help! need HONEST advice, failed step 1 badly with 148!

[martin j]

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hello all,

I need your HONEST advice badly. im a USIMG grad of an asian medical school. graduated 6th out of 64 students in my class in 2014. i have no US clinical experience and no research. i passed step 2CS with all 3 categories in high performance in 1st attempt.
However, i just received one of the LOWEST possible scores in step 1. a 148! yes, i am mortified, devastated and ashamed. i studied for 3 months and did kaplan notes and videos, first aid and uworld- mixed questions and timed mode. please suggest any books or other materials that i should use for my 2nd attempt. any advice will be much appreciated.

 

[Transposony]

Did you take any NBMEs?
IMHO the key to improving your score is to find out WHY you got 148.
The misunderstanding IMGs get on these forums is that a combination of FA+UW+Pathoma+?? is enough to pass/get a good score.
They have to understand that the medical school teaching and testing is very different overseas (memorization, minutia) as compared to US medical schools (focused, concept based mechanisms). Simple memorization (with few exceptions) is not going to help.
So, all AMGs have to do is review FA/Pathoma/UW since they are already prepared/tested in the Med school.
In contrast, IMGs must relearn in a different way and then only above resources help.
So, it doesn't matter what resources you used or will/can use.
What matters is that do you know/understand/apply the concepts as they are tested on USMLE.

Hope this helps.

 

[martin j]

thank you so much Transposony for your prompt and great advice. i only took NBME 16 and only got a 181. i foolishly thought that i could do 20 points better on the real exam. instead i did over 30 points worse on test day.you are so right about the differences in medical school teaching of AMGs vs. IMGs. at my school- only recall and rote memorization is emphasized. i can tell you the "what, when and where" of a medical question, but i'm not good in telling you the "how and the why". i will just have to go back to the basics and shore up my weaknesses before i even touch FA,UW or pathoma. i will take your advice and thank you for taking the time to reply. God bless

 

[Transposony]

Glad to be of help.

I suggest attending few free webinars to figure out which areas need improvement to devise a plan.
Also, it will be useful to attend the Test Taking Strategies with Dr. Steven Daugherty.

Here is the link where you can sign up: http://www.becker.com/usmle/resources/usmle-events

 

[iki4life]

so for img's UFAP isn't the way to go? because thats what I've been doing. uworld scores around 55%. no nbme yet....am i doing it wrong?

 

[lucky01]

Hey man i once heard Dr. Fischer say that "its okay if you've failed, what we want to see is how strong of a comeback you have made." What he means is that program directors are looking for a really good second attempt score, if you can pull a 250 off on your second attempt, that's making a bold statement.

Best of luck!

 

[Shjanzey]

I am wondering if there is a fundamental gap in necessary knowledge here. For some reason our med school had us take an NBSE after the first semester and I managed to score in the 140s. This also happened to be about the class average, but obviously with only 25% of the entire curriculum "learned" the score would have to be low. What I am trying to illustrate is that the 140s seems to be what a first year with 5 months of training is capable of.

I know some people have suggested this may be due to a difference in test taking skills, but a performance that poor seems to point towards a lack of fundamental knowledge. The only other thing I can think of is that there is a language barrier here and the OP isn't understanding what the questions are asking. I would suggest exploring these two avenues, because I believe that in order to improve test taking skills, UWORLD is training enough to learn how to approach questions and think through the possible answers.

 

[seminoma]

OP you should start by figuring out if it's a testing problem or if it's a knowledge problem. If your foundational knowledge is lacking you'll need to do more than just study board material.

Hey man i once heard Dr. Fischer say that "its okay if you've failed, what we want to see is how strong of a comeback you have made." What he means is that program directors are looking for a really good second attempt score, if you can pull a 250 off on your second attempt, that's making a bold statement.

Best of luck!

Nobody is going to score a 148 and then score in the ~90% on a retake...

 

[syoung]

OP you should start by figuring out if it's a testing problem or if it's a knowledge problem. If your foundational knowledge is lacking you'll need to do more than just study board material.



Nobody is going to score a 148 and then score in the ~90% on a retake...

hush, that's not what the test prep companies want you to hear...

