Official 2008 Usmle Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[lion]

Greetings my brothers and sisters ,

I am new member here and will be taking my boards in another few months .
I thought I would start a thread devoted to a compilation of 2008 usmle experiences . I don't have anything to report as yet since my test is in a few month but anyone who has taken the test in 2008 please share with us your experience and feedback so we can keep the SDN tradition alive !

Good Luck

"Never , never , never , never Give up ! "

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[Knicks]

Wait a minute,

I thought we had to take and pass Step 2 also before applying for the residency match?

 

[butaloh666]

Just got my score and I'm very excited and relieved.

I used the Kaplan books and videos for everything except Path, for which I used Goljan audio and Rapid Review Pathology. Also used First Aid sparingly as a review tool, although on second thought most of my neuroscience and biostats was done out of FA.

Questions banks:
U World: 72% overall, 72% last week, 100% completed
Kaplan Qbank: 71% overall, 75% last week, 55% completed
USMLE Rx: 70% overall, 50% completed (stopped using it six weeks ago)

Assessments:
NBME 1: 570/234 (pre-study)
NBME 2: 630/245 (3 weeks in)
NBME 4: 620/244 (5 weeks in)
NBME 3: 690/254 (8 weeks in, 10 days out)
U World assessment form 1: 760/262 (yesterday, 2 days out)

USMLE Step1 (score at 3 wks exactly): 258/99

 

[diosa428]

Just got my score and I'm very excited and relieved.

I used the Kaplan books and videos for everything except Path, for which I used Goljan audio and Rapid Review Pathology. Also used First Aid sparingly as a review tool, although on second thought most of my neuroscience and biostats was done out of FA.

Questions banks:
U World: 72% overall, 72% last week, 100% completed
Kaplan Qbank: 71% overall, 75% last week, 55% completed
USMLE Rx: 70% overall, 50% completed (stopped using it six weeks ago)

Assessments:
NBME 1: 570/234 (pre-study)
NBME 2: 630/245 (3 weeks in)
NBME 4: 620/244 (5 weeks in)
NBME 3: 690/254 (8 weeks in, 10 days out)
U World assessment form 1: 760/262 (yesterday, 2 days out)

USMLE Step1 (score at 3 wks exactly): 258/99

Hey, congrats on the score. What was your impression of the various Qbanks, since you used all of them? I'm definitely going to get UWorld, but I learn best from questions so I was thinking of getting another one if I have time. Since you've taken the test, do you have any recommendations on USMLERx vs Kaplan? Thanks.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Wait a minute,

I thought we had to take and pass Step 2 also before applying for the residency match?

No, at least not for students in the US, unless their school has an internal policy requiring it. I have no idea how it is for IMGs.

 

[butaloh666]

Hey, congrats on the score. What was your impression of the various Qbanks, since you used all of them? I'm definitely going to get UWorld, but I learn best from questions so I was thinking of getting another one if I have time. Since you've taken the test, do you have any recommendations on USMLERx vs Kaplan? Thanks.

Thank you.

- USMLE World is an amazing question bank. One of the best learning tools I used and should be used as such IMO. The questions are definitely harder than the real thing, and there are never any simple answer choices. You have to come up with an answer for the stem and then figure out another step in order to match your answer to the given choices. So basically, if you get to a point where you can figure out their Q's, you're totally solid on that topic.

- Kaplan QBank was not as good for learning, but was more representative of the actual USMLE questions than U World was. So if I had to do it over, I would use U World to learn (spending lots of time going over and understanding their excellent explanations), and use Kaplan QBank to practice doing USMLE style questions. What bothered me about Kaplan was how they go for cheap kind of difficulty. They would basically throw out question on minutia nonsense instead of writing a good question that really tests your understanding. I guess they figure the quality of their questions is exhibited by how many people get them wrong. Still a good practice tool though.

USMLE Rx is garbage. Same problem that I described for Kaplan, but more so. It's essentially a question style version of First Aid (actually put out by the same people). If you enjoy whole sale memorization of details, then Rx is for you! Otherwise, don't waste your money.

I hope that helps.

 

[peter90036]

Wait a minute,

I thought we had to take and pass Step 2 also before applying for the residency match?

nope.
but likely less chances of interview as with having all scores.
friend of mine got prematch with just step 1 score.

 

[bambi]

Wait a minute,

I thought we had to take and pass Step 2 also before applying for the residency match?

Apparently for IMGs a lot of places do want you to have step 2 before you apply, not everywhere though.

 

[DanceMaster]

Thanks to all of you who have posted their studying/exam experiences. I was wondering if some of you could elaborate on the breakdown of the exam. Like what percent of the exam was pharm, biochem, micro, path...?
Thanks a lot!

 

[tfom08]

Thanks to all of you who have posted their studying/exam experiences. I was wondering if some of you could elaborate on the breakdown of the exam. Like what percent of the exam was pharm, biochem, micro, path...?
Thanks a lot!

I think you might be able to find that info from NBME website. It's really not worth trying to figure out an exact percentage and molding your studying according to that info. There is too much test to test variability to plan like that. Path, physiology, pharm are all important. Some micro and biochem and anatomy in varying doses. Know your biostats/behavioral science if you want above 230-240.

 

[DanceMaster]

I guess you're right. Thanks!

 

[UditNarayan]

yep, i agree about not trying to mold your studying based off of fixed percentages of items. from what i know, there is no % breakdown like the NBME offers for the subject based shelf exams, and if you're going for a solid score, it would be in your best interest to make sure that you are well familiar with all of subjects. this can definitely be frustrating when you spend so many days on biochem/genetics/molecular when you know that there wont be a lot of questions on it...but in the end, knowing this material can really boost your score. of course, knowing path, phys, pharm is key and the ever-popular pathophys is also very well represented. no shortcuts for this beast...good luck!

 

[DanceMaster]

I've heard a few people say that their exams didn't have much pharm though, so I was wondering if this was true. It's my weakest subject, and I think I would benefit from trying to improve in different subjects instead. Any advice? If I have to study pharm, any topics in particular? Thanks a lot guys!

 

[Lamborghini1315]

I've heard a few people say that their exams didn't have much pharm though, so I was wondering if this was true. It's my weakest subject, and I think I would benefit from trying to improve in different subjects instead. Any advice? If I have to study pharm, any topics in particular? Thanks a lot guys!

