Hello!
I used to have another log-in name but have changed it for various reasons. I know that most people will skip my comments and go right to my score, so here it is:
266/99!
Below I listed my scores, sources I used, etc and I really hope it helps those who are still looking to take the test. One thing I have found (after spending hours combing through the forums during my step 1 studying time) is that there are quite a few people who use the same resources and will tell you similar advice - I decided to follow this advice and it really helped. Unlike my classmates, I did not take a Kaplan or similar prep course and without the help of some SDN giants, I would have had more difficulty staying focused and on top of my game during the study time.
Sources:
- Goljan RR (yep, it's good), it's a dense read but well worth it. I did not get a chance to flip through the pictures and blue margin notes one last time before the test and looking back at it, I wish i could have somehow found the time. These things are very high yield and are asked in some way, shape, or form.
- I did not use any of the Goljan audios - takes up too much time for me.
- HY Neuro (not so good, i found there to be a lot of extra and lack of other info but something I needed to look at nonetheless; has a few good chapters like brain angiography that helped massively. some of the other chapters are too detailed and not testable by Step 1 standards.)
- HY Histo (takes less than 0.5 days, is only ~74 pages of really minimal writing)
- CMMRS (very detailed, I enjoyed the read but took me a while, somewhere between 3-4 days, craziness)
- FA (I only went through it once and a half, hated it. I couldn't seem to be able to pick up information well with this source. I ended up having to use my short term memory in the 5 days before the exam to memorize a few of necessary facts). During path classes in 2nd yr, I tried to skim through the relevant sections.
- BRS Behavioral - yep, I liked it. very easy read, I didn't even do a single question from this source because 1) the questions arent all that representative, 2) didnt have time to sit and ponder the questions. I read through it as fast as I could, and since I am a VERY SLOW reader, it took my almost 2 full days.
- USMLE Roadmap Gross Anatomy: another good book, but I am such a slow reader that I ended up looking mostly at the pictures and the clinical correlations. These clinical correlations are especially good and I would definitely recommend them. Step 1 anatomy for me was detailed and hard but looking at this source brought many details back.
- BRS physio for some chapters, Costanzo physio (bigger book) for other chapters: I tried to really nail down my weaknesses here. At the least, the clinical boxes in the costanzo big book are very high yield, well written and easy to understand. I recommend!
- Kaplan Biochem - solid, awesome; Hansen's book is a great stand alone source (I used no other Kaplan sources, other than a bit of QBank).
- HY Cell and Molec, new edition - I couldnt easily find the old '99 edition so I got the new one. New one is fine, I liked having to think through the detailed parts because those were some of the "tough" questions on my test. Overall, decent info, too much detail so just skip the sections that you know are overkill.
- UWorld - good, not the greatest (nothing is) but good. I felt like all the questions were similar; they all asked me to think using similar logic so once I figured out how they wanted me to attack the problem, my scores rose quickly. Each set of 50 questions would take me about 4 hours total; I was going frustratingly slow but I was learning a lot from the explanations. Final avg was aroung 81-82%, with the final 7 blocks averaging around 84% (actually, I think a bit higher, but I no longer have a subscription to check)
- QBank used 60% during the beginning of my studying, had a 74% average.
Total study time
8 weeks (took off about ½ day per 2 weeks)
- I am a slow reader which is why I needed this time. Im not a good memorizer at all but can understand most concepts the 1st time around, which is why I scheduled in more time.
Med school years 1 and 2
- Cannot emphasize how important it was for me to have a good foundation. A stellar score may require you to remember some important things from yrs 1 and 2 that will not be found in review books. Even the best of us cannot recall all concepts but studying hard the 1st time around gives you a chance at least.
CBSE (mock board): 86 = 240 (converted 3 digit score)
- This was without any studying...I was shocked when I received this and didnt quite believe it to be true
NBME 1: 244 (1st day of studying, 8 weeks out)
- I wanted to reconfirm my baseline, not the best way to spend $45 but we've been spending on so much for med school already
- This gave me confidence going into my hardcore study period
NBME 2: 248 (6.25 weeks out)
I created a study schedule at the beginning and got off track by the 2nd day. I was scared about freestyling my study plan but I quickly discovered that that is just the way I work. I went through everything as thoroughly and quickly as possible, but its just a frustrating time. In my mind, I would want to get through physio in 3-4 days, but when it takes longer you definitely start to feel rushed. Remember to trust your instinct if you know you are weak in physio, path, pharm, etc rushing through the review will not necessarily mean you will be able to answer more questions correctly. Take the time you think you need but keep in mind that you have only a limited amount of time this will hopefully let you maximize your efficiency.
