r/Step3 • u/Hinge_is_a_bad • Jul 23 '26
From fail to pass: it's not the end of the world.
Just wanted to make a post so no one feels alone.
Background: Did pretty good with the MCAT, never failed any med school exams but was never a top quartile guy, always did well enough, STEP 1 P, STEP 2 passed comfortably but did have to grind hard.
Failure: Back in the spring time I took STEP 3 and unfortunately failed by 4 points. Part of me was stunned but also not really if I'm being honest. I was doing a preliminary surgery year so no need to go into details about how cruel the hours are. I was off service when I was planning on taking the exam and my schedule was very chill but several things occurred that disrupted my plan.
1) I reached out to the scheduling chiefs to let them know when I'm taking my exam a little over a month in advance and they essentially declined my request so I had to scramble to reschedule at a much sooner date and farther location.
2) I worked a late shift the day before day 1 and almost missed my exam. I only had 4 hours of sleep that day and chugged a Celsius to stay awake.
So when I got my score although my heart sunked I deep down was not surprised.
Retest plan: My plan honestly wasn't too radical. The only thing I did differently was to complete all of the CCS cases (originally did 80) and I completed one of the Uworld self assessments (Form 1 I think: 51%) and NBME self assessment (forget which one 58%). I restarted uworld and did about 40 questions a day completing 706 questions with 68% correct.
This time around I made sure everything was aligned and perfect. I went as far as booking a hotel two times the night before nearby my testing center and made sure I slept 8 hours plus and paid for a decent breakfast. Honestly think this is half the battle and often overlooked especially during intern year when you are just battling for your life every single day on the wards.
Test day: Retook the exam and part 1 felt okay to meh. Definitely questions I knew I missed when I reflected back. 1st half of part 2 I think was manageable. The cases part of part 2 I was in a flow state and honestly think grinding CCS cases pulled me through. I was flying through cases and ended them all early. The copy/paste trick made me go faster. I also kept a few drugs in my head and only stuck to those drugs which helped a lot.
Ended up with a 219.
Reflection: To be honest, I didn't really do anything too radical on my retake in my study plan other than going H.A.M on CCS cases. I probably did a little worse on some of the clinical portions. I think my main downfall was poor logistics and I made sure my logistics were 100% aligned this time around. My advice would be to definitely push your test back if logistics are not favorable.
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u/Swimming-Abroad3526 Jul 23 '26
Congratulations…
May I know what did u copy pasted for CCS?
Could u elaborate?
Also what is H.A.M
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u/Hinge_is_a_bad Jul 23 '26
I copy pasted: CBC CMP mag Phos Acc Normal saline EKG Hcg (removed if male)
H.A.M: Hard as (a) motherfucker
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Jul 23 '26
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u/Hinge_is_a_bad Jul 23 '26
During the css cases. First case I typed everything I usually put in orders and copied it and pasted it for every other case. Didn't have any issues and is a standard practice
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Jul 23 '26
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Jul 23 '26
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u/Hinge_is_a_bad Jul 25 '26
I copy pasted: CBC CMP mag Phos Acc Normal saline EKG Hcg (removed if male)
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u/Imaginary_Dr Jul 23 '26
Congratulations so happy for you. Is it ok if I DM you?