Official 2010 USMLE Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[FMD212]

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

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[Vergie]

I don't really post on here much but this place has been a huge help so I thought I would post my summary.

NBME4 early May - 227
NBME5 late may - 220
UW1 - 5 days before 240
NBME 7 - 3 days before - 242

Real deal July 7th - 239

UW final average = 65%

Other than the obvious strats of FA, Goljan audio and UW (read answers carefully) I would say things that helped me other than the obvious were reading wikipedia for any terms/diseases/drugs I didnt know very well to help them stick in my head. Also doing all missed UW questions during the last week of prep helped get a couple concepts down I would have missed on the real thing. Reading the blue margins on goljan a couple days before the test helped too imo.

The test is fairly straighforward for the most part. You're either like "ok I got this" or "crap, I should prob know this but I dont." Just try your hardest and hope for the best. Behavioral was the only subject in "borderline" so I blame that for my 3 point NBME drop. Otherwise, It seemed fairly accurate and I felt like I was doing about how I did when I was taking NBME 7.

Good Luck anyone else still taking it!

 

[Alokin]

Has anybody gotten their score back on any other day than a Wednesday? It seems to me that the bulk of the scores come out on that day. I am sitting on pins and needles since this past Wednesday and nothing yet.

 

[millepora]

Hi Needinghope,
I agree with knuckles. Honestly FA plus Uworld is more than enough to score over 220. I am also reading Kaplan medessentials as well.

I recommend you study at a pace that suits you and hopefully you can take some time off from school. Try to study at least 10 hrs a day. I am an average student and it takes me a lot of time to learn (like 6 to 7 revisions usually) so I tried doing 50 questions a day in Uworld and usually about 250 a week with couple days to focus on my weak areas I knew of and first aid plus medessentials. I had scored 188 on schools provided nbme about 4 months ago. Then I took couple months to go over Kaplan videos. Now have been doing uworld questions for the past 6 to 7 weeks and have seen a lot of improvement. When I was about 40% done with Uworld (early July) I took the NBME 7 and scored 500 on it. Now I am about 70% done. Honestly I never thought I would see 220 on nbme after I took the schools provided exam and had lost hope because I studied hard all throughout my classes except for 1st semester. After all the hard work it paid off and now I am here with one week left to take the exam hoping to see a 230+. Hope this helps.

Great post! Finally, a post from a non-superhuman medical student that I can relate to.

 

[psychforme]

Great post! Finally, a post from a non-superhuman medical student that I can relate to.

Yeah, because 260+ obviously makes you superhuman.

 

[SuperSlacker]

Yeah, because 260+ obviously makes you superhuman.

i'm so stealing that icon (cat and fish)

 

[gau232000]

Hey all! I got my scores back today, 3 weeks after the exam and got a 235/99. I was really happy about it and thought it was a great result! Im an IMG and dont know a lot about scores. After reading all of your experiences I feel my score is way below... my happiness dindt last long...!!

I still think it has to be a good score. In the report it says average is arround 224? How can it be all of you guys got >245!! Its like you got all the best results or everybody in america is getting those scores..?

haha its like I dont really know how happy should I feel.. very strange situation!

its OB/GYN very hard for us-IMG with this score?

wow! the average is 224 now. I got my score report on 07/14 and it said that the mean was 221?

 

[badasshairday]

wow! the average is 224 now. I got my score report on 07/14 and it said that the mean was 221?

USMLEWORLD/FA/Goljan have been bringing up the average in recent years.

A 224 average this year sounds pretty reasonable. People are studying longer and more intensely these days.

 

[lietsayri]

Did anyone use the big Robbins book and find it useful? And does RR mean Goljan's rapid review pathology, or this? http://www.amazon.com/Usmle-Step-1-...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280763317&sr=8-2

I didn't do too hot on the MCAT because of poor preparation, and I'm really trying not to repeat that for the Step I. Can anyone give me advice on how one could start prepping simultaneously with classes? Would it be helpful to start reading FA and answering questions from UW in your first year?

