Official 2008 Usmle Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

Hey guys, very long-time lurker, this site has helped me so much so I definitely feel like I should contribute. Plus, I'm on psych so I have a bit of free time I also have a bit of anxiety regarding the test score release so it'd be a nice time to talk about it! I took the test back on June 24th, so I may be rambling a bit

Test banks: I used Qbank and World. I basically did World for the subjects that I struggled with and those that I felt Kaplan was less than adequate in. Initially, I meticulusly reviewed all of my questions. After a while, I stopped really reviewing my questions as well. The process of just doing the questions is actually quite helpful. Kaplan gets a lot of heat but the complete randomness of the questions really got my mind mentally prepped for the real deal. There were very few questions on the real deal that were truly surprising.

One thing that translates real well is the timing- I regularly finished my Kaplan and World blocks with 15-20 minutes left. On test day, I had almost exactly the same time left to check over my questions. I used almost all of the time on each section checking stuff over.

My core resources were:
1) RR Goljan- fantastic resource all-around, my test would not have been pretty without it
2) First Aid- great book, enough has been said about this
3) Robbins (a few chapters)- I thought Goljan was weak in a couple of chapters and I used this for a couple of systems this year; I was more familiar with it and it was more efficient for me to re-read this instead.

I also used some subject-specific texts:
1) Lippincott Biochem- some may say its overkill, but it had me extremely well-prepared for the real deal. There were some holes, but FA made up for those easily.
2) BRS Physio- I read the physio chapters for every system I went through. Quick-read, worthwhile. FA covers most of the points, but some nuances are missed.
3) HY Neuro- essential resource in my opinion. The FA neuro chapter is long and it reads much quicker if you review the neuroanatomy beforehand. Plus, FA has no brain images.
4) HY Behavioral Science- good resource to complement the Psych chapter in FA. I liked it.
5) HY Biostats- definite overkill, this book reviewed stats concepts that are more suited for an undergrad stats course.
6) Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculolusly Simple- again, some might call it overkill but I loved this book to death.

My thoughts on the exam:

A) Path- honestly, the resources I used had me really well prepared for the path on the exam. I knew neuro was going to be difficult, but I think I managed it OK. It was easily my worst subject going into my review; though I hardly think I aced it, I think I survived which is all I could hope for. The other subjects were manageable- I was able to reflexively answer a good deal of questions by just skimming the stems because FA/Goljan/Robbins had discussed these topics at great length.
B) Physio- saw a good deal of questions about what happens to hormone levels in various pathologies. BRS physio and FA is enough.
C) Biochem- felt real good about this. I thought Qbank was fantastic in biochem; yes the questions were very tough but they made the real questions look far easier in comparison. Lippincott and First Aid were solid in this department. I didn't have impossible cell-bio questions like Kaplan fortunately.
D) Anatomy- toughest subject on the test by far. No amount of studying would have made a difference. Thank goodness I had two brachial plexus questions though because I'd be lucky to get any of the other anatomy Qs correct. My advice- don't kill yourself studying anatomy. Chances are, studying for it won't make a difference because the question will be too specific. The neuroanatomy was challenging but I think I handled it better than the rest of the body's anatomy.
E) Stats- FA and HY were enough. I had a couple of of epidemeology questions that were quirky that I had to guess on (most common risk factors for particular diseases, no way I knew that). Doable section- spend some time doublechecking this questions though, I caught some math errors when I reviewed this section.
F) Pharm- I used FA and Lippincott; they were more than enough. There was maybe 1 pharm question on the exam that I guessed on, I was really that well prepared. I'm not a good pharm student by any means either.
G) Micro- CMMMS for the win, great book. Felt really good about it. There were one or two questions that would have been impossible without this book. I thought FA was good for the fungi, a topic that was good but not great in CMMMS.
H) Ethics- the World/Kaplan scenarios were great preparation. That being said, there were a couple of questions that were mind-boggling and no answer seemed correct.
I) Embryo- had one question, not sure if I got it or not. I skimmed HY Embryo but it was a little too much for this test. The question was pretty random.

NBME 6- 4 weeks out, no studying: 201
NBME 3- 1.5 weeks out- 232
Qbank- 67% completed; 66% cum
World- 25% completed; 70% cum
USMLE Step I- 244/99

Let's Go Mets!

Snuffbox said:

Let's Go Mets!

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Hell Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope medical students across the US will unite to raise H*ll if the NBME doesn't post our scores tonight after midnight. Some of us have been waiting for 8 weeks!!

I would be in some serious alcoholic haze if I had to wait 8 weeks for my score.

UW cum avg 59% random untimed
started studying may 12th
used 1st aid, rr path, brs physio, hy BS
nbme 2 on may 20: 209
free 150 on may 29: 76%
uw self test on june 6: 226
usmle on june 14: 232/97

261/99, here are my experiences:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6823795&postcount=526

v happy and on my 4th glass of champagne

my resident already told me to come in late tomorrow no matter what

ahhh!!!

hey, not trying to be obnoxious, but is a 232/97 a good score? I just want to know if this score will keep me in the mix for specialties like ENT, optho, and ortho? This is my score and I am pretty psyched cuz I wasn't the hardest worker for first two years of med school (regrettfully so) and just worked pretty hard for the boards (lesson learned in the process, have to work harder) I appreciate the advice i got off this website, there are some pretty good hearted people who are willing to offer their support so just want to say thanks to those people..

not sure if my score is worthy enough to give advice, but please don't hesitate to ask for help, esp. if you didn't perform as well as you would have hoped to during the first two years...

good luck to all those who are still on the road to finishing that terrible exam...

thegingerbreadm said:

hey, not trying to be obnoxious, but is a 232/97 a good score? I just want to know if this score will keep me in the mix for specialties like ENT, optho, and ortho?

