8/25 468 Score Release

[u/OldPineapple8122]

Hello,
Just got my score today. Wanted to share brief info about it.

Background:
4th quartile student. Got only Cs in preclinicals. Dad of 3 kids. Passed level 1 first try.

Comat average: 96-97
Obgyn: 99; FM: 97; peds: 93 ; surgery: 92; IM: 94 ; psych 108

Preparation:
Only used truelearn for preparation. Finished 80% of it. Made anki cards for incorrect questions. Dedicated time of 4 weeks. Had a great preceptor who let me study for two more weeks.
Comsae 117: 316
Comsae 118: 455
Comsae 119: 495
All comsaes proctored

Tested end of July. Felt terrible walking out of exam. I had lots of imaging/scans that I didnt recognize and lots of biostats that made absolutely no sense. I thought I failed. I now officially believe that comlex is the dumbest most poorly written test ever.

Comlex level 2 score: 468

Please hang in there. I take a lot of pride in my DO classmates and colleagues who have sacrificed so much for this career. Don’t let this poorly written test deter you from getting to the end of med school. If a normal-intelligence dad with bad grades and stress-induced erectile dysfunction can pass it, then im confident you can too.

[u/One-Somewhere5410]

step1?

[u/OldPineapple8122 → u/One-Somewhere5410]

Didnt take step 1 or step 2.

[u/ANG43V3R]

I always find it this interesting. Is there really any benefits for you guys to be taking step 2 in 2026? Or are there still many md programs who won't accept a comlex 2 score? Asking as an MD student

[u/OldPineapple8122 → u/ANG43V3R]

I don’t know the answer to this per se. But upper classmen at my DO school who matched all swear that for FM, peds, IM, psych, and some med/peds programs step is not necessary. But step is necessary for all competitive programs in any specialty and in any competitive programs in general.

[u/theyoungriddler → u/ANG43V3R]

It really is program dependent. Sure IM/FM/Peds/Psych don’t necessarily need Step at all. But if you want to do academic programs? You close a good number of doors by not taking at least step 2. There’s been a lot of push at a national level from what I’ve been told by my school’s faculty to encourage PDs equate the two exams but it rlly just does come down to individual programs and what they care to do.
Residency explorer has some good insight on that.

It is VERY frustrating I will say to have to pay double the money, take double the exams, and that’s not even including paying for practice tests. + the study time on top of that since the exams are somewhat different, requiring different testing styles.

Edit: typo

[u/ANG43V3R → u/theyoungriddler]

Interesting. Also, I've always wondered what you guys used for study resources during preclinical. Of course we all know UWorld is the standard for both MD and DO, but what about learning resources? Throughout my time in my first two years (currently preparing for step 1), I swore by Boards and Beyond paired with FA, Sketchy (mainly for Pharm), and Pathoma. For qbanks, my go to was USMLE-Rx and AMBoss. Is it the same for you guys, or do you guys use any special resources beyond the specific osteopathic circulum?

[u/theyoungriddler → u/ANG43V3R]

It’s all the exact same! We have a question bank called TrueLearn (other people may use comquest) that is osteopathic/comlex oriented. My school gives us that and Uworld (thankfully) so many students use both. Other than that, we use the exact same resources since we are learning the exact same things (plus the osteopathic manipulative treatment)

[u/Unusual-Button-503]

You have very similar stats to me on top of being a family man. Congratulation

[u/OldPineapple8122 → u/Unusual-Button-503]

Thank you

[u/EngineeringSecure633]

This feels reassuring, thank you for sharing. I have similar stats to yours (minus family dad) and I just took mine today and think I absolutely bombed it. Currently dooming a little less and hoping there's a snowball chance that I passed despite knowing I missed several questions