Also, dumb question - when people say they annotate (FA or some other book), what exactly do they mean? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[HTxFrog]

I was just looking at the forum for the first time in a while and I remembered I never posted on this thread. I got my scores back a few weeks ago and I ended up getting a 261 so yay all the studying paid off. Basically, I followed the Taus method with only small tweaking. I definitely advise using that plan if you think it sounds like something you could get through. In my opinion Rapid Review Path and Goljan audio were by far the most helpful resources I used. I think they were more important than even first aid although that was my other main resource. The key for me was reading Rapid Review along with my courses throughout the year. Whenever we covered renal in class, I would read the renal section and listen to the audio. I used Rapid Review to study for my class tests too, so by the time it came time to start studying for step, I had already read RR Path multiple times and listened to the audio as well at least a couple times for most sections. I did the same thing with First Aid for pharm and whatever else I could use FA for, so I would memorize the First Aid section whenever we covered those drugs in pharm. That way I would have it pretty well memorized by test time. If you do it that way its way easier b/c you aren't starting fresh when step 1 comes around. That is my main advice, but I guess I'll go through my other resources and tell y'all what I thought of them.

Main resources:
RR Path- best resource overall
Goljan audio- second best
First Aid- best for pharm and stuff that isn't in RR
Kaplan MedEssentials- best for biochem, cell/molec bio; I used medessentials and FA side by side a lot, so I would really use it for the pictures and charts when I thought they were better

Question banks:
USMLEWorld- 67% complete, 80% correct; thought it was the best question bank for most stuff but i learned mostly out of books before I started so I don't think it helped me that much aside from timing and stuff
USMLERx- about 20% complete, 83% correct; I did all the pharm questions and I thought it was awesome for that. I got a 99 on the pharm shelf and didn't run across any pharm I thought was hard on my test
Qbank- don't remember scores, didn't use it much

Other books:
Behavioral Science- High Yield Behavioral- its ok, very short; probably could be ok with just first aid

Biochemistry- 1.Kaplan MedEssentials- thought this was best for biochem. and molecular 2.FA- fine 3.RR Biochem.-it was fine, I read it early on but unless you don't understand biochem its overkill

Molec/Genetics- 1.Medessentials- best 2. FA-fine 3.HY molec/cell bio expensive old edition- not worth buying

Embryology- FA only was perfectly fine

Micro- 1.RR Path gets you most of the micro you need 2.FA-good 3.Micro made ridiculously simple- read this early and gave a good base of knowledge but don't waste time late in the game with it

Pharm- 1.FA- awesome 2.USMLERx- awesome ; don't need anything else
3.Lippincotts- way overkill

Neuro- 1.Medessentials- good for this 2.FA-used FA and Medessentials side by side b/c medessentials has better pictures 3.HY Neuro-ok book but didn't use much

Clinical- Step Up to Medicine- I read most of this for my clinical medicine class but it overlaps with RR Path so I don't think there is much reason to read it although it is a great book if you just want another book

oops I forgot scores on stuff, I don't remember these exactly so:
CBSA in march- two forty something
CBSA in May- 264
UWSA1 june- 257
UWSA2 june- two sixty something
NBME 7- 264
Actual test- 261, so I guess some of them overestimated me but I really could care less about those three points I'm pretty ecstatic. Good luck everyone, hopefully y'all all do awesome! Read lots of RR Path

 

[lateralus]

Hi guys,

just updating my story with my score that I just received this morning. I took the exam July 15.

Practice Exams:

School administered CBSE (Sometime in April) - 245
NBME 4 (Late May) - 247
NBME 6 (Mid June) - 256
USWA 1 (2 weeks out) - 259
NBME 7 (1 week out) - 266

Official Score - 255

I underachieved a little based on my last few practice exams, but I can't complain at all since my initial goal before studying was a 240. My study routine was actually a little unorthodox... I attended the Kaplan 6 week retreat which in hindsight did teach me a great deal even though I did not have many gaps in my knowledge... however, how much of that additional knowledge helped on the actual exam is hard to say... anyways, I'm just glad to be done and have something concrete. I lost count of how many dreams I had that had some reference to a question on the exam that I knew I messed up.

 

[bbydoc]

Hi guys,

just updating my story with my score that I just received this morning. I took the exam July 15.

Practice Exams:

School administered CBSE (Sometime in April) - 245
NBME 4 (Late May) - 247
NBME 6 (Mid June) - 256
USWA 1 (2 weeks out) - 259
NBME 7 (1 week out) - 266

Official Score - 255

I underachieved a little based on my last few practice exams, but I can't complain at all since my initial goal before studying was a 240. My study routine was actually a little unorthodox... I attended the Kaplan 6 week retreat which in hindsight did teach me a great deal even though I did not have many gaps in my knowledge... however, how much of that additional knowledge helped on the actual exam is hard to say... anyways, I'm just glad to be done and have something concrete. I lost count of how many dreams I had that had some reference to a question on the exam that I knew I messed up.

its an amazing score, the 10point drop from your practice score is not that bad. I remeber you mentioning weird immuno questions, that might have been the reason.
anyway, thanks for sharing and good luck for step2!

