Official 2009 USMLE Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[VFib911]

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Two days premature, but I thought I would get it started anyway as I just took the exam this morning!!!!!

Overall impressions:
- Path, path, path - been said before and I'll say it again "know it Goljan style"
- Don't forget the biostats. I prob had 10-13 questions here.
- UW is gold... both for content and material presentation. Get comfortable with the interface and it will help you test day as it is very similar.
- FA was very helpful, but I used it for review rather than primary study source.

Today:
- In at 8:30, out at 2:30.Finished each block with 10-15 minutes left.
- Three breaks, one quick trip to the BR, one 10 minute Red bull/ powerbar refresher, and one 20 minute monster/ MetRx "lunch" and walk.
- I didn't find a large difference in content difficulty between the different module. The second-to-last was my most difficult and I was have ing a little difficulty concentrating, but I think my brain was pre-toast.

I'm feeling pretty relieved at the moment as it was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. In NO WAY was it easy, but certainly doable. I had planned on taking this in July after the COMLEX, but I convinced myself I was not ready for it. Retrospectively, I feel I still would have done well after my COMLEX prep, but the last 6 months has filled in a lot of gaps.

Pre-COMLEX:
- Goljan mp3's 1st and 2nd years commuting to-from school. I did a ton of commuting. Highly valuable.
- Kaplan Biochem DVD(felt it was my weakest) and Micro DVD(lots of content).
- MedEssentials and FA for system-based content review. Big Robbins for reference only.
- CMMRS, know the virus charts, staph and strep algorithms, systemic mycoses, immunocompromised opportunistics.
- Costanza text for physio. Tried to review BRS physio (also Costanza), but I am strong in physio and I felt I was wasting my time.
- Lippincott pharm. Cover-to-cover, but overkill. Easy read though if you know your pharm.
- Kaplan and FA for biostats.
- Flash cards from eBay, both electronic and paper. Great way to review - at least for me - but be aware there are occasional errors. Prob went through 5-7000, really.
- BRS flash cards - Micro, Pharm, Biochem.
- (Savarese for any DO's - know the green book and you are golden.)

COMLEX - 06/08.

Post- COMLEX

UWorld - Thank god I did this. Wish I had done this before the COMLEX. Did tutor mode, took notes, looked each unknown up. I ended up with about 40 pages of topics with key notes written next to each topic. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
HY Histo, Cell Bio, Immuno. By this time it was mostly review, but they all helped tie things together and are quick reads.

One week before test:

Goljan cover-to-cover. Goes quick when it is review.
HY Neuroanat - overkill for my exam. Still good topics if you have the time.
FA cover-to-cover.
Reviewed UW notes/ answers.

UW - 100% completed, overall 68%. Last 450 questions mid 70's. Tutor, random, unused.


That's it. I have been meaning to post this for a while after my COMLEX grade posting, but never got around to doing it... been too damn busy reading. I'll update when result is in.

BTW - anyone know if it takes longer to receive your grade this time of year since fewer people are taking the exam?

 

[alwaysaangel]

At this point we're looking at results on July 15th. Or thats what NBMEs website says.

I finished yesterday.

UWorld Sim 1 (2 weeks prior): 228
NBME 6 (1 week prior): 218
UWorld Qbank: average 59%, but high 60s low 70s at the end on random timed blocks. Only got through 65% though which I'm mad at myself for but I was a little over optimistic about how many I could do per day in the last week.

We'll see how I do, I'll come back and post. I was sort of disappointed because I ended up with a TON OF NEURO which I suck at. I must have had 8-10 brain or spinal cord slices and then a bunch of x y and z is wrong, where must the lesion be. LAME.

Oh well, I'll get what I get. I'm not looking for competitive specialties so anything 210+ is fine with me, but I feel like I got an awful lot of stuff I wasn't good at so I don't really trust my practice test estimates.


EDIT: My first UWorld was right on: 228. Guess I could have saved myself 2 wks of studying 😛

 

[gsmithers68]

252/99! I got my score back today. It took just under 3 weeks actually. They seem very prompt on this aspect judging from everybody's waiting time posted on here thus far in the cycle. I was a little worried with my dumb mistake q's list glaring at me in double digits... But again, I will just reiterate that the best predictor are the practice exams and not your feeling walking out of the room or even 2 weeks post-test. So keep that in mind!

 

[sendwich]

252/99! I got my score back today. It took just under 3 weeks actually. They seem very prompt on this aspect judging from everybody's waiting time posted on here thus far in the cycle. I was a little worried with my dumb mistake q's list glaring at me in double digits... But again, I will just reiterate that the best predictor are the practice exams and not your feeling walking out of the room or even 2 weeks post-test. So keep that in mind!

congrats gmithers!!! that is an awesome score! which exams did you use and how consistent were they?

 

[MountainEM]

you guys are rockstars around here! congrats...enjoy the summah!
d

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

252/99! I got my score back today. It took just under 3 weeks actually. They seem very prompt on this aspect judging from everybody's waiting time posted on here thus far in the cycle. I was a little worried with my dumb mistake q's list glaring at me in double digits... But again, I will just reiterate that the best predictor are the practice exams and not your feeling walking out of the room or even 2 weeks post-test. So keep that in mind!

Any tips for others?

 

[sd1984]

just got back, all i can say is that it isnt impossible, and utilize every break and every minute of your exam, dont go back and change answers i changed 3 that were right to incorrect ones 🙁 booooya its over hopefully for good, good luck to everyone as someone stated earlier, we neeed more good doctors so best wishes to everyone!!!!!

