Official 2013 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[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.

Cheers to 2013

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

yeah...the red colored kidney...saw the cysts and was like, "what a dumb question..." and then got it wrong..lulz

i hope questions on the step arent going to be that way...do you pay attention to the dates when the questions were added...the new questions recently added to UW makes me a bit worried...did you run into that question asking what would happen to bilirubin metabolism if an anionic substance was introduced...something along those lines...

I mean when I looked at it again it doesn't really look like a polycystic kidney. Plus you can see the pelvis is super dilated which is a dead giveaway for obstruction.

I don't remember that second question though.

 

[CDI]

were the questions on the step of that "tricky" caliber?

Not the ones with pics, they weren't too bad. They just choose pics that you could get embarrassed to stare at too long. People taking their GREs would think I got a thing for children or beached whales with some of the images I had to look at.

 

[Jonari]

I mean when I looked at it again it doesn't really look like a polycystic kidney. Plus you can see the pelvis is super dilated which is a dead giveaway for obstruction.

I don't remember that second question though.

calvn have you come across the biochem question which asked about which of the DNA transcription factors can be used for detection...i think like 19% got it right...crazy

step1april2013...if you're doing the offline NBMEs...it has been mentioned that at times the pictures are reused on their exams. Collect those images and learn what you can about them. I think I've seen that H&E stain of the renal glomeruli in atleast 4-5 of the NBMEs i've done so far. I know one of the older NBMEs has a picture of tuberous sclerosis...so it's possible they can potentially use that picture again - so make sure you know the ins and outs.

I know there's a gross brain stem, saggital cross section of the brain, some embryo pictures, etc etc.

 

[step1april2013]

I'm just looking at pictures (a few everyday until my exam). I was just wondering what was the best source. Currently I'm using webpath

 

[johnstoops2005]

With a month left to go, do you think its worth running through NBME 1-5? Or is it more high yield to ignore those and spend that extra time on UW, FA, etc?

 

[COXblocker]

Anyone have any thoughts/experience with NBME 12? Took it yesterday, and not only did I score 20 points lower than I did on my last NBME I took two weeks ago, it's the lowest score I've gotten yet. Was this form particularly tricky? Looking at my wrong answers some of them are just stupid mistakes, but some of them seem to be very much "aha! gotcha!" type questions. I don't remember seeing those in NBME 13/15.

With less than 2 weeks left I'm not sure if I should consider it a fluke or if I've actually lost some knowledge as I've begun to focus my studying.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717

It was my first NBME. I did fine, but I felt like I was educated guessing too much. I think if I were to take it 10 times I would get 10 wildly different scores. It was very nitpicky and very biochemical process heavy. Like every question tried to emphasize basic sciences (too much). I was also really upset I read the whole question stem on most questions.

 

[stormchao]

calvn have you come across the biochem question which asked about which of the DNA transcription factors can be used for detection...i think like 19% got it right...crazy

That question was super easy, just gotta memorize onco-gene chart.

 

[Goober11]

With a month left to go, do you think its worth running through NBME 1-5? Or is it more high yield to ignore those and spend that extra time on UW, FA, etc?

Have you exhausted all the other more recent NBMEs? If not then I would go through those first. If you have, then I would spend the extra time on UW. Hard to say though since I don't know how many UW passes you have already made.

 

[Jonari]

That question was super easy, just gotta memorize onco-gene chart.

:hsugh: i havent seen that info in any of the charts...:ugh:

 

[loveoforganic2]

Thank you all for the input, hopefully the blocks will get faster as they go on. I'd be fine with keeping them to even 5 hours/block or less - just need to be able to do a couple blocks a day + a pathoma video to stay on schedule. I think in addition to some of the other things said, I'll just have to annotate things I legitimately don't know, and skip out on annotating the "better explanations for things I do know" that UW offers.

With a month left to go, do you think its worth running through NBME 1-5? Or is it more high yield to ignore those and spend that extra time on UW, FA, etc?