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http://www.aamc.org/programs/cim/chartingoutcomes.pdf

The above website should be of some use to you.

thegingerbreadm said:

hey, not trying to be obnoxious, but is a 232/97 a good score? I just want to know if this score will keep me in the mix for specialties like ENT, optho, and ortho? This is my score and I am pretty psyched cuz I wasn't the hardest worker for first two years of med school (regrettfully so) and just worked pretty hard for the boards (lesson learned in the process, have to work harder) I appreciate the advice i got off this website, there are some pretty good hearted people who are willing to offer their support so just want to say thanks to those people..

not sure if my score is worthy enough to give advice, but please don't hesitate to ask for help, esp. if you didn't perform as well as you would have hoped to during the first two years...

good luck to all those who are still on the road to finishing that terrible exam...

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tell us more about ur nbme scores and progress plz

Very excited about my score tonight!!
CBSE1=200 Mar
CBSE2=220 Apr
NBME5=240 4 weeks out
NBME6=236 1 week out
Kaplan=68% Mar-May
USMLEWorld=71% May- Jun finished 2 days before the test

Tools: First Aid 3 and 1/2 times. USMLE Secrets twice. Started in Jan ended in June.
242/99

let me be the one to bring down the average WAY down
but, as you may see from my NBME scores, i am beyond ecstatic.
i seriously thought i was going to fail.

NBME 3 (23 days before the actual exam) - 300/163
NBME 2 (12 days before the actual exam) - 380/186
NBME 5 (8 days before the actual exam) - 380/186
NBME 6 (5 days before the actual exam) - 380/186

i kid you not - i got 186 on my last 3 NBME exams. i was sh**ting in my pants when i took my exam. i dont know why i wasnt able to pull up my scores. i am not that bad when it comes to taking standardized exams.
anyhow, got my score tonight.

205/84.
not the stellar 240s, 250s or even 260s but considering what i was scoring and how close i was to failing, i will take my 205!!!

ps sorry for bringing the SDN average down.

I feel like this is a vindication for me.

MCAT: 30
NBME 1: 228
NBME 3: 214
NBME 4: 221
UW Assessment: 240

The real deal: 247/99

See, there is hope for those of us who were "mediocre" before.

"What a person has done in the past is no indication of what they are capable of in the future" ~ Bill Gates' policy when hiring personnel for Microsoft

Amen

MCAT 33
NBME 1 prior to studying- 198
NBME 3 2 weeks in - 226
Free 150 4 weeks in (1 week till real deal)- 87%- predicts around a 250

U world- 61% cumulative but 68% in last 8 groupings. All random but untimed in tutor mode.

Real deal 247/99

MCAT: 31
Med school GPA: sucky

NBME 3: 175 -5 weeks out
NBME 6: 214 -2 weeks out
UWorld: ~61% with 75% completed. ~66% on my last 300 questions.

Real Deal: 235/98

Seriously, I was hoping for anything above 200.

Congrats all. I'm thanking God and everyone I know at this point that this ridiculousness is over with.

For the record, nobody should feel sorry for getting any passing score. I was excited out of my mind just to pass.

I did soooo much better than I ever hoped to, and for the record, I never took a single NBME exam.

Real Deal 246/99
UW 238
UW 67% Cum
NBME 6 232


very pleased!!!!

congrats to all getting scores just now. the wait is finally over!

PenguinHead said:

MCAT: 31
Med school GPA: sucky

NBME 3: 175 -5 weeks out
NBME 6: 214 -2 weeks out
UWorld: ~61% with 75% completed. ~66% on my last 300 questions.

Real Deal: 235/98

Seriously, I was hoping for anything above 200.

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WOW well done

MCAT: 32 V12/PS11/BS9
1st year-noooot too hot
2nd year-much better, but not baller better
NBME Shelves(Taken about 6.5 weeks out):
Path-570
Pharm-620
Micro-570

(6 weeks out) NBME 5: 224/520
(5.5 weeks out) NBME 4: 226/530
(4 weeks out) UW assessment: 238/590
(~3 weeks out) NBME 1: 234/570
(8 days out) NBME 2: 244/620
UW cumulative avg:66% with 100% completed
Last 305 unused questions: ~72% (66%-82%)

Actual: 243/99
Satisfied now that only my bad breath, worse taste in clothing, and a lack of decency, not my score, can keep me out of the specialty I fancy.

I couldn't study(really...maybe 30 garbage minutes/day outside of repeating UWorld questions) after getting the score on my last NBME exam, so I'm not surprised my score didn't go up. So, if you look at my progress and tweak a little, keep that in mind.

My study method was a little unorthodox(for step 1 and classes). My first NBME was taken before official step 1 studying. I had just taken 3 shelves, but only studied for the Micro shelf since I never really learned any of that the first 2 years. I looked at my subject breakdown and decided to tailor my studying to my weakest areas per the NBME. I also knew what I never learned during the first 2 years despite what scores I was getting on questions. So on to what I used...