 

[dropshotdragon]

Time studied: 8 weeks : ½ day off per week. I studied everyday for 15 hours a day for 8 weeks. What I did is not for everyone; nearly everyone I knew told me to take more time off, but I knew myself well enough to know that I am not one that fatigues easily. I am going into a competitive specialty and did not want to have any regrets about not studying enough. I did, however, take 20-30 minute naps when I felt really tired, and studied in a familiar environment(my hometown in NY). I had performed suboptimally in basic sciences and I felt like I had a lot to prove to myself. I am a person who can get easily distracted, so I absolutely refused to talk to anyone except family for the 8 weeks I studied. I figured, this is the most important test of my life, and since I am a single guy, I could afford to cut everything else except my mom, dad, and siblings. Basically, didn't want to leave anything to chance (I understand that this approach is not for everyone, especially if you are married/have kids).
Background: I go to a top 25 medical school on the east coast. I had a leave of absence for certain medical reasons this year and will be a 3rd year this coming year.
Lessons learned
1. Don't let classmates stress you out. This is you vs. a computer, not a competition with any of your classmates.
2. Be encouraged by your good practice scores, but don't let your poor scores discourage you. Basically, always find reasons to stay happy and to remind yourself that you have always have a chance (stay hopeful!). This is a mindset test; the more positively you think about yourself and the more you believe you can do it, the more likely you are to do well.
3. Set goals early on for what you want to accomplish. I feel like this motivated me to work hard during the low moments (I wanted to accomplish my goal really bad).
4. Never lose hope; I was a average student in basic sciences, and many people on here say that there is no substitute for hard work during first 2 years of med school, but I am proof that deficiencies can be overcome if you believe in yourself and really address your weaknesses during step studying.
Resources used (in descending order of importance)
Books and Q banks-IMHO, FA and UW, along with RRP Goljan slides, are all you need to get a great score. RRP book is overrated (my opinion) It literally is all right in UW and FA. It is just a matter of how well you know these resources and how good you are at doing questions.
1. FA-this was absolutely crucial. I went through FA cover to cover at least 7-9 times (initially skimming first 2 times to get an idea; then serious reading). This really is an incredible resource; do not underestimate it or spend your time with lower yield material. Know every single word of it as is great. Annotating is key, IMO. Not one square inch of my FA was open space; I even annotated into the table of contents and front cover with UW and GRRP. After doing this, I found that going through FA a ton (after having annotated it with UW and RRP early on) builds a lot of confidence in that you don't have to flip through 3 different resources and you feel like you can fly through the material faster with 1 centralized resource.
2. USMLEWorld-a close 2nd in terms of its importance. My approach was different than most. I first went through the whole UW and finished all 2000 questions (even before starting FA) to gauge how well I knew the info and find weaknesses. Was getting between 40-60% right. I then went through all 2000 questions again while annotating my FA with the answers (so that I could have one centralized resource). I literally wrote out the whole UW into my FA in the appropriate FA sections (except when UW was a direct rehash of FA). I copied down complicated figures and even took a few pictures of really good tables/pictures that were too tedious to copy and printed them out. This took a good 2 weeks to go through all the questions thoroughly. After this was done, I started going through UW least 4-5 blocks of UW questions (250 questions) each evening after going through FA during day. By the end, I had covered UW nearly 5 times (~10000 questions!). The annotated FA was great at reinforcing my UW knowledge, and then the practice question blocks helped build the confidence. Since the USMLE software on the real deal was exactly like UW format, I felt like I was just doing 7 blocks of UW on test day.
3. Goljan RRP (book)- good but overrated (am I the only one not in love with this book?). I started this after going through FA twice and having finished annotating FA with UW. GRRP is decently high yield, but not as incredibly useful as some make it out to be. I did annotate my FA a lot from this book (again, to centralize things) but I could tell even while reading it that there are a lot of picky diseases in this book that are most definitely not covered on step I. I didn't have to live or die by this book as some have suggested; I saved that respect level for FA and UW.
4. Goljan slides-good to hammer home points from RRP. Also, breaks up the monotony of UW. I enjoyed his labeled slides better than his book, quite honestly. Some pictures on my Step 1 were directly from his slide set. You can get them from classmates or internet websites (google search).
5. Goljan audio-Don't feel obligated to use this (although everyone praises them, though). I went through a few hours of this before realizing he goes over most of the stuff already in the book, so I stopped. Sure, you can listen to it in the car in "downtime", but this type of thing makes me nervous. I like to separate work and play, and mixing it into workouts/car made me think about USMLE 24/7 instead of just 15 hrs/day. Some people at my school and on SDN swear by it, but do it only as long as it is not interfering with your FA/UW time.
Things I'm glad I didn't do
1. Kaplan Q bank-seems to be more and more like yesterday's news. Sure, some people like it, but from what I have heard, tests lot of minutiae and less 3-4 step reasoning involved. Plus, takes away valuable time from knowing UW/FA really well. Do it if you have already exhausted your other resources written above.
Practice Tests-multiple answer sheets for NBME tests are floating around on internet, many of which have glaring inaccuracies. About 85% of answers on these keys are right, so there are about 15% that have wrong answers. Beware!
1. NBME 3 (6 weeks left)-232
2. NBME 4-238 (5 weeks left)
3. UWSA 1-252 (4 weeks left)-UW self assessments usually tend to overestimate by 5 points or so, so take them with grain of salt.
4. NBME 5-229 (3 weeks left)-freaked out after I took this. Not sure how I underperformed on this given my other scores, although I took it at midnight.
5. NBME 6-244 (2 weeks left)
6. UWSA 2-254 (1 week left)-I think I peaked here, and everything after that was a plateau.
7. NBME 150 questions (1 week before)-done at Prometric Center-83% (medfriends predicted 245).
8. NBME 1-2 (2 days left)-friend of mine had copies of these with answers. Went through them and looked up answers for ones I didn't understand.
Last few days
Went through annotated FA as many times as possible, and did standard dose of UW in evenings.
Real Deal: Date taken: 5/7/09 (Thursday)
Experience: Prometric center was awesome. I was really glad I had done a practice run through as I knew exactly what to expect. Center was very professional and an overall great facility. As stated earlier, felt exactly like sections of UW while taken it, which decreased the anxiety level (I had been doing 250 questions every evening for 6 weeks, so I was used to questions). Had about 10-15 questions on neuroanatomy,X rays, MRIs. I had about 6-7 questions on ophthalmology which I felt was disproportionate. Otherwise, content level very similar to a UWorld question blocks. Certain questions were ridiculously off the wall in difficulty, and so I kinda knew which questions may be experimental.
Date scores released: 5/27/09 (20 days; 3rd Wednesday after my test at 11 AM EST; email from NBME at 10:45 AM EST stating scores would be up)
Overall score: 245/99-exactly what Medfriends said I would get based on my 150 free questions. Some on SDN keep saying that the 150 mcq are very easy; that's not the point. They are a great predictor when used with medfriends. Plugging your score into medfriends has been accurate +/4 points for many on SDN and at my school.
I am blessed beyond belief. Today is one of the great days in my life and a feeling of vindication that justifies 3 years of struggles in med school. I could not have done it without all the support from friends, family, and posters on SDN who shared all of their insight. Although much maligned and ridiculed amongst medical students, SDN has been an excellent resource for me to keep track of my progress vs. other motivated students. I started using this website during MCATs and have always found people on here to provide useful strategies. Take what people say on here with a grain of salt, but usually when 5-10 people are stressing a certain piece of advice, it is probably valid.
PM me with questions.

