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

 

[STANDARDOFCARE]

I can't recall the 800-scale scores, but for my last three NBME exams (with extended feedback):

NBME11 + 13: 264 (9 wrong out of 200 on both)

NBME12: 266 (8 wrong)

Notice how 265 wasn't even a possible score.
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There was also some girl several years ago (you can probably search for her username on SDN), called PrincessPeach, who talked about having gotten a 273 on one of the NBMEs (I think 13), and that was 3 wrong. She got a 274 on the real deal, IIRC.

I would also recommend contacting thehundredthone. He had two 270+ NBMEs, so he could tell you how many wrong he had on those.

The NBME CBSE is being used as a test for applicants applying to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (dental specialty). We took the test and heard back about scores... Most people are happy with 70 CBSE score (200 USMLE) and some are getting high 70's-80's (average med student). Keep in mind this is without dedicated study time - no school support or preparation and a dental school curriculum. We are mostly just reading FA and doing UWorld while balancing patients etc. Problem is .. there are a few schools with people reporting multiple 90+ CBSE scores (250+ / 99 percentile) - while most other schools have people within the 55-70 range .. since we are applying for residency with this exam and it basically determines our future I'm having a hard time determining if these are just a bunch of trolls out to f* with everyone or if I somehow studied incorrectly and was a whole std deviation away from the top performers.. (studied for 4 months and took the previous administration in Sept (studied for 3 months for that one too) ... one school claims that 4 people got 90+. This would imply that these dental students are doing better than the majority of medical students? Seems highly unlikely...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=888425 (REFERENCE THREAD)

 

[loveoforganic2]

The NBME CBSE is being used as a test for applicants applying to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (dental specialty). We took the test and heard back about scores... Most people are happy with 70 CBSE score (200 USMLE) and some are getting high 70's-80's (average med student). Keep in mind this is without dedicated study time - no school support or preparation and a dental school curriculum. We are mostly just reading FA and doing UWorld while balancing patients etc. Problem is .. there are a few schools with people reporting multiple 90+ CBSE scores (250+ / 99 percentile) - while most other schools have people within the 55-70 range .. since we are applying for residency with this exam and it basically determines our future I'm having a hard time determining if these are just a bunch of trolls out to f* with everyone or if I somehow studied incorrectly and was a whole std deviation away from the top performers.. (studied for 4 months and took the previous administration in Sept (studied for 3 months for that one too) ... one school claims that 4 people got 90+. This would imply that these dental students are doing better than the majority of medical students? Seems highly unlikely...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=888425 (REFERENCE THREAD)

Not going to dig into fact verifying everyone, but OMFS guys are the rockstar DDS's (think derm-competitive med students), and a large percentage of them take a number of classes with med students after graduating with their DDS (before they go on to their field specific residency training)

 

[bangarang]

Not going to dig into fact verifying everyone, but OMFS guys are the rockstar DDS's (think derm-competitive med students), and a large percentage of them take a number of classes with med students after graduating with their DDS (before they go on to their field specific residency training)

Yep. We have a couple of those guys here. They joined us at the beginning of second year, and they seem to be doing well.

 

[hardee17]

The NBME CBSE is being used as a test for applicants applying to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (dental specialty). We took the test and heard back about scores... Most people are happy with 70 CBSE score (200 USMLE) and some are getting high 70's-80's (average med student). Keep in mind this is without dedicated study time - no school support or preparation and a dental school curriculum. We are mostly just reading FA and doing UWorld while balancing patients etc. Problem is .. there are a few schools with people reporting multiple 90+ CBSE scores (250+ / 99 percentile) - while most other schools have people within the 55-70 range .. since we are applying for residency with this exam and it basically determines our future I'm having a hard time determining if these are just a bunch of trolls out to f* with everyone or if I somehow studied incorrectly and was a whole std deviation away from the top performers.. (studied for 4 months and took the previous administration in Sept (studied for 3 months for that one too) ... one school claims that 4 people got 90+. This would imply that these dental students are doing better than the majority of medical students? Seems highly unlikely...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=888425 (REFERENCE THREAD)

Wait....is this the same exam my school gave us? A dental exam? Im so confused.😕

Edit: if the exam is just as important for you guys as step 1 is for us med students, why are you ragging on people who did well? Why are the scores so different?

