- Joined
- Sep 21, 2010
- Messages
- 243
- Reaction score
- 0
Hello everyone. I am a second year who will write the exam in June 2011. Meanwhile let this be a good thread where everyone share their study progress and recent trend of the exam.
Official 2011 USMLE Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread
- Thread starter ProtossCarrier
- Start date
If you believe you are an average student with decent grades during the first two years, my plan should suit you!
Started studying in January and finished one slow pass through FA, Goljan Audio while reading the book by its side, UWorld (subject specific on tutor mode mainly), and bought several High Yield books but ended up using none of them. You simply do not need a book for every subject. I will repeat the true formula for success for the millionth time:
FIRST AID + UWORLD is ALL YOU NEED!
Dedicated Study Period (6 weeks):
Took the DIT course and split the 45 lectures up over one month even though it is intended to be a 15 day course. The course is draining and IMO doing two lectures per day is MORE than enough. I spent the rest of the day reviewing the DIT information and doing one timed, random block of 46Qs. DIT is NOT needed for a great score but if you need structure, are having a tough time getting through First Aid, or are an auditory learner in general, the course has the potential to help you tremendously. Here are my thoughts on the 2011 course for anyone thinking about it:
The 2011 version is great; a lot of variety and they explain things in a way that just works well for recall.
One thing that Dr. Jenkins has over everyone is his ability to organize material. The course flows in such a great way and he ties material in from different topics, for example covering all of the congenital heart diseases when we were being lectured on heart embryology. The way he makes these things happen just sticks, period.
The book is great too but you have to be the type of person who will sit and think out an answer rather than look it up if you don't know it or skip it all together. What makes a question memorable is the struggle & mental thought process you go through in order to reach the answer. If you just look it up without thinking, you are not getting the most you can out of the course workbook.
Overall, I love DIT. I feel as though it has made my studying a lot more efficient and I nail down subjects I would have otherwise ignored completely.
With that said, I think DIT works for students who believe in the program, who need TONS of repetition, and who were not necessarily in the top 10% of their medical school class. Dr. Jenkins doesn't make crazy connections the way Dr. Goljan does, but for me personally DIT seems to stay with me a lot longer than Goljan audio. I recommend the course and have to say I am very impressed with the product that Dr. Jenkins has brought to the test prep market. I see a lot of potential for this course to grow in the future.
As far as Goljan is concerned, I would do the audio prior to the dedicated study time but I honestly think the book has too much information to absorb. I have heard AMAZING things about Pathoma so maybe that will take off in the next year or so for the new generation of step 1 test takers.
During the six weeks I swear all you need is FA + World on repeat. Anything else is unnecessary with the exception of DIT as the goal of that program is to get you through FA. If you need a lot of practice, buy a 6 month subscription to UWorld and start doing Qs throughout MS2. UWorld is the single best resource on the step 1 market hands down.
Good luck to everyone. If I can get a decent score, any medical student should be able to since I consider myself to be very average. Good luck to everyone out there still studying 🙂
My score: 230/99
Started studying in January and finished one slow pass through FA, Goljan Audio while reading the book by its side, UWorld (subject specific on tutor mode mainly), and bought several High Yield books but ended up using none of them. You simply do not need a book for every subject. I will repeat the true formula for success for the millionth time:
FIRST AID + UWORLD is ALL YOU NEED!
Dedicated Study Period (6 weeks):
Took the DIT course and split the 45 lectures up over one month even though it is intended to be a 15 day course. The course is draining and IMO doing two lectures per day is MORE than enough. I spent the rest of the day reviewing the DIT information and doing one timed, random block of 46Qs. DIT is NOT needed for a great score but if you need structure, are having a tough time getting through First Aid, or are an auditory learner in general, the course has the potential to help you tremendously. Here are my thoughts on the 2011 course for anyone thinking about it:
The 2011 version is great; a lot of variety and they explain things in a way that just works well for recall.
One thing that Dr. Jenkins has over everyone is his ability to organize material. The course flows in such a great way and he ties material in from different topics, for example covering all of the congenital heart diseases when we were being lectured on heart embryology. The way he makes these things happen just sticks, period.
The book is great too but you have to be the type of person who will sit and think out an answer rather than look it up if you don't know it or skip it all together. What makes a question memorable is the struggle & mental thought process you go through in order to reach the answer. If you just look it up without thinking, you are not getting the most you can out of the course workbook.
Overall, I love DIT. I feel as though it has made my studying a lot more efficient and I nail down subjects I would have otherwise ignored completely.
With that said, I think DIT works for students who believe in the program, who need TONS of repetition, and who were not necessarily in the top 10% of their medical school class. Dr. Jenkins doesn't make crazy connections the way Dr. Goljan does, but for me personally DIT seems to stay with me a lot longer than Goljan audio. I recommend the course and have to say I am very impressed with the product that Dr. Jenkins has brought to the test prep market. I see a lot of potential for this course to grow in the future.
As far as Goljan is concerned, I would do the audio prior to the dedicated study time but I honestly think the book has too much information to absorb. I have heard AMAZING things about Pathoma so maybe that will take off in the next year or so for the new generation of step 1 test takers.
During the six weeks I swear all you need is FA + World on repeat. Anything else is unnecessary with the exception of DIT as the goal of that program is to get you through FA. If you need a lot of practice, buy a 6 month subscription to UWorld and start doing Qs throughout MS2. UWorld is the single best resource on the step 1 market hands down.
Good luck to everyone. If I can get a decent score, any medical student should be able to since I consider myself to be very average. Good luck to everyone out there still studying 🙂
My score: 230/99
I haven't really posted here that much but have been getting advise from so many others. I thought it would be good to provide whatever little insight I have to future test takers.
(1) Step 1 is truly a "thinking" test. Reading first aid and usmle world will obviously get you somewhere, but if you are not built to think and/or if you don't get a good night sleep prior to the test... you're probably going to miss a good chunk of questions.
(2) There were a lot of weird questions on my test, microbes I never saw before, drugs I never saw before, muscle attachments I haven't seen since anatomy days. But still, because the exam provides you with all possible choices, it's still possible to make a really good educated guess. This is where the thinking comes in.
(3) Yes I went through FA and USMLE world, and yes I did see some world questions on my test (from the qbank). Truth is, reading FA does help you remember essential facts, and world does fill in the blanks, but for someone looking to get in the 240-260 range you need more than that to answer the questions.. almost like a zen state. I was lucky with having a strong science background from undergrad. Otherwise, I don't think I could have had the ability to do well (actually, 2 questions came straight from stuff I remembered from way back when!). Yes, if I had read lippincott pharmacology thoroughly I would have gotten that information, but hey I know only a few people who have the stamina to review with that book (and those people probably got 260+).
(4) Other study materials, I did a little bit of a lot of things. I did some of kaplan (probably 2/3 of the videos, 25% of the notes), some of DIT (probably 50%, useful to go through FA if you're a slow reader or just get bored of FA). I had a lot of other books that I tried to complete but never really finished (underground clinical vignettes, probably 50% completed), robbins flash cards (lol, probably half completed), robbins review questions (10% completed), pocket robbins (50% completed; awesome book don't ever read the real robbins, 8th edition is out), lange question book from 2008 probably 1/3 of those questions, kaplan question book (300/800 questions completed), board simulator series (probably 25% of those questions). I basically got tired of doing the same thing for a prolonged period of time, so I kept on switching study sources to keep life interesting.
(5) My scores
UW qbank score 78%, untimed and tutor mode, all completed
Kaplan qbank score 73%, only 30-40% completed
NBME 6, 233 (6 weeks prior)
NBME 11, 231 (5 weeks prior)
NBME 7, 257 (3 weeks prior)
NBME 12, 247 (1 week prior)
Actual score 246/99 (late June 2011)
I actually saw one NBME question on my test.
(6) Good luck to everyone. Thank you for all the advice; onto the step 2ck forum!
(1) Step 1 is truly a "thinking" test. Reading first aid and usmle world will obviously get you somewhere, but if you are not built to think and/or if you don't get a good night sleep prior to the test... you're probably going to miss a good chunk of questions.
(2) There were a lot of weird questions on my test, microbes I never saw before, drugs I never saw before, muscle attachments I haven't seen since anatomy days. But still, because the exam provides you with all possible choices, it's still possible to make a really good educated guess. This is where the thinking comes in.
(3) Yes I went through FA and USMLE world, and yes I did see some world questions on my test (from the qbank). Truth is, reading FA does help you remember essential facts, and world does fill in the blanks, but for someone looking to get in the 240-260 range you need more than that to answer the questions.. almost like a zen state. I was lucky with having a strong science background from undergrad. Otherwise, I don't think I could have had the ability to do well (actually, 2 questions came straight from stuff I remembered from way back when!). Yes, if I had read lippincott pharmacology thoroughly I would have gotten that information, but hey I know only a few people who have the stamina to review with that book (and those people probably got 260+).
(4) Other study materials, I did a little bit of a lot of things. I did some of kaplan (probably 2/3 of the videos, 25% of the notes), some of DIT (probably 50%, useful to go through FA if you're a slow reader or just get bored of FA). I had a lot of other books that I tried to complete but never really finished (underground clinical vignettes, probably 50% completed), robbins flash cards (lol, probably half completed), robbins review questions (10% completed), pocket robbins (50% completed; awesome book don't ever read the real robbins, 8th edition is out), lange question book from 2008 probably 1/3 of those questions, kaplan question book (300/800 questions completed), board simulator series (probably 25% of those questions). I basically got tired of doing the same thing for a prolonged period of time, so I kept on switching study sources to keep life interesting.
