Official 2012 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[amavir281]

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.

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[Jonari]

Got your PM, hopefully these lawyers are good for the money they're asking.

What happened?

 

[Jonari]

that cocky bastard is full of ****; about time somebody calls him out on it.

How is he cocky? Projection much.

 

[Jonari]

Still blown away that he had around 40 neuroanatomy questions on his exam. That's around 13% of the exam, solely on that subject. The part I'm dreading the most.

 

[MCAT guy]

Phloston was right. I got BRS path. Way better than Goljan. Not sure what y'all smoking.

 

[Aclamity]

Still blown away that he had around 40 neuroanatomy questions on his exam. That's around 13% of the exam, solely on that subject. The part I'm dreading the most.

i don't think there were 40 neuroanatomy questions on a 322 question test. People just tend to overestimate the proportion of questions from the subjects they found difficult.

 

[Phloston]

i don't think there were 40 neuroanatomy questions on a 322 question test. People just tend to overestimate the proportion of questions from the subjects they found difficult.

There were ~40 neuro questions on my exam. We've known for a while that people get subject-skewed exams. There were lots of images and lots of vignettes. This is not an over-representation based on what I may vs may not have found difficult.

For instance, I believe I may have had only one repro question on my entire form. I also had very little endocrine and very little pharm (the latter which I had said above). I also had basically no respiratory. To that effect, the only respiratory question I can think of that I had on my exam was one of the ones that was an exact repeat from one of the NBMEs.

But yeah, there were at least 5-6 neuro questions per block.

 

[MCAT guy]

.

 

[Aclamity]

There were ~40 neuro questions on my exam. We've known for a while that people get subject-skewed exams. There were lots of images and lots of vignettes. This is not an over-representation based on what I may vs may not have found difficult.

For instance, I believe I may have had only one repro question on my entire form. I also had very little endocrine and very little pharm (the latter which I had said above). I also had basically no respiratory. To that effect, the only respiratory question I can think of that I had on my exam was one of the ones that was an exact repeat from one of the NBMEs.

But yeah, there were at least 5-6 neuro questions per block.

maybe you're right. Would've expected that kind of distribution with cardio, resp, or renal, but not neuro. I guess this test really is that random.

 

[thehundredthone]

What happened?

I typed 2 notes during the exam. One was the rhyme "One, two, three four five, once I caught a fish alive", and the other was "allworkandnoplaymakesjackadullboy" over and over again, The Shining style. I think both things counted against me. Now I'm going to go on a crusade against them.

(I'm serious about the notes. 8 hours is a long time.)

 

[mayn]

Well.. I sat my step one on the 29th. I think it wasn't too bad.. though I'll truly know after I get my score.

The layout was exactly like uworld, so it seemed familiar from the get go. As some people have mentioned, the cardiac auscultation is also extremely cool. However.. one question tripped me up, with a patient having a 'bounding pulse', bp of 150/60, and I could hear the aortic regurge murmur near the apex.. however.. 'aortic regurgitation/insufficiency' wasn't an answer choice.. That was.. weird/frustrating.

I had a few obscure micro questions... a couple of fungi questions with pictures. Some questions on bacterial genetics too.

I saw a few of the weird molecular questions, which I presume to be 'experimental', but even those could be figured out with logic, like a small puzzle on some IQ test. However, when its block 6.. and some fatigue sets in, with not a lot of time left in the block.. its hard to work a stupid puzzle out.

The most surprising thing was the amount of biostats that I had, it was insane. None of the questions were particularly 'hard' questions, every possible calculation was on my exam, but the sheer amount of biostats I had was surprising.. I'll even say I had more biostats q's than pharm q's. (~ 23 biostats q's)

I think I definitely over-studied path and pharm.. not too difficult, or nothing I hadn't seen before..

Pharm was surprisingly simple.. with not too many tricky ones.

In concordance with the recent ongoing trend; there was a decent amount of anatomy on my test. I had quite a few CT/MRI scans (around 6-7). Abdomen + pelvis/perineum was the major target for anatomy questions on my exam. A weird chest X-ray question that with the power of google I still can't figure out what they were asking..


I think the question style was very similar to NBME q's.. doing lots of questions (uworld, usmlerx, all the NBMEs) was probably the best thing I did.
I think overall some questions were extremely straight forward (around 60%), some were somewhat straight forward (20-25%).. and the last 15-20% being pretty tough, with having narrowed the answers down to 2-3 choices.

Oh.. 2 questions were literally copy pasted from those free usmle 150 questions.


Here is my progression:
3 months ago: Nbme 5 = 214
3 months ago: Nbme 11 = 231
2 months ago: Nbme 12 = 221 (freaked out)
1 month ago: Nbme 13 = 242
5 days before Step: Nbme 7 = 264 (hoping this wasn't some crazy outlier)

Actual score = ?? will find out Dec 20th

Got 245.