 

[dropshotdragon]

I was curious about how long it takes for Step 1 scores to come out. I couldn't find concise info, so I am going to post my theory based on observation. Is this accurate?

Non-peak season
1)Wednesday through Friday takers (19-21 days): 3 Wednesdays after exam (either at 12 AM EST Tuesday night or at 11 AM EST Wed morning; which one assigned seems to be arbitrary)
2)Saturday through Tuesday takers (22-25 days): 4 Wednesdays after exam (times same as above)
Mid May to June, some December dates, or new FRED2 interface
6-8 weeks no matter what

 

[kookaiDO]

There were sections where things just clicked, and then there were sections where I even wondered if I had been in med school for the past two years.

I took the exam yesterday and had the same exact experience. The second section was almost easy, but then in the third section, every question had the wtf factor and I almost didn't finish! The questions were even written in a completely different style. It really through me off. I'm kinda hoping that one section was experimental. Does anyone know if they put all the experimental questions in one block or if they intersperse them throughout? Other than that one section, it wasn't too bad. It is a very well written exam. I almost felt like a doctor while taking it 🙂

The questions seemed to be picked at complete random. I thought that they might give you a certain number of questions on each subject, but as it turns out, I had 4 questions on moa of nitro (by the time I got the last one, I almost laughed out loud..). And two questions on scabies (random...) that had almost the same exact vinyette with the only change being male vs female patient, and differences in wording.

Good luck to everyone

Gotta go study OMM for the Comlex tomorrow.... almost done!!! 👍

 

[ACE Stimulator]

Hi dropshotdragon,

Congrat...on great score! Your post really contains the WOW factor! Thank you.

one quick question, i learned from your post that you did 250Q per evening. How long does it to complete that amount of questions in the first run, second run...etc?

 

[sendwich]

hey dropshotdragon, how did you go about re-doing the qbank 5X? did you just take a mental note? I'd like to redo the qbank at least 1 and was wondering about the best way to go about this. thanks!

 

[dropshotdragon]

Hi dropshotdragon,

Congrat...on great score! Your post really contains the WOW factor! Thank you.

one quick question, i learned from your post that you did 250Q per evening. How long does it to complete that amount of questions in the first run, second run...etc?

Good question ACE Stimulator. I would say an average of about 2-3 hours an evening. The bottom line is, you want to go into the test so familiar with the interface and so familiar with UW/FA content that you can answer 48 question blocks in 30-35 minutes(and have an extra 25-30 minutes to check). Initially, 250 UW questions would take 4-5 hours(especially when I wasn't so familiar with the content). As I finished annotating my FA and started going through UW a 2nd time around, it started going much faster. By the 3rd time, I was already really familiar with 90% of the questions. Sure, one might think that you might start to get complacent (b/c you are so familiar with the questions), but I found myself missing 10% questions over and over again on 2nd and 3rd attempts. It enabled me to pinpoint my true weaknesses. This forced me to go through these questions more than the others to really hammer them home in my brain.

 

[dropshotdragon]

hey dropshotdragon, how did you go about re-doing the qbank 5X? did you just take a mental note? I'd like to redo the qbank at least 1 and was wondering about the best way to go about this. thanks!

I just would do 250questions a night X 40 days, which equals about 10000 questions. Sure, many questions end up repeating themselves more than others(UW really needs to improve that), but it ends up being ok IMO.

Yeah, it does get annoying that stupid UW keeps giving you the same questions over and over at times (they need to improve their randomization; as previously posters have noted, I feel like their "random" blocks actually end up including lots of the most recent questions, which is not desirable). I remember, once I did 5 random blocks in a day,the same question showed up 5 consecutive times.