My priority would be 1) solidifying FA, 1) (yes, intentional double 1) finishing UW, 2) Solidifying either RR path or pathoma, 3) Taking at least a couple of the computerized NBME's, 4) UW incorrects, 4) Old NBME's

In other words, I think the vast majority of people would benefit from doing something other than old nbme's

 

[sharklasers]

Whats the latest word on Behavioral Sciences? Is UWorld + First Aid enough?

 

[CDI]

Whats the latest word on Behavioral Sciences? Is UWorld + First Aid enough?

Behavioral is just common sense / intuition on the real exam. Studying won't do much there.

 

[eagle03]

Fresh batch of early April scores coming in today for step 1. 11am eastern time zone is release time.

 

[CDI]

Fresh batch of early April scores coming in today for step 1. 11am eastern time zone is release time.

Good luck!

 

[smileydoc11]

Got my score back today!

I started studying 3 months before my exam, but we had classes for the first 2 months, so those months were pretty light studying-- I just read ~12 pages of FA per day and did 10-15 USMLEworld qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating in FA). The last month is when I really got down to business-- reread FA really in depth along with 46-75 qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating), studied about 12-14 hours per day for 30 days. FA and USMLEworld were the only resources I used. I only finished about 80% of qbank, which was my bad. My overall qbank score was 73%.

NBME scores:
Before hardcore study month-- NBME 13 --- 228
In the middle of hardcore study month -- NBME 15 -- 235
One week before actual test -- NBME 7 -- 250

Actual Step 1 score: 255
I felt absolutely terrible walking out of the real deal, and I am very happy with this score 😀

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Got my score back today!

I started studying 3 months before my exam, but we had classes for the first 2 months, so those months were pretty light studying-- I just read ~12 pages of FA per day and did 10-15 USMLEworld qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating in FA). The last month is when I really got down to business-- reread FA really in depth along with 46-75 qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating), studied about 12-14 hours per day for 30 days. FA and USMLEworld were the only resources I used. I only finished about 80% of qbank, which was my bad. My overall qbank score was 73%.

NBME scores:
Before hardcore study month-- NBME 13 --- 228
In the middle of hardcore study month -- NBME 15 -- 235
One week before actual test -- NBME 7 -- 250

Actual Step 1 score: 255
I felt absolutely terrible walking out of the real deal, and I am very happy with this score 😀

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIfOjkB17BA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Jonari]

Not the ones with pics, they weren't too bad. They just choose pics that you could get embarrassed to stare at too long. People taking their GREs would think I got a thing for children or beached whales with some of the images I had to look at.

lol, that's hilarious...

 

[Jonari]

Got my score back today!

I started studying 3 months before my exam, but we had classes for the first 2 months, so those months were pretty light studying-- I just read ~12 pages of FA per day and did 10-15 USMLEworld qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating in FA). The last month is when I really got down to business-- reread FA really in depth along with 46-75 qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating), studied about 12-14 hours per day for 30 days. FA and USMLEworld were the only resources I used. I only finished about 80% of qbank, which was my bad. My overall qbank score was 73%.

NBME scores:
Before hardcore study month-- NBME 13 --- 228
In the middle of hardcore study month -- NBME 15 -- 235
One week before actual test -- NBME 7 -- 250

Actual Step 1 score: 255
I felt absolutely terrible walking out of the real deal, and I am very happy with this score 😀

good job 👍😀🙂

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Got my score back today!

I started studying 3 months before my exam, but we had classes for the first 2 months, so those months were pretty light studying-- I just read ~12 pages of FA per day and did 10-15 USMLEworld qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating in FA). The last month is when I really got down to business-- reread FA really in depth along with 46-75 qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating), studied about 12-14 hours per day for 30 days. FA and USMLEworld were the only resources I used. I only finished about 80% of qbank, which was my bad. My overall qbank score was 73%.

NBME scores:
Before hardcore study month-- NBME 13 --- 228
In the middle of hardcore study month -- NBME 15 -- 235
One week before actual test -- NBME 7 -- 250

Actual Step 1 score: 255
I felt absolutely terrible walking out of the real deal, and I am very happy with this score 😀

Congrats!