(5) My scores
UW qbank score 78%, untimed and tutor mode, all completed
Kaplan qbank score 73%, only 30-40% completed
NBME 6, 233 (6 weeks prior)
NBME 11, 231 (5 weeks prior)
NBME 7, 257 (3 weeks prior)
NBME 12, 247 (1 week prior)
Actual score 246/99 (late June 2011)
I actually saw one NBME question on my test.
(6) Good luck to everyone. Thank you for all the advice; onto the step 2ck forum!
Score Report for completeness: http://i.imgur.com/WLZl9.jpg
I guess I need to brush up on nutrition...l 😛
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2010
- Messages
- 253
- Reaction score
- 1
thanks for making the rest of us jealous! before, I could at least say to myself "he is just making that up!"
joke aside, thats a fantastic score and I'm sure well deserved! 👍
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
- Messages
- 87
- Reaction score
- 0
Man, that looks pretty!
Ok, now that the dust from celebrating has finally setteled, I think I should pay it forward. Here's my strategy for Step1:
1) worked my ass off from day one of med school. Kept up with the material from all classes (including the boring ones) and did well throughout the 1st two years.
2) 2nd year started reviewing for the beast in January. Every day, I dedicated two hours to read 10 pages of 1st Aid and did the 15 DIT questions.
3) Used Uworld Qbank as a study tool for Path, Micro and Pharm. I would do the questions related to each system after I finished learning about them. By the time I was ready for dedicated Step 1 study, I had gone through UWorld once.
4) I took 4 weeks to study for Step 1. Used the following: DIT prep course, 1st Aid (read it again after DIT was finished in 1st 15 days) and UWorld Qbank (2nd pass). I did review anatomy and embryo (High Yield) and neuro (High Yield) which proved helpful especially for anatomy and embryo. My progression for self evaluation is below:
Uworld Qbank complete/71%
NBME 11 (4.5 weeks out) 233
NBME 6 (3.5 weeks out) 235
NBME 7 (2.5 weeks out) 252
UW1 (2 weeks out) 261
UW2 (1 week out) 264
Free 150 (3 days out) 89%/257
I had NBME 12, but decided not to take it after hearing horror stories on SDN and from classmates. I figured going into the test with confidence was key and it proved to be a great decision because the real deal was 259/99! I couldn't be happier (except maybe with a 260
)
Thanks SDN for helping me through the insanity that's Step 1 studying.
NOW I'm hugely undecided (after thinking I want ortho). I'm now considering other choices with a more family-friendly life style (derm? rads?)....who knows....
1) worked my ass off from day one of med school. Kept up with the material from all classes (including the boring ones) and did well throughout the 1st two years.
2) 2nd year started reviewing for the beast in January. Every day, I dedicated two hours to read 10 pages of 1st Aid and did the 15 DIT questions.
3) Used Uworld Qbank as a study tool for Path, Micro and Pharm. I would do the questions related to each system after I finished learning about them. By the time I was ready for dedicated Step 1 study, I had gone through UWorld once.
4) I took 4 weeks to study for Step 1. Used the following: DIT prep course, 1st Aid (read it again after DIT was finished in 1st 15 days) and UWorld Qbank (2nd pass). I did review anatomy and embryo (High Yield) and neuro (High Yield) which proved helpful especially for anatomy and embryo. My progression for self evaluation is below:
Uworld Qbank complete/71%
NBME 11 (4.5 weeks out) 233
NBME 6 (3.5 weeks out) 235
NBME 7 (2.5 weeks out) 252
UW1 (2 weeks out) 261
UW2 (1 week out) 264
Free 150 (3 days out) 89%/257
I had NBME 12, but decided not to take it after hearing horror stories on SDN and from classmates. I figured going into the test with confidence was key and it proved to be a great decision because the real deal was 259/99! I couldn't be happier (except maybe with a 260
) Thanks SDN for helping me through the insanity that's Step 1 studying.
NOW I'm hugely undecided (after thinking I want ortho). I'm now considering other choices with a more family-friendly life style (derm? rads?)....who knows....
I dont know what to do but im quite devastated. I got pulled from my rotation too. I plan to retake in october. I was not far from the cutoff for passing. Any suggestions on how to restudy for this thing? I was thinking about trying the DIT program and Kaplan Qbank since previously I only did UWorld and First Aid and some Kaplan videos. I'm kinda feeling depressed and hopeless since I studied really hard before for 3-4 weeks straight after M2 finals and this throws off my whole medschool schedule. I feel like I have some brain defect or learning disability. Anyways, I would really welcome any advice. I have 3 months to study.
Keep your head up! Get right back to the working ethic and you'll be fine. I think DIT is very helpful b/c 1) gives you a schedule 2)highlights what you need to know 3) reinforces 1st aid. Make sure you do UWorld again and read through the entire explanations (on test day, so many questions read like they were taken right out of UWorld).
Best of luck!!
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2011
- Messages
- 36
- Reaction score
- 2
took the exam today. I wish we got our scores as soon as we are finished like when we take the nbme practice exams. I am just glad its over....well not totally over. I still have to take the comlex...bummer.
Hey, long time lurker off and on, thought I would post.
Prep:
During class: I read everything we were given/assigned, with the exception of one chapter of Robbins. Our class exams were harder than the step when you consider question for question, so I think doing well in class is over-studying for step.
What I would do differently if I had to do it again during the first two years:
Read first aid after every lecture over whatever we just covered. Read RRPath after every path lecture. Read BRS Phys after every phys lecture. Begin Gunner Training once we got to our blocks.
Last month-ish of classes: My priorities were 1) class 2) focused review. I read a chapter of RRP and a chapter of BRS Phys every day. Took a practice exam, scored 228. Reviewed Neuro, Pharm, and Micro at my leisure because they were taught a long time ago or taught poorly (Micro, which I had also never had before). GT is excellent for fact based learning, which is why I used it mainly for Embryology and Micro.
Month of intensive study: I was going to make a schedule, but I get extremely bored of the daily grind and knowing exactly what I'm going to do every day makes me want to shoot myself, hence I had only a general idea. My informal plan was to go through First Aid a few more times (I had done one pass during the second year). I would spend the morning reviewing a systems chapter + a basic knowledge chapter. After review, I would do half of the questions in UWorld (timed) over that subject. I would then spend 2x the time it took to answer the questions going through All of them. I would write down the topics I got wrong in a notebook and review them from whatever resource I wanted to(I also reviewed this notebook the day before the exam). If I drew a blank I went back to class notes, a clumsy mistake I just went to FA. I rotated through all the subjects, then went through them again doing the remainder of the questions, leaving 200-400 unused so I could take them timed, random. The last week I was going crazy, so I would do 1-2 blocks of random, timed, incorrect questions and then just walk around my neighborhood listening to Goljian (first time). That's Big time, BIG time, guys. I took NBME 11 (difficult), and 7 (alright) 2 and 1 weeks out respectively.
The test: I felt like it was pretty reasonable. I marked 2-6 q's per block. Took breaks after 2/4/5/6. In my opinion, the best attitude to have on questions you feel like you might get wrong: they ARE experimental questions. It can be a lie, but you never know and beating yourself up on ones you don't know doesn't help.
Score: 262
Some thoughts: I think it's fascinating that there is a general consensus about what you need to do to succeed whenever we really have no good data supporting a lot of what we say. We are taught evidence based medicine in classes, then we do the equivalent for studying for step of prescribing antibiotics for every erethematous throat we see. Not saying anyone's wrong, just think SDN is interesting.
I am sorely disappointed by how much of the step is memorization and careful reading. We can disagree here, but I felt like the amount of information you would get right if you had FA memorized word for word is just crazy. I should have expected this, though.
Someone told me that FA is assembled by students sending in what was on their exam. We are told not to share test information with people. Therefore reading FA is cheating (SDN blows up).
I believe in quality study over quantity. I studied 6 good, uninterrupted hours the month before step. I then took anywhere from 1-4 more hours to read whatever I felt like I needed to. I feel like a lot of us get stuck in this guilt-study mode and just spend all day "studying" while checking facebook/reddit/sports/etc. Study well, then go play. Just my opinion.
A score of 280 is irrelevant if you suck up third year. A score of 208 can be alright if you ace third year and produce impressive rec letters. So be easy on yourself SDN, it will work out.
Prep:
During class: I read everything we were given/assigned, with the exception of one chapter of Robbins. Our class exams were harder than the step when you consider question for question, so I think doing well in class is over-studying for step.
What I would do differently if I had to do it again during the first two years:
Read first aid after every lecture over whatever we just covered. Read RRPath after every path lecture. Read BRS Phys after every phys lecture. Begin Gunner Training once we got to our blocks.
Last month-ish of classes: My priorities were 1) class 2) focused review. I read a chapter of RRP and a chapter of BRS Phys every day. Took a practice exam, scored 228. Reviewed Neuro, Pharm, and Micro at my leisure because they were taught a long time ago or taught poorly (Micro, which I had also never had before). GT is excellent for fact based learning, which is why I used it mainly for Embryology and Micro.
