Official 2010 USMLE Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[FMD212]

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Good luck all. I have my exam end of March and hope to be the 1st one to post here for 2010.

 

[DrVanNostran]

240/99

A bittersweet score. I am ecstatic that I hit my original goal, but I thought I may have hit a little higher based off my practice scores.

My main method of studying was questions. I completed Qbank by the end of second year and during my dedicated study period, I used: World, Rx, and all 7 NBMEs.

Resources: FA (money), RR Path/Audio (Audio>RR), BRS Phys (mainly during the school year), CMMRS (charts only), DIT (I thought it was helpful).

I'll post something more detailed later.

 

[DdrumbumD]

261/99

Goljan Rapid Review 4 (yes four) times. All of Uworld and Kaplan. Two practice uworld tests. Thruoghout the school year I used micro made simple, little costanzo...I read First Aid only 2 times and that was mostly for embryo/psych/anatomy.....

 

[stopout]

255/99
Studied for just under 5 wks. FA and UW.
Read through FA 2.5x and finished UW and retook all of the answers I answered incorrectly the first time. I made notes on the incorrect answers, but did not have much time to go over them.
Memorize FA and you'll be fine. Don't get distracted by supplemental resources.

My question:
If I go to a low ranked/unranked MD school, how am going to do when it comes to applying to top shelf IM programs?

 

[DivCurlZero]

255/99
Studied for just under 5 wks. FA and UW.
Read through FA 2.5x and finished UW and retook all of the answers I answered incorrectly the first time. I made notes on the incorrect answers, but did not have much time to go over them.
Memorize FA and you'll be fine. Don't get distracted by supplemental resources.

My question:
If I go to a low ranked/unranked MD school, how am going to do when it comes to applying to top shelf IM programs?

You're probably better off asking in a residency forum but I'm going to guess that you will do pretty well. 🙂

The scores in this thread are OBSCENE.

 

[bullishMD]

Dear God, these scores are insane. I was very "ehh" with my score of 226. From a carrib, student i guess thats good. I was shooting for 230+ so i guess i was close.

Quick statistical questions. This year to get a 99 the lowest score was a 229, last year i thought it was a 237. So does this mean that a 229 this year is = to a 237 last year?

^^^^I'm wondering the same thing

 

[cushie]

.

 

[HappyG0Lucky]

Studied for 6 weeks total, no prep during school year besides studying for classes, obviously, and I did begin doing small (20 questions or so) UWorld sets in April.

Materials: mainly FA supplemented with: Goljan RR and Audio for path, BRS phys, Micro cards, Smartcharts Pharm for quick pharm review, and I read High Yield Behavioral Science 2-3 days before the exam.

Questions: UWorld, I think my average was something like 58%... although that was artificially low most likely because I did begin questions before I started officially prepping. Ran out of UWorld questions and bought the Kaplan QBank as well which I also liked.

Took NBME 7 one week before the exam and scored a 220.

Deviated a bit from common customs and did not take the day before the exam off. I was just too nervous! I reviewed all of FA (not in depth, pretty much just skimming and reminding myself of quick easy facts) and also some pharm areas where I felt a bit shaky. Although I don't know if I would recommend it to another student, I definitely got some questions that I wouldn't have if I hadn't done this.

End result: 240/99

My school predicted I would get anywhere from a 236-243 based on a Mock exam so they were right on. NBME 7 bummed me out so I am glad I was able to up that by 20 points. Just wanted to post my experience in case anyone else is worried they can't go up from a practice exam... you totally can 🙂

 

[hawk126]

Been fun seeing success stories of the same posters with whom I became so familiar during MCAT prep and Republic of Texas Pre-allo days!

259/99; 13 verbal; 6/12 exam

1. studied hard first two years
2. RR path and Audio throughout 2nd year
3. UWorld questions starting in january... all timed, random question sets. Made it through twice
3. BRS "Pharm Cards" all 2nd year - with supplemental annotations
4. First Aid starting in Jan with focus on path, biochem, and micro
5. 5 weeks out, intense FA - made it through 2.5 times
6. Some review of brain/sc cross sectional anatomy 2 days prior to exam


Best advice is to work hard during the first two years. There's no amount of cramming that can be done to overcome a lackadaisical approach to the basic sciences. Best of luck to all!!

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

Been fun seeing success stories of the same posters with whom I became so familiar during MCAT prep and Republic of Texas Pre-allo days!

259/99; 13 verbal; 6/12 exam

1. studied hard first two years
2. RR path and Audio throughout 2nd year
3. UWorld questions starting in january... all timed, random question sets. Made it through twice
3. BRS "Pharm Cards" all 2nd year - with supplemental annotations
4. First Aid starting in Jan with focus on path, biochem, and micro
5. 5 weeks out, intense FA - made it through 2.5 times
6. Some review of brain/sc cross sectional anatomy 2 days prior to exam


Best advice is to work hard during the first two years. There's no amount of cramming that can be done to overcome a lackadaisical approach to the basic sciences. Best of luck to all!!

Congrats man--I still remember our interview back @ Mizzou. Obviously things are going well for you down in Texas...best of luck with the match!

 

[ikimoh]

Been fun seeing success stories of the same posters with whom I became so familiar during MCAT prep and Republic of Texas Pre-allo days!

259/99; 13 verbal; 6/12 exam

1. studied hard first two years
2. RR path and Audio throughout 2nd year
3. UWorld questions starting in january... all timed, random question sets. Made it through twice
3. BRS "Pharm Cards" all 2nd year - with supplemental annotations
4. First Aid starting in Jan with focus on path, biochem, and micro
5. 5 weeks out, intense FA - made it through 2.5 times
6. Some review of brain/sc cross sectional anatomy 2 days prior to exam


Best advice is to work hard during the first two years. There's no amount of cramming that can be done to overcome a lackadaisical approach to the basic sciences. Best of luck to all!!

good advice first and second very important

 

[anony mouse]

Hey All, just wanted to add my experience to the list . . . .

243/99!

Studied intensely for just under 4 weeks, kept deluding myself that I would start some serious review during the year but never did . . .

FA - 2 full passes, 3 on weaker sections
RR - just margin notes, tables, images 1-2x, Goljan audio 1-2x through yr 2
UW - finished just over half the questions, ~68% cumulative, my %'s actually started dropping the last week and it made me feel bad about life so I stopped doing questions!

NBME 3: 210 (3 months out, no formal review)
NBME 6: 242 (1 week out, first pass through FA and RR)

Definitely agree that the most helpful strategy was to work hard in years 1 and 2, I found myself thinking back to lecture way more than to the review books/questions. That and keep it simple with the review books, using just a few but knowing them well.

I guess 243 doesn't look super spiffy compared to all the uber scores here, but I am psyched! Double Rainbow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0D4oZwCsA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI

 

[kissmyasthma99]

Hey guys,

Don't remember the exact dates, but:

Free 150 (before onset of studying) = 220
NBME 6 (2 weeks in) = 222
NMBE 7 (1 week before exam) = 244
UWorld (timed, random) = 70% (only about 75% of qbank completed)

Real Deal Holyfield = 244/99 (exactly the same as my NMBE 7)

I am pleased with this score. My goal was 240. I know I could have gotten higher if it weren't for some stupid mistakes and confusion at the testing center before my test. Oh well, I am very pleased to have surpassed my goal and proud of my score. I gave this thing 100%.

My study methods:
I did not begin studying until I finished school, and I took about 5 weeks from the end of school until my test. I used DIT the first 3 weeks. I got a couple questions right from here, but overall I feel that it slowed me down, and I would not use it again if I had it to do all over again. I also used UWorld, but I only completed 75% of it. I listened to some of the Goljan Audios, but I did not have time to listen to them all. I referenced some things in RR Path and BRS Phys, but by no means did I get close to reading all of either of them. I went through FA 3x: once with the DIT videos, once on my own, and once the last week before the test. Looking back, I would have replaced my DIT time with RR Path, BRS Phys, more Goljan audios, and finishing UWorld. However, DIT did emphasize high yield concepts that held true for my exam so it was valuable in that regard. It did get me my goal, so I guess it did its job. I also felt like the form I got was extremely easy, and I was worried about my score, because I wasn't sure how I was going to set myself apart. The test isn't wasn't as bad as I thought. Also I had 3 questions verbatim off NBME 7 on my actual exam (2 of which I actually missed). Another reason to do the NBMEs!