I always hear mixed opinions on pharm...but i believe the usual consensus is first aid is suffice. You would be better off by adding more pharm to your first aid from other sources before your hardcore prep. I don't think i would have the luxury to use a book just for pharm along with all the other things i would have to cover.

 

[UditNarayan]

yea, pharm is a bit of a gamble. for some, FA was sufficient, for me it was not. im kind of glad that i had tried to learn the UW drugs/mechanisms and even added some info from Kaplan pharm chapters like cardio drugs. but in the end, it depends on your exam so go with what you think you can handle. no sense in trying to read FA and another whole pharm book if you cannot learn any of the material well. its usually better to learn less well than a lot not-so-well. good luck!

 

[Instatewaiter]

Use FA as a drug list.

For the most part FA has what you need but there are times when the mechanisms of action or the side effects are not listed. If that is the case, you probably should look them up then. Overall that is exactly what you need: MOAs and side effects. Rarely you need to know that a certain drug has long acting metabolites or has a narrow therapeutic index but all that stuff should be found in FA and will be hit on by U world multiple times.

BTW, U world's pharm questions are on a whole much harder than the real deal's.

 

[jake2]

Well, I took my exam on 8/15 so should be getting my scores back either later tonight or next week. As I sit here with a sick feeling in my stomach waiting for midnight, I figured I'd write up my "give back to SDN" post to kill some time with the intention of editing it later with my actual score.

So, should state I have a bit of an special situation as I'm an MD/PhD who decided to take step I at the last minute before returning to medical school. This was kind of a stupid idea as I was essentially writing up and studying at the same time. Ah well, what's done is done.

I started studying about 5-6 months in advance for about an hour or two a day just to try to remember all the stuff I used to know. I did this by either listening to the Goljan lectures while running (Which are phenominal by the way. I'm a complete member of the cult of Goljan now.) or thumbing through First Aid.

About 8 weeks prior to the exam, I started properly reviewing, usually spending about 8-10 hours a day studying and 4 or so writing (Large part of the thesis was done already. Was hoping to have it finished prior to studying but such is life.) Did 48 UW and 50 qbank questions a day. I should say that I like to study by using several books, reading through them, and comparing to figure out what the most important material is. I also tend to bounce around from subject to subject depending on what I feel I'm weak in on a given day. Not the style of a lot of people I know, but it's always worked for me so I figure why screw with it. For review, I used:

First Aid:
As everyone says, the must have book. In retrospect, it should be used as a list of things to know rather than actually studying material though as it seldom explains why certain phenomina occur so much as just stating they do. It's thus pretty frustrating to study from as a primary resource. If I had to do it again, I would have been studying RR Path as my 5-6 month early review rather than first aid. That being said, most of the things you need to know are in here. So if you have it memorized cold, I'd expect a decent score, though you'd probably get a better one if you know how to combine the facts listed in it.

RR Path:
Great book. A must have, and I only wish I spent more time with it. For about 2-3 days after reading a section, I'd feel like I knew everything I needed to know about a system's pathology before memory began to fade a bit. Might want to supplement with Robins to learn about the histologic presentation certain disease like different types of cancer.

BRS Phys:
Nice, short, and easy to review. Really has most of what you know about phys in it I'd say.

Medical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple and Rapid Review Micro/Immuno:
This is the first of two sections I'd say I spent too much time on. Of course, you might get an odd test, but I had relatively little micro on my exam which seems to be the experience of the other people on this board as well. Everything I needed was pretty much in First Aid. I had one out there question about the second line treatment for an obscure bacteria, but other than that it was all pretty meat and potatoes type stuff.
That Being said, both resources are pretty good. MMRS is very nice, but a bit verbous and takes a while to get through. RR Micro is more concise, but you also get less out of it I felt. The immuno section was good stuff though.

Rapid Review Pharmacology and Lange Pharmacology:
Second section I spent way too much time on. Everything was from First Aid and nothing really too far out of the box. If you have good understanding of pharm already, stick with First Aid for reviewing/cramming. I didn't actually care for RR Pharm that much, but Lange was more didactic though more longwinded. Both reivew lots of drugs you don't need to know, though again, I add the caveat that you may have a weird test.

RR Anatomy:
This book I really quite liked. Good review and relatively focused (a little too much info, but you can make out what's imporatant by focusing on the clinical correlates). Read it once through in a day and that was all the anatomy I need with some first aid review.Good embryology sections too. Don't underestimate neuro-anatomy or extremity anatomy (blood vessles and nerves mostly). Not sure why but it seems like they really like to test that.

RR Biochem:
Goljan is really good at knowing what's going to be on the exam. Another awesome book that's definitely worth some studying.

High Yield Neuro:
Really nice book. Lot of information in little space. A good resource. Remember to look over brain stem anatomy as it seems like everyone gets a few of those.

High Yield Molecular Biology:
Also a nice concise book. However, it was a bit too dense for me and I had trouble understanding large parts of it the first time through and, to be honest, even second or third time through. Couldn't really find a better cell/molecular biology resource though.

High Yield Behavioral Science:
Good book and worth a quick read through, though don't spend too much time on behavioral. Just learn the answers the want you to give and move on. The biostat section is also pretty high yield. Remember to learn number needed to treat as that's not in first aid but everyone seems to get a question on it.

That's pretty much it I think. I also listened the Goljan lectures whenever possible as those are great. Suddenly all the stuff from the first two years of med school made sense after listening to them. Probably listened to them about 3 times overall.

As for NMBE/UWorld progression:
4 weeks in (out of 8) UWorld Sim Test: 240
5.5 weeks in NBME3: 236 (was inturupted several times during this one though)
6.5 weeks in NBME6: 250
UWorld: 100% done. Cum average 68%. ~72% on last 6 blocks.
Qbank: ~90% done. Cum average 72%. ~78% on last 6 blocks.

Impressions of the test itself:
I walked out thinking it was a pretty mixed bag. It was challanging, though definitely not undoable. A couple sections a felt really good about, a couple not so much. As I mentioned above, there was less pharm and micro than I thought there might be which annoyed me given the amount of time I spent studying for them. The level of difficulty fluctuated from pretty straight forward NBME type questions for about half of the questions to about UWorld level for the other half. There were of course some very bizarre questions which were from far out in left field. There was actually an electron diagram on my exam with the question being what kind of reaction is this!