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

ok have to admit Im super confused and maybe a little late to the party when it comes to all these practice tests and assessments. Im seeing people talk about NBMEs, USWAs, UWorld Assessments, etc.

I have 4 and half weeks till exam, Im working through Uworld at a pretty good pace so I think I should be able to finish that without too much trouble. What assessments am I wanting to do and when, if lets say I think I have time to take 2 to 3 of them? I'm more concerned about whichever ones would give me the best practice/learning for the real thing, don't particularly care about getting the most accurate score estimates (would be nice, but more concerned about learning). I made a 225 on the NBME we took at the end of the year, and thats really about what my goal score is, so I mostly am looking to make sure I shore up all the low hanging fruit so that even if I have a crappy day on the test I can make >225.

Also is the basic science NBME my school gave us one of these numbered NBME's, I want to make sure I dont accidentally buy it again or something.

UWSAs are Uworld assessments. If you're just trying to learn and don't care about a score predictor I'd recommend them as you get excellent feedback

 

[Armadillos]

UWSAs are Uworld assessments. If you're just trying to learn and don't care about a score predictor I'd recommend them as you get excellent feedback

Cool, thanks for the suggestion.

Also are most people going through Uworld questions completely randomly, or do people do some portion of them together in systems so you get a better total picture instead of just 2000 random facts?

I'm thinking about doing 75% of the questions by subject area as I work through FA+Pathoma. I know this will likely over inflate my performance, but like I said Im really most interested in just learning the stuff as well as I can. Then the last week I'll go through the remaining 25% on random just to remind myself of any big things I've forgotten.

Its crazy how many way there are to get ready for this test, I eventually was like wtf too many options, might as well just start doing something.

 

[Suncrusher]

Everyone in my school who took Step 1 before or on April 25 (~30 people) are getting their scores today. The scores were already sent to the administration at our school, and they passed on to us that the scores would be available later today. Eek...I took mine on the 29th so I pretty much know that my scores will come next week (only 3 Wednesdays later).

I will probably wear out the refresh button next Wednesday. It will be like the pre-med application cycle all over again... 😴

 

[Goober11]

Cool, thanks for the suggestion.

Also are most people going through Uworld questions completely randomly, or do people do some portion of them together in systems so you get a better total picture instead of just 2000 random facts?

I'm thinking about doing 75% of the questions by subject area as I work through FA+Pathoma. I know this will likely over inflate my performance, but like I said Im really most interested in just learning the stuff as well as I can. Then the last week I'll go through the remaining 25% on random just to remind myself of any big things I've forgotten.

Its crazy how many way there are to get ready for this test, I eventually was like wtf too many options, might as well just start doing something.

I understand where you are coming from but doing the questions random timed is wayyyy better. In a random block you might get oh IDK, 4 cardio questions, 5 neuro path and 3 pharm, etc. Lets say out of those cardio questions pages 298-300 in FA are covered and you review the question's associated topic in FA after getting them correct or incorrect. If you do random blocks you will be reviewing those cardio pages nearly every day! In some way it's kinda like a spaced review program. On the flip side, if you knock out those cardio questions all at once, over a day or two, you might not review something small like the associated ANCAs with vasculities for a much longer time.

Does that make sense? In essence, random timed causes you to review material in FA over a longer period of time which will foster more permanent memory mechanisms.

 

[RoboChicken]

So wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone.

For background info: I got a 36 on the MCAT and go to a top 20 med school. Despite all this, I had constantly struggled with low confidence throughout med school which turned into intense test anxiety (for no real reason...I always did pretty well). Before any exam in med school, I had issues with sleeping which was never a problem before.