 

[LadyKae]

...but, dropshotdragon, i'm so impressed with the number of q's that you were able to do per day. at what point did you stop annotating in your FA, after your first round through FA or after your first round through the Qbank?

annotating is what takes me the longest -- and i am in DESPERATE need of a more efficient method of studying in my last couple of weeks. i just finished my first run through of FA (like, a REALLY THOROUGH run through, with tons of notes and annotations). before my test, i want to re-read my FA 1 or 2 more times, and i want to go through my qbank at least 1 or 2 more times (as you did). so, there's a question in here i promise:

at this point, would you suggest just doing the questions without adding anything (or at least not much) more to FA? did you just go through 250 q's a day without annotating?

 

[Veronicacronica]

...but, dropshotdragon, i'm so impressed with the number of q's that you were able to do per day. at what point did you stop annotating in your FA, after your first round through FA or after your first round through the Qbank?

annotating is what takes me the longest -- and i am in DESPERATE need of a more efficient method of studying in my last couple of weeks. i just finished my first run through of FA (like, a REALLY THOROUGH run through, with tons of notes and annotations). before my test, i want to re-read my FA 1 or 2 more times, and i want to go through my qbank at least 1 or 2 more times (as you did). so, there's a question in here i promise:

at this point, would you suggest just doing the questions without adding anything (or at least not much) more to FA? did you just go through 250 q's a day without annotating?

Sorry to beat the horse even more, but in addition to Lady Kae's Q about annotating, I was wondering how on earth you annotated RR into your FA? Did you pretty much stick with the diseases in FA and expand the level of detail? RR takes me forever to read...I was thinking to read it like 4 times before the exam but it slowsss me down (especially the charts and little details).

 

[sebsvenmdc]

I don't know that annotating is really that useful. I mean, I guess it's wise to annotate some stuff that you may never see again, but if you're going to go through UW questions again and again, it seems like you could get more bang for your buck, just cycling through FA.

Everyone has their own approach. Personally, I took hardly any notes this past year. I honored most of my classes. I also did well on the shelves. Instead of annotating RR into FA...I went through RR at least 3 or 4 times. I guess, I'm just trying to say, pick something that works for you. Every person's mind is different...I wouldn't force one person's style onto yours. Their brain might be better at doing that way. Your brain might be better at doing it a different way. Just trying to give some advice.

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

Quick question:

When you guys/gals go through FA and take the test, do you know FA inside and out?

I mean people say FA is not sufficient, but do you mean know FA by heart and then add resources or what?

What I want to know is, if due to lack of time, I just learn FA as well as possible, will that be ok? (In addition to going through UWorld)

Also, I make some stupid mistakes on UWorld like not reading the question properly or something.

How do you avoid that on test day?

 

[calespine]

Silly question- I'm almost done with qbank my first time- is there some way to reset qbank or else how do you go through all the questions again a second time?

 

[Veronicacronica]

I don't know that annotating is really that useful. I mean, I guess it's wise to annotate some stuff that you may never see again, but if you're going to go through UW questions again and again, it seems like you could get more bang for your buck, just cycling through FA.

Everyone has their own approach. Personally, I took hardly any notes this past year. I honored most of my classes. I also did well on the shelves. Instead of annotating RR into FA...I went through RR at least 3 or 4 times. I guess, I'm just trying to say, pick something that works for you. Every person's mind is different...I wouldn't force one person's style onto yours. Their brain might be better at doing that way. Your brain might be better at doing it a different way. Just trying to give some advice.

Good point. Sorry to take the thread off topic but annotating actually distracts me quite frequently...Meaning I can go through a whole section annotating, and then look at stuff for the second time and it's as if I'd never seen that stuff before (because the act of annotating was sucking up my focus). Then again, just today I noticed how lack-luster the Musculoskeletal chapter is...I hate HY Anatomy but definitely filled in those common fractures etc chart with corrected/detailed info from HY....

 

[ACE Stimulator]

Silly question- I'm almost done with qbank my first time- is there some way to reset qbank or else how do you go through all the questions again a second time?

for USMLEWorld, you can reset your account only if you purchased a 6-month or more subscription.....

 

[step1isdone]

I have visited this forum many times and thought it would be nice to share my experience since reading many other people's posts helped me out a lot.

Study time:
-6 weeks
-8 hours/day for the first 4 weeks. Went through review books and wrote extra information into my FA (binding removed, 3 hole punched), I also copied diagrams and tables from books like RR Path and inserted them.
-10 hours/day 2nd run through of FA, 1 week
-Last week: 12-14 hours/day (includes eating and working out), went through FA one more time and also went through marked pages
-Last 3-5 days I memorized the drugs by copying all of the drug lists in FA and going over them several times a day
-** did 48 questions in the morning EVERY DAY and wrote the answers in my FA in red pen so I would be able to tell the difference between qbank info and other info I had written
-Took the day before off. I was VERY nervous about doing this, but in the end it was a great decision. If you study the day before you will be too tired and burnt out for the next day.

Books used:
-RR path (along with Goljan audio while working out, also used this book with audio during 2nd year)
-HY embryo (way too much info), HY anatomy, HY neuro
-BRS physiology
-Micro made simple
-Pharm just from FA (everything else had WAY too much info)
-FA (think of it as an outline and a good way to organize info)

Other info:
210 --> comprehensive basic science test given before school ended
230 --> USMLEworld self assessment #1, 2 weeks before
66% --> USMLEworld qbank, 91% complete, all questions were in blocks of 48, timed, unused (even at the very beginning)**I started with 50s which was very discouraging, ended with low to high 70s for the last 10 days
242/99 --> USMLE Step 1 Official score

I decided not to take anymore practice tests after the first UWSA because I didn't want to bring down my confidence and also didn't want to waste any time.