Month of intensive study: I was going to make a schedule, but I get extremely bored of the daily grind and knowing exactly what I'm going to do every day makes me want to shoot myself, hence I had only a general idea. My informal plan was to go through First Aid a few more times (I had done one pass during the second year). I would spend the morning reviewing a systems chapter + a basic knowledge chapter. After review, I would do half of the questions in UWorld (timed) over that subject. I would then spend 2x the time it took to answer the questions going through All of them. I would write down the topics I got wrong in a notebook and review them from whatever resource I wanted to(I also reviewed this notebook the day before the exam). If I drew a blank I went back to class notes, a clumsy mistake I just went to FA. I rotated through all the subjects, then went through them again doing the remainder of the questions, leaving 200-400 unused so I could take them timed, random. The last week I was going crazy, so I would do 1-2 blocks of random, timed, incorrect questions and then just walk around my neighborhood listening to Goljian (first time). That's Big time, BIG time, guys. I took NBME 11 (difficult), and 7 (alright) 2 and 1 weeks out respectively.
The test: I felt like it was pretty reasonable. I marked 2-6 q's per block. Took breaks after 2/4/5/6. In my opinion, the best attitude to have on questions you feel like you might get wrong: they ARE experimental questions. It can be a lie, but you never know and beating yourself up on ones you don't know doesn't help.
Score: 262
Some thoughts: I think it's fascinating that there is a general consensus about what you need to do to succeed whenever we really have no good data supporting a lot of what we say. We are taught evidence based medicine in classes, then we do the equivalent for studying for step of prescribing antibiotics for every erethematous throat we see. Not saying anyone's wrong, just think SDN is interesting.
I am sorely disappointed by how much of the step is memorization and careful reading. We can disagree here, but I felt like the amount of information you would get right if you had FA memorized word for word is just crazy. I should have expected this, though.
Someone told me that FA is assembled by students sending in what was on their exam. We are told not to share test information with people. Therefore reading FA is cheating (SDN blows up).
I believe in quality study over quantity. I studied 6 good, uninterrupted hours the month before step. I then took anywhere from 1-4 more hours to read whatever I felt like I needed to. I feel like a lot of us get stuck in this guilt-study mode and just spend all day "studying" while checking facebook/reddit/sports/etc. Study well, then go play. Just my opinion.
A score of 280 is irrelevant if you suck up third year. A score of 208 can be alright if you ace third year and produce impressive rec letters. So be easy on yourself SDN, it will work out.
So JUST got my scores back this week after an almost 2 month wait....and its nothing compared to SDN standards but I am satisfied : 231/99
UWA1 (3 weeks before): 224
NBME 12 (2 weeks before): 217
NBME 11 (1 Week before): 231
NBME 7 (2 days before): 236
Looks like NBME 11 hit this right on the nose....and I felt the exam was most similar to NBME 11/12 style questions.
Congrats to all those who slayed the beast and good luck to all those that are going to take it in the future!!!! Its not impossible as it seems, but prepare well and you will get it back!
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2011
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
Super tired from a long week in the hospital but hope this helps future test-takers. I studied here and there a few hours a week, around March-April, trying to get a head start on Micro Made Simple and BRS Physio, but actually cracked down and did FA/UWorld for 6 weeks after finals. Took NBME 7 at the beginning of the 6 wks and got a 221.
I tried to use Tau's method for the first 2 weeks, but ended up mainly using it to clarify concepts I didn't understand in FA. BRS Physio and Goljan were awesome. I had used these throughout M1 and M2 already so was familiar with them. Micro made simple, HY Neuro + HY Anatomy (clinical points only), and the WebPath site were also good resources. The rest of the time I used to do 2-3 run-throughs of FA. I didn't retain many details from M1 and M2, so I needed the majority of my 6 weeks to study/memorize FA. I felt as though I understood the majority of the material in FA by the time it was time to take the test, including the minutiae contained in it.
UWorld % was 71% on timed random blocks of 46. I did one run-through and finished almost all of it (~50 questions left undone). I actually didn't read the explanations in detail; just the one-liners, especially if I'd gotten the answer correct. As I said, I spent more time studying FA than doing UWorld, since I felt like I needed time to get the FA info into my head.
End result: 254/99
Am super happy and relieved. On July 13 I made myself open and close my score report twice.. was really tired when the scores came out and didn't really believe my eyes. Since I had only taken one NBME and gotten a 221, had no idea what to expect. Basically told myself I'd be happy with a 220 before I got my score, so I was very pleasantly surprised.
My advice: don't stress out on SDN too much and don't use too many resources. For me, focusing on first understanding, and then memorizing what's found in FA was enough. Don't get too caught up in all the advice and make sure you understand what works for your personal study style and situation.
I tried to use Tau's method for the first 2 weeks, but ended up mainly using it to clarify concepts I didn't understand in FA. BRS Physio and Goljan were awesome. I had used these throughout M1 and M2 already so was familiar with them. Micro made simple, HY Neuro + HY Anatomy (clinical points only), and the WebPath site were also good resources. The rest of the time I used to do 2-3 run-throughs of FA. I didn't retain many details from M1 and M2, so I needed the majority of my 6 weeks to study/memorize FA. I felt as though I understood the majority of the material in FA by the time it was time to take the test, including the minutiae contained in it.
UWorld % was 71% on timed random blocks of 46. I did one run-through and finished almost all of it (~50 questions left undone). I actually didn't read the explanations in detail; just the one-liners, especially if I'd gotten the answer correct. As I said, I spent more time studying FA than doing UWorld, since I felt like I needed time to get the FA info into my head.
End result: 254/99
Am super happy and relieved. On July 13 I made myself open and close my score report twice.. was really tired when the scores came out and didn't really believe my eyes. Since I had only taken one NBME and gotten a 221, had no idea what to expect. Basically told myself I'd be happy with a 220 before I got my score, so I was very pleasantly surprised.
My advice: don't stress out on SDN too much and don't use too many resources. For me, focusing on first understanding, and then memorizing what's found in FA was enough. Don't get too caught up in all the advice and make sure you understand what works for your personal study style and situation.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2008
- Messages
- 274
- Reaction score
- 1
School administered CBBSA: 192 (2 months out)
UW #1: 209 (1 month out)
UW #2: 224 (3 weeks out)
NBME 5: 207 (2.5 weeks out, took back-to-back with NBME 7)
NBME 7: 214
Practice exam at Prometric: 79% (2 weeks out)
NBME 12: 228 (8 days out)
Actual score: 229/99
Initially, I was aiming for mid-230s, but toward the end of studying I could tell that I was starting to burn out. At that point, I just wanted to get a little bit above average, which I did. Overall, I am satisfied with my score and glad that I was able to increase my score from baseline. And probably more than anything, I'm relieved that I can officially put this behind me.
UW #1: 209 (1 month out)
UW #2: 224 (3 weeks out)
NBME 5: 207 (2.5 weeks out, took back-to-back with NBME 7)
NBME 7: 214
Practice exam at Prometric: 79% (2 weeks out)
NBME 12: 228 (8 days out)
Actual score: 229/99
Initially, I was aiming for mid-230s, but toward the end of studying I could tell that I was starting to burn out. At that point, I just wanted to get a little bit above average, which I did. Overall, I am satisfied with my score and glad that I was able to increase my score from baseline. And probably more than anything, I'm relieved that I can officially put this behind me.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,058
- Reaction score
- 1,767
I took it today, I thought I was fairly well prepared, not! so much molecular and cell biology, I got my ass handed to me. Some weird thyroid endocrine questions, stuff I have never seen before anywhere. I got rattled, it got even more frustrating in 3rd and 4th block as every other question was either molecular or cell bio or biochemistry. I was stressing out about pharm, it was by far the easiest. Was scoring in high 60s and 70s on Uworld towards the end. USWA2 was 234. Hope I got a 200 at least, it was really painful.
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2006
- Messages
- 3,661
- Reaction score
- 5
NBMEs
NBME 6 - 193 (5 weeks out, baseline)
NBME 7 - 219 (3 weeks out)
NBME 11 - 231 (2 weeks out)
NBME 12 - 229 (1 week out)
UWorld average - 67%
Actual thing - 249
So yeah you can go up 50+ points from your first NBME exam. I used first aid and UWorld mostly. I think that's about all you really need. If I didn't know something or felt I didn't know something well enough, I used goljan or some kaplan materials. Coming out of the test I felt like I got anywhere between a 200 to 250. The test just makes you feel like crap. No way around it (unless you're a genius)
One thing that gets overlooked a lot is the physical aspect of the test. It's tiring and long. Get some sleep before the exam and exercise while you're studying. It goes a long way. Hope this helps.
