Very bummed out about step 1 performance. Someone please talk some sense into me

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Pinkleton

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I don't wanna come across as ungrateful about my 242, but it is frustrating that after 5 weeks of dedicated studying, my score only increased by 2 points from NBME practice exam. Honestly, I was sure I broke a 250. My test seemed easy for the most part. Maybe the curve was tough or I just made some terrible guesses, I'll never know but I am in awe

All these experience reports show people jumping like 40 points from their baseline. I've literally heard of no one not improving their score. I feel like I learned so much in those 5 weeks but have nothing to show for it.

I had my heart set on getting accepted to Denver's IM residency where my family is, but it seems like it'll be an uphill battle. A friend told me that I should be proud of having a good baseline but that's irrelevant to me. Is my sadness not appropriate given the circumstances?
 
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Lol.

Get a grip, man. It's pretty obvious you're gonna have to drop out of med school now.
 
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Statistically, the majority of programs in ALL fields probably do not screen out <250 scores. That includes derm/ent/plastics/etc. I would bet good money that IM program would not screen out your application based on your step. Congrats on a good score
 
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Great place to vent. I would encourage you not to express similar feelings to anyone without the protection of anonymity because you will come across as whiny and ungrateful. You have been affording amazing opportunities. Be thankful!
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess it's just my pride getting the best of me or something. And I haven't been thinking about the other important aspects of my application. Seeing all these high scores really gets inside your head haha
 
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Pinkleton said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess it's just my pride getting the best of me or something. And I haven't been thinking about the other important aspects of my application. Seeing all these high scores really gets inside your head haha
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There are many important things in your life. You did a great job and if you continue to improve you'll probably be an excellent doctor.
 
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If it were normal distribution, 242 would put you somewhere between 70th and 80th percentile. I'm sure you'd qualify for IM in Denver. I know nothing about residency at all, but Denver...
 
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I played the lottery and won only $100,000. I mean, that's nice, but I really wanted to buy a Maybach.... why is my life so hard guys?

Seriously, there's first world problems, and then there are blind and insensitive gunner problems.
 
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The real question is how does someone smart enough to score over a 240, write such a stupid post?
 
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Pinkleton said:
I don't wanna come across as ungrateful about my 242, but it is frustrating that after 5 weeks of dedicated studying, my score only increased by 2 points from NBME practice exam. Honestly, I was sure I broke a 250. My test seemed easy for the most part. Maybe the curve was tough or I just made some terrible guesses, I'll never know but I am in awe

All these experience reports show people jumping like 40 points from their baseline. I've literally heard of no one not improving their score. I feel like I learned so much in those 5 weeks but have nothing to show for it.

I had my heart set on getting accepted to Denver's IM residency where my family is, but it seems like it'll be an uphill battle. A friend told me that I should be proud of having a good baseline but that's irrelevant to me. Is my sadness not appropriate given the circumstances?
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Troll.
 
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Choo said:
If it were normal distribution, 242 would put you somewhere between 70th and 80th percentile. I'm sure you'd qualify for IM in Denver. I know nothing about residency at all, but Denver...
Click to expand...

Not true. Average is 227, with a sd of 22. He is at around the 60th percentile. If you know nothing about residency maybe you shouldn't chime in.

OP don't feel bad I am sure your parents are more dissappointed then you are.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
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I have an exercise for you. I did it today because I wanted to mess with my gf.

Call someone up who knows how the scoring works and tell them you got 30-50 points lower. Craft the whole story with them - wasn't with it on exam day,didn't sleep, w/e. Explain how your options are different now from what you wanted (if they are). Guaranteed to snap you out of whatever this is.

And for the love of all that is good don't ever express these feelings to your classmates. You may lose limbs.
 
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preDoGuy24 said:
Not true. Average is 227, with a sd of 22. He is at around the 60th percentile. If you know nothing about residency maybe you shouldn't chime in.

OP don't feel bad I am sure your parents are more dissappointed then you are.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
... his z score (~0.7) would say otherwise with a mean of 227, SD of 22.

OP you are at the 75th percentile for the USMLE Step 1. You scored better than 75% of people taking this test. You scored better than 3 out of every 4 people taking this test. You did great. You will be competitive for many IM programs including Denver.
 
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pattr said:
... his z score (~0.7) would say otherwise with a mean of 227, SD of 22.

OP you are at the 75th percentile for the USMLE Step 1. You scored better than 75% of people taking this test. You scored better than 3 out of every 4 people taking this test. You did great. You will be competitive for many IM programs including Denver.
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God Damn you z-score chart!

Fun fact for the day, guess I am 85th percentile on the usmle AND have forgotten all of my previous stats knowledge already, F*** you SDN.