Congrats to everyone that did well. Good luck to those with the beast still pending.

 

[ikimoh]

Hey guys,

Don't remember the exact dates, but:

Free 150 (before onset of studying) = 220
NBME 6 (2 weeks in) = 222
NMBE 7 (1 week before exam) = 244
UWorld (timed, random) = 70% (only about 75% of qbank completed)

Real Deal Holyfield = 244/99 (exactly the same as my NMBE 7)

I am pleased with this score. My goal was 240. I know I could have gotten higher if it weren't for some stupid mistakes and confusion at the testing center before my test. Oh well, I am very pleased to have surpassed my goal and proud of my score. I gave this thing 100%.

My study methods:
I did not begin studying until I finished school, and I took about 5 weeks from the end of school until my test. I used DIT the first 3 weeks. I got a couple questions right from here, but overall I feel that it slowed me down, and I would not use it again if I had it to do all over again. I also used UWorld, but I only completed 75% of it. I listened to some of the Goljan Audios, but I did not have time to listen to them all. I referenced some things in RR Path and BRS Phys, but by no means did I get close to reading all of either of them. I went through FA 3x: once with the DIT videos, once on my own, and once the last week before the test. Looking back, I would have replaced my DIT time with RR Path, BRS Phys, more Goljan audios, and finishing UWorld. However, DIT did emphasize high yield concepts that held true for my exam so it was valuable in that regard. It did get me my goal, so I guess it did its job. I also felt like the form I got was extremely easy, and I was worried about my score, because I wasn't sure how I was going to set myself apart. The test isn't wasn't as bad as I thought. Also I had 3 questions verbatim off NBME 7 on my actual exam (2 of which I actually missed). Another reason to do the NBMEs!

Congrats to everyone that did well. Good luck to those with the beast still pending.

Your words in bold...my exact story. congrats to you!

 

[knuckles]

Congras! Glad to hear DIT was beneficial, since I used it to and I take the test in a week. Would you mind clarifying what you meant, when you mentioned confusion at the test center, so we can avoid the same mistake, if possible. Thanks

 

[Dirt]

Slayed the beast today.

A brief synopsis:

The best way I can describe the test is in reference to a UWORLD random block. I would say that most of my blocks consisted of about 35 70-80% (ie the % answered correctly on uw), 5-8 40-50% and 4-6 10%.

Most of the questions I had were very, very easy. Some were totally impossible and ridiculous. I really didn't feel like there was that much in between. In the end I felt very, very good when I walked out of there.

For prep:

We had a cumulative final that I studied about 10 days for using Goljan, and basically pharm and micro class notes/charts that were passed down from years past.

After my final, I did 1st year subjects for about 10-12 days using FA, followed by 2nd year stuff again for another 10-12 days using FA and skimming Goljan again. Throughout the final 3-4 weeks I was doing 2-3 random timed blocks of Uworld. I spent my last 3-4 days redoing my marked Qs from Uworld.

Uworld, as everyone says, was by far and away the best resource. FA was next. Goljan is good, but not the most high yield and takes a long time to skim even. You really, really could get by on going through FA twice and Uworld alone.

I took a school sponsored NBME basic science comprehensive before studying, UWSA 1 after going over 1st year stuff, and UWSA 2 plus the free 150 on the same day after the second year stuff 4 days before the real deal.

Will post more once I get my score on the 14th. (Or sooner)

I was gonna hold off until I got the actual score back but...

CBSE - 247 (Before studying)

UWSA 1 - 252 (After going over 2nd year stuff once, 2 weeks in)

UWSA 2 - 265 (3 days before the exam)

Free 150 - 93% (Also 3 days before the exam)

UWorld - 81%

I mentioned above how the actual exam compared to Uworld, we will see about the score.

BTW, the truly best prep was doing well in all my classes years 1 and 2.

265/99.

Still can't speak highly enough of Uworld, it is simply the best resource imo. And for some more info, I honored all my classes in years 1 and 2.

Again for those reading this thread, the numbers released by the NBME do not lie, 221 really is the median. There are a lot of reasons why the scores on here are blown way, way out of proportion, just don't go thinking you won't be competitive. Especially reassuring is the charting outcomes of the match, just look at the step scores for each specialty and you will see what the numbers truly look like. Use this site as a place to garner some good tips for studying and if you want an idea of how the practice tests correlate with your actual score. (Since people who exaggerate probably do so on their practice tests too 🙂

(Go to the site below, scroll to the bottom and select Charting outcomes of the match 2009)

www.nrmp.org/data/

 

[Shock Advised]

Alright, people on SDN are apparently ridiculously smart. My score may pale in comparison but here's the honest truth about my study schedule, scores, etc. I hope it helps you out!

Resources:
FA (obviously)

HY Gross Anatomy (only relevant topics…don't memorize the venous drainage for every body part)
RR Biochem
HY Embryo (Definitely overkill. FA is enough for embryo but the pictures and clinical correlations were pretty good in HY Embryo.)
CMMRS
RR Path and Goljan Audio (Amazing!)
WebPath
LIR Pharm and Brenners Pharm Cards (Relatively useless. I had every intention of going through these and dominating the pharm section but they're not geared toward the Step 1 enough so I ended up wasting a bunch of time and then abandoning them.)
BRS Physiology
HY Neuroanatomy

Studying
Basically, I used a modified "Taus" method (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=6192274#post6192274). I had 7 weeks after the end of classes but took one week off to present at a conference. I pretty much just plowed through without any days off of studying (besides the 1 week "vacation). One day per week I spent entirely doing UW questions; I never used tutor mode but I did used the untimed mode a few times.

Weeks 0-3.5: Started each day with one set of UW questions pertinent to the previous day's material. Then I reviewed them and annotated FA. All of this took about 3 hours. During these 3.5 weeks I went through each subject in FA along with all of the relevant books and internet resources. I started with the "General Principles" and then went through the "Organ Systems" ending with the hardest and then the last systems I studied in MS2. Obviously spend at least two days on the tough subjects.

Week 3.5 – 4.5: conference/vacation

Week 4.5 – 6: Started each day with 3 sets of random UW questions and then reviewed; took about 7 hours. In these 1.5 weeks I went back through everything with FA and RR Path.

--Enter extremely distracting/difficult family situations. (AKA This week and test day were a struggle for me so others can possibly do much better than I did on the exam with a similar study schedule.)--

Week 6-6.5: Started each day with 4 sets of random UW questions and then reviewed; took about 9 hours. Reviewed everything again (3rd time) with FA and RR Path. I mainly focused on the topics that were difficult for me or things I hadn't memorized yet. I also covered the FA RR and RR Path columns.

Week 6.5 – 7 (Test Day!): Basically Taus' "Last 3 Days" but tailored to my weaknesses.

Practice Tests
Pre-studying (2 days after MS2 finals) Free150: 188 -- passing!
6 weeks out, UWSA1: 195
UWorld, first pass: 56% average
3 weeks out, NBME SA6: 218
1 week out, UWSA2: 234 & NBME SA7: 227
UWorld, 1.85 times through: 61% average


.Test Day..
Section 1.
.Section 2.
. - 5 min break.
.Section 3
. . - 9 min break.
.Section 4.
. - 20 min break.
.Section 5.
. - 8 min break.
.Section 6.
. - 5 min break.
.Section 7.

