Official 2013 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[Phloston]

I figure now is a good time to jump-start this thread.

Even though some of us who had taken the exam in late-2012 are still awaiting our scores (amid the holiday delays) and could technically still post within last year's thread, it is after all mid-January now, so it's probably apposite that we move forward and hope for a great year.

Cheers to 2013

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[Rock13]

Phloston, what a tease.

 

[Guyton Killah]

Phloston, what a tease.

I have a feeling that I will be posting a lot on this thread this year. So let's begin...

 

[liferocks]

I figure now is a good time to jump-start this thread.

Even though some of us who had taken the exam in late-2012 are still awaiting our scores (amid the holiday delays) and could technically still post within last year's thread, it is after all mid-January now, so it's probably apposite that we move forward and hope for a great year.

Cheers to 2013

i will definitely use this one..

 

[Zzmed]

I will definitely use this one too.. Let's all contribute to make it better than last year's thread!

 

[dragon529]

+1.. 5 months out till tackling the bad boy!

 

[OneMoreRound]

Good luck everyone! I'll join the party.

 

[citr8]

May 8th over here....and each time i say it my head spins

 

[BigMotherKelly]

2/14, happy vday to me

 

[Akr]

I will take it on June 4.... and hopefully an exotic vacation right after that Lurked last year's thread. Hopefully I can contribute to this one in some way that's helpful!

Classes til mid May, and trying to get through First Aid, UWorld, Pathoma, Kaplan Lecture Notes in the meantime. We'll see how it works out...

Good luck everybody!!

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

It'll be a busy next 6 months

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

Being at a DO school we don't have NBME exams planned, but we have to take a COMSAE prior to sitting for COMLEX. I am taking both exams, and I'm wondering if any other DO students plan on taking NBME and how they plan on using the in their study.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

Being at a DO school we don't have NBME exams planned, but we have to take a COMSAE prior to sitting for COMLEX. I am taking both exams, and I'm wondering if any other DO students plan on taking NBME and how they plan on using the in their study.

I'm in the same boat. Taking COMLEX on July 16th and the USMLE probably about 4-5 days before that (I haven't scheduled it yet - waiting for that loan money! ). I'm planning on taking NBME 5 sometime in the middle of April just to see where I stand, but I'm not sure what I'll do after that.

Last year's thread gave me a lot of great insight to Step 1 prep, and I'll try to contribute as much as possible to this year's. It's gonna be an interesting six months!

 

[appleman123]

I'm in the same boat. Taking COMLEX on July 16th and the USMLE probably about 4-5 days before that (I haven't scheduled it yet - waiting for that loan money! ). I'm planning on taking NBME 5 sometime in the middle of April just to see where I stand, but I'm not sure what I'll do after that.

Last year's thread gave me a lot of great insight to Step 1 prep, and I'll try to contribute as much as possible to this year's. It's gonna be an interesting six months!

eh dont bother studying for comlex. usmle on the other hand....

 

[normtheniner]

June 10th here. Don't start 3rd year until July 8th so I'll get a summer vacation after all

 

[startswithb]

So glad someone else started this thread. Not a gunner, just study a lot!

 

[Zzmed]

Any IMGs in the boat?
I will take the exam in early October!

 

[Phloston]

Any IMGs in the boat?
I will take the exam in early October!

Lol. You're sitting the exam in October? I didn't realize you have "10 months of excessive prep time" to spare (yes, that's officially the new inside joke of us IMGs)!

 

[doctr2be]

I'm an IMG, still confused about which Step to take first since I just graduated, but if i decide to take Step 1 it'll be in July. Is 6 months good enough to relearn all the basic sciences that I've forgotten? Sure hope so.

 

[Phloston]

I'm an IMG, still confused about which Step to take first since I just graduated, but if i decide to take Step 1 it'll be in July. Is 6 months good enough to relearn all the basic sciences that I've forgotten? Sure hope so.

If you spend the next six months studying, you'll do very well on the USMLE.

I recognize that I'll get barked at by some people on here, who claim that a few weeks is all you need. If you were coming fresh out of an American MS2, then that would be true. But as an IMG having graduated and needing to revisit MS1/2 material, I would suggest spending the next half-year reading FA and getting through as many practice questions as you can. It sucks, but it has to be done. And who knows? You might even find that you enjoy reading about trans- vs cis-Golgi.