OP- not a cool day to post this bullsh8t when some people have gotten awesome news and others are devastated, leave your egocentric world for a bit and join reality with the rest of us.
 
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preDoGuy24 said:
God Damn you z-score chart,

OP- not a cool day to post this bullsh8t when some people have gotten awesome news and others are devastated, leave your egocentric world for a bit and join reality with the rest of us.
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Take a chill pill broham. I said talk some sense into me, not be insulting. My parents are plenty proud, thank you very much. Notice I created my own thread and did not post this in the experience thread. To all who are devastated and are eagerly following this thread, my apologies

To the others, thanks for the wake up call
 
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Pinkleton said:
Take a chill pill broham. I said talk some sense into me, not be insulting. My parents are plenty proud, thank you very much. Notice I created my own thread and did not post this in the experience thread. To all who are devastated and are eagerly following this thread, my apologies
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I am chill bro.

I get irritated and maybe a little bit snappy because this thread reminds me of what sucks about med school, people with no life experience complaining about stuff they should feel awesome about. If a 242 isn't good enough then a 250 wouldnt be any better. You crushed step 1, no doors are closed to you do yourself a favor and realize that a great step score is a really good problem to have and a VERY douchey problem to complain about.
 
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OP, i think you need to go and get a life. There is wayyyyy more to life than complaining about a score that is considered high by all means. Go make some friends and hit up a bar.
 
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Wow, I'm really shocked at the responses you've been getting on this thread.

1. I understand what you're going through. When we set our expectations of ourselves quite high in general...it can hurt to fall short of what we think we are capable of achieving.

2. You worked your butt off and expected more...it's incredibly dissatisfying to see no acknowledgement of it on paper/score. But...

All that said...you know you worked those 5 weeks...and you KNOW you picked up info. So, score aside...you got an awesome score and it will get you where you want to go. Your 5 weeks - I'm 100% sure you got a lot out of it even if it seems like just water down the drain on the surface. It wasn't 🙂

Good luck with Denver!
 
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Anastomoses said:
Wow, I'm really shocked at the responses you've been getting on this thread.

1. I understand what you're going through. When we set our expectations of ourselves quite high in general...it can hurt to fall short of what we think we are capable of achieving.

2. You worked your butt off and expected more...it's incredibly dissatisfying to see no acknowledgement of it on paper/score. But...

All that said...you know you worked those 5 weeks...and you KNOW you picked up info. So, score aside...you got an awesome score and it will get you where you want to go. Your 5 weeks - I'm 100% sure you got a lot out of it even if it seems like just water down the drain on the surface. It wasn't 🙂

Good luck with Denver!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for understanding. I know this is a ridiculous complaint in the real world but thought SDN would understand. People complain about 259s here haha. I would be very happy with my score if I had started at 220 or so. I just really got my hopes up, that is all. I think I'm over it already
 
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Anastomoses said:
Wow, I'm really shocked at the responses you've been getting on this thread.

1. I understand what you're going through. When we set our expectations of ourselves quite high in general...it can hurt to fall short of what we think we are capable of achieving.

2. You worked your butt off and expected more...it's incredibly dissatisfying to see no acknowledgement of it on paper/score. But...

All that said...you know you worked those 5 weeks...and you KNOW you picked up info. So, score aside...you got an awesome score and it will get you where you want to go. Your 5 weeks - I'm 100% sure you got a lot out of it even if it seems like just water down the drain on the surface. It wasn't 🙂

Good luck with Denver!
Click to expand...

Pinkleton said:
Thank you so much for understanding. I know this is a ridiculous complaint in the real world but thought SDN would understand. People complain about 259s here haha. I would be very happy with my score if I had started at 220 or so. I just really got my hopes up, that is all. I think I'm over it already
Click to expand...

Although not popular on this thread, I can agree with these posts.
 
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Anastomoses said:
Wow, I'm really shocked at the responses you've been getting on this thread.

1. I understand what you're going through. When we set our expectations of ourselves quite high in general...it can hurt to fall short of what we think we are capable of achieving.

2. You worked your butt off and expected more...it's incredibly dissatisfying to see no acknowledgement of it on paper/score. But...

All that said...you know you worked those 5 weeks...and you KNOW you picked up info. So, score aside...you got an awesome score and it will get you where you want to go. Your 5 weeks - I'm 100% sure you got a lot out of it even if it seems like just water down the drain on the surface. It wasn't 🙂

Good luck with Denver!
Click to expand...

Oh please, this reminds me of the kid who went to my high school who was upset that he got a benz for his 16th bday and not the mustang cobra he had wanted. I'm weird enough to be upset I wasn't 1 sd above average, but you don't see me dedicating a thread to sob about the score I did get, because I have enough sense to know that it is incredibly insensitive to bitch when there are plenty of people who just got crushed by an actually low score, and who actually have legitimate cause to worry about their residency options. Want to cry about doing very well, but not well enough by your high standards? Do it with someone you actually know, in private, instead of making a melodramatic and, again, incredibly insensitive spectacle of it. What's next, going on a cancer support forum and crying about how your completely benign tumor is going to leave a scar after it's resected (a legit reason to be upset, but a terrible way to go about expresding it).
..
 