NBME 6 - 193 (5 weeks out, baseline)
NBME 7 - 219 (3 weeks out)
NBME 11 - 231 (2 weeks out)
NBME 12 - 229 (1 week out)
UWorld average - 67%
Actual thing - 249
So yeah you can go up 50+ points from your first NBME exam. I used first aid and UWorld mostly. I think that's about all you really need. If I didn't know something or felt I didn't know something well enough, I used goljan or some kaplan materials. Coming out of the test I felt like I got anywhere between a 200 to 250. The test just makes you feel like crap. No way around it (unless you're a genius)
One thing that gets overlooked a lot is the physical aspect of the test. It's tiring and long. Get some sleep before the exam and exercise while you're studying. It goes a long way. Hope this helps.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2007
- Messages
- 1,356
- Reaction score
- 16
I took it today too. Yes, a lot of endocrine. Also, like every other Q was a calcium/bone related Q. Exaggerating, but only a little. 😉
I hate the fact that the test (the NBMEs too) seemed to have a "focus" or "trend" (or several emphasized topics)... so after encountering that 1st calcium Q, yep it kept coming back time and again, in different forms. I wonder how the pool of Qs for each test is selected; it definitely doesn't seem like a random, evenly distributed set of Qs.
Overall, I didn't walk out of it feeling like the test played to my strengths. Endocrine, micro, genetics heavy. Fair bit of behavioral & neuro too, which was fine by me.
At this point, I'll be happy if I can hit my practice scores. Anyhow, it's over!
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 60
- Reaction score
- 0
a
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 11, 2008
- Messages
- 3,450
- Reaction score
- 628
NBME 6 - 229 7 weeks out
NBME 5 - 240 4 weeks out
NBME 12 - 231 2 weeks out
NBME 11 - 247 1.5 weeks out
NBME 7 - 245 1 week out
Goal: 240.
Real deal: 242/99.
Couldn't be happier. Scored around my NBMEs and hit the goal I was shooting for.
Did USMLERx throughout all of 2nd year, added on kaplan Q bank 2nd semester, and in the last 6-7 weeks did Uworld.
As an aside, with the comlex -> USMLE conversion formula, I should have gotten a 228 on USMLE, so I'm really glad I took it.
NBME 5 - 240 4 weeks out
NBME 12 - 231 2 weeks out
NBME 11 - 247 1.5 weeks out
NBME 7 - 245 1 week out
Goal: 240.
Real deal: 242/99.
Couldn't be happier. Scored around my NBMEs and hit the goal I was shooting for.
Did USMLERx throughout all of 2nd year, added on kaplan Q bank 2nd semester, and in the last 6-7 weeks did Uworld.
As an aside, with the comlex -> USMLE conversion formula, I should have gotten a 228 on USMLE, so I'm really glad I took it.
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2005
- Messages
- 185
- Reaction score
- 0
243/99
I did not feel that great after the exam. I know I didn't fail though. I did Goljan throughout the year, started using First Aid in February with class and did UWorld for 3 months. I think just being diligent throughout M1 and M2 is solid prep as well.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2009
- Messages
- 63
- Reaction score
- 1
Just like many of the previous posters, I have been a long time lurker of this Step 1 thread and I told myself I would post my experience after I received my score. Just a little backgroud info: I'm a slightly above average student. Over the first two years, I honored a few courses, high-passed the vast majority, and passed a couple. I've never been great at standardized tests. I had a sub-30 MCAT score.
Before I started studying in January, my goal was a 240, and I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to reach this score. I'm a slow reader and I become overwhelmed easily when trying to use too many sources, so I decided to stick mainly with First Aid and UWorld.
The best thing I did in preparing for this test was STARTING EARLY!! I cannot emphasize enough how important this is for those of us who need a lot of time and repetition for information to stick.
How I prepared: I started reading First Aid in January. I wanted to get through it once before spring break (with a school-administered CBSSA after our vacation), so I read about 12 pages per day, starting with behavioral science and reading straight through to respiratory. I also bought a 6-month subscription to UWorld in January and did a block of 46 questions per day, random and timed. I read every explanation for all the answer choices. I annotated everything I didn't know into First Aid. The majority of my day was spent preparing for this test. Our school streams lectures and we had two 8-week blocks second semester, so I used about 2 hours a day to go over class material at the beginning of the block. Towards the end of the block with exams approaching, I spent less time on Step preparation and more time on class material.
After spring break, I went through First Aid a second time before final exams and finished UWorld questions. When school was over, I reset UWorld and did 2 blocks of 46 questions per day and started DIT. I did 8 straight days of DIT, took one day off to take an NBME, and then finished the last 7 days. DIT helped me get through First Aid a third time. I took another 10 days to go through First Aid a fourth time, and I wrote down everything I didn't know into a notebook. I ended up with about 60 pages worth of notes and only looked at these notes for the last 4-5 days before the exam, using First Aid only for the images at the back of the book.
Other sources I used: I listened to Goljan audio throughout the school year along with my courses and annotated some of it into First Aid. I also did about 800 Kaplan qbank questions (provided by the school) and about 1500 USMLERx questions when studying for finals. I barely used the Rapid Review book.
UWorld Percentages (blocks of 46 questions, random and timed)
First run-through: 54%
Second run-through: 85%
Practice exam scores:
3/17/11 - School administered CBSSA: 205 (I was really disappointed since I had finished going through First Aid once and had done most of UWorld. I was hoping to at least score above a 210.)
3/26/11 - NBME 5: 212 (Made me feel a little better to at least be above a 210.)
5/08/11 - NBME 11: 238 (Right after finals, before my ~ 4-week dedicated study period)
5/17/11 - NBME 7: 247
5/24/11 - UWorld #2: 262 (I knew this was a fluke. I was almost finished with UWORLD for a 2nd time, so I was used to their style of questions.)
6/01/11 - NBME 12: 247
6/09/11 - Step 1: 246
Looks like I peaked about 3 weeks before the exam, but I'm very pleased with my score, especially since I walked out of the exam feeling absolutely horrible! Back in January, I wasn't sure if I was capable of pulling off a 240, but the work I put in really paid off. HARDWORK will take you far on this exam. You don't have to be a great at taking standardized tests and you don't have to be at the top of your class to do well on this exam. You just have to start early, sacrifice life outside of school for a little while, and study hard! Good luck to all the future test takers! 🙂
Before I started studying in January, my goal was a 240, and I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to reach this score. I'm a slow reader and I become overwhelmed easily when trying to use too many sources, so I decided to stick mainly with First Aid and UWorld.
The best thing I did in preparing for this test was STARTING EARLY!! I cannot emphasize enough how important this is for those of us who need a lot of time and repetition for information to stick.
How I prepared: I started reading First Aid in January. I wanted to get through it once before spring break (with a school-administered CBSSA after our vacation), so I read about 12 pages per day, starting with behavioral science and reading straight through to respiratory. I also bought a 6-month subscription to UWorld in January and did a block of 46 questions per day, random and timed. I read every explanation for all the answer choices. I annotated everything I didn't know into First Aid. The majority of my day was spent preparing for this test. Our school streams lectures and we had two 8-week blocks second semester, so I used about 2 hours a day to go over class material at the beginning of the block. Towards the end of the block with exams approaching, I spent less time on Step preparation and more time on class material.
After spring break, I went through First Aid a second time before final exams and finished UWorld questions. When school was over, I reset UWorld and did 2 blocks of 46 questions per day and started DIT. I did 8 straight days of DIT, took one day off to take an NBME, and then finished the last 7 days. DIT helped me get through First Aid a third time. I took another 10 days to go through First Aid a fourth time, and I wrote down everything I didn't know into a notebook. I ended up with about 60 pages worth of notes and only looked at these notes for the last 4-5 days before the exam, using First Aid only for the images at the back of the book.
Other sources I used: I listened to Goljan audio throughout the school year along with my courses and annotated some of it into First Aid. I also did about 800 Kaplan qbank questions (provided by the school) and about 1500 USMLERx questions when studying for finals. I barely used the Rapid Review book.
UWorld Percentages (blocks of 46 questions, random and timed)
First run-through: 54%
Second run-through: 85%
Practice exam scores:
3/17/11 - School administered CBSSA: 205 (I was really disappointed since I had finished going through First Aid once and had done most of UWorld. I was hoping to at least score above a 210.)
3/26/11 - NBME 5: 212 (Made me feel a little better to at least be above a 210.)
5/08/11 - NBME 11: 238 (Right after finals, before my ~ 4-week dedicated study period)
5/17/11 - NBME 7: 247
5/24/11 - UWorld #2: 262 (I knew this was a fluke. I was almost finished with UWORLD for a 2nd time, so I was used to their style of questions.)
6/01/11 - NBME 12: 247
6/09/11 - Step 1: 246
Looks like I peaked about 3 weeks before the exam, but I'm very pleased with my score, especially since I walked out of the exam feeling absolutely horrible! Back in January, I wasn't sure if I was capable of pulling off a 240, but the work I put in really paid off. HARDWORK will take you far on this exam. You don't have to be a great at taking standardized tests and you don't have to be at the top of your class to do well on this exam. You just have to start early, sacrifice life outside of school for a little while, and study hard! Good luck to all the future test takers! 🙂
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2011
- Messages
- 75
- Reaction score
- 0
Score: 258/99
Books: FA, RR path (goljan), RR biochem (goljan), BRS physio...don't waste your time with any HY books...they all suck.
Qbanks: Uworld, Kaplan
Two Cents: Take breaks to chill with friends/family, have a couple beers. Don't take too long to study--you will forget everything. Don't waste your time/money on things like DIT, gunner training, kaplan classroom/videos...they are scams that prey on your fear.
Books: FA, RR path (goljan), RR biochem (goljan), BRS physio...don't waste your time with any HY books...they all suck.