I will say this as well, expect it to take longer than usual to complete the sections, even compared to USMLE World. I'm a pretty fast reader and never ran out of time for a section on any of my practice tests (Qbank, UWorld, or the NBMEs), and usually had 10 minutes or so to spare at the end. However, I did run out of time before the end of my second section, so be prepared for some long stems.

Let's see, what else can I mention... I definitely made some stupid mistakes that I'm kicking myself for now (after all that time spent staring at the steroid synthesis chart, how the hell could I not remember 11 vs 21 deficiency!) probably about 10-12 at my last count. My previous testing background, I got a 42 on the MCAT, though I should say I am a physical chemist and the MCAT is, after all, primarily a test about physics and chemistry (with some basic bio thrown it of course).

I'll report back once my score is posted. Damn I hate the wait.

Update: Score back 9/9, 255!!!! I don't think there is an emoticon to express my emotions at this point!

 

[DrTennis]

Got my results today. I don't really have an SDN score, but I am happy with my 207/85 and am glad to not have to take that exam anymore. This was my first attempt. I am an IMG. I had a little over 4.5 months to study.

Here's how I managed...

PATH - Goljan throughout 2nd year using his RR book and audio. 2 months before exam, I went throught the Kaplan videos for Path as well as the lecture notes. While Goljan is definitely more complete, Kaplan was IMHO sufficient for a quick review

PHARM - First aid. That's it. It was all I needed to answer 95% of the questions.

PHYSIO - BRS and Kaplan, with more emphasis on BRS. Actually, if I did it all over again, BRS is sufficient.

MICRO - I just used First Aid. I got lucky because most of my micro on the exam was straightforward and nothing really hardcore. Just mostly which of the following is the most likely infectious agent type questions. Luckily I had only 1 parasite questions and no antiparasitic agent questions (I was surprised).

ANATOMY/HISTO - Did not really review. I still until this day do not know how to study for anatomy. Luckily the questions on my exam were not that difficult. For histo I used USMLE Road Maps.

EMBRYO - First Aid was sufficient. Luckily I had only about 2 questions on this. Fairly straight forward questions.

BEHAVIORAL/STATS - First Aid was sufficient for behavioral. The biostats was sort of tough and First Aid was so so. I've always been troubled by stats even since college so it was one of my weaknesses going into the exam. I had about 7 questions and about half of these were fairly straight forward to my surprise. The other half was WTF. I cashed in on the behavioral component despite this.

BIOCHEM - I used Kaplan Med Essentials along with First Aid. Surprisingly the biochem on my form was straightforward. Know those vitamins cold, they were easy points.

GENETICS - I was disappointed in this section because I spent so much time reviewing this and only got a few questions that were straight forward and could be answered by going through the genetics section in any pathology review. I used MedEssentials and First Aid for this and was more than enough. Luckily I had no electrophoreisis type questions cause I suck at those.

NEURO - Kaplan Med Essentials with First Aid was more than enough. Be sure to know blood supply of the brain very well as well as well as that ugly homunculus. I had more straigt neuro questions than neuropath questions. Actually I had no brain tumor questions and I was shocked at this. Shows how random these tests could be cause my friends all had a lot of tumor questions.

IMMUNO - I used first aid for this. I occasionally used high yield immuno which was more than enough. Know your immunopath well cause an overwhelming majority of immuno questions were pathology.

Q-BANKS - I subscribed to Kaplan Q-Bank and thought it was very good. I also used all the pretest series books for the 3 Ps. I did USMLE World for a few days and never used it beyond 100 questions cause it was just overkill hard in my opinion. I know most people use UW and I understand that practicing harder than you would on game day is beneficial, but while I was studying, I just wanted something just right. Meaning not too hard, but not too easy and Kaplan Q Bank and Pretest books did the job for me.

I studied 4 to 6 hours a day for 4.5 months and used mostly First Aid, Kaplan Med Essentials, Goljan RR, and a bit of Kaplan here and there.

NBME 3 - 214
NBME 4 - 209
NBME 5 - 219
NBME CBSE - 207 (This was my best predictor as I got the exact same score)

MCAT - 16 (yeah that's bad and hence why I am at a foreign school, but it definitely did not predict my USMLE score, I am one of the outliers)

Med School Basic Science GPA - > 3.4

Good luck to those who have not yet taken it. It's a doable exam. I am still in disbelief about my score cause I thought I totally bombed this test walking out of the Prometric center.

 

[nowai]

First of all, thanks for everyone else posting their tips; it's been very helpful and I'm glad to give back by writing about my own experience.

Background:
I'm a Canadian medical student. I felt that our curriculum wasn't as strong in the basic sciences so I had to put in more effort for biochem, micro, and pharmacology.

Previous Testing:
1600 SAT
41S MCAT

Overall Plan:
I mainly studied after my 2nd year exams were finished but I did listen to Goljan during the last half of 2nd year. I studied for 8 weeks total, with a few days taken off to run errands. I read for ~5-6 hours a day and did 1-2 hours of questions a day. Doing questions after meals is key staying awake.

Qbanks:
I used Kaplan Qbank at first but found that it was not very helpful since it was too detail oriented. I finished approximately 50% and averaged around 65% on it.

I then switched to USMLE World based upon the experiences in this thread and found it to be amazing. Great thinking questions as well as great explanations. Started out in the low 60s and worked my way up to the high 70s, low 80s by the end. Finished it with a cumulative average of 69%.

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/7475/uwprogressvb1.jpg
In blue, score for each block versus time. In red, my score - average score for each block.

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/3650/uwprogressratiohl4.jpg
A graph of score/average score for each block versus time.

Free 150 questions = ~80% on first day of studying.

NBME 2 = 236 5 weeks out
NBME 5 = 239 3 weeks out
NBME 6 = 244 1.5 weeks out

Books:
I'll admit I went a bit overboard here but I guess I wasn't sure what might have been taught in the US curriculum versus the Canadian one so I tried to be comprehensive. However, for most of the lower yield areas, I skimmed the books.

The one book to rule them all: First Aid. If you have time for one thing, read First Aid. By no means did I memorize the book (not even half) but just reading it will clue you in on what's important for each topic.

Anatomy
Skimmed Kaplan Anatomy but paid attention to the arms (+ brachial plexus) and legs.
Read Clinical Neuroanatomy Made Ridiculously Simple - Good book, but not suitable if your base knowledge is low.
Skimmed High Yield Embryology - would recommend skipping and sticking with First Aid...