UWorld was my main source. I forced myself to read the explanations of all the answers and also learned a thing or two about test taking---like what my tendencies were when I was on the fence between 2 answers. I still had trouble bucking bad habits come the real deal, however. Can't blame UWorld for not trying, though.
Goljan: I used Goljan as my path text for 2nd year to the dismay of my classmates. I didn't honor the class, but I felt pretty comfortable with path. I used the Lange Pathophys text during the year(not for step 1, though) and thought it was very helpful. Brief intro to each chapter reminding you of the basics and great vignettes at the end.
Robbins Review of Pathology: I did the questions covering the chapters in Goljan that I had read specifically for Step 1. I thought the questions were very helpful in differentiating diseases. My lowest score over a chapter was 90%, which was much better than my UWorld path scores.
BRS Pharm Flash Cards: I thought these cards were easy to get through and high yield. There isn't much meat to them, but there isn't any useless gristle either. With a little motivation, someone could easily go through these multiple times...and repetition is key with memorizing. I used CMMRS during the year for learning antimicrobials and I learned them well because they are taught well here.
MicroCards: these had more detail than the BRS pharm flash cards, and that's how I preferred it with such a tricky subject like micro where bug characteristics have to be learnt, as well as how to differentiate bugs, and all their associations with path, pharm, etc. And we all know that step 1 is about associations. Still not overwhelming.
First Aid: I used this for biochem and embryo. Didn't really get through biochem, but I did get through embryo. I thought embryo was a pain and the tiny section in First Aid was easy to stomach. I starred anatomy/embryo with just First Aid for embryo and UWorld for anatomy.
Kaplan Q Bank: this was nothing but frustration. Personally, I didn't learn much from this. Helpful for classes but low yield for step 1. Some would disagree, but I thought the questions were tricky not because of content but because they were poorly written and ambiguous. I tried some UWorld questions and never looked back.

That's it for me. I got through maybe 6 chapters of Goljan total, since I was trying to prioritize and didn't want to be overambitious like my classmates around me who I thought were causing themselves undue stress with their unreasonable expectations. I was stressed out enough and couldn't take anymore. I wasn't slacking off, though. I studied a good 60-70 hours/week for the first 5 weeks.

P'Kaaaaaaw

MCAT: 30
Practice NBME administered at school two months before: 210
NMBE 3 three weeks before: 233
Practice NBME at center: 80%
NBME 2 one week before: 244
REAL DEAL: 251!!!

ok now that ur grades are in, tell us which nbme was most representative

2cr8tive said:

ok Now That Ur Grades Are In, Tell Us Which Nbme Was Most Representative

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This!



(looking forward to replies)

d

Long time Lurker, 1st time poster. I hope this helps some people out there.
My study style was a bit different from other people at my school and other people on this board:
1) Instead of studying by organ system, I studied by subject because I figured it would give me multiple chances to review each organ system.
2) I get distracted by little details in books and tend to over learn the material when using the text books. Therefore, in the interest of consolidating my studying into 7 short weeks, I chose to use the Kaplan Webprep Videos as my main study resource.
3) I tried to do as many Q-bank type questions as I could to get myself in the mindset of the board type questions.


Study Schedule = April 28 - June 15 (7 Weeks)
Test Date = June 16
Score = 260/99

Study Schedule Structure:
6-8 hrs of video/book studying with 3 hours of review questions per day
1 break day every week.

Genetics, Histology, Statistics/Epidemiology, Behavioral - completed prior to start of board studying.
Biochemistry - 4 days
Physiology - 6 days
Pathology - 7 days
Pharmacology - 7 days
Anatomy/Embryo - 4 days
Neurology - 3 days
Immunology - 3 days
Microbiology (glad I did this last) - 3 days
Hardcore Review of All Notes- last few days

USMLERx
Question Usage: 25 % (Pharm and Microbiology)
Cumulative Performance: 77 %
Repeat Questions: Only Wrong Ones

Kaplan Qbank
Question Usage: 100% (completed prior to April 28)
Cumulative Performance: 75%
Repeat Questions: All

USMLEWORLD
Question Usage: 100% (completed once)
Cumulative Performance: 77%
Repeat Questions: All

NBME Exams:

NBME Form 1 (Prior To Studying) - 214 (480)
NBME Form 3 (4 Weeks Into Studying) - 236 (580)
NBME Form 2 (5 Weeks Into Studying) - 259 (730)
NBME Form 4 (6 Weeks Into Studying) - 247 (640)
NBME Form 5 (7 Weeks Into Studying) - 248 (650)

Resources:
Kaplan Webprep Videos
---main resource to structure my studying (I found it was much easier to sit and watch videos than to read books)
---transcribed all notes from the lectures into First Aid
---loved these and watched every video from front to back
---feel this was the BEST way to learn Biochemistry, Behavioral Science, Microbiology and Statistics/Epidemiology
---Anatomy was well presented but I didn't get many anatomy questions on my exam.
---Pathology was a bit lacking

First Aid 2008
---main source of written notes
---transcribed all my notes into this book and reviewed the book in its entirety during the last week
---felt it was extremely lacking in Biochemistry/Behavioral Science


Goljan Audio
---main resource for Pathology
---listened to this during the school year to correspond with my coursework
---listened to a lecture every day during the 7 week study period.
---unfortunately, I did not get any of his "predicted" questions on my exam

Rapid Review Pathology
---used mainly during the school year
---referenced for all things pathology
---used this mainly for bile metabolism / heme pathology during board studying
---did all the online questions and thought it was a waste of my time

Robbin's Review of Pathology Question Book (by Klatt and Kumar)
---very good question book that I used for selected pathology subjects I wasn't comfortable with

High Yield Neuro
-main resource for everything neurology
-best diagrams of nerve pathways

BRS Flash Cards (Micro, Pharm, Biochem, Path, Anatomy)
-went through each one once.
-I thoroughly reviewed the integrated drug side effect cards and integrated biochem cards

Lange Pharm and Micro Cards
-BEST Pharm and Micro review cards in my opinion
-used extensively during the school year and reviewed thoroughly during my board review

Underground Clinical Vignettes 5th Edition (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins version)
-very thorough presentation of cases
-used this to review relevant cases throughout the 7 weeks.