Was hoping for 250+, so a little disappointed.. but I'll get over it.

 

[dragon529]

@mayn, Great score! That score will at the minimum get you pass any filters at competitive residencies if you're interested.

 

[Jorje286]

If I'm gunning for 250ish score, how much biochemistry/molecular biology should I study?

I have been reading conflicting reports. FA is really short on pathways, with little to no coverage outside krebs, glycolysis, urea and even those were short. I plan on doing FA, Kaplan QBank, USMLE World, Lippincott q&a. Is that good enough? Or should I go to the big lippincott review book and go over all of the pathways?

Similar question for anatomy. FA is very, very short on anatomy. Again is FA + Kaplan QBank + USMLE World good enough for the score I am aiming?

 

[Phloston]

Mayn, good job on the exam, and thanks for having been such a great contributor for a while now. Don't be disappointed just because NBME7 was a little bit of a tease. It's really tough to say what may have happened. When you left the exam, how did you feel about things in relation to the NBMEs? The other thing is that NBME7 is a bit older. Perhaps the USMLE actually has changed significantly over the years where it now really is just that much more similar to the latter exams. But yeah, if I were you, I'd open up the specialties chart in FA just to show yourself that a 245 is solid. You'll be going places, my friend.

 

[Phloston]

how much biochemistry/molecular biology should I study?

I have been reading conflicting reports. FA is really short on pathways, with little to no coverage outside krebs, glycolysis, urea and even those were short. I plan on doing FA, Kaplan QBank, USMLE World, Lippincott q&a. Is that good enough? Or should I go to the big lippincott review book and go over all of the pathways?

FA covers the metabolic cycles sufficiently. However, the QBanks will clue you in on how they can be tested.

This means good and "bad" news:

Good news: the only text you need for biochem is FA (and just in case you are curious, I own DejaReview Biochem and HY Biochem; both were preter-unnecessary. I also spent about an hour one day flying through a copy of Underground Clinical Vignettes - Biochem that I had seen laying around in my SoM's bookstore. This was actually pretty good, but not necessary.).

"Bad" news: you have to do a lot of practice questions to see how biochem's tested. The USMLE likes to mesh the biochemical pathways in with enzymatic phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, cAMP and pathoendocrinology (e.g. hormones, congenital disorders). Biochem is also a prime target for minutiae questions. The QBanks will fill you in on the details you need to know.

Kaplan QBank is the best QBank for building your molecular bio.

Similar question for anatomy. FA is very, very short on anatomy. Again is FA + Kaplan QBank + USMLE World good enough for the score I am aiming?

FA + the QBanks + neuro-only sections of KLN + Underground Clinical Vignettes (anatomy) is sufficient. The latter isn't necessary, but is only a 10-15-hr read, so I still recommend it.

Now let me just make a point clear: anatomy stands as the one subject where your external knowledge is most critical. You can't get this through USMLE resources. This comes only with having been an anatomy tutor or a lab aficionado during the first two years of med school. When I say that those above resources are all you need for anatomy, they're in actuality just all you should be using during your study period.

I own BRS Anatomy, HY Anatomy, USMLE RoadMap Anatomy and KLN anatomy - all were a waste of time. QBank Qs will make you aware as to how anatomy is tested. These latter texts are consonant with lab-based anatomy-learning during MS1/2, but they are too generalized for helping you answer USMLE questions. Just do tons of practice questions and quickly review the neuro sections of the anatomy book of the KLNs.

 

[dragon529]

@Phloston, Is it worth getting kaplan Qbank only for the mole bio section if I'll also be doing Rx and UWorld?

 

[chillax9]

What about the Neuroanatomy section of Webpath?

Some folks who had taken the test had recommended it. For those of you who have done it, can someone point out what precisely needs to done.

There are whole set of Anatomy Images and some quizzes, so it seems a bit overwhelming.

 

[mayn]

Mayn, good job on the exam, and thanks for having been such a great contributor for a while now. Don't be disappointed just because NBME7 was a little bit of a tease. It's really tough to say what may have happened. When you left the exam, how did you feel about things in relation to the NBMEs? The other thing is that NBME7 is a bit older. Perhaps the USMLE actually has changed significantly over the years where it now really is just that much more similar to the latter exams.

Thanks guys. I thought there were a couple tough blocks, but I actually felt fairly good about the exam. The test felt harder than NBME's, but not as hard as uworld.. I guess I must've made a bunch of silly errors and such on actual test day.. oh well, I'll try to not beat myself too much about it.

Nbme 7 was such a bastard lol.

