Is this possible?

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loca Dr. chica

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Hey guys,

I've got a quick question for you all...

I got a 28 on my MCAT (mostly because I didn't study very much at all - was busy w/ school and other things) and have been making Bs consistently during 2nd yr- this is with some major slacking; I probably study 50%-60% (maybe even less) of the time most of my classmates do...I was wondering if it is too unrealistic to shoot for a 240-250 on Step 1? I'm trying to figure out what I should shoot for to minimize any impending stress when I use Qbank, etc. and also to motivate myself to actually start studying ;)

I'll have 5-6 weeks after the end of school to study...Taking the test in Mid-June

Thanks

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No. If you work very hard with your preparation and are not a horrible test taker, I think it is possible. Don't let anyone persuade you otherwise.

The MCAT is not a test of knowledge whereas Step I is. The same was true of the LSAT and bar exam. I did not score well on the LSAT but got in the 95+% for the Bar's multistate exam.
 
It is absolutely possible if you are willing to work. I got a 29 on my MCAT and I received a 258 on NBME 3 right before the test. Still awaiting scores, but it should be close to that. Stay focused and you can achieve your goal.
 
It is absolutely possible if you are willing to work. I got a 29 on my MCAT and I received a 258 on NBME 3 right before the test. Still awaiting scores, but it should be close to that. Stay focused and you can achieve your goal.
a fellow 29'er here....shooting for 235+....ready to go balls to the wall for the next couple months....
 
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Very very possible. This is what happened to me:

MCAT: 27
Step 1: 249

Study 10+ hours/day for 5 weeks and you can bust 250 wide open. My best advice would be to do questions until your eyes fall out of your ass. Then do more questions.

Edit: also, I honored nothing during my first two years of med school (only HPs with some Ps)
 
Very very possible. This is what happened to me:

MCAT: 27
Step 1: 249

Study 10+ hours/day for 5 weeks and you can bust 250 wide open. My best advice would be to do questions until your eyes fall out of your ass. Then do more questions.

Edit: also, I honored nothing during my first two years of med school (only HPs with some Ps)

BDylan, thats pretty impressive. What Questions did you use to get that score??
 
I did virtually no studying that was step 1 specific before those five weeks.

As for question sources:
- Qbank: almost every other question source I used, I prefered to Qbank. But it's the gold standard, and I felt obligated to finish it.
- USMLERx: I felt this was better than Qbank b/c the questions were, for the most part, more representative of step 1 questions. I wasn't able to finish it, but if I had to do it all over again, I would.
- Robbins Review of Path Book: questions are longer and harder than step 1 questions, but that's exactly what you need. I'd make it a priority to get through the relevant chapters (ie, not "The Eye")
- WebPath: All online, all path, all free. Made by one of the writers of the Robbins Qbook. Get through both of those and you're prepared for the path questions on step 1.
- Kaplan Qbook: for some reason, I thought the questions and explanations in this book were superior to the questions on Kaplan's Qbank. Also, since the chapters are in subjects, you're able to better identify your weaknesses
- Rapid Review USMLE (CD): excellent questions with really good explanations. The only drawback is that the program doesn’t keep track of questions you’ve already answered. So, after you’ve been using it a while, you start to get a bunch of repeats.
- NBME Assessment Exams: These were by far the most important questions I did. Myself and others who took the test got a couple questions on the real deal that were verbatim or very close to some of the questions in these assessements.
- USMLE 150 Released items: These questions are just as good as the Assessment Exams (traditionally, people say they're easier, but whatever). Also, the program they run on looks EXACTLY like what you'll see in the prometric center.

Over my 5 brutal study weeks, I ended up doing almost 7,000 questions total (I kept a daily count).

I'll try and find my old study schedule and post it later. Also, if you have any other questions, I'll check back every couple days or so.
 
I did virtually no studying that was step 1 specific before those five weeks.