 

[blaqmamba]

Got my score back today!

I started studying 3 months before my exam, but we had classes for the first 2 months, so those months were pretty light studying-- I just read ~12 pages of FA per day and did 10-15 USMLEworld qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating in FA). The last month is when I really got down to business-- reread FA really in depth along with 46-75 qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating), studied about 12-14 hours per day for 30 days. FA and USMLEworld were the only resources I used. I only finished about 80% of qbank, which was my bad. My overall qbank score was 73%.

NBME scores:
Before hardcore study month-- NBME 13 --- 228
In the middle of hardcore study month -- NBME 15 -- 235
One week before actual test -- NBME 7 -- 250

Actual Step 1 score: 255
I felt absolutely terrible walking out of the real deal, and I am very happy with this score 😀

Congrats

Anything else you can comment about how you felt the test was? How was neuro (as well as other subjects of course) on the test? Some people have been recently mentioning an increase in the number of neuro questions asked...

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Congrats

Anything else you can comment about how you felt the test was? How was neuro (as well as other subjects of course) on the test? Some people have been recently mentioning an increase in the number of neuro questions asked...

Just to comment on this...I've seen posts from people back in 2008 (if you look at a couple of the test day feedbacks in the mcat vs step thread) saying how much neuro was on the exam. I think neuroanatomy/path is just memorable for most people either because 1) It's typically a hard subject/FA doesn't do an awesome job with neuroanatomy 2) A lot of them probably have pictures making the questions easier to remember or maybe 3) Neuroanatomy has always been decently represented and for some reason every year people act like it's a new thing.

 

[blaqmamba]

Just to comment on this...I've seen posts from people back in 2008 (if you look at a couple of the test day feedbacks in the mcat vs step thread) saying how much neuro was on the exam. I think neuroanatomy/path is just memorable for most people either because 1) It's typically a hard subject/FA doesn't do an awesome job with neuroanatomy 2) A lot of them probably have pictures making the questions easier to remember or maybe 3) Neuroanatomy has always been decently represented and for some reason every year people act like it's a new thing.

Yeah that's most likely the case, but I was just trying to spark some thoughts for the OP so we could get some more insight into his exam experience. Hopefully he'll be able to remember more than just the difficult neuroanatomy, but if that's all he remembers, then I'd still be interested in hearing his input

 

[smileydoc11]

Yeah that's most likely the case, but I was just trying to spark some thoughts for the OP so we could get some more insight into his exam experience. Hopefully he'll be able to remember more than just the difficult neuroanatomy, but if that's all he remembers, then I'd still be interested in hearing his input

So it's pretty hard to remember much about my exam since I took it almost a month ago, but I am almost 100% sure that I had maybe 1 neuroanatomy question and that's it...

To be honest, the most challenging thing for me with this exam was the time. The first 2 sections went well and I was feeling really good, but then in either the 3rd or 4th section all of a sudden I looked at the time as I had 4 minutes left and 6 questions I hadn't even looked at yet! So that was super stressful to motor through those questions without really having time to think, and sort of set the stage for me being stressed for the rest of the sections.

I think learning about what other people had on their tests is not super helpful. The range is so big that I think it's more important to just focus on learning FA and qbank really well and not waste time worrying about the content of other people's tests, but that's jmo.

I wouldn't freak out if you feel you do badly though, because I felt SO bad walking out of there.

I'd be happy to try to answer any more questions you have.
Also, I'm a she 🙂

 

[Jamiu22]

Got my score back today!

I started studying 3 months before my exam, but we had classes for the first 2 months, so those months were pretty light studying-- I just read ~12 pages of FA per day and did 10-15 USMLEworld qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating in FA). The last month is when I really got down to business-- reread FA really in depth along with 46-75 qbank questions/day (reviewing every answer and annotating), studied about 12-14 hours per day for 30 days. FA and USMLEworld were the only resources I used. I only finished about 80% of qbank, which was my bad. My overall qbank score was 73%.