 

[Howhow16]

Hi guys,

just updating my story with my score that I just received this morning. I took the exam July 15.

Practice Exams:

School administered CBSE (Sometime in April) - 245
NBME 4 (Late May) - 247
NBME 6 (Mid June) - 256
USWA 1 (2 weeks out) - 259
NBME 7 (1 week out) - 266

Official Score - 255

I underachieved a little based on my last few practice exams, but I can't complain at all since my initial goal before studying was a 240. My study routine was actually a little unorthodox... I attended the Kaplan 6 week retreat which in hindsight did teach me a great deal even though I did not have many gaps in my knowledge... however, how much of that additional knowledge helped on the actual exam is hard to say... anyways, I'm just glad to be done and have something concrete. I lost count of how many dreams I had that had some reference to a question on the exam that I knew I messed up.

congrats! what was your study plan after kaplan? do you mind share? =)

 

[lateralus]

its an amazing score, the 10point drop from your practice score is not that bad. I remeber you mentioning weird immuno questions, that might have been the reason.
anyway, thanks for sharing and good luck for step2!

Yeah these practice tests are usually +/- 10 points anyways. I know there were around 5 questions for sure I would've nailed in a practice setting, but the pressure of the real deal and only being on 3 hours of sleep might have hindered my thinking ability a tad.

 

[IHeartNerds]

Did Step1 a while ago (March) but thought I would share since correlating UWorld scores to real scores is always fun.

Six weeks of prep - followed study protocol of my school (FA, significant # of HY / BRS books). We take step1 after the clinical clerkship year, so I felt like I had forgotten most/all of biochem/genetics.

Did all USMLEWorld questions (no self assessments)
"first pass" USMLEWorld: 74% correct
Didn't use any other question banks

Did NMBE #6 after my initial studying but before my comprehensive last week of reviewing, 251

Real deal: 259

 

[turkeyjerky]

Did Step1 a while ago (March) but thought I would share since correlating UWorld scores to real scores is always fun.

Six weeks of prep - followed study protocol of my school (FA, significant # of HY / BRS books). We take step1 after the clinical clerkship year, so I felt like I had forgotten most/all of biochem/genetics.

Did all USMLEWorld questions (no self assessments)
"first pass" USMLEWorld: 74% correct
Didn't use any other question banks

Did NMBE #6 after my initial studying but before my comprehensive last week of reviewing, 251

Real deal: 259

Interesting. Did you feel like taking step1 after 3rd year helped or hurt?

 

[lateralus]

congrats! what was your study plan after kaplan? do you mind share? =)

After Kaplan finished at the end of June, I took exactly 2 weeks to study. In hindsight, I really only needed a week. My initial plan was to do Kaplan books the 1st week and then quickly skim through Goljan RR in the beginning of the last week and then hit FA for the last 3 days. After the 1st week I had gone through all my Kaplan books once. By the time I hit the 2nd week I was so burned out I wasn't even studying for half the day... I just focused on going through First Aid from front to back, but even doing that was difficult. If I could've moved my test date sooner I would've, but the testing center was full.

 

[IHeartNerds]

Interesting. Did you feel like taking step1 after 3rd year helped or hurt?

Helped significantly. There was nothing I had forgotten that I couldn't re-learn through FA / books, and the clinical scenarios so popular on step1 were laughably simple after doing a year of clerkships.

I think this, along with a selection bias of admitting people who are good at standardized testing, is why our school's average step1 is absurdly high.

 

[1nycdoc8]

Did anyone use the big Robbins book and find it useful? And does RR mean Goljan's rapid review pathology, or this? http://www.amazon.com/Usmle-Step-1-...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280763317&sr=8-2

I didn't do too hot on the MCAT because of poor preparation, and I'm really trying not to repeat that for the Step I. Can anyone give me advice on how one could start prepping simultaneously with classes? Would it be helpful to start reading FA and answering questions from UW in your first year?

Also, dumb question - when people say they annotate (FA or some other book), what exactly do they mean? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

annotating = adding your own notes to said book. people usually annotate their notes from UW or even goljan into FA. or from robbins, class notes etc.

 

[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?

.

 

[1nycdoc8]

hahah I like this new screen shot business

 

[SB100]

For you guys who did Taus method or a tweaked version of it, how far out did you begin your studying from the test date?

