July 2009: USMLE Step 1 Support Thread

[jhu1]

Just saw this one for Jun and though to make the July version of it When are you taking the USMLE Step 1?

For me, I'll be taking it on a July 13rd. some time left but **** load of material still to cover,

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[Whats_up_doc]

July 24th, Best of luck!

 

[metallo]

Thought it was time to revive this thread... July will be here in just 8 days!

I'm taking the exam July 2... how about everyone else?

So far:
July 2: metallo
July 13: jhu1
July 24: Whats_up_doc

 

[xd2005]

It's been a while since my pre-med days, but... here goes


So far:
July 2: metallo
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005
July 24: Whats_up_doc

 

[PRIMER]

July 29th

 

[ENThopeful]

July 14th

Just took 2 48 block usmleworld and dropped 20 percentage points. i dont know whether I should freak out or just go to bed.. entropy is rapidly starting to kick in and I'm forgetting everything!

 

[bluntdissector]

July 8th

My IBS is killing me...

 

[GujuMD]

July 18th

 

[cosine]

What are you guys planning on bringing to eat? I was thinking maybe buying a footlong sub and just eating a little bit of that every break.

 

[McGillGrad]

What are you guys planning on bringing to eat? I was thinking maybe buying a footlong sub and just eating a little bit of that every break.

And risk food spoilage?

The best combo is a balanced protein shake that won't cause digestion problems and some complex carbo bars.

 

[GujuMD]

What are you guys planning on bringing to eat? I was thinking maybe buying a footlong sub and just eating a little bit of that every break.

i am not sure right now, haven't really though about it yet. but i think you should have some few healthy snacks for breaks. 6 inch sub for your lunch or ur break after ur 3rd or 4th block- i think that would be a way to go.

i don't know if you have a huge appetite and tend to eat a lot. when u are studying or taking sample tests/doing several blocks of questions- who do you for food?

 

[rahulb]

i ate homemade spaghetti sauce and reheated fried rice

 

[Deferoxamine]

What are you guys planning on bringing to eat? I was thinking maybe buying a footlong sub and just eating a little bit of that every break.

As long as it's anything that can be cut into smaller pieces or chewed off piece by piece... I ate ham-sandwich halves during each of my breaks... and my stupid banana went from ripe to rotten after only 6 hours in Prometric's locker.

i ate homemade spaghetti sauce and reheated fried rice

Cereusly?

 

[MountainEM]

July 7th
good luck!

 

[ENThopeful]

Cereusly?

hahaha that's exactly what i thought. i think im going to bring a subway sandwhich. its healthy not to filling and your stomach doesnt feel nasty afterwards. protein bars make my stomach have this weird burning sensation... and all that sugar give me an aftertaste that i know for sure will distract me

 

[ENThopeful]

is anyone tempted to push there test up? I'm pretty conflicted, i feel like I've peaked but know there is tons of **** that I forgot. According to my UWorld scores though, I should do alright on the test, but then again I'm making good guesses on most of the questions that I get right.. with burn out looming over the horizon I'm tempted to just take the damn thing tomorrow.

 

[cosine]

I was also thinking of bring a 5 hr energy and taking it sometime after block 2. I'm also thinking of bringing a redbull just incase i need to chug it before the last block. I wonder if the prometric center has a fridge to keep my sub cold.

 

[metallo]

Updated list:

July 2: metallo
July 7: dgriss1
July 8: bluntdissector
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005, ENThopeful
July 18: GujuMD
July 24: Whats_up_doc
July 29: PRIMER

 

[chubbykid]

July 14 for me. Good luck to everyone.

 

[Elfy]

Updated list:

July 2: metallo
July 7: dgriss1
July 8: bluntdissector
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005, ENThopeful
July 18: GujuMD
July 24: Whats_up_doc
July 27: Elfy
July 29: PRIMER

 

[sprinkibrio]

I was also thinking of bring a 5 hr energy and taking it sometime after block 2. I'm also thinking of bringing a redbull just incase i need to chug it before the last block. I wonder if the prometric center has a fridge to keep my sub cold.

That's exactly what I did and is was a great idea!

 

[nadk9f]

I take it July 9th. I am starting to get a little worried.

I am planning on taking some candy and chocolate with me. Two turkey sandwiches, a bottle of water and a red bull. Lots of chewing gum in case I feel sick.

1/2 a sandwich after every two blocks so I have good energy, some candy after each block, a little bit of water. Redbull before second to last block. I talked to one of my friends and he said he used to listen to some music between each block to get pumped up, sounds like a damn good idea to me.

Anyone have any other ideas/recommendations?

 

[bluntdissector]

I take it July 9th. I am starting to get a little worried.

