250 --> 260?

[mrmandrake]

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Hey guys,

I had some thoughts about scoring in the higher range that maybe someone who has scored in the high 250's or in the 260's can help me with. I take Step 1 in the second week of June. Here are some of the tests I have taken:

6 weeks out school administered CBSE: 245
5 weeks out NBME1 and NBME4: around 250s
Yesterday UWSA1: 780/264 (I read it overpredicts by 10 points or so)

I definitely plan to take NBME11 and 12 in a week or two.

I've seen plenty of people scoring in this range that end up with a 250 or something. It sounds super arrogant but moving up 5 points over my CBSE score in 6 weeks of studying is not really going to make me happy.

I see the type of questions that I'm missing and they tend to fall into two categories:

1. There are hard path questions that I've never learned about (e.g. wierd questions about the type of cells that initiate repair after poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis ... I never learned this, can't find in Robbins)
2. There are easier questions about lower yield topics (e.g. anatomy, things with CT scans, strange lab techniques)

In terms of some of the harder path question, I don't think I can find those answers even in Robbins so I'm not sure how to study for them. It seems my only option is to start studying low yield topics to make sure I get those questions right. I started skimming HY anatomy the other day and it seems like just a beast to remember all that. Is that what it takes for a 260?

I'm not sure what I'm trying to ask here maybe someone who has been in the same shoes can give me some advice.

EDIT: I should mention that I don't use Goljan and I've done around 700 UW questions on random tutor with avg of 76%

 

[sideways]

Jesus bro. Go pick some flowers.

 

[da8s0859q]

Jesus bro. Go pick some flowers.

Agree. Dude, I'm no Step expert and take mine in a few weeks, but I really feel like the curve levels off towards the top. Point of diminishing returns and all that. You are already at the top of the pile and have a predicted score that's 1.5 SDs above the mean.

But to answer your question... I don't think you can prepare for everything, so beyond seriously hitting your weak points with UW questions / FA or HY anatomy / etc., I don't know what else would be worth your time. Then again, when you're already projected to break 250, most studying might not be worth your time anymore. Congrats on getting there man. 👍

 

[mrmandrake]

Yea I agree, poor me right? Sometimes I feel that 250 --> 260 might be just luck but I'm shooting to get back to California into a competitive residency so I'm hoping this will give me an edge in addition to other things. I'll probably just finish off UW and concentrate on weak areas and stop freaking out.

 

[fahimaz7]

Why not pick up RR Path? 4 days of work w/ audio and you can clear the entire book.

 

[ArcGurren]

Yea I agree, poor me right? Sometimes I feel that 250 --> 260 might be just luck but I'm shooting to get back to California into a competitive residency so I'm hoping this will give me an edge in addition to other things. I'll probably just finish off UW and concentrate on weak areas and stop freaking out.

I know how you feel. There's a few places I specifically want to do my residency at and I know that for you at least, California residencies are notorious for showing preference for Cali residents no?

Anyway, you'll do FINE. You've got this 🙂

 

[mrmandrake]

Why not pick up RR Path? 4 days of work w/ audio and you can clear the entire book.

Yea that's one of the options I'm looking at. I mean I have 1300 questions in UW left and at 100 questions per day I have about 2 weeks left to finish that cause it takes me like 3 hours per block and I can only work 6-7 hours per day and I'm beat.

I want to dedicate a full week to reviewing FA right before the exam, so that leaves me a week to either do Goljan and hope something sticks, or concentrate on some lower yield topics. I'm just scared to start Goljan because it's such a dense book that I feel that if I didn't use it during the year, it's too late to start now.

 

[mrmandrake]

I know how you feel. There's a few places I specifically want to do my residency at and I know that for you at least, California residencies are notorious for showing preference for Cali residents no?

Anyway, you'll do FINE. You've got this 🙂

Thanks man. Yea I'm originally from CA and so hopefully they'll show some preference for me. I just think of all the snow I've shoveled in the past two years here and I can't imagine being anywhere but CA.

Assuming nothing crazy happens, I think most of us on this board will do fine.

 

[DrBowtie]

Once you are up in that range, a lot comes down to luck of the draw in terms of test composition.

The only thing you can do at this point is try to shore up your weakest areas with questions or re-reviewing FA/RR.

Good Luck!

 

[event horizon]

My last 5 NBMEs were in the 254-259 range, never got above 260 despite intensive studying. Just took my exam earlier this week so I can't say anything about how predictive they are. If you still have time I think the best thing to do is finish another question bank. From reading the experiences of people who scored 260+ on this forum, they all did at least 2. I have a feeling doing more questions helps minimize the chances of being completely surprised on test day.

 

[MossPoh]

I kind of feel like you have to do a whole lot to see minimal improvement when you get into those ranges. It is similar to horsepower and top speed on a car and even if two cars have identical horsepower and perfect aerodynamics, there will be stupid little things like air temp, wind and the mood of the driver to create a difference.

Best bet is probably to go through rapid review with a sheet of paper. Write down every little factoid you even hesitate on and review those. That combined with endless questions and you can probably peak out a little more. Maybe even grab a Step 2 book to go through longer questions. Oddly enough, my percentages are actually the same or better with step 2 crap, but that is probably because it is more clinical and less genetics/biochem b.s.

 

[mrmandrake]

I agree with both of you guys. It seems like you gotta put in a lot of work to get a 260. I have around 26 days left. I plan to do all the NBMEs and go through UWorld twice. I have about 1300 questions to go with UW, I have 6 NBME's left, and UWSA2, so that comes out to around 2700 questions. That works out to around 100 questions a day so I gotta push it because it takes awhile for me to go through those and I want a good week for FA review only.

I don't think I have time for another QBank. I haven't broken 260 on an NBME yet but I think my strategy now is just to solidify my knowledge and maybe learn a couple more things and I think I should be good for a 240+. I came in thinking I could pull off a 260 but it's harder than it seems. I'll need luck to pull it off now.