Valentina Montacuti, MD

Content Lead, US Medical Division

“When exam day arrives, you're not hoping you've covered enough. You know you got this.”

Medical Experience

  • Class of 2013, Universidad Central de Venezuela
  • Clinical experience in Emergency and Family Medicine across the US, Spain, and Venezuela
  • Clinical research background at NYU, contributing to the NIH-funded Human Microbiome Project with peer-reviewed publications in Nature

USMLE Prep

Know where you stand and what to do next

Explore our physician-written Library and Qbank that adapt as you go. Always always know what you'd score today and what to work on next. One membership with the Qbank add-on covers Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3. No separate purchase for each exam.

Building the foundations

Step 1

2,840+ questions + dedicated study plans

See Step 1 prep

On rotations

Step 2 CK

Everything you need to prep for Shelf exams and Step 2 CK, at the same time.

See Step 2 CK prep

In residency

Step 3

2,250+ questions

See Step 3 prep

Used at 450+ medical schools and residency programs

Your school may already provide AMBOSS access, so check before you buy. To hear from students directly, read the reviews.

The AMBOSS difference

Why students choose AMBOSS USMLE® prep

All-in-one access

One connected system, not five subscriptions

Library, Qbank, study plans, and analytics work together: if you miss a question, the explanation links to the article, your next Qbank session adjusts, and your readiness estimate updates. One membership with the Qbank add-on covers every Step and the Shelf exams.

1

All-in-one access

Proven results

Students who used AMBOSS as their primary Qbank scored 10.4 points higher on Step 2 CK

Based on a survey of 1,985 fourth-year students at 159 US medical schools. Read the research paper.

2

Proven results

Physician-written

5,800+ physician-written USMLE® practice questions

Covers the full USMLE content outline for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3, and is updated when the outline changes. Vignettes match the length, style, and reasoning of the real exam, so nothing about the format will be new to you on test day.

4

Physician-written

Readiness

Know where you stand before exam day

Three tools tell you how ready you are, at three points in your prep.

See what you'd score today with Equated Percent Correct

This is a real-time score estimate that adjusts after every Qbank question you answer. Each question is weighted by difficulty and exam relevance. It appears once you've set your study objective and answered your first 40 questions.

Test yourself under real exam conditions with a Self-Assessment

A practice exam for Step 1 or Step 2 CK: 160 questions in eight timed blocks, in the NBME format. You get a three-digit score, your likelihood of passing, and a score report that links to the topics you need to review.

Know if you're ready for test day with the Score Predictor

Enter your practice exam results, including NBME forms, the Free 120, and your Self-Assessment, and get a predicted three-digit score, a score range, and your passing probability, accurate to within 7 to 10 points. 

Study guidance

Know what to do next

Once you know where you stand, AMBOSS guides your study so you cover the most exam-relevant topics.

    • Qbank

    A USMLE® question bank that teaches, not just tests you

    Learn as you answer

    Every explanation comes with Key Info, an Attending Tip to guide your clinical reasoning, and labeled image overlays for radiology, ECG, and pathology findings

    Go deeper on any concept

    Every question links to the relevant Library article, so you can read the full topic and come back to the question without leaving the session

    Choose your difficulty

    Every question is rated one to five hammers. Sessions adjust to your performance, so practice stays challenging and prepares you for exam day

    Anki add-on

    Connect your cards to the Qbank

    Hover over a term in a card and you’ll see definitions and images from the AMBOSS Library, without leaving Anki with. Cards also link to related Qbank sessions, and questions link back to the cards that cover them.

    The App

    Bring your prep with you

    Everything you use on the web, in your pocket: the Library, which works even offline, for quick answers between patients, and the Qbank for a spare ten minutes.

    Chrome extension

    Get definitions for any medical term, anywhere

    Hover over a term in a lecture PDF or journal article and read the AMBOSS definition without opening a new tab.

    FAQ

    Everything you may be wondering

    The AMBOSS USMLE Qbank has 5,800+ questions across the three Step exams: 2,840+ for Step 1, 4,100+ across Step 2 CK and the Shelf exams, and 2,250+ for Step 3. All are written and reviewed by physicians. The Qbank add-on unlocks all of them, along with in-house exam questions, so you don't buy a second Qbank when you move from Step 1 to Step 2 CK. You can filter by system, subject, exam relevance, and difficulty (one hammer to five), or let an Adaptive Session choose the order for you.

    Step 1 is reported as pass or fail, so a good result means passing with a comfortable margin. Step 2 CK is reported as a three-digit score, and what counts as competitive depends on the specialty you're applying to. AMBOSS gives you three ways to measure your readiness: 

    • Equated Percent Correct, a live estimate from your Qbank work that starts estimating your score after 40 questions.
    • The Self-Assessment, a timed practice exam with a three-digit score
    • The Score Predictor, which combines your practice exam results into a predicted score and a passing probability.

    Yes. The AMBOSS Qbank is mapped to the USMLE content outline for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3, and the physicians on the editorial team update questions and articles whenever the outline, question formats, or score reporting change. So what you practice matches what the exam tests today.

    That's what it's built for. A general chatbot draws on the open web, so the quality of its sources varies from answer to answer, and checking them is on you. AI Mode answers from one source: the AMBOSS Library, written by physicians and mapped to the USMLE content outline, with every answer linked to the article behind it. It also knows what's high-yield for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3, so explanations lead with what the exam tests rather than everything that's true about a topic. Learn how AI Mode works.

    The AMBOSS Anki add-on connects Anki and the Qbank in both directions. While reviewing a card, hover over a term and you’ll see a definition and images from the AMBOSS Library, plus a link to the full article if you want to dive deeper. 

    You can even start a Qbank session on that topic straight from the card. After a Qbank session, you can find the Anki cards that match the questions you just answered and add them to your reviews right away. Your decks stay the same; the loop between reviewing and practicing gets shorter.

    Yes. AMBOSS AI Mode is an AI study tool built into the AMBOSS platform for medical students preparing for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3. It answers from the physician-written AMBOSS Library, links every answer to its source article, and connects to the Qbank, study plans, and Anki, so what you ask turns into what you practice. It's included with every student membership. See AI Mode.

    Yes. Every membership includes the Library, study plans, performance analytics, and the Score Predictor for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3, and a single Qbank add-on unlocks the questions for all three exams plus the Shelf exams. You don't buy separate products for each exam, and because everything runs on one account, your performance data stays in one place. Self-Assessments are the one exception: they're purchased separately unless you have Student Life.

    For most students, Student Life is the best value: one payment of $1,199 for unlimited AMBOSS access from now until the end of PGY-1, which means you’re covered for Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 3, and the Shelf exams, with the Step 1 and Step 2 CK Self-Assessments included. It costs less than buying a package for each exam, and the earlier you start, the more you get from it.

    If you're preparing for one exam, the 6-month package covers a full dedicated period. Whichever you choose, start well before dedicated: the Qbank works best as a learning tool alongside your coursework, and the more questions you've answered, the more accurate your Equated Percent Correct and Score Predictor become.

    The Step 1 and Step 2 CK Self-Assessments are included with Student Life and sold separately with every other membership, at $49.99 each.

    Yes. Every package comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee: forward your receipt to refund@amboss.com within 30 days, and you'll receive a full refund, no questions asked. 

    Want to try AMBOSS for free before you buy? Start a free trial now and get 5 days’ access to the Library, AI Mode, and the Qbank.