Qbanks: Uworld, Kaplan
Two Cents: Take breaks to chill with friends/family, have a couple beers. Don't take too long to study--you will forget everything. Don't waste your time/money on things like DIT, gunner training, kaplan classroom/videos...they are scams that prey on your fear.
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2006
- Messages
- 361
- Reaction score
- 1
NBME 11 and 12: 245 (took online)
NBME 7: around 250 (took offline)
Real deal: 255-259
Pretty happy with my score. Used mostly FA, UW, and USMLERx. PM me if you have any questions.
Update on 7/25:
Someone PM'ed me about my study plan so I am just going to post my thoughts here.
I really think that knowing FA cold was very key for me. I started reading FA during my first year and continued all the way up until the test. I had several thousand flash cards in ANKI based on FA and I started on USMLERx in January, about 6 months before the exam. I felt like I had 90% of FA in my memory by the time the dedicated study period began. I got through around 2000 questions. I felt that USMLERx was a good resource to really tease out your weaknesses in FA but don't take it too seriously because some of the questions there are not that important and beyond the scope of what is covered in FA.
Because I worked on FA so much, when I took the CBSE given by my school 5 weeks out, I scored a 245 and really I felt like I missed a lot gimme questions just because I had to study for a big final several days before and my FA retention had gone down. I started on UW and got through most of that with a overall percentage of 79%. I did NBME's 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12, with my highest score on NBME 7 (250).
I felt like UW was overrated so I did not go over my missed questions and did not do UWSA2 and instead I finished NBME 7, 11, and 12 in the last week or so. I really think it "calibrated" me well for the actual test, which I thought wasn't very close to UW. I took UWSA1 4 weeks out and scored a 264, which I thought was bull*hit.
I lucked out and scored higher on the real deal than any NBME. In hindsight, if I would have started Kaplan Qbank earlier, tried to get all the way through USMLERx, do UW, and do all the NBMEs. That might have gotten me into the 260 range.
NBME 7: around 250 (took offline)
Real deal: 255-259
Pretty happy with my score. Used mostly FA, UW, and USMLERx. PM me if you have any questions.
Update on 7/25:
Someone PM'ed me about my study plan so I am just going to post my thoughts here.
I really think that knowing FA cold was very key for me. I started reading FA during my first year and continued all the way up until the test. I had several thousand flash cards in ANKI based on FA and I started on USMLERx in January, about 6 months before the exam. I felt like I had 90% of FA in my memory by the time the dedicated study period began. I got through around 2000 questions. I felt that USMLERx was a good resource to really tease out your weaknesses in FA but don't take it too seriously because some of the questions there are not that important and beyond the scope of what is covered in FA.
Because I worked on FA so much, when I took the CBSE given by my school 5 weeks out, I scored a 245 and really I felt like I missed a lot gimme questions just because I had to study for a big final several days before and my FA retention had gone down. I started on UW and got through most of that with a overall percentage of 79%. I did NBME's 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12, with my highest score on NBME 7 (250).
I felt like UW was overrated so I did not go over my missed questions and did not do UWSA2 and instead I finished NBME 7, 11, and 12 in the last week or so. I really think it "calibrated" me well for the actual test, which I thought wasn't very close to UW. I took UWSA1 4 weeks out and scored a 264, which I thought was bull*hit.
I lucked out and scored higher on the real deal than any NBME. In hindsight, if I would have started Kaplan Qbank earlier, tried to get all the way through USMLERx, do UW, and do all the NBMEs. That might have gotten me into the 260 range.
Last edited:
Score: 248/99
Time: 3 weeks dedicated study. Started on Kaplan Qbank off and on during 2nd semester.
Materials: Kaplan Qbank X1, USMLEworld X1, First Aid X4.
Practice: uworld sims: 261, 258 (weekend before test). NBME 7: 247 (week before test)
Impression: I came out hoping I did well, but feeling quite unsure. Felt the most like uworld (probably a lot of that came from the interfaces being EXACTLY the same).
What would I change: First Aid again, and uworld for a 2nd complete pass. I could have done that in another 2 weeks and probably would have raised my score by ~5pts.
Time: 3 weeks dedicated study. Started on Kaplan Qbank off and on during 2nd semester.
Materials: Kaplan Qbank X1, USMLEworld X1, First Aid X4.
Practice: uworld sims: 261, 258 (weekend before test). NBME 7: 247 (week before test)
Impression: I came out hoping I did well, but feeling quite unsure. Felt the most like uworld (probably a lot of that came from the interfaces being EXACTLY the same).
What would I change: First Aid again, and uworld for a 2nd complete pass. I could have done that in another 2 weeks and probably would have raised my score by ~5pts.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2009
- Messages
- 1,411
- Reaction score
- 12
So I took the USMLE & Comlex at the end of May and I was going to write up my experience then but I was frankly tired of thinking about boards so I decided to wait until I got the scores back to discuss my experience.
Little background: I'm a somewhat average student, always scored few points higher than class average on exams so not a spectacular student by any means. Though, I always made sure that I understood the concepts well the first 2 years. And this, more than anything, helped me study for boards tremendously. And frankly, understanding concepts is a bigger deal on rotations because it's easier to connect all the dots when you see pathology on the floor.
Started studying around end of February using CMMRS, Lippincott's Pharm as reference, Levinson's Immuno (highly recommend reading these few chapters), BRS Phys, Lippincott's Biochem (this is money!!), FA, Goljan book and audio, and UWorld.
First pass took me around 6-7 weeks of all subjects. What I did was:
- Read BRS Phys for a particular system and do UWorld Phys questions from that system
- Then I'd quickly glance over Lippincott's Pharm and look at FA Pharm and do Uworld pharm questions
- Then listen to Goljan audio, followed by reading the Goljan book, and do UWorld path questions
- Rinse and repeat for all the major systems
NBME 4 (pre-studying in March) - 168
Not too shabby, I figured.
Took NBME 11 4 weeks out and got 191
Took UWSA 1 4 weeks out and got 194
Crap! I was hoping to score better but what I realized was that this was after my first pass through the material so it's a decent score. Considering I hadn't taken the time to memorize FA and had been just solidifying my "understanding concepts" base.
This is when panic mode set in. I thought how I managed to improve only a little bit in the last 7 weeks? It dawned on me that I hadn't memorized a single thing! I understood the concepts well but I didn't take the time to memorize all the drugs, micro bug features, etc.
I decided to ditch all of my resources and stuck to FA, Goljan, and UWorld from there on out.
What I would do is read a chapter in Goljan and try to memorize as much as possible without spending the entire day on one chapter. Then I'd do more UWorld questions and memorize any detail their explanation provided which wasn't found in Goljan. I'd peek in FA every once in awhile but I felt like I was running so short on time that I didn't take the time to go through FA and memorize it.
This took me about 2 weeks and I decided to take some more practice exams.
2 weeks out:
NBME 12 210
UWSA2 218
I thought, not bad.
The final 2 weeks, I stuck to FA only. This was the best decision I made.
No Uworld because I had already been through it twice and lot of the questions I had remembered. They weren't really teaching me anything.
I just memorized the crap out of FA because by this point, I had a good grasp of the concepts and nothing was new to me in FA. It was just a matter of storing the information in my memory.
Yes, I even ditched Goljan in the last 2 weeks. For two reasons:
1) The book is very heavy with information. The blue margin notes are ok but honestly it's better to stick to FA because in FA, every little detail is provided in a context where as in Goljan blue margin notes, it's tough to put all those notes in a context when they're spread out so much
2) Majority of things found in Goljan are found in FA. And at this point, I didn't need to know the extra info, I needed to memorize the meat that is FA.
Finally, my exam experience:
I wasn't nervous the morning of the exam because I knew that I had studied as hard as I could and whatever happens, happens.
Ate a cereal bar because I wasn't very hungry. Took a protein bar and 5 hour energy drink with me and this was my lunch. Pretty bad, haha, but there was no way that I was gonna be able to eat a big sandwich or drink soda for break/lunch because I was too worried about being tired after lunch.
I should make a note that I'm a quick test-taker so I was finishing each blocks in like 45 minutes so this gave me plenty of time to sit there after each block and stare at the screen which constituted my "break". I took 10 mins breaks after 2 blocks and pretty much used up all of my break time that day. Just had to give my mind a rest even if I was on a "roll".
Pharm - very easy, straightforward MOAs and "which drug to use" questions. Just memorize ALL of the drugs and their MOAs in FA and you can answer majority of pharm questions. Had a good amount of basic pharm like competitive inhibitor graphs with epinephrine and whatnot. Nothing too terrible as long as you go over the charts that's found in FA.
Micro - Not too bad. I had to study hardcore micro for COMLEX so this portion I felt was relatively easy. Viruses weren't too bad, just memorize the charts in the virus sections and questions are straight forward.
Phys - this was a little harder than I expected. I'm generally weak in Resp and Cardio Phys and I got a good amount of Cardio Phys questions that I had a tough time answering. Not sure, what I could've done to make this better. Of course, had like 4-5 heart murmur questions that I took wild guesses on because it's really difficult to learn these.
Path - doing UWorld questions make USMLE path questions look easy. I had no trouble here (as reflected by the performance bar in my score report). I had a very good grasp on pathology from listening to Goljan and reading Goljan cover to cover twice.
