After fully completing a few question banks, many have questions. When they should start taking the multiple available practice tests and which order they should take them in? There are six Step 2 different practice exams (200 questions each) provided by the NBME (practice tests: 9-14). Additionally there are three free 120 questions based USMLE practice test themselves,- the oldest, new old, and the newest versions. Plus there are 3 four block (120 questions) UWORLD Self Assessments (with the third one being released very recently). The final practice exam/self-assessment is from AMBOSS. It provides a free self-assessment around once a year that is available around the late part of spring.
When to take USMLE Practice Tests?
I recommend taking all of the above practice exams. You may still be wondering when and in what order you should take the USMLE practice tests. I would recommend taking all of UWORLD’s question bank before jumping to a practice test. The reason: you should get a grasp on the type of questions and concepts that you ought to know. After one pass of UWorld is done take the NBME exam 9. Then work your way up by alternating with UWorld self-assessments and some of the free 120 exams.
E.g., one week take one NBME practice exam and then a week later take an exam from a different source. This way you get a grasp on how they can ask the same type of question in different ways using different wording. Of course as always with USMLE practice test banks, make sure to review all the mistakes including the correct answers as well.
These explanations seem to be more short and straightforward compared to UWorld’s question banks, and so they should not take as long to review. The key point I would like to stress is to make sure you are not wasting a USMLE practice test (as they are limited), and by that I mean do not take the practice exam until you feel comfortable and ready to sit for a 4-5 hour period of time and ready to tackle difficult questions.
Predictive Value of USMLE Practice Tests
The name of the game is reading comprehension and application of logistical next best step algorithms. Also, another piece of advice is that no matter what anyone says in person or the internet, everyone is different and doing poorly on one exam is definitely not the end of the world because it is called a “practice” exam for a reason. They are more like learning tools similarly to the question banks. There is s some predictive value to them, but some exams are way harder than the other or you might take an exam where you were continuously asked questions on subjects you did not have a tight grasp on. Those would be my next area of studying focus and review that week after you took a difficult practice exam.
In Conclusion
When you get three consistent scores on USMLE practice tests approaching your target score then you are ready to give the actual exam. I would save at least two NBME practice exams and save two UWORLD self-assessments a month before your exam by taking one of these exams once per week leading up to your exam. The free 120 USMLE practice tests, especially the old ones, are more so study guides.
However I highly recommend you take the newest free 120 at the test center. This will allow you to get the lay of the land. It will ease your nerves on actual test day. As you will be more familiar with the layout (test center itself, lockers, bathrooms, computers, and staff).