Other Less Important Resources:
Kaplan Step 1 Home Review Books - Biggest waste of $400 EVER ... the Webprep videos are 10000x better
Clinical Micro - didn't really use b/c the lange cards / Webprep Microbiology videos were adequate
Bug Cards - didn't really use b/c I felt Lange was better
Blackwell UCV 4th Edition - Bought these by mistake ... the Lippincott's version is better
Rapid Review Biochem - thought this would be good because Goljan is an author, but not as well written and Webprep is better for Biochem

z

ZonaRidicularis said:

Did you use the Kaplan lecture notebooks that go along with the videos or did you just take notes your own notes?

Congratulations by the way

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I took my own notes because I felt that was the better way to learn the material. Thanks.

z

Studied 4 weeks. Did 6-10 hour days (usually closer to 6). Mornings I read, afternoons I did questions. I wrote down the concepts behind all the questions I missed and did my best to learn them. I think I got the most out of that.

Books:

FA
BRS Path
BRS Physio
HY Cell and Molecular Biology

UW - 69% w/ all questions completed
Kaplan - 70ish% did about a third of the questions before I decided they were crap
NBME 5: 540 (228) as a baseline before starting studying
NBME 4: 580 (236) about a week later
NBME 6: 620 (244) a week before my test
150 free Qs: 86% correct
USMLE: 246/99

So NBMEs seem pretty predictive.

Hope this helps someone.

5 weeks to study
Major Resources: FA, RR Goljan Path, Pharm Recall

MCAT: 32
NBME 1: 205 (before studying)
NBME 4: 235 (2 weeks b/f)
NBME 6: 250 (1 week b/f)
Free 150: 90% (2 days b/f)
USMLE World: 73% avg (75% complete)

The real deal: 260/99

For those who remembered several mistakes after taking the test, I did too. I had about ~15 careless errors. Worrying about this was a waste of energy. My advice is take your test, have confidence in your practice scores, and move on with your life while you wait for the final score.

Finally, this thing is over!!

I am very excited about my score. For me, the NBME exams appeared to be a pretty good indicator of what I scored on the real deal. The only thing that I think that the NBME exams suck at is the individual assessment area break down. I noticed a good amount of variation between my practice exams in the different areas. Also, CV and heme were always areas that I got an asterisk in on my two most recent practice exams. I did not get these on the real deal, I was a bit surprised by that since I thought I was consistently strong in those areas.

The test experience was exactly like what others have already described. I studied for about 3 weeks and scheduled my review according to system, spending about 2 days per system. I took off 1 weekend during my study time to move in with my fiancee (It was a good way to break up the monotony of studying). I generally studied from about 7-5 every day. When I came home at night I did not touch a thing.

Books used: Goljan (thanks SDN for letting me know about this, in my opinion it is way better than BRS path), BRS physiology, first aid (used 2006 version)

usmleworld: 100% completed, was scoring in the mid to high 60s toward the end. As others have already mentioned, this is the best!

Qbank: 45% completed, scored about the same as world. more nitpicky, but good for driving home details. I also thought it provided good insight to behavioral science questions.

NBME 2, taken Feb 25th just to see where I was at=211
NBME 5, taken May 28th=234
NBME 6, taken June 5th=240

Step 1, taken June 10th=239/99

Here was my study schedule that covered the course of 33 days. I also did it by the science. Here it is in order. With each of the subjects except phys I read the book listed along with FA during that time.

Physiology:2.5 days BRS phys (allowed me to read it once and review things I was weak on)
Path: 5.5 days RR path- (again, full way through in 4.5 days, 1 day of review)
BS:2 days BRS Behavioral science- - also includes stats and psychiatry
Micro/immuno: 5 days. Started with Lange Micro which I used only for its 80 page immuno section which took 1 day. The rest was spent with Micro made ridiculously simple for 4 days. I used 1 day for bacteria. 1 day for viruses, fungi and protozoa and 1-2 day to wrap up/review everything. I made notecards for the bacteria which took a long time but really allowed me to review everything.

Pharm- 5 days- used FA as the main resource. The way I did it was to use FA as a drug list. If there were no side effects or mechanisms listed I looked them up in either Kaplan or Lipincott. I also made note cards for this which was really tedious but worked out well. I was luke warm about Kaplan and Lipincott. They were OK but not great as secondary sources. The pharm on the real deal was easy compared to UW.

Neuro- 2.5 days HY neuroanatomy. Know your MRIs because almost everyone gets one. Felt very strong on neuro

Gross/embryo- 2 days- used First Aid. I had HY Gross but didnt use it at all. For the gross section on the boards you are either going to be exposed to it a few times in UW or in FA or you will have no idea.

Biochem- 2.5 days- Used HY Cell/molec for the cell molec part and then picked 20 pathways (based on what our adminstration recommends) in biochem and memorized them and the diseases associated with them. I was really worried about biochem b/c early in my studying I would miss just about every biochem question in UW. Once I got to biochem, and memorized the diseases etc I was golden.

Wrap up- 5 days. Went through all of BRS phys (1/2 day) the cards I made for micro and pharm and then all of First aid.

Mixed in there were a few half days off and also time to take 2 NBMEs and the free 150

Every night I did ~3 hours of questions from either UW or elsevier USMLE consult. I thought elsevier was closer to the real thing but since the real thing has a bunch of easy questions I thought UW was a better learning resource.

NBME 1 before studying- 198
NBME 3 2 weeks into studying- 226
Free 150 4 weeks into studying (1 week away)- 252

Real thing -247

Pewl said:

I feel like this is a vindication for me.

MCAT: 30
NBME 1: 228
NBME 3: 214
NBME 4: 221
UW Assessment: 240

The real deal: 247/99

See, there is hope for those of us who were "mediocre" before.