Going into boards study, my goal was to get above a 240. However, halfway into my 6 week study period, my expectations lowered drastically:
Into the first week I got a 214 on NBME 11, a week later a 224 on UWAS 1, and two weeks after that a 225 on NBME 13 (at this point, I kinda freaked out).
I used the kaplan qbank while going through First aid the first time (about 70% cumulative) and then did uworld random, timed, unused for the last two weeks. Got through 80% of uworld with a 67% cum. At this point, I was still getting the occasional 55% on a random block and thought I would fail for sure.

I also used pathoma and step 1 secrets. And the occasional wiki article/youtube video.

The last two weeks of study I went crazy. Lost 10lbs b/c no appetite, could barely sleep...and studied like a maniac. Still thought I would fail (like I said, this study period made me really crazy as did reading this board religiously and seeing all the 250's and the "I did uworld 500X's"...etc).

The night before, got no sleep. Felt like I was on autopilot on the exam and made stupid, STUPID mistakes. Past 3 weeks were hell. Everything reminded me of boards. I was already making contingency plans for when I got my FAIL score.

Got my score today: 245! 🙂

Can't believe it. Didn't do any practice exams within 2 weeks of my exam (so I wouldn't stress myself out...but I stressed out regardless).

ANYWAY: to all the stressers out there! There is hope!! 🙂 And even if you don't sleep the 2 nights before, you can still do well (although sleep helps haha...probs wouldn't have made a lot of the stupid mistakes I did)

 

[Goober11]

It's the happiest day of the week. Where dem scores at???

 

[AppleMD]

It's the happiest day of the week. Where dem scores at???

I agree! Looking forward to all the good news.

 

[loveoforganic2]

I understand where you are coming from but doing the questions random timed is wayyyy better. In a random block you might get oh IDK, 4 cardio questions, 5 neuro path and 3 pharm, etc. Lets say out of those cardio questions pages 298-300 in FA are covered and you review the question's associated topic in FA after getting them correct or incorrect. If you do random blocks you will be reviewing those cardio pages nearly every day! In some way it's kinda like a spaced review program. On the flip side, if you knock out those cardio questions all at once, over a day or two, you might not review something small like the associated ANCAs with vasculities for a much longer time.

Does that make sense? In essence, random timed causes you to review material in FA over a longer period of time which will foster more permanent memory mechanisms.

This is my logic as well. Any way you can incorporate spaced repetition into your studying without increasing your workload is golden imo

 

[tiedyeddog]

yeah... I thought UWSA was pretty hard, damn.

 

[blaqmamba]

yeah... I thought UWSA was pretty hard, damn.

which one did you take?

 

[Goober11]

without increasing your workload is golden imo

<------This Gunnertraining dropout agrees wholeheartedly

 

[John Lannister]

Any parts of Kaplan qbank or Kaplan diagnostic tests worth doing?

I ran out of time to do the whole thing but may have a shot at doing 200-500 Q's. Anything worthwhile in there?

I've heard these may be good:

-anatomy
-physio
-molecular bio
-micro

Any comments?

 

[tiedyeddog]

Any parts of Kaplan qbank or Kaplan diagnostic tests worth doing?

I ran out of time to do the whole thing but may have a shot at doing 200-500 Q's. Anything worthwhile in there?

I've heard these may be good:

-anatomy
-physio
-molecular bio
-micro

Any comments?

I think the micro questions are good.

 

[tiedyeddog]

which one did you take?

uwsa 1

 

[Jonari]

uwsa 1

yeah 1 was pretty tough...2 is more easier, imo.

 

[loveoforganic2]

<------This Gunnertraining dropout agrees wholeheartedly

Also a GT dropout 😛 All through second year I organized my studying in a way to do some kind of spaced repetition. So much better when it isn't in the form of a million cards crushing your soul (personally, anyway!)

