Official 2013 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Phloston

Phloston

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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.

:luck: Cheers to 2013 :luck:
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Phloston said:
Funny enough, I actually think someone who hasn't taken Step1 can still give sound advice (I used to do that all of the time before I took the Step, which definitely used to annoy the crap out of people).

On the other hand, I agree as far as a premed giving Step1 advice. That's like one of us making definitive statements about a specialty fellowship exam.
Click to expand...

For the record I want to reiterate I never actually gave advice. I suggested that people go back and look what successful Step I takers posted within this very thread for said advice. Phloston posted a remarkable account of how he prepared and achieved a great score. That is one such example I was referring to. It has helped me outline my study plan.

As for any further discussion please stop saying I am giving advice on how to master this test. It simply isn't true.
 
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Shjanzey is making me sick. Please mods deal with him. We are overwhelmed enough to deal with irrelevant participants like him.
 
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Phloston said:
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.

:luck: Cheers to 2013 :luck:
Click to expand...

hii all ,I am new in the forum but I really need help here, am a foreign medical graduate and I need a mentor I can rely on that hs done step 1 and passed ; I want to know all the materials for study
also need the current materials I have FA of 1999 I wouldn't mind buying the materials, thanks
 
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tiedyeddog said:
I just reread sham jays posts and realized he hasn't even started medical school yet.

All I have to say is WOW. This forum is here for help. It doesn't matter if your goal is a 188, 227, or 275. We are here for help, even if a person has one day left til the beast.

I can't believe a premed would come in here and judge others.
Click to expand...

You're wrong. He's not a premed. He's a high school freshman. He is 14 years old. He made a post in the surgical forums asking what a good Step 1 for NSG would be, and he specifically stated he's just starting HS.

This kid knows more about Step 1 than all of us combined. Whole other level.
 
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loltopsy said:
You're wrong. He's not a premed. He's a high school freshman. He is 14 years old. He made a post in the surgical forums asking what a good Step 1 for NSG would be, and he specifically stated he's just starting HS.

This kid knows more about Step 1 than all of us combined. Whole other level.
Click to expand...

I think you might be confusing him with someone else. I am pretty sure is a new m1 based on his post history.
 
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hi guys. i'm an IMG who took step one a week ago. i'm so nervous now waiting for my scores. i didn't do that many NBMEs but i finished uworld and looked through FA a couple of times before the actual thing. took me about 3 months of studying and i only used those 2 resources. i did kaplan lectures and pathoma about a year ago before i actually sat down for 3 months serious studying.

UWSA1: 253 (4 weeks out)
NBME 11: 245 (2 weeks out)
NBME 13: 245 (3 days out)
Uworld avg: 72% for unused mixed blocks

the actual exam felt exactly like doing the NBMEs and uworld. however i got quite a number of anatomy questions which was my least prepared subject :oops:

anyway thanks to everyone for all the advice on this forum. i've always been a lurker but i thought i'd post something this time just so i could calm my nerves while waiting for my score.
 
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Got my score 256 :)

Background -

US-IMG from India graduated March 2013. Finished Internship in December the year before, but school gives us our degree in March.

Prep time -

Approx. 5 months, took a two week vacation in August.

Material used -

Kaplan LN + Videos. I would skip videos if you did basic sciences recently. Since I was out of touch, helped considerably.
BRS Physio, good supplement when you don't understand topics but too in depth otherwise.
Pathoma, I swear by this. Someone on SDN recommended this way back when I was planning my study schedule. Thank you kind stranger!
UWorld QBank

I started in May with a review of the material, went subject wise watching the videos for all of them. After a month of this I started UWorld.
UWorld Average - 69%, I don't think this means anything because I rarely did random blocks. It was always timed tutor subject wise. Would try to do a block a day, towards the end it was 3-4 blocks/day.

By July end I had done half the subjects twice, second review was more focused on what appeared to
be high yield. You get an idea of this while you annotate FA and see what gets tested on more in UWorld. Then I took a little break, needed it since I was getting burnt out. Reading 8-10 hours a day, being tested in a completely different pattern than what you're used to takes out a lot. Came back from vacation and did what I had leftover for my second review. Took my first NBME end of August.

