Official 2012 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[amavir281]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I saw that there was a similar thread for 2011 that had plenty of useful info so I figured its best to start one for 2012. 👍

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

np. im just anxiously waiting for my results

 

[ThunderGod]

If there is one thing I got out of taking the real thing, it is that there is some REALLY bad advice being thrown around on SDN. Thank God I took it all with a grain of salt.

This is a really good point that is lost in the constant circlejerking posts on here. I'd like to hear what advice you thought was bad after having taken the real thing.

 

[Phloston]

Wow you're flying from Australia to New York to take the exam. Any reason?

I have family there. My dad has a cabin in the deep woods on Lake Minnewaska, so I'm going to lock myself there for the last couple weeks. The exam also isn't offered in Brisbane. I would have to fly to Sydney or Melbourne to take it if I insisted on staying here to do that, but I'd rather not deal with unfamiliar hotels/commute during the days preceding, as that could probably lead to 1 or 2 points lost.

 

[Phloston]

5 mg melatonin the night before around 10:00 pm and you'll be gold 👍

Did that actually work for you?

 

[flash14]

So I have an odd question/wanted to post my results because my score was very surprising to me (in a good way). But has NBME ever reported the wrong score?

I set my goal at 220-225 (I was a pretty average student).

1st NBME (i don't remember which ones I took when): 190 (a few months out).
2nd NBME 6 weeks out: 200
3rd NBME (5 weeks out: 210)
4th 4 weeks out: 216ish
5th 3 out: 212
6th 1.5 weeks out: 219

Actual 242 which I was shocked about. I felt like it went well but could have never predicted that I would do that well. I have actually been really worried that they reported my score wrong but after a few days it still says the same score. Has there ever been a case where they reported the wrong score? Or did the stars just align for me? I mean I will take it but I was and still am pretty surprised by it.

 

[Phloston]

So I have an odd question/wanted to post my results because my score was very surprising to me (in a good way). But has NBME ever reported the wrong score?

I set my goal at 220-225 (I was a pretty average student).

1st NBME (i don't remember which ones I took when): 190 (a few months out).
2nd NBME 6 weeks out: 200
3rd NBME (5 weeks out: 210)
4th 4 weeks out: 216ish
5th 3 out: 212
6th 1.5 weeks out: 219

Actual 242 which I was shocked about. I felt like it went well but could have never predicted that I would do that well. I have actually been really worried that they reported my score wrong but after a few days it still says the same score. Has there ever been a case where they reported the wrong score? Or did the stars just align for me? I mean I will take it but I was and still am pretty surprised by it.

If there's a bell curve in terms of strengths/weaknesses that show up on any one person's exam, very few people will invariably get super-lucky and others very unlucky with regard to which subjects/questions they get, but most people think the test was "fair."

Either that, or you'll just have to accept the fact that you're smarter than you realize, and many of these 50/50s went your way.

 

[Alvarez13]

Did that actually work for you?

Works for me every night. My body wants to go to bed @ 2am and get up at 9am. My school doesn't like it and yells at me when this happens. OTC melatonin took care of that 😴

 

[thinkenergy]

June 22nd test date, results came out on July 11 at ~12pm.

I just read 2011 First Aid cover to cover twice. Didn't do particularly well in anatomy in school, nor did I use any extra resources to study it.

Went through USMLE World QBank once, and about 60% of the Kaplan QBankonline.
Took NBME 13 about 6 days before the test.

UWorld QBank Score: 63%
NBME 13: 235

Real Deal: 246, 88

I thought the test was horrendously difficult, anatomy heavy, and I thought I failed it...
Time was a major issue for me on the test, yet I had tons of time to spare on NBME 13.

How is 246 a 88 if people are scoring 260/90, 257/89?

 

[thatsmate]

Why on earth does anybody care about the two digit score? We know, we know, its weird. Whatever, residency directors don't see it, so I give no ****s.