Behavioural Science
VERY quick skim of Kaplan Behavioural Science - would have skimmed even faster in retrospect since the questions on the test were very straight-forward.

Biochem
Read Kaplan biochem - this and First Aid biochem worked well together

Imm
Read Kaplan Imm - would skim in retrospect

Micro
Read Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple - an enjoyable read but after a few chapters, the funny stories mix together. Much better than a dry book on micro but it doesn't make it "ridiculously simple" .

Pathology
Listened to Goljan 1.5 times through during the last half of second year while transiting to and from school - highly recommended
Read Goljan's Rapid Review Pathology - Great book but a little short on details... I felt it was flushed out by my 2nd year pathology course but I don't know how good the book will do stand-alone.

Pharmacology
Read Kaplan pharmacology - decent... but in retrospect, spending more time memorizing drugs and their side-effects would have been more useful.

Physiology
Read Board Review Series Physiology - great book, clear explanations, and lots of "arrow" charts to get you ready for the "arrow" questions.


Test day:
Seven hours of questions is longer than you'd think. If you have the time, try simulating it before test day. Make sure you pack a quick lunch that isn't too heavy since after lunch I felt a bit sleepy, lol. Don't get freaked out by weird questions; they are likely to be experimental.

 

[DOdoc4life]

I took a year off after 2nd year to pursue other academic interests, so there was a year lag between my last medical class/exposure and my boards.

I am a DO student.

MCAT 34 12V-11-11
Grades in med school: mostly pass/hp. i do not like class.

172 - 6/18 Pre Study - USMLE World Assessment #1
186 - 7/28 - NBME 1
198 - 8/1 - NBME 5
228 - 8/10 - USMLE World Assessment #2
240/99 - 8/21 - USMLE Step 1

UWorld = 58% overall, 65-68% consistently last week. 90% complete.

Best words of advice I got:
"You get out of it what you put in."
"Once you're done with a section, forget it and move on."
"Limit your resources."

The last one was a biggie for me. I heard the advice of many who said "Read the Kaplan books 3 times!" For me, this was a horrible approach, since they are way too long.

I focused on only four resources:
1. Goljan RR Pathology
2. BRS Physio
3. First Aid
4. Goljan Audio

My total study time was 4 weeks 5 days.
The first week and a half was slow getting started, with studying at barnes and noble, etc, and really only getting in 5-8 hours a day. For example, BRS physio took me 7 days in the beginning b/c I was studying 3/4 hours the first 3 days. Then I started Goljan Path, and by week 2/3 I was doing 12-16 hours a day of studying at home, phone off all day. I took about 5 hours off midway through, and a few hours after a 35% correct question block when I got really depressed. I started questions in earnest on 8/6, doing 50 in the morn, and 50 at night. I stepped that up to 150 in the last week. I planned on using Micro Made Ridic Simple, but then decided to just use FA, and I must have read the micro in that 4/5 times by the time it was all said and done. I did not study any outside neuro, which was reflected by that being my weakest bar on the breakdown.

I finished RR and BRS by week 3, and dedicated the rest of my time reading FA exclusively. I had already gone through it once by reading the corresponding sections as I went through BRS and RR. Now I just read it cover to cover and did questions. Then I ratcheted up my questions to 150/200 a day by the last week, and read my weak areas again. USMLE World was hard, but it really tested you on concepts. You don't get question right in it b/c you can recall a fact; you have to recall two concepts, connect the mechanisms, and then get the answer. I read EVERY explanation, and obviously focused on what I got wrong. I highlighted everything I read in FA as I went along, and noticed that most of my wrong questions were b/c I'd skip a few words in FA and not highlight.

EVERY SINGLE FRIKIN WORD IN FIRST AID IS IMPORTANT. It sucks... but deal with it.

I was sick the last week, and slept more, as well as took the last four days essentially off, trying (and failing) to read micro and biochem again. I stopped questions two days before my comlex, and four days before my usmle. It was a good decision for me since it helped to not psych me out... god forbid i do poorly on a practice block.

I listened to about 2 hours of Goljan a day while walking around town, which was a great way for me to excercise, get fresh air, and not go crazy. GOLJAN IS GREAT. If not just the information, he gives you confidence, which is so so important when you're just devouring all this information and need a context.

I scoped out the center a few days before, thank god, since it was hidden away in some shopping center. I was REALLY NICE to the lady, and that paid off when she let me swithc my computer to the one I had used for the comlex a few days prior without problems. (someone in the test site had computer issues near me) I also got there at 715 and started by 720, taking about 5 minutes breaks between each section, and a 15 min break for lunch. Finished by 230. My first section was so hard, I thought I would fail if the rest of the exam was that hard. Then it got progressively easier, and by the end, it was comlex level difficulty. Which didn't help when I wanted to shoot myself when they asked me what the gene assoc with MEN I was in section 1. I mean, seriously!

I have been oscillating between thinking I did all right and failed, more failed as my score was released. Thankfully, I did well. There's no good advice for that anxiety at the end...

Thank you all for sharing, I hope I help someone out there!

 

[bikedoc1021]

6/14 - 171
8/21 - 206

study plan, take 1: Kaplan Q-bank (worthless), Kaplan home study (too dense for 5 weeks), FA

study plan, take 2: UWORLD (enough said), RR Path, BRS Phys, FA, homemade pharm cards, consistency, hard work

35 points ain't bad huh? honestly, i think failing the first time was, in a way, good for me. especially since i've done very well in my 1st and 2nd years, but have always suffered from standardized test issues. i think i've finally learned how to study, keep myself calm, and handle the pressure. now it's time to rock 3rd year clerkships and prove to myself that i'll be a heck of doc someday.

 

[VeerTheTIGuy]

Alright, so first, a bit of background:

Graduated 2005 from a High School in Southern California. Went abroad to the University of St. Andrews to start medical school at the age of 17. Many would argue the ins and outs of this but that's a topic i'd rather not get into.

First three years of medical school (2.5 years preclinical, .5 year dissertation) went OK, nothing amazing but not horrible.