I am planning on taking some candy and chocolate with me. Two turkey sandwiches, a bottle of water and a red bull. Lots of chewing gum in case I feel sick.

1/2 a sandwich after every two blocks so I have good energy, some candy after each block, a little bit of water. Redbull before second to last block. I talked to one of my friends and he said he used to listen to some music between each block to get pumped up, sounds like a damn good idea to me.

Anyone have any other ideas/recommendations?

So you are taking a break after each block and going to your locker? How much breaktime do we have in total? (I always forget!)

Like, can you take a break (say 5 min) after every block and just go drink some water and come back, or are there only a few breaks of a certain duration (say 15min) that you can choose when to have?

Sorry if it's a stupid question, but in South Africa most people don't even know wtf the USMLE's are, and my local prometric centre forwarded me to the brach in the Netherlands, who referred me to my local branch...They also couldn't tell me whether I will be using V1 or V2, they sent me to the website but I couldn't find it. All in all I am a bit confused...

Thanks so much

 

[TMP-SMX]

45 minutes break to begin with. You can add 14 minutes to that if you skip the tutorial and just check the image and headphone sound. Then you have 7 blocks of 48 questions where you have 60 minutes for each. So you can add to your hour of break time by ending your blocks early. I took a break after two sections, four sections, and six sections. That's probably the best way to do it to keep your bladder empty and eat a small amount each time and hit up some of your cold coffee if you still have some left. (If you aren't tolerant to coffee don't start as your ADH secretion will plummet and the urge to urinate will not be fun during the question blocks).

As for having enough time, I started my exam at 7:30 and I left the test center at 2:30. I didn't take a lot of my break time. I ate, walked around a bit, took two bathroom breaks, and was pretty relaxed through the whole exam. (I finished each block 5-15 minutes early).

 

[bluntdissector]

45 minutes break to begin with. You can add 14 minutes to that if you skip the tutorial and just check the image and headphone sound. Then you have 7 blocks of 48 questions where you have 60 minutes for each. So you can add to your hour of break time by ending your blocks early. I took a break after two sections, four sections, and six sections. That's probably the best way to do it to keep your bladder empty and eat a small amount each time and hit up some of your cold coffee if you still have some left.

Thanks! That certainly looks like the best way to do it...It probably doesn't really matter whether I am on Fred 1 vs 2...

(If you aren't tolerant to coffee don't start as your ADH secretion will plummet and the urge to urinate will not be fun during the question blocks).

Ha ha ha ha...

 

[GujuMD]

how do we know if we are taking Fred version 1 or 2...or does everyone taking it in july take version 2?

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

I just brought two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and 2 bananas and a couple granola bars.

I was too anxious too eat much and didn't get very hungry.

 

[bluntdissector]

how do we know if we are taking Fred version 1 or 2...or does everyone taking it in july take version 2?

I've been wondering the same thing...

I'll just look at both - but it's not THAT different is it? Same work, and I presume after July 15th the score reports will be back to normal - so what's the diff?

I'm pretty darn stressed...Just over a week left...

 

[TMP-SMX]

I think by now most places are using 2.0.

 

[metallo]

how do we know if we are taking Fred version 1 or 2...or does everyone taking it in july take version 2?

Call the Prometric center where you are taking your exam (the local number, not the national one). They should know. I called and the lady who answered the phone wasn't sure, but she checked with someone else there and confirmed that I will be getting FREDV2.

 

[Mortal_Lessons]

Can you schedule to take your 150 sample questions by phone? Or do you need to schedule an appointment through the website?

 

[braluk]

July 3rd then celebrating July 4th right before I start on wards on July 6th

What was I thinking originally booking it for June 6th.

 

[metallo]

Updated list:

July 2: metallo
July 3: braluk
July 7: dgriss1
July 8: bluntdissector
July 9: nadk9f
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005, ENThopeful, chubbykid
July 18: GujuMD
July 24: Whats_up_doc
July 27: Elfy
July 29: PRIMER

 

[metallo]

Does anyone know when early July test takers will get scores? The July 15 target date was for people testing through "late June" so I assume we'll have to wait longer than that. Isn't the standard date something like the 3rd Wednesday after your exam?

 

[chubbykid]

i'm thinking they'll return to standard score reporting after july 15

 

[Cirrus83]

Adding myself to this list...went nuts and moved my test date back yet again...start 3rd year the next day and I have to fly to NYC and back to take the exam

July 2: metallo
July 3: braluk
July 7: dgriss1
July 8: bluntdissector
July 9: nadk9f
July 11: Cirrus83
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005, ENThopeful, chubbykid
July 18: GujuMD
July 24: Whats_up_doc
July 27: Elfy
July 29: PRIMER

 

[nadk9f]

Can you schedule to take your 150 sample questions by phone? Or do you need to schedule an appointment through the website?

you just download it off the nbme's website. its like the 30 mb tutorial.