"What a person has done in the past is no indication of what they are capable of in the future" ~ Bill Gates' policy when hiring personnel for Microsoft

Amen

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Reading about all your guys' awesome jobs is amazingly inspiring. I have a week and a half to go before the real deal and was feeling pretty defeated, but you guys have shown me that I have got to keep my head up and keep charging forward!!!! I am so impressed how so many of you WAY outdid your practice exams! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences!

My previous experience post is too damn long. Here's the abbreviated version for people looking for predictive value of varoius things:

MCAT: 27
Medschool GPA: 4.00
NBME6: 238 (prior to studying)
NBME3: 263 (after 3 weeks of 16 hr/day studying)
Free 150 practice questions: 94% (1 week before real exam)
Real exam score: 257/99

MCAT 30 (10/10/10)
USMLE Step 1: 241/99

Studied by reading First Aid through twice, listened to Goljan an hour or so per day for the month before the exam, and did about 500 practice questions from Exam Master starting about the week before the test plus the 150 free ones done as 3 blocks of 50 each doing one block per week starting 3 weeks before the test.

jbp100 said:

Well, here goes nothing. I sat for Step ONE of the United States Medical Licensing Examination today. I agree with the feeling about being run over by a truck, not so much for the test content, but more the length. This is definitely a marathon and not a sprint.

First, my previous scores:

Kaplan Qbank - 64% with 92% completed (maybe not so accurate since I did some of these during the year with my systems courses)

USMLEWorld Qbank - 60% with 100% completed (I did every block random and in tutor mode since timing is never and issue for me).

NBME 4 (2 weeks before) = 219 (500)

USMLEWorld Self Assessment (1 week before) = 236* (I do think since I worked through the their Qbank, my score was higher on this than it should have been)

Materials used for studying: USMLEWorld Qbank, First Aid, Kaplan Lecture Notes on Pathology, Biochemistry, and Physiology (free from our school). I had originally planned on studying for four weeks, but at the beginning of my study time, my mom passed away... so 3 weeks it was (and I still felt like I wanted to move up the test to get it over with).

Realistic Goal = 220
Ecstatic Goal = 230

General:
The testing facility had technical difficulties getting people signed in when I arrived at 7:30AM, after working out all the issues, I finally got back to the computer around 8:20AM (some advice would be to get there ahead of everyone else who is taking Step 1, even at 7:30, I was the last Step One person there!). Not much else to comment about, our facility had nice highback leather office chairs to take the test in, they also provided some gun muff style ear phones, which at times felt like I was listening to the ocean (maybe they had a hole in them!). I motored through 2 blocks, took a 5 minute break, motored through 3 more blocks, took a 20 minute lunch, and finished off the last 2 blocks to be done around 1:45ish.

Behavioral:
Lots of quote type questions with a few personality disorders and a smidge of eating disorders. More than I expected, but that is a good thing, as it is one of my better areas.

Biochemistry:
I don't really know how to address this area. In preparing, this has always been one of my weaker points (not a strong point in D.O. curriculum). There were a good amount of biochemistry questions, most of them I was not sure of the correct answer. Not a whole lot of name the enzyme from A to B. More disease correlated. OH, and I also had a question about delta G in an equilibrium reaction (I had to flashback to undergrad physics for this!).

Anatomy:
Pretty straight forward normal limb stuff. One really weird question about retrograde pancreaticocholeyadayadayadagraphy that must have required you to have a little bit of surgical knowledge.

Microbiology:
A good mix of bacteria and viruses (no weird virology positive sense/negative sense crap, mostly just straight ID) with some scabies just for fun. No other parasites I don't think.

Pathology:
This has always been my strongest area, so I didn't find any of the path questions to be that hard.

Pharmacology:
I pretty much got mugged on HIV therapy. It was one of those things that I just glossed over while studying and they hit me with 4-5 questions on MOA etc. Lots of your typical SNS type Drug X gets added to Drug Y type stuff.

Physiology:
This was another one of my weaker subjects (this and biochem are weaker probably because I have slept many more nights since having these things in first year). Lots of arrows. A tip: always start from the left arrows and work your way over. The test is designed so you can eliminate half your answer choices based on the first arrow. Whereas, if you start on the right everything gets jumbled up easier.

Embryology:
Typical neural tube defects. Nothing to hard.

AV Question:
I had this at the end of a block just like everyone else had. Kind of weird. I didn't even hear a murmur, but luckily that was an answer choice!

Parting words:
Man, I am glad that is over. I will be back on or around the 16th of July to post my results. Lucky me, since I am an osteopathic student I get to saddle up again on Monday for the COMLEX, but I am thinking I am not too worried about it.

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Ended up with a 230/96 and I could not be happier!

i didn't post my experience directly after my exam, because i know that when someone gives me advice, i like to know how well their methods worked for them before even trying it myself!

while i am an excellent student when it comes to classes, i've never been that great at standardized tests (ahem..MCAT=29, GPA=3.9).

i studied for 4 weeks, taking only 2 complete days off, studying 10am-4pm, taking a break to eat/run, then studying 7-10pm, then going out with friends or relaxing in some way (until about 1 week before my exam, when i realized i was completelly unable to relax and just sat around kinda twitching whenever i wasn't studying).

my best resources (in order of importance):
-USMLEworld- 100% complete, 74% cumulative. I also went back at the very end and did all the ones I got wrong the first time through. Very helpful, so worth the money
-First Aid- read it about 3x total. I made notes in it from all my other resources and whenever I got a Q wrong on UWorld, I would flip to that section and if the answer wasn't already in there (usually was!), wrote it in.
-RR Path- used this during the school year and for path shelf, so it was already filled with my notes. love this book. at least one exact picture from here was on my Step 1.
-Goljan audio- listened throughout the school year and then everyday while running i would listen to one lecture during my month of studying. i swear, i could hear his voice in my head during my exam. i kinda miss him...
-BRS Physio- since i am an MD/PhD, i hadn't taken physio in over 4 years, so this was a big help, esp for renal and resp.
-First Aid for the Psychiatry clerkship- we used this during our M2 course and i just read through the defense mechanisms and the psych drug section. Golden, way better than First Aid for those drugs + side effects.
-Kaplan Qbank- this thing sucked, big time. i finished ~80% of it, with about 74% average, but hated every second of it and gave up on it a week before my exam because i was afraid their stupid minutiae would push meaningful, high yield, facts from my brain. after taking the real thing, i assure you, it is NOT like Qbank.
-CMMRS- had read it once during the school year, but really only used it to look up specific things about bugs/drugs while studying. the charts are helpful for a quick review, too.