 

[futuredoc8788]

Why on earth does anybody care about the two digit score? We know, we know, its weird. Whatever, residency directors don't see it, so I give no ****s.

THANK YOU! 👍

 

[Phloston]

Why on earth does anybody care about the two digit score? We know, we know, its weird. Whatever, residency directors don't see it, so I give no ****s.

It's not about what we think of it. It's about what our family thinks of it. I could tell you no amount of explanation would make my parents realize that it's not genuinely a percentile. Maybe if they spent some time on SDN they'd get the point.

 

[just one]

It's not about what we think of it. It's about what our family thinks of it. I could tell you no amount of explanation would make my parents realize that it's not genuinely a percentile. Maybe if they spent some time on SDN they'd get the point.

Why would you even mention to your family the two digit score exists? Just say I got 280 and leave it at that

 

[MrBeauregard]

I have family there. My dad has a cabin in the deep woods on Lake Minnewaska, so I'm going to lock myself there for the last couple weeks. The exam also isn't offered in Brisbane. I would have to fly to Sydney or Melbourne to take it if I insisted on staying here to do that, but I'd rather not deal with unfamiliar hotels/commute during the days preceding, as that could probably lead to 1 or 2 points lost.

Oh, heavens no! Not 1 or 2 points!

You're crazy, man.

 

[Allsta2003]

Oh, heavens no! Not 1 or 2 points!

You're crazy, man.

your original wording was better

 

[metallica81788]

It's not about what we think of it. It's about what our family thinks of it. I could tell you no amount of explanation would make my parents realize that it's not genuinely a percentile. Maybe if they spent some time on SDN they'd get the point.

Why would your family even care and why would that matter? It's your score, your life, and you don't even need to tell them that. What your parents think has no bearing on how you did on an exam.

Sorry, but this just comes across as weird to me.

 

[Boardz]

i got a 242 today on nbme 13 with 2 weeks left. can someone:

a) tell me how what to do to get 250+

b) make phloston into a meme. (maybe, "Scumbag Step 1 expert.... never took it.")

much appreciated

oh! and what you guys did with your nbme's to maximize learning from it.

 

[ijn]

I compiled a screenshot of every wrong NBME question I got into one master powerpoint file. I read up on whatever the topic of the questions was. Near my test date I went through all of my incorrect NBME questions again.

 

[ohyeahbaby]

This is a really good point that is lost in the constant circlejerking posts on here. I'd like to hear what advice you thought was bad after having taken the real thing.

I thought most of it was bad. The NBME threads were super helpful, but other than that, SDN caused more heartache and anxiety than I cared to have. NBMEs 11 and 13 were ON POINT. Do them and you don't need anyone's advice on how the real thing is going to be like. As for preparation, all that anyone needs is Pathoma. I wish I didn't look at biochem, anatomy, etc.. because all the info I needed to answer the exam was either from pathoma or from my first two years.

I did Pathoma and World. I opened first aid twice. Once on the day before the exam because there was a drug I didn't find in my notes, and once right before the exam while I was sitting in my car waiting for 8 a.m. to come along. I wouldn't change a thing.

Keep in mind that I'm your average U.S. MD student who goes to a state medical school who did average in the first two years, who isn't even interested in getting higher than 220-225.

I was supposed to take the test on June 26 and ended up rescheduling it for July 12 after discovering SDN. The comments by a few people (especially some Australian dude) scared the living crap out of me. But that was my fault. I let it get to me, and I let the posts affect me. It's just that I would have rather gotten 10 more questions wrong, and took the test two weeks earlier.

Whoever thinks SDN represents U.S. MD students is out of his mind.

 

[ohyeahbaby]

and one last thing - that French dude in Ijn's avatar (the post above mine) was probably the best thing that ever happened to me when it comes to pharm. He does the kaplan pharmacology videos. BUT, keep in mind that it's a lot of hours you need to listen to. You might wana do 1.7x and dedicate a couple of days just to that if you're still pretty early in the process. If you have less than two weeks left, then I personally wouldn't bother.