After exam:
-had no idea how I did and could only remember the questions I had trouble with (couldn't recall any "easy" questions)
-took a lot more time on each block than I did when I did UW at home (don't let this freak you out)
-also marked more questions than I did on UW (also, don't let this freak you out)

Final thoughts:
-Don't let the Qbank scores bring you down. I got a low score with 2 weeks to go and it caused me to have a mini break down... not worth it.
-Work out as much as you normally do, it's great stress relief and it helped me focus
-Take the day before off, it's hard to avoid looking things up but the chances of looking up something that is actually on the exam is VERY small... so, relax. 🙂
-Good luck!

 

[flyingdutchman]

Thanks for the post step1isdone, my test is in two weeks and it seems like my way of going about things is quite similar to how yours was. I hope I end up with above 240 like you did, congrats!

 

[MD-iwish]

Soo, a bit of a Cinderella story, even if it's not an awesome 99 like the rest of the smarties around here. Caribbean student, with average grades,

Took Pass in January
Took Step 1 in late April
Received my score in about 3 weeks
2 weeks before: NBME 4 (184), UW 1 (195)
1 week before: NBME 6 (186), UW 2 (209)
Few days before: 150 free test (219)
UW qbank avg: 50
Step 1: 213/88

I was really just praying for a pass since I was completely burnt out at that point. I was definitely shocked by my 213 since it was higher than any of my practice tests. I can only guess that I got very very lucky on the real deal, and perhaps I took care of the anxiety issues which I had while taking practice tests. Well, good luck to everyone!

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

Soo, a bit of a Cinderella story, even if it's not an awesome 99 like the rest of the smarties around here. Caribbean student, with average grades,

Took Pass in January
Took Step 1 in late April
Received my score in about 3 weeks
2 weeks before: NBME 4 (184), UW 1 (195)
1 week before: NBME 6 (186), UW 2 (209)
Few days before: 150 free test (219)
UW qbank avg: 50
Step 1: 213/88

I was really just praying for a pass since I was completely burnt out at that point. I was definitely shocked by my 213 since it was higher than any of my practice tests. I can only guess that I got very very lucky on the real deal, and perhaps I took care of the anxiety issues which I had while taking practice tests. Well, good luck to everyone!

Luck is the residue of design my friend.

 

[fruitloops]

After I finished UWorld question bank, I went back to each test and marked each question. Then, with each 'new' practice test I chose to do marked and random questions; these marked questions become unmarked when you do them again.

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

How do UWorld questions compare to the actual test difficulty-wise?

 

[Chinorlz]

How do UWorld questions compare to the actual test difficulty-wise?

General consensus is that it is harder than the real deal (USMLE World even says so on the opening screen of the program).

I'm taking step next saturday... tomorrow I'm going to do NBME 2 to actually gauge where i am and what my deficits are at this time.

I think overall, UW itself shouldn't be used as a diagnostic tool, moreso a learning tool. Use it to study, use NBME's to get a more accurate idea of where you stand.

... even so, I'm still working my way up to ~70% correct on UW. Currently at high 50's.... ugh.

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

General consensus is that it is harder than the real deal (USMLE World even says so on the opening screen of the program).

I'm taking step next saturday... tomorrow I'm going to do NBME 2 to actually gauge where i am and what my deficits are at this time.

I think overall, UW itself shouldn't be used as a diagnostic tool, moreso a learning tool. Use it to study, use NBME's to get a more accurate idea of where you stand.

... even so, I'm still working my way up to ~70% correct on UW. Currently at high 50's.... ugh.

Yeah I've heard the same. I just want details so I can stop freaking out over my low scores, lol.

 

[Chinorlz]

Yeah I've heard the same. I just want details so I can stop freaking out over my low scores, lol.

Yeah i freaked out for a few weeks but you get used to it. We're so attuned to a sub-70 = fail that you automatically drop a beat at seeing your UW average.

I'm keeping my goal realistic and focusing on bringing my UW score consistently up into the mid/high 60s with some pushing into the low 70s and of course focusing most on the subjects that the NBMEs (#2 and #3) show that I'm weaker in.

love to hear any suggestions/recommendations as well for the final week before the exam. 👍

damn, I've been on sdn since I was in college haha. Member since 2002....

 

[sendwich]

After I finished UWorld question bank, I went back to each test and marked each question. Then, with each 'new' practice test I chose to do marked and random questions; these marked questions become unmarked when you do them again.

wow how long did it take to go back and mark them?

 

[alwaysaangel]

How do UWorld questions compare to the actual test difficulty-wise?

Maybe it was just my test but I actually disagree with the general consensus that the step was easier than UWorld. I found that about 50% of the questions were really easy. On par with NBMEs, so easy that you read them twice because you think it can't be that simple.

The rest of the questions I felt were as hard as UWorld, in fact, sometimes harder because they give you symptoms that you're thinking will describe more than one illness and then they list the 3-4 illnesses in your differential. Where UWorld rarely did that. There were several questions where I couldn't find the one little thing to differentiate the answers, which was never a problem for me in UWorld. I'd say that was about 10% of the questions.

 

[sendwich]

Maybe it was just my test but I actually disagree with the general consensus that the step was easier than UWorld. I found that about 50% of the questions were really easy. On par with NBMEs, so easy that you read them twice because you think it can't be that simple.