I took 3 NBME exams
NBME 4 (before studying): 201
NBME 5 (after 2 weeks): 226
NBME 6 (after 3 weeks): 240
Free 150 (day before my exam): 90% - this was an amazing confidence booster and there was one exact question on my real exam.

Actual: 245/99
i though the exam was fair. hard, but fair. sure there were some things totally out of left field (i.e. words i had never ever seen before. new WORDS!? blew me away). for biochem and pharm (my weakest subjects), first aid was enough.

i think the worst part was waiting for 6.5 weeks to find out my score. i just kept remembering Q's i got wrong or worrying i somehow screwed up.

best of luck to all of you still studying, congrats to everyone who passed, and most of all, thanks to all those who gave advice and/or shared their misery. it makes it so much better to know others are going through the same thing and feel your pain!

Hey yall, this is the nuts and bolts of my list of resources and study timetable for Step, to all those with lower stats and average grades there is hope. Started prep 5/10/08 test date was 6/4/08. I studied hard for first 1.5weeks, went fishing for a week, then hit it hard for 2 more weeks, then took the test

USMLEWorld
Step 1 Qbank (77%) This is the gospel for high scores, used it all 2nd year
Step 2 Qbank (62%) Another great resource, used it to study all 2nd Year

RR Goljan: Used it to study all year, so I only reviewed the first 7 chapters about 3 times the week before the exam

Pathophisiology for Boards and Wards: The single best resource for clinically oriented basic science facts and how they relate to disease

First Aid: IMO Sucks, all the facts are in there but I cant memorize the facts without some framework, good for review, bad for learning anything...I maybe read half of it, only used it to review bugs and anatomy of the systems

Harrisons Textbook of Internal Medicine: Any disease I did not understand, I would read the pathophysiology description of it in harrisons....not very long huge help IMO

College Science GPA 3.4 (only one that matters)
Med School GPA 3.5

SAT 1200
MCAT 28 8V 11PS 9BS R
CBSE 225 in March of 08

Progression of NBME's
NBME 2 234 4.5 Weeks out
NBME 4 248 3.5 Weeks out, confident went fishing
NBME 5 236 2 Weeks out, pissed I went fishing, hit it hard
NBME 3 252 1 Week
NBME 1 258 2 Days out

Real thing, started at 9 and I was done by 3, I felt as good about it as when I finished NBME #1, so I think they are predictive. My advice, don't get bogged down in the details, you have to know general concepts of Path, Pharm, and Physio to do well, if you know that stuff cold you can reason yor way into right anwers.

255/99

pike1 said:

Finally, this thing is over!!

I am very excited about my score. For me, the NBME exams appeared to be a pretty good indicator of what I scored on the real deal. The only thing that I think that the NBME exams suck at is the individual assessment area break down. I noticed a good amount of variation between my practice exams in the different areas. Also, CV and heme were always areas that I got an asterisk in on my two most recent practice exams. I did not get these on the real deal, I was a bit surprised by that since I thought I was consistently strong in those areas.

The test experience was exactly like what others have already described. I studied for about 3 weeks and scheduled my review according to system, spending about 2 days per system. I took off 1 weekend during my study time to move in with my fiancee (It was a good way to break up the monotony of studying). I generally studied from about 7-5 every day. When I came home at night I did not touch a thing.

Books used: Goljan (thanks SDN for letting me know about this, in my opinion it is way better than BRS path), BRS physiology, first aid (used 2006 version)

usmleworld: 100% completed, was scoring in the mid to high 60s toward the end. As others have already mentioned, this is the best!

Qbank: 45% completed, scored about the same as world. more nitpicky, but good for driving home details. I also thought it provided good insight to behavioral science questions.

NBME 2, taken Feb 25th just to see where I was at=211
NBME 5, taken May 28th=234
NBME 6, taken June 5th=240

Step 1, taken June 10th=239/99

Click to expand...

I also have the 2006 version of FA, but I'm still debating whether or not I should get the 2008 book. You seemed to have gotten a great score. Do you think I should get the "newer" and "updated" edition?

Anyone is free to chime in on this question.


Like, would "the most common....." type of things have changed since the 2006 edition?


Can someone please address this for me?

Thanks.

I was really bored so I averaged all the scores on this thread. The average is 245. Maybe SDN should advertise as a way to raise your score

Alright, I have already posted my experience on the exam, so here is my study experience. I didn't do particularly well in my first 2 years, especially second year. I studied the bare minimum to make the letter grade I was shooting for, which is just a terrible idea. I was between 40-70th %ile on most med school exams probably. My biochemistry and physiology backgrounds were pretty strong, but my path, micro, and pharm knowledge were essentially non existent when I began studying for step 1.

At the beginning of May, I took CBSE at my school and scored 70 which translates to 200 on Step 1. I was relieved to be passing but my school told us that the average student only improves about 20-30 points between CBSE and Step 1. Most on SDN said 40 points is doable, so I made a goal of 240. All of my weakest subjects on the USMLE were the ones I had crammed throughout the year and never learned the concepts fully. Path, pharm, micro.