As you may tell from my last couple of posts, I am a little bitter. Mostly because some people here on SDN don't seem to realize that giving people NO advice is better than giving people s.hitty advice.

 

[Brotato]

and one last thing - that French dude in Ijn's avatar (the post above mine) was probably the best thing that ever happened to me when it comes to pharm. He does the kaplan pharmacology videos. BUT, keep in mind that it's a lot of hours you need to listen to. You might wana do 1.7x and dedicate a couple of days just to that if you're still pretty early in the process. If you have less than two weeks left, then I personally wouldn't bother.

As you may tell from my last couple of posts, I am a little bitter. Mostly because some people here on SDN don't seem to realize that giving people NO advice is better than giving people s.hitty advice.

Wait till you get your score before you get bitter about potentially bad advice cuz how do you know it was bad?

 

[Boardz]

I compiled a screenshot of every wrong NBME question I got into one master powerpoint file. I read up on whatever the topic of the questions was. Near my test date I went through all of my incorrect NBME questions again.

exactly what i'm doing. oh, p.s. i've incorporated a explanation or two from you into some of my incorrects.

 

[ohyeahbaby]

Wait till you get your score before you get bitter about potentially bad advice cuz how do you know it was bad?

honestly, I don't, but it's one of those tests that you just walk out of where you feel like even if everything goes wrong, you still got what you were shooting for. But you're right - I don't know, that's why I haven't really posted anything in depth on how I prepared. There was some really really really helpful advice - it just seemed like you had to fish it out from a pile of BS each time you wanted it

 

[MDPhDyeah]

Oh yeah people, one thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post: I honestly do not think I had a SINGLE question where the race of the patient was mentioned and if it was it was not relevant or helpful. It seemed like in 1/10th of the UWorld questions this was a helpful way to help solve the problems that was not at all useful on the actual exam.

 

[weightlifter911]

How long have you been studying for this test?! Blows my mind that people could take more than 5-6 weeks to prepare. Yeah, you'll probably get a 270. But damn, seems a bit overkill...

I agree with anything over 5-6 weeks is excessive assuming you adequately studied the first two years. The only thing that would of helped me from go from a 260 to a 270 would of been having third year already. So no matter how long i studied for step 1 would of made no difference with the questions I saw.

 

[C O M 2014]

Oh yeah people, one thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post: I honestly do not think I had a SINGLE question where the race of the patient was mentioned and if it was it was not relevant or helpful. It seemed like in 1/10th of the UWorld questions this was a helpful way to help solve the problems that was not at all useful on the actual exam.

Yeah, I thought that was weird.

 

[Watchmeollie]

Got my scores back last week...

6 weeks out- NBME 7 - 200
4 weeks out NBME 11- 219
1 week out NBME 13- 228
COMSAE-C - 589

real deal USMLE step 1: 238
COMLEX: will probably be waiting another week, or month, for the score (hilarious, NBOME, HILARIOUS)

I was shooting for a 240. I don't really know what I want to do, and I don't want to be boxed in because I'm an osteopathic student. I thought 240 was an okay score, turns out its a good score (seriously, what is with all the 250s/260s on SDN? It's almost like people lie on the internet!). Don't base your idea of whats good on sdn, that was my mistake. I haven't been the best student (completely mediocre, actually) but I knew the Step 1 was important, so I tried a little bit harder.

As far as study techniques... I read SDN, and usmleme.com to get an idea of how long/what I should be studying, andthen studied 12-14 hours a day. I worked mostly from FirstAid, supplementing it with Kaplan for my weak points (genetics) and goljan lectures/ RR (biochem). I had 5 solid weeks dedicated to studying, and that was pretty much perfect, because any longer and I would have lost my mind.

