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And this thread has probably made some pre-meds start studying for step 1.
It's a good idea to mention Step 1 studying in the AMCAS. Adcoms will be pleased.
MCAT vs Step 1
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It's a good idea to mention Step 1 studying in the AMCAS. Adcoms will be pleased.
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And this thread has probably made some pre-meds start studying for step 1.
LOL, start studying for Step 1 in sophomore year of undergrad.
I've interviewed at several schools in Texas and I am pretty sure MCAT and Step 1 does not correlate much. I was told by one dean that someone who scored the lowest on the MCAT scored the highest on the USMLE. I've also heard froom another dean of a person with a 40 who almost dropped out of med school. They weren't motivated and didn't go to class or put in the work. In addition (from what I've heard at my interviews from deans or adcom people), it's not too uncommon for someone with a lower MCAT score to beat a person on the Step 1 who scored higher on the MCAT and also achieved a higher GPA. It's all about how hard you work and how motivated you are. Don't let a test you took in the past define you or else that will always end in a bad outcome.
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step 1 is way different than the MCAT and the tests shouldn't really be compared. People who are saying the step 1 is just a terribly large amount of rote memorization are people who have never taken the exam
lol
And this thread has probably made some pre-meds start studying for step 1.
lol
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And this thread has probably made some pre-meds start studying for step 1.
On my third read through of FA right now. Already finished kaplan and DIT. Saving uworld for M2 though. Tyvm.
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And this thread has probably made some pre-meds start studying for step 1.
Waaay ahead of ya.
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Yes, but Step 1 still requires multi-step thinking. Questions are along the lines of a list of symptoms, and then the question asks "What's the most common side effect for the drug you should prescribe for this condition?" Here's a sample question - http://www.usmleworld.com/step1/USMLEQBankDemo/LaunchTest.html
It's not a list of questions like "What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
The MCAT isn't hard. The curve on the MCAT is what makes it hard, because you can't miss many questions. Step 1 has more give to the curve, so you can miss more questions, but they're much harder. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd say they're both easy 😉
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What's a lymphocyte look like?
Pretty sure they would stack up to 3 questions on one stem, and they would hinge on each other, so it would say "What do you give for this disease?" and follow it up with "What side effects are there from the drug you should have given?", but that's not very common.
People get bad scores on Step 1? But judging from the Step 1 forum....
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Oh I'm just going off the practice questions I've seen so far they tend to not have multistep questions.
What's up with the lymphocyte question?
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If I get <200 on STEP1 I'll probably commit suicide. Given the current (and future) financial state of medicine, this is probably the best course of action.
What would you do if you got a bad STEP1 score? Is there any hope?
What would you do if you got a bad STEP1 score? Is there any hope?
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I'd guess it's viral myocarditis, based on the super brief history and the presence of lymphocytes. A nutritional deficiency stem would have a "57-year old homeless man smelling of alcohol..." and the endocarditis would present with "A 32-year old man with extensive scarring in bilateral antecubital fossae and a prominent murmur..." and hell if I know what hypersensitivity myocarditis is.
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Oh yeah it's E...I was just wondering why you were asking what a lymphocyte looks like. But yeah that was one of the shorter questions I've seen.
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honor your 3rd year rotations, take step 2 early (right after 3rd year ends) and do really well (250+)
it's not the end of the world but baring any catastrophic event on step 1 day the above is probably very difficult for a student who got a step 1 score < 200. at the end of the day though if you're a US MD you will match somewhere if you passed everything regardless of scores (if you apply wisely of course)
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don't be ridiculous
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Lol@premeds committing suicide over primary care prospects after a low step 1 score which they had been preparing for since freshman year of undegrad.
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I think the hardest difference between the MCAT and step 1 from what I hear is that the MCAT has a right answer and wrong answers, while step 1 has a more right,a kinda right, a less right, and wrong answers... Plus step 1 has much much more material on it which you will see when you start med school... and its a lot longer.
Bottom line is worry about the MCAT until you get into med school, start thinking about the important concepts of material you are learning for step (a little) in first year, and start studying for step second year of med school.
EDIT: took MCAT, havent taken step yet
Bottom line is worry about the MCAT until you get into med school, start thinking about the important concepts of material you are learning for step (a little) in first year, and start studying for step second year of med school.
EDIT: took MCAT, havent taken step yet
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I mean, we all knows PCPs aren't real doctors, right? That's why their salary is half that of specialists and surgeons, duh.
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The MCAT is an aptitude test, USMLE Step 1 is a licensing exam.