@mayn, Great score! That score will at the minimum get you pass any filters at competitive residencies if you're interested.

But yeah, if I were you, I'd open up the specialties chart in FA just to show yourself that a 245 is solid. You'll be going places, my friend

Well I am an US IMG (caribbean school), so considering that.. there's a few doors closed almost by default, but a 250+ might've kept them slightly open. I still don't know which area of medicine to go into, but wanted to have as many choices available as possible.

Here's to hoping I fall in love with an area of medicine where a 245 is good enough, haha.

Bittersweet moment ftw!

 

[Good Samaritan2]

so I just took my step 1 exam today, as you can see it's my first post as well. I'm very nervous about it after I took it due to lack of knowing how it's going to be scored so any advice would be helpful if ppl have any ideas. here are number of questions I was sure of (98%+) was right for each block:

1. 30
2. 34
3.32
4. 31
5.30
6.29
7.27

so my last two were under 30 (not good i know) but assuming worst case scenerio meaning I got all the questions i didn't know/sure of wrong, what kind of score am I looking at? thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[Zzmed]

I believe no one has the answer for what you 're asking...

 

[usmlefighter]

so I just took my step 1 exam today, as you can see it's my first post as well. I'm very nervous about it after I took it due to lack of knowing how it's going to be scored so any advice would be helpful if ppl have any ideas. here are number of questions I was sure of (98%+) was right for each block:

1. 30
2. 34
3.32
4. 31
5.30
6.29
7.27

so my last two were under 30 (not good i know) but assuming worst case scenario meaning I got all the questions i didn't know/sure of wrong, what kind of score am I looking at? thanks for the advice in advance.

If we add above correct answers which you are almost sure then it comes to 213 out of 322. So they count to 213/322x100=66% roughly.

It means 66% of your answers are almost correct.

Next out of remaining 109 qs remaining (322-213=109) , you may get at least 25-30% correct i.e average 25qs ( may be wild or educated guess)

So now add above 213 correct answers + 25 guessed answers , it together comes to 238/322 . So you may get 238 correct answers roughly out of 322. It means 238/322x100=73% roughly.

This is raw score 238 and raw percentage 73%. Once they get scaled you may get 3 digit score . Basically answering 65% average correct answers =188 (PASS). But in your case it comes to roughly 73%.

So you may get close to 205+ 5 or 205-5 so around 200-210

Based on my analysis ( with your feedback) i guess your score to be between 200-210. Lets wait for 3 weeks how my analysis comes true. This is purely roughly estimation and that too based on your feedback of correct answers in 7 blocks...If you lucky enough in getting more correct answers in guessed qs out of 109qs then your score may add up to 220 roughly.

Bottom line: Your estimated score will be between 200-210 based on your feedback of raw score.thanks

UPDATE: My estimated score with above experience got correct. he got 199, disappointed but good luck with step-2 ck

 

[WonderBoy]

so I just took my step 1 exam today, as you can see it's my first post as well. I'm very nervous about it after I took it due to lack of knowing how it's going to be scored so any advice would be helpful if ppl have any ideas. here are number of questions I was sure of (98%+) was right for each block:

1. 30
2. 34
3.32
4. 31
5.30
6.29
7.27

so my last two were under 30 (not good i know) but assuming worst case scenerio meaning I got all the questions i didn't know/sure of wrong, what kind of score am I looking at? thanks for the advice in advance.

No one can answer that question for you. You will just have to wait like everyone else. Best you can do is to try to distract yourself until scores come out.

 

[Phloston]

@Phloston, Is it worth getting kaplan Qbank only for the mole bio section if I'll also be doing Rx and UWorld?

It's worth getting Kaplan QBank not just for the molecular bio, but for everything is has to offer. There are quite a few lab techniques as well as analyses of plasmid construction / gene transfer that are assessed in KQB that are simply just not covered to the same extent in Rx or UWorld.

This also refers to testing you on conjugation, transduction, homologous recombination, site-specific recombination, phenotype masking/mixing, complementation and antibiotic resistance mechanisms.

This is not to say that you would necessarily be lost on these types of questions on your actual exam if you didn't do KQB, but what I can say, in relation to my exam, is that I had 4-5 questions with regard to the mechanisms above, where I tackled them based off of my external knowledge for the most part. One or two were basically rapid recall. But another two were questions I had marked on my form (i.e. I wasn't 100% sure). For these, the background knowledge that I used to narrow down the answers likely came from KQB more than any other resource.

When I went through UWorld after KQB, I noticed that they very briefly touched upon some of the molecular bio topics, but not nearly as comprehensively as Kaplan. That's also for a reason. Molecular bio isn't the highest-yield topic ever, but Kaplan for some reason likes it.