NBME 12 (4 weeks out) - 228
UWSA 1 (3.5 weeks out) - 236
NBME 13 (3 weeks out) - 242
UWSA 2 (2 weeks out) - 263
NBME 15 (5 days before) - 252 + Free 150 - 89%

Last few weeks, I read Pathoma again making sure I knew all the direct recall information. Went through FA a second time with everything I annotated from UWorld and Kaplan. I finished 1st pass of Uworld early Sept, after that only did the marked questions (which included incorrect and things that seemed new/difficult to remember) up till a week before the exam.

Last few days, did the subjects which I thought I needed better short term memory on. Like a day of Biostats and Biochem, day for Pharm, day for Micro.

Last day, looked at Pathoma and FA very passively. Slept for 6 hours. Get enough sleep!!

Exam Day - Sept. 24th

For me the hardest questions were the Behavioral Science ones, two of the answers always seemed right. Also Anatomy I focused a lot on Neuroanat while I was reviewing but that wasn't as heavily tested as the MSK Anatomy. I think the actual approach to the exam is very personal and depends on what works for you. I took very frequent short breaks, while others in my room I barely saw them leaving. Since I did an 8 hour simulated exam before, I kind of had an idea how my body worked in response to stress/fatigue/hunger. So it helped in a way, but at the same time if you need to revise high yields like second messengers, oncogenes, Glycogen storage disorders and all that fun stuff, then do that.
I marked around 10-15 per block and had sufficient time to review them.
Only in the last block, the monitor turned off by itself when I was in the middle of a question and it threw me off big time, so I'm pretty sure most of my incorrect were from that block. Lol.
Don't worry this won't happen to you, probably a freak accident or something. The proctor got it up and running in no time, but still no one expects that especially in the last hour so I'm sure it affected me in some way.

The moment you finish, congratulate yourself, this is a tough exam and just to be able to sit through it is an achievement. Also for a few days after you'll remember the questions you might have answered wrong and have sleepless nights over them but don't. It really doesn't change anything. Just be happy it's over.

I hope this helps. I honestly believe the whole idea of this exam is scarier than it actually is. Hard work always pays off, so don't worry. Good luck :)
 
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doctr2be said:
Got my score 256 :)

Background -

US-IMG from India graduated March 2013. Finished Internship in December the year before, but school gives us our degree in March.

Prep time -

Approx. 5 months, took a two week vacation in August.

Material used -

Kaplan LN + Videos. I would skip videos if you did basic sciences recently. Since I was out of touch, helped considerably.
BRS Physio, good supplement when you don't understand topics but too in depth otherwise.
Pathoma, I swear by this. Someone on SDN recommended this way back when I was planning my study schedule. Thank you kind stranger!
UWorld QBank

I started in May with a review of the material, went subject wise watching the videos for all of them. After a month of this I started UWorld.
UWorld Average - 69%, I don't think this means anything because I rarely did random blocks. It was always timed tutor subject wise. Would try to do a block a day, towards the end it was 3-4 blocks/day.

By July end I had done half the subjects twice, second review was more focused on what appeared to
be high yield. You get an idea of this while you annotate FA and see what gets tested on more in UWorld. Then I took a little break, needed it since I was getting burnt out. Reading 8-10 hours a day, being tested in a completely different pattern than what you're used to takes out a lot. Came back from vacation and did what I had leftover for my second review. Took my first NBME end of August.

NBME 12 (4 weeks out) - 228
UWSA 1 (3.5 weeks out) - 236
NBME 13 (3 weeks out) - 242
UWSA 2 (2 weeks out) - 263
NBME 15 (5 days before) - 252 + Free 150 - 89%

Last few weeks, I read Pathoma again making sure I knew all the direct recall information. Went through FA a second time with everything I annotated from UWorld and Kaplan. I finished 1st pass of Uworld early Sept, after that only did the marked questions (which included incorrect and things that seemed new/difficult to remember) up till a week before the exam.

Last few days, did the subjects which I thought I needed better short term memory on. Like a day of Biostats and Biochem, day for Pharm, day for Micro.

Last day, looked at Pathoma and FA very passively. Slept for 6 hours. Get enough sleep!!

