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

 

[ijn]

crap...was banking on this. i hate questions about Gibbs free energy and stuff...

dude get a grip. they're going to test on pathology and physiology where it overlaps with biochemistry. there's zero point in memorizing every step of a biochemistry pathway unless there's some clinical significance to it. you aren't in undergrad. this is the USMLE. think medically and prioritize your efforts.

 

[Jonari]

dude get a grip. they're going to test on pathology and physiology where it overlaps with biochemistry. there's zero point in memorizing every step of a biochemistry pathway unless there's some clinical significance to it. you aren't in undergrad. this is the USMLE. think medically and prioritize your efforts.

yeah...lol i said that when prepping for the CBSE...and a question showed up on it. had a lapse of judgment and completely forgot how to solve it.

 

[ijn]

yeah...lol i said that when prepping for the CBSE...and a question showed up on it. had a lapse of judgment and completely forgot how to solve it.

yeah i guess you'll just have to memorize the undergrad biochemistry book cover to cover... lol!!!!!

there's something called acceptable losses. gibbs free energy is one of those concepts. you don't have to know everything to get a 240 or whatever score you want. there's significant ground you can make up on much higher yield topics. if you're missing a significant amount of CBSE questions still, odds are you're weak in some major clinical areas and not just nit picky biochemistry minutae.

 

[loveoforganic2]

dude get a grip. they're going to test on pathology and physiology where it overlaps with biochemistry. there's zero point in memorizing every step of a biochemistry pathway unless there's some clinical significance to it. you aren't in undergrad. this is the USMLE. think medically and prioritize your efforts.

Yes. I really think you need to hone down all the miscellaneous minutiae hunting. In the NBME range you're sitting at, I think a hardcore condensed pass through fa is the most efficient thing you can do to bump your score up. I hate reading first aid. I put it off until the end of second year. But a focused condensed pass really helps tie things together (at least it did for me). Webpath is too much detail. Gibbs free energy is low yield. This type of crap might show up, but unless you're trying to make a phloston-style push from 250's to 260's, it isn't the stuff you need to be focusing on. It seems like you know a lot based on your posting, but I think you're getting way bogged down in low yield details, and it's pulling you down. A friend of mine's prep consisted of 1 pass of DIT + UW and a couple NBME's, and he scored a 240. Mastery of the basic stuff puts you in that range, and until you've got that stuff sured up, I think it's probably actually detrimental to try to cram all those minutiae in

 

[blaqmamba]

dude get a grip. they're going to test on pathology and physiology where it overlaps with biochemistry. there's zero point in memorizing every step of a biochemistry pathway unless there's some clinical significance to it. you aren't in undergrad. this is the USMLE. think medically and prioritize your efforts.

What's the price tag on flying you out here to take my test for me?

 

[ijn]

What's the price tag on flying you out here to take my test for me?

Cumulative salary of an interventional radiologist over a 30 year career in case the plan goes sour. 😛

 

[blaqmamba]

Cumulative salary of an interventional radiologist over a 30 year career in case the plan goes sour. 😛

we'll then just think of me as a permanent "indentured servant"

Really though, rads? Any idea where you want to go?



...offer's on the table for you too, Phlo..

 

[Jonari]

thanks everybody....here are the past double digit NBMEs...it's funny, because i took both nbme 11 and 12, at the most odd times of the day. i mean i took them at 2:00am - 5:45am. nbme 13, i took in the evening from 6:00 - 9:45pm.

NBME 11:

NBME 12:

NBME 13: lol @ gross anatomy

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

yeah i guess you'll just have to memorize the undergrad biochemistry book cover to cover... lol!!!!!

there's something called acceptable losses. gibbs free energy is one of those concepts. you don't have to know everything to get a 240 or whatever score you want. there's significant ground you can make up on much higher yield topics. if you're missing a significant amount of CBSE questions still, odds are you're weak in some major clinical areas and not just nit picky biochemistry minutae.

yeah brah, here's my breakdown of 11 - 15. 11 - 13 had some really stupid careless mistakes on questions i shouldn't have missed. your thoughts?

 

[Armadillos]

sorry if this has been discussed a lot, but if Im looking to make mid 230s, what would be an expected %right doing timed random uWorld blocks?

anyone? Inquiring neurotic medschool minds need to know!

 

[CDI]

yeah brah, here's my breakdown of 11 - 15. 11 - 13 had some really stupid careless mistakes on questions i shouldn't have missed. your thoughts?