On my exam, I feel 4-5 questions is actually a lot to ask on pure molecular bio (i.e. mo bio not integrated with pathology or biochem; just pure mo bio). I think I may have expected perhaps one or two questions on plasmid construction or gene transfer, but I had double that number.

The question I had on transfer of genetic material was quite nebulous. It fell into the category of one of those reasoning questions that you just can't prepare for, but if you understand how the process works, you're in a better position to think your way through what would or would not be reasonable.

What about the Neuroanatomy section of Webpath?

Some folks who had taken the test had recommended it. For those of you who have done it, can someone point out what precisely needs to done.

There are whole set of Anatomy Images and some quizzes, so it seems a bit overwhelming.

Just do the examination questions. Don't worry about the slides or tutorials.

Do the questions in topic-specific blocks as you move through MS2. These are great to end your week or to prepare for exams.

I never looked at the pathology slides/tutorials. I just did the questions.

For anatomy, on a few occasions when it would be late at night and I couldn't do any form of reading because I was too tired, I would listen to music and run through their head-to-toe cross-sections. These aren't necessary, but once again, they're good if you're too tired to read but still want to study.

But in short, when I recommend Webpath, I'm referring to all of the examination questions. In terms of slides/tutorials, use those at your leisure, but they are not a must.

I guess I must've made a bunch of silly errors and such on actual test day.. oh well, I'll try to not beat myself too much about it.

In terms of silly errors, I had a hypnagogic realization two days ago that I had answered incorrectly on a not-too-difficult question that I had not marked. I literally was going to sleep and just randomly thought about the question and realized I got it wrong for no reason other than that I just wasn't careful enough. I'm trying not to freak out about losing a point (or two) over it because I assume that pretty much everyone who sits for the exam has one or more of these errors, so they likely cancel out.

 

[da Vincis World]

In terms of silly errors, I had a hypnagogic realization two days ago that I had answered incorrectly on a not-too-difficult question that I had not marked. I literally was going to sleep and just randomly thought about the question and realized I got it wrong for no reason other than that I just wasn't careful enough. I'm trying not to freak out about losing a point (or two) over it because I assume that pretty much everyone who sits for the exam has one or more of these errors, so they likely cancel out.

Don't worry about these, I ended up missing 6-7 fairly simple questions that i was sure would kill my score and I did fine. 1 or 2 shouldn't affect your score at all.

 

[Plib23]

Ok so I'm taking my exam in a few months. My plan is FA + pathoma + UW during my study period and before. I don't really have time for the whole Kaplan Qbank but I do feel that my general anatomy, neuroanatomy, radiology, histology slides, and "lab procedures" are very weak..not too sure about molecular bio because I haven't started my qbank yet. So it sounds like I need to supplement with the following: webpath exam questions, KLN neuro, and possibly the kaplan Qbank molecular bio/anatomy sections? Would you endorse this phloston?

 

[Phloston]

Ok so I'm taking my exam in a few months. My plan is FA + pathoma + UW during my study period and before. I don't really have time for the whole Kaplan Qbank but I do feel that my general anatomy, neuroanatomy, radiology, histology slides, and "lab procedures" are very weak..not too sure about molecular bio because I haven't started my qbank yet. So it sounds like I need to supplement with the following: webpath exam questions, KLN neuro, and possibly the kaplan Qbank molecular bio/anatomy sections? Would you endorse this phloston?

I never touched Pathoma at any point, however the latter resources that you mention are all very good to use. I felt KQB was particularly good for building my comfort reading CT scans. I also just felt the KQB, overall, was pretty good for anatomy. If you're crammed for time, don't freak out about molecular bio in KQB, but be sure you are comfortable applying the concepts I've mentioned in the second paragraph of my above post.

When is your exam? You might be surprised how much you can fit in. You need ~6 weeks for UWorld and ~ a month for KQB if you go through them really reading all of the explanations. I would recommend Webpath examination questions as a top-up to these QBanks. That is, after you finish a 6-8-hr day with KQB, for instance, try and squeeze in a quick 40-minute or one-hour block of Webpath questions. The Webpath questions go much faster because the explanations are one-liners and you shouldn't be annotating FA from these (only annotate FA from UWorld, Kaplan or USMLE Rx). So yeah, if your exam were in 12 weeks, for instance, you have ten weeks where you can just work hard (6 weeks on UWorld and a month on KQB + Webpath), then your final two weeks can be alternating NBMEs and memorizing the fine details in FA. And if you've been nailing the QBanks and reading all of the explanations, you'll find that you surprisingly won't need to cram FA that hard during the final two weeks. The QBanks really prepare you well insofar as you read everything in the explanations. Make time for them if you can.

 

[Phloston]

Don't worry about these, I ended up missing 6-7 fairly simple questions that i was sure would kill my score and I did fine. 1 or 2 shouldn't affect your score at all.