 

[Zzmed]

I'm an IMG, still confused about which Step to take first since I just graduated, but if i decide to take Step 1 it'll be in July. Is 6 months good enough to relearn all the basic sciences that I've forgotten? Sure hope so.

Actually i am still a medical student so i can't help you with that. But almost everybody goes with step 1 first. So this is what i suggest you to do... And of course 6 months will suffice, if you study wisely (ask Phloston for that...).

Lol. You're sitting the exam in October? I didn't realize you have "10 months of excessive prep time" to spare (yes, that's officially the new inside joke of us IMGs)!

Actually i am getting used to it from the threads you were posting.
Let's see how "10 months of excessive prep time" will turn out...

 

[doctr2be]

It's unlikely that I'll enjoy reading Biochem LOL Thank you for the reply!!

 

[jsisne1]

IMG here, taking at the end of the year so I've got lots of prep time

 

[Kaputt]

If you spend the next six months studying, you'll do very well on the USMLE.

I recognize that I'll get barked at by some people on here, who claim that a few weeks is all you need. If you were coming fresh out of an American MS2, then that would be true. But as an IMG having graduated and needing to revisit MS1/2 material, I would suggest spending the next half-year reading FA and getting through as many practice questions as you can. It sucks, but it has to be done. And who knows? You might even find that you enjoy reading about trans- vs cis-Golgi.

.......and here I come to disagree

While you may be right about Australian schools or other schools that weren't designed to train US citizens to return to the US for residency, Caribbean schools are well-known to "teach to the boards". Part of the Caribbean's business model is to get as high a Step 1 pass-rate as possible.

American schools tend to not teach to the boards. They teach to prepare you for your clerkships. Big difference!

While I can only speak from my personal experience (at a research-heavy school), but the majority of our preclinical curriculum was either in case-based small groups (which is terribly inefficient) or getting lectures from researchers who dug far too deeply into things they found interesting (as in, very low-yield minutiae and sometimes figures from their own papers). And in the end, we still really only needed ~5 weeks to max out our USMLE skills and take Step 1.

 

[DocDO2B]

DO here taking both in mid July. I'm sticking solely to Uworld, FA, green book for omm, and Pathoma. NBME's to assess as I go. Goodluck to everyone!

 

[medic211987]

Hello. IMG here too.

I'm not even sure when i'll take the Step 1, but it'll be anywhere from July to towards the end of the year.

I'm going the FA2012 + Uworld + Pathoma + Kaplan lecture notes route. it's a lot to cover but i'm two years out of school. i've got a lot of basic medical science topics to remember. haha.

 

[Phloston]

.......and here I come to disagree

While you may be right about Australian schools or other schools that weren't designed to train US citizens to return to the US for residency, Caribbean schools are well-known to "teach to the boards". Part of the Caribbean's business model is to get as high a Step 1 pass-rate as possible.

American schools tend to not teach to the boards. They teach to prepare you for your clerkships. Big difference!

While I can only speak from my personal experience (at a research-heavy school), but the majority of our preclinical curriculum was either in case-based small groups (which is terribly inefficient) or getting lectures from researchers who dug far too deeply into things they found interesting (as in, very low-yield minutiae and sometimes figures from their own papers). And in the end, we still really only needed ~5 weeks to max out our USMLE skills and take Step 1.

Even if he is a Caribbean grad, the guy just finished MS4 and probably doesn't remember that ependymomas have rod-shaped blepharoplasts. Regardless as to where he went to school internationally, a half-year of FA + practice questions would likely be minimally sufficient.

 

[Old Style Nanny]

Even if he is a Caribbean grad, the guy just finished MS4 and probably doesn't remember that ependymomas have rod-shaped blepharoplasts.

Wait, what? You had to know that for your step 1 test?

 

[Phloston]

Wait, what? You had to know that for your step 1 test?

Someone had sent me a PM about needing to know stuff like that. That detail is in FA just so you know.

This is the shocker that quite a few people run into. They encounter some "wtf detail" on the exam, but it was in FA all along. Even during your third genuine pass of FA, you'll still encounter details that your eyes only glanced over the first two times, and had you seen them on the exam, you wouldn't have known they were in FA.

Btw, that specific detail did not show up on my exam. But other specific ones did.

 

[Old Style Nanny]

That detail is in FA just so you know.

That could only mean one thing. That I have not read the chapter that has it yet.

I don't miss lines - even on one pass. I make sure every single line is transcribed on to flash cards that I space-rep to death.