Exam Day - Sept. 24th

For me the hardest questions were the Behavioral Science ones, two of the answers always seemed right. Also Anatomy I focused a lot on Neuroanat while I was reviewing but that wasn't as heavily tested as the MSK Anatomy. I think the actual approach to the exam is very personal and depends on what works for you. I took very frequent short breaks, while others in my room I barely saw them leaving. Since I did an 8 hour simulated exam before, I kind of had an idea how my body worked in response to stress/fatigue/hunger. So it helped in a way, but at the same time if you need to revise high yields like second messengers, oncogenes, Glycogen storage disorders and all that fun stuff, then do that.
I marked around 10-15 per block and had sufficient time to review them.
Only in the last block, the monitor turned off by itself when I was in the middle of a question and it threw me off big time, so I'm pretty sure most of my incorrect were from that block. Lol.
Don't worry this won't happen to you, probably a freak accident or something. The proctor got it up and running in no time, but still no one expects that especially in the last hour so I'm sure it affected me in some way.

The moment you finish, congratulate yourself, this is a tough exam and just to be able to sit through it is an achievement. Also for a few days after you'll remember the questions you might have answered wrong and have sleepless nights over them but don't. It really doesn't change anything. Just be happy it's over.

I hope this helps. I honestly believe the whole idea of this exam is scarier than it actually is. Hard work always pays off, so don't worry. Good luck :)
Click to expand...
From a 228 to a 256 in the space of 4 weeks?! Looks like you really god your **** together in that last month.
Congrats on the score.
 
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doctr2be said:
Got my score 256 :)

Background -

US-IMG from India graduated March 2013. Finished Internship in December the year before, but school gives us our degree in March.

Prep time -

Approx. 5 months, took a two week vacation in August.

Material used -

Kaplan LN + Videos. I would skip videos if you did basic sciences recently. Since I was out of touch, helped considerably.
BRS Physio, good supplement when you don't understand topics but too in depth otherwise.
Pathoma, I swear by this. Someone on SDN recommended this way back when I was planning my study schedule. Thank you kind stranger!
UWorld QBank

I started in May with a review of the material, went subject wise watching the videos for all of them. After a month of this I started UWorld.
UWorld Average - 69%, I don't think this means anything because I rarely did random blocks. It was always timed tutor subject wise. Would try to do a block a day, towards the end it was 3-4 blocks/day.

By July end I had done half the subjects twice, second review was more focused on what appeared to
be high yield. You get an idea of this while you annotate FA and see what gets tested on more in UWorld. Then I took a little break, needed it since I was getting burnt out. Reading 8-10 hours a day, being tested in a completely different pattern than what you're used to takes out a lot. Came back from vacation and did what I had leftover for my second review. Took my first NBME end of August.

NBME 12 (4 weeks out) - 228
UWSA 1 (3.5 weeks out) - 236
NBME 13 (3 weeks out) - 242
UWSA 2 (2 weeks out) - 263
NBME 15 (5 days before) - 252 + Free 150 - 89%

Last few weeks, I read Pathoma again making sure I knew all the direct recall information. Went through FA a second time with everything I annotated from UWorld and Kaplan. I finished 1st pass of Uworld early Sept, after that only did the marked questions (which included incorrect and things that seemed new/difficult to remember) up till a week before the exam.

Last few days, did the subjects which I thought I needed better short term memory on. Like a day of Biostats and Biochem, day for Pharm, day for Micro.

Last day, looked at Pathoma and FA very passively. Slept for 6 hours. Get enough sleep!!

Exam Day - Sept. 24th

For me the hardest questions were the Behavioral Science ones, two of the answers always seemed right. Also Anatomy I focused a lot on Neuroanat while I was reviewing but that wasn't as heavily tested as the MSK Anatomy. I think the actual approach to the exam is very personal and depends on what works for you. I took very frequent short breaks, while others in my room I barely saw them leaving. Since I did an 8 hour simulated exam before, I kind of had an idea how my body worked in response to stress/fatigue/hunger. So it helped in a way, but at the same time if you need to revise high yields like second messengers, oncogenes, Glycogen storage disorders and all that fun stuff, then do that.
I marked around 10-15 per block and had sufficient time to review them.
Only in the last block, the monitor turned off by itself when I was in the middle of a question and it threw me off big time, so I'm pretty sure most of my incorrect were from that block. Lol.
Don't worry this won't happen to you, probably a freak accident or something. The proctor got it up and running in no time, but still no one expects that especially in the last hour so I'm sure it affected me in some way.

The moment you finish, congratulate yourself, this is a tough exam and just to be able to sit through it is an achievement. Also for a few days after you'll remember the questions you might have answered wrong and have sleepless nights over them but don't. It really doesn't change anything. Just be happy it's over.