June 1st flew home to Southern California.
June 2nd started Self Revision: Went through FA chapters in order, supplementing with extra books and Kaplan books when I had time
1 Day Behavioral Sciences - FA and a bit of Kaplan
1 Day Biochemistry - FA
1 Day Embryology - FA
1 Day Immunology - FA & HY Immuno
4 Days Micro - FA & CMMRS (all except Parasites - ran out of time)
1 Day General Path/Pharm chapters - FA
1 Day Cardio - FA
1 Day Endocrine - FA
1 Day Heme+Onc - FA
1 Day GI - FA
1 Day MSK + CT - FA
1 Day Neuro - FA
1/2 Day Psych - FA
1/2 Day Renal - FA
1 Day - Repro - FA
1 Day - Resp - FA

June 20th - NBME #1 - 187

June 21 - June 30th, was back in the UK for graduation (preclinical BSc graduation)
July 1st - 7th, my review course books hadn't arrived yet, so I went over some weaker areas, eg immuno, micro, biochem, etc in FA and kaplan books

July 8th I started the 30-day Falcon Review Online Course. Came with 3 months of USMLE World (which didn't start till a few days later).

Falcon review online came with a series of online lectures as well as paper copies of the slides used during the lecture - this wasn't ideal but i guess it worked for me. a lot of people don't like sitting and being yapped at for hours on end day after day, but i prefered it over a live lecture because i could pause and take breaks whenever i wanted, and could call it quits for a day if i needed to. my breakdown of subjects went as such (in order):

anatomy - 2.5 days
biochemistry - 2.5 days
behavioral sciences - 2 days
immunology - 1 day
genetics - 1 day
neurology 1.5 days
1 day off
physiology - 5 days (total, 4 full days and 2 half days)
microbiology - 3 days (total, 2 full days and 2 half days)
pathology - 5.5 days
pharmacology - 3.5 days

august 6 (20th birthday!!) - NBME Form #5 - 216
for the next few days after that i did a lot of USMLE World, random practice questions, and tried to go over stuff in FA (though i didn't really like the format of FA or RR Path after doing lectures for so long)...i found that after video lectures it was hard for me to keep focused except when doing questions, so i focused on those.

my USMLE world average was maybe around 53%, at the very end it was 56% though since i did a handful of incorrect questions again

august 11th - USMLE SimExam #2 - 216
august 15th - USMLE SimExam #1 - 216 (anyone noticing a pattern? )
august 16th - First Aid Q&A for the USMLE Full-Length Exam - 72%
august 19th - USMLE Free 150 - 80% --> 239 (haha i wish...)

august 21st - TEST DAY
went in and since i was a bit early they let me start early. felt the first couple blocks were definitely the hardest, with lots of questions that i was completely guessing on. i noticed a bit more biostats than i expected but nothing i couldnt handle. i wish i had memorized some more obscure micro but on the whole i think it went ok. left fairly early (always been a really, really quick test taker) even after going over each block (half-assedly, i must admit)

september 10th - results day

PASS
222
92

very pleased, even though it is not an SDN-level score lol

as an IMG i had very low expectations of myself (expecting to fail), though i was aiming for around a 220 so i was very happy with what i got.

i say to all the IMGs out there - it CAN be done...keep your nose to the books, don't forget to relax every now and then, and you will be ok!

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

z

 

[Loanna]

I would really like to know if anyone has experienced a similar situation...I took the test on 31st of July and I STILL HAVEN'T GOT MY SCORE BACK!!!!Does this have to do with the fact that I am an international medical student??The anxiety is killing me!!

 

[peter90036]

call or email the NBME and the ECFMG.

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

z

 

[CocosNucifera]

hi so i wrot the exam today ... cant believe im done, i'll leave the detailed stuff for when i have my results in a few weeks. i guess i had the easier version but i didnt take advantage of this and made a LOT OF stupid mistakes and this might have really damaged me on the easier exam version. anyways wut's done is done, i have a feeling i passed but i dont know yet. i wanted to thank all of you guys for your prompt and intuitive responses to my questions. i couldnt do it without you guys. good night

as in i think i got the easy exam version and fumbled on some pretty easy questions, feeling really lame... watching and waiting...

 

[pr20]

exam date: 29th August
score report date: 17th Sept

EXAM SCORE : 234/98

MY EXAM EXPERIENCE:
was preparing for the exam from the last 2 years studying on and off
gave nbme 2 in dec got 420
did kaplan qbank and UW scored 50% in UW and 55% in kaplan the first time
gave a 2 month break
started studying seriously from feb2008

started doing uw and kaplan qbank again
gave nbme 4 in april got 460/86
gave UW assessment form 1 in mid april got 530/95
nbme 3 in may 1st week got 530/95
nbme 6 in may 2nd week got 530/95
nbme 5 in may 3rd week got 460/86( lost much of my confidence with low score in nbme 5)

thought i would write the exam in may last week but did not have much confidence
had to come to usa in june 1st week
started studying again from june mid and completed 1 read and did uw assessment form 2 in july 3rd week got 620/242/99
and daily was doing uw atleast 1 block per day every night
again gave 1 complete reading which took 40 days and finally gave exam on 29th aug

the day before exam:
did not study much
studied for about 1hr thats it
slept at 11 but was not getting sleep so took 1 zolipdem and slept finally at 12.30

ON THE DAY OF THE EXAM:
got up at 7 was there at the test centre by 8:30

started my exam at 8:45
took break after every block
Qs were very lengthy
1-2 liners Qs wer abot 4-5 per block
most of the exam was patho-physio
next was behavioral then micro and pharma
anat was the least tested and so was biochem

was able to complete the block in the alloted time but was not able to review my marked Qs
marked abt 15-20Qs per block
block 1 and 2 wer little tough
block 3,4 ok
block 5 and 6 were the hardest
block 7 was easy

never thought that would cross 90 few months back

Kaplan notes are enough and goljan is a must for pathology
UW is the best Qbank out there
do it as many times possible

many of the exam Qs looked like Nbme 5 or 6 or little harder

If you have any Qs i am ready to answer them

thanks a lot to everyone in this forum for posting imp exam stuff and exam experiences

 

[Whwsf]

Hey, can anyone post on experiences in Using KME - Kaplan Medessentials

and if so, is this comparable to or even better to FA?

thanx

im in the middle of a kaplan live lecture course, doign anatomy now,
any advice on all you 99ers on when to start Uworld (eventhough all profs here tell us to do them after course is over), i'm just itching to start, due to tremendous feedback from this thread

any advice woudl be great
thanx in advance

 

[diosa428]

Hey, can anyone post on experiences in Using KME - Kaplan Medessentials

and if so, is this comparable to or even better to FA?

thanx

im in the middle of a kaplan live lecture course, doign anatomy now,
any advice on all you 99ers on when to start Uworld (eventhough all profs here tell us to do them after course is over), i'm just itching to start, due to tremendous feedback from this thread

any advice woudl be great
thanx in advance

I have the medessentials, although I haven't taken the test yet (or even seriously started studying). It basically follows along with the lecture notes pretty well, and includes the important diagrams. I like it better than first aid b/c it's not in outline format, but there's definitely not a lot of room to add notes. They seem to pretty much cover the same info though. I havent found much that's in one that's not in the other (although I've really only started looking at mol bio and biochem).