.On test day I felt like I guessed a TON. I only had ~5 minutes left at the end of each section but I answered every question as they were given so I never felt totally rushed for time. My test was fairly well-balanced and there were almost no questions that I hadn't heard of in some way before…though there were some where I had no idea what the answer was. There were maybe 2-3 questions that were identical (or nearly identical) to those on the NBME SA tests..

Score:
235/99

Overall:
I am content with my score; gaining 47 points in 6 weeks of studying definitely isn't bad. Honestly, it was a bit below what I was aiming for but I was really distracted during the week leading up to my test. Who knows if I would have done better under different circumstances.

I can never emphasize enough that you should study how you learn best. Don't use any one person's methods exactly as they did. If you want to go subject by subject like me then do that. If you're the type of person that has to use one resource at a time then use that method. But make sure you're focusing on the correct things and not wasting time.

Personally, I don't recommend using more than one question bank. I stuck with UW and almost make it through twice. There were plenty of questions I totally forgot seeing the first time around and I learned a lot from them the second run through. On a similar note, I don't recommend using DIT or other sources unless you start with them right away. You want to keep whittling your sources down, not adding them up.

Best of luck to everyone!

 

[aashkab]

Okay guys, my turn - I just took it today after my freak out this morning of not sleeping.

The test felt a lot like UWSA #2 in terms of difficulty. It was mostly buzzwords with a few randoms here and there. I'd expect my percentage to be about the same.

Again, like everyone has said, HOLY USMLE WORLD. The test felt EXACTLY LIKE it except easier. Its scary how strikingly familiar it is. Some people have posted like all kinds of random crap show up on the exam, and I'm sure it does but UWORLD prepared me for EVERY SINGLE question. I had an educated guess on everything and rarely ever blind guessed a question.

I think goljan path would have been way too much for this although I used it heavily second year (over and over and over), and high yield notes/audio many many times before my dedicated study period so I kind of knew what was going before. The path way super straight forward.

I barely had any anatomy, biochem. These topics are supposed to be low yield, and in fact, they were on my test. I'm not really sure what was "high yield" on my test. It was mostly a blur. It seemed like there might have been some more reproductive, and I was kind of surprised at how many of the "scenario" questions there were. But they were all really easy. Just pick the one where you always discuss, educate, inform, etc...

The questions all have a pattern to them that UWORLD really helps with figuring out. In fact, FIRST AID was too much I felt. I had it memorized cold for the most part but I ended up remembering more UWORLD expalanations for my questions. I remember some guy on here saying he went thorugh UWORLD 3x times without any other sources, and got a 259. I believe him now.

So basically, I had about 8.5 weeks to study.

The first 3 weeks I used FA, RR path, USMLERX/Kaplan (I finished half of each qbank) for my first pass. I got a 227 on NBME 6 after this.

I then took DIT for two weeks and started USMLE WORLD (I also did usmle world during the year with my coursework and reset it this time. to be honest, i didn't remember any questions, so i'm gonna say this was my "first pass"). At the end of DIT, I got a 238 on UWSA1.

I then spent the last 2.5 weeks reviewing about 70% of usmleworld again (my marked/highlighted questions), going over goljan rapid review high yield again, skimming high yield anatomy/neuroanatomy, and memorizing the DIT workbook cold.

I took UWSA#2 and Free NBME 150 1 week out and got a 259 and 249, respectively.

The last 6 days, I went through some more usmle world NOTES and one last pass of FA.

Despite my 2 hours of sleep and despite some careless mistakes, I felt SUPER PREPARED for the test. Perhaps even over studied if such a thing is possible. I'm glad the test didn't have to make me think too hard because my mental capacity wasn't there but my instincts were there, and it felt like I was doing usmle world questions for the fourth time. DIT helped for random stuff on the test - I feel that Dr. Jenkin's helped me with a lot of clinical "common sense" which I don't really have. In fact, this is one of his big critique's that, he says so much extra clinical crap not relevant, but I think it helped me on the test cause it gave me another arsenal to rely on in attacking a question.

As far as timing went, I finished most blocks with about ten minutes left, I finished a few blocks with 15 - 20 mins left, and a few blocks with 2 minutes left. I was seriously so tired that I didn't review them, and I never really do so I hope that it went okay cause its just my style to try my hardest at the question in the moment and then move on unless some other light bulb goes off later in the test.

I was expecting questions to be longer with the "new format". I can't even begin to count how many one line questions I had. I mean, like literally, half of all my blocks had 1 - 2 line questions. I thought I was taking the wrong test and they gave me the old free nbme 150 again or something.

the last thing i want to say is that I feel my strongest weapon was in all this was the SDN forum/community. In my breaks, i'd always be lurking threads with people discussing random topics/questions. I kind of learned what it was like to think like some of the 260+ people on here. So yes, this is cheesy, but thank you guys! There were at least 5 - 10 questions I got based off of SDN alone, lol. apparently, we know how to call test questions too!

so in conclusion, USMLE WORLD x infinity = success (I hope). My goal is a 235 to keep my doors open for most things (not interested in derm/plastics but anything below that). and I'd think a dream has come true if I get a 240+.

Oh and btw, I made a rant in another thread about the importance of preparing to sleep the night before. I'll just say it again. When I take Step 2, the first thing i'm doing is going to go see my family practice doctor and figure out how to use the sleep meds effectively to not let this ever happen again. I really suggest that people do not overlook this HUGE variable. and yes, it is variable. apparently, there have been many students like me (on SDN and my friends IRL) that have had similar sleep issues.

Hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Just by being an active member of this forum, I feel that it takes you a long way! Good luck to all! I'll post my result when I get it. Btw, when is that if I took it today?

 

[pottymouth]

alright boys and girls

you all know that i was crying while waiting for results after having felt that i bombed it. Well, now I have stopped.

244/99!!!! 😍😍

I know that this score might be mediocre for SDN but I am really happy.

Most important resource: FAx2, UWorldx1, RR Goljan x2

 

[MNgirl66]

wow it's been a LOOONG time since i've been on here....🙂 2 years maybe?

took it June 14th:

252/99

I didn't study during the school year very much except doing 20-30 Kaplan q-bank questions a day starting in April. Classes kept me more than busy.
I did 3.5 weeks of intensive studying; 10-12 hours a day. did NOT take weekends off.
*FAx2 (x3 on some of the trickier parts)
*both USMLEWorld and Kaplan Qbanks. (about 70% on both, although if i were to recommend only one i'd say USMLEworld)
*Goljan audio lectures (only listened to the organ system lectures) and skimmed through parts of RR Path Goljan
*various other BRS/Micro made simple etc books for reference as needed

I'm pretty happy with my performance considering my school doesn't give us much time between classes ending and rotations beginning to study and take the test(and I wanted a week off). Overall I'd say that the test was pretty similar to USMLEworld and if one thing REALLY helped me, it was doing USMLEworld questions--lots of them in timed mode. However, I did work hard the past two years and I would urge M1s and M2s to not underestimate the importance of building a solid base of knowledge in the classroom.

