Finally passed STEP after failing twice — here's what actually worked

So I failed the STEP exam back in October and then again in February, and I honestly thought I was just bad at this stuff. My score goal was 220 and I kept landing in the 195–202 range. The frustrating part was I felt like I knew the material but kept running out of time on the clinical vignettes.

What finally clicked for me was switching up how I used a STEP practice test. Instead of just doing blocks and moving on, I started doing timed 40-question sets and then spending almost as long reviewing wrong answers as I did taking the test. I found a solid study guide that organized path and pharm by organ system, and that structure helped way more than the random subject-by-subject approach I'd been using.

Third attempt I scored a 224. For anyone still grinding, my biggest exam tips: do NOT skip biostats (I picked up probably 8–10 points there alone), and simulate real test conditions from week one. Happy to answer questions if anyone's in the same boat I was.