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mishaS said:
Oh please, this reminds me of the kid who went to my high school who was upset that he got a benz for his 16th bday and not the mustang cobra he had wanted. I'm weird enough to be upset I wasn't 1 sd above average, but you don't see me dedicating a thread to sob about the score I did get, because I have enough sense to know that it is incredibly insensitive to bitch when there are plenty of people who just got crushed by an actually low score, and who actually have legitimate cause to worry about their residency options. Want to cry about doing very well, but not well enough by your high standards? Do it with someone you actually know, in private, instead of making a melodramatic and, again, incredibly insensitive spectacle of it. What's next, going on a cancer support forum and crying about how your completely benign tumor is going to leave a scar after it's resected (a legit reason to be upset, but a terrible way to go about expresding it).
..
Click to expand...

It's the internet. Relax. You sound more melodramatic than I do. Gettin all gloomy with all this cancer talk. Take the debate somewhere else, bud.
 
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Pinkleton said:
Its the internet. Relax. You sound more melodramatic than I do. Gettin all gloomy with all this cancer talk. Take the debate somewhere else, bud.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's best if you make a thread complaining about how harsh people on the internet can be. Oh, and I'm not your bud, pal.
 
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Pinkleton said:
I don't wanna come across as ungrateful about my 242, but it is frustrating that after 5 weeks of dedicated studying, my score only increased by 2 points from NBME practice exam. Honestly, I was sure I broke a 250. My test seemed easy for the most part. Maybe the curve was tough or I just made some terrible guesses, I'll never know but I am in awe

All these experience reports show people jumping like 40 points from their baseline. I've literally heard of no one not improving their score. I feel like I learned so much in those 5 weeks but have nothing to show for it.

I had my heart set on getting accepted to Denver's IM residency where my family is, but it seems like it'll be an uphill battle. A friend told me that I should be proud of having a good baseline but that's irrelevant to me. Is my sadness not appropriate given the circumstances?
Click to expand...

A lot of people are shredding you to pieces about this, and while I agree that it is a bit tacky to complain about such a great score, it is the internet and people should be able to express their truest thoughts on here. It's what makes this place great (or horrible, depending on your perspective). You're probably not the only one who feels that way about their score, and you're lucky to have such a high score to complain about. A lot of my friends/classmates scored way below average, and I'm sure of at least one that was pretty close to failing. The SDN reporting bias is real, and it will leave you feeling like crap but the numbers don't lie. You have a great score, and few (if any) doors have been closed for you. Talk to a few classmates or friends, and you will feel a lot better about your score.
 
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Pinkleton said:
It's the internet. Relax. You sound more melodramatic than I do. Gettin all gloomy with all this cancer talk. Take the debate somewhere else, bud.
Click to expand...

mishaS said:
Maybe it's best if you make a thread complaining about how harsh people on the internet can be. Oh, and I'm not your bud, pal.
Click to expand...

:corny:
 
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imperturbable said:
A lot of people are shredding you to pieces about this, and while I agree that it is a bit tacky to complain about such a great score, it is the internet and people should be able to express their truest thoughts on here. It's what makes this place great (or horrible, depending on your perspective). You're probably not the only one who feels that way about their score, and you're lucky to have such a high score to complain about. A lot of my friends/classmates scored way below average, and I'm sure of at least one that was pretty close to failing. The SDN reporting bias is real, and it will leave you feeling like crap but the numbers don't lie. You have a great score, and few (if any) doors have been closed for you. Talk to a few classmates or friends, and you will feel a lot better about your score.
Click to expand...

I notice this is imperturbable's first post and it's indeed a good one.
 
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Join the club. You never really get over it (until you get your residency/interviews I guess), that's the really sucky bit.
 
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mishaS said:
Oh please, this reminds me of the kid who went to my high school who was upset that he got a benz for his 16th bday and not the mustang cobra he had wanted. I'm weird enough to be upset I wasn't 1 sd above average, but you don't see me dedicating a thread to sob about the score I did get, because I have enough sense to know that it is incredibly insensitive to bitch when there are plenty of people who just got crushed by an actually low score, and who actually have legitimate cause to worry about their residency options. Want to cry about doing very well, but not well enough by your high standards? Do it with someone you actually know, in private, instead of making a melodramatic and, again, incredibly insensitive spectacle of it. What's next, going on a cancer support forum and crying about how your completely benign tumor is going to leave a scar after it's resected (a legit reason to be upset, but a terrible way to go about expresding it).
..
Click to expand...