 

[Suncrusher]

so NBME 15 seems to have been a great predictor of my classmates' scores:

258 NBME --> 258 Step 1
240 NBME --> 238 Step 1
238 NBME --> 238 Step 1
224 NBME --> 229 Step 1

those are the only 4 people in my class where I know both their NBME 15 score and their Step 1 score. They all took NBME 15 1-2 weeks before their test date.

P.S. the 258-->258 kid got a 267 or something on UWSA1

 

[Charlie Hustle]

so NBME 15 seems to have been a great predictor of my classmates' scores:

258 NBME --> 258 Step 1
240 NBME --> 238 Step 1
238 NBME --> 238 Step 1
224 NBME --> 229 Step 1

those are the only 4 people in my class where I know both their NBME 15 score and their Step 1 score. They all took NBME 15 1-2 weeks before their test date.

Wow, it doesn't get much closer than that. Think this says anything about prep strategy during the last 10-14 days before the exam? I think by that point, there's probably not a ton of new information you're going to absorb (i.e. your score isn't going to improve that much), so it's probably best to just nail down concepts you're already pretty familiar with and not try to tackle any new content. Thoughts?

 

[CDI]

Wow, it doesn't get much closer than that. Think this says anything about prep strategy during the last 10-14 days before the exam? I think by that point, there's probably not a ton of new information you're going to absorb (i.e. your score isn't going to improve that much), so it's probably best to just nail down concepts you're already pretty familiar with and not try to tackle any new content. Thoughts?

This is a good reason to STUDY NBME 15.

 

[blaqmamba]

so NBME 15 seems to have been a great predictor of my classmates' scores:

258 NBME --> 258 Step 1
240 NBME --> 238 Step 1
238 NBME --> 238 Step 1
224 NBME --> 229 Step 1

those are the only 4 people in my class where I know both their NBME 15 score and their Step 1 score. They all took NBME 15 1-2 weeks before their test date.

Whoa that's pretty accurate

Tell them to get on here and post their experiences!

 

[Goober11]

Wow, it doesn't get much closer than that. Think this says anything about prep strategy during the last 10-14 days before the exam? I think by that point, there's probably not a ton of new information you're going to absorb (i.e. your score isn't going to improve that much), so it's probably best to just nail down concepts you're already pretty familiar with and not try to tackle any new content. Thoughts?

So would this be an argument for taking NBME 15 earlier in prep, maybe a month out? Like this weekend for some of us . Point being to know what is weak earlier on and adjust the way I do things with plenty of time before the test. Is anyone else thinking this way?

 

[Phloston]

so NBME 15 seems to have been a great predictor of my classmates' scores:

258 NBME --> 258 Step 1
240 NBME --> 238 Step 1
238 NBME --> 238 Step 1
224 NBME --> 229 Step 1

those are the only 4 people in my class where I know both their NBME 15 score and their Step 1 score. They all took NBME 15 1-2 weeks before their test date.

Those stats are actually really helpful. Thanks,

 

[Charlie Hustle]

So would this be an argument for taking NBME 15 earlier in prep, maybe a month out? Like this weekend for some of us . Point being to know what is weak earlier on and adjust the way I do things with plenty of time before the test. Is anyone else thinking this way?

I'm planning on taking 11, 12, 13, and then 15 over the course of my dedicated period, so hopefully by the second or third NBME I take I'll have a pretty good idea as to what my weak areas are. My plan is to take NBME 15 about 10 days before my exam and then just go HAM for a week and lock down the subjects I've struggled with on my prior NBMEs. As Phloston says, the questions you miss on the NBMEs will be the questions you miss on your exam, so I think I'd be cheating myself to not follow his advice and get my weak NBME areas squared away before the exam.

Just curious, how far into your dedicated period are you?

 

[Goober11]

I'm planning on taking 11, 12, 13, and then 15 over the course of my dedicated period, so hopefully by the second or third NBME I take I'll have a pretty good idea as to what my weak areas are. My plan is to take NBME 15 about 10 days before my exam and then just go HAM for a week and lock down the subjects I've struggled with on my prior NBMEs. As Phloston says, the questions you miss on the NBMEs will be the questions you miss on your exam, so I think I'd be cheating myself to not follow his advice and get my weak NBME areas squared away before the exam.