 

[martin j]

Hey man i once heard Dr. Fischer say that "its okay if you've failed, what we want to see is how strong of a comeback you have made." What he means is that program directors are looking for a really good second attempt score, if you can pull a 250 off on your second attempt, that's making a bold statement.

Best of luck!

Hey man i once heard Dr. Fischer say that "its okay if you've failed, what we want to see is how strong of a comeback you have made." What he means is that program directors are looking for a really good second attempt score, if you can pull a 250 off on your second attempt, that's making a bold statement.

Best of luck!

Thank you so much for your encouraging words lucky. i dont think i can realistically pull a 250. but i think i can hit 220 with a better study approach, more devoted study time and a personal problem that has been resolved. God bless

 

[martin j]

I am wondering if there is a fundamental gap in necessary knowledge here. For some reason our med school had us take an NBSE after the first semester and I managed to score in the 140s. This also happened to be about the class average, but obviously with only 25% of the entire curriculum "learned" the score would have to be low. What I am trying to illustrate is that the 140s seems to be what a first year with 5 months of training is capable of.

I know some people have suggested this may be due to a difference in test taking skills, but a performance that poor seems to point towards a lack of fundamental knowledge. The only other thing I can think of is that there is a language barrier here and the OP isn't understanding what the questions are asking. I would suggest exploring these two avenues, because I believe that in order to improve test taking skills, UWORLD is training enough to learn how to approach questions and think through the possible answers.

thank you for your insightful advice. you are right. i feel i have a lack of fundamental knowledge. no language barrier for me, i am asian, but i lived in the US for 23 years. the only reason i graduated in top 10% of my class is because our school exams were mostly straight forward memory type questions. very few 2 or 3 step style conceptual questions. i also didnt prepare smartly. at the time i was doing my internship in my country full time and just studying whenever i could for 3 months. just trying to beat my eligibilty deadline. i read FA only once. only scored 46% in UW (competed once) and finished about half of kaplan books and videos. and i was going through a messy divorce.

but im in a better place mentally and emotionally now. internship is over, so i have all the time to study now. divorce is settled too. so im ready to put max effort now. thank you for your advice

 

[martin j]

OP you should start by figuring out if it's a testing problem or if it's a knowledge problem. If your foundational knowledge is lacking you'll need to do more than just study board material.



Nobody is going to score a 148 and then score in the ~90% on a retake...

i agree with your advice seminoma. its more of a lack of knowledge problem for me rather than test taking. i realistically dont expect to jump from 148 to 250. but i feel 220 is within my reach, now that i have more devoted time to study and a personal problem has been resolved. i appreciate your honest advice. thank you

 

[seminoma]

i agree with your advice seminoma. its more of a lack of knowledge problem for me rather than test taking. i realistically dont expect to jump from 148 to 250. but i feel 220 is within my reach, now that i have more devoted time to study and a personal problem has been resolved. i appreciate your honest advice. thank you

I agree that 220 is within reach. I don't really have any good advice for resolving a knowledge issue. Most of us spend 1.5-2 years learning stuff and I don't know how I would attempt to cram it in over a significantly shorter period of time.

 

[martin j]

I agree that 220 is within reach. I don't really have any good advice for resolving a knowledge issue. Most of us spend 1.5-2 years learning stuff and I don't know how I would attempt to cram it in over a significantly shorter period of time.

you are right about that. ive backed myself into a corner now. im trying to finish step 1 by this august, so i can be on time for 2016 match. me being an IMG, we can take the steps in any order. i took step 2CS in LA and passed on 1st attempt. then i barely passed step 2CK on 1st attempt (218). i have no USCE and no research with an attempt on step 1. so its not looking good, but i have 4 months to do the best that i can. thanks for taking your time to comment. God bless

 

[ketosisevangelist]

Just pass. Everybody lies about their score.

 

[FalconSlice]

Just pass. Everybody lies about their score.

Except for legitimate residency applicants on their applications…

 

[NeedToStudy]

OP you should start by figuring out if it's a testing problem or if it's a knowledge problem. If your foundational knowledge is lacking you'll need to do more than just study board material.



Nobody is going to score a 148 and then score in the ~90% on a retake...

Why not? He's an IMG. He literally has all the time in the world to prepare.

