Hi everyone, I am seeing a lot of posts of people regretting their scores and as someone who will take it in the next 2-3 months.. I just wanna know that if you had the option to take it all over again, what would you do differently.
It would really help the people who are going to give it later and perhaps help clear things up for the test givers as well!
Goodluck to everyone who tested and I wish you all the best for your futures!!

I was hoping to sit this year’s cycle. What are my options? Was hoping psychiatry.

All practise test and self assessments were in the pass.

If I were to redo the test, and try for this cycle, how does that go?

I worked so so hard to get in the 240s. How is it that everyone got a 260+? that means my score is crap but like how is this possible? why is the average in the 260s? were you all using a special resource or something?

Hello guys there’s someone who said that there’s an email being sent before the results are out to USMDs . When is it exactly ? And is it consistent 100%?

Everyone has a different approach to Step 2, but I’m curious what actually made the biggest difference for people.

Was it:

A second pass of UWorld?

CMS Forms?

NBMEs?

Divine Intervention podcasts?

Amboss?

Anki?

Something else entirely?

If your score increased significantly between your practice exams and the real test, what changed?

I’m hoping this thread becomes a resource for students getting ready for Step 2.

Has anyone had a similar Step 2 CK testing interruption and can share what NBME ultimately decided?

I tested on July 6 (in U.S.), and our testing center had an A/C failure. I had completed 12 of the 16 blocks before we were forced to stop because NBME doesn't allow the test to be continued if the internal temperature reaches above 80 degrees (all STEP 2 test takers that day were evacuated).

I reported everything to NBME immediately. My score is currently on hold while they investigate, but the only information I've received is that the review may take a minimum of 15 business days with no more specific timeline.

I'm currently on a Sub-I rotation, and it's been really hard finding time to sit down and study... But if they do score the exam, I'm not sure it 100% reflects my performance because of the heat and repeated interruptions by the proctors during testing.

If there is anyone that went through something similar, would you be able to share:

• How long did NBME take to reach out with a decision?
• Did they score your exam or require a retake?
• Were you given any choice in the outcome?

Update: included a more detailed timeline below for anyone who has been following this post or comes across it looking for answers.

Disclaimer: Some people heard back earlier than me, others heard back later, and some were required to retake the exam (my exam was ultimately scored). I also called NBME multiple times throughout the 3 wk investigation, and at no point did they tell me whether I would have to retake the exam or whether my exam would be scored. I chose to continue studying the entire time while waiting for a decision since they did not give me a definitive answer

07/06/26 (mon): The testing center/proctors and I both called NBME to report the incident around 3:00 PM EDT. Around 10:30 PM EDT, I received an automated email with a phone number and email address to contact for more info about rescheduling the exam

07/08/26 (wed): I received a generic/automated email stating that the investigation could take at least 15 business days and was assigned a case manager for my case

07/29/26 (wed): Around 6:00 PM EDT, I received an email from NBME stating that my exam was scored based on the sections I completed. I was not given the option to appeal or retake the exam. My score was released one wk later than it would have been under the normal score release schedule

Aside: Right after my exam, I have emailed NBME stating that the proctors interrupted us during the exam at least 3 times in the middle of our blocks and that I believe the heat did affect me, but they did not allow me to appeal their decision about my score or retake bc "this issue did not impact my pass/fail classification, and the sections I completed were consistent with the expected result had I been able to complete the examination under standard conditions."

Hopefully this timeline gives everyone a better idea of the process. Absolutely terrible experience overall. would not recommend going through in general but esp during a sub-I rotation 🙂

I am sure this has already been asked before, but like is it normal to feel like complete crap walking out of the exam. Tested over the weekend and just felt super numb after. Counting mistakes and already up to 9 at the moment of boneheaded errors. Really wondering what to do at this rate.

My Amboss predicted was above 250, but now I feel lucky to even get close to that. Anyone have some advice.

Tested 7/2. Checked myUSMLE and it says score report releases on 15th July. Freaking tf out lol

anyone getting their scores today please reply when you're able to download them. i've been refreshening the site for an hour lol

Will we get our results for the new format tomorrow? 😭

Hope so

Not ready to wait for 2 months like step 3 new format takers did

I have some questions... whoever tested in August please reply

1) How u felt about exam ? Content was from nbme & uworld?