My test date is likely to be sometime in April. Our lectures end in late March and rotations begin early May, so we have a month to take boards. I thought for now I would use RR Pathology to review systems as I go through the classes this coming semester, then get started hardcore with my first pass in the Taus method in January. Does this sound reasonable?

 

[DysDoc]

Most people are probably done with this but maybe it will help some folks next year.
Had one month to study. Prep was DIT and reading First Aid, Goljan, and BRS. Got through First Aid twice. Also made it through USMLE World.

5/30/2010 USMLE World Practice Test 1-236
5/31/2010 NBME test 1-570
6/7/2010 USMLE World Practice Test 2-247
6/7/2010 NBME test 5-620
6/7/2010 NBME test 6-610
USMLE World overall-72%

6/15/2010 Actual test-248

And if you really want to know MCAT 24.

 

[ChickenTuna]

Hey guys,

I have a question for those who took the test. I took Step 1 on August 8, and I feel absolutely terrible after taking it. I thought my exam was MUCH more difficult than anything I've ever seen on UWorld or the NBME. My general thoughts after the exam was that it was almost impossible to prepare for. I've finished UWorld with a 75% average and got a 251 on NBME 7. But I felt like I performed WAYYY below my average on the real thing, just because it was much more difficult than I possibly imagined. Imagine the most difficult UWorld question set you've ever seen. ALL of my sections were like that! I must have made educated guesses on at least 1/3 to 1/2 of all questions.

Did anyone else experience anything similar? Did any of you have an impossibly difficult test that you thought was much harder than anything you were prepared for? And how did it turn out?

Any feedback is really helpful. I am feeling pretty right now, and feel like I got an unlucky test. Let me know what you guys think!

 

[knuckles]

Hey guys,

I have a question for those who took the test. I took Step 1 on August 8, and I feel absolutely terrible after taking it. I thought my exam was MUCH more difficult than anything I've ever seen on UWorld or the NBME. My general thoughts after the exam was that it was almost impossible to prepare for. I've finished UWorld with a 75% average and got a 251 on NBME 7. But I felt like I performed WAYYY below my average on the real thing, just because it was much more difficult than I possibly imagined. Imagine the most difficult UWorld question set you've ever seen. ALL of my sections were like that! I must have made educated guesses on at least 1/3 to 1/2 of all questions.

Did anyone else experience anything similar? Did any of you have an impossibly difficult test that you thought was much harder than anything you were prepared for? And how did it turn out?

Any feedback is really helpful. I am feeling pretty right now, and feel like I got an unlucky test. Let me know what you guys think!

I thought maybe 10% of my test was as hard as UWorld, 50% about the same as the NBMEs, and the rest was easier. Are you sure you're just not selectively remembering all the really hard ones? You couldn't have had an entire test full of UWorld questions, that you found impossible, given your NBME prediction and UWorld average. Most people on here who feel like you did, wind up doing very well, so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[turkeyjerky]

Hey guys,

I have a question for those who took the test. I took Step 1 on August 8, and I feel absolutely terrible after taking it. I thought my exam was MUCH more difficult than anything I've ever seen on UWorld or the NBME. My general thoughts after the exam was that it was almost impossible to prepare for. I've finished UWorld with a 75% average and got a 251 on NBME 7. But I felt like I performed WAYYY below my average on the real thing, just because it was much more difficult than I possibly imagined. Imagine the most difficult UWorld question set you've ever seen. ALL of my sections were like that! I must have made educated guesses on at least 1/3 to 1/2 of all questions.

Did anyone else experience anything similar? Did any of you have an impossibly difficult test that you thought was much harder than anything you were prepared for? And how did it turn out?

Any feedback is really helpful. I am feeling pretty right now, and feel like I got an unlucky test. Let me know what you guys think!

felt the same way after my exam. Got my score back and it was right in line w/ my self-assessments. You'll be fine.

 

[DysDoc]

Thought the real thing was more like USMLE World, not the NBME questions. Was worried during the test but it turned out fine.

 

[abby17]

hey 1st of Amazing forum. It has helped me realise breaking 99 barrier IS possible. kEPP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS!!!!
i got a pretty dumb question but its haunting me with my studies . well i am looking forward for step 1 down 8 months and i really want to score 250+ and i m ready to endure whatever it takes to get there. i m beforehand collecting material for it. so i happened to come across de TAUS METHOD,regarding which my question was -
1. what kind of annotations should i make . i mean like stuff dat is lacking in FA or explanatory stuff for de particular topic covered in FA.
also here are my resources which i am gonna dig -
>> RR Path AND audio lectures
>> FA
>>RR Biochem and Kaplan Biochem. pls. help me which one to go for?
>> CMMRS
>> BRS Physio
>>FA for Pharma. anything else better ??
>>HY Cell Bio and Molecular Genetics
>>HY Behavioral Science .
>>HY Neuro
>>UWorld
Is this worthy enuf to slay the beast .... Any help will be appreciated.