Genetics/Biochem - very easy because of Lippincott's and UWorld. In fact, I had a question where they put something similar to the metabolic pathway diagram found in the first page of FA Biochem and asked what enzyme deficiency the patient had!! It was intimidating to say the least, but the presentation was a classic glycogen storage disorder (McArdle's, I believe) so I knew which enzyme was missing.
Immunology - my best section because Levinson prepared me very, very, very well for this part. Then it was just a matter of memorizing the immune disorders and memorizing the interleukins
Stats once again, to give the average student some hope
NBME 4 pre-studying 3 months out - 168
NBME 11 (4 weeks out) - 191
UWSA 1 (4 weeks out) - 194
NBME 12 (2 weeks out) - 210
UWSA 2 (2 weeks out) - 218
NBME 7 (1 week out) - 214
UWorld - 65% (Interestingly, the UWorld score predictor is spot on)
Final score - 234/99, roughly 72nd percentile
I just want to say one final thing. I'm a God-fearing, God-loving man, and I don't think it would have been possible for me to get through this without the Almighty guiding me. I didn't ask for a high score and I certainly didn't ask to get me through this; all I asked for was that I could follow what the Lord has planned for me. To me, this is the most important thing in the world.
I lied, the 2 most important things in the world for me are to love the Lord and love my neighbor. Which is why I decided to contribute here to help out my fellow colleagues who will be tackling this beast sometime in the future. Hope it helps somebody in some shape or form!
Anyway, final words of advice: work hard, study for the sake of your future patients, and don't let the score define who you are or what kind of doctor you will be. What matter is in your heart, not what's in your mind!
Little background: I'm a somewhat average student, always scored few points higher than class average on exams so not a spectacular student by any means. Though, I always made sure that I understood the concepts well the first 2 years. And this, more than anything, helped me study for boards tremendously. And frankly, understanding concepts is a bigger deal on rotations because it's easier to connect all the dots when you see pathology on the floor.
Started studying around end of February using CMMRS, Lippincott's Pharm as reference, Levinson's Immuno (highly recommend reading these few chapters), BRS Phys, Lippincott's Biochem (this is money!!), FA, Goljan book and audio, and UWorld.
First pass took me around 6-7 weeks of all subjects. What I did was:
- Read BRS Phys for a particular system and do UWorld Phys questions from that system
- Then I'd quickly glance over Lippincott's Pharm and look at FA Pharm and do Uworld pharm questions
- Then listen to Goljan audio, followed by reading the Goljan book, and do UWorld path questions
- Rinse and repeat for all the major systems
NBME 4 (pre-studying in March) - 168
Not too shabby, I figured.
Took NBME 11 4 weeks out and got 191
Took UWSA 1 4 weeks out and got 194
Crap! I was hoping to score better but what I realized was that this was after my first pass through the material so it's a decent score. Considering I hadn't taken the time to memorize FA and had been just solidifying my "understanding concepts" base.
This is when panic mode set in. I thought how I managed to improve only a little bit in the last 7 weeks? It dawned on me that I hadn't memorized a single thing! I understood the concepts well but I didn't take the time to memorize all the drugs, micro bug features, etc.
I decided to ditch all of my resources and stuck to FA, Goljan, and UWorld from there on out.
What I would do is read a chapter in Goljan and try to memorize as much as possible without spending the entire day on one chapter. Then I'd do more UWorld questions and memorize any detail their explanation provided which wasn't found in Goljan. I'd peek in FA every once in awhile but I felt like I was running so short on time that I didn't take the time to go through FA and memorize it.
This took me about 2 weeks and I decided to take some more practice exams.
2 weeks out:
NBME 12 210
UWSA2 218
I thought, not bad.
The final 2 weeks, I stuck to FA only. This was the best decision I made.
No Uworld because I had already been through it twice and lot of the questions I had remembered. They weren't really teaching me anything.
I just memorized the crap out of FA because by this point, I had a good grasp of the concepts and nothing was new to me in FA. It was just a matter of storing the information in my memory.
Yes, I even ditched Goljan in the last 2 weeks. For two reasons:
1) The book is very heavy with information. The blue margin notes are ok but honestly it's better to stick to FA because in FA, every little detail is provided in a context where as in Goljan blue margin notes, it's tough to put all those notes in a context when they're spread out so much
2) Majority of things found in Goljan are found in FA. And at this point, I didn't need to know the extra info, I needed to memorize the meat that is FA.
Finally, my exam experience:
I wasn't nervous the morning of the exam because I knew that I had studied as hard as I could and whatever happens, happens.
Ate a cereal bar because I wasn't very hungry. Took a protein bar and 5 hour energy drink with me and this was my lunch. Pretty bad, haha, but there was no way that I was gonna be able to eat a big sandwich or drink soda for break/lunch because I was too worried about being tired after lunch.
I should make a note that I'm a quick test-taker so I was finishing each blocks in like 45 minutes so this gave me plenty of time to sit there after each block and stare at the screen which constituted my "break". I took 10 mins breaks after 2 blocks and pretty much used up all of my break time that day. Just had to give my mind a rest even if I was on a "roll".
Pharm - very easy, straightforward MOAs and "which drug to use" questions. Just memorize ALL of the drugs and their MOAs in FA and you can answer majority of pharm questions. Had a good amount of basic pharm like competitive inhibitor graphs with epinephrine and whatnot. Nothing too terrible as long as you go over the charts that's found in FA.
Micro - Not too bad. I had to study hardcore micro for COMLEX so this portion I felt was relatively easy. Viruses weren't too bad, just memorize the charts in the virus sections and questions are straight forward.
Phys - this was a little harder than I expected. I'm generally weak in Resp and Cardio Phys and I got a good amount of Cardio Phys questions that I had a tough time answering. Not sure, what I could've done to make this better. Of course, had like 4-5 heart murmur questions that I took wild guesses on because it's really difficult to learn these.
Path - doing UWorld questions make USMLE path questions look easy. I had no trouble here (as reflected by the performance bar in my score report). I had a very good grasp on pathology from listening to Goljan and reading Goljan cover to cover twice.
Genetics/Biochem - very easy because of Lippincott's and UWorld. In fact, I had a question where they put something similar to the metabolic pathway diagram found in the first page of FA Biochem and asked what enzyme deficiency the patient had!! It was intimidating to say the least, but the presentation was a classic glycogen storage disorder (McArdle's, I believe) so I knew which enzyme was missing.
Immunology - my best section because Levinson prepared me very, very, very well for this part. Then it was just a matter of memorizing the immune disorders and memorizing the interleukins
Stats once again, to give the average student some hope
NBME 4 pre-studying 3 months out - 168
NBME 11 (4 weeks out) - 191
UWSA 1 (4 weeks out) - 194
NBME 12 (2 weeks out) - 210
UWSA 2 (2 weeks out) - 218
NBME 7 (1 week out) - 214
UWorld - 65% (Interestingly, the UWorld score predictor is spot on)
Final score - 234/99, roughly 72nd percentile
I just want to say one final thing. I'm a God-fearing, God-loving man, and I don't think it would have been possible for me to get through this without the Almighty guiding me. I didn't ask for a high score and I certainly didn't ask to get me through this; all I asked for was that I could follow what the Lord has planned for me. To me, this is the most important thing in the world.
I lied, the 2 most important things in the world for me are to love the Lord and love my neighbor. Which is why I decided to contribute here to help out my fellow colleagues who will be tackling this beast sometime in the future. Hope it helps somebody in some shape or form!
Anyway, final words of advice: work hard, study for the sake of your future patients, and don't let the score define who you are or what kind of doctor you will be. What matter is in your heart, not what's in your mind!
- Joined
- May 8, 2011
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 0
School administered: 230-240
UWSA1, 1.5 wks out: upper 250s (80%)
NBME, 1 wk out: around 250
UWSA2, few days out: 265 (85%)
Free 150, forgot when I took it: 252 or 254 predicted
UW avg: 75% (1st time around, random 46 timed)
Test: 250s
Time: studied for ~4.5 wks
Materials: UWorld, FA, RR, BRS Physio, Goljan Audio were my main sources. Looked at Goljan biochem, Katzung pharm, microcards, etc during MS1/2. Tried to look through as much FA as possible with our organ modules during MS2. Like many have said, FA and UWorld is all you need for a good score, the other sources especially RR is really good, n physio, etc can help consolidate and go into a little more detail to help you understand things. I did UWorld once and then the incorrects and then tried to do as much UWorld again.
Impressions of the test: see quote.
I thought my test was fair (like a UWSA) and wasn't too bad. Actually felt like I did well but the days after I started remembering questions and you know the story (felt just like SDN user Sheldor). I missed 5-10 questions I should've gotten right (changed 3 from right to wrong and the others was thinking the question cannot be that easy, but it ended up being that easy). I had a few trick questions but I would say for the most part they are not trying to trick you and if you go in with that mentality that they are tricking you (we get that from UWorld) it can screw you up a little like me. Overall I am extremely happy with my score (but after seeing the rest of the scores on SDN, the score feels onli a little bit above avg...) but knew I should've done a little better because of the changed answers and being 'tricked'.
