Am I screwed? Please help...

[Juwanji]

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So, I've royally screwed up my prep for step 1 and I haven't made it through my first pass of FA and my test is on June 29, 13 days from now. I still have to cover most of the General Sciences in FA. I've gone through the organ systems but I'm not anywhere near having it memorized. I've only gone through 100 questions on USMLE World and the questions seem very hard, I think I'm getting like 25% right at the moment.

Obviously I've put myself in a bad situation. My question is if I can get over 200 (or at least passing) even if I study my ass off until the test. Should I try to talk with my school about extending the test by delaying my third year (rotations start early July)? My studying has been much slower than anticipated and I am very worried I won't be able to pass. Any constructive advice, especially from anyone who has been in a similar situation would be much appreciated.

 

[Cookie Queen]

If I were you, I'd do a couple of things. First, talk to your school and find out if moving your schedule for next year is an option. Next, I would take an NBME to see where you're at - it's going to be rough, but you need to have an idea. Maybe you'll surprise yourself with your score and not want to push back your year. My impression from the forums (and other correct me if I'm wrong) is that NBME 6, 7, and 11 are most predictive. Do one of those. But also take that score with a grain of salt - I've heard of people actually scoring twenty points off from their final NBME (higher OR lower).

I think pushing it back may not be a terrible thing, but I'm not you and you know your situation better. But by talking to your school and taking an NBME now, you can have a better idea where you stand. And then you need to hit UWorld hard! And read the full explanation for why each answer was right or wrong, you learn the most that way.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[ar2388]

defintely take an NBMe!! i dont know about 6.. but i would say def 7 and 11 and maybe 12 as well if you have time.. if oyu want to only pick 2, i dont know if 6 should be one of those bc its the most outdated i think. 13 days is a pretty long time too.. what has your study schedule been like from day to day?

 

[Mattabet]

Agree with above.

I'd definitely do and NBME; figure out where you are. It would not be impossible to get a lot of work done in two weeks, but you would need to figure out what your problems have been and fix them - which might take more time. There's certainly not much time left for inefficiency.

But figure out where you are. UWorld is programmed to break your spirit (or it feels that way some days, anyway). NBME will give you a score that has some predictive value, and you can use that info to make a better decision going forward.

 

[Juwanji]

Thank you for your replies, I will take a practice test tomorrow and I'm going to talk to my school to what my options are. Right now I'm just trying to get through FA and doing qbank questions.

One more question, should I prioritize finishing UW qbank over trying to memorize FA? In the time I have left I don't think I can do both.