I did 1/2 the Kaplan Qbank over the course of the year, and the UWorld bank 1.5X

As somebody said above, there is a lot of bad advice on SDN. Try and take it all with a grain of salt. Some things I would recommend: The day before the test, take a nap. I took naps the day before each exam, and I think it helped, as I definitely couldn't sleep well the night before. Study hard - a 12 hour day is pretty good. Get some exercise every day, if possible (that also helped me sleep). Don't spend 5 weeks in a cave, see people once in a while (not just your sig. other, family/friends/etc). Drink a beer now and then. Eat some veggies. It'll all be okay.

Also, its okay if you start spontaneously crying once in a while. Just try not to let it obscure your view of Qbank 😉

 

[Aclamity]

Why would you even mention to your family the two digit score exists? Just say I got 280 and leave it at that

Why would your family even care and why would that matter? It's your score, your life, and you don't even need to tell them that. What your parents think has no bearing on how you did on an exam.

Sorry, but this just comes across as weird to me.

Because the 2-digit score is generally what IMGs are accustomed to reporting to family/friends/whoever cares. I told my parents my 3-digit score and they understood exactly what that meant because they had a basis for comparison (I have a sister and many friends who went through the same process). For whatever reason many IMGs talk a lot about the 2-digit score, and if your parents are so used to hearing people getting 99s and then you tell them you got a 92 (even though it's a 270+) it just doesn't have the same effect. Not saying any of it matters, but just keep it all in perspective

 

[Phloston]

Why would your family even care and why would that matter? It's your score, your life, and you don't even need to tell them that. What your parents think has no bearing on how you did on an exam.

Sorry, but this just comes across as weird to me.

We all have different sources of motivation. Unfortunately, I have a heavily academic family that cares a lot about this sort of thing. I'm not just doing this for me. I'm doing this for them. That might come across as weird to you, but that's just the way it is.

Because the 2-digit score is generally what IMGs are accustomed to reporting to family/friends/whoever cares. I told my parents my 3-digit score and they understood exactly what that meant because they had a basis for comparison (I have a sister and many friends who went through the same process). For whatever reason many IMGs talk a lot about the 2-digit score, and if your parents are so used to hearing people getting 99s and then you tell them you got a 92 (even though it's a 270+) it just doesn't have the same effect. Not saying any of it matters, but just keep it all in perspective

Aclamity, we're all on the same page here. The IMG status is irrelevant. I haven't been dancing around in Lebanon unaware of what the 2-digit score means at this point. It just depends on how well-informed your parents are of the USMLE scoring process. Neither of mine would know what the 3-digit score means unless either were to read the intro chapter of FA. It's easier just to give a percentile, but apparently that's not the "focus" of this exam.

 

[heroes31]

Got my scores back last week...

6 weeks out- NBME 7 - 200
4 weeks out NBME 11- 219
1 week out NBME 13- 228
COMSAE-C - 589

real deal USMLE step 1: 238
COMLEX: will probably be waiting another week, or month, for the score (hilarious, NBOME, HILARIOUS)

I was shooting for a 240. I don't really know what I want to do, and I don't want to be boxed in because I'm an osteopathic student. I thought 240 was an okay score, turns out its a good score (seriously, what is with all the 250s/260s on SDN? It's almost like people lie on the internet!). Don't base your idea of whats good on sdn, that was my mistake. I haven't been the best student (completely mediocre, actually) but I knew the Step 1 was important, so I tried a little bit harder.

As far as study techniques... I read SDN, and usmleme.com to get an idea of how long/what I should be studying, andthen studied 12-14 hours a day. I worked mostly from FirstAid, supplementing it with Kaplan for my weak points (genetics) and goljan lectures/ RR (biochem). I had 5 solid weeks dedicated to studying, and that was pretty much perfect, because any longer and I would have lost my mind.