The rest of the questions I felt were as hard as UWorld, in fact, sometimes harder because they give you symptoms that you're thinking will describe more than one illness and then they list the 3-4 illnesses in your differential. Where UWorld rarely did that. There were several questions where I couldn't find the one little thing to differentiate the answers, which was never a problem for me in UWorld. I'd say that was about 10% of the questions.

That 10% fits in right with the 40 or so experimentals they throw in. Not saying ALL are, necessarily...just a possible explanation.

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

They use 40 experimental questions?

 

[tomorrowgirl99]

speculation.

 

[alwaysaangel]

They use 40 experimental questions?

There are supposed to be 48 experiemental questions on the exam, but they've never said if its one whole section like the SAT does or just disbursed throughout the exam like the MCAT.

 

[fruitloops]

wow how long did it take to go back and mark them?

it doesn't take as long as you think; certainly, it didn't take up a whole day. just put one finger on the mark button, one finger on the mouse, and alternate clicks.

 

[Lespedeza]

Overall score: 245/99-exactly what Medfriends said I would get based on my 150 free questions. Some on SDN keep saying that the 150 mcq are very easy; that's not the point. They are a great predictor when used with medfriends. Plugging your score into medfriends has been accurate +/4 points for many on SDN and at my school.

I took a practice test ~3-4 weeks before my test date and got a 205 and then I took one 3 DAYS before my test date and got a 209. I had a near melt-down! My UWorld scores were decent. Ended up with a 67% overall, with 65 to 75% in my last few blocks. I did the free 150 the night before and got a predicted MedFriends score of 249. I really hope the score predictor is accurate and that my 2nd NBME score was a fluke. My confidence was shaken for exam day so I can't even trust how I FELT like I did on the exam. 🙁

 

[gsmithers68]

Any tips for others?

I have a large post that I made right after I took the exam earlier in this thread... I would also just like to reiterate that after you take the exam just remember that the best predictor of your score is how you've been doing on practice tests for the vast majority of people. So, keep that in mind. This is the best way to gauge your score, progress, and what to expect from your results.... so... no matter how you feel after the exam. Just try and keep that in mind.

 

[MD-iwish]

Thanks a lot for your comments guys. Everyone has their own goals, and it's a matter of personal accomplishment when one meets them. To each, his own, and good luck to everyone 🙂

 

[Punkn]

Took Step 1 yesterday....soooo glad to be done!! It really was a big blur, I'll write more later when I'm less sleepy and not moving out of my apartment.

 

[Dr2Bee]

Took Step 1 yesterday....soooo glad to be done!! It really was a big blur, I'll write more later when I'm less sleepy and not moving out of my apartment.

I'm with you on that Punkn. Had mines yesterday as well. The day was a total blur. I have no idea what to expect from that exam, totally felt like i failed it....but for now, i'm so glad to be done. so glad!

 

[sd1984]

to all those who had fred 2 and wrote after may 26th i wrote on the 27th when will we get our marks?

 

[Slide]

Ahhhh I just finished the test 30 minutes ago, my brain is kinda mush but I still remember parts of the test, so I'll put down what's on my mind right now and edit/annotate with more info later.

Test day:
Woke up at 7AM and got to the test center around 8:15AM. The proctor there was nice enough to let me take the test 30 min early (which was a good thing or else I would've started getting ancy). The test center was pretty chill and I had visited it 2 days prior to take a practice test, so I wasn't feeling stressed out about the atmosphere like I was when I took the MCAT. The proctors treat you maturely and being able to take breaks at my leisure after blocks was awesome. Registration was easy (all I did was show my permit, license, put my stuff in a locker, and take a pic, all which took less than a minute) and going in and out of the center was a cinch; all they required me to do is sign in and out.

Blocks 1 and 2 were kinda rough because I've always been a test taker that needed to get warmed up before hitting my peak, so I marked more questions than usual (10-12), but in the middle of the second block I started to hit my groove. By the third block I was in my zone and streamed through the 3rd and 4th block. The block after lunch was fine but during the 6th block I really just wanted to leave. Oddly on the last block that feeling went away, probably because I realized this was the last block and I had to finish strong. Took a break after the first two blocks to pee, took a 25 min lunch break, and a 5 min break after the 5th block.

Overall, the questions on average are much easier than UWorld, but I would say a third of them were on par with UWorld difficulty. The questions actually ask for very basic concepts, but ask them in a different way you're not used to or have answer choices you're not used to, so you really have to know your basics. Often you don't even need to know the specifics, just be able to pick the one that looks like it could be correct.

Path - Know this subject well! Several of the questions will give you classic presentations (ie. knuckle knuckle dimple dimple, pruiritis and jaundice with darkened urine).
Phys - actually pretty straightforward. The arrow questions were a bit easier than UWorld's.
Pathophys - I would say this is on par with UWorld's level. If you have a disease with a well-known physiological background, you better know it, as well as how it integrates.
Pharm - straightforward except for two questions, but I saw one of them before on my Pharm board.
Micro - not as straightforward as I had expected. I had some parasite questions, but they were easy (think of the ones you would see either in the US or someone on a missionary trip). I actually got one on Hanta/Ebola virus, and I had to deduce it by how they described the virus (which irated me).
Immuno/immunopath - more focus on the actual immuno, but pretty high yield. Know your CD markers, cytokines (was asked about IL-8 and TNF twice each), and the mechanism of MHCI/MHCII formation. Not too much on immunopath, sadly.
Neuro - anatomy and neuropath were straightforward. What really pissed me off was that there were 3 questions about axonal regeneration and why it didn't happen in the CNS. I looked up the questions post-test in Goljan and HY Neuro, but neither helped. Gonna hope those were experimental.
Biochem/molecular bio - got some metabolism questions, but you could figure out the metabolism questions easily by the clinical scenario. The molecular biology was mostly straightforward too; no questions specific about polymerases and ligases and stuff, but general form and function. I'll edit if I can remember more.
Anatomy/embryo - more than I would've liked. I think I got maybe 8-10 anatomy questions and 6-8 embryo. However, most were pretty straightforward (ie carpal tunnel, rotator cuff muscles, etc.)
BS/psych - Psych was kinda low-yield, either you could figure the answer out on first glance or it was something you had to guess. Most of the psych q's were about meds. Epi was straightforward (some of the questions were basically "can you read a graph"), and ethics was hit or miss. No developmental milestones (thankfully).