Just curious, how far into your dedicated period are you?

Yeah you are right I'll take 12 this weekend. I need to fit 7 in there at some point because I was an idiot and bought it thinking it was 11 last week... Anyways, I am 9 days into my 5.5 weeks. Starting to feel a bit lethargic already 🙁

 

[Suncrusher]

Those stats are actually really helpful. Thanks,

np, I know a few more NBME 15 scores without a Step 1 score yet (including my own) so I can add 3-4 more over the next 2 weeks. It's probably pretty good since we all had the same school curriculum (although some of us stopped attending earlier than others).

Whoa that's pretty accurate

Tell them to get on here and post their experiences!

1) They are def already on SDN, although I dont know if they read this thread (and even if they did, I doubt they still do after taking Step 1)

2) I already know their experiences. They all asked me for advice and I passed on my personal study preferences as well as&#8212;and this comprised most of the advice&#8212;what I learned here from all of you on SDN. So you all can take some credit for their scores 😉 We all mostly used the same resources since we were all helping each other throughout the last 2 years.

I italicized the only major differences:
a. 258: studied day and night the last 2 years. Kaplan qbank, 2010 Kaplan vids, FA, Pathoma, UWorld
b. 238: Rx qbank, 2010 Kaplan vids, FA, Pathoma, Uworld, Goljan
c. 238: Rx qbank, Rx vids instead of Kaplan vids, FA, Pathoma, Uworld, Kaplan qbank
d. 229: Rx qbank, some usmleEasy qbank, Kaplan qbank, 2010 Kaplan vids, FA, Pathoma, Uworld, tiny bit of Najeeb

 

[Manu9]

I could use some advice im going into my dedicated study time approx 6 weeks ..which NBME should I take before to know where im standing ..and whats the average jump you can make in that period? I'm almost done uworld right now and at a 55% cumulative average which is terrible but I guess ill have to go over it again

 

[step1april2013]

This is a good reason to STUDY NBME 15.

I 100% agree with you CDI and I will def follow through with this advice. I also have been putting my incorrects on the NBME's into a powerpoint like Pholston, and all though half is minutiae, the other half has really should me that i suck in neuro, so guess what I'm doing tommorrow!

 

[CDI]

I could use some advice im going into my dedicated study time approx 6 weeks ..which NBME should I take before to know where im standing ..and whats the average jump you can make in that period? I'm almost done uworld right now and at a 55% cumulative average which is terrible but I guess ill have to go over it again

I had a lower cumulative than you when I finished UW, with about the same time you had. My NBME 'level' was in the 170-190 range. Hit FA hard if your NBMEs aren't near a 220. You're definitely still missing high-yield concepts, do NOT avoid the difficult topics. Hit them now, put nothing off till later. I jumped 15-20 points every couple weeks after I just followed that advice.

 

[CDI]

I 100% agree with you CDI and I will def follow through with this advice. I also have been putting my incorrects on the NBME's into a powerpoint like Pholston, and all though half is minutiae, the other half has really should me that i suck in neuro, so guess what I'm doing tommorrow!

I made the huge mistake of not looking at NBME 15 cause it came out within 7-10 days of my exam (had shaky confidence). It would've been worth it to cough up the $50 and go through it though. I think it could have added a couple points and put me over my target.

 

[Leonidis I]

is it that common to use kaplan/rx/najeeb vids at your school or was it just that group of friends? the only videos kids at my school use are pathoma....

 

[dragon529]

So when would be a good time to take nbme 15 relative to the other nbmes? Leaning more towards beginning/middle so we know what we're up against?

 

[CDI]

So when would be a good time to take nbme 15 relative to the other nbmes? Leaning more towards beginning/middle so we know what we're up against?