NBME scores:
Before hardcore study month-- NBME 13 --- 228
In the middle of hardcore study month -- NBME 15 -- 235
One week before actual test -- NBME 7 -- 250

Actual Step 1 score: 255
I felt absolutely terrible walking out of the real deal, and I am very happy with this score 😀

Uworld 2x (First pass 64% Second pass 80%)
Usmle Rx 1x (First pass 76%)
FA (read through approx. 2x)


NBME 15- 224 (2 wks out, felt bummed see earlier post on this thread, form 15 is a must take since it's challenging and it's the only NBME that I took other than free 150)
Prometric Free 150- 91% (1 wk out)
UWSA 1- 244 (1wk out)
UWSA 2- 264 (a few days out)

Step 1: 252

I will not comment on content of test since that is a violation of the agreement that I agreed to and clicked on test day with USMLE.

Very common thread to success was true for me as well: FA and tons of questions (I mainly did questions for my prep), also worked very hard during first two years and followed FA through each course since first year.

Hope this helps and be consistent day in and day out in your prep. Good luck!

Congrats guy and girl.... can't wait to complete my exam also (June 28th).... and to be honest with you, I'd be happy with a 240... so you guys did a really fantastic job!! Keep up the good work.

 

[startswithb]

Uworld 2x (First pass 64% Second pass 80%)
Usmle Rx 1x (First pass 76%)
FA (read through approx. 2x)


NBME 15- 224 (2 wks out, felt bummed see earlier post on this thread, form 15 is a must take since it's challenging and it's the only NBME that I took other than free 150)
Prometric Free 150- 91% (1 wk out)
UWSA 1- 244 (1wk out)
UWSA 2- 264 (a few days out)

Step 1: 252

I will not comment on content of test since that is a violation of the agreement that I agreed to and clicked on test day with USMLE.

Very common thread to success was true for me as well: FA and tons of questions (I mainly did questions for my prep), also worked very hard during first two years and followed FA through each course since first year.

Hope this helps and be consistent day in and day out in your prep. Good luck!

Congrats!! Your prep plan and question bank averages are very similar to mine, so this makes me feel hopeful. 🙂😀

 

[Nottinghamlace]

I am mostly concerned about the time if any recent test takers could comment further on this. I find I finish NBMEs with plenty of time left and most questions are either I know it or I don't, but uworld blocks there is always something to think about on a question and I take the full amount. In this regard do you find you finish each block "satisfied," regardless of how well it went, that you answered each question to the best of your ability and more time would not have helped? I've always been a fast test taker so this has got me a bit anxious now...

 

[Looking120]

Stupid question but getting too annoyed looking, where do I find the free150?

 

[skyblue2000]

Question:

For the evolution of extra pyramidal side effects from neuroleptics...

DIT says at 4 days u can get bradykinesia and at 4 weeks u can get akathisia. But FA says the opposite.. anyone know?

 

[blaqmamba]

Question:

For the evolution of extra pyramidal side effects from neuroleptics...

DIT says at 4 days u can get bradykinesia and at 4 weeks u can get akathisia. But FA says the opposite.. anyone know?

UW says something different too, which isn't really consistent with either
I concluded that:
4hrs = acute dystonia
A few days to several weeks = akathisia and bradykinesia (Parkinsonism). As to which comes first, I think it can vary. The Q won't say exactly 4 days or 4 weeks and put both as a choice
4months = tardive dyskinesia

 

[skyblue2000]

UW says something different too, which isn't really consistent with either
I concluded that:
4hrs = acute dystonia
A few days to several weeks = akathisia and bradykinesia (Parkinsonism). As to which comes first, I think it can vary. The Q won't say exactly 4 days or 4 weeks and put both as a choice
4months = tardive dyskinesia

Awesome! Thanks for the clarification 🙂

 

[STANDARDOFCARE]

I'm about to take an NBME practice test and was wondering if most of you took it timed or standard paced - I usually try to take SS's so that I have material to review later but am worried I am not learning timing.