This all being said, there were several questions where reading FA and Goljan probably wouldn't have helped. You had to answer them by taking basic knowledge and applying it to the question at hand. The heart sounds were kinda whack cuz they all sounded the same, so I had to use the clinical scenario to figure it out. I had two sequentials but they were mad easy. Overall I think I did alright but I don't know how well I did. As I said, I felt better when I got home and looked up the questions I felt iffy on, but still not sure how well I did.

Resources: UWorld, FA, BRS Physiology, RR Path, Kaplan biochemistry lecture notes, HY neuro, HY behavioral, CMMRS (charts mainly), Wikipedia (came in quite handy actually), BRS Pharm flash cards (barely used, wouldn't bother after 1-2 runthroughs). Referenced some of my immuno lecture ppts since I only used FA for that section.

Prep time: 4.5 weeks
UWSA 1 (4 weeks prior): 244
NBME 6 (3 weeks prior): 251
NBME 5 (2 weeks prior): 253
UWSA 2 (10 days prior): 265
NBME 4 (6 days out): 255
Free 150 (2 days prior): 95%
UWorld: 72% timed, random, unused.

Real deal: 258/99

Last words of advice: FA + RR Path + UWorld will carry you far.

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

Ahhhh I just finished the test 30 minutes ago, my brain is kinda mush but I still remember parts of the test, so I'll put down what's on my mind right now and edit/annotate with more info later.

Test day:
Woke up at 7AM and got to the test center around 8:15AM. The proctor there was nice enough to let me take the test 30 min early (which was a good thing or else I would've started getting ancy). The test center was pretty chill and I had visited it 2 days prior to take a practice test, so I wasn't feeling stressed out about the atmosphere like I was when I took the MCAT.

Blocks 1 and 2 were kinda rough because I've always been a test taker that needed to get warmed up before hitting my peak, so I marked more questions than usual (10-12), but in the middle of the second block I started to hit my groove. By the third block I was in my zone and streamed through the 3rd and 4th block. The block after lunch was fine but during the 6th block I really just wanted to leave. Oddly on the last block that feeling went away, probably because I realized this was the last block and I had to finish strong. Took a break after the first two blocks to pee, took a 25 min lunch break, and a 5 min break after the 5th block.

Overall, the questions on average are much easier than UWorld, but I would say a third of them were on par with UWorld difficulty. The questions actually ask for very basic concepts, but ask them in a different way you're not used to or have answer choices you're not used to, so you really have to know your basics. Often you don't even need to know the specifics, just be able to pick the one that looks like it could be correct.

Path - Know this subject well! Several of the questions will give you classic presentations (ie. knuckle knuckle dimple dimple, pruiritis and jaundice with darkened urine).
Phys - actually pretty straightforward. The arrow questions were a bit easier than UWorld's.
Pathophys - I would say this is on par with UWorld's level. If you have a disease with a well-known physiological background, you better know it, as well as how it integrates.
Pharm - straightforward except for two questions, but I saw one of them before on my Pharm board.
Micro - not as straightforward as I had expected. I had some parasite questions, but they were easy (think of the ones you would see either in the US or someone on a missionary trip). I actually got one on Hanta/Ebola virus, and I had to deduce it by how they described the virus (which irated me).
Immuno/immunopath - more focus on the actual immuno, but pretty high yield. Know your CD markers, cytokines (was asked about IL-8 and TNF twice each), and the mechanism of MHCI/MHCII formation. Not too much on immunopath, sadly.
Neuro - anatomy and neuropath were straightforward. What really pissed me off was that there were 3 questions about axonal regeneration and why it didn't happen in the CNS. I looked up the questions post-test in Goljan and HY Neuro, but neither helped. Gonna hope those were experimental.
Biochem/molecular bio - got some metabolism questions, but you could figure out the metabolism questions easily by the clinical scenario. The molecular biology was mostly straightforward too; no questions specific about polymerases and ligases and stuff, but general form and function. I'll edit if I can remember more.
Anatomy/embryo - more than I would've liked. I think I got maybe 8-10 anatomy questions and 6-8 embryo. However, most were pretty straightforward (ie carpal tunnel, rotator cuff muscles, etc.)
BS/psych - Psych was kinda low-yield, either you could figure the answer out on first glance or it was something you had to guess. Most of the psych q's were about meds. Epi was straightforward (some of the questions were basically "can you read a graph"), and ethics was hit or miss. No developmental milestones (thankfully).

This all being said, there were several questions where reading FA and Goljan probably wouldn't have helped. You had to answer them by taking basic knowledge and applying it to the question at hand. The heart sounds were kinda whack cuz they all sounded the same, so I had to use the clinical scenario to figure it out. I had two sequentials but they were mad easy. Overall I think I did alright but I don't know how well I did. As I said, I felt better when I got home and looked up the questions I felt iffy on, but still not sure how well I did.