Okay, I'd advise against whining to people in person with lower scores but from the OP I gathered from the expressed details that his/her disappointment was genuine.

It can be painful/depressing to the person not scoring high enough on tests or exams. While people easily understand the pain of failing, it's really difficult for people to empathize with the pain of overachievers who fall short. I would have expected med students to be able to understand that.
 
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Anastomoses said:
While people easily understand the pain of failing, it's really difficult for people to empathize with the pain of overachievers who fall short. I would have expected med students to be able to understand that.
Click to expand...

Yep. Quite a funny thing, that is.
 
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It sounds to me that there was something wrong with the NBME assessment. Starting off at a 242 unless you were heavily pre-studying doesn't seem right. If you were heavily pre-studying, then maybe you had already peaked.
 
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Thanks for the continued input everyone. I don't mind the negative criticism unless you're an a**hole about it

As far as the assessments go, weird I know. I did my first uworld blocks in January before even touching anything and was getting around 65%. Did half of uworld and took notes on explanations during classes but didn't use FA yet. Did nbme 13 on day 1 of studying and got 240. Was low 70s in UW at this point. Got a 247 on an nbme a week later so I was getting excited. Then I just stayed low 240s on 3 more despite consistently breaking the 80% mark on UW. Not the typical SDN pattern I know
 
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a**hole? Hey OP, think about the people who barely broke 200 reading your whiney, immature post.
Now who is the a**hole?
 
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dude seriously? u got a 242. your life is seriously over....jk. but seriously WTF is with this post?
 
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truth is...if your going to complain about a 242 YOU DONT F$##### DESERVE A 242
 
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GoWiththeFlo said:
a**hole? Hey OP, think about the people who barely broke 200 reading your whiney, immature post.
Now who is the a**hole?
Click to expand...

Who cares about them? It's a forum, not a feel good happy support group. What are the people with 200 complaining about then? They passed, think of all the people who didn't that are feeling totes sad.

That said, OP, you are being whiny and you should know better. You're shooting for IM in denver, not derm in LA.
 
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Wordead said:
Who cares about them? It's a forum, not a feel good happy support group. What are the people with 200 complaining about then? They passed, think of all the people who didn't that are feeling totes sad.

That said, OP, you are being whiny and you should know better. You're shooting for IM in denver, not derm in LA.
Click to expand...

Friend of mine matched this year into derm at Keck/USC with <242. Just saying. Everyone needs to remember that 1) Step 1is important, but less important every year, 2) You get a do over to prove the same thing about yourself (Step 2), and 3) you can't put your business on the Internet if you're not open to criticism. If you need that, start your own blog or forum and mod the comments.
 
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Pinkleton said:
I don't wanna come across as ungrateful about my 242, but it is frustrating that after 5 weeks of dedicated studying, my score only increased by 2 points from NBME practice exam. Honestly, I was sure I broke a 250. My test seemed easy for the most part. Maybe the curve was tough or I just made some terrible guesses, I'll never know but I am in awe

All these experience reports show people jumping like 40 points from their baseline. I've literally heard of no one not improving their score. I feel like I learned so much in those 5 weeks but have nothing to show for it.

I had my heart set on getting accepted to Denver's IM residency where my family is, but it seems like it'll be an uphill battle. A friend told me that I should be proud of having a good baseline but that's irrelevant to me. Is my sadness not appropriate given the circumstances?
Click to expand...

worst OP in history of forums.
 
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Pinkleton said:
I don't wanna come across as ungrateful about my 242, but it is frustrating that after 5 weeks of dedicated studying, my score only increased by 2 points from NBME practice exam. Honestly, I was sure I broke a 250. My test seemed easy for the most part. Maybe the curve was tough or I just made some terrible guesses, I'll never know but I am in awe

All these experience reports show people jumping like 40 points from their baseline. I've literally heard of no one not improving their score. I feel like I learned so much in those 5 weeks but have nothing to show for it.

I had my heart set on getting accepted to Denver's IM residency where my family is, but it seems like it'll be an uphill battle. A friend told me that I should be proud of having a good baseline but that's irrelevant to me. Is my sadness not appropriate given the circumstances?
Click to expand...

You're a towel.
 
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If Step 1 was such a big deal to you that a 242 is a disappointment, then why did you only do one NBME
 
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Anastomoses said:
Okay, I'd advise against whining to people in person with lower scores but from the OP I gathered from the expressed details that his/her disappointment was genuine.

It can be painful/depressing to the person not scoring high enough on tests or exams. While people easily understand the pain of failing, it's really difficult for people to empathize with the pain of overachievers who fall short. I would have expected med students to be able to understand that.
Click to expand...

Did you read my post?
 
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