 

[_WinterIsComing_]

hello all,

I need your HONEST advice badly. im a USIMG grad of an asian medical school. graduated 6th out of 64 students in my class in 2014. i have no US clinical experience and no research. i passed step 2CS with all 3 categories in high performance in 1st attempt.
However, i just received one of the LOWEST possible scores in step 1. a 148! yes, i am mortified, devastated and ashamed. i studied for 3 months and did kaplan notes and videos, first aid and uworld- mixed questions and timed mode. please suggest any books or other materials that i should use for my 2nd attempt. any advice will be much appreciated.

I'll be brutally honest with you. 3 months for kaplan videos, books, FA and uworld is a really short time. You should dedicate at least 6 solid months to your studies. You've graduated already and you have enough time to focus.
Take an NBME just for evaluation purposes and after you're done, start with your weak subjects. You've watched the kaplan videos already. You could just read the books and this time, read to UNDERSTAND not memorize. Step 1 is a conceptual exam contrary to the popular belief. If you don't understand something, watch the videos to grasp the concept.
After you are done with a book, do subject based uworld questions to consolidate the material. Do this for all the subjects. While doing questions, take notes in a notebook or annotate your kaplan books. Once you are done with every book and subject based question, take another NBME. After that, do random uworld questions (at least 92) every day and take notes. REVIEW YOUR NOTES AFTER YOU ARE DONE! Once you are done with the questions, take another NBME. Review your weakest areas again. Do this until you're scoring 240+. Once you're comfortable in the 240s, take your exam.

Another route would be USMLErx. They have express videos, flashcards and questions. The videos are a little over 60 hours and it pretty much follows FA. I am subscribed to them and they are not bad. You still need to subscribe to uWorld because it's the greatest Qbank out there. They have a deal which might be perfect for you since you have time.
Here is the 12 month Till You Pass Step 1 Qmax promotion: WIND9QMAX1. It expires on 4/25. You save $120
Here is the 12 month Till You Pass Triple Play Bundle. The promotion code is: WIND9TRIP. It expires on 4/25. You save $200

If your basic science is weak, Najeeb videos are also excellent from what i've been told.
Good luck with everything. Keep your head up and don't give up. Just try to score really high on your second attempt. YOU GOT THIS!!!

 

[quickfeet]

Dr Najeeb lectures.

400 hrs of video

Watch them all and you will know more than most basic sciences professors.

 

[NEEDTOPASS123]

I'll be brutally honest with you. 3 months for kaplan videos, books, FA and uworld is a really short time. You should dedicate at least 6 solid months to your studies. You've graduated already and you have enough time to focus.
Take an NBME just for evaluation purposes and after you're done, start with your weak subjects. You've watched the kaplan videos already. You could just read the books and this time, read to UNDERSTAND not memorize. Step 1 is a conceptual exam contrary to the popular belief. If you don't understand something, watch the videos to grasp the concept.
After you are done with a book, do subject based uworld questions to consolidate the material. Do this for all the subjects. While doing questions, take notes in a notebook or annotate your kaplan books. Once you are done with every book and subject based question, take another NBME. After that, do random uworld questions (at least 92) every day and take notes. REVIEW YOUR NOTES AFTER YOU ARE DONE! Once you are done with the questions, take another NBME. Review your weakest areas again. Do this until you're scoring 240+. Once you're comfortable in the 240s, take your exam.

Another route would be USMLErx. They have express videos, flashcards and questions. The videos are a little over 60 hours and it pretty much follows FA. I am subscribed to them and they are not bad. You still need to subscribe to uWorld because it's the greatest Qbank out there. They have a deal which might be perfect for you since you have time.
Here is the 12 month Till You Pass Step 1 Qmax promotion: WIND9QMAX1. It expires on 4/25. You save $120
Here is the 12 month Till You Pass Triple Play Bundle. The promotion code is: WIND9TRIP. It expires on 4/25. You save $200

If your basic science is weak, Najeeb videos are also excellent from what i've been told.
Good luck with everything. Keep your head up and don't give up. Just try to score really high on your second attempt. YOU GOT THIS!!!

Loitering?

 

[_WinterIsComing_]

Loitering?

???