I'd take it a few weeks out from the exam. Reason being, it's the best predictor and the questions are more in line with the real deal - longer stems, and less FA fact recall. That's the direction the real exam is headed as well. The earlier NBMEs seemed more sensitive to your FA retention (or at least that was the way it seemed to me). I'm sure opinion varies on this though. The guys scoring in the 250+ range, it probably doesn't matter as much - since they have less weakness to shore up and are actively searching for weaknesses at the end.

So, a good way to go about it is to hit the early NBME forms, and nail those weak areas down using FA based on the feedback you get. Then as you work your way through UW, hit the latest NBME forms to see where you stand and tweak accordingly.

 

[johnstoops2005]

If anyone else has taken nbme 15 and has a powerpoint of their incorrects with the correct answers and/or explanations, I'd love to exchange documents! I figure I got a bunch right by guessing, so I'd ideally like to go over those as well.

5 more days!

 

[sharklasers]

What is a good schedule to take the NBMEs?

I have a 5 week study period and would like to take 11, 12, 13 and 15.

I will finish UWorld with about 10 days left. Would doing those 4 NBMEs back to back in that order be a bad idea? That would give me about 6 days to thoroughly review the NBMEs, do UWorld incorrects, etc.

Or should I just forget about UWorld at this point? I went through it once during the school year, and am getting around 80-85% right doing timed, random, all subjects. I don't straight up recall most of the questions, the ones I get right I do so by actually knowing why that answer is correct.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[BeastInfection]

Any suggestions for studying neuro diseases? I'm using Pathoma and Goljan for path, and neither has CNS with the exception of Goljan's "special senses" lecture and whatever is scattered throughout random lectures in both.

...or is FA enough?

 

[Manu9]

I had a lower cumulative than you when I finished UW, with about the same time you had. My NBME 'level' was in the 170-190 range. Hit FA hard if your NBMEs aren't near a 220. You're definitely still missing high-yield concepts, do NOT avoid the difficult topics. Hit them now, put nothing off till later. I jumped 15-20 points every couple weeks after I just followed that advice.

Thank you! I will take an NBME this Monday and follow through with that..so frustrating I feel like Ive gone through everything and now information is just seeping out

 

[Phloston]

I 100% agree with you CDI and I will def follow through with this advice. I also have been putting my incorrects on the NBME's into a powerpoint like Pholston, and all though half is minutiae, the other half has really should me that i suck in neuro, so guess what I'm doing tommorrow!

I'll actually give Ijn credit where it's due. I had adopted that tactic from him, and it was invaluable.

 

[CDI]

Thank you! I will take an NBME this Monday and follow through with that..so frustrating I feel like Ive gone through everything and now information is just seeping out

No prob. The guy above me ^ is the one who told me to hit FA early and often. For me that's really all there was to it. I was reading 100 different strategies and doubting my methods. Sometimes its really the straightforward & easiest solution that is the right one (remember that for the exam as well!)

 

[JP2740]

I'll actually give Ijn credit where it's due. I had adopted that tactic from him, and it was invaluable.

I don't get it tho, what's the deal with the powerpoint?

 

[CDI]

I don't get it tho, what's the deal with the powerpoint?

Efficient way to organize your incorrects for rapid review at the end.

 

[Jonari]

about to shower and take nbme 15 in 29 minutes at 5:00am...hope it goes well

 

[Zzmed]

about to shower and take nbme 15 in 29 minutes at 5:00am...hope it goes well

No stress, focused and confident. Keep going! You can do this! You're almost there.
Tell us how it went.

 

[Jonari]

Just finished block 3, curious - but does NBME not give lab values for alkaline phosphatase? 😕

 

[UpInTheClouds]

They do, but it's listed under:

Phosphatase (alkaline), serum 20-70 U/L

 

[suji0]

good luck man!

 

[Jonari]

super screwed...490 = 219; 44 wrong...sigh...this sucks major ass. 🙁