As Step 2 season comes around, many students already know that practice exams are key to success on test day. After hours and hours and never ending days of practice questions and videos and anki, the NBME and UWorld practice exams are your chance to prove that the work you are putting in is truly paying off! That said, you also want to make sure that the practice exams you are taking are truly representative of the exam and are preparing you well for test day. UWorld released UWSA form 3 just over 1 year ago, and there have been mixed reviews regarding this new form. This blog post evaluates the more newly available UWSA3 as a practice exam in preparation for Step 2.

Is UWorld self assessment 3 worth taking?

Hopefully you know by now that you should take MANY self assessments. UWorld and CCSSAs are the best exams to take. But given that UWSA3 is so new, you may wonder if it is worth it to take the exam. 

In short, ANY exam to help you prepare for Step 2 is worth it, but UWSA3 is not the most important exam to take. If you have a more limited time frame, it is better to use the more trusted and well known exams. These are more reliable and we have more data to know if they over/under/accurately predict, and if they are truly representative of the Step 2 exam. 

Additionally, don’t let this be the first or last exam that you take. You want your first and last exam to help give you a baseline as well as a reliable expectation of where you are scoring prior to test day. Because this exam is a bit newer, we don’t know as much about its predictiveness.

Despite the unknowns of the exam, we know that questions are the most important part of your preparation for Step 2. Thus, if you find you have the time, go ahead and take USWA3. This will give you yet another data point to know about where you are scoring and will also expose you to new questions! 

How does USWA 3  compare to previous UWSA 1 and 2?

Although we have mentioned this previously, there isn’t a great deal of data or student experiences regarding UWSA3. But, from those who have taken all three exams, many report that USWA Step 3 overall feels harder. They state that the exam questions are a bit “trickier” in their approach. Additionally, some students have reported a score drop on UWSA3 due to these less straightforward questions. It seems as though UWSA3 may be the hardest of the three UWorld exams (but ultimately, the practice form has not been out long enough to truly gauge this.) 

Is it harder than the other exams?

Per many students who have taken CCSSAs, UW1, UW2, and UW3, it seems that some are reporting that UWSA3 is the hardest practice exam available. Students have complained that the questions are confusing and some felt it was not a true representation of their knowledge. That said, UWorld is the gold standard for exam preparation for the Step exams, and we should certainly trust the material they produce. Although UWSA3 may be harder than other exams, this does not mean it should be entirely avoided. After all, Step 2 is a hard exam! 

Are the questions more representative of the real Step 2?

Although this is difficult for me to tell as I personally did not take UWSA3 to prepare for Step 2, many report that the questions feel a bit different than the real Step 2. That said, I have had many students who report that Step 2 feels different than any of the other practice exams that they have taken! Unfortunately, this is by design by NBME. Although they test the same material that you have been studying, they test it in a slightly different manner. This helps ensure that you truly understand the material instead of simply having the material memorized.

But overall, it seems the questions are not any more representative of the real Step 2 than any other available practice exam. 

If I am going to take UWSA3, when should I take it? How should I take it?

If you find that you have the time to add in UWSA3 to your schedule, I recommend you attempt to take it towards the middle of your studying. Because some have reported that the test is harder than other exams, we want to make sure that you are in a good place studying before you tackle UWSA3. But we also don’t want you to take the exam too close to test day and allow you to become discouraged by a decreased test score. 

As we always recommend, you should take your practice exams in a true testing environment. Wake up early and start the exam in the morning. Take breaks as you would plan to take breaks for test day (perhaps every 2 hours initially, then can transition to every hour). And do not use resources while you are taking the exam. You want your score to be a true representation of your knowledge and test taking skills. 

Also, it’s important to remember that the UWorld practice exam is 4 blocks long. Unfortunately, test day is a grand total of 8 blocks long. Thus, although it will give you a score as well as data to help you focus on your weaknesses, it does not quite replicate the true stamina that is needed to take Step 2. If you are someone who wants to take an 8 hour practice exam prior to test day, then I’d recommend that you combine 2 exams (or add in UWorld blocks) to create 8 hours of questions. This will make for a long day, but it can be an important step in preparing for test day! 

What is the best practice exam for Step 2?

Unfortunately, there is no magic practice exam for Step 2. Although the UWorld exams are a great option, they often do not seem to correlate with one’s real test score as well as the NBME forms. The CCSSA forms are crucial to a student’s success as they are written by the same writers of Step 2. Additionally, many students report that the exam is most similar to the questions they encountered on the Free120. 

So…what’s the bottom line? Should I take UWSA3?

The bottom line is, as often is the case, it depends. If you are already tight on time for your Step 2 studying, then I recommend you focus on the CCSSA forms as well as UW1 and UW2. If you find that you have more time than expected, and are able to complete other practice exams, then you should certainly consider incorporating UWSA3 into your study schedule. If you do take the exam, be prepared for a possible score drop (and that’s ok!). And simply make sure that you are learning all you can from the exam. You’ve got this! 

If you find you would like someone to help you navigate the difficulties of Step 2 studying, consider working with an EMP tutor who will be happy to help you establish a schedule, plan the best practice exams for you, and ultimately help you achieve the highest score you possibly can!