this post is from a previous tread on my experience and what i would have done better to get a better score. One very important that i forgot to mention in the beginning of the tread is that, a lot people posted their score, stating that it only taking them lest 3-4 months to prepare. I even seen one getting it done in 2 months, making some believe that it is an easy exam. that is completely false. first of all, you need find about the person’s background taking the exam. A lot of them where practicing medicine in the native country where they have pass board exams also. Medicine has not been changed so much in the last 20 years and the Human body is constant anatomically and physiologically. medicine is the same everywhere except for the way you practice it. some of them are already in IM/FM residency, and a good amount of them took the step 2 CK 4-5 months ago. so you need to take all these facts into consideration when you are interpreting other test takers score report. i have completed 8 months of IM residency before resigning. but i have taken step 2 in September 2016. i took step 3 in Nov 8 2019. that’s 3 years later. i was Matched in July 2018 and resign in march 2019. i started to prepare for step 3 pretty much in mid March. so that is 8 months of preparation while working full time to put food on the table. i have scored 210 in the actual exam, i scored in the 183 and 193 for the UWA and failed both NBME 4 (290) in 9/2 and 5(210) in 11/6. i took the free sample on the usmle webpage and score about 75%. i didn’t take in most effective environment, but i know what i know and what i don’t and need to improve on. i have used them to target my weaknesses and took the exam when i felt ready. Time has always been an issue for me in all the step exams. before day 2, i review all the advanced clinical questions. as i go through the exam, i realize they keep testing the same concept in different manner. As you can see my situation is unique to myself and so does yours. so, what i am saying? know yourself, understand your situation, and be careful with what people are saying. this is not your first rodeo. ALWAYS REMEMBER, IF IT WAS THAT EASY, IT WOULD NOT WORTH IT BEING A DOCTOR