Their purposes are completely different, and therefore so is their design. The only things they have in common are that both are computerized and taken at a prometric center.
Their purposes are completely different, and therefore so is their design. The only things they have in common are that both are computerized and taken at a prometric center.
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They are both treated as aptitude tests by their respective programs for application.
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Yeah if that were true we could all just get a 190 and go home. The fact that it isn't treated like a licensing exam is the reason it's such a pain in the a**.
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Status: pre-med
As calvin mentioned, if step 1 were actually treated as just a licensing exam, no one would care about it. Most people could probably pass fairly easily. And even though it was never intended to be used as an aptitude test, that doesn't mean that it isn't used as one by residency programs.
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Regardless of how the scores are used in practice, the USMLE steps are designed as licensing exams (i.e., do you know the necessary facts to be a doctor?). The format is geared towards testing a base of specific knowledge. As far as being a licensed physician goes, P=MD.
The original question was about comparing the design and style of step 1 to the MCAT. All I'm saying is that understanding the distinction between aptitude tests and licensing exams is the first and most crucial step in understanding how and why the two exams are different.
In design they are nothing alike. In practice they are very similar, in the sense that a high score opens more doors and a low score closes doors.
The original question was about comparing the design and style of step 1 to the MCAT. All I'm saying is that understanding the distinction between aptitude tests and licensing exams is the first and most crucial step in understanding how and why the two exams are different.
In design they are nothing alike. In practice they are very similar, in the sense that a high score opens more doors and a low score closes doors.
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Even though step 1 isn't aptitude it real is a measure of how much you information you memorized and can apply.
The more you know, the higher your step score will be (that is a fact for 99% of students).
You could take a person of average intelligence and with years of rigorous preparation they could score very high on step 1. I don't think they could score as high on the MCAT.
Imo the MCAT is 30% memorization and 70% application...
...Step 1 is 70% memorization and 30% application.
The MCAT was easier for me because there isn't a ton of studying and I am pretty good at application.
Step 1 was harder for me because I had holes in my knowledge base and its impossible to apply something if are missing vital facts.
Cliff Notes: The med students who typically work their asses off and get A's M1/M2 will do above average to very well on step 1.
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How many people do not pass Step 1? I realize they weed alot of this applicants out before med school, but that's still a pretty big fear of mine.
Is the amount of studying proportional to med school? Such as in high school the ACT was the big one for then and the MCAT was the big one for college. Is it just an increasing level of difficulty or is it really out of this world?
Is the amount of studying proportional to med school? Such as in high school the ACT was the big one for then and the MCAT was the big one for college. Is it just an increasing level of difficulty or is it really out of this world?
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Most schools I've seen stats for have a 90%+ pass rate. I really don't see how you couldn't pass barring very poor preparation or some kind of catastrophe during or right before your test date.
It's difficult because of the sheer amount of material. Nothing is really conceptually difficult. But you are truly limited by your available time: you can only cover so much material in a day, and if you don't stick to some kind of schedule or plan, you could very well run out of time even if you still have a week or two.
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2011 (First-time takers):
MD - 94%
DO - 89%
Foreign- 73%
http://www.usmle.org/performance-data/default.aspx#2011_step-1
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Regardless of "status", STEP 1 (so i've heard) is less of an aptitude test than the MCAT is, but this is because its purpose is completely different than the purpose of the MCAT for medical school admissions.
Is it still a measure of aptitude? Yes, or else the score would be irrelevant, so I see your point and should have extrapolated more in my first post.
PS: sic 'em bears
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I'm guessing with the sheer amount of daily knowledge you guys learn it's tough to remember everything at once. Do some people make it a point to make their daily studying for classes a part of their step studying? Or do they take the classes, forget the info and restudy just for step? I guess I'm just interested in seeing what people think is the best way to do well in it.
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Every person has their own plan. Once we return for winter break I'm going to start doing regular studying of past material to refamiliarize myself with everything I've forgotten or didn't learn in the first place. I have tried to study for my classes in a way that will best prepare me for boards by using board review books to see what's relevant and to be sure to learn that and focus less on the extraneous information presented by profs. However, it's hard when you've gone through several textbooks of information since you've seen that M1 material.
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So some students in my class strictly learn from the class the concepts that are critical for step 1 correlating lecture material with first aid and they don't do too well in class but they still pass the courses. Even then I'm sure by second year you'll forget minute details and even big concepts especially in annoying first year classes such as Genetics or Biochem. I feel like everyone has to relearn some parts close to taking step 1 regardless of when they started preparing for boards first year or second year.