That's reassuring. But regardless (as you know), it's quite vexing.

 

[Plib23]

.

 

[da Vincis World]

Thanks for the input. Exam is April 1st so 12 weeks is about right with half my day filled with obligations during January and February. I'd really like to get through uworld twice during this period (once January and February, and a second time during March). I just don't think it would be possible to fit all of kaplan + UW + UW marked/incorrect in 12 weeks.. and I've heard that UW once might not be enough. Anyways that's why I was thinking that supplementing Kaplan for some problem sections might be a good idea.

Ditch Kaplan......Pathoma is excellent, quick and more than enough for the path on step 1.

 

[Phloston]

Thanks for the input. Exam is April 1st so 12 weeks is about right with half my day filled with obligations during January and February. I'd really like to get through uworld twice during this period (once January and February, and a second time during March). I just don't think it would be possible to fit all of kaplan + UW + UW marked/incorrect in 12 weeks.. and I've heard that UW once might not be enough. Anyways that's why I was thinking that supplementing Kaplan for some problem sections might be a good idea.

Your second pass of UWorld will take you 7-10 days. I would actually say that UWorld once (+ reviewing your incorrects) + KQB once is more beneficial than UWorld twice.

Definitely do Kaplan QBank though.

 

[drsadness88]

Took the exam on November 28th and got my score yesterday it's
226/82

I am a bit bummed. Well it's slightly above US average, but I am an IMG so I was hoping I'd get at least 230.

I wonder what my chances are into getting an IM residency in the East Coast?

I have US clinical expereince and a LOR. Also, research paper back home. I will graduate med school in 2013.

 

[Phloston]

Took the exam on November 28th and got my score yesterday it's
226/82

I am a bit bummed. Well it's slightly above US average, but I am an IMG so I was hoping I'd get at least 230.

I wonder what my chances are into getting an IM residency in the East Coast?

I have US clinical expereince and a LOR. Also, research paper back home. I will graduate med school in 2013.

You should post your thoughts/concerns on SDN's internal medicine forum:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=41

People will likely be able to give you better responses there.

 

[usmlefighter]

Took the exam on November 28th and got my score yesterday it's
226/82

I am a bit bummed. Well it's slightly above US average, but I am an IMG so I was hoping I'd get at least 230.

I wonder what my chances are into getting an IM residency in the East Coast?

I have US clinical expereince and a LOR. Also, research paper back home. I will graduate med school in 2013.

you will be fine with US Experience and strong LOR

 

[Cozenboy]

So I took my exam yesterday, and since this forum helped me a lot, I wanted to give some feedback. I put in more details when I get my scores in a couple of weeks, but to those that are studying right now I wanna say this: FA/UW/Pathoma is a perfect combination. Read every commentary, take your time to read FA again and again, and then that definitely is enough for a good score.

Ok guys, I know this is quite late for me to post this since I already got my score back about 2 months ago, but better late than never

My score: 258 / 89 (94th percentile).

I'll try to give you a brief overview of how I studied since I don't wanna bore you with too many details.

Started studying and checking things out about a year before the exam (October 2011), and got familiar with all the procedures. Tried to read FIRSTAID 2010 (no, I don't think you definitely need the newest version of it... ;-)) during my semester, but as a matter of fact, really started studying with full commitment in April 2012 (up to that point I had read 30-50% of FA and done some questions with an iPhone app (Lange) and my flashcard app (USMLE Wiz 1 --> ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!!!)
I'm an IMG-to-be from Germany and was (and still am) in the clinical part of medschool. We have a combined undergraduate and graduate programm overhere in Europe, so it's usually 6-7 years for everything together. Usually 6,25 years in Germany. So I took the Step 1 after my 4th year which I would recommend for German medical students. You can also take it after your 3rd year, but it will be a lot easier after your 4th or even 5th year. It's not easy to compare the German with the US system, so it might be a bit hard to understand this for Americans. But they don't need to, anyway ;-).

