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Hey guys,
I took the step 1 exam 36 days ago and I unfortunately did not pass the exam, and received a score of 182. I am very disappointed in my result, because I did put a significant amount of study time and preparation for this exam. Below is what I used to study . I also included at the bottom what i feel i did wrong. PLEASE GIVE ME ANY POSITIVE CRITICISM, AND ADVICE ON HOW I SHOULD GO ABOUT TO STUDY FOR THE TEST AGAIN. My goal is to get 230 or higher. Also, I am a carribean student ,do I still have any chance in matching into gen surgery...
I SINCERELY THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT .
I had started studying for this exam a 1 year ago by taking a Live Kaplan prep course in conjunction to working full time. However, starting January 15, 2013 I dedicated my full time to prepare for the Step 1, and I took the exam 3.5 months later on April 29, 2013. My study time consisted of 12-hour days, with 4 hours for break time (in the first month I only put in approximately 8 hours a day). Additionally, I took 1 day a week off to break and complete chores. My study schedule consisted of the following: The first 4 weeks I completed a review of the First Aid in conjunction with the Doctors in Training program. Then for the next 9 weeks I finished only 80 percent the USMLE World Qbank (averaging approximately 75 questions & explanations per day). On days which I had left over time I also listened to Goljans pathology audio. The last week before the exam I did a rapid review of the First Aid.
My average on the Usmle World Qbank was 53%, and i was avg high 50s toward the end. Although there were certain areas such as hematology, immunology, and some parts of physiology which I was weak in, I felt I had an overall good understanding of everything else before I sat for the exam, certainly enough to pass.
During the exam I felt the actual test questions were relatively comparable to the UWorld Qbank, and some were even more straight-forward. However, what really affected me was the time factor and endurance necessary. By the 4th block I felt mentally drained, and I had a hard time focusing. I was not in the same state of mind as when I was doing practice questions. I took a lunch break after the 4th block, which helped a lot with my concentration, but I was still pushing to complete each block. I missed about 4-5 questions from 3rd, 4th and 6th blocks.
I feel that I had made four significant mistakes when preparing for this test. 1) I did not take any online NBME exams. 2) I did not review the questions I got wrong from Uworld Qbank . 3) I did not go back to the Kaplan review books and texts to review the subjects which I was weak in. I additionally should have done many more additional questions from my weak subjects to solidify and apply the material. 4) I did not study under real exam conditions to build my endurance for test day. It is my utmost goal to go back and diligently work on each of these 4 mistakes that I have made. ALSO, i plan on redoing uworld in timed mode and completeing it this time and also doing Pathoma.
I took the step 1 exam 36 days ago and I unfortunately did not pass the exam, and received a score of 182. I am very disappointed in my result, because I did put a significant amount of study time and preparation for this exam. Below is what I used to study . I also included at the bottom what i feel i did wrong. PLEASE GIVE ME ANY POSITIVE CRITICISM, AND ADVICE ON HOW I SHOULD GO ABOUT TO STUDY FOR THE TEST AGAIN. My goal is to get 230 or higher. Also, I am a carribean student ,do I still have any chance in matching into gen surgery...
I SINCERELY THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT .
I had started studying for this exam a 1 year ago by taking a Live Kaplan prep course in conjunction to working full time. However, starting January 15, 2013 I dedicated my full time to prepare for the Step 1, and I took the exam 3.5 months later on April 29, 2013. My study time consisted of 12-hour days, with 4 hours for break time (in the first month I only put in approximately 8 hours a day). Additionally, I took 1 day a week off to break and complete chores. My study schedule consisted of the following: The first 4 weeks I completed a review of the First Aid in conjunction with the Doctors in Training program. Then for the next 9 weeks I finished only 80 percent the USMLE World Qbank (averaging approximately 75 questions & explanations per day). On days which I had left over time I also listened to Goljans pathology audio. The last week before the exam I did a rapid review of the First Aid.
My average on the Usmle World Qbank was 53%, and i was avg high 50s toward the end. Although there were certain areas such as hematology, immunology, and some parts of physiology which I was weak in, I felt I had an overall good understanding of everything else before I sat for the exam, certainly enough to pass.
During the exam I felt the actual test questions were relatively comparable to the UWorld Qbank, and some were even more straight-forward. However, what really affected me was the time factor and endurance necessary. By the 4th block I felt mentally drained, and I had a hard time focusing. I was not in the same state of mind as when I was doing practice questions. I took a lunch break after the 4th block, which helped a lot with my concentration, but I was still pushing to complete each block. I missed about 4-5 questions from 3rd, 4th and 6th blocks.
I feel that I had made four significant mistakes when preparing for this test. 1) I did not take any online NBME exams. 2) I did not review the questions I got wrong from Uworld Qbank . 3) I did not go back to the Kaplan review books and texts to review the subjects which I was weak in. I additionally should have done many more additional questions from my weak subjects to solidify and apply the material. 4) I did not study under real exam conditions to build my endurance for test day. It is my utmost goal to go back and diligently work on each of these 4 mistakes that I have made. ALSO, i plan on redoing uworld in timed mode and completeing it this time and also doing Pathoma.