I think it'd be more fun to play a round of: "Guess ijn's Response?"

I'm going with: "Be smarter."

 

[CDI]

anyone? Inquiring neurotic medschool minds need to know!

Use the correlation table.

 

[Jonari]

I think it'd be more fun to play a round of: "Guess ijn's Response?"

I'm going with: "Be smarter."

are you a moderator...👍 got bolded up...props to anybody that can sit down and read FA...

id rather pick up pathoma and read that instead

 

[CDI]

are you a moderator...👍 got bolded up...props to anybody that can sit down and read FA...

id rather pick up pathoma and read that instead

My Step 1 score doesn't meet the cutoff for Mod status. 🙁

I think the bold is cause I'm a donor?

Pathoma is great to learn/know but it doesn't get you THAT many more points. FA = points.

 

[Armadillos]

Use the correlation table.

Is this the one your talking about? Just found it googling, no idea if its from reliable source?

http://usmle-score-correlation.blogspot.com/

 

[CDI]

Is this the one your talking about? Just found it googling, no idea if its from reliable source?

http://usmle-score-correlation.blogspot.com/

That's the one that seems to do the trick. Give or take a few.

 

[CDI]

Who Posted?
Total Posts: 2,269
Member Name Posts
Jonari 209
CDI 187
Phloston 129

I need to stop talking.

 

[sharklasers]

Any thoughts on how many days to spend in between NBME's? I guess in terms of having enough time to be able to properly analyze weaknesses and gauge progress, etc.

I was thinking of the following:

UWSA 1/2 - May 30th (administered by my school)
NBME 11 - June 3rd
NBME 12 - June 6th
NBME 13 - June 9th
NBME 15 - June 12th

Real deal - June 17th

What do y'all think? I guess I could also maybe just not do 11 so I could have about a week between my last NBME and the real thing, if that matters at all. Thanks!

 

[Armadillos]

That's the one that seems to do the trick. Give or take a few.

o sweet those percents dont seem too bad, do they carry over to that actual test? Ie if you get 60% on StepI raw score thats about 225?

 

[CDI]

o sweet those percents dont seem too bad, do they carry over to that actual test? Ie if you get 60% on StepI thats about 225?

Sounds about right.

 

[RoboChicken]

anyone? Inquiring neurotic medschool minds need to know!

Like I said in my post a couple pages ago, I had a 67% cumulative in the end (only 80% complete) timed, random, unused...got a 245. That was within one point on the correlation table...which I didn't trust while studying. I also did all of my uworld in the last two weeks of studying. I feel like it all depends on when and how you used Uworld if you intend on using it as a predictive tool.

Also to the person who was worried about their free 150, I did the free 150 at prometric and only got a 78% (I say "only" bc everyone on here seems to get above 90%). Everyone just needs to calm down, be confident, and just take the test. It really is anticlimactic when you actually sit down and do the real thing.

 

[Goober11]

Any thoughts on how many days to spend in between NBME's? I guess in terms of having enough time to be able to properly analyze weaknesses and gauge progress, etc.

I was thinking of the following:

UWSA 1/2 - May 30th (administered by my school)
NBME 11 - June 3rd
NBME 12 - June 6th
NBME 13 - June 9th
NBME 15 - June 12th

Real deal - June 17th

What do y'all think? I guess I could also maybe just not do 11 so I could have about a week between my last NBME and the real thing, if that matters at all. Thanks!

Not too bad if you ask me so long as you have time go through the tests thoroughly

 

[Jonari]

Like I said in my post a couple pages ago, I had a 67% cumulative in the end (only 80% complete) timed, random, unused...got a 245. That was within one point on the correlation table...which I didn't trust while studying. I also did all of my uworld in the last two weeks of studying. I feel like it all depends on when and how you used Uworld if you intend on using it as a predictive tool.

Also to the person who was worried about their free 150, I did the free 150 at prometric and only got a 78% (I say "only" bc everyone on here seems to get above 90%). Everyone just needs to calm down, be confident, and just take the test. It really is anticlimactic when you actually sit down and do the real thing.

you and i have the exact same stats...with my NBMEs being just a tad bit higher...i hope i can pull off the same success as you did

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

you and i have the exact same stats...with my NBMEs being just a tad bit higher...i hope i can pull off the same success as you did

are you ever actually going to take step 1....

 

[tiedyeddog]

Any thoughts on how many days to spend in between NBME's? I guess in terms of having enough time to be able to properly analyze weaknesses and gauge progress, etc.