I had 3 months from April till July accompanying my semester in Germany, and then 3 free months in the summer from July till October.
During the semester I tried to finish FA for the first time, which I almost did (I actually finished it by the end of August or beginning of september) and I did about 1000 Kaplan questions.
I'm a very slow reader. I read 4-6 pages an hour. Or 8-12 questions an hour including the commentary. When I started med school I always felt a bit weird because everybody else seemed to read so much faster, but as a matter of fact, I've always been one of the best students in Germany and in my class, and I don't have to read things a thousand times because I've got a good memory. As a matter of fact, I believe that if others would read slower and more carefully they would retain more knowledge. But everybody has to find their personal learning style.
I got USMLEWORLD in August and didn't finish it. I did about 1500 questions, in the end I could just read the commentaries of the questions I got wrong. I wish I would have gotten UW earlier and done the rest instead of doing any Kaplan questions (even though the Kaplan QBank was quite cool for microbiology and biochem and stuff like that). I also wish I could have read all the commentaries of all the questions because it was really high-yield stuff.
I tried to read FA a second time through in September until my test day (October 15th 2012), but I just got halfway through, or maybe 2/3. I did read most of the pharmacology sections a second time, because pharmacology was one of my weak spots. Also biochemistry since I had that in 2009 the last time in my German medical school education. I wish I could have read FA 3 times. It's really worth it.
I also watched all the Pathoma Videos. Superb. Helped me a lot. I recommend watching it at least once.
I also read/listened to a German pharmacology book, and of course had most of the stuff that is covered on the exam already in my German medschool education.
I took several self-assesments:

July 31st: NBME 3: 450/210
August 16th: UWSA 1: 640/247
September 5th: NBME 7: 510/224
October 6th: UWSA 2: 660/250
October 12th: NBME 12: 620/250

October 15th: USMLE Step 1: 258/89

Some additional advice: As much as this forum can help you, don't let it discourage you!!! Several times I was quite frustrated after reading stuff in here, because people who post on here have usually excellent scores but often act as if their score is soooo bad even though they have read 10 different books, studied 20 hours a day, and finished FA 7 times and did 3 question banks. Man, that really gave me a hard time, because I got to a point in my studying where I felt so burned out (September) that I wanted to call everything off. Glad that I didn't ;-) But if you are in such a state, reading stories of "supermen" ain't helping you ;-) Rather stories of other students who also struggled and were frustrated and still made it in the end.

I also think that I have never ever been under such pressure in my whole life as in the weeks leading up to the exam. I couldn't fall asleep at night because of worries about my learning process and the score, and it usually took me 1-2 hours to fall asleep. I also head tension headaches 1-2 times a week due to the immense stress and slept 8-9 hours a night to compensate the "burnout". So, this was definitely an interesting life experience for me, haha ;-)

The exam itself was surprisingly easy. A lot of the questions seemed familiar, and I finished with a good feeling. The fifth block was quite intense because I was running out of time, but the last two blocks were easier. I had about 0-5 minutes at the end of each block, and needed the whole time of 8 hours. I didn't mark a lot of questions, maybe 20 in the whole exam, because I generally don't like going back to questions at the end of the block. So I avoided that as much as I could.

I really felt relieved when I was done, and basically spent the whole week after that watching about 40 hours of movies, series etc. Man, did I need that, haha. Didn't freak out because of the 3,5 week waiting period but was glad when I got the score. Honestly, I didn't expect such a high score. My secret goal was 250+, but after the exam I thought: Everything 230+ I wanna be satisfied with. So I was very thrilled when I opened the PDF and saw the score.

I wanna thank my family for supporting me all the way through, without their help it definitely would have been way harder. And as a convinced Christian I can just say: Thank you God for carrying me succesfully through this hard study time ;-)

Much success and blessing to all of you who still have the exam ahead of them ;-)

 

[Cozenboy]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I had also listened to most of Goljan's Audio lectures and read a few chapters of his review book. Maybe 100 pages. I wish I could have read it all. Well, maybe I will in the coming months ;-)

 

[cage92]

hey congratulation when you say reading first aid did you mean learning and memorizing every detail like side effect of drug....? and what about molecular biology in your exam what do you recomend first aid plus question enough?

 

[Zzmed]

Congrats on your perfect score!

1. How did you manage to rise your score about 30 points from september to october? What did you do during that period?
2. Did you use other resources than FA, UW and Kaplan Qbank?

 

[Cozenboy]

hey congratulation when you say reading first aid did you mean learning and memorizing every detail like side effect of drug....? and what about molecular biology in your exam what do you recomend first aid plus question enough?

Thanks. With reading I mean WORKING IT THROUGH. I usually use highlighters in 4-5 different colors, and then I mark everything that's important and which I don't know yet. I added my own notes, for example pieces of knowledge from Pathoma or my classes which came into my mind when reading it. That's also why I need so much time reading. If I don't mark stuff, I read it slowly and carefully, so that I was truly aware of the content that I was reading. If I didn't understand something, then I stopped and thought about it. Because it's way harder to memorize stuff that you don't comprehend ;-)

Molecular biology: I think that it depends on your general knowledge in this area. For me FA and the Kaplan and UW qbanks were enough, but I had also read a 800-page biochemistry book in 2008/09 when I had those topics in medical school and my school is kind of famous in Germany to have a hard biochemistry class. So, I guess it depends. Also upon how many questions you'll have of that area in your exam. But as I said before, I believe if you don't just SCAN but truly READ and SOAK UP all the content that can be found in FA, Pathoma and UW (especially the commentaries), then it should be enough.