 

[C5toC9]

6/15/2010 Actual test-248

And if you really want to know MCAT 24.

24 MCAT to 248 Step I

this is so awesome

 

[overthinker2]

sorry this is so late...I got my score on July 14...I can't remember what exact day I took my test (I think Monday, June 14) Isn't it funny how quickly we can block not-so-pleasant things from our memory?

I didn't do anything during the school year besides studying for my courses. I began hardcore studying 5 weeks before my scheduled test date. Sources included: UWorld questions, First Aid, BRS phys, Goljan audio, Goljan transcripts, rapid review/brs path, high yield neuro. 100 random, timed questions in the morning. Review questions for 4 hours. Then, subject studying in the afternoon/evening.

UWorld final percentage (always random, timed; last 10 blocks were 70-80%) = 66%
NBME Form 3 (2 weeks before test) = 550/234
NBME Form 6 (6 days before) = 600/244
Free 150 (6 days before) = 90%/predicted 249
UWorld #1 (5 days before) = 620/244

Real deal = 249/99

I thought I failed it. I know everyone says that, but I really thought I did. My satisfied goal was >230. My excited goal was >240. My holy!-I-can-now-take-it-easy goal was >250. As you can see, I missed that mark by 1 point, but what's 1 point anyway when I scored higher than any of my NBMEs? I'm so glad it's over, and now I can move on with my life. Pretty anticlimactic though. =)

 

[TexasTriathlete]

sorry this is so late...I got my score on July 14...I can't remember what exact day I took my test (I think Monday, June 14) Isn't it funny how quickly we can block not-so-pleasant things from our memory?

I didn't do anything during the school year besides studying for my courses. I began hardcore studying 5 weeks before my scheduled test date. Sources included: UWorld questions, First Aid, BRS phys, Goljan audio, Goljan transcripts, rapid review/brs path, high yield neuro. 100 random, timed questions in the morning. Review questions for 4 hours. Then, subject studying in the afternoon/evening.

UWorld final percentage (always random, timed; last 10 blocks were 70-80%) = 66%
NBME Form 3 (2 weeks before test) = 550/234
NBME Form 6 (6 days before) = 600/244
Free 150 (6 days before) = 90%/predicted 249
UWorld #1 (5 days before) = 620/244

Real deal = 249/99

I thought I failed it. I know everyone says that, but I really thought I did. My satisfied goal was >230. My excited goal was >240. My holy!-I-can-now-take-it-easy goal was >250. As you can see, I missed that mark by 1 point, but what's 1 point anyway when I scored higher than any of my NBMEs? I'm so glad it's over, and now I can move on with my life. Pretty anticlimactic though. =)

Just out of curiosity, what was your strategy in the last two weeks?

I took a practice test recently and got about what you got 2 weeks out. I'd like to tack 10-15 points onto that for my real deal.

 

[needinghope]

Scores are in!!!

258/99!!!!!!!

I have a few questions in terms of study material. Do you think Kaplan is enough for micro instead of CMMRS? Also what did you study for behaivoral?

 

[NRAI2001]

I ve been meaning to post my experience for a while now. Took my test July 31st and you have no idea until your done with the exam how great it feels to walk out of the test center knowing your finally done seriously its an amazing feeling

Nothing really went to plan during my study period... had to postpone the exam once because of 2 family emergencies, factoring for that I had about 6 to 7ish weeks to study. Took many random days off during this time and really didn't start to study hard till 3 weeks out and really panicked 2 weeks out (put in 12ish hrs a day 2 weeks out; still had random unproductive days here and there).

Before starting my studying I took an NBME through our school (dont know which number they never told us) and scored a 200.

I planned to finish UWorld but only got through about 25% of it (scoring in the upper 60%s)...realized that it was taking me took long and my test date was coming up soon.

Read:
Goljan RR path
BRS path
Lippincotts for pharm
BRS physio
BRS biochem
HY neuro
RR micro
Path notes from our school
FA 2009

Took an NBME 2 weeks from my exam and scored a 215 (NBME 6); freaked out a bit and totally changed my study plan which basically lead me to focus much more on FA (which upto that time I never read (except for the micro and behavioral sections), in hindsight a big big mistake), my own pharm tables and charts I made, Goljan, HY neuro, and BRS physio. I feel like changing my plans to focus more on these was huge The last 2 days I was able to get a full run through on FA which was also IMO huge.