 

[Arkie]

Scores:

• NBME 1 | January | 188
• NBME 5 | February | 192
• NBME 2 | March | 201
• NBME 6 | April | 209
• NBME 3 | May | 207
• UW Avg: 52% (45% completed)
• Actual USMLE | May 25 | 212/89

Resources:

• FA 2010: Read three or four times cover-to-cover and then focused on my weak areas.
• Rapid Review Path: Read this once cover-to-cover over a 5 day span.
• Goljan Audio: Listened to this once from beginning to end while reading along with a text transcript I had lying around. This took about 8 days, but could easily be done in 4 if he didn't tell so many jokes. I also listened to these when I was driving, and I would have listened to these while I exercised if I had exercised.
• Goljan High Yield PDFs: I found these very useful in the week or so leading up to the exam. Great way to hit the important stuff quickly and keep it fresh.
• Step 1 Recall - Buzzwords for the Boards: Listened to this occasionally, but probably wouldn't recommend it...especially while driving or operating heavy machinery...pretty dry stuff.
• Medical Student's Amnesia: Found this little nugget buried deep in one of my USMLE files--very useful, concise, and high yield
• USMLE World: Meh. A lot of people say to use this as a learning tool, but I just couldn't get into it. The questions were pretty frustrating, and I found myself getting too hung up on my score and trying to rush to the next question, and probably didn't get as much out of the explanations as I could have. Only finished about 45% of the questions. Probably the most beneficial thing about using UW is that it is the exact same format (visually) as the actual exam--I think this helped me feel more comfortable taking the actual exam. One interesting thing I discovered while doing UW questions was that my individual block scores were almost always better when I took them timed than when I took them in tutor mode. : dunno:

Rural family medicine, here I come! 😀

 

[knuckles]

Scores:

• NBME 1 | January | 188
• NBME 5 | February | 192
• NBME 2 | March | 201
• NBME 6 | April | 209
• NBME 3 | May | 207
• UW Avg: 52% (45% completed)
• Actual USMLE | May 25 | 212/89

Resources:

• FA 2010: Read three or four times cover-to-cover and then focused on my weak areas.
• Rapid Review Path: Read this once cover-to-cover over a 5 day span.
• Goljan Audio: Listened to this once from beginning to end while reading along with a text transcript I had lying around. This took about 8 days, but could easily be done in 4 if he didn't tell so many jokes. I also listened to these when I was driving, and I would have listened to these while I exercised if I had exercised.
• Goljan High Yield PDFs: I found these very useful in the week or so leading up to the exam. Great way to hit the important stuff quickly and keep it fresh.
• Step 1 Recall - Buzzwords for the Boards: Listened to this occasionally, but probably wouldn't recommend it...especially while driving or operating heavy machinery...pretty dry stuff.
• Medical Student's Amnesia: Found this little nugget buried deep in one of my USMLE files--very useful, concise, and high yield
• USMLE World: Meh. A lot of people say to use this as a learning tool, but I just couldn't get into it. The questions were pretty frustrating, and I found myself getting too hung up on my score and trying to rush to the next question, and probably didn't get as much out of the explanations as I could have. Only finished about 45% of the questions. Probably the most beneficial thing about using UW is that it is the exact same format (visually) as the actual exam--I think this helped me feel more comfortable taking the actual exam. One interesting thing I discovered while doing UW questions was that my individual block scores were almost always better when I took them timed than when I took them in tutor mode. : dunno:

Rural family medicine, here I come! 😀

You have a good sense of humor.

 

[vicinihil]

You guys ALL did amazing. Congrats! If you did well, please don't forget to share how you got such an amazing score (including how you used SDN to help yourself improve)! Pass it on.

 

[DocDanny]

Scores:

• NBME 1 | January | 188
• NBME 5 | February | 192
• NBME 2 | March | 201
• NBME 6 | April | 209
• NBME 3 | May | 207
• UW Avg: 52% (45% completed)
• Actual USMLE | May 25 | 212/89

Rural family medicine, here I come! 😀

You've got far more options than that, I hope you know.

For instance, inner city Family Medicine. 😉

 

[lateralus]

Hi guys, took the test yesterday (7/15) and soooo relieved to be free of the beast. I must say overall, the test is nowhere as bad as I thought it would be... but it has it's fair share of difficult questions. I'd say about 30% of the exam required some higher level reasoning while 70% was almost straight from First Aid/Goljan/UW. The other 30% was somewhere from those 3 sources but required some other piece of information from either med school studying or outside sources... it was still very doable to get the correct answer though.

In terms of material... it's difficult to remember even 24 hours later but I'll try my best.

Behavioral: I thought the patient/physician relationship questions were actually kind of tricky... I was always able to narrow down the answers to 2 choices and then I either went with my gut instinct or if I remembered something from Kaplan about such a situation. I had a few calculation questions, none on the usual sens/spec/PPV which surprised me. I was actually asked to pick what information would be needed from the study to determine those values... Overall... not too bad. The psych questions were also very straightforward... right from FA.

Biochem: Very doable just with FA... had TONS of questions on b12 and folate deficiencies (maybe 8-10 overall). The rest of the questions were based on regulatory mechanisms (what would be needed to be elevated to inhibit this process etc). The clinical scenarios were ridiculously simple. (what AA is essential in PKU?) Had one question from the Lysosome storage disease page... gave a picture perfect description of one of them and asked for the enzyme deficiency.

Genetics - Not too bad... I had a few pedigrees and was asked to determine the mode of inheritance or the probability of proband getting disease X. Had one hardy weinberg question... FA was enough for this.

Embryo - Again, FA was enough... lab values were given and I was asked to determine the embryological defect...

Micro - I actually got quite a few micro questions... maybe 25-30 total... and I think like 5 of them were on meningitis... which annoyed me because they were all very similar in presentation and in lab values. I had a good amount of HIV questions... asked about opportunistic infections and the mode of transmission. Pathogenesis was the key... instead of asking what the bug was, they wanted to know how it was causing the symptoms in the patients. Nothing too tricky. I got maybe 2-3 parasite questions... viruses were pretty straightforward... cant' remember too much from them.

Immuno - Got a few hypothetical studies and charts/graphs asking to interpret what the results meant. I thought this was probably the toughest section of my exam since it took almost an entire minute to read the question and understand what the hell they were talking about.

Pharm - Much easier than anything Uworld ever threw at us... very basic MOA, major side effects etc. Had a few graphs to interpret but nothing difficult. I had 1 calculation question which was very to do.

Anatomy - This was probably the section I was the least prepared for but they didn't ask anything too difficult. Most were upper arm/lower leg lesions. Also got some random questions that i could've never prepared for... overall I would say just make sure you know the section in FA with all the brachial plexus and lower limb lesions so that you can get those right. I can't really see any way to prepare for the 2 or 3 random anatomy questions they will throw at you...

Path - Made up the bulk of the exam but it wasn't too tricky. Most of the presentations were classic... My test was relatively equal on all of the systems, but I struggled a little bit with the female repro questions.

Physio - Had alot of graphs to interpret which I thought was again, the trickiest portion of the exam along with the immuno section. LOTS of UP/DOWN arrow questions pertaining to endocrine and cardio. I had absolutely zero calculations which was surprising.

Phew... ok I think I covered everything.. Oh and DO NBME 7 with the extended feedback... I had 6-7 questions straight from it. I'll post my study routine and everything once I get my score... honestly I have no idea if I'm going to be even close to my last practice exam.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone on these boards for all the help over the last 6 months. I didn't post but there were alot of helpful hints given by people and just wanted to say thanks to all of you! 🙂

 

[2012mdc]

You guys ALL did amazing. Congrats! If you did well, please don't forget to share how you got such an amazing score (including how you used SDN to help yourself improve)! Pass it on.

My school is different than most as we finish 2nd yr May 14 and have to take Step 1 by June 30 (you can take it in July but it will delay rotations for you).

I was unsure of what to do until I saw the Taus plan. I looked into it, asked older students about it and decided to try it out.

After I took NBME6 (244), starting on May 17th I did the last 2 weeks part of Taus plan - just the 10 day part. Questions in the morning (2 sets of 48 random timed), reviewing the questions in the late morning/early afternoon. Reading FA, RR, and the HY on his schedule for 6 hrs in the evening/night.

After I finished the 10 day plan I took UWSA#1 (252). I assessed my weaknesses and expanded Taus 10 day plan to 14 days. I added more hours to each subject (1 or 2 depending on how weak I was) and more sources (ex - HY Biochem, HY Neuro, quick review of anatomy atlas, etc.)