I hope this helps. I honestly believe the whole idea of this exam is scarier than it actually is. Hard work always pays off, so don't worry. Good luck :)
Click to expand...

awsome score man! You sound just like me; i'm also a US-IMG from India, graduated in March 2013 just like you..i finished internship last August. I've been studying on my own since this January (took the kaplan online classes last fall). My exam is on Oct 25th so its coming up soon! Ive just been doing FA, micro and pharm cards over and over. Did pathoma twice, going to review it again in the next few days. I did 3 NBMEs months ago, did awful in all 3...went over the exams again and felt like i could answer most if not all the questions correctly. Planning to take UWSA 1 tommorow, and then NBME 15 to see where i stand :). I have been doing my UWorld marked questions for many weeks now (which include incorrects and tough concepts) and i have been doing very well; lowest i got was at the low 70%'s on tough blocks...
 
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CaliAtenza said:
awsome score man! You sound just like me; i'm also a US-IMG from India, graduated in March 2013 just like you..i finished internship last August. I've been studying on my own since this January (took the kaplan online classes last fall). My exam is on Oct 25th so its coming up soon! Ive just been doing FA, micro and pharm cards over and over. Did pathoma twice, going to review it again in the next few days. I did 3 NBMEs months ago, did awful in all 3...went over the exams again and felt like i could answer most if not all the questions correctly. Planning to take UWSA 1 tommorow, and then NBME 15 to see where i stand :). I have been doing my UWorld marked questions for many weeks now (which include incorrects and tough concepts) and i have been doing very well; lowest i got was at the low 70%'s on tough blocks...
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan. Do more NBME if you can, UWSA is a good study tool if you need a new set of questions to test yourself on, but don't take the correlate they give you too seriously.

I'm a girl in fact, third person to assume I'm a man so thought I'll correct you. Lol.

Good luck :)
 
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loveoforganic2 said:
Question banks[/I] - UWorld is gold, but it takes forever to do properly. Necessity in prep. Kaplan vs Rx - Rx is superior. The cutouts of FA in Rx are gold. I would recommend Rx, but not Qbank.
Click to expand...


I thought Rx was just the question bank? Do they mean the videos of Rx?


skyblue2000 said:
I was thinking of doing the whole Phloston method of NBME-review-NBME-review my last week... but instead of going back to NBME 6+7 I thought maybe a full day simulated exam of Rx would be better? I didn't get a chance to actually do any Rx, so I'm trying to decide if that would be better than doing 6+7 in a day.


Any advice?
Click to expand...

Can anyone please explain me if they are referring to the USMLE-Rx question bank here too?
 
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doctr2be said:
Sounds like a good plan. Do more NBME if you can, UWSA is a good study tool if you need a new set of questions to test yourself on, but don't take the correlate they give you too seriously.

I'm a girl in fact, third person to assume I'm a man so thought I'll correct you. Lol.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Yeah i figured you were a girl eventually lol (your handle on USMLE forums gave it away). I am going to take NBME 15 first, see where i stand, and go from there. I hope to not have to postpone my exam, but i will do it if neccessary.
 
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Hey SDN. Resident techno-head here. I got more outer hair cells than brain cells :laugh:

About to take this guy on the 29th of october.

Thus far did usmlerx, kaplan qbank, robbins rapid review (what a waste of cash), and have about 70% of uworld done with average of 86% random timed. Got 265 on both UWSAs and 660 (259) on NBME form 13.

About to do a double NBME tomorrow. Kinda confused about the marks, because I keep going through FA and feel like I'm reading things for the first time. A lot of times when I do questions I don't have a definite answer but reason things out and pick what I think is right.

I guess I could sum it up by saying I keep feeling like I have dumb luck, and when I write the actual exam I may be all out of it. Is it like this for the rest of you?
 
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Modeselektor said:
Hey SDN. Resident techno-head here. I got more outer hair cells than brain cells :laugh:

About to take this guy on the 29th of october.

Thus far did usmlerx, kaplan qbank, robbins rapid review (what a waste of cash), and have about 70% of uworld done with average of 86% random timed. Got 265 on both UWSAs and 660 (259) on NBME form 13.

About to do a double NBME tomorrow. Kinda confused about the marks, because I keep going through FA and feel like I'm reading things for the first time. A lot of times when I do questions I don't have a definite answer but reason things out and pick what I think is right.

I guess I could sum it up by saying I keep feeling like I have dumb luck, and when I write the actual exam I may be all out of it. Is it like this for the rest of you?
Click to expand...