I started doing questions untimed. Did most of the questions like that. Or at least half of them. 3-10 minutes per question, depending on the depth of the commentary. If I did 80-100 questions plus commentary, that's a day's work ;-) In the last two months I did the blocks in timed mode, read the commentaries of the wrong questions afterwards because I didn't have time anymore to read all of them. But never rush. It's counterproductive. At least for me. In German we have a saying that goes somewhat like this: In rest/peace lies strength/power.

 

[Cozenboy]

Congrats on your perfect score!

1. How did you manage to rise your score about 30 points from september to october? What did you do during that period?
2. Did you use other resources than FA, UW and Kaplan Qbank?

Well, I mostly did questions in UWorld in that time! Also FA and a few videos of Pathoma that I hadn't done yet. But most of those I had done in August.

But honestly: After my first NBME, I was surprised that it was so low because I felt quite good. After the second self-assessment (UW), I was surprised because it was so high. The third NBME was surprisingly bad (NBME 7), I had expected something beyond 230. Maybe the first 3 were kind of exceptional and not representative. In general, I encountered lots of questions where I had to choose between 2 options. Often it's like that. You can kick out all the other options, 2 remain, and then you either know it or not, and in the latter case you have to guess ;-) I think with some bad luck on exam day I could have also gotten a 230+. It all depends upon sooo many factors.

Regarding my resources: Goljan Audio, Pathoma, about 100 pages of Goljan Essentials/Review, my favorite USMLE APP on the iPhone "USMLE Wiz" --> looks like crap if you have to rate the design, and it just costs like 1 or 2 dollars, so at the beginning I thought "what good can it be", but it basically contains all the facts of FA in flashcard form, about 2000 cards with all the stuff that also in the book. On my website you can find pictures and a link.

http://app-doctor.com/apps/usmle_apps.html

I also used the Lange Q&A Step 1 App, Robbins Pathology Flashcard App, but just worked through about 30-40 cards. One afternoon on some topics that were hard for me. And - as I stated before - a German book (about 200 pages) on pharmacology. But remember, I knew a lot already through my normal German medical school. Our education is not as practical as in the US, but theoretically excellent.

But again, in the end, I think that the combination of FA / UW / Pathoma + Self-assessments suffices to be able to give you a 250+.

 

[Zzmed]

But again, in the end, I think that the combination of FA / UW / Pathoma + Self-assessments suffices to be able to give you a 250+.

What if instead of pathoma somebody goes with Goljan book + audio? Would you say the same?

 

[Cozenboy]

What if instead of pathoma somebody goes with Goljan book + audio? Would you say the same?

Yes, the Goljan book definitely has more details than the Pathoma videos. So that's maybe even better. But I just needed an alternative to reading, and the Pathoma videos are really entertaining and teaching at the same time. So it's worth the money and now they are even ipad-compatible since October or so.

By the way, I really recommend getting the iPad or now even iPad mini for the exam. I couldn't imagine doing all the question banks at the computer. It's just waaaay more comfortable holding a tablet in your hand and sitting on a couch or wherever doing questions. You can more easily change positions and take the questions with you everywhere. Definitely worth the investion. Seriously! I got myself the iPad mini as a reward for the good score in November, and am currently using it for the UW Step 2 QBank and my German QBanks, and I have to say it's even better than the big iPad because I don't have to hold 750g but just 300 grams in my hands. Helps reduce neck pain. At least that's what I'm telling myself, haha ;-) But seriously, compared to the thousands of dollars that flow into the whole residency process with all the steps, materials and interview travel costs, the cost of an ipad is barely anything but "yields lots of fruit" ;-)

 

[WilliamsEph]

Congrats, that is an awesome score. Do you think Pathoma covered everything or did you see a question that wasn't covered in Pathoma? I'm doing Pathoma now, and if anything Dr. Satar seems to cover more details than in First Aid.

 

[Phloston]

I still haven't received my score. Did you get an email telling you it was available?

I've been going to this link: https://secure2.ecfmg.org/emain.asp?app=oasis

Is that where you checked too?

And awesome job.

 

[Cozenboy]

Congrats, that is an awesome score. Do you think Pathoma covered everything or did you see a question that wasn't covered in Pathoma? I'm doing Pathoma now, and if anything Dr. Satar seems to cover more details than in First Aid.

Well, there's DEFINITELY stuff you should know for the exam that is not covered in Pathoma!! But most of those things can be found somewhere in the commentaries of the UWorld question bank!

