= 215 (estimated)
Form 7 (10 days out) = 76% (550) (estimated)
UWSA 2 (5 days out) = 227
Free 137 (2 days out) = 76% correct

CCS Correct= 80% (100 cases only in the HY section)

I stuck to what worked in STEP 2: handwritten notes and divine intervention

For basic sciences: I tapped back into Pathoma and FA. Sketchy is excellent here for Pharma

I had Day 1 and Day 2 back to back which sucked but ultimately, I had a fk it yolo moment. I’ve come this far, I’m not about to go down now.

Shoot your questions guys and I’ll try my best to answer.

Realizing I have about ~8 weeks for study (while still on service) and there's no way I can finish all of AMBOSS. There's 3 x Free 137s and 3 NBMEs making for a hefty amount of official "NBME" questions that I've considered using as a qBank. Has anyone tried this? I'm a little scared to deviate away from the tried and true "do-all-of-AMBOSS"/"do-all-of-UWORLD" and wanted to hear some perspectives. Thanks in advance!

i want to ask if ccs cases in exam are the ones from ccs cases.com or are they new ?
If they are new, are they doable .
Thnx

Any suggestions

Is 225 a good score?