Nah, you'll probably get a 270+ on it.
 
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Dude you guys are awesome!

I just ordered NBME 7 and 15. That 8th block is gonna be f*cky. hahaha.

Some people seem to be mad at the pre-med.
I think he/she means well and people are just misinterpreting them.
I think its pretty cool they're so organized and thinking so far ahead. At least they're not wasting his life away like some other young people I've seen.

On the other hand it does remind me a tad bit about newbs at the gym trying to tell me about my bench/squat form. Making grand statements like the first two years being solely for the step is kinda, well, lame without having gone through it (without the pre-fix "from what I've seen and heard").

Then again, a lot of times people starting out are really hungry for knowledge and sometimes they're up to speed on something I haven't seen or read (this new lifting book, these videos, etc). Seems to be a fine line to everything.

Anyways have a great day everyone. I'm gonna hammer these two forms out then chill with a pizza and some starwars. :biglove:
 
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Modeselektor said:
Hey SDN. Resident techno-head here. I got more outer hair cells than brain cells :laugh:

About to take this guy on the 29th of october.

Thus far did usmlerx, kaplan qbank, robbins rapid review (what a waste of cash), and have about 70% of uworld done with average of 86% random timed. Got 265 on both UWSAs and 660 (259) on NBME form 13.

About to do a double NBME tomorrow. Kinda confused about the marks, because I keep going through FA and feel like I'm reading things for the first time. A lot of times when I do questions I don't have a definite answer but reason things out and pick what I think is right.

I guess I could sum it up by saying I keep feeling like I have dumb luck, and when I write the actual exam I may be all out of it. Is it like this for the rest of you?
Click to expand...
I think you're in very good shape (probably better than myself).
My date is the day after yours, so feeling pretty anxious (weirdly... I'm not usually one of those people *sigh*)
I finished uworld with 82% and maxed out the first UWSA but then dropped to a 259 about 2 weeks ago on the 2nd which gave me a huge kick up the ass... I think I was starting to get a little complacent and sloppy after seeing that first 265... only researched after the 2nd and found out that it over estimates with an overly-generous curve.
Anyway, I did my first NBME... form 13 last week, got a 250. Hmm didn't really know what to make of it, i guess I felt a bit uncomfortable ...and then I saw some reallyyyy lack-of-concentration silly mistakes that rubbed salt in the wound.
I wonder if its possible to break that 260 on the real thing?? I guess its going to come down to telescopic focus for me... doesn't help that I'm pretty ADHD lol god help me.
 
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Doctosanthewan said:
I think you're in very good shape (probably better than myself).
My date is the day after yours, so feeling pretty anxious (weirdly... I'm not usually one of those people *sigh*)
I finished uworld with 82% and maxed out the first UWSA but then dropped to a 259 about 2 weeks ago on the 2nd which gave me a huge kick up the ass... I think I was starting to get a little complacent and sloppy after seeing that first 265... only researched after the 2nd and found out that it over estimates with an overly-generous curve.
Anyway, I did my first NBME... form 13 last week, got a 250. Hmm didn't really know what to make of it, i guess I felt a bit uncomfortable ...and then I saw some reallyyyy lack-of-concentration silly mistakes that rubbed salt in the wound.
I wonder if its possible to break that 260 on the real thing?? I guess its going to come down to telescopic focus for me... doesn't help that I'm pretty ADHD lol god help me.
Click to expand...

UWSAs over-estimate mid-range scores, but they are extremely accurate for scores >260. I had UWSA1/2 at 262/264 both 6 weeks-out. I only got a 262 on Step1, but UWSA1 predicted well.

And your username reminds me of Viswanathan Anand. Not to mention there's that other Chessmaster3000 guy floating around here...
 
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just took NBME 15 yesterday, managed a 640/254! :); the real exam is next Friday, any last minute tips? I am planning to take UWSA1 tommorow or Sunday.
 
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shigella123 said:
I thought Rx was just the question bank? Do they mean the videos of Rx?




Can anyone please explain me if they are referring to the USMLE-Rx question bank here too?
Click to expand...

Your confusion is warranted. Basically of the three question banks, USMLEworld is referred to as "world" "uw" or "Uworld".

For USMLErx the question bank itself is called "qmax" but its almost always just referred to as "rx"

And Kaplan Qbank is often referred to as just "qbank".

Confusingly, "qbank" is also used sometimes as a general description for "an online bank of questions" which describes all three.
 