I took NBME3 halfway thru the 14 day plan (264) and pushed myself to finish it. I fit in the free 150 somewhere in there. Took NBME7 (264) and UWSA2 (262) on the Sunday before my exam. Spent Monday reviewing UWSA2 in full, Tuesday and Wednesday reviewing weak areas in full and reviewing incorrects on UW. Thursday I reviewed the free 150 again (heard there were repeats) and looked at FA HY and pics and rads stuff then watched Game 7 of the finals 😀

I came out of the test feeling not so good but I ended up with a 260 so I'm very happy to get a wonderful score and I'm just thankful I scored close to my practice exams

Other info -
I started doing questions in January (6 month UW) - I did 25 a day during the week except for test weeks and the week before tests - my school gives 5-7 tests in a week every 4-6 wks

On a weekend day I started off doing Kaplan Q book subject exams but I felt it wasn't working so I switched to reading a particular section of FA - started with 1st yr stuff (didn't want to wait till May to start reviewing 1st yr stuff). I took the other weekend day off from any board stuff at all

A couple months out I needed to raise my path grade so I came up with a new schedule - I would read RR for a particular subject, listen to Goljan on that subject, read FA on that subject and then do the class material for it.

I sparingly used Micro and Pharm flash cards throughout the year. Glanced at CMMRS and Lange Pharm but I felt my class stuff was enough for class and FA enough for the shelf exams and Step 1.

By May I had finished most of UW except for some 1st yr stuff. I re-did all the Micro, Pharm, and Behavioral ?'s as part of my prep for the shelf exams. I went thru everything in the month I was studying

Sources
FA
RR
Goljan Audio - during the year only, didn't use after classes finished
HY books - Molec in full, certain areas of Biochem and Neuro
BRS Path - for shelf exam only
Fadem Behavioral - for shelf exam only
Essential Clinical Anatomy - mainly for pics and some tables

"Relevant" stats
GPA - 4.0, mid level med school
Shelf exams/mini-boards - 95th to 99th percentiles
MCAT - 33, verbal - 11
Top 5 undergrad GPA - 3.2

The one thing I wonder about is if I got to used to World and maybe should have incorporated another q bank at least a little bit.

Yeah this got really long, feel free to PM me

 

[username456789]

My school is different than most as we finish 2nd yr May 14 and have to take Step 1 by June 30 (you can take it in July but it will delay rotations for you).

I was under the impression that most schools were like that.

 

[2012mdc]

My school is different than most as we finish 2nd yr May 14 and have to take Step 1 by June 30 (you can take it in July but it will delay rotations for you).

I was under the impression that most schools were like that.

Maybe it was just the people I knew at other schools but I heard of people finishing real early and having 2 or 3 months to study for Step 1.

 

[tachyon34]

taus plan definitely still works. I just got my score back on tuesday as 259/99

things I would suggest:

they HY molecular bio 1999: i dunno if this is really as high yield anymore. apparently first aid didnt really have all that much mol. bio when taus first did it. The classes of receptor/channel types is still very high yield, as is the genetics stuff and mol bio on Polymerase types and stuff, but I wouldnt spend too much time on this book it should be a really quick read-- NO More than half a day. Don't memorize all the crazy small details- they are pointless, but do memorize/know the 2nd messenger systems/receptors they WILL be tested.

I only had 6 wks to study for it. 3 passes is really hard to do. I only got through 2.5 passes. I suggest you do the "first" pass during the school year by reading through RR path etc. I did biochem during the summer between first and second year and it helped a bit.

Goljan audio wasn't that useful for me... but could just be me. I did read RR path like 3x though (once or twice during the school year which was a pain but totally worth it), which was basically the same thing I guess. But RR path is money.

Personally I suggest NOT annotating that much-- if you have <2 months to do the plan you are gonna waste too much time. Read and highlight with a hilighter. Then go over the hi-lites later and hi lite with a different color if you still don't remember it. Much faster than rewriting every word.

Katzung Pharm is unnecessary. FA will cover most of the pharm, though I must say pharm is harder on the new exam. I suggest reading only the first couple chapters on pharmacokinetics/dynamics and using as a reference for drugs that you don't understand in FA You must know the CYP 450 inducers/repressors and the side effect section/antidote section in FA. Also I would review varenicline/that other smoking drug and their MOA. I got two questions on that and it wasn't in FA.

as always FA is essential for most of the subjects. I had 2 questions on the "stages of change" or whatever with precontemplation- contemplation action etc. I would review that... Its definitely not common sense.

The new exam (46 question) is MUCH more time pressure sensitive. I used to have 10-15 minutes to spare in UW, but on the actual test i had 2-3 minutes left at the end and couldn't really review marked questions 🙁 the passages are a lot longer, and there are almost no "1-liner" easy questions anymore. The question difficulty on my test was really hard too... It was harder than any of the practice tests/USMLE practice tests i took before.

 

[Valvool]

NBME our school gave us after our last final; I had gone through 1st Aid once at this point: 212
NBME1: 218
NBME2: 216
NBME3: 220
NBME4: 229
NBME5: 229

Actual: 237/99

I read through First Aid four times, once the week before the exam. I noted that all the bigger jumps on practice exams happened right after I finished going through First Aid yet again.

Sources:

First Aid
RR Biochem
High Yield Neuro
HY Behavioral Science
High Yield Biostats (I'm mathematically deficient)
MicroCards--I made my own simpler set of cards using this set
Kaplan Review books from 2006, an old set someone gave me--I went through Kaplan Review Physiology in its entirety and did the Kaplan Review Q Book which had tests from every subject; the other books I just used to supplement or when I had questions.

I did not use any separate source for path as that was my strong subject in second year and something I felt comfortable with. For qbanks I used both Uworld (final avg 68% first time, 78% second time, but I only got halfway through the second time) and USMLERx, which I only did about 1600 questions from (74% avg).

The day of the exam I did not get to start until 10am because I was told, along with one other medstudent who had not yet started, that the remaining computers were not working and we would have to 'reschedule and come back another day'. I started crying and the other student began pacing and muttering. A group of accountants were there too, waiting to take their CPA exam. They were not at all upset by this turn of events, they all left in a group talking and laughing. Of course the other medstudent and I refused to leave. I tried to explain how third year works to the employees at the prometric place. I think after witnessing our psychiatric deterioration, the prometric people started working the technical problem more vigorously. The supervisor managed to get some tech people in and the issue was resolved and we were allowed to take the exam after all. All in all it was a very rocky start to exam day; I don't think it affected my score however.

 

[Mr hawkings]

My school is different than most as we finish 2nd yr May 14 and have to take Step 1 by June 30 (you can take it in July but it will delay rotations for you).

I was under the impression that most schools were like that.

some schools are done by the end of march. I think these are the ones that use the quater system insteads of semester for the first 2 years of med school. They also start rotations early july

 

[NotMeNow]

I agree with your statistics, but does anyone actually score above a 280? Something always seems off about the USMLE score distribution to me, there is no one that scores a 300 or even a 290 right?

But this could be said about anything, the average height of a male is 5' 7'' with a SD of 2 inches (making up numbers)

but does anyone get to 10 feet tall....

Some people have suggested there is a negative skew to the data, but who knows.

 

[ikimoh]

My school is different than most as we finish 2nd yr May 14 and have to take Step 1 by June 30 (you can take it in July but it will delay rotations for you).

I was under the impression that most schools were like that.

yea same here...

 

[utdoc05]

240/99

A bittersweet score. I am ecstatic that I hit my original goal, but I thought I may have hit a little higher based off my practice scores.

Right there with ya man, my last 2 practice tests were a 256 on uwsa2 and 251 on nbme7, got a 242 on the real thing, still a great score but bittersweet

 

[Cataract]

Haven't posted here in years, but came back to show my thanks!

5.5 weeks of studying:

Booklist:
RR Path: Once for 2nd year, once for boards.
BRS Physio: Used it throughout 2 years, read only select parts for board studying
FA: Used it throughout my 2 years, read it 2x during board studying
Goljan audio: Once during 2nd year, once during board studying
HY Cell 1999: Great book despite recent comments about it, especially if you need things explained to you like a 5 year old. Read it twice. Read the last chapter on receptors again.
RR Biochem: People bash this book too, but if biochem is your kryptonite, read it! Annotate it into FA and I guarantee you won't regret it. It just hurts reading it...
HY Neuro: Read it all once, but just learned things mentioned in FA, RR
HY Anatomy: Another unloved book, but it was a perfect supplement to FA's anatomy.