 

[Junkie]

So guys took my exam on Nov 7,2012 .Result was delayed because of some stupid verification issues with my home school.
I am an IMG , I studied for around 6 months after graduation.My stats were
Usmle world (subjectwise, untimed ) -84%
Kaplan Qbank (Random ,timed) -83%

Nbme 12 (8 weeks out)-250
Nbme 11 (7 weeks out)-261
Nbme 13 (1 week out) -266

Final score- 256/88
....kinda less than I expected..Not sure how good it is from IMG prespective?

 

[Zzmed]

So guys took my exam on Nov 7,2012 .Result was delayed because of some stupid verification issues with my home school.
I am an IMG , I studied for around 6 months after graduation.My stats were
Usmle world (subjectwise, untimed ) -84%
Kaplan Qbank (Random ,timed) -83%

Nbme 12 (8 weeks out)-250
Nbme 11 (7 weeks out)-261
Nbme 13 (1 week out) -266

Final score- 256/88
....kinda less than I expected..Not sure how good it is from IMG prespective?

Congratulations! Solid score.

Did you use any resources besides FA and Qbanks?

 

[cage92]

So guys took my exam on Nov 7,2012 .Result was delayed because of some stupid verification issues with my home school.
I am an IMG , I studied for around 6 months after graduation.My stats were
Usmle world (subjectwise, untimed ) -84%
Kaplan Qbank (Random ,timed) -83%

Nbme 12 (8 weeks out)-250
Nbme 11 (7 weeks out)-261
Nbme 13 (1 week out) -266

Final score- 256/88
....kinda less than I expected..Not sure how good it is from IMG prespective?

hey realllly very nice score i am an img but why the gap between your nbme and your actual score? can you give us some of your exam experience>??

 

[OneMoreRound]

.......and here I come to disagree

While you may be right about Australian schools or other schools that weren't designed to train US citizens to return to the US for residency, Caribbean schools are well-known to "teach to the boards". Part of the Caribbean's business model is to get as high a Step 1 pass-rate as possible.

American schools tend to not teach to the boards. They teach to prepare you for your clerkships. Big difference!

While I can only speak from my personal experience (at a research-heavy school), but the majority of our preclinical curriculum was either in case-based small groups (which is terribly inefficient) or getting lectures from researchers who dug far too deeply into things they found interesting (as in, very low-yield minutiae and sometimes figures from their own papers). And in the end, we still really only needed ~5 weeks to max out our USMLE skills and take Step 1.

I enjoy Phloston's advice, but I also disagree. He seems to have a notion that most of AMGs study for boards. My school also prepares heavily for clinical years during M2. We look tests, treatment options, clinical skills, etc much more than anything board related... and we get those research lectures that are above and beyond Step 1 basic sciences too. Honestly, I think AMGs have pretty smart students (I'm talking about my classmates, not me). I think the caliber of student is pretty high and that is why they can study faster and have been gunning for years, not just pre-boards.

 

[RiFFRaFF]

I enjoy Phloston's advice, but I also disagree. He seems to have a notion that most of AMGs study for boards. My school also prepares heavily for clinical years during M2. We look tests, treatment options, clinical skills, etc much more than anything board related... and we get those research lectures that are above and beyond Step 1 basic sciences too. Honestly, I think AMGs have pretty smart students (I'm talking about my classmates, not me). I think the caliber of student is pretty high and that is why they can study faster and have been gunning for years, not just pre-boards.

Agreed. Only about 25% of our course material is covered in FA.

The rest is what really makes a clinician (there's life beyond step I)

 

[g8orlife]

I enjoy Phloston's advice, but I also disagree. He seems to have a notion that most of AMGs study for boards. My school also prepares heavily for clinical years during M2. We look tests, treatment options, clinical skills, etc much more than anything board related... and we get those research lectures that are above and beyond Step 1 basic sciences too. Honestly, I think AMGs have pretty smart students (I'm talking about my classmates, not me). I think the caliber of student is pretty high and that is why they can study faster and have been gunning for years, not just pre-boards.

I'm an AMG and like your post except for the bolded. Try not to come off as saying that IMG's aren't as smart. (Unless I'm interpretting your post incorrectly, for which I apologize).

I think a large chunk of the 'perceived' difference in knowledge is that IMGs have to focus on diseases/disorders that are epidemiologically more prevalent in their home, then they have to switch around of their "most commons" when studying for the U.S.MLEs.