Told myself I would call it quits early the day before the exam... but I studied up to 1am that night (couldn't help myself just felt like there were a few things I just needed to see once more) woke up at 7am and took the exam at 8:30am. Had no real trouble staying awake on test day, the adrenaline and red bulls will definitely wake you up.

Overall I was really really stressed out and was having little panic attacks the week before the exam and the night before I even contemplated pushing my test back. Walking out of the exam I felt like I did better than I did on my last NBME (score 215 which was 2 weeks out).. if I happen to get a good score when they come out in a few days I will have to credit going through FA 2 to 3ish times in those last 2 weeks.

Overall I m just grateful that test day wasn't a total disaster (hopefully not) and I feel like I did better than I did on my last nbme... we ll find out how I did in 2 days.

 

[lalakers]

Good Luck NRAI2001 and everyone else.

Waiting for detail experience from knuckles and IMGUSMLEStep1

 

[angleoflouise]

My stats in chronological order:

NBME 1: 207 (before school exam which was also 207) Dec 2009
NBME 2:214 April 15
NBME 5:225 May 15
NBME 6: 236 June 20
NBME7:234 Yesterday. (This has gotten me really upset, as I have the test tomorrow. I was really hoping I would at least break a 240.)

My Question: I still haven't done NBME 4 and I wonder if I should do it? What do you guys think? My test is tomorrow moring. I was hoping that maybe it will calm my nerves if I get a better than a 234.​

My other stats:
USRX: 75% all completed. (248 predicted)
Kaplan Qbank: 71% (243 predicted) Just recently finished.
Blackwell: 78%
Free 150: 87%
Did wiki test prep sometime in February and it predicted me at 229.

As always, any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

Got the result today: 235/99. It seems like NBME 7 is right on the money!

What can I say, really happy with my score. Onto Step 2! Yay!!!

 

[sswang00]

Scores
UWSA1- 234 - 3 weeks before test
UWSA2- 240 - 2 weeks before test
NBME7 - 251 - 1 week before test

Real Deal - 242/99
My original goal was getting a 2 digit score of 99, but I secretly wanted over a 240. I'm definitely satisfied

Study Method:
-First Aid is KEY. I used the 2009 edition throughout MS2 and annotated it. I was extremely familiar with where everything was in the book and used that to my advantage during my study period.
-Tried reading RR but it was a bit too much for me. Listened to Goljan lectures while I was in the car or walking to the library. Flipped through RR Margin notes for a few chapters.
-Did UWORLD once slowly (took 2 months) doing 1 or 2 blocks a day. Annotated info into FA and made a separate notebook. Finished with a 65% average.
-With 2 weeks left, I bought another subscription to UWORLD and finished 60% of the bank in a few days with a 90% average.

Basically FA + UWORLD + Goljan Audio is key
Rapid Review is good stuff but I honestly think its too much. I couldn't handle reading through it for Step 1. Too long/detailed for me to get through in the timeframe I had.

The test: half of it was easier than UWORLD. Then there were some random Anatomy questions and some crazy hypothetical questions with transgenic mice and whatnot. But overall, it wasn't too bad. (Im just saying that now..right after the test I thought I failed it)

 

[uva1010]

Bump

 

[Fromss]

Scores
UWSA1- 234 - 3 weeks before test
UWSA2- 240 - 2 weeks before test
NBME7 - 251 - 1 week before test

Real Deal - 242/99
My original goal was getting a 2 digit score of 99, but I secretly wanted over a 240. I'm definitely satisfied

Study Method:
-First Aid is KEY. I used the 2009 edition throughout MS2 and annotated it. I was extremely familiar with where everything was in the book and used that to my advantage during my study period.
-Tried reading RR but it was a bit too much for me. Listened to Goljan lectures while I was in the car or walking to the library. Flipped through RR Margin notes for a few chapters.
-Did UWORLD once slowly (took 2 months) doing 1 or 2 blocks a day. Annotated info into FA and made a separate notebook. Finished with a 65% average.
-With 2 weeks left, I bought another subscription to UWORLD and finished 60% of the bank in a few days with a 90% average.

Basically FA + UWORLD + Goljan Audio is key
Rapid Review is good stuff but I honestly think its too much. I couldn't handle reading through it for Step 1. Too long/detailed for me to get through in the timeframe I had.