UWorld: 74% total. Timed, random blocks of 48q (except some experimenting with tutor mode a few times). 97% complete.

I loved Taus' ideas, but it seemed overkill so I just used the books, the tips, and the two week and 3 day plan. I studied mechanisms throughout my classes and used the above review books during classes. In January, I began annotating RR biochem and HY neuro into FA. I kept a notebook of wrong answers on UWorld questions that I reviewed a day before the exam.

School's practice exam: 203 (pre-studying)
UWSA 1: 253 (2 weeks left)
UWSA 2: 264 (1 week left)

Actual: 253/99

I would've liked to take NBME 7, but didn't have time or money. Why people take so many practice tests is beyond me. Study hard during classes using these books, then squeeze in RR path again and two passes through FA during board studying. For anyone concerned, MCAT scores mean nothing for Step I. Best of luck everyone and thanks again SDN!

 

[NRAI2001]

Where/what site do you go to actually take the practice NBME exams?? I tried googling it but I ton of sites come up and I dont want to give my credit card out to some fake site... thanks

 

[kryptik]

Where/what site do you go to actually take the practice NBME exams?? I tried googling it but I ton of sites come up and I dont want to give my credit card out to some fake site... thanks

https://nsas.nbme.org/nsasweb/servlet/mesa_main

 

[footcloud]

Sorry to interrupt, but could people who also got lower scores, e.g. <99th percentile also post? I'm trying to pass here and those would be extremely helpful. Not that what you guys have already posted are not (they're awesome and congrats on your amazing scores), but don't be intimidated if you scored lower, it could really helpful someone else. Thanks!

 

[rem6775]

Here's some ideas I put together. I had written some other stuff earlier and realized it was all stupid. Hopefully someone somewhere will get something (anything) out of it. If not, that's fine, too. It's long, I apologize.

.Here’s my take on the Step 1, what’s important and a little perspective..

.First, let’s get the most important thing out of the way first. This is a test. It’s just a test. It’s not a perfect indicator, and it’s highly unlikely to single-handedly prevent you from doing what you want. You should not be willing to sell your mother for a 260. If that’s how you feel, you need to step back and get some perspective. You can get into any specialty with a mediocre score if you have the motivation and put in the time to research and make strong connections with faculty. So relax..

.The single most important thing to doing well on the Step 1 is doing well during the first two years. The better you learn the material during your first exposure, the easier it will be to integrate the things needed for the Step 1. Never underestimate the importance of truly learning physiology and having an understanding of what’s going on in diseases. Pathology should be a time of integration, where you learn the pathophysiology of disease and how it all intertwines. To do really well, you need to learn a lot of those trees, but you also can’t lose sight of the forest. If you don’t have a broad understanding, you are at a huge disadvantage. Learn the material really well and use second year to integrate all the material to understand the big picture. Doing this will make studying so much easier..

.The actual study time can vary a lot between different people. What it really depends on is how much you were able to dedicate to studying during the second year. The more you can study and the earlier you can start, the better. If you start really early, a small amount of studying every day can go a long way and will have a big impact. Now, getting into some specifics:.

.Overall approach..: Many people use too many resources and get overwhelmed with them. Using 10 resources and knowing none of them really well does not help you. Pick your sources carefully based on what you need in addition to the essentials and know these things cold. Everyone should use First Aid, USMLE World, and Goljan Audio. Everything beyond this should be based on individual preference and need, but do not use lots of sources. Use as many sources as you want during second year, but during your dedicated study period cut it way down. Three to five sources are plenty if you know them really well..

. Kaplan QBank..: I used Kaplan Qbank during the second semester, focusing on subjects as we completed them in systemic pathology. Other subjects were integrated in between. By the end of the semester, it was mostly done and had served its purpose as a useful tool in learning how to work through the questions, focusing on what was important, and as a tool to assess my understanding. I highly recommend people do this. .

.First Aid..: I also studied First Aid heavily during second semester. I had gone through most of the book probably three times (some sections more and some less) before finals were over. This was very helpful, and in doing so, I was basically ready to take this test before finals. Although few people will probably do this, I also studied this during first semester, but I focused mostly on subjects I found interesting, especially microbiology (to keep myself studying it). The earlier you start this book, the better, even if it’s just an hour here and there. Your goal should be to know First Aid cold. Sure, some people don’t use it much, and some of these people do well, but the simple fact is that a vast majority of questions will be answered in this book. Memorize it. You should also be striving to understand the intricacies behind the facts listed in the book. Remember, the more you know about why and how things happen, the better..

.USMLE World..: This is easily the best question bank. The questions can be hard, but they will get you prepared if you can work through them. Most people will tell you that the real Step 1 is easier than UW, and although I thought they were about the same, this is a good tool to approximate what you are going to see on test day. I saved this for the last month or so of studying. Because I was basically ready for the test at the end of finals, UW was very manageable and a good indicator of some of the specific information I had forgotten or not integrated as well. My personal opinion is the better you know the material, the more useful this can be because you aren’t being overwhelmed with information you did not know. There is a big difference between 80% right and 50% right in a block, and trying to learn half the material in a reasonable time becomes difficult. Either way, use this. Complete it all, and try to go over the ones you got wrong. Don’t let yourself get frustrated though. Learn from your mistakes, understand the logical steps you need to make to come to the right answer and where your thought process was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes, just learn something from them..

.Goljan Audio..: This is a good tool for a couple reasons. Firstly, he emphasizes how and why things happen which you need to know to do well. Secondly, he hits on high yield points. And thirdly, you can study this without using any time. Put it on your iPod or whatever, listen to it while driving or working out. Start this early. The beginning of second semester is a good time to start. You really should know everything he says. While this may seem like a daunting task, if you worked hard in physiology and pathology it should be very easy. I would say I knew 95% or more of what he said before listening to it, and that is a good place to be if you want to do well. There’s nothing wrong with not knowing it that well the first time, just make sure you devote enough time to it so when test day comes you are that comfortable with the material. The earlier you start with this, the better, and since you can do this while driving, working out, etc. there is no excuse. Replace you music for 6-7 months while driving and it will pay off..

.Rapid Review Pathology..: This is a good book but it’s clearly overkill. I rarely used it during the first semester of pathology, but went through the general pathology chapters a number of times beginning at winter break. I had probably gone through those a good 4 times each by test time. I also used it as a brief review right after systemic pathology tests. I basically set to memorize Robbins for each of these tests, so afterward running through these chapters once or twice took almost no time at all but was helpful in focusing on what was most important and adding some extra details here and there. I did not use it a whole lot during the dedicated Step 1 study weeks, but it can be a good resource for weaknesses. Just don’t go overboard because it is way too detailed. It’s a great resource during second year though and will only help if used then..

.Other books..: I read CMMRS during winter break, and it was somewhat helpful. It’s too detailed, and not necessary unless you are really weak in microbiology or find it interesting. FA and UW will cover you nicely, and if you do Kaplan QBank during second year, you will be more than prepared. I also read Rapid Review Biochemistry during second year, and while it was helpful, it was also way too detailed and I probably retained very little of it. If you know what is in FA well, you should be good. If you are very weak, this is a good book to skim through early on and get your bearings. I read Lippinncot’s Illustrated Pharmacology during second semester. Toward the end of the book I realized I was wasting my time and stopped. FA, UW and Kaplan are more than enough. I read some High Yield Neuroanatomy but never finished it. I think it’s a good book if you are really weak in neuroanatomy, but the brainstem slices and angiograms are quite basic on the test, so don’t overdo it. I never actually read BRS Physiology again as I felt it was unnecessary for me based on the question banks and test scores I was receiving. However, if you are weak in physiology, this is an excellent book to use, and you should know it well. I would recommend this for most people, but use your judgment based on your comfort level with physiology. BRS Pathology is a good, concise book to use before the shelf exam, which will give you some ancillary benefit for the Step 1, too. If you learned the material really well the first time around, this will be a breeze..