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DCBFan said:
Your confusion is warranted. Basically of the three question banks, USMLEworld is referred to as "world" "uw" or "Uworld".

For USMLErx the question bank itself is called "qmax" but its almost always just referred to as "rx"

And Kaplan Qbank is often referred to as just "qbank".

Confusingly, "qbank" is also used sometimes as a general description for "an online bank of questions" which describes all three.
Click to expand...

^^This is correct
 
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Let's not forget about UWise being referred to as uw as well, but that's not relevant for now.
 
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Did form 7 got 660 (259). Saw the score said **** it to form 15, I have 10 days and only 3 forms left before I've exhausted it. Annoying how the format of NBME is different and they don't have any media questions, or a calculator, or a 46 x 7 setup, or a coupon for free beer.

Big difference in energy level (I started sleeping more this week after reading Phloston's experience). Was not tired at all, and was hoping for cool questions, instead of being in fear of messed up questions. If I saw a crazy ass question that made me go wtf I just chuckled, marked it and went to the next one. If I was in an attention lapse and the questions stem looked too busy to make sense I just marked it and went to the next too. This let me plow through the gimmies and quickies so I had about 15-20 minutes to do the 3-4 questions I left, and check a few that I marked cause they seemed "off".

People keep saying the real thing will leave you with NO TIME TO check, so I'm trying to get every block done and checked with about 5-8 minutes left in the tank so I can handle the "particle accelerator: colliding hexokinase and glucokinase at LHC; and quark structures of B-2 agonists on the surface of jupiter while being attacked by rabid space dicks" questions I keep hearing about.

Transposony said:
"May the Force be with you."
Click to expand...
haha nice T-47 quote.
Feeling pretty good about the step now, as long as I don't become as incompetent as a stormtrooper's aim and get owned by troupe of glorified teddy bears at prometric, I should hopefully be allright.

Thanks for all the great encouragment guys. Doctosanthewan good luck for yours "A day earlier than mine" what a coincidence! I can't wait to be done with this ****, so sick and tired of reading the same things over and over.
 
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Phloston said:
I only got a 262 on Step1, .
Click to expand...

Only?

Homer_hedge.gif
 
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hi guys,
I am her to ask you guys a simple quetion,i gave step 1 in may 2013 and unfortunately i failed,I was wondering how is the scenario these days regarding the match and getting a residency when i do a second attempt.Should i work hard for it,or even after putting so many years of hard work if i dont get a match it would be disappointing.
Plz need sincere advice
 
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Phloston said:
UWSAs over-estimate mid-range scores, but they are extremely accurate for scores >260. I had UWSA1/2 at 262/264 both 6 weeks-out. I only got a 262 on Step1, but UWSA1 predicted well.

And your username reminds me of Viswanathan Anand. Not to mention there's that other Chessmaster3000 guy floating around here...
Click to expand...
Cheers mate,... in times of intense stress, such as now, that kind of comment really helps ease the stress and calm the nerves just a little! Must admit I really wasn't feeling too great at all reading those comments about UWSA over estimating by 15 or more points; it makes those little nagging thoughts of self-doubt creep in, at the very wrong time. Hopefully I should be okay!
Btw a 262 really is a great score, but I sympathize with you... as a working IMG MD knowing the extreme pressures of having to score super high, especially if we want any hope of getting into a great program and competitive speciality... it really takes its toll.

P.s. The username is totally random lol.

Modeselektor: absolutely, cannot wait to get this out the way. You really shouldn't have any problems on the day. Make sure to come back and let us know how it went! Just dont scare the **** outta me, my exam is right after yours haha.
 
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zainperfect said:
hi guys,
I am her to ask you guys a simple quetion,i gave step 1 in may 2013 and unfortunately i failed,I was wondering how is the scenario these days regarding the match and getting a residency when i do a second attempt.Should i work hard for it,or even after putting so many years of hard work if i dont get a match it would be disappointing.
Plz need sincere advice
Click to expand...
Well, how did you prepare for the exam last time? What resources were you using? How long did you study?
 
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Modeselektor said:
Did form 7 got 660 (259). Saw the score said **** it to form 15, I have 10 days and only 3 forms left before I've exhausted it. Annoying how the format of NBME is different and they don't have any media questions, or a calculator, or a 46 x 7 setup, or a coupon for free beer.