As for question sources:
- Qbank: almost every other question source I used, I prefered to Qbank. But it's the gold standard, and I felt obligated to finish it.
- USMLERx: I felt this was better than Qbank b/c the questions were, for the most part, more representative of step 1 questions. I wasn't able to finish it, but if I had to do it all over again, I would.
- Robbins Review of Path Book: questions are longer and harder than step 1 questions, but that's exactly what you need. I'd make it a priority to get through the relevant chapters (ie, not "The Eye")
- WebPath: All online, all path, all free. Made by one of the writers of the Robbins Qbook. Get through both of those and you're prepared for the path questions on step 1.
- Kaplan Qbook: for some reason, I thought the questions and explanations in this book were superior to the questions on Kaplan's Qbank. Also, since the chapters are in subjects, you're able to better identify your weaknesses
- Rapid Review USMLE (CD): excellent questions with really good explanations. The only drawback is that the program doesn’t keep track of questions you’ve already answered. So, after you’ve been using it a while, you start to get a bunch of repeats.
- NBME Assessment Exams: These were by far the most important questions I did. Myself and others who took the test got a couple questions on the real deal that were verbatim or very close to some of the questions in these assessements.
- USMLE 150 Released items: These questions are just as good as the Assessment Exams (traditionally, people say they're easier, but whatever). Also, the program they run on looks EXACTLY like what you'll see in the prometric center.

Over my 5 brutal study weeks, I ended up doing almost 7,000 questions total (I kept a daily count).

I'll try and find my old study schedule and post it later. Also, if you have any other questions, I'll check back every couple days or so.



thank yhou so much for that!!!!!!!!
 
I did virtually no studying that was step 1 specific before those five weeks.

As for question sources:
- Qbank: almost every other question source I used, I prefered to Qbank. But it's the gold standard, and I felt obligated to finish it.
- USMLERx: I felt this was better than Qbank b/c the questions were, for the most part, more representative of step 1 questions. I wasn't able to finish it, but if I had to do it all over again, I would.
- Robbins Review of Path Book: questions are longer and harder than step 1 questions, but that's exactly what you need. I'd make it a priority to get through the relevant chapters (ie, not "The Eye")
- WebPath: All online, all path, all free. Made by one of the writers of the Robbins Qbook. Get through both of those and you're prepared for the path questions on step 1.
- Kaplan Qbook: for some reason, I thought the questions and explanations in this book were superior to the questions on Kaplan's Qbank. Also, since the chapters are in subjects, you're able to better identify your weaknesses
- Rapid Review USMLE (CD): excellent questions with really good explanations. The only drawback is that the program doesn't keep track of questions you've already answered. So, after you've been using it a while, you start to get a bunch of repeats.
- NBME Assessment Exams: These were by far the most important questions I did. Myself and others who took the test got a couple questions on the real deal that were verbatim or very close to some of the questions in these assessements.
- USMLE 150 Released items: These questions are just as good as the Assessment Exams (traditionally, people say they're easier, but whatever). Also, the program they run on looks EXACTLY like what you'll see in the prometric center.

Over my 5 brutal study weeks, I ended up doing almost 7,000 questions total (I kept a daily count).

I'll try and find my old study schedule and post it later. Also, if you have any other questions, I'll check back every couple days or so.

at 200 Q's daily did you have time to go over review books?
 
at 200 Q's daily did you have time to go over review books?

Yes.

I started out doing about 100/day then worked my way up to 250-300/day while reading less and less from review books.

Toward the end, it took me about 45min to get through 50q and then another 45min to go over the explanations etc. (note: if I got a question right, and I knew exactly why I got it right, I'd skip the explanation). So, that works out to about 3hrs/100q. Let's say you start studying at 7am, read from the BRS's about cardio phys and path or listen to Goljan until 12, have some lunch, then spend the rest of your day (from 1pm to 7 or 8pm) doing 200 cardio questions. That was roughly a regular step 1 study day for me.

To be honest, if I could go back, I'd do even less reading and more questions. Questions were the absolute deal maker. You'll have people argue about Goljan vs. BRS vs. Kaplan vs. First Aid for days, but everyone agrees on questions. If you're debating between questions and reading, do the questions.

If you want to know what the questions on step 1 will be like, do the NBME assessments, they're VERY VERY accurate. These were mine:
Form 3 (two weeks before): 245
Form 4 (day after form 3): 242
Form 1 (one week before): 257
Form 2 (same day as form 1): 253
 
BD that's awesome. I'd be interested in your study schedule as well.
 
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BD, so did you do most of your questionsubject based? thanks so much for all your input, this really helps me as i feel i really learn by doing ?s
 
Awesome thread guys. Thanks for the info BDylan.