 

[Mortal_Lessons]

you just download it off the nbme's website. its like the 30 mb tutorial.

Yes, but there's an option to take it at the Prometric site where you'll be taking the Step 1. I was wondering if you can just phone the Prometric site to schedule an appointment to take your questions, or if you have to book it through the same website you used to schedule your official test date?

 

[bluntdissector]

First Aid says it costs $42...f**k that, just get it off the website!

 

[Mortal_Lessons]

Yes, but there's an option to take it at the Prometric site where you'll be taking the Step 1. I was wondering if you can just phone the Prometric site to schedule an appointment to take your questions, or if you have to book it through the same website you used to schedule your official test date?

My apologies-there's a dropdown option to schedule the practice session on the prometric homepage. I hope this helps someone else out.

Also, you need to obtain a new scheduling permit specifically for the practice session-this takes a few business days, so be sure to plan ahead when scheduling your practice session at the Prometric Site.

 

[TMP-SMX]

My recommendation is to just do the tutorial at home. There's no reason to go to the site. You can get all the information you need to know easily by looking in this forum, reading your admission ticket, and looking where the place is on google maps.

 

[metallo]

My apologies-there's a dropdown option to schedule the practice session on the prometric homepage. I hope this helps someone else out.

Also, you need to obtain a new scheduling permit specifically for the practice session-this takes a few business days, so be sure to plan ahead when scheduling your practice session at the Prometric Site.

You actually can't schedule your practice exam on the Prometric Site UNTIL you have your scheduling permit, so no need to budget any extra time once you have it. However, it took me about 5 days to get mine from the NBME.

 

[bluntdissector]

I am so relieved right now. Test is one week away and I decided to take NBME 6, despite the warnings elsewhere on the forums. Thankfully it predicted a score I'd be very happy with!

 

[GujuMD]

test in less than 3 weeks and i feel like crap physically. i feel like just sleeping but need to study.

 

[bluntdissector]

test in less than 3 weeks and i feel like crap physically. i feel like just sleeping but need to study.

I'm just doing what some ****** told us in highschool - envisioning my success! Like, if in 2 months time I get my score and I see I got XXX/Y, and I am happy, what got me there? Sitting on my f*cking ass for so long that I have contractures, that's how. So I will sit and suffer. But then, in a year or so, after intense therapy, maybe some surgery even, all that will remain is my score. And some scars. But I think you get the point. I'm sure you can push through this last bit and CANE!

OR just take a night off and get wasted.

 

[metallo]

July 2: metallo
July 3: braluk
July 7: dgriss1
July 8: bluntdissector
July 9: nadk9f
July 11: Cirrus83
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005, ENThopeful, chubbykid
July 18: GujuMD
July 24: Whats_up_doc
July 27: Elfy
July 29: PRIME

Well, since apparently no one on SDN took the exam today, it looks like I'll be the first one in July! 17 hours to go... I'm starting to freak out!

I just hope I can sleep tonight.

 

[Whats_up_doc]

Well, since apparently no one on SDN took the exam today, it looks like I'll be the first one in July! 17 hours to go... I'm starting to freak out!

I just hope I can sleep tonight.

Metallo, I am pretty sure you have worked your ass off for this test. Go ahead and do your last power review, get some good sleep, and GO GET EM'. Represent our July Thread with Pride!!!

 

[lukazo]

guys I've got a question: what is the average score the Step I takers get? well some get 99 and some 80 or 70, but what is the most common score? thanks for answers beforehand.

 

[bluntdissector]

guys I've got a question: what is the average score the Step I takers get? well some get 99 and some 80 or 70, but what is the most common score? thanks for answers beforehand.

why on earth would you ask that here? The avg isn't set in stone, it varies around 220 with sdev of about 20. I dunno bout the 2 digit score, but nobody cares about that anyway!

:-|

 

[I wayne]

July 2: metallo
July 3: braluk
July 7: dgriss1
July 8: bluntdissector
July 9: nadk9f
July 11: Cirrus83
July 13: jhu1
July 14: xd2005, ENThopeful, chubbykid
July 18: GujuMD
July 24: Whats_up_doc
July 27: Elfy
July 29: PRIMER, I Wayne

How long will it take to get your results back, assuming you have the V2 version, and you take the test after July 15?. Will it be the customary 6-8 weeks, or will it go back to 3 weeks, like it was with the V1 version.