 

[Geekchick921]

I took it timed because I wanted to use it for self-assessment. If you're worried, maybe do a block or two of UWorld (assuming you're using Uworld) on timed to get a feel for it.

 

[Geekchick921]

Speaking of which, I have been doing UWorld on tutor since I started but in the last few days, I've started to do it on timed mode. I'm not worried about my pacing as that has never been a problem for me. I'm starting to hate tutor mode for a few reasons. Mostly, because having all that time is making me overthink the questions. Or it's making me second-guess my gut instinct, which is usually right, but I'm not confident in it and then I change it and get pissed. I also like being able to go back and change my answer before submitting it. And most importantly, getting a string of questions wrong on tutor mode, and being told about it immediately, is very disheartening. The last set I did on tutor I got a 46 (*horror*, easily my worst grade) because I was tired and frustrated at getting a bunch of questions wrong in a row, and stopped giving a ****.

The last 5 sets I've done on timed and I've gotten 70s and 74s. Go figure. I also think I'm getting through them faster to review them all together, too. Just under 2 weeks to go.

Hey, is the free 150 supposed to be kind of easy? I'm thinking of saving it for my last day or two as a confidence booster, if that's really the case.

 

[Goober11]

Hey, is the free 150 supposed to be kind of easy? I'm thinking of saving it for my last day or two as a confidence booster, if that's really the case.

Yep, by my rough estimate a low 90s score will put you high 240s---lower 250s. Purely observational.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'm about to take an NBME practice test and was wondering if most of you took it timed or standard paced - I usually try to take SS's so that I have material to review later but am worried I am not learning timing.

If your goal is to have them be at all predictive of how you might do on the real thing, then you should take it timed. If you don't care, then do whatever you want.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

ah screw it

 

[NickNaylor]

ah screw it

Lol, what were you going to say?! I know you quoted me - Tapatalk doesn't lie. 😉

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[loveoforganic2]

Lol, what were you going to say?! I know you quoted me - Tapatalk doesn't lie. 😉

Sent from my Nexus 7

That's some Orwellian stuff right there, get out of my computer

 

[STANDARDOFCARE]

Sad 🙁 - took NBME 13 ~2 weeks ago and got a 500/221 - worked on the sections I was weak in - took NBME 12 just now (supposed to be easier?) and got 480/217 .. was hoping to be around ~230 by now (aiming for ~240). The subjects I studied went up but the subjects that NBME 13 said were good went down ... ugh. Any advice on how I should spend my next 2 weeks? Is it still possible for me to get a 235-240? Kinda feeling bad right now not sure what I should do next to actually see progress

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Sad 🙁 - took NBME 13 ~2 weeks ago and got a 500/221 - worked on the sections I was weak in - took NBME 12 just now (supposed to be easier?) and got 480/217 .. was hoping to be around ~230 by now (aiming for ~240). The subjects I studied went up but the subjects that NBME 13 said were good went down ... ugh. Any advice on how I should spend my next 2 weeks? Is it still possible for me to get a 235-240? Kinda feeling bad right now not sure what I should do next to actually see progress

I feel you, just took NBME 7 and scored a 219, scoring over an 80% is less than a 220. I'm sporting ~70% on UW, but the curve on these NBMEs kills me. I too am shooting for >230.

My plan is to have another go at FA (really starting to hate this book) 4-5 questions I missed were straight recall facts that I knew at one time but have slipped my memory.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Lol, what were you going to say?! I know you quoted me - Tapatalk doesn't lie. 😉

Sent from my Nexus 7

Was just going to post a youtube video but clearly I'm showing my age as I couldn't figure out how to post it

 

[loveoforganic2]

I feel you, just took NBME 7 and scored a 219, scoring over an 80% is less than a 220. I'm sporting ~70% on UW, but the curve on these NBMEs kills me. I too am shooting for >230.

My plan is to have another go at FA (really starting to hate this book) 4-5 questions I missed were straight recall facts that I knew at one time but have slipped my memory.