Big difference in energy level (I started sleeping more this week after reading Phloston's experience). Was not tired at all, and was hoping for cool questions, instead of being in fear of messed up questions. If I saw a crazy ass question that made me go wtf I just chuckled, marked it and went to the next one. If I was in an attention lapse and the questions stem looked too busy to make sense I just marked it and went to the next too. This let me plow through the gimmies and quickies so I had about 15-20 minutes to do the 3-4 questions I left, and check a few that I marked cause they seemed "off".

People keep saying the real thing will leave you with NO TIME TO check, so I'm trying to get every block done and checked with about 5-8 minutes left in the tank so I can handle the "particle accelerator: colliding hexokinase and glucokinase at LHC; and quark structures of B-2 agonists on the surface of jupiter while being attacked by rabid space dicks" questions I keep hearing about.


haha nice T-47 quote.
Feeling pretty good about the step now, as long as I don't become as incompetent as a stormtrooper's aim and get owned by troupe of glorified teddy bears at prometric, I should hopefully be allright.

Thanks for all the great encouragment guys. Doctosanthewan good luck for yours "A day earlier than mine" what a coincidence! I can't wait to be done with this ****, so sick and tired of reading the same things over and over.
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Im planning on writing up a detailed exam experience in a couple days.. but I definitely was in the group of people that ran out of time on almost every single block during the real exam. The first block I had to guess on 3 questions. Then of the next 5/6 blocks i had to guess on 1 or 2 each because I ran out of time. I'm not the fastest exam taker but I would usually finish a UWORLD block with about 10 minutes left.. or the NBMEs with 5 min left. There were 2 occasions I think that the NBMEs came right down to the wire though. On the real exam I eventually stopped marking questions because I knew there was no chance I'd even have time to return.
 
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Ryan71 said:
There were 2 occasions I think that the NBMEs came right down to the wire though.
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That should have been a red flag for you. But, you know that now. Look forward to that writeup and good luck on Step 2!
 
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Ryan71 said:
Im planning on writing up a detailed exam experience in a couple days.. but I definitely was in the group of people that ran out of time on almost every single block during the real exam. The first block I had to guess on 3 questions. Then of the next 5/6 blocks i had to guess on 1 or 2 each because I ran out of time. I'm not the fastest exam taker but I would usually finish a UWORLD block with about 10 minutes left.. or the NBMEs with 5 min left. There were 2 occasions I think that the NBMEs came right down to the wire though. On the real exam I eventually stopped marking questions because I knew there was no chance I'd even have time to return.
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oh man. :(

Hmm i still got about a 3rd of UWorld left. Time to take the brakes off and try finishing earlier, maybe set a timer for like 46 (1min/q) to get done and check.

Today I'm gonna do a run through of the first 8 chapters of robbins. Make sure I know those diagrams really well and give a read of the text and do the review questions. Tomorrow I'll get started on my last run through of FA, focusing on the memory stuff. (might put those drug S/E in an anki deck)


Modeselektor: absolutely, cannot wait to get this out the way. You really shouldn't have any problems on the day. Make sure to come back and let us know how it went! Just dont scare the **** outta me, my exam is right after yours haha.
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hahaha. At this point all we can do is start to wind it down and convince ourselves to have faith in our prep. Get more sleep so we can remember random details from out of nowhere, those aha moments when you vividly remember a detail from 5 years ago. Its gonna be aight man. We did work, now we got let ourselves peak. I'll let you know how it went, I figure its gonna be like everyone says "you have no idea and you may even think you failed" like an extended version of the feeling you get after you click done on an nbme.

listen to this and think about how long and hard you worked to get here. Sure there were down times and lazy days, for me sometimes lazy weeks, but you studied a ****load, and it will pay off man. Good luck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG9-j3eevL4
 
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Transposony said:
1. Sleep well.
2. FA (Pholston-Micro/Pharma/ Biochem/MolBio/Biostats)
. Good Luck
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Thanks! Yeah im going to be doing all of those, and i am going through Pathoma again right now. Is it worth doing NBME 12 as well? I was planning on doing UWSA 1 tommorow...
 
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Personally I'm going to do all the NBMEs because I need the psychological reinforcement that it isn't going to be absolute mayhem come test day.

You will probably feel more confident after doing more forms. But they do take time, and there are no explainations. (my 2 cents)

My exams a few days after yours man. Gd luck!
 
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Modeselektor said:
Personally I'm going to do all the NBMEs because I need the psychological reinforcement that it isn't going to be absolute mayhem come test day.