Doing well first 2 years is definitely a plus but I know of ppl who did ok in classes and focused on their boards 5-6 months before (slowly going over FA, and the relevant books) and did fantastic so do whatever works for you, everyone studies differently. The tests were all pretty accurate in prediction except UWSA2 (the scale there is too nice). Hard work does matter for this test, more so than the other test like mcat, but being smart and a good thinker helps (some ppl memorize better bc they actually understand n integrate vs does who do it brute force) and remember for the thinkers out there, you cant really think without any foundation and unfortunately the foundation in step 1 is very factual and few derivations like math, etc so keep that in mind. Also work on your weak areas, the test has a luck factor to it, and you dont want to be unlucky n have a test that is ur worst subjects bc that can happen.
Also if you score below your range etc just remember that there's a lot of luck on this test so don't feel bad (which questions on ur test are experimentals n if those r the questions u get wrong etc makes a big difference, 2-3 questions is ~1% which is a big deal I think). Also the different subjects on each individual's exam and their emphasis can change the outcome. The overall difficulty of the exam, etc. I am confident to say that most ppl have the 240+ potential after they study and then the harder problems n the experimental question outcomes decide the higher scores; also very key is the number of careless mistakes you make will just subtract from your potential score. You know how smart and hard working you are, we all get unlucky sometimes
PM me if you have any questions
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 1
As a motivation booster, I got a 27 MCAT my first attempt (9,9,9) and a 30 (9,10,11) my second. I was rejected 3 times into medical school for being grossly irresponsible in late college and now I've hit the 265 mark with nearly all honors in 1st two years *hopefully* set for AOA.
Kill it.
Kill it.
- Joined
- May 16, 2011
- Messages
- 36
- Reaction score
- 1
258/99
Someone said in an earlier thread: Good grades+FA+UW = good score
I want to second that notion. I didnt study for step 1 at all during the school year, but I did have to take shelves for path, pharm and micro at the end of the year so that counts for studying for the step 1 I suppose. I also honored all three courses as well.
If you know FA cold and do 100% of UW, you should do well. You have to go through UW actively and not treat it simply as an assessment of your knowledge. Write down every question you get wrong and explanations. If a question has a chart in it, write it down. Usually in explanations, it'll give a bunch of unique pieces of info for the other answers, learn them. If you write this stuff down in a note book and go through it a couple times, you'll be golden.
Someone said in an earlier thread: Good grades+FA+UW = good score
I want to second that notion. I didnt study for step 1 at all during the school year, but I did have to take shelves for path, pharm and micro at the end of the year so that counts for studying for the step 1 I suppose. I also honored all three courses as well.
If you know FA cold and do 100% of UW, you should do well. You have to go through UW actively and not treat it simply as an assessment of your knowledge. Write down every question you get wrong and explanations. If a question has a chart in it, write it down. Usually in explanations, it'll give a bunch of unique pieces of info for the other answers, learn them. If you write this stuff down in a note book and go through it a couple times, you'll be golden.
I used DIT and LOVED IT! See if you can borrow it from someone at school. It is a 3 week course, and I did it in about 4 weeks. I love it because it walks you through FA and forces you to focus on what you wouldn't think is that important (like musculoskeletal, or the section on lymphatic drainage that takes up 1/4 of a page but seems to appear on every exam!!!) Plus, i've already used some of the clinical pearls it talks about in rotations and have impressed attendings.
Then try some NBMEs to see where you are and to up your test taking skills.
Finally, you might look into books on test-taking strategies. I have heard good things about that route from classmates, and it only takes a day or two to hone those skills.
good luck!
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
- Messages
- 87
- Reaction score
- 0
OR, you could do as many questions as you possibly can to hone your test-taking skills
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
- Messages
- 1,856
- Reaction score
- 91
You know I always get suspicious when someone writes an effusive post like this as a 2nd post.
I agree. But, I started DIT course 3 days back. And its really a boon for ppl like me who cannot concentrate while reading condensed book like FA. Before DIT, whenever I read FA, I would have highlighted some facts but eventually realized that it had never "registered" in my brain. So, some may find DIT childish in the sense that Brain Jenkins reads out FA (though explains many times), but it definitely is helping me in sticking FA facts in my stupid brain. 🙂
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
- Messages
- 1,856
- Reaction score
- 91
I have no doubt that DIT probably helps some people. And if people are willing to spend $700 to basically have someone read FA to them more power to 'em. But my antenna goes up a little with DIT posters with little SDN history, because DIT has in the past sent in posers to talk up their product.
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2010
- Messages
- 887
- Reaction score
- 1,285
Im feeling ya on the botched q's that should have been in the bag. I had a few of those myself. Oh well. I hope I can let it go soon... lol.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2011
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
Ok I got a 205, but to be honest, I'm not worried about my chances with residency. I am going for plastic surgery. I know alot of people in the field. I mean ALOT. I was also born to be a plastic surgeon. Ever since I was five, I've been cutting barbie dolls to make them more attractive.
I'm sure once I interview, they'll see that I'm intelligent and that I have great interpersonal skills. If someone else had a 205, they probably wouldn't get it, but they're not me. I've heard of students with 270+ not even graduating from medical school, so this test is not the be-all end-all.
What do you guys think? Any doubters? Didn't think so.
I'm sure once I interview, they'll see that I'm intelligent and that I have great interpersonal skills. If someone else had a 205, they probably wouldn't get it, but they're not me. I've heard of students with 270+ not even graduating from medical school, so this test is not the be-all end-all.
What do you guys think? Any doubters? Didn't think so.
Exam date: 7/15
Score: 247/99
NBME Assessments: 189, 214, 221, 240
UWorld self-assessments 1 and 2: 247 and 251
Studying materials:
Primary materials:
FA 2010
Uworld 100% complete and with 70% correct nonrandom
Pharmacology flashcards
Goljan and BRS Behavioral Science for the Shelf exams but only as reference for step 1
Reference material: Netters, Lippincotts biochemistry, BRS physio
Exam Experience:
I felt the exam was nothing like the NBME or uworld. Questions were considerably harder and had more extraneous information to sift through. There were a lot of questions with up/down arrows which I found frustrating. I marked around 14-16 questions per section except one section where I marked 3. I suspected this might have been an experimental section since it was markedly different from the rest of the test.
There was much more anatomy then what was covered in FA ie. pelvic anatomy was emphasized along with some muscle attachments. My exam also heavily focused on signaling pathways, molecular bio, genetics etc. There were a lot of graphs/study results to interpret which you cant really do much to prepare for.
I wanted to give up a few times during the exam and definitely felt like I failed it when I came out of there, but I guess thats how everybody feels.
Score: 247/99
NBME Assessments: 189, 214, 221, 240
UWorld self-assessments 1 and 2: 247 and 251
Studying materials:
Primary materials:
FA 2010
Uworld 100% complete and with 70% correct nonrandom
Pharmacology flashcards
Goljan and BRS Behavioral Science for the Shelf exams but only as reference for step 1
Reference material: Netters, Lippincotts biochemistry, BRS physio
Exam Experience:
I felt the exam was nothing like the NBME or uworld. Questions were considerably harder and had more extraneous information to sift through. There were a lot of questions with up/down arrows which I found frustrating. I marked around 14-16 questions per section except one section where I marked 3. I suspected this might have been an experimental section since it was markedly different from the rest of the test.
There was much more anatomy then what was covered in FA ie. pelvic anatomy was emphasized along with some muscle attachments. My exam also heavily focused on signaling pathways, molecular bio, genetics etc. There were a lot of graphs/study results to interpret which you cant really do much to prepare for.
I wanted to give up a few times during the exam and definitely felt like I failed it when I came out of there, but I guess thats how everybody feels.
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2008
- Messages
- 147
- Reaction score
- 3
258/99. I was pretty stoked to get this score! 😱
I did UW and FA with Goljan RR Pathology to reinforce certain topics. I also read through High Yield Biochem and HY Immunology before I started full time studying b/c those were weak areas. I used an iPod app called Cramfighter to help me stay organized (b/c I'm a pretty disorganized guy) and it set up a nice full time 5 week schedule that I used everyday. I studied about 12hours/day on weekdays and 8-10 hrs on weekends with a few days off when I felt like it. Also, throughout the year I used FA and BRS Path to study subjects along with my course packets. I felt these made good reviews right before subject tests and prepared me for Step 1 material.
UWSA1: 235 (before studying)
UWSA2: 252 (after 2 weeks of studying
NBME number 2: 237 (I week out)
My most recent practice test before the exam left me worried since my score dropped, but on Wednesday I was more than pleased with myself.
I did UW and FA with Goljan RR Pathology to reinforce certain topics. I also read through High Yield Biochem and HY Immunology before I started full time studying b/c those were weak areas. I used an iPod app called Cramfighter to help me stay organized (b/c I'm a pretty disorganized guy) and it set up a nice full time 5 week schedule that I used everyday. I studied about 12hours/day on weekdays and 8-10 hrs on weekends with a few days off when I felt like it. Also, throughout the year I used FA and BRS Path to study subjects along with my course packets. I felt these made good reviews right before subject tests and prepared me for Step 1 material.
UWSA1: 235 (before studying)
UWSA2: 252 (after 2 weeks of studying
NBME number 2: 237 (I week out)
My most recent practice test before the exam left me worried since my score dropped, but on Wednesday I was more than pleased with myself.