Prep time: 4.5 weeks
UWSA 1 (4 weeks prior): 244
NBME 6 (3 weeks prior): 251
NBME 5 (2 weeks prior): 253
UWSA 2 (10 days prior): 265
NBME 4 (6 days out): 255
Free 150 (2 days prior): 95%
UWorld: 72% timed, random, unused.

I'll fill in the rest when don't feel as tired. I'm gonna crash for a bit.

What did you use to study?

 

[lord_jeebus]

Hi,

I just deleted half of the past 50 posts for being off-topic.

Please keep this thread on-topic from now on.

Questions about books, USMLEWorld, scheduling, etc. can be posted elsewhere. Or do a search since it's probably been answered several times already.

 

[Punkn]

Official Result: 233/97!! Exceeded my goal, am extremely happy

Resources: First Aid, RR Path, HY Cell & Molecular Bio '99, Costanzo Physio (once), RR Biochem (once), Levison Micro and Immuno (just Immuno part), Pharm Recall, HY Neuroanatomy

I pretty much tried to follow Taus' plan except that I didn't use Kaplan Qbook and took 2 weeks to do "week 2" because I was still doing classwork. The final 3 weeks of the plan were after finals. I definitely couldn't get through everything in the time allotted and most days were really long. I wanted to get through CMMRS again (used it during our micro course) but didn't have time. I've probably read it about 3 times now and had good recall of micro so I ended up not needing it in the end.

I used Kaplan Qbank during the 2nd semester sort of randomly to take a break from studying, so maybe only 10-20 questions at a time, but did them timed and random. I finished the all of the qbank with a 74% average. I used USMLE World for the last 6 weeks (all random and timed 48 question blocks) or so and finished all of it with a 73% average. The last couple days before the exam I did blocks of 48 questions just to keep in the mindset of doing questions and was in the 90s, but since these were all questions I had seen before I don't put much stock in it. I didn't use any NBME's.

Test Itself
I took 3 blocks, took a 30 min break, did block 4, then ate lunch. Took 2 blocks, another 20 minute break, and then took the last block. I was pretty zonked by the end and had a headache, but I didn't run out of time on anything and the break time was ample.

My first 4 blocks were on par with UWorld pretty much...some much easier and others harder. The last 3 were tougher and I think block 7 was my toughest overall (maybe partly because it's near the end of the exam and my brain was getting tired).

Embryo: had maybe 3 or 4 questions total, all in First Aid
Anatomy: very few, nothing totally out of left field
Biochem: very few, mostly related to diseases, no straight up pathways or anything (I was so thankful because biochem was not my friend first year)
Cell and Molecular: HYC&MB helped me out here definitely, most of the questions were straight forward but had a couple that I literally had no idea what was going on and couldn't even narrow down the answer choices, clicked "b" and moved on
Micro: quite a bit here, usually integrated with diseases they cause, but sometimes just identifying bugs based on picture or virulence factors; mostly bacteria, a few viruses, 3 helminths (2 were pharm), 2-3 protozoa; stuff I remembered from CMMRS was very helpful
Immuno: some straight up CD markers, some immunopath, some B cell/Tcell interactions...little bit of everything
Physio: lots of arrow questions, most was integrated with path
Path: majority of the exam, I loved RR Path and read it cover to cover 3 times (including for our path final), it defintely helped me but I know the outline format is not for everyone
Pharm: very straight forward, not as highly represented as I thought it would be, Pharm Recall was a great book and was more than enough
Behavioral/Psych/Biostats: usually straightforward, had 2 psych questions with diseases I'd never heard of (and I liked psych); the "choose your own adventure" quote questions were mostly straightforward, had one where I just guessed cause nothing seemed quite right; no crazy biostats questions, FA was enough

Cardio: fewer questions that I thought I would get, nothing crazy
Pulm: lots of classic presentations
Hem/Onc: lots of anemia, very few of anything else
Neuro: TONS, I had so much neuro on my exam, one block had 12 questions..some questions I had to remember back to first year neuro to answer
Endo: TONS
Repro: probably 3rd best represented, some stuff I remembered from path class
GI: very few
Renal: classic presentations

Nervously awaiting the results.

 

[defcon8]

Resources: First Aid, RR Path, HY Cell & Molecular Bio '99, Costanzo Physio (once), RR Biochem (once), Levison Micro and Immuno (just Immuno part), Pharm Recall, HY Neuroanatomy

How useful did you find Pharm Recall w.r.t. qbanks and the step and did you go through all of it?

 

[Tritleb]

The heart sounds were kinda whack cuz they all sounded the same,

Yes! Yes they did. The only thing the audio "revealed" was in which auscultation window the murmur was loudest, which could help you answer the question. But yes, I've heard all those murmurs in our Physical Diagnosis class this year and these audio files sounded nothing like the real thing.

 

[Punkn]

How useful did you find Pharm Recall w.r.t. qbanks and the step and did you go through all of it?

I found Pharm Recall helpful for UWorld and I did go through all of it. Some sections a couple times (cardio, antibiotics, hem/onc).

 

[Slide]

Yes! Yes they did. The only thing the audio "revealed" was in which auscultation window the murmur was loudest, which could help you answer the question. But yes, I've heard all those murmurs in our Physical Diagnosis class this year and these audio files sounded nothing like the real thing.

Oh good I wasn't the only one that thought so! The only thing I could gather from the heart sounds were whether they were diastolic or systolic murmurs and which one was the loudest (which I used to discern the location of the murmur). And yeah, I've heard different kinds of heart sounds from real patients and they're nothing like what I heard.