.Brief Overview of Subjects:.

.Anatomy:.. The anatomy of the test is often dichotomous. Some of the questions are really easy and most of the rest are really hard. There are some in between, but in general, this is how most people I knew felt as well. There is not a whole lot you can do about this. Most anatomy books are overkill and poorly put together. BRS Anatomy is way too much, but you could consider the end of chapter summaries if you already own it. HY Anatomy is less dense but only so useful. Do what you can during second year to help your memory along, but you should not be spending a lot of time studying this during your dedicated Step 1 time. Know FA and Kaplan and UW, and you should be okay..

.Biochemistry/Molecular Biology..: The biochemistry on my test, and most of those I know, was fairly basic and covered well in FA. If you are weak, a quick review through Rapid Review Biochemistry may help, but try to do this earlier rather than later. My personal opinion is that repetition is key to knowing the biochemistry material, so running through FA biochemistry section multiple times during second year and multiple more during your study time will do wonders. Molecular and cell biology is more tricky. They often come up with scenarios involving research experiments you cannot possibly study for, so you need to get a general knowledge base and be able to apply it to do well. Questions should really help you here, and utilize Kaplan and UW to their fullest. Make sure you can reason those questions through. If you are really weak consider supplementing (before your dedicated study time) with something..

.Microbiology/Immunology..: If you know FA and UW for micro, you will do very well. The questions are usually more straightforward and with a solid foundation from those two sources, you should be set. I found immunology to be more difficult than I expected, but this could be a random set of questions. I had a number of questions about the most common cell type in different diseases (and not ones that you would immediately think of), and some of these I found frustrating. There were probably others, however, that were easy. I do not believe studying any outside source besides FA is really worth it, however..

.Embryology..: Know FA. Do not bother with anything else. Ever..

.Pharmacology..: Pharmacology was surprisingly simple for the most part. Yes, there were a couple random questions about drugs that were not in FA that were very difficult, but these were very rare. For the most part knowing the mechanisms and side effects presented in FA (and UW) will be more than enough..

.Pathology..: You have to know this well. It’s truly the integration of many subjects, and learning this well during second year will do wonders. BRS Pathology is a quick and easy review if you feel it is necessary, and RR Pathology is good for your weaknesses. Do not spend too much time with RR Pathology unless you really feel you need it, otherwise you are probably misusing time. If you are that weak, you sunk yourself over the last year anyway..

.Systems..: Everyone will tell you there test had so much of this and none of that, but never listen to that garbage. Everyone has recall bias, based on your tough questions and your weaknesses. Your test will be balanced, I promise. Know all the systems well. Focus on your weaknesses that you identify from question banks, class, or practice tests. Know the big picture always. If you don’t know that, learn it—then fill in the details..

.Practice Exams:.. I think these are a good idea, not only to gauge where you are, but also to help identify weaknesses. Doing an NBME at the beginning of your dedicated study period is a very good idea. This will give you a baseline and some data on your strengths and weaknesses to work with. I personally did one NBME 7 weeks out (before classes were over), one 4 weeks out, and then a UWSA later. Just remember, while these can be accurate, they are not perfect. Mine fit well with my final score and I have friends where this is true as well. I also have friends who did worse on their exam (and sometimes significantly) so study accordingly and never take them as perfect indicators. .

.Study Plan..: Like I have repeatedly stated, the earlier you start, the better. If you find something you like, try to study it in FA (or wherever) during your first semester. Second semester should be the beginning of your earnest studying. Get a QBank and work it alongside systemic pathology while substituting other subjects alongside those. Study FA systems with pathology and work those basic chapters hard whenever you can. Try as hard as you can to be ready when you take finals. If you can do that, your dedicated study time will be so much more pleasant and bearable. I basically took 5 days off to fly back to my home area and get married. I was also lazier during my dedicated time than I ever was during the whole first two years. None of that mattered because I was prepared beforehand. If you cannot do this, plan to work hard. I never made a schedule, for many of the reasons already stated, but I do not recommend this for most people. Make a schedule and stick to it (including breaks). Try to work at least 12 hours a day and more if you can. In those last two weeks, push yourself, but do not let yourself be totally burnt out. If you need to take a day, take it. It will not have an impact on the rest of your life, I promise. Remember my most important rule above. .

.The Test..: If you’ve done lots of questions (especially if you’ve done Kaplan and UW) it should come as no surprise. The questions are hard, but do not get flustered. Some are so easy you will want to laugh. Just take the good with the bad. If you are getting flustered and not thinking straight give yourself a quick break to clear you head. You need to think. Instinct will take you pretty far if you are really prepared, but thinking through things clearly will only increase your score. Pace yourself accordingly. I found the 46 questions exam to be more time-taxing than any of the question banks or practice exams had been. Just keep an eye on the clock through each block. Take breaks when you need them. This is very individualized, so do what works for you, and not what worked for someone else. Bring whatever you need for your break time to make you comfortable: energy drinks, food, your teddy bear—who cares. Keep yourself focused and comfortable and you can minimize mistakes. Most people will say it’s between NBMEs and UW in terms of difficulty. That is probably a fair statement, although I thought it was more akin to UW myself. More than half of the questions each block you should know just because you went through two years of medical school. There were be a few really tough ones, and then the rest will be moderately difficult or more abstract, which pulls from your recent studying. .

.When you finish, congratulate yourself. It’s a tough test and a draining experience. No matter how you did, be proud of what you accomplished. If you failed, it’s not the end of the world. Learn from your mistakes and keep your head up. Get help studying if you need it. Never forget how important research and connections can be. You always have ways of making yourself a rockstar, so relax..

.Here are my numbers. They are mostly irrelevant to everything I just said, but if you want something to gauge whether I have any idea what I’m talking about (probably not), here they are..

.QBanks: .
.Kaplan (~90% complete during second semester): 82%. .
.UW (100% complete and second pass through wrong answers): 85% (first pass only).

.NBMEs/UWSAs:.
.NBME 4 (before classes were over, 7 weeks out): 255.
.NBME 6 (4 weeks out, at the end of finals): 260.
.UWSA2 (around 1-2 weeks before): 800/265.

.Step 1: 267/99.

 

[jmcappleby]

Sorry to interrupt, but could people who also got lower scores, e.g. <99th percentile also post? I'm trying to pass here and those would be extremely helpful. Not that what you guys have already posted are not (they're awesome and congrats on your amazing scores), but don't be intimidated if you scored lower, it could really helpful someone else. Thanks!

The "99" is not the 99th percentile. In fact, the overwhelming majority of the scores posted here are under the 99th percentile.

Fact is, most any detailed post outlining someone's study strategy or score progression should be helpful. Don't worry about the score at the end of someone's post - their advice is still good advice that's worth following regardless of what your goals are.

 

[vicinihil]

a 99 is roughly the 80%tile and anything more is a 99. It starts at 229 and goes up or 230 this year I think. A 99th%tile on the other hand is probably >270 depending on the avg and standard deviation.

And yes, I echo above that no single advice is going to be the *best*, you just have to take what others have said and tailor it to your own needs. Many people on this forum have done that but you have to figure out how you do things best and do it.

 

[Nesiritide]

First off I want to say that this board is probably responsible for a lot of my success. Reading here over the last two years basically ensured that no part of my studying for step 1 was wasted and I think that efficiency helped a lot.

My strategy was fairly simple, read quality books for the first two years to get a good base and then drill FA/QBank/UW into my head. I do best with repetition so I basically just read FA over and over. As I did questions I'd annotate anything I thought important or any good clarifications into FA, so I'd see it again later.

I started in October reading 7 pages of FA a day. This wasn't memorization, just basically getting an understanding and overview of the information.

After I finished I started QBank. This was during school so I rarely did more than 24 questions a day. I read ALL the explanations, watched ALL the videos (which were awesome), and annotated everything I thought was important into FA. I was also reading around 10 pages of FA/day.

