I saw that there was a similar thread for 2011 that had plenty of useful info so I figured its best to start one for 2012.
took it today, what a beast.
prep included Doctors in Training (waste of time)
First Aid 3x
Uworld once through, then going over my marked and missed questions. Ended at about 84% overall.
NBME 11: 254
UWSA 1 and 2: >265 for both
Have finished most of my clinical rotations except for ob/gyn.
Today's test:
1. Test is wildly variable from person to person so there is honestly no point in listening to what any one individual says about their particular test.
2. The most important thing, more important than memorizing the minutiae of first aid, is actually UNDERSTANDING the concepts that you are learning and knowing how to apply them. They will always find new and confusing ways to test your knowledge so the best thing you can do is make sure you understand the big concepts on a pretty deep level.
3. The easy questions on the exam are VERY easy - much more so than Uworld. The hard questions on this exam are quite hard. I had two questions on the entire exam where I was unable to narrow it down to 2 reasonable answers. They were honestly concepts I had never seen before in my basic science education, first aid, or Uworld.
4. You do not need any resources besides First Aid and UWorld. The questions that I missed were not for lack of knowledge but were due to an ability to understand how they wanted me to think about the question. They are very good at figuring out whether or not you truly understand a concept on a deep level.
5. I found the test to be pretty comparable to the NBME 11 exam and UWSA 1. UWSA 2 is much easier than this exam was.
6. I found that there is usually one to two sections of the exam that are absolutely harder than the rest, those who took it with me agreed. Be mentally prepared for this and don't let it scare you.
7. I honestly have no idea how I did, could be anywhere from 240s-260s, really depends on how I did on the 50/50 questions. This exam is a difficult, humbling, and oftentimes terrifying experience. The most important thing you can do is take this test with a clear mind and be well rested.
8. Will report back with my score in 3-4 weeks. Starting to feel the burden being lifted off but was definitely in a bit of shock after the exam, it is nearly impossible to leave that test feeling good. Even afterwards, when you are done, it won't feel 100% great but I'm just gonna try to completely block it out of my mind until the score comes around. Good luck to those who are studying!
Congratulations on finishing the exam!
Thanks for the report back as well. I just have one other question. You said a few times that they wanted you to understand concepts on a really deep level but that First Aid and UWorld were enough. I feel like physiology and biochemistry are examples of two subjects that need to be understood on a deep level because there are so many ways they can tie concepts together. Is this what you're referring to? If so, what other resources do you suggest in order to develop that solid base we need?
Thanks, and again, congratulations! Now just kick back and wait for the news.
Why is DIT a waste of time?? Just wondering
I saw that there was a similar thread for 2011 that had plenty of useful info so I figured its best to start one for 2012.
took it today, what a beast.
prep included Doctors in Training (waste of time)
First Aid 3x
Uworld once through, then going over my marked and missed questions. Ended at about 84% overall.
NBME 11: 254
UWSA 1 and 2: >265 for both
Have finished most of my clinical rotations except for ob/gyn.
Today's test:
1. Test is wildly variable from person to person so there is honestly no point in listening to what any one individual says about their particular test.
2. The most important thing, more important than memorizing the minutiae of first aid, is actually UNDERSTANDING the concepts that you are learning and knowing how to apply them. They will always find new and confusing ways to test your knowledge so the best thing you can do is make sure you understand the big concepts on a pretty deep level.
3. The easy questions on the exam are VERY easy - much more so than Uworld. The hard questions on this exam are quite hard. I had two questions on the entire exam where I was unable to narrow it down to 2 reasonable answers. They were honestly concepts I had never seen before in my basic science education, first aid, or Uworld.
4. You do not need any resources besides First Aid and UWorld. The questions that I missed were not for lack of knowledge but were due to an ability to understand how they wanted me to think about the question. They are very good at figuring out whether or not you truly understand a concept on a deep level.
5. I found the test to be pretty comparable to the NBME 11 exam and UWSA 1. UWSA 2 is much easier than this exam was.
6. I found that there is usually one to two sections of the exam that are absolutely harder than the rest, those who took it with me agreed. Be mentally prepared for this and don't let it scare you.
7. I honestly have no idea how I did, could be anywhere from 240s-260s, really depends on how I did on the 50/50 questions. This exam is a difficult, humbling, and oftentimes terrifying experience. The most important thing you can do is take this test with a clear mind and be well rested.
8. Will report back with my score in 3-4 weeks. Starting to feel the burden being lifted off but was definitely in a bit of shock after the exam, it is nearly impossible to leave that test feeling good. Even afterwards, when you are done, it won't feel 100% great but I'm just gonna try to completely block it out of my mind until the score comes around. Good luck to those who are studying!
my understanding is that results from this week will be available from the registration site on the 21st.
Ty, I also heard that we get an email at some point.
wow, about ten minutes later got the score, so I guess it can be any time. Does anyone understand the 2 digit score? I got a 266/90, which is weird to me...isn't anything over like a 230 a 99?
wow, about ten minutes later got the score, so I guess it can be any time. Does anyone understand the 2 digit score? I got a 266/90, which is weird to me...isn't anything over like a 230 a 99?
thanks! my NBME's were usually 247-252, then the one right before the exam was a 261. I only did NBME practices, never a full length. the exam was more clinical than i was expecting (my school does rotations before step 1), so that certainly helped. not nearly as much micro or biochem as i expected based on how much I studied those topics, and not as many "multi-step" questions as kaplan says you will see (there were a lot more 'what is the diagnosis'). but, every test is so different and i wouldn't recommend changing anything because of that. i did a pretty equal mix of reading and practice questions, with a heavy emphasis on practice questions in the last week. test very similar to USMLEworld.
good luck!
wow, about ten minutes later got the score, so I guess it can be any time. Does anyone understand the 2 digit score? I got a 266/90, which is weird to me...isn't anything over like a 230 a 99?
thanks. i did usmleworld, kaplan q bank, and usmle rx. i didn't finish any of the three, but i tried to rotate them so that i could get a good range of question types and difficulty. i found usmle rx much more helpful in the end, as it solidified my knowledge of First Aid. For practice exams, I just used NBME. For books, i liked the following:
Lippincott's biochemistry
Clinical microbiology made ridiculously simple
Costanzo's physiology
How the Immune System Works (i forget the author, very short and good background)
First Aid as main book
High Yield Embryology
BRS review series Neuroanatomy
I can't remember the rest right now, but those were the main ones. Essentially, I found that having a thorough understanding (i.e. reading the entire lippincott's biochem book) was better for me than using outline-based review books.
wow, about ten minutes later got the score, so I guess it can be any time. Does anyone understand the 2 digit score? I got a 266/90, which is weird to me...isn't anything over like a 230 a 99?
Hey can you scan or photo shoot your result, was wondering how yo got 266/90.
Hey can you scan or photo shoot your result, was wondering how yo got 266/90.
Hey can you scan or photo shoot your result, was wondering how yo got 266/90.
Signed up but not ready yet for the USMLE and COMLEX Step 1s in the middle of June. First Aid, DIT, Pathoma, Micro Made Ridiculously Simple, BRS Physio and UWorld are my tools. I'm going to use the Micro book only because I heard the COMLEX likes to emphasize micro a little more than the USMLE. Any thoughts on this?
LOL what!!! just wondering how someone can get 266/90. I think i have seen someone posted there result here on this forum for step1.