 

[g8orlife]

So guys took my exam on Nov 7,2012 .Result was delayed because of some stupid verification issues with my home school.
I am an IMG , I studied for around 6 months after graduation.My stats were
Usmle world (subjectwise, untimed ) -84%
Kaplan Qbank (Random ,timed) -83%

Nbme 12 (8 weeks out)-250
Nbme 11 (7 weeks out)-261
Nbme 13 (1 week out) -266

Final score- 256/88
....kinda less than I expected..Not sure how good it is from IMG prespective?

Congrats! Great score! ...And, good job setting the 2013 bar nice & high

 

[OneMoreRound]

I'm an AMG and like your post except for the bolded. Try not to come off as saying that IMG's aren't as smart. (Unless I'm interpretting your post incorrectly, for which I apologize).

I think a large chunk of the 'perceived' difference in knowledge is that IMGs have to focus on diseases/disorders that are epidemiologically more prevalent in their home, then they have to switch around of their "most commons" when studying for the U.S.MLEs.

Studying is a skill - I think it's both intelligence and skill. Look, Phloston probably knows more than me or many of the people I go to school with but he also used 8 hours to go through 50 questions of UWorld. I'm sorry, but no AMG can do that because there is no time. I know people (not me) who will pick out the most important facts and memorize them in 25% of that time (2-3 hrs for 50 Q's) - and still get the 250's type scores that top people get. AMGs are under much more pressure - at least where I am - and we have to do more and faster. I'm not even fast, many people study twice as fast as me, and I know the pace that we need to go through and memorize the pertinent info. I don't mean to say everyone took as long as Phloston, but just to say in general we are SUPER busy with stuff and don't get 2 months to study boards - we get 4-5 weeks over here... and our curriculum isn't geared to Step 1 - so enjoy studying step 1 after 10 hours worth of school material that is clinically focused. AMG's board focused curriculum is a myth, that's all.

 

[normtheniner]

Studying is a skill - I think it's both intelligence and skill. Look, Phloston probably knows more than me or many of the people I go to school with but he also used 8 hours to go through 50 questions of UWorld. I'm sorry, but no AMG can do that because there is no time. I know people (not me) who will pick out the most important facts and memorize them in 25% of that time (2-3 hrs for 50 Q's) - and still get the 250's type scores that top people get. AMGs are under much more pressure - at least where I am - and we have to do more and faster. I'm not even fast, many people study twice as fast as me, and I know the pace that we need to go through and memorize the pertinent info. I don't mean to say everyone took as long as Phloston, but just to say in general we are SUPER busy with stuff and don't get 2 months to study boards - we get 4-5 weeks over here... and our curriculum isn't geared to Step 1 - so enjoy studying step 1 after 10 hours worth of school material that is clinically focused. AMG's board focused curriculum is a myth, that's all.

Amen... It can be particularly frustrating sometimes because they put in so much minutiae that I have zero time to look at anything board related. Sometimes I try to switch over the FA to correlate what we're doing in class to whats on boards, but a lot of the time what we're talking about isn't even in First Aid... or if it is its just one line in a large table.

 

[liferocks]

Good luck Phloston, for tomorrow!

Hopefully, we all shall see you excel tom..

 

[OneMoreRound]

Good luck Phloston, for tomorrow!

Hopefully, we all shall see you excel tom..

Awesome, we get to see a Step 1 score 1 year in the making tomorrow?

Highest score of all time.

 

[Phloston]

It doesn't matter how many hours you spend perusing UWorld. It's not a new concept that most of the studying we do translates into intrinsic gain more so than actual raw score augmentation. The background knowledge and factual information accumulated through greater study hours assist in your development as a competent and confident physician much more than merely increasing the probability of garnering a few more points on the USMLE. Getting high scores requires much more than just determination and willpower (as Kaputt has said in the past). You need to work assiduously during the first two years of med. You also just need to get lucky with the handful of minutiae questions that show up on your exam; there is no way to prepare for this no matter how hard you've worked. Each and every person on this forum will encounter things he or she could never have imagined. Doing 8 vs 3 hrs/day on UWorld approaching the real deal is not going to prove itself pivotal.