At the end of my Pathoma course, this is what I did: Read the appropiate chapter in FirstAid, then watch the Pathoma video, then add the stuff to FA that isn't there yet. I probably should have done that with all the videos, but usually you're always smarter after the exam ;-)

 

[Cozenboy]

I still haven't received my score. Did you get an email telling you it was available?

I've been going to this link: https://secure2.ecfmg.org/emain.asp?app=oasis

Is that where you checked too?

And awesome job.

Thanks, Phloston. Yes, that's the page I checked. They always publish them on Wednesdays, if I remember correctly. I took mine on a Monday and got the score 23 days later, about 4pm German time. The email arrived a few minutes earlier or later, don't remember anymore. Oh man, my heart went into tachycardia when I downloaded the PDF, such an intense moment, haha ;-)

I actually read lots of your posts, so I'm also very interested to find out whether you got a 270+ or something similar. With all the intense preparation you've obviously gone through you would have deserved it! I still wonder how you did all that ;-) How much sleep do you need in general? Good luck on your result! Did you already post your exam experience? (I didn't read a lot in here anymore in the last weeks so I wouldn't know...)

 

[Phloston]

Thanks, Phloston. Yes, that's the page I checked. They always publish them on Wednesdays, if I remember correctly. I took mine on a Monday and got the score 23 days later, about 4pm German time. The email arrived a few minutes earlier or later, don't remember anymore. Oh man, my heart went into tachycardia when I downloaded the PDF, such an intense moment, haha ;-)

I actually read lots of your posts, so I'm also very interested to find out whether you got a 270+ or something similar. With all the intense preparation you've obviously gone through you would have deserved it! I still wonder how you did all that ;-) How much sleep do you need in general? Good luck on your result! Did you already post your exam experience? (I didn't read a lot in here anymore in the last weeks so I wouldn't know...)

The more days that go by the more questions I realize I got wrong. It's rather disenchanting and I just want my outcome so I can move forward with my life.

I've written a little of a review, but I've just been so busy with other things. I'll post something though when the results come through.

 

[OneMoreRound]

The more days that go by the more questions I realize I got wrong. It's rather disenchanting and I just want my outcome so I can move forward with my life.

I've written a little of a review, but I've just been so busy with other things. I'll post something though when the results come through.

I'm sure you did very well no matter what.

It seems that if you limited all the dumb mistakes then you probably could have prepped in half the time / half the resources and done just as well? Correct or not?

I guess in other words, after a lot of prep you are really only going for a few extra correct answers (5-10 maybe) - so limiting mistakes (i.e. getting stuff you know correct) is as important as covering twice as many qbank questions (i.e doubling your knowledge pool). Maybe that's why some people do very well with just FA and Uworld?

 

[tarsuc]

you'll do awesome im sure.

waiting for your review.

 

[Kaputt]

The more days that go by the more questions I realize I got wrong. It's rather disenchanting and I just want my outcome so I can move forward with my life.

I've written a little of a review, but I've just been so busy with other things. I'll post something though when the results come through.

Everybody feels that way. My buddy who got a 270 was convinced he missed 10 questions per block. The stress of waiting sucks, though. Hopefully you'll get your scores tomorrow.

 

[Cozenboy]

I guess in other words, after a lot of prep you are really only going for a few extra correct answers (5-10 maybe) - so limiting mistakes (i.e. getting stuff you know correct) is as important as covering twice as many qbank questions (i.e doubling your knowledge pool). Maybe that's why some people do very well with just FA and Uworld?

Sounds convincing to me... I think there's definitely some truth to that...

 

[Phloston]

I was very well-rested going into the exam and was convinced that I wouldn't make careless errors. I still did. Plenty of them. I've tried to suppress my thoughts of a few of them, but it's been fairly impossible not to keep dwelling on what the implications may have been to have otherwise answered them correctly. The NBMEs have extremely steep curves, where a couple of questions make a dramatic difference. When you carry this over to the real exam, it's rather disconcerting. But there's nothing I, or any of us, can do other than to just accept it and move on. Figure that everyone makes one or more errors. If the USMLE is truly a curved system, then we should all be balance one another out.

By careless errors, however, this doesn't mean you accidentally clicked B when you meant to click C. It means days/weeks later, you subconsciously arrive at a correct answer (when falling asleep, waking up, in the shower, etc.), reevaluate your thought process on that particular question and realize there was no reason you should have gotten it wrong other than that you were moving too quickly / were in SNS overdrive. Your mind will subconsciously continue to work through questions, even weeks after the exam.

I believe the best way to circumvent carelessness is to get maximum sleep. That's it.

My housemate had asked me how much I would pay per question (with money I currently have) to have my errors turned into correct responses. I said ~$1000-1500. He said, "well why not $1600?" I replied that I'd rather just go to Fiji (which is true). We all have that threshold.