Exam Date: 6/18/2011
Step 1 Score: 237/99
Background: Undergrad at top 12 school. 31Q MCAT. Midwest public school (Allopathic/MD), not well known. In second quartile in class (50-75th percentile). Class has been setting scoring records for exams at our school (which has translated to step 1 scores).
Preparation:
*NBME 1 as diagnostic: 350---> 190
*Started DIT 6 months out (which included 50 pages of FA/wk, short answer questions and supplemental books as needed). Read FA twice, highlighted and took notes before starting review course.
*Read RR Biochem as a supplement (one of my weaker areas to start, so I needed extra help).
*NBME 6- 450---> 210 (6 weeks out)
*Completed DIT lecture review course
*UWorld Diagnostic 2- 228 (2 weeks out)
*DIT diagnostic---> 80%/238 (1.5 weeks out)
*NBME 7- 530--->228 (1 week out. Made a lot of mental errors)
*Read 100 pages of first aid each day for the last five days. Took the day before the exam completely off.
*Completed all UWorld questions, timed, random, full blocks for the whole set (about 2100 Qs). Final percentage was 57%, but I was taking questions starting in January and including topics I had not covered yet. I should have gone back and reviewed the questions I missed, but I ran out of time.
*Average over last 600 Questions: 72%
General impressions:
The exam seemed very difficult. The vignettes tended to be a bit longer than UWorld or NBME, but this was not a problem, as I always had extra time on practice tests. I had a LOT of immunodeficiency questions, and immuno was the only area I scored below the borderline performance mark (8-9 areas had an upper limit above the scale provided. Should have studied Immuno harder).
I thought DIT did a good job preparing. I would highly recommend reviewing the videos after you watch them once, as I felt I was losing information at a pretty high rate over the last week. Goljan RR would have been a big help, as there were several answers I looked up after the test in Goljan Path. I listened to his lectures intermittently throughout the year, and they are also very worthwhile.
As for my class, we only have about 75 people in our class and I have already talked to about a dozen who scored 240 or higher, and none of those include the handful of individuals considered to be "top" of our class👍. Needless to say, I am very proud of how we did.
I am attempting to match in Neurosurgery
, and while I am not super happy about my score, it is about the national match average for the specialty, so I will accept it and try to show my stuff in clerkships😀. I hope this is helpful.
Best,
Rueby
Step 1 Score: 237/99
Background: Undergrad at top 12 school. 31Q MCAT. Midwest public school (Allopathic/MD), not well known. In second quartile in class (50-75th percentile). Class has been setting scoring records for exams at our school (which has translated to step 1 scores).
Preparation:
*NBME 1 as diagnostic: 350---> 190
*Started DIT 6 months out (which included 50 pages of FA/wk, short answer questions and supplemental books as needed). Read FA twice, highlighted and took notes before starting review course.
*Read RR Biochem as a supplement (one of my weaker areas to start, so I needed extra help).
*NBME 6- 450---> 210 (6 weeks out)
*Completed DIT lecture review course
*UWorld Diagnostic 2- 228 (2 weeks out)
*DIT diagnostic---> 80%/238 (1.5 weeks out)
*NBME 7- 530--->228 (1 week out. Made a lot of mental errors)
*Read 100 pages of first aid each day for the last five days. Took the day before the exam completely off.
*Completed all UWorld questions, timed, random, full blocks for the whole set (about 2100 Qs). Final percentage was 57%, but I was taking questions starting in January and including topics I had not covered yet. I should have gone back and reviewed the questions I missed, but I ran out of time.
*Average over last 600 Questions: 72%
General impressions:
The exam seemed very difficult. The vignettes tended to be a bit longer than UWorld or NBME, but this was not a problem, as I always had extra time on practice tests. I had a LOT of immunodeficiency questions, and immuno was the only area I scored below the borderline performance mark (8-9 areas had an upper limit above the scale provided. Should have studied Immuno harder).
I thought DIT did a good job preparing. I would highly recommend reviewing the videos after you watch them once, as I felt I was losing information at a pretty high rate over the last week. Goljan RR would have been a big help, as there were several answers I looked up after the test in Goljan Path. I listened to his lectures intermittently throughout the year, and they are also very worthwhile.
As for my class, we only have about 75 people in our class and I have already talked to about a dozen who scored 240 or higher, and none of those include the handful of individuals considered to be "top" of our class👍. Needless to say, I am very proud of how we did.
I am attempting to match in Neurosurgery
, and while I am not super happy about my score, it is about the national match average for the specialty, so I will accept it and try to show my stuff in clerkships😀. I hope this is helpful.Best,
Rueby
Oh, didn't realize it was a thing to post score reports. See, it's real 😛 : http://i.imgur.com/MCKLi.jpg
The only kaplan stuff i used was Kaplan anatomy/embry/histo/neuro lecture notes (actually all in one book) and videos. I found them to be very helpful because they conceptually link together anatomy and embryology. the histo and neuro parts were also good because those were my weaker areas, and i needed something a little more comprehensive. if you are already strong in neuro, then FA should have enough. if you are weak in neuro, i definitely suggest at least looking through kaplan neuro. i can't speak about the other kaplan lecture notes or videos because i didn't use them.
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2010
- Messages
- 253
- Reaction score
- 1
I used quite a few of the Kaplan lecture notes, and I think they did wonders for my understanding of certain topics.
- Biochemistry was great great great. I highly recommend it. This + FA is a lot to memorize, but they definitely got me to that point.
- I liked the Anatomy/Embryo also for a solid grasp of foundations (committing things to memory is obviously the next step)
- Did not like the neuroanatomy section (Fix HY book is better), but I used it anyway for a different angle since I had already read Fix during the school year for classes
- Did not use physio (BRS instead) or path (Goljan instead).
- Pharm was okay for a quick 1-2 day read, but I heavily supplemented it throughout my study period with repetitions of pharmcards and FA pharm sections. It's missing a lot of details to help with understanding/memorizing, but it's simple if that's the type of prep you seek from it
- actually read through the behavioral notes, but who the hell knows. Those questions are just.. ugh.
Anyway, scored 240s using Kaplan LN, Kaplan Qbank, the other above mentioned books, CMMRS, and big time FA and UWorld. Baseline NBME was in the 190s.
!277/99
http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png
My main study strategy was to do as many questions as possible. I did the WebPath questions during 1st year, all of USMLERx during the summer before 2nd year, Kaplan Qbank during 2nd year along w/ classes, and UWorld during my dedicated study time. I then did all of the questions in all 3 qbanks that I got wrong again until I had gotten all of them right. I also did the Robbins Review of Pathology question book.
I annotated FA and read RR Path along w/ classes during 2nd year. During the dedicated study period, I did 3 runs through the material, using FA, RR Path, and BRS Physio, along w/ UWorld. I used the "CramFighter" iPhone app to do my study schedule. I preferred to do three 2-week runthroughs of the material to one long one, as I found the repetition helpful. The first runthrough I studied more casually, getting down the main concepts. The 2nd and 3rd times through the material, I focused more on the topics to memorize/cram (I got at least one question right on the test thanks to rote memorization (of the pharyngeal arch derivatives)! )
Practice scores:
UWorld Sim Exam #1 (10 weeks out): 265+
UWorld SimExam #2 (8 weeks out): 265+
NBME CBSE (provided by school before dedicated study time): 260+
NBME 11 (6 weeks out): 266
NBME 7 (5 weeks out): 268
NBME 6 (4 weeks out): 273
NBME 12 (3 weeks out): 275
By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - on some of these, I was able to reason out the answers. The remainder of this 5% made up the 6 questions I know I got wrong - these were all questions that you either know or don't - e.g. specific adverse effects within a single class of HIV drugs, muscle attachments, etc.
Hope this was helpful!
http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png
My main study strategy was to do as many questions as possible. I did the WebPath questions during 1st year, all of USMLERx during the summer before 2nd year, Kaplan Qbank during 2nd year along w/ classes, and UWorld during my dedicated study time. I then did all of the questions in all 3 qbanks that I got wrong again until I had gotten all of them right. I also did the Robbins Review of Pathology question book.
I annotated FA and read RR Path along w/ classes during 2nd year. During the dedicated study period, I did 3 runs through the material, using FA, RR Path, and BRS Physio, along w/ UWorld. I used the "CramFighter" iPhone app to do my study schedule. I preferred to do three 2-week runthroughs of the material to one long one, as I found the repetition helpful. The first runthrough I studied more casually, getting down the main concepts. The 2nd and 3rd times through the material, I focused more on the topics to memorize/cram (I got at least one question right on the test thanks to rote memorization (of the pharyngeal arch derivatives)!
)Practice scores:
UWorld Sim Exam #1 (10 weeks out): 265+
UWorld SimExam #2 (8 weeks out): 265+
NBME CBSE (provided by school before dedicated study time): 260+
NBME 11 (6 weeks out): 266
NBME 7 (5 weeks out): 268
NBME 6 (4 weeks out): 273
NBME 12 (3 weeks out): 275
By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - on some of these, I was able to reason out the answers. The remainder of this 5% made up the 6 questions I know I got wrong - these were all questions that you either know or don't - e.g. specific adverse effects within a single class of HIV drugs, muscle attachments, etc.
Hope this was helpful!