 

[chef]

tons of good stuff here..

re: fatigue-issue: perhaps you can take a quick 10-15 min 'powernap' during the extra 15 min you save by skpping the tutorial.. i found that a quick 10 min naps can really give u the extra 'oomph'.. just make sure u got a LOUD alarm nearby

also, dont try to get shocked or go into a 'panic mode' if your first 1-2 sections are really tough.. going into shock/hyperventilation/panic will only affect your performance on the later sections and you might start to miss even the easy ones.

 

[chef]

also, a lot of ppl seem to report on getting questions that do not test 'fast recall', but rather just simple 100% analytical and interpretation skills which you really cannot prepare for, but can reason through (but quickly).


this was the same thing for the MCAT (at least for me), while i was going through the problems, i kept saying "my kaplan prep isn't helping out at all" b/c most of the questions were solvable by just staying calm & cool and logic.

 

[Whwsf]

any other advice on KME?

 

[chef]

going through the posts here, it is absolutely mind-boggling that so many ppl wrote that they were getting 220+ on NBMEs BEFORE doing any real studying.

 

[chef]

BTW, am i the only one who thinks NBME q's are written so much more vaguely and harder than UW or kaplan qbank q's..??? argh. with kaplan & UW, at least i can recognize what they're trying to test conceptually, but I find that NBME q's are written quite vaguely and i have a hard time even trying to figure out what concepts they're trying to test. if the real thing is like NBME, (which i'm sure it will be), i'm screwed

 

[NMed]

I've been reading SDN posts for a few months and I want to thank everyone for posting their step 1 experiences - they were very helpful!

My background:
I'm a caribbean med student
Undergrad GPA: - 3.0
MCAT - 28O
Med school GPA - 3.4

Step 1 Date: 9/3
I started studying for the step 1 in April during my last semester of basic sciences. I cant put in long hours, so i managed 3-4 hrs/day while in school with days off here and there. after school ended in mid august, i had about three weeks before the test day. I studied 5-6 hrs/ day.
Although I took the day off before the test, i had about 4 hrs of sleep at night.

Test day:
I was at the test center half an hour before start time. I was the only the one taking the step 1, so the routine procedures went quick and I started the test little after 8.

I took a short break after each block except for a lunch break after the 4th.

My first three blocks were a bit rough - about 10- 12 questions marked in each
The last four blocks were easier - 7-8 q's marked in each block

Like many have said before me, most of the test was pathophys.
There were lot of questions on reproductive and endocrinology, especially ob/gyn. The micro/immuno, pharm, and biostats q's were straight-forward - doable from material in First Aid.
There was a good amount of neuroscience q's.
Few q's from gross anatomy, embryo, biochem, cell-bio, and genetics.

The audio/video q's were ok - an elderly guy with parkinson's, and a newborn with PDA (Q asked what is the complication of PDA - i answered pulmonary HTN)

Overall, the test was fair with a mix of easy, medium, tricky, and weird questions (especially on nutrition). Like many, i went home thinking i failed it.

What I used to study:
Our school has a contract with kaplan, so i had all the kaplan books and videos at my disposal. The videos are very time consuming, so i stopped watching after a few hours, and I only used certain kaplan books.

1. First Aid - everyword is important in the book - i could've gotten few extra q's right if i memorized everything in the damn book
2. USMLE World Q's : there were few identical questions on the step 1 from UW. Also, i would advise everyone to do over the question they've got wrong
3. Goljan Pathology and Audio - really helpful.
4. Robbin Review Pathology Questions - helps to clarify subtle points in order to differentiate one answer choice from another
5. High Yield (HY) Embryology, HY Anatomy, and HY Cell and Molecular biology (1999 edition) - i skimmed through bold points and made sure i knew material that i've seen in questions before
6. HY Neuroscience + spinal cord/brain cross-sections - this combination covers most questions i've seen on the subject
7. Kaplan Physiology - helps to re-remember material forgotten from physio classes
8. Kaplan Micro/Immuno - good book, especially for immunology; First Aid is
sufficient for microbiology
9. Pharmacology covered in First Aid is sufficient; the Kaplan Pharm book is a good reference.
10. Kaplan Biostats/Behavioral Science - Great! Most questions on the two
topics could be answered with this book
11. Boards and Wards Pathophysiology - very good reference. Used it to brush up on subjects i was weak in.

Here's some stats on nbme, etc -

May: Paper based Comprehensive - 225
6/14: NBME 5 - 219
7/11: Paper-based comp - 222
7/26: NMBE 6 - 228
8/12: Kaplan Full-length simulated - 76%/255+
8/23: NBME 4 - 222
8/30: NBME 3 - 244
UWorld: 61% average (100% completed, w/ ~ 300 q's repeated)

Step 1: 9/3 - 245

Best of luck to everyone taking the test. Hail SDN!

 

[UditNarayan]

BTW, am i the only one who thinks NBME q's are written so much more vaguely and harder than UW or kaplan qbank q's..??? argh. with kaplan & UW, at least i can recognize what they're trying to test conceptually, but I find that NBME q's are written quite vaguely and i have a hard time even trying to figure out what concepts they're trying to test. if the real thing is like NBME, (which i'm sure it will be), i'm screwed

i think real step 1 questions are also pretty ambiguous at times. in another post, i mentioned that having good practice in differential dx will help immensely. as you read each line of each question, let the gears in your brain turn and keep adding to your differential. At least that way, you have narrowed down the focus of the question and usually lets me better understand the concept being tested.