I did 1/2 the Kaplan Qbank over the course of the year, and the UWorld bank 1.5X

As somebody said above, there is a lot of bad advice on SDN. Try and take it all with a grain of salt. Some things I would recommend: The day before the test, take a nap. I took naps the day before each exam, and I think it helped, as I definitely couldn't sleep well the night before. Study hard - a 12 hour day is pretty good. Get some exercise every day, if possible (that also helped me sleep). Don't spend 5 weeks in a cave, see people once in a while (not just your sig. other, family/friends/etc). Drink a beer now and then. Eat some veggies. It'll all be okay.

Also, its okay if you start spontaneously crying once in a while. Just try not to let it obscure your view of Qbank 😉

Thanks for the info!
Did you take the comlex after the usmle? And if so how much time do u think one needs to study the osteopathic material?

 

[NumbaOneGunna]

i got a 242 today on nbme 13 with 2 weeks left. can someone:

a) tell me how what to do to get 250+

b) make phloston into a meme. (maybe, "Scumbag Step 1 expert.... never took it.")

much appreciated

oh! and what you guys did with your nbme's to maximize learning from it.

I love this idea (option B). How about "Spent 3 years studying for step 1... Got a 188"
oh what a wet dream

Two digit score is about as cool as the people who obsess over it. Which is slightly less cooler than taking a shower with your dad. I love IMGs, they're so gosh dang cute!!!!

 

[deleted103644]

I love this idea (option B). How about "Spent 3 years studying for step 1... Got a 188"
oh what a wet dream

Two digit score is about as cool as the people who obsess over it. Which is slightly less cooler than taking a shower with your dad. I love IMGs, they're so gosh dang cute!!!!

Haha, to play Devil's advocate, the two digit score is actually more relevant now. Instead of everything over 210 being a 99, now a 260 is only a 90. Makes it much more informative. 😛

 

[dontFREToverit]

just be careful phloston. you're putting in an insane amount of time in order to go from the 255/260+ that you probably could have gotten taking the test a month ago, to a 270. You could get to the week of the test, realize what a giant amount of life and effort would be wasted if you don't perform, get nervous, sleep poorly, and wind up with the same 245 as tons of other good students who spend 4-5 weeks doing FA and UWorld and then move on with their lives. or you could just get an unlucky draw of questions. there's really just a relative handful of questions separating these higher-end scores.

 

[HalladayWeekend]

These steps seem to be the most unstandardized of any standardized test that exists. I'm not quite sure exactly what one is proving by spending months to increase their score. If residency directors are fooled into thinking this will make a better resident, then power to them.

 

[illegallysmooth]

Thanks for the info!
Did you take the comlex after the usmle? And if so how much time do u think one needs to study the osteopathic material?

I think taking the COMLEX a week after USMLE gave me ample time for more high yield review + OMM. 3-4 days prob would have been sufficient but it's nice to have a couple days off after the USMLE.

 

[fuzzybear30]

Hey guys I was wondering if on USMLE they are still testing us Lac-operon and other gene regulation systems in prokaryotes. Recently i attended a review seminar and the biochem guy told us that USMLE is no longer testing on prokaryotic gene expression and regulation. Is that true? For those who have taken the exam, have you guys encountered any questions on this topic. U-world still has a couple of questions in regards to this.

For a list of topics that ARE tested on the USMLE Step 1 for 2012, please refer to http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/step-1/2012content_step1.pdf

A quick search yielded NO results for 'lac operon', but you should read it thoroughly to be 100% sure.

 

[fuzzybear30]

These steps seem to be the most unstandardized of any standardized test that exists. I'm not quite sure exactly what one is proving by spending months to increase their score. If residency directors are fooled into thinking this will make a better resident, then power to them.

Anything >8 weeks is usually considering to be an extended period and will probably raise some questions during your interview. It will also make you a weaker candidate compared to someone who got a similar score by only spending 5-6 weeks.

 

[ijn]

I agree with everyone that anything over ~5-6 weeks of dedicated study time is overkill even if you want extreme scores. You just get so burnt out at the end that it's almost counterproductive to put your test date any later. But I definitely did part time STEP 1 studying outside of that dedicated period when I was still in my MS2 classes. I presume phloston is doing research? Or third year? So it's not like he's running 100 miles an hour until December. Well, if he is... then I'm a bit scared.