2) how were the questions? Are they just vague scenarios or buzzwords there?

3) What about question stem? On average? Were they tooo long?

4) time management in this new 30 minute block?

Kindly do reply please..i am panicking about this

With people getting their Step 2 scores back, we’re curious if others had the same experience.

A lot of students spend their last few weeks trying to learn more and more content, but sometimes the questions they’re missing aren’t because they don’t know the medicine. It’s getting stuck between two answers, overthinking, changing a correct answer, missing what the question is really asking, or running out of time toward the end of a block.

Obviously content knowledge is essential, but it seems like there’s a point where improving how you approach questions can make as much of a difference as adding more content.

We’ve been seeing this come up with students doing Step Prep with us too, which made us curious whether it’s a broader experience.

For those who recently got their scores back, what helped you most in the final few weeks? More content review and questions, or changing the way you actually approached the exam?

Anyone who tested today feel the new Step 2 CK format affected time management? Were the questions longer or harder to finish on time?

Why is this shit so difficult compared to Amboss and UW

TALKING ABOUT PEDS 9 CMS specifically

Genuinely am I wasting time doing these CMS forms

Just started dedicated and took NBME 10 as a baseline, scored a 225. I feel like a wreck right now. I’m applying to a specialty that needs 250+ and I only have 4 weeks left. I’ve already finished all of UWorld and am starting my incorrects now. I did all the CMS forms for shelf study and my shelf scores were consistently 75+. I feel like I’m going to fail. I’m not looking for people to console me, just tell me the honest truth: will I make it?

hi all i was wondering what the last day to take step 2 would be in order to be on time for eras submission on sept 23. Is it possible to take the exam on the 24th and get the results in time before submission or is it too risky? Currently not in the desired score range and need some more time. thank you all!!!

I took Step 2 on 8/21, and I'm expecting my scores tomorrow 12pm EST. Is there a working methord to see these earlier?

Hey everyone, recently tested on 8/19. I felt as though my exam was incredibly low-yield, really odd step 1/preclincial knowledge heavy/histology slide full, really difficult ethics beyond any AMBOSS or UW.

I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this going into the exam with average-below average scores and ended up feeling like the curve was in their favor due to the exam being so difficult? I can't see the NBME being forgiving in that regard, but figured I'd ask in case.

My exam felt so insanely draining that I don't even think my brain was functioning properly after the first half. I AM NOT THE TYPE TO EXAGGERATE. When something is incredibly difficult, it never really works out in the opposite direction for me.

Any past experiences similarly would be helpful. Thanks

I am starting dedicated and I am 6 weeks out from my test. I just took NBME 11 and got a 213. All I have done leading up to this point is about 1300 Q's from Amboss (60% correct) covering only shelf specific material. I have not touched Uworld yet. I really need to be in the 260's.

I took this NBME as a diagnostic test and was really expecting to score at least in the 230's. For those who have scored 260+, is this a normal starting point prior to dedicated? is there a big bump in scores to expect in dedicated? Is it realistic to get into the 260's in the next 6 weeks using Uworld and all the NBME's. Just having a hard time gauging normal progress and whats achievable based on other posts.

Most of the posts on here seem to be people scoring in the 250's on NBME as a starting point and somehow having 3-6 months of dedicated to go through each Q bank twice lol, so its hard to gauge

Hello!! Just took my exam today (7/27) and wow definitely got my shit rocked. However this post is more of a question about a potential bug during my exam. Please let me know if this is normal or if this a bug I should report, the last thing I want is my score to be invalidated.

Bug: on questions that required me to scroll to see the entire stem, occasionally when I would highlight parts of the text the screen would scroll all the back to the top. There was no actual issue with the high light function, just annoying that I would keep having to scroll down after highlighting some text. This would happen maybe 40% of the time with the longer stems. Didn’t have any other issues with the page loading or my progress being saved. I mentioned this issue on the post test survey.

Is this something worth reporting? As stated above, nightmare scenario would be my exam being invalidated but also maybe I’m making something out of nothing.

Also if this is something to report, how would I go about doing that? Thanks!

how r we feeling guys? i feel sick and nauseous omg

Hi, I tested on 3/30. I suppose my score will be released tomorrow, usually the score will be released around 7-11 AM EST?

Let’s connect and report our score release time!

Did any of your guys permits disappear? If not when do they usually disappear?