You will probably feel more confident after doing more forms. But they do take time, and there are no explainations. (my 2 cents)

My exams a few days after yours man. Gd luck!
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I did 7, 11 and 13 long ago. Did horrible on all of those. Went back, did the wrong answers and did the rest of the exams offline, felt pretty good about it. I was looking at 12 though and there were some WTF type of questions; i dont know if i have enough time to take both 12 and UWSA 1. I hope the real exam is more like 15 and Uworld.
 
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CaliAtenza said:
I did 7, 11 and 13 long ago. Did horrible on all of those. Went back, did the wrong answers and did the rest of the exams offline, felt pretty good about it. I was looking at 12 though and there were some WTF type of questions; i dont know if i have enough time to take both 12 and UWSA 1. I hope the real exam is more like 15 and Uworld.
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Good luck man. Yes, according to all recent test takers, exam is exactly similar to NBME 15. What did you do to jump from doing "horrible" in NBMEs to doing "very well" in NBME 15? I hope you can provide some advice. What NBMEs you have done so far?

I had to take my exam one month ago but cancelled it due to 242, 240 in NBME 13 and 15, respectively, one week before the exam.
 
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stronghold said:
Good luck man. Yes, according to all recent test takers, exam is exactly similar to NBME 15. What did you do to jump from doing "horrible" in NBMEs to doing "very well" in NBME 15? I hope you can provide some advice. What NBMEs you have done so far?

I had to take my exam one month ago but cancelled it due to 242, 240 in NBME 13 and 15, respectively, one week before the exam.
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i was bassically at 188-189 on NBME 7, 11 and 13. I took these starting way back in March, and then finally i took 13 in June. This was all after a first pass of U world. My method of studying was totally messed up. I hadnt read FA properly at all after taking my Kaplan classes last fall. I was littterally flailing around and was totally lost.

I decided to just hit everything hard. I did USMLERX, and then did U world again. This time i made notes, i did marked questions over and over, i did my incorrects. I read FA from cover to cover, multiple times; did Pathoma again along with the videos. Then i started doing random U world sections. Looking at U world all the time has really helped. I took the Free 150 questions down at the Prometric center a few weeks back, got 88%. Started reviewing FA again, one more time. I got the micro and pharm cards that Pholston told us all to get, those were and are a great resource :). Finally everything came to a head a couple of days ago and i decided to take NBME 15, after going over all my old NBME's, doing the wrong questions and doing the rest offline. Managed to get a 640/254 on 15 :). I have been reviewing Pathoma again, that day and i am trying to finish it before i take UWSA1 tommorow.

Wow, you were getting 240s in the NBMEs, i think you could have taken the exam, no big deal. My biggest fear is that the exam will be super crazy and i wont be able to replicate how i did on 15 compared to the real exam.
 
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CaliAtenza said:
i was bassically at 188-189 on NBME 7, 11 and 13. I took these starting way back in March, and then finally i took 13 in June. This was all after a first pass of U world. My method of studying was totally messed up. I hadnt read FA properly at all after taking my Kaplan classes last fall. I was littterally flailing around and was totally lost.

I decided to just hit everything hard. I did USMLERX, and then did U world again. This time i made notes, i did marked questions over and over, i did my incorrects. I read FA from cover to cover, multiple times; did Pathoma again along with the videos. Then i started doing random U world sections. Looking at U world all the time has really helped. I took the Free 150 questions down at the Prometric center a few weeks back, got 88%. Started reviewing FA again, one more time. I got the micro and pharm cards that Pholston told us all to get, those were and are a great resource :). Finally everything came to a head a couple of days ago and i decided to take NBME 15, after going over all my old NBME's, doing the wrong questions and doing the rest offline. Managed to get a 640/254 on 15 :). I have been reviewing Pathoma again, that day and i am trying to finish it before i take UWSA1 tommorow.

Wow, you were getting 240s in the NBMEs, i think you could have taken the exam, no big deal. My biggest fear is that the exam will be super crazy and i wont be able to replicate how i did on 15 compared to the real exam.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I really appreciate it. What was the interval between NBME 13 and 15? I just want to know how many weeks took from you to jump that great way!
As of "doing rest offline", do you mean even the very old NBMEs 1,2,3,4 and 5?
How many passes of FA you made so far?

Thanks for kind words. Actually, I want neurosurgery so 240 is no longer considered great enough in these days?
 
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