I think the majority opinion is that the real deal is more similar to UW than the NBME's, and I would hope that'd apply to the grading scale as well. I'd much rather difficult questions with a generous scale than more or less discrete questions on a ridiculously harsh scale

 

[STANDARDOFCARE]

Anyone have any experience on how they used NBME feedback? Reading FA chapters? Or doing more questions specific to particular sections/topics? Not sure which method to use. I've done ~2400Q of USMLERX and ~1000 of UWORLD so I still have questions to use - just running out of time

 

[CDI]

Anyone have any experience on how they used NBME feedback? Reading FA chapters? Or doing more questions specific to particular sections/topics? Not sure which method to use. I've done ~2400Q of USMLERX and ~1000 of UWORLD so I still have questions to use - just running out of time

Nail the weak FA chapters. Read them front to back. Memorize em, draw out the charts and pathways. Questions should just be a continuing thing.

 

[CDI]

I think the majority opinion is that the real deal is more similar to UW than the NBME's, and I would hope that'd apply to the grading scale as well. I'd much rather difficult questions with a generous scale than more or less discrete questions on a ridiculously harsh scale

It's a combination of both.

UW = multi-step, logic based, resemble tougher Qs on real exam

NBME = FA recall, factoids, resemble the gimmes, easier Qs on real exam (there are a lot of these and this is the key, IMO, to locking a good score with the easiest path)

 

[Phloston]

Hey, is the free 150 supposed to be kind of easy? I'm thinking of saving it for my last day or two as a confidence booster, if that's really the case.

I thought free-150 was easier than even the NBME exams. But there are a few very odd questions in it asking things that no study resources talk about (just like the NBME exams).

I'd say 95%+ on free-150 is reflective of 260+.

 

[Golden Boy]

I took the real deal within the past month. Going into the test I was also concerned about finishing every block on time, since I had heard that the real exam had very long passages. I took 4 NBME's (timed), and I finished each block with about 6 mins remaining. I'm one of those people who reads every question and answer choice carefully (find it hard to just skim/scan). On the real exam, I was able to finish the first 3 or 4 blocks with about 8 minutes remaining for each, but the last 2 blocks were more challenging and time consuming, so I just had about 3 or 4 minutes remaining for those. If you're able to finish the NBME's on time, you probably shouldn't worry about finishing everything on the real exam. I found the real exam to be the most similar to the NBME's (UWorld qbank is much, much more detailed, with many questions being quite long).

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I think the majority opinion is that the real deal is more similar to UW than the NBME's, and I would hope that'd apply to the grading scale as well. I'd much rather difficult questions with a generous scale than more or less discrete questions on a ridiculously harsh scale

I agree. Additionally over a month ago I took a school given NBME scored a 210 the next day I did NBME 6 and scored a 193, so who knows.

Though I'm not banking on it, I'm hoping my score lies somewhere in between my Uworld and NBME.

At this point it's all semantics and I need to just keep stuffing knowledge into my head, either way

 

[Geekchick921]

Does anyone have a link to a website with some good practice questions for calculations? Both for biostats and things like renal and pulm? I am struggling with these and I think it would be more helpful for me to actually do some problems rather than just memorize the formulas (which I'm also working on doing).

 

[Nottinghamlace]

I took the real deal within the past month. Going into the test I was also concerned about finishing every block on time, since I had heard that the real exam had very long passages. I took 4 NBME's (timed), and I finished each block with about 6 mins remaining. I'm one of those people who reads every question and answer choice carefully (find it hard to just skim/scan). On the real exam, I was able to finish the first 3 or 4 blocks with about 8 minutes remaining for each, but the last 2 blocks were more challenging and time consuming, so I just had about 3 or 4 minutes remaining for those. If you're able to finish the NBME's on time, you probably shouldn't worry about finishing everything on the real exam. I found the real exam to be the most similar to the NBME's (UWorld qbank is much, much more detailed, with many questions being quite long).

Awesome! Thanks for addressing the time and setting my mind at ease 🙂

Occasionally when I think about the real thing my heart races for a brief second. Anyone got some beta blockers?