I passed Step 1 and as I made use of this forum I want to share the details of my journey for all the aspirants. I am an old non-US IMG I started my prep in early August 2021 by buying the First Aid and reading it for the first time. Later on, I read an article online recommending using Uworld immediately on start of the prep, and listening to that I bought a half-year subscription and started doing timed blocks discipline wise, namely Biochem, and then I went for Anatomy, Histo, Biostasts and so on. After doing the blocks I was reading the First Aid for a few hours every day.
When I took my first nbme 29, I scored at the low 166. Then I took UWSA1, and some more nbme’s, but my score by June 2022 was still 182. I started putting more emphasis on the FA, and read it front to back. I read the 1-3 chapters and watched it in video lectures for topics of my weaknesses based on nbmes’ results by systems or topics. I did 2.5 passes of Uworld, and then I decided to switch to Amboss qbank, which had similar difficulty questions to Uworld. I did a full read of the FA before each of my 3 following nbme’s, which as I understood later wasn’t the right thing to do as it just took too long to do that. I also started using Anki for making my own flash cards and reviewing them later with time intervals. More nbme’s followed but score remained at a 190-200 level by August 2023. Then I listened to an advice of going deeper and using Pathoma. I took Amboss self assessment and scored 221, in the following 2 nbme’s the score dropped back to 62-65 % correct (190’s) and I felt upset. I hit the plateau. I listened to many podcasts of which I would mark the USMLE Guys, Divine Intervention podcast, USMLE Listen, and Medbullets.
By October 2024 my scores started improving.. At this point, I decided on scheduling for the real deal. Then, I took UWSA 2 and I was disappointed by a low 188 score. Then a person on an online forum advised me to take one more nbme before postponing my exam and I listened to his advice. The score in the nmbe was 77 % and I was encouraged to take the test. I booked my appointment with Prometric for December 16. 5 days before the real deal I gave free 120, and hit 65% on it. Exam was hard with lots of vague curve balls, After the test, I doubted my passing the test. All the time I prayed to God. The result arrived on the 3rd Wednesday following the day of exam. I fretted to open it, but I did it and I saw a [Pass].
I want to encourage those studying for this exam. You can do it!!
When I took my first nbme 29, I scored at the low 166. Then I took UWSA1, and some more nbme’s, but my score by June 2022 was still 182. I started putting more emphasis on the FA, and read it front to back. I read the 1-3 chapters and watched it in video lectures for topics of my weaknesses based on nbmes’ results by systems or topics. I did 2.5 passes of Uworld, and then I decided to switch to Amboss qbank, which had similar difficulty questions to Uworld. I did a full read of the FA before each of my 3 following nbme’s, which as I understood later wasn’t the right thing to do as it just took too long to do that. I also started using Anki for making my own flash cards and reviewing them later with time intervals. More nbme’s followed but score remained at a 190-200 level by August 2023. Then I listened to an advice of going deeper and using Pathoma. I took Amboss self assessment and scored 221, in the following 2 nbme’s the score dropped back to 62-65 % correct (190’s) and I felt upset. I hit the plateau. I listened to many podcasts of which I would mark the USMLE Guys, Divine Intervention podcast, USMLE Listen, and Medbullets.
By October 2024 my scores started improving.. At this point, I decided on scheduling for the real deal. Then, I took UWSA 2 and I was disappointed by a low 188 score. Then a person on an online forum advised me to take one more nbme before postponing my exam and I listened to his advice. The score in the nmbe was 77 % and I was encouraged to take the test. I booked my appointment with Prometric for December 16. 5 days before the real deal I gave free 120, and hit 65% on it. Exam was hard with lots of vague curve balls, After the test, I doubted my passing the test. All the time I prayed to God. The result arrived on the 3rd Wednesday following the day of exam. I fretted to open it, but I did it and I saw a [Pass].
I want to encourage those studying for this exam. You can do it!!
