So I got a 265 on Step 1 and I was pretty thrilled about it. I was super stressed and thought I would fail and had zero chance of scoring well so if you feel like that....there is hope.
What was tested a lot - Physiology, Pathology, random/weird diseases
What was not tested a lot - Pharm, micro, biochem, and specifically biostats questions that required calculations were tested very little. Actually I had zero biostat calculation questions.
The pharm and micro that was tested was incredibly simple and there were only a few questions on each so using sketchymicro and sketchypharm for step 1 is not something I would recommend. In general they covered so much more than was needed to answer the UWorld questions, the NBME questions, and especially the step 1 questions.
My strategy - no daily schedule. Including class time I studied roughly 12 hours a day for 8 months for this exam with a vacation here and there. Exam was in June. I went through all of pathoma in September and didn't touch it again until May for the path nbme where I read it one more time. I went through first aid 7-8 times. And listened to Goljan audio in the car and when I worked out starting in Nov. and went though all the audios 4 times. I went through Rx once and UWorld twice. I did Rx in sept/oct/nov and it was great for learning first aid but nothing like actual step 1. Then I did UWorld twice from Dec-May and those questions were more like step 1 but still much different. I did both UWorld practice exams and 4 of the NBME practice exam. NBME practice exams were an accurate indicator of what you may score but the questions are also nothing like step 1. Step 1 questions are really their own thing, nothing out there tests you the way those questions do. It's a bell curve though so just be more prepared than everyone else. I felt awful about my exam when I was taking it and after....marked like 15 questions per section so I was definitely panicking the whole exam and was shocked with my score. Apparently I was more prepared than most so thought I mine as well share my strategy and experience. But if you are doing well in school already, just keep doing your thing. Good luck! That was it! If you don't know where to begin....just start reading first aid...Know first aid cold and you will be good.
Also realize that the first time you go through FA it isn't going to make a lot of sense. Just read through it quickly and become familiar with the layout and just the book in general. Then when you read though it a second time...it still won't make a lot of sense (besides the sections you have learned in class) but start going though it a little slower. By the 3rd time you go through, connections will begin to be made. Stop and think about every sentence you read....like why is it there...what makes this important and how could they test me on this fact. Some people don't like first aid but I believe that is because they are using it wrong. And when you have an "AH HA" moment over something in the book...write it down cause you will forget.
Let me know if you have any questions!
What was tested a lot - Physiology, Pathology, random/weird diseases
What was not tested a lot - Pharm, micro, biochem, and specifically biostats questions that required calculations were tested very little. Actually I had zero biostat calculation questions.
The pharm and micro that was tested was incredibly simple and there were only a few questions on each so using sketchymicro and sketchypharm for step 1 is not something I would recommend. In general they covered so much more than was needed to answer the UWorld questions, the NBME questions, and especially the step 1 questions.
My strategy - no daily schedule. Including class time I studied roughly 12 hours a day for 8 months for this exam with a vacation here and there. Exam was in June. I went through all of pathoma in September and didn't touch it again until May for the path nbme where I read it one more time. I went through first aid 7-8 times. And listened to Goljan audio in the car and when I worked out starting in Nov. and went though all the audios 4 times. I went through Rx once and UWorld twice. I did Rx in sept/oct/nov and it was great for learning first aid but nothing like actual step 1. Then I did UWorld twice from Dec-May and those questions were more like step 1 but still much different. I did both UWorld practice exams and 4 of the NBME practice exam. NBME practice exams were an accurate indicator of what you may score but the questions are also nothing like step 1. Step 1 questions are really their own thing, nothing out there tests you the way those questions do. It's a bell curve though so just be more prepared than everyone else. I felt awful about my exam when I was taking it and after....marked like 15 questions per section so I was definitely panicking the whole exam and was shocked with my score. Apparently I was more prepared than most so thought I mine as well share my strategy and experience. But if you are doing well in school already, just keep doing your thing. Good luck! That was it! If you don't know where to begin....just start reading first aid...Know first aid cold and you will be good.
Also realize that the first time you go through FA it isn't going to make a lot of sense. Just read through it quickly and become familiar with the layout and just the book in general. Then when you read though it a second time...it still won't make a lot of sense (besides the sections you have learned in class) but start going though it a little slower. By the 3rd time you go through, connections will begin to be made. Stop and think about every sentence you read....like why is it there...what makes this important and how could they test me on this fact. Some people don't like first aid but I believe that is because they are using it wrong. And when you have an "AH HA" moment over something in the book...write it down cause you will forget.
Let me know if you have any questions!
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