The test: half of it was easier than UWORLD. Then there were some random Anatomy questions and some crazy hypothetical questions with transgenic mice and whatnot. But overall, it wasn't too bad. (Im just saying that now..right after the test I thought I failed it)

Great score. I like your approach, very practical and doable. thanks a lot for sharing.

 

[2012mdc]

Scores
UWSA1- 234 - 3 weeks before test
UWSA2- 240 - 2 weeks before test
NBME7 - 251 - 1 week before test

Real Deal - 242/99
My original goal was getting a 2 digit score of 99, but I secretly wanted over a 240. I'm definitely satisfied

Study Method:
-First Aid is KEY. I used the 2009 edition throughout MS2 and annotated it. I was extremely familiar with where everything was in the book and used that to my advantage during my study period.
-Tried reading RR but it was a bit too much for me. Listened to Goljan lectures while I was in the car or walking to the library. Flipped through RR Margin notes for a few chapters.
-Did UWORLD once slowly (took 2 months) doing 1 or 2 blocks a day. Annotated info into FA and made a separate notebook. Finished with a 65% average.
-With 2 weeks left, I bought another subscription to UWORLD and finished 60% of the bank in a few days with a 90% average.

Basically FA + UWORLD + Goljan Audio is key
Rapid Review is good stuff but I honestly think its too much. I couldn't handle reading through it for Step 1. Too long/detailed for me to get through in the timeframe I had.

The test: half of it was easier than UWORLD. Then there were some random Anatomy questions and some crazy hypothetical questions with transgenic mice and whatnot. But overall, it wasn't too bad. (Im just saying that now..right after the test I thought I failed it)

On my test probably 75-80% of the questions were easier than UW. Probably 10% were equal and 10% harder (crazy anatomy and weird questions I couldn't understand)

I do want to say that the efficiency of Goljan RR is very user dependent. Some people do better with the audio while others do better with the book. Don't write off either method too soon. I believe that since I had read most of it and listened to most of the audio beforehand I was able to read it relatively quickly. The key thing for me was focusing on the stuff that wasn't in FA and the good charts/tables that sum stuff up well. I believe knowing some of the random stuff in RR helped me crack 260.

I've seen people on SDN say FA + UW = 230+ and I believe FA + UW + RR = 250+

 

[hsyn]

I agree with you,2012 mdc.
I think UW + FA was good enough. ( BTW I did not get my score yet, I am expecting it this Wednesday)
I would say %10 of the Qs were weird. I got trouble to understand some q's. I had assumed that it just because I am an IMG. Nice to hear the same comments from others too.
And also I counted my mistakes ( as much as I can remember), it was about 40 ( it is included the funny q's which I even could not fine their answers online).
Do you think I still have a chance to get 99?
Thank you guys.

 

[fd212]

First time poster but this forum has been a help to me so I thought I'd share my experience with Step 1.

I took it on the 12th of August (not sure when my results will come out).

Let me first say that I'm a lazy guy when it comes to studying. I don't like writing notes or using too many sources that cover the same topics. I had around 3 months to study for the step but in the first 2 and a half months I just mostly did review questions (too lazy lol).

I picked it up the last 3 weeks, doing around 8 hours a day. My sources were mainly First Aid and UWorld. I'd review a system in FA (eg. Cardio), then do all the questions related to that system in UWorld. I'd read all the response options to see where and why I answered wrong (understanding the underlying concept is key). Basically I covered one system per day. I left Biochemistry and Embryology (my 2 most hated) for the last 3 days before the exam.

I completed around 70% of the UWorld questions, finishing with an 75% average.

Honestly, I found UWorld questions to be overall harder than the actual exam. The only stuff that gave me trouble in the exam were these stupid questions with genes, resistance and mice. I made a few mistakes here and there but I came out feeling like I passed (don't know if that's a good feeling or not lol). About 50-60% of my exam was Path, 10-20% Physio, 10-20% Pharm (most questions were straight forward, asking for mode of action, side effects with a big focus on Anti-Inflammatory and anti-Microbials). There were maybe around 20 Biochem questions and a couple of Micro. I can only remember one embryo and a couple of Anatomy questions (mostly X-ray, MRI/CT Scan).

I did not do any NBME practice exams (money was an issue) but I had done ok (above 80s in the NBME shelf and comp exams) during school.


I hope for a 220 or above.