So phloston's going for general surgery. I get the prestige angle from having a crazy score, but just keep in mind that for the 2011 match for general surgery there were only 22 people with a score of 260 or higher. The difference between 261, 271, or 281 is probably meaningless considering how few of them there are. The interview and your personality fit for the program in question are going to be way more important.

 

[just one]

Anything >8 weeks is usually considering to be an extended period and will probably raise some questions during your interview. It will also make you a weaker candidate compared to someone who got a similar score by only spending 5-6 weeks.

You think program directors will know how long you study??? You'd have to be crazy to say you studied for 3 months or longer. Unless you have a huge gap between classes, step 1, and third year, they won't know.

 

[heroes31]

I think taking the COMLEX a week after USMLE gave me ample time for more high yield review + OMM. 3-4 days prob would have been sufficient but it's nice to have a couple days off after the USMLE.

I just wanted to make sure you only needed a few days to review the OMM stuff. Thanks and congrats on your great score!

 

[Watchmeollie]

I took the comlex 2 days before, because my school had a "deadline" (that turned out to be completely arbitrary and meaningless, but oh well). I took the 2 dys between to review biochem, neuro, and genetics, my weakest subjects. My comlex scores came in, and I did fine, so perhaps taking the USMLE first isn't such a big deal after all.

 

[Boardz]

You think program directors will know how long you study??? You'd have to be crazy to say you studied for 3 months or longer. Unless you have a huge gap between classes, step 1, and third year, they won't know.

lol, program directors don't care _how_ you get your score. that's just silly.

Their attitude = if your score's good enough, let's talk.

They're not like... WAIT A MINUTE! He got a 235, which didn't meet our score cut-off of 240, but OMG look at his transcript he like didn't have any time to study at all!!

please.

 

[Leonora]

Thought I'd contribute my scores/plan to the pile, since I did some major lurking during the last few months.

It sounds like my study method was a bit different. I started doing about 30 questions a day (not religiously - I probably managed to do this 5/7 days weekly) on USMLE-Rx in January but didn't hit the books hard until 8 weeks before the test (early June exam). My main resource was FirstAid (x3 in total), but I did read Costanzo Physiology all the way through during the month before the exam. I thought Costanzo was really helpful for getting the basic principles down and understanding the "why" behind the FirstAid facts. I also read High Yield Embryology and High Yield Neuroanatomy - not sure how helpful the embryo one was, but I did have a couple of spinal pathways on my exam. Listened to Goljan files x1 while doing an hour of cleaning each morning. I did one complete pass through both USMLERx and USMLEWorld, but I didn't have time to go through either of the banks a second time or to review my missed questions. I made sure to exercise at least three days a week, and I took a few afternoons completely off and usually stopped studying by 7 pm every night. I think it's definitely possible to take a more relaxed approach to studying and still do fine on this exam.

NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Exam (provided by my school at the 2 month mark, prior to my dedicated study time) - 225/79
USMLERx - 68% with final "predicted score" of 250. Started prior to finishing coursework, finished at 5 weeks out. Randomized, but doing only 30 question blocks until near the end. x1
Free 150 - 93% at 3 weeks out
USMLEWorld - 77%, finished at 10 days out. x1

Actual thing - 256

I'm pretty dang happy (my goal was 245). I guess my advice is to stick with how you learn best. If you feel like going through a QBank a second time won't be helpful, you probably should find something else to do instead. I also didn't purchase any NBMEs, but I think that the Qbank predictors did a decent job (within 10 points) of predicting my actual score.

Good luck to everyone! Hopefully this puts some people at ease. Feel free to PM if you have any questions... not sure what you'd ask me that you wouldn't ask one of our 270 friends here, but you never know. 🙂

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

These steps seem to be the most unstandardized of any standardized test that exists. I'm not quite sure exactly what one is proving by spending months to increase their score. If residency directors are fooled into thinking this will make a better resident, then power to them.