 

[CocosNucifera]

...pacing...waiting...pacing...waiting... is it 3 weeks or 3 wednesdays?


Got my score back:
test taken 16/9/08 score rec'd 8/10/08
score: 221 /92
Uworld assesment 1: 198
Uworld assesment 2: 211
MCAT: 25M
NBME avgs (1-4): 68 % (highest: 69% lowest:67%)
School Administered NBME: 68%
UWorld avg: 43%
Attended PASS: don't recomend
Watched Kaplan: physio + anatomy
FA: everything else
QBank avg: 68%

 

[Jersey74]

Kaplan QBank: ~60% close to test time
USMLE: 197/81
COMLEX: 525/84

...Doing my part to average out all those 260's

 

[theunderdog]

step 1 is a randomized test. i only had 12 pharm questions total in my entire test. path was either too easy for me to notice, but i can't remember many path questions either.

i majority had physiology questions. i had more anatomy, biochem, and embryo questions each than i had of pharm.

 

[keaneintheblock]

Hi guys!.. new old silent observer across the seas..

preparation: mainly Kaplan and Goljan( no first aid!!!! wow, I'm the man..haha)

UsmleWorld : 72% ( 100% completed, timed ,random,unused, one month subscription, one time only)

kaplan Qbank: 79% ( 100% completed, timed, mixed bla bla bla...), didn't go through the explanations.
and based on Qbank , kaplan score estimator predict a score range ( 240---272)...I got 248/99 on the real thing.....

thank you guys, you've been a great help in this tragedy....don't hesitate to ask me about anything, pleased to help

 

[Hercules022]

I rarely post but I wanted to contribute my Step 1 experience since I benefited a lot from previous posts on here in my own prep.

Test: June '08

Score: 249/99

USMLE World: Progressed from scoring between 60-75% to between 75-80%. Sometimes did unused questions, sometimes did any questions (new and used).

Kaplan: signed up for this, didn't use it that much

Scores on practice USMLE tests:
Form 1: 221 (took about 6 weeks out from test)
Can't remember exact scores for others, but I took two later forms (Form 5 and 6 possibly) and scored 230-235 range. Never broke 235 on any practice form. Stopped taking forms about 3 weeks out, as this was time consuming and questionably useful.

USMLE Practice test: 248, very close to real score (and most similar to real test)

NBME simulated exam questions: 242

Some thoughts on this stuff... the questions on the NBME practice exams test some of the knowledge you need for the test but do not address the style of the test in the slightest. The NBME exams serve best as a gauge of how much info you know and what areas you need to increase your focus on. Don't place too much emphasis on your score; rather, if you find yourself struggling with a particular type of question (pharm, biochem, etc) make a note to study that more. Beyond that, these practice tests are minimally useful IMO.

And now for the main part... studying:

First Aid - know it inside out, forwards and backwards. It won't get you a 240. But it alone is enough to get you in the 210-220 range. Once you're there, it's a lot easier to move up to 230, 240, etc. There were many questions on my exam which were small details from First Aid that they asked multiple times (i.e. list of anti-histamines, which one is 2nd gen vs 1st gen).
Topics that IMO you could study solely from FA and do fine on:
Stats
Biochem (all my biochem was straight recall)
Embryo (don't even think about studying another embryo book)
Pharm (not counting BRS Flashcards, which are basically FA in flashcard form)
Micro (annotate USMLE world into FA, but otherwise no other books)

Goljan Path - important, focus on UNIQUE symptoms (which resp problem is digit clubbing associated with, etc.) and mechanisms
I made a pink highlight mark next to mechanisms and a green mark next to unique symptoms to parse through all the other stuff in the book

HY Cell and Molecular, 1st edition - find it somehow, whether on Ebay or wherever else... read it several times and know your molecular and cell very well... most of my molec questions were application questions... the current edition is thick enough to get a phD in molecular when you are done with it, so stick with the 1st

HY Histo - read cell in here too

HY / Roadmap Anatomy - lots of non-limb anatomy on my test, which is all FA focuses on, so know your heart vessels, wrist / knee images, etc... the Step 1 people have caught on that all we study is nerves in the arm / leg... know the clinical correlates in HY / Roadmap Anatomy

Goljan biochem - looked it at, way too long, spend the time you would spend messing around with this making sure you learn your pathways and biochem pathologies so you get the easy questions...

HY Neuro - good images

Blumenfeld Neuro - good images

Kaplan Neuro - read it twice, a bit dense but good clinical stuff

Kaplan physio - read the high yield stuff (cell, neuro, cardio, resp), would recommend it

Kaplan Med Essentials - good book, best supplement to FA out there, used it for Neuro (did not like FA neuro at all), biochem, physio
This was my main source of physio studying

BRS Physio - read it once as a refresher and used it as a reference, but not very clinical and pretty dense to review consistently

Will post more when I can remember other books I used...

Study schedule:
6 weeks (pushed exam back twice)
If you aren't read, push your exam date back. Don't feel pressured to take it early because your friends are or because you want to go on vacation. Take it when YOU feel good. The beaches in the Bahamas will still be there when you're done. It sucked being one of only a few people still studying, but it would have sucked more to take it early and not feel good about it.

Getting tired so I'll post more on my study schedule soon, hope this helps some people in their prep

 

[34140]

A few quick questions for all you guys

1) The USMLE CD questions you guys keep talking about are the CBT exams?
2) Did anyone take a practice USMLE at prometric? Did that help? do you get a score back for that?


Thanks in advance!

 

[Hercules022]

I didn't take the practice exam at prometric, but I've heard it's a good idea. The practice questions that they administer at the site are also available online from the NBME people and you can plug your percentage into various calculator programs online that estimate your score. So in my post when I said my NBME practice question score was 242, that was the calculated estimate from a percent correct around 85%. Hope that helps.

 

[34140]

thanks hurcules.

 

[DarlynVMD]

...

 

[Lovenox]

Thank you, SDNers. Took my step on 11/10/08.
RUSOM
Stats:
Actual score: 236/99.