 

[OneMoreRound]

It doesn't matter how many hours you spend perusing UWorld. It's not a new concept that most of the studying we do translates into intrinsic gain more so than actual raw score augmentation. The background knowledge and factual information accumulated through greater study hours assist in your development as a competent and confident physician much more than merely increasing the probability of garnering a few more points on the USMLE. Getting high scores requires much more than just determination and willpower (as Kaputt has said in the past). You need to work assiduously during the first two years of med. You also just need to get lucky with the handful of minutiae questions that show up on your exam; there is no way to prepare for this no matter how hard you've worked. Each and every person on this forum will encounter things he or she could never have imagined. Doing 8 vs 3 hrs/day on UWorld approaching the real deal is not going to prove itself pivotal.

I don't know. I remember that Ijin (sp?) poster that scored like a 270 or something started Step 1 prep around the same time as you did and now he's more than half way through 3rd year... that seems like better practice for your career than studying for Step 1 more (i.e. 1.5 months of Step 1 prep and 8 months of clinic is better than 10 months of Step 1 prep). Anyway, I understand you killed it and got a 270 but you have to admit, it's a pretty nice advantage to have that much time. And yes, it is luck dependent on your exam, but if someone has 3,000 hours of preparation and 10,000 practice questions done while another person has 500 hours and 3,000 questions, one person has had more time to prepare and is at an advantage. I mean, you must believe it because you took a long time while scoring like 250's 6 months before your exam... lots of AMGs will never score 250, let alone 6 months before their exam.

And amazing endurance to study this exam that long. I'm sure you'll do well.

 

[cage92]

I don't know. I remember that Ijin (sp?) poster that scored like a 270 or something started Step 1 prep around the same time as you did and now he's more than half way through 3rd year... that seems like better practice for your career than studying for Step 1 more (i.e. 1.5 months of Step 1 prep and 8 months of clinic is better than 10 months of Step 1 prep). Anyway, I understand you killed it and got a 270 but you have to admit, it's a pretty nice advantage to have that much time. And yes, it is luck dependent on your exam, but if someone has 3,000 hours of preparation and 10,000 practice questions done while another person has 500 hours and 3,000 questions, one person has had more time to prepare and is at an advantage. I mean, you must believe it because you took a long time while scoring like 250's 6 months before your exam... lots of AMGs will never score 250, let alone 6 months before their exam.

And amazing endurance to study this exam that long. I'm sure you'll do well.

hey look you cant compare img to amg simply as img need 6 month to 1 year for step1 bcz most of material we havnt studied in our curriculum like immunology some of the micro behaviiioral science ..... and speciallly the pathology we take patholgy in other manner that amg take it we need time to build basic that you have in ms1 and 2

 

[Old Style Nanny]

I'm an AMG and like your post except for the bolded. Try not to come off as saying that IMG's aren't as smart.

What?! Are you disagreeing with his statement that USA is the center of the world and that the smartest people in the world are in USA?

 

[Phloston]

Midnight on Thursday here in Australia.

Score's not out yet (9am Wednesday Boston-time).

I can't be staying up all night waiting for it, but if it does come out by the time I wake up (Wednesday evening Boston), I'll do my best to put together a little write-up, so I'll post Wednesday evening/night or on Thursday.

And btw, I apologize in advance if I don't live up to everyone's standards. I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

I'd be fortunate for things to go okay.

 

[Old Style Nanny]

I can't be staying up all night waiting for it

I think you will. Especially since it is going to be out in half an hour to one hour at the most now.

 

[liferocks]

Midnight on Thursday here in Australia.

Score's not out yet (9am Wednesday Boston-time).

I can't be staying up all night waiting for it, but if it does come out by the time I wake up (Wednesday evening Boston), I'll do my best to put together a little write-up, so I'll post Wednesday evening/night or on Thursday.

And btw, I apologize in advance if I don't live up to everyone's standards. I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

I'd be fortunate for things to go okay.

best of luck!

 

[tarsuc]

I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

I'd be fortunate for things to go okay.

whatever be your score 260 > or <, we love you man!

 

[Chirurg]

Midnight on Thursday here in Australia.

Score's not out yet (9am Wednesday Boston-time).

I can't be staying up all night waiting for it, but if it does come out by the time I wake up (Wednesday evening Boston), I'll do my best to put together a little write-up, so I'll post Wednesday evening/night or on Thursday.

And btw, I apologize in advance if I don't live up to everyone's standards. I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

I'd be fortunate for things to go okay.

don't take that pressure too seriously man, everybody knows that anything above 260+ has more to do with luck of the draw on the day than anything else.
Anyway, good luck!