How about the MCATS? you can take them whenever you want. Pholoston can spend however amount of time he wants on the test and it shouldn't matter to the rest of us. Personally, I'd be happy if he did well. It seems like he put in a lot of work.

 

[just one]

lol, program directors don't care _how_ you get your score. that's just silly.

Their attitude = if your score's good enough, let's talk.

They're not like... WAIT A MINUTE! He got a 235, which didn't meet our score cut-off of 240, but OMG look at his transcript he like didn't have any time to study at all!!

please.

That was my point to the poster I quoted just too lazy to type it all out

 

[NeuroAP86]

I guess I will contribute to this:

UWorld: 1st pass = 66% 2nd pass = 82%
NBME 12 = 200 (1 month out)
NBME 7 = 214 (1 week out)
UWorld assessment 1 = 232

Actual = 225
I wasn't too happy with this score since I thought I would better but it could have been worse,
atleast I broke the 220's. I got demolished by GI(no clue how that happened, it was one of my strongest subjects)

Good luck to everyone!

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

I guess I will contribute to this:

UWorld: 1st pass = 66% 2nd pass = 82%
NBME 12 = 200 (1 month out)
NBME 7 = 214 (1 week out)
UWorld assessment 1 = 232

Actual = 225
I wasn't too happy with this score since I thought I would better but it could have been worse,
atleast I broke the 220's. I got demolished by GI(no clue how that happened, it was one of my strongest subjects)

Good luck to everyone!

well you did do better than your nbmes and 225 is a good score. best of luck to you too on rotations and stuff

 

[EaglesAllDay]

I guess I will contribute to this:

UWorld: 1st pass = 66% 2nd pass = 82%
NBME 12 = 200 (1 month out)
NBME 7 = 214 (1 week out)
UWorld assessment 1 = 232

Actual = 225
I wasn't too happy with this score since I thought I would better but it could have been worse,
atleast I broke the 220's. I got demolished by GI(no clue how that happened, it was one of my strongest subjects)

Good luck to everyone!

congrats on the good score...what did you do in that one month to increase your score so much?

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

"I have heard that different questions are graded differently on USMLE steps.

Reality Check: Fiction

Explanation:
USMLE weights all multiple choice questions equally within each Step exam. Thus, answering relatively easy questions or relatively difficult questions correctly provides equal progress toward meeting the minimum passing score. This urban myth may derive from a misunderstanding about the statistical methods called equating that ensure that the 3-digit score is comparable regardless of what test form or what time of year a candidate tests. The statistical processes make small adjustments to scores achieved on test forms that contain relatively more or less difficult items. Scores on tests with relatively difficult items are adjusted up and those achieved on relatively easy items are adjusted down. These adjustments ensure that the scores that are awarded are comparable regardless of the particular combination of items on any examinee's test form and ensures fairness for all test takers."

this makes me think that all the test are of similar difficulty since only small adjustments are made

 

[HeyThere13]

I agree with everyone that anything over ~5-6 weeks of dedicated study time is overkill even if you want extreme scores. You just get so burnt out at the end that it's almost counterproductive to put your test date any later. But I definitely did part time STEP 1 studying outside of that dedicated period when I was still in my MS2 classes. I presume phloston is doing research? Or third year? So it's not like he's running 100 miles an hour until December. Well, if he is... then I'm a bit scared.

So phloston's going for general surgery. I get the prestige angle from having a crazy score, but just keep in mind that for the 2011 match for general surgery there were only 22 people with a score of 260 or higher. The difference between 261, 271, or 281 is probably meaningless considering how few of them there are. The interview and your personality fit for the program in question are going to be way more important.

Agree!!! I took 7 wks and was ready to commit suicide by the middle of week 5....I was not going for an extreme score, but I know that I am a really slow learner. Even for the "slow" people anything over 5 is cray.