I had 6.5 weeks to study and needed to take two days off because weddings. I did not take off any other days. No fewer than 12 hours of studying on a given day, and usually closer to 15. One day when I took NBME 6 I had a shorter day, around 8 hours. I did not make a schedule because I wanted to cover the things I needed to cover no matter how long it was taking me. As long as you don't get bogged down in details, I think this will work out fine. The first thing I did is read Goljan RR Path cover to cover. It took me 6 days at a good pace and I notated in FA as I went through. I didn't remember much after that reading, but at least had familiarized myself with it. Next, I read CMMRS straight through. That took me 4 days. After that, I read all of Kaplan pharm. In hindsight, kaplan might have been good for pharmdynamics/kinetics, but only if you are a little weak and need more explanation than FA. For everything else pharm related FA is all you need. Period. Anyway, that took me 2 days. Next, I read Kaplan biochem and genetics book (great book, IMO) which took another 3 days. So that was basically my first two weeks. I was doing some Kaplan Qbank along with this reading. I would do better on the subjects I had recently read, but was very quick to forget subjects.

After that reading, I started using the Taus system based plan to run through path/pharm/physio of each system. I used Kaplan physio (which I thought was great, my edition of BRS physio just didn't explain my weaknesses enough for me) and FA for pharm. I would strongly suggest looking at Taus plan. I didn't follow it step for step because my time was a little constrained and it is a comprehensive plan, but his integration of subjects is perfect I think. Just saving the time of planning the integration is worth it. This period of studying took me up to 10 days before Step 1. I really wanted to go through Goljan 1 more time, but realized I would not be able to do it unless I skipped other topics. I decided to just make another run through FA (I had gone through once as I covered the systems on the Taus plan) and work on UW questions. I finished my review of FA with 3 days left. At this point I took the free 150 for the confidence boost and then went through the blue notes of Goljan to cap off my studying. I also crammed some storage diseases and stuff like that on the last day. And just a note, I studied until 11:30pm the night before the test. I guess that's just how I roll, I couldn't give up early when I knew I still had room to improve. I don't think it had a negative impact on me during the test, but who is to say for sure?

Anyway here are some scores for next years test takers to compare:

CBSE pencil/paper test at school (7 weeks prior to step 1) = 200
UW self assessment (4 weeks prior to step 1) = 248
NBME 6 (12 days prior to step 1) = 261
UW overall = 74-75%
UW last 7 blocks = 79-80%
Free 150 (2 days prior to step 1) = 92.7%


STEP 1 = 260

Best advice (most of which everyone already knows):
Goljan (although never tried BRS and that's probably good too)
CMMRS is good but not as complete as it could be and I know a couple questions that weren't in the book. Overall good though.
Kaplan Biochem/genetics/mol bio is a great book. I heard RR is good, but I have to strongly recommend this book. It has good integration of genetic and biochemical diseases. I love seeing diseases multiple times in different books to help me remember.
Get the HY cell bio book. I didn't use it and after seeing the test I wish I would have. The kaplan book is good but is not in depth enough in cell bio like diff receptors and the like. I haven't seen any other sources that are either.
FA isn't complete, but the stuff that is in there is high yield and will be on the test. I don't really like the book and think the index sucks and the people who publish it are lazy, but it straight up gets the job done. I would advise to take a look at kaplan medessentials though, it might be slightly more comprehensive and better in organization. I have not really compared them though.
For Anatomy, know FA, but also take a look at an atlas as you review missed UW questions. It paid off for me, I think. Anatomy is not a super high yield subject, but FA is not enough if you don't have a really strong background.

Last bit of advice is that if you really work as hard as you can, I think you can come close to maximizing your potential in under 2 months. I knew I was behind when I started studying and I came to this forum to find examples of people who started off where I was and finished with a great score because I was worried I had dug myself a deep hole. Bottom line is that if you are starting off well below where you want to be and you dedicate 12+ hours to studying every single day and really stick with it, you can absolutely learn what you need to know in that amount of time. I know some people suggest taking a day off each week and if that is what you need do it, but I felt like by doing that I was essentially turning my 6.5 weeks into 5.5 weeks. I couldn't afford to lose 15% of my study days. Well, that's all from me. Good luck everyone! And big thanks to all the people on here giving advice, you have been a great resource.

z

246/99 - After 230 as a goal, I'm very happy. But is there some score inflation going on?

I mean, everyone seems to be posting 230s-260s, so how will these #s look when it comes time to apply for residency?

I'm not looking to feel special, but instead to have a sense of how our 2008 scores will look for residency (of course, character trumps scores after you make the cut).

NBME states on the score report that 222 is mean and 22 is st. dev "for recent examinations;" it also states that most scores fall between 140-260; but still, so many people are posting high scores on here, and surely there are many more out there. Any thoughts? Does 246 put someone at around a percentile of 90%?

Not looking to gloat, only to understand.

Since it is about 1 SD from the mean, I would imagine 246 is something like 83-85 %ile.

4Hisglory said:

246/99I mean, everyone seems to be posting 230s-260s, so how will these #s look when it comes time to apply for residency?

Click to expand...

Keep in mind that people self-select when posting their scores on SDN. Of course you're going to see the stellar scores, because people are excited and want to share them, while those who are less enthusiastic about their performance are probably less likely to share with everyone else.

The bottom line is that the mean is 222 and std dev is 22. SDN is in no way a representative sample.

LadyWolverine said:

Keep in mind that people self-select when posting their scores on SDN. Of course you're going to see the stellar scores, because people are excited and want to share them, while those who are less enthusiastic about their performance are probably less likely to share with everyone else.