Like others have said FA, UWorld, Goljan are key. Using any more resources may just confuse you especially if hey overlap in concepts covered.

 

[coxsackie]

Hey thanks so much for your update. I really appreciated it. I feel you and I are in the same boat. I've got about 2 weeks-ish for my test..and i'm just about tired of studying!! Do post your score when you get it!! Good luck to all of you!!

 

[coxsackie]

How accurate is the free 150 questions at predicting your score? I've heard a lot of people say that it's a waste of time?

 

[turkeyjerky]

How accurate is the free 150 questions at predicting your score? I've heard a lot of people say that it's a waste of time?

I thought the free 150 q's were the most similar to the real thing is terms of length and style. They were easier, in general, then the real thing, though. Mine over-predicted my real score by 3, so pretty accurate.

 

[coxsackie]

Thank you so much for replying! I'll def give them try, no harm in doing them.

 

[elelith]

First time poster but this forum has been a help to me so I thought I'd share my experience with Step 1.

I took it on the 12th of August (not sure when my results will come out).

Let me first say that I'm a lazy guy when it comes to studying. I don't like writing notes or using too many sources that cover the same topics. I had around 3 months to study for the step but in the first 2 and a half months I just mostly did review questions (too lazy lol).

I picked it up the last 3 weeks, doing around 8 hours a day. My sources were mainly First Aid and UWorld. I'd review a system in FA (eg. Cardio), then do all the questions related to that system in UWorld. I'd read all the response options to see where and why I answered wrong (understanding the underlying concept is key). Basically I covered one system per day. I left Biochemistry and Embryology (my 2 most hated) for the last 3 days before the exam.

I completed around 70% of the UWorld questions, finishing with an 75% average.

Honestly, I found UWorld questions to be overall harder than the actual exam. The only stuff that gave me trouble in the exam were these stupid questions with genes, resistance and mice. I made a few mistakes here and there but I came out feeling like I passed (don't know if that's a good feeling or not lol). About 50-60% of my exam was Path, 10-20% Physio, 10-20% Pharm (most questions were straight forward, asking for mode of action, side effects with a big focus on Anti-Inflammatory and anti-Microbials). There were maybe around 20 Biochem questions and a couple of Micro. I can only remember one embryo and a couple of Anatomy questions (mostly X-ray, MRI/CT Scan).

I did not do any NBME practice exams (money was an issue) but I had done ok (above 80s in the NBME shelf and comp exams) during school.


I hope for a 220 or above.

Like others have said FA, UWorld, Goljan are key. Using any more resources may just confuse you especially if hey overlap in concepts covered.

fd212: you are too humble. With 75% average on UW, 80s in NBME, you are safe in the 240+ zone. My guess is that you will score above 250.

 

[2012mdc]

How accurate is the free 150 questions at predicting your score? I've heard a lot of people say that it's a waste of time?

I think it over-predicted my score by 5 or 6 pts. While easier than the real thing it was still helpful. The difficulty of the questions compare to the easy and medium ones on the real thing and are very similar in format/style except with shorter stems.

Nobody gets 100% so even if it's easy you're still bound to miss some. Can't hurt to learn 8-10 new facts in about 2 hrs

 

[needinghope]

Hey guys,
Just wondering, is anyone available for one-on-one step 1 tutoring in NYC for maybe a month (give or take a few weeks) ? PM w/board score, fee, method/plan for tutoring, etc.
Thanks a bunch!

 

[DrTomorrow]

I know everyone lives by the FA + UW + RR combo (and does fairly well from what I've seen posted). But I will say that if you don't have the time or patience to read through 600 pages of Rapid Review, the FA + UW + Goljan audio combo is sufficient. I memorized the living crap out of FA and finished with a 249. (I'll give 10 and 20% of the credit to Goljan Audio and UW, respectively).

FA is KING...buy the most up-to-date version. There's a reason they add stuff in the margins.

 

[coxsackie]

I think it over-predicted my score by 5 or 6 pts. While easier than the real thing it was still helpful. The difficulty of the questions compare to the easy and medium ones on the real thing and are very similar in format/style except with shorter stems.

Nobody gets 100% so even if it's easy you're still bound to miss some. Can't hurt to learn 8-10 new facts in about 2 hrs

Couldn't have said it better! Thanks. Was gonna do them after another complete review of first aid. I've already reviewed it about 4 times!!!

 

[coxsackie]

So...I have issues with immuno and molecular biochem. I just abhor them..for some reason...sooo annoying!! lol Anyways, how much of these topics should i be looking forward to on the step 1??