213 -> 260 in 5 weeks AMA

writeup to add to wiki

Background, I did very poorly on Step 1 -> 210, my test was cancelled 4 times bc of covid test controls and me
catching the rona, so my window got stretched to 7 months! I was a very average shelf taker as well, scoring
pretty much 75-78 on every shelf. My ENTIRE problem was test taking strategy. Here are my Step 2 test results:

213 on NBME 9 5 weeks out

222 on UWSA 1 4 weeks out

Took Divine's test taking strategy course

239 on NBME 10 three weeks out

243 NBME 11 two weeks out

242 NBME 12 one week out

260 on real thing

KEY PEARL

This may be controversial, but UWORLD sets you up to miss A LOT of NBME questions. This was very apparent
after taking Divine's test taking strategy course. Whereas UWORLD questions will insert one sentence/phrase
which will change answer entirely, on NBMEs these are put there as red herrings. While UWORLD is great for
knowledge base, as far as conditioning you to fall for NBME tricks - IT IS TERRIBLE. ALWAYS PICK THE
ANSWER WHICH THE BULK OF THE PARAGRAPH SUPPORTS, DO NOT GET SIDETRACKED ON RED
HERRINGS. This one little tidbit was SOLEY responsible for me increasing my scores by 20/30 points in a
matter of one week -> 100% test taking strategy. Would HIGHLY recommend taking Divine's test taking strategy
course ($400), if you can swing it and you realize that you know all the material, just not how to know what the
NBME is after.

I would also HIGHLY recommend, if you are pressed for time, doing as many shelf exams as possible. USMLE
questions and UWORLD/AMBOSS questions are an entirely different beast. We all know how vague USMLE
questions can seem, even though they are not vague at all- you just have to zoom out a little and look at what
they are trying to get after. Shelf exams prepare you for NBME style question, not UWORLD. If stuck on a 50/50,
focus on your two answers- what would you expect the question stem to relay if one answer was correct vs. what
would you expect question stem to relay if the other answer was correct. Go with the most obvious choice, the
NBME is NOT trying to trick you.

Also, the NBME will never use buzz words, in this aspect, AMBOSS is a better resource than uworld, because
their answer choices, etc also use descriptors vs. the buzz words on UWORLD. My suggestion to anyone that
needs a 5 point jump in a week would be to sign up for a week free trial on amboss and make dedicated question
sets. In my last week, I cruised through all 900 pulm/card/biostats/epidemiology/behav health questions on
amboss, which was clutch (make sure to select all exams and not just Step 2 when refining question pool). In my
last day, I reviewed all of the internal medicine, nbme 9-12, and surgery shelf exams. Would also recommend
searching for the 2014 practice questions online (its archived somewhere), and running through that.

This test is NOT BAD, you just have to nail down test taking strategy -> most important factor to boost scores
immediately.