 

[Phloston]

just be careful phloston. you're putting in an insane amount of time in order to go from the 255/260+ that you probably could have gotten taking the test a month ago, to a 270. You could get to the week of the test, realize what a giant amount of life and effort would be wasted if you don't perform, get nervous, sleep poorly, and wind up with the same 245 as tons of other good students who spend 4-5 weeks doing FA and UWorld and then move on with their lives. or you could just get an unlucky draw of questions. there's really just a relative handful of questions separating these higher-end scores.

These steps seem to be the most unstandardized of any standardized test that exists. I'm not quite sure exactly what one is proving by spending months to increase their score. If residency directors are fooled into thinking this will make a better resident, then power to them.

Anything >8 weeks is usually considering to be an extended period and will probably raise some questions during your interview. It will also make you a weaker candidate compared to someone who got a similar score by only spending 5-6 weeks.

I'm aware that different people tend to cycle through this forum fairly quickly, so it's possible that you haven't read one of my previous posts where I had already mentioned that I hadn't seen FA until just this February, nor had I ever thought about sitting the USMLE until already close to the end of MS2 (the Australian academic year is the same as the calendar one, so I finished MS2 this past November). I'm not "spending a year" studying for this exam the same way you do during your designated prep period. You knew from the beginning you'd have to sit the USMLE at some point such that much of what you've touched upon during the final weeks is review. My school doesn't hit a lot of the same material. They tend to focus more on EBM and 2CK stuff during MS1/2. There are several Americans at University of Queensland enrolled in what's called the joint UQ-Ochsner program, where they do MS1/2 here and then go back to the States to do MS3/4 in New Orleans. Their cohort is entirely distinct from the 4-year UQ-Australia program (which is what I'm doing), with a completely different application process and enrollment cycle. I am one of two Americans in the 4-year UQ program. I believe there are 37 Americans in the UQ-Ochsner program. During MS1/2, I was aware that these students had had their own private tutorials and free resources given to them by the school, but I was never in their phalanx or study groups because I'm not in their program. The only reason I "know" so much about the Step1 is because I had heard that a couple of these students had been feeding off an upperclassman's SDN post (i.e. Pollux's). So I gave it a first-read during Sem2-MS2. I thought it was interesting because when I had first arrived in Australia as an MS1 in January of 2010, an MS2 had told me a rumor that someone from our program, a year earlier, had essentially gone into lock-down for a year and came out with the world's highest USMLE score. I remember thinking at the time that that was a bit overkill and that he must have cared a lot for whatever reason. Well I coincidentally found out a year and a half later that that was Jason Chang (Pollux) that he had been referring to. Apparently Jason had had a flatmate who had been studying just as hard, but eventually bailed on the plan because he couldn't handle it anymore.

I agree with everyone that anything over ~5-6 weeks of dedicated study time is overkill even if you want extreme scores. You just get so burnt out at the end that it's almost counterproductive to put your test date any later. But I definitely did part time STEP 1 studying outside of that dedicated period when I was still in my MS2 classes. I presume phloston is doing research? Or third year? So it's not like he's running 100 miles an hour until December. Well, if he is... then I'm a bit scared.

So phloston's going for general surgery. I get the prestige angle from having a crazy score, but just keep in mind that for the 2011 match for general surgery there were only 22 people with a score of 260 or higher. The difference between 261, 271, or 281 is probably meaningless considering how few of them there are. The interview and your personality fit for the program in question are going to be way more important.

You're right. I'm juggling a PhD right now. Fortunately, I had spent much of MS2 and all of December doing considerable work so that I can "coast" a little through this year while doing USMLE prep. And by coast I mean not needing to do 12-hr literature review days. Quite honestly, I actually feel a bit behind because I still haven't hit Kaplan or UWorld QBanks yet. Until I get through those two, I would not consider sitting the exam.