Can you tell us which books you used over these 5 weeks and what your study schedule was briefly?
 
I started doing my questions subject-based, then switched to all random. After a week or two of studying, I'd recommend doing 50 or so questions on the subject you study that morning, and then random the rest of the day.

This was my study schedule, to the tee (I used First Aid and did questions every day, so I didn't bother to write those):

WEEK ONE (avg 140q/day)
Sunday – General Phys and Path (BRS Path, BRS Phys)
Monday – Immunology (Lange)
Tuesday and Wednesday – Anatomy and Embryology (HY Embryo)
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – Biochemistry (Kaplan, HY Cell/Molecular)

WEEK TWO (avg 172q/day)
Sunday – Cardiovascular Path and Phys (BRS Path, BRS Phys)
Monday – Respiratory Path and Phys (BRS Path, BRS Phys)
Tuesday – Hematology, Oncology Path (BRS Path)
Wednesday – Renal Path and Phys (BRS Path, BRS Phys)
Thursday – GI Path and Phys (BRS Path, Phys)
Friday – Endocrine, Reproductive Path and Phys (BRS Path, BRS Phys)
Saturday – Derm, Musculoskeletal Path (BRS Path)

WEEK THREE (avg 167q/day)
Sunday and Monday – Neuro (BRS Path, BRS Phys, HY Neuro)
Tuesday and Wednesday – Behavioral (HY Behavioral, HY Biostats)
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – Micro (CMMRS)

WEEK FOUR (avg 205q/day)
Sunday and Monday – Pharm
Tuesday – NBME Assessment Exam (form 3), then look up the answers
Wednesday – NBME Assessment Exam (form 4), then look up the answers
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – Weak subjects

WEEK FIVE (avg 275q/day)
Sunday and Monday – Weak subjects
Tuesday – NBME Assessment Exams (forms 1 and 2)
Wednesday – Look up the answers to assessment exams
Thursday – USMLE 150 Released Items
Friday and Saturday – Weak subjects

Sunday –Weak subjects
Monday – Pace the room
Tuesday – STEP 1
(total questions done: 6970)

You'll note that I didn't take any days off; such is the sacrifice. If you fall behind a day or two, just catch up during the "Weak subject" days. There's nothing magical about this particular schedule, so adjust it to fit your needs. Just make sure you're doing questions every day.

Last bit: During the actual test, I took a 10min break between each block to eat half a Powerbar and drink caffeine (diet coke). I found this worked well.
 
you were able to get throug kaplan biochem and hy cell and molec in three days? or did you just reference them along w/ FA?
 
you were able to get throug kaplan biochem and hy cell and molec in three days? or did you just reference them along w/ FA?

For Kaplan biochem, I read chunks here and there. HY cell/molecular I read cover-to-cover.

In fact, the only books I read cover to cover were FA, BRS Phys, BRS Path, and HY cell/molecular. The rest I just read select parts or used as reference.

And I didn't have FA memorized. Every time I opened it, I felt like I was seeing some of that stuff for the first time. So, in my frustration, I'd do more practice questions.
 
I'd like to point out that breaking 240 means that you are 1 std dev above the mean for the exam. While I suspect that the avg for US MD students is above the test avg, 240 is still a very difficult score to get. In essence you are "honoring" the USMLE.

I'm not trying to tell the OP not to shoot for the stars, just to realize that such a goal is pretty lofty and is, in fact, not attainable for many students regardless of how long/well they prepare.

To "honor" Step1 you have to have some degree of test taking ability. People are very willing to post their 27 --> 250 experiences but the fact remains that MCAT scores are correlated to USMLE scores.

Not trying to be discouraging, just to put some stuff in perspective. I had quite a few friends who set just totally unrealistic goals for themselves and then were pretty upset when their good scores (230s) fell short of their very difficult goals.
 
It can definitely be done, though. My friend had a 27 MCAT and got a 239 on Step 1. He was very happy with that score.
 
I slacked and honored nothing during my first two years. But:

Step 1: 257/99

I'm not of those "oooh, I never study" people. I studied a very mediocre amount of time during MS I and II and my grades were hence very average. I worked hard, and more important I worked smart for Step 1, and in one fell swoop made the supreme averageness of my first two years disappear. :thumbup:
 
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