Score: 232/94
I was extremely pleased with that score. Here's my story.
I am going to give an incredibly lengthy review of what I did to prepare, so feel free to read on if you have the time. I really found it helpful to look at the scores that other people had on practice tests and things like that (even though I have come to realize that those numbers seem to have little correlation). I will also give you an idea of my study schedule and try to discuss the pros or cons of the books and other resources that I used and what I would have done differently.
Stats That Might or Might Not Be of Use:
SAT: 1360
MCAT: 30
Med School GPA: 3.37 after first two years (on a typical 4.0 scale)
Med School class rank: not sure because we only see avg scores for exams but most likely borderline top third
Med School: unranked state school in the south (US News doesn't even have me on their radar)
Pathology NBME shelf: 92nd percentile (7 weeks before Step 1)
Clinical Diagnosis NBME shelf: 99th percentile (6 weeks before Step 1)
QBank scores: all questions were in random timed blocks of 50
62% on first 300 questions (4.5 wks before)
71% on final 300 questions (2 days before)
65% overall after finishing 53% of the total available questions
Free released 150 questions: 74% (1 wk before)
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Overall Schedule:
roughly 8.5 weeks
My school gave us 1.5 wks off at the end of the semester before our final exams. Final exams included cumulative Path and ICD shelf tests and a Pharm final, so I consider that final exam studying to be part of my Step 1 review. I had 2.5 wks of final exam studying and review, took half a week off, and then had about 5 weeks left of pure Step 1 review.
Week 1: mostly studying for Path shelf test I used three main sources -- 8-10 hrs/day
BRS Path one time through in detail (I also used it for half the year during class)
Robbins question book (about 2/3 of the questions -- some were done during the year for class exams also)
relevant areas in First Aid 2006
Week 2: took Path shelf and ICD shelf -- 8-10 hrs/day
Pre-Test Physical Diagnosis for the ICD shelf test (excellent review of pathophys!!!)
also used behavioral science section in FA
Week 3: took Pharmacology final
used class notes for Pharmacology final and glanced at pharm in FA
took half a week off after final exams
Week 4-7: never studied more than 5 hours in a day. only M-F with the entire weekend off
Week 4:
once through BRS Phys
started QBank and did first 300 questions
Week 5:
continued Qbank at about 50 questions per day
one time through organ system section of FA 2006 (I had already done this once while studying for finals)
Week 6:
only did 100 QBank this week -- slacker
focused on small subjects like biochem, micro/immuno, embryo, behavioral (mostly from FA)
Week 7:
only did 100 Qbank this week also -- still a slacker
used class notes for Pharm and used pharm areas in FA (3 days)
ran back through the small subjects in FA (2 days)
Week 8: stepped up to 8 hrs/ day ... mostly a bunch of Path/Pathophys and my weak areas
50 Qbank per day
Goljan review notes (inflammation, clotting, cardio, resp, GI, renal, endocrine, lower urinary/sex, musculoskeletal, neuro)
Goljan audio for the same sections that I did from the review notes
FA yet again (behavioral, biochem, embryo, pharm, heme/onc, musculoskeletal, neuro/psych, renal, resp)
50 biochem questions from the stolen version of NBME 1 and 2
took the free 150 released questions 1 week before Step 1 (74%)
Final 2 Days: insane 10 hrs/day
almost all questions, questions, and more questions
2 Days Before Step 1:
100 QBank
250 Qbook (100 biochem + 150 path/pathophys)
1 Day Before Step 1:
100 QBank
150 Qbook (50 pharm + 100 path/pathophys)
skimmed review area at the back of FA (the images and rapid review stuff)
skimmed Goljan HY handout (the one that is about 40 pages long)
Day of the Test: so nervous I almost sharted as I started that first block (just kidding)
turned out not too bad......staying focused and trying to remain calm is key
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The key to a good performance and study schedule is first and foremost to do well in your classes -- remember that most of this stuff should be "review." First year is not all that important assuming you're on a classical schedule with Path and Pharm in your 2nd year (Phys is pretty critical though but you get that regurgitated during Path and Pharm so don't worry about it too much).
My schedule said it was 8.5 wks long, but a lot of that was tied up in final exams and a healthy amount of downtime.
I think a well planned 4 weeks of review is more than adequate for anyone as long as you have the discipline to stick to it and stay focused. I learned as much in the last 1.5 wks than I did in the previous 3 wks because I actually sat down and did some real and very productive studying for at least 8 hours each day.
Relaxing is also the key to success in my opinion. Notice how my schedule included things like relatively slow study weeks and plenty of times when I basically did nothing for the whole weekend. I relaxed a little too much, but try to make time to get away from the books. You will be much happier (so will those who are unfortunate enough to be stuck living with you during your masochistic review month). This was good and bad I guess. I slacked off quite a bit, and that meant that my study period got stretched out over most of my summer. However, I was not miserable during that time, so I guess the point is that you need to tailor your own schedule to how intense you want to be in your studying.
Along this same line of thinking DO NOT GET BURNED OUT. If you feel this starting to happen close your books, leave the library, and go relax. Take time off if you need it. Studying does not work when you are tense and exhausted and that extra time you take to decompress will be worth it in the long run.
If I had it to do over again:
I would have started using BRS Path and First Aid on day one of my second year. I also would have gotten Qbook (not QBank) and started doing some questions (maybe 100 each week) during the second semester just to get me thinking about Step 1 material and how I might need to prepare. I probably would not have needed QBank. Qbook plus all of the Robbins and BRS questions is more than adequate.
I personally liked the Qbook more than Qbank anyway (and it only cost about 40 bucks which is very nice
).
My time frame was not what it should have been. It would have been ideal for me to study hard like I did for final exams, but then keep studying hard for another 3 weeks and take the test then. I drug it out too long and did most of my learning in the last week and a half, but I certainly enjoyed being relaxed the whole time.
I also should have taken at least one of the NBME tests about half way through my studying just to get an idea of where I was and what I should expect to focus on for the real thing. Near the end, I just didn't think it was worth $45 to see a predicted score without being able to review all of the questions. Instead, I stuck with things like QBank that already provided explanations for me.
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So here is what I used to study:
1. BRS Path (including all of the review questions in it)
2. First Aid 2006
3. QBank
4. Kaplan Q-Book
5. Goljan notes
6. class notes for Pharm
7. Robbins Question Book
8. Pre-Test Physical Diagnosis
9. BRS Phys
I would say that the first 5 sources are more than enough to do extremely well on Step 1
General thoughts on review sources:
Stick with a few sources that complement your learning style. I did not get anywhere close to opening a text book because I am not a text type of guy in the first place. I stuck with good review books that I had already used and become familiar with during class. Also, I felt like I got a lot out of doing questions (whether they were in the BRS books, the Robbins book, Qbank, or Qbook) -- just
don't forget to read the full explanations for all questions or you are completely wasting your time.
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I want to thank everyone who posted their Step 1 experience and advice in the past. I can confidently say that I learned a great deal from reading the insights on this board, and it certainly bumped up my score a few points at least. Also, do not get discouraged if you keep seeing superstars scoring 250+ all over SDN. Just take the advice that you find useful and adapt it to fit your own study plan and give it your best. Good luck!