MCAT: 21
GPA 3.6
Shelf one: Bio = 69.5, Anatomy = 76, Histo = 78, Neuro = 78, Physio 79, Behavior = 81.
Shelf two: ICM = 75, Path = 79.5, Micro = 81.5, Pharm = 89
Comp: 81 ~ 225 on step
UWorld: 71% (100% completed, random, and unused)
Kaplan Qbank: 68% (8% not 80% completed, random, an unused) ~239 on step 1
Kaplan Qbook: 74%
Robbin's review: 74%
Gojan's Qbank: 85%

Experience: First three blocks, 5 minute break, the last four blocks. Questions were evenly distributed. I had at least two sets of repeated questions. One media was about congenital heart defect. Questions are similar to the questions on the shelves in style and content (a bit harder though). Majority was basic science (same stuff on the shelves). Easier than the Sept. 08 Comp. Easier than UWorld. UWorld has several questions that I saw on the Step. UWorld is a must because the interface is identical and it gave me a sense of familiarity. UWorld is worth the money. Didn't like Kaplan Qbank. Know the First Aid well not cold. Understand it and know it enough to explain it to yourself, you do not need to memorize it to the point that you can recite it exactly. It is okay not to remember all of it.
To keep track of your time: add the number of answered questions to the remaining minutes. If the sum is greater than 48, you are good. Otherwise, speed up.
Goljan's RR is good for understanding, but his audio is awesome. At least 15 of the mini situations that he talked about was on my exam with the exact answers. UWorld also had several similar questions on my step. Repeated concepts on UWorld are worth noticing.
Did not feel like a semi running over me. I think part of it because at RUSOM my classmates and I deal with similar exams at longer intervals per block. Plus our exam questions were picky and our comp was difficult, so my expectation of the difficulty level of the step was high. Good luck to all.

Sources: I added UWorld notes, BRS physio, HY neuro, Lange's path, Lange's Pharm, and HY Histo to my First Aid. The embryo pretest summary at the beginning of the book and HY anatomy were important for my understanding, but they were not helpful on my particular exam. First Aid was the key on the exam.

Physio cases by Costanzo and Lange were not useful to me. Rosenthal's cards were not useful either. CMMR has the boxes at the end of the chapters. These boxes are nice, but not detrimental. First Aid is good for micro.

 

[Saluki]

I was going to wait until I had my score back to post- however, I'm afraid that afterwards I won't have the heart to post, and I don't want to further contribute to the overrepresentation of accounts by high scorers....

What I did wrong in my test preparation:
1) I went way into detail on a few things and then didn't have time to cover a lot of the high yield material... (e.g. I've read about half of Robbins twice over and done the Robbins Review of Pathology questions for those chapters, but I only made it through half of first aid once...)
2) I waited too late to learn the anatomy. (if you never understood the brachial plexus or learned the anatomy of the brainstem and spinal cord, two days before the exam is too late to cram it in...)
3) I spent so much time reading over textbooks that I didn't go through my flashcards, which would have contained all the Pharm, Micro and Biochem I needed to know.
4) Every time, one of my intense classmates said "Oh no, you shouldn't be studying ...... resource, you should be using ..... resource instead- it's a million times better," I'd end up trying to switch. I would have been much better off just picking a resource and actually finishing it rather than reading 25% of 20 different review books.
5) I delayed and delayed the test. It did nothing for my level of preparation, but it hugely increased my anxiety.

My scores on prep material:
NBME 1 (Before studying): 190
NBME 2 (After reading half of Robbins): 202
NBME 3: (After opening first aid for the first few times): 206
I didn't take any NBMEs within 6 weeks of my test... I just didn't have the heart to try a fourth NBME...
I finished 70% of USMLE consult, 50% of Kaplan, and 30% of USMLE world...
On Kaplan, I was averaging 75-80% on sets of 50, but they weren't random sets- I did them by organ system, which may have made them easier.
On USMLE consult, my scores on random unused sets seemed to decrease as I got closer to the test (~50-65%), but once you've done all the organ systems based material, the sets tend to be less "random"...
I only did a small part of USMLE world- my scores on random fifty sets there varied anywhere from 45% to 80%, with the average probably around 68%... So, very difficult to tell anything from that.

Actual Test:
The day before I was on IV fluids and Zofran, the day of I was still puking... And I finished the test in 3 hours... So, my memory of the test is a tad fuzzy... So, take this for what it's worth...
60% of the questions seemed familiar but I couldn't seem to remember (a lot of narrowing it down to 50% before guessing)... About 30% looked completely unfamiliar--- a lot of people here have complained about long question stems, but the one that freaked me out the most was very brief--- All it said was something to the effect of "What is wrong with this patient?", and then there was a blurry pathology image... I sat there for several seconds trying to figure out what organ the tissue was from, and then gave up and selected B. 10% seemed so incredibly easy, that I was afraid that they were trick questions.
To be fair, though, I felt for the most part that the topics were fairly evenly distributed. The only topic that was way overrepresented on my exam were lesions of the brainstem and spinal cord (about 15-20 where there was a picture of the brainstem or spinal cord labled A-E... I almost started crying, because I could correlate the symptoms to the tract but had no idea where the tracts were located in the picture...)

I hope I passed; I hope I did better than I think I did; I hope "Billy Bob's School of Pediatrics" still wants me after this...

 

[MechE]

duplicate

 

[MechE]

In First Aid it say to pass Step 1 you need to answer 60-70% of the questions correctly.

But on this thread most people claim that they're averaging 60-70% of their USMLE World or Kaplan qbank and getting 230+ on their actual boards.

Am I reading this correctly?

 

[commander]

The TEST:
1. It is useless to read this forum to try to figure out what will be on the test and what won't. You won't get asked alot of things that are supposedly HY in First AID. Learn everything
2. No one remembers the distribution of questions that they got on this test. Anyone who claims they do is foolish. Anyone who believes these claims is even more foolish. It is 8 hours of hell. I didn't remember my name at the end.
3. NO ONE FEELS GOOD ABOUT THIS TEST. I FELT ****TY and SO DID OTHERS WHO GOT A 270. If you have done well on tests, have done well in medical school, etc. there is no reason this will be any different (unless there are extenuating circumstances).
4. This test is not a joke but it should be easy to pass for anyone that has had a decent medical education. The only reasons to not pass this test are a lack of effort, a lack of capacity or both. There is a reason why many states won't give a license to people who need to take this thing 3 times.
5. This is the most important test of your medical career regardless of what specialty you may be interested in. There is no way to sugar-coat this fact.

258/99.

If you want an honest opinion about this test, this really describes it. Don't listen to anyone else, especially people who tell you it was easy and get low scores.