The bottom line is that the mean is 222 and std dev is 22. SDN is in no way a representative sample.

Click to expand...

I agree that people who score better are more likely to post, but I'm wondering what influence being an "SDNer" has on one's score.

I, for one, got lots of study advice and also probably studied a lot harder after seeing everyone's ridiculous schedules than I would have otherwise.

For example, most people from my school are not on SND and at least 70% of them didn't know UWorld existed.

lilzelda2 said:

Ugh I just took the thing today and I can already think of 3 questions I got wrong. The test was pretty hard, my first block was the hardest and as it went on it got easier. But overall its def. a thinking test. I left there praying that I pass.

NBME 1 (while in school)-204
NBME 3 (2wks of studying)-219
Free 150 (4wks of studying)- Medfriends 232, Wiki 219
NBME 5 (4 wks of studying)- 219
NBME 6( last wk)-230
USMLEWORLD - 62%
USMLERX- 73%

Click to expand...

238/99, I know its not amazing like some other people but I'm def happy. Congrats to all who passed.

5/11- Pre-study - NBME 1 - 490 (216)
5/25 - 4 weeks out - NBME 2 - 630 (245)
5/31 - 3 weeks out - NBME 3 - 650 (248)
6/8 - 12 days out - NBME 5 - 650 (248)
6/14 - 6 days out - NBME 4 - 650 (248)
UW - 68% correct.


Test date - 6/20: 246/99. I am very happy with my score. I also apparently suck at genetics.

Lesson: NBMEs are pretty accurate.

Method:
Best overall advice for soon to be M2's: concentrate on learning M2 material very well. I know everyone says this, but this really is the key to doing well on the test. I am by no means a genius, but I busted my ass for 2 years and pulled off a score that I am very happy with. One of the keys to doing well 2nd year is to know path well. For me, this meant reading big robbins, cover to cover. Quite the task, but it worked for me. It definitely helped me throughout the year and with Step 1.

Timing/Scheduling:
Chances are you will take too much time to prepare for this thing. I was ready in about 4 weeks, but took 6 weeks to study. The last week was most likely completely worthless. Write out a detailed schedule and stick to it. Pencil in one day off per week and use it to its full potential. This was key for me to prevent burnout.
I did M1 subjects (biochem, behavioral science, etc) first, followed by a systems based approach. Basically, I followed FA as an outline.


Sources:
USMLE World: the single best resource out there. Seriously, I would devote between 1/3 - 1/2 of your days to this. Master this qbank and you will be golden.

First Aid: I have a love-hate relationship with FA. It is a great skeleton, but you will need to hang some meat on it.

Path: I used Goljan RR... and honestly I really didn't like it very much. (In fact, let me be one of the lone anti-Goljan voices. His tapes annoyed the **** out of me and often would initiate my gag reflex while working out or driving listening to them.) Overall, RR Path is pretty good (and probably better than BRS path), but not quite the end-all-be-all path source I had been told about.

Physiology: BRS phys - a key resource. This book + UW is more than enough.

Pharm: very, very easy points on the test. You've got to learn your drugs well during 2nd year. A book that I used & loved was Pharm Recall. Compact, concise, and very high yield. If I could go back, I would have used this book more during second year. I loved the Q&A format. http://www.amazon.com/Pharmacology-...d_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216252544&sr=1-1
As others have said, do pharm along with each system you study.

Biochem: One of my weaknesses. I used RoadMap biochem and it was good, but probably too much. FA + UW is enough. UW is actually way more detailed than it needs to be, but it puts the fear of god in you.

Micro: CMMRS - very dense and hard to get through in a few days (at least for me). I read this book, one chapter per day, during the spring before the exam. Very worth it b/c micro was another one of my weaknesses. FA is pretty good, but needs to be re-formatted, IMO. UW is also good. No hard questions on the actual exam that I remember.

Neuro: I had a lot of neuroanatomy questions, especially CTs and MRIs. Easy points if you spend some time looking at this, so do it.

Behavioral Science: FA and High Yield BS were more than enough. Know your equations.

Immuno: FA was more than enough. I used Levinson's immuno section as well, but it was overkill. Focus on FA + UW.

Embryo: FA + UW

Anatomy: I had a mix of anatomy questions. Some were straightforward, some I would not have gotten right if I had studied for a year. My advice: get HY Gross Anatomy and read the sections on upper and lower extremity nerve lesions. Very high yield. Beyond that, I wouldn't stress out about the crazy anatomy questions they might throw at you.

4Hisglory said:

246/99 - After 230 as a goal, I'm very happy. But is there some score inflation going on?

I mean, everyone seems to be posting 230s-260s, so how will these #s look when it comes time to apply for residency?

I'm not looking to feel special, but instead to have a sense of how our 2008 scores will look for residency (of course, character trumps scores after you make the cut).

NBME states on the score report that 222 is mean and 22 is st. dev "for recent examinations;" it also states that most scores fall between 140-260; but still, so many people are posting high scores on here, and surely there are many more out there. Any thoughts? Does 246 put someone at around a percentile of 90%?

Not looking to gloat, only to understand.

Click to expand...

Remember that there's a big selection bias for who posts their scores here and probably who is even here to begin with.

I think we med students get a little too worked up about this Step 1 score. To match in a competitive specialty or competitive institution having a good score is necessary but not sufficient. You've passed the hurdle. Now focus on other stuff you can control.

Congrats on a great score!

4Hisglory said:

246/99I mean, everyone seems to be posting 230s-260s, so how will these #s look when it comes time to apply for residency?

Click to expand...

The mean in 2006 (the test year for most people who matched this year) was 217, so there has been about a 5 point increase in mean scores. 246 should be about as impressive when you apply as it was in the previous cycle.