Chasing a 182

[bigpurple]

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Hey everyone,
I've been a dedicated reader to SDN since before I entered med-school. I have graduated from pre-med to allopathic and now to the usmle threads. My ride through school has been pretty wild. It took me a while to get in school so I am little older, but I'm here now. I was originally a class of 2006er but now, hopefully a class of 2007er.
I finished my first two years fairly lowly ranked, not the bottom, and without having failed anything. My sophomore told me to memorize first aid and I would be golden. So with my qbank and FA in hand I went to work. I procrastinated and moved my test back, but should have known that a week wouldn't change the world. On my first attemp I posted a 161. Some of you are gasping. Breathe please. So school said go take a review course. I hung out in Dallas and studied my tail off at Falcon review. My feelings were that the content was good, but no time for questions. On my second attempt I posted a 180. Now if you thought I was unhappy about the first test, I was really pissed about the second.
In between waiting for my scores I got to fall back in love with medicine. After the first two years I hated it, and when I hit the clinics I knew this is what I had wanted. What I knew from those experiences was that I could hang with my counterparts that had passed.
So for the third and final installment I went to Kansas City and the folks at the Instititue for Professional Preparation (IPP). These folks have been doing this for sometime. The difference here is questions. They have question groups. They teach you how to break it down and think the way the 14 white men that wrote the question are thinking. So I just took step 1 for the third time and am waiting patiently to see if I get to stay in medical school.
I'm telling this story because I've never seen it posted here. I alway read about scoring in the 99.9% on the step one. It's amazing. So I thought it pertinent to here from an outlier on that damned bell curve.
I want very much to graduate to the next thread (residency) so all you SDN'ers pull for someone a little further down the totem pole. All you folks studying for step 1... Bust your butt and pass the test

Good Luck

 

[UCSBMed1]

Hey everyone,
I've been a dedicated reader to SDN since before I entered med-school. I have graduated from pre-med to allopathic and now to the usmle threads. My ride through school has been pretty wild. It took me a while to get in school so I am little older, but I'm here now. I was originally a class of 2006er but now, hopefully a class of 2007er.
I finished my first two years fairly lowly ranked, not the bottom, and without having failed anything. My sophomore told me to memorize first aid and I would be golden. So with my qbank and FA in hand I went to work. I procrastinated and moved my test back, but should have known that a week wouldn't change the world. On my first attemp I posted a 161. Some of you are gasping. Breathe please. So school said go take a review course. I hung out in Dallas and studied my tail off at Falcon review. My feelings were that the content was good, but no time for questions. On my second attempt I posted a 180. Now if you thought I was unhappy about the first test, I was really pissed about the second.
In between waiting for my scores I got to fall back in love with medicine. After the first two years I hated it, and when I hit the clinics I knew this is what I had wanted. What I knew from those experiences was that I could hang with my counterparts that had passed.
So for the third and final installment I went to Kansas City and the folks at the Instititue for Professional Preparation (IPP). These folks have been doing this for sometime. The difference here is questions. They have question groups. They teach you how to break it down and think the way the 14 white men that wrote the question are thinking. So I just took step 1 for the third time and am waiting patiently to see if I get to stay in medical school.
I'm telling this story because I've never seen it posted here. I alway read about scoring in the 99.9% on the step one. It's amazing. So I thought it pertinent to here from an outlier on that damned bell curve.
I want very much to graduate to the next thread (residency) so all you SDN'ers pull for someone a little further down the totem pole. All you folks studying for step 1... Bust your butt and pass the test

Good Luck

As someone who is in the midst of Step I studying, I thank you for your post. I wish you luck with your score, and to your future career as a doctor. 🙂 😀

Any tips?

 

[bigpurple]

That is a tough question and one I have thought a lot about it I could do it over again. My list would go like this.

1. Schedule: find one, make one, live one. You have to find one that is right for you and help you accomplish everything you need to review between now and test day. If you can't stick to one go take a review course. I would have saved tons of money by spending it up front instead of now.

2. First Aid: FA is a great book. Great pneumonics etc. It is however a skeleton. It is not enough. You cannot just memorize the book, you have to understand and be able to apply the concepts quickly ~72 secs. When you don't completely understand concepts you have to go outside of first aid and dive deeper.

3. Questions: Qbank etc. Get qbank test yourself. Test youself everyday. Am I comfortable doing 200 questions in four hours. Could I do another 150 this afternoon. You are training for a marathon just like the long tests you have taken before.

4. Break time: take your breaks. don't take a week off, but take a couple of hours everyday. don't forget about the fun things. Exercise, sex, movies, xbox. Keep yourself sane between now and test day. Rewarding yourself for sticking to your schedule is important. When you've done what you wanted to do that day sit back and say good job.

5. The test: You have been preparing for this test for 2 years. You know a lot of info. Don't freak. Go in and show that test what you know.

 

[ucbdancn00]

what a story bigpurple...

thanks for the very sound advice....

and of course, g'luck to you...

ucb

 

[Goose...Fraba]

bigpurple youll be in my prayers. good luck my friend. goose

 

[Dire Straits]

bigpurple, i've sent you a PM.