I did the normal things, nothing out of the ordinary. I would take notes from UWorld in a marble notebook but never even got around to reading it before the exam. Sometimes, the act of writing something down helps and if this is for you, I would suggest it. No need to rewrite a textbook, but jotting down a few notes helped
NBME 4 = 800 = >265 (4.5 weeks before exam)
NBME 6 = 800 = >265 (4.5 weeks before exam)
- Took them both on same day, back to back, alternating blocks of 50 questions
- I contribute this large jump up in score to a thorough Goljan read and 50 UWorld questions per day
Free 150 questions, taken at the Prometric center =
94% overall (~3 weeks before exam)
- Medfriends equivalent of 268
- Highly recommend taking it at the center
NBME 3 = 780 = 264 (10 days before exam)
NBME 5 = 800 = >265 (10 days before exam)
- Took them both on same day, back to back, alternating blocks of 50 questions
- I wanted to simulate what it would feel like taking that many questions per day to sum it up in one word: exhausting.
The week of the exam was the worst. I realized that there were many facts in FA that I simply had not memorized and I was frantically trying to get through. It just felt like I couldnt stuff anything else into my head! I wanted to end early the day before but just couldnt do it
I read FA until about 10:30 PM, tried to sleep at 11PM but couldnt sleep until about 3AM!! My head kept hurting, my brain refused to turn off and go to sleep, and I knew it was going to be a rough test day.
Someone drove me to the test center which was really nice. I ended up only getting 4ish hours of sleep so I tried to rest a bit on the ride to the center. I cleared my mind and just focused I knew that with such little sleep and a throbbing headache regardless of advil, I refused to allow these excuses affect my performance. I didnt even bring FA into the center
I just sat there, talked to some of the other students in the room, tried to be very loose. My exam started about 30 mins late and I didnt care
I wasnt going to let anything affect me mentally.
Before beginning the exam, I pumped myself up a little and then started the 1st block. 1st block was ridiculously difficult, as was blocks 2, 3, 6, 7. Much much more difficult than UWorld which I thought was not bad. The question stems were so long, with so much excess info that I needed to comb through the questions as quickly as possible. Since my practice questions werent really like this I needed to move quickly ensuring that I would have enough time to finish the exam. When I did sets of UWorld (random, unused, timed) I would have like 10-15 mins left after each block. But on the real deal, I would have only 5-7 mins left on most blocks. That is a large difference, but REMEMBER on test day, do not let these surprises affect you. Sure it was different, sure I didnt like the fact that I would need to read questions that took up the entire screen length, but you dont need to like it, you just have to go along with it and do it. My head hurt sooo much, I popped an advil (or motrin) but it didnt help. I took full advantage of my breaks after each section, I would sign out, eat a quick granola bar or equivalent, go to the bathroom (yes after
each section) to wash my face and prepare myself for the next section. I just took my time
the damn prometric ladies were upset with me because I would be the last person in the testing center and would be making them stay late (since my exam started late due to Prometrics own fault!!). I didnt care, this was my exam, and I was gonna do it the way I wanted to. After my 6th block, I saw I had 10.5 mins left of break time. That was great news to me bc I wanted to take a bit of a rest. I did my usual breaktime activities and when I came back and logged in, I saw that I had lost about 1 minute of my final block time! Apparently, I had gone over my assigned break time and I was being docked. I had a rush of panic, which I quashed right away and just jumped in and took the last block. It was such a hard block but once it was over, I was free! No more studying, no more step 1 (well, at least I hoped)!
The massive 7 week wait was worse than studying for the test, but it all worked out in the end. I was extremely happy when I saw that 266/99 and I will remember that feeling for a long time. Good luck to everyone, and
please do not hesitate to PM me with questions. A lot of great people at SDN helped me reach this goal and I definitely hope to continue this tradition
Just tell us you topped 271. Don't let the lurkers come out of the woodwork and try to take over. You are the king on these streets.