Sometime in Feb/March I started UW. Again, I did around 24 questions/day and annotated into FA. I was also reading 15 or so pages a day.

At this point in late April I had done all of Kaplan/UW, annotated a lot into FA, and read FA itself basically 5 times. (I'm assuming going through 2000+ questions and annotating answers counts as a pass through FA).

After school got done in early May I was pretty much ready, so I took a few practice tests, read FA two more times, and took the real deal.

Scores (I don't feel like digging these back up but I'm reasonably sure about all of them except the NBMEs)
Kaplan 69%
UW 78%
CBSE Late March 260
NBME 4 Late April 245
NBME 5 Early May 255
M2 ends - read FA once again in a week or so
UWSA 1 261 - at this point I moved my test up because I wanted a summer
UWSA 2 263 - I only took this because I had already paid for it...I moved my test up as soon as possible but it was still 7 days away so I read FA again (7 times?)

Real deal:
263/99

I thought the test was pretty straightforward. 95% of the exam is in FA, and most of the rest I picked up over the last two years by reading a lot of NEJM and Medscape for medical students. I felt VERY well prepared and I'm very happy with my score. I couldn't have done it without SDN.

 

[blarrgh]

Ahem. Been awhile since I posted here (the dark ages of pre-med).

But since this thread helped me, I'll throw my name into the data set. I took the exam recently; here's my track record:

School sponsored NBME: 200 (early April?)
Practice NBME at test site: 264 (early May) -> Not... sure how this happened
Free 150: 235 (early May)
NBME 6: 240 (late May)
NBME 7: 231 (late May)
NBME 5: 219 (early June)
NBME 4: 238 (early June)
NBME 3: 248 (1 week out)
USMLEWSA #1: 245 (4 days out)
USMLEWSA #2: 256 (4 days out)
Currently waiting on step 1 score

To people who have a train wreck of score variation as me: it's most likely due to psyching yourself out, concentration and possibly ADHD flareups. But come game time, those things tend to sort themselves out.

My 'tetralogy of step 1' was: FA, Qbank, Brenner's pharm cards, Goljian

Qbank: 62% unused starting from April. Took notes on every question and referenced it with FA. Proven true combo.

FA: someone said here that if you know FA cold, you are guaranteed a 230. I'll subscribe to that. The re-read is key.

Brenner's pharm: this took some time. I started in April doing about 5 cards a day. Along with referencing FA and Qbank, it allowed me to tackle whatever pharm curveball they threw at me on the boards.

Goljian: pretty self-explanatory. I counted 20+ questions using his clinical scenarios or his lecture images. His RR is decent as well.

About the exam itself:

Yes, those rumors you hear about anatomy are true. Thanks to this thread and reports from other students, I sat down and read HY gross anatomy in a couple of days. It saved my ass for about 6 questions. There were some others, however, that I just chalked up in the loss column. If you have everything else down cold and want to review a subject-- go learn your thoracic, abdominal CT landmarks + vasculature. Don't forget neuroanatomy too.

I would venture and say FA alone could have prepared me for most of my subject matter with the exception of anatomy and micro (CMMRS tables are your bible).

What I did wrong: overstudy for biochem, genetics, embryology-- imo, supplementary materials were not needed outside of the aforementioned sources except for an integration of metabolic pathway diagram (you can find a PDF of that anywhere).

Edit: 246/99 Very happy!

^ Added score to my earlier post. I hit in the low/mid 250s for my final two NBMEs after I made the first post but I am extremely grateful for results. It's not to the rockstar level of a lot of SDNers but it was way beyond the goal I set for myself a couple of months ago. Congrats to everyone else who have survived!

I did mention some tricky anatomy in my post-exam post and my score report reflected that as it was my weakest area. Perhaps this is a trend of the USMLE as FA did not adequately prepare me for some of the questions.

 

[Cowy1]

First of all, you people are freaks; seems like everyone on this site scores a 250+ which is obviously abnormal.

Anyway, thought I'd relate the experience of an average (hell, a bit below average judging from the first 2 years) med student at an average medical school. We got 4-5 weeks from our school (depending on how much vacation you wanted) to prep for Step 1. I took 4.5 weeks.

Our pathology final was an NBME exam that I just barely passed (71%, but did ok in the class overall) so I wasn't exactly feeling too great about the Step 1. Figured I'd shoot for my school's average score (around 224) which I thought was doable.

Study Schedule: Tried to do a couple sets of 48 Qs a week w/ a little FA during the year but it was a major PITA between school and my research. As an aside, the Kaplan QBank sucks. The interface sucks, the questions suck and the explanations after them suck. It was a huge wast of money.

Also, I spent at least 1 hour every day working out (running or lifting) just to keep my sanity. I studied every day, although I did take a couple days off (again, for my mental health) during the course of the 4.5 weeks.

I'd read a section in FA, followed by the relevant random questions from UW. about 1 week in I took NBME 1 and got a 210. I was happy until I read up on SDN that NBME 1 is easy and a poor predictor.

Got through FA twice, doing UW questions after each time left my with ~2 weeks before the exam (6/23). I was sick of reading FA and is was highlighted/marked to death so I just started doing UW questions. Focused on the Qs I got wrong and then transitioned into just doing random Qs. Spent about 30-40 doing a set of 48 questions and generally about 2+ hours going over them. I think this was key to absorbing the material. By the night before the test I had gone through ~5500 Qs in UW, seeing every Q at least twice. Took NBME 6 (maybe?, not sure of # now) about 5 days before Step 1 and got a 223.

Day before the test I studied like normal, that night I finished around 8, had a couple 312s and went to bed.

Took a 11:45am administration (highly recommended) of the test. No surprises, pretty much like everyone else on this thread. Finished in about 7 hours including breaks, always had plenty of time (10 min) at the end of each set of Qs. I felt ok leaving the testing center; I knew I had passed, but I figured I didn't score much better than a 220-225, which I would have been fine with.

Got my score a couple days ago, 235/99! Got it on my droid and almost did a backflip in a parking lot.

 

[bbydoc]

I thought the test was pretty straightforward. 95% of the exam is in FA, and most of the rest I picked up over the last two years by reading a lot of NEJM and Medscape for medical students. I felt VERY well prepared and I'm very happy with my score. I couldn't have done it without SDN.

thanks for sharing your experience, could you please expand on NEJM and Medscape, never heard of it.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

thanks for sharing your experience, could you please expand on NEJM and Medscape, never heard of it.

😱

 

[Nesiritide]

Haha I think everybody's heard of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Medscape for medical students is here

http://www.medscape.com/medicalstudents

They've got all sorts of good stuff but it's extremely low yield for step 1 and I wouldn't use it specifically to learn anything. The daily emails are a nice way to read a little bit about something medical each day that you may not have come across otherwise. If you do that enough times you have a shot at the questions out of left field.

 

[Real Name]

247 - I am a little disappointed. I feel like this is a low score. I should've gone through FA one more time . . .

 

[Dirt]

247 - I am a little disappointed. I feel like this is a low score. I should've gone through FA one more time . . .

Just to give you an eye opener a 247 is higher than the mean score for every specialty. That means you scored higher than most of the people who matched in plastics, derm, neurosurgery, radiology, anesthesia..etc.

 

[knuckles]

Just to give you an eye opener a 247 is higher than the mean score for every specialty. That means you scored higher than most of the people who matched in plastics, derm, neurosurgery, radiology, anesthesia..etc.

We should totally create CAGE questions for these types on SDN!

Have you ever felt you should cut down on your Step 1 score obsession?

Have people ever annoyed you by criticizing your neuroticism?

Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your score?

Do you need an eye opener to shut up about your score?

 

[ikimoh]

247 - I am a little disappointed. I feel like this is a low score. I should've gone through FA one more time . . .

Yea a 247 is such a disappoint for you...good luck with matching anywhere. :-/