I was thinking of the following:

UWSA 1/2 - May 30th (administered by my school)
NBME 11 - June 3rd
NBME 12 - June 6th
NBME 13 - June 9th
NBME 15 - June 12th

Real deal - June 17th

What do y'all think? I guess I could also maybe just not do 11 so I could have about a week between my last NBME and the real thing, if that matters at all. Thanks!

I think that's a good plan. So far I have taken:

NMBE CS(like 1 month ago)
UWSA 1 5-15

I plan on going something like this, stopping about a week out like you did.

UWSA2: 5-25
NBME 11: 5-30
NBME 12 6-3
NBME 13 6-6
NBME 15 6-9

 

[Charlie Hustle]

o sweet those percents dont seem too bad, do they carry over to that actual test? Ie if you get 60% on StepI raw score thats about 225?

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but that seems a little off to me. I would think you'd have to get more than 60% of the questions correct to get a 225. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but that seems a little fishy to me.

 

[Jonari]

are you ever actually going to take step 1....

brah, what's up with all the hate...

 

[Goober11]

What's the rationale for taking 4 NBMEs in 10 days? I was under the impression that most people took like one a week. Just curious.

 

[Jonari]

What's the rationale for taking 4 NBMEs in 10 days? I was under the impression that most people took like one a week. Just curious.

don't it's stupid. i did just this, since this was the advice i got from a few upper classman, and it completely backfired. i couldn't see if i had the ability to actually progress on my performance. had i taken one every 5-6 days with reviewing in the middle of the stuff i got wrong on the previous...i would've been good.

 

[JP2740]

What's the rationale for taking 4 NBMEs in 10 days? I was under the impression that most people took like one a week. Just curious.

I'm going to take them all in like 2.5 weeks.

 

[JP2740]

I think that's a good plan. So far I have taken:

NMBE CS(like 1 month ago)
UWSA 1 5-15

I plan on going something like this, stopping about a week out like you did.

UWSA2: 5-25
NBME 11: 5-30
NBME 12 6-3
NBME 13 6-6
NBME 15 6-9

Why are you guys not taking all of the NBMEs?

 

[sharklasers]

What's the rationale for taking 4 NBMEs in 10 days? I was under the impression that most people took like one a week. Just curious.

well i just wanted to do them all, and figured i would learn from doing the questions

don't it's stupid. i did just this, since this was the advice i got from a few upper classman, and it completely backfired. i couldn't see if i had the ability to actually progress on my performance. had i taken one every 5-6 days with reviewing in the middle of the stuff i got wrong on the previous...i would've been good.

but this is why i asked, for feedback like this.

i may just not do 11 or 12 and give myself a few extra days in between each one

 

[Jonari]

well i just wanted to do them all, and figured i would learn from doing the questions



but this is why i asked, for feedback like this.

i may just not do 11 or 12 and give myself a few extra days in between each one

11...i think you can get away with. in terms of easy to difficulty

11 = 12 > 13 >> 15

 

[sharklasers]

Why are you guys not taking all of the NBMEs?

time is my issue. i can't imagine someone going to a US med school with just around 5 weeks to study being able to take all of them, but maybe i just made an inefficient schedule for myself, who knows.

 

[Jonari]

Why are you guys not taking all of the NBMEs?

this. i did all 11 of them, granted some are easier than others...but more questions = more practice = better stamina..etc

 

[sharklasers]

11...i think you can get away with. in terms of easy to difficulty

11 = 12 > 13 >> 15

any thoughts on doing the nbme exams not straight though?

like maybe a block of 11 every day to get through it in 4 days?

the reason i would consider doing that is time isn't really the issue i would have, i've always been one to finish exams early.

but i mainly want to gauge my knowledge base, so i figure this method couldn't hurt

 

[Jonari]

any thoughts on doing the nbme exams not straight though?

like maybe a block of 11 every day to get through it in 4 days?

the reason i would consider doing that is time isn't really the issue i would have, i've always been one to finish exams early.

but i mainly want to gauge my knowledge base, so i figure this method couldn't hurt

that's what UWorld, Kaplan, Rx are for. When you feel confident that you've covered enough ground on topicS take a nbme exam and it'll assess what areas you're weak and strong in. Take the weak areas and review those for the next week, and retake another nbme exam.

one block of a nbme per day...is just...lol

 

[Goober11]

11...i think you can get away with. in terms of easy to difficulty

11 = 12 > 13 >> 15

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

11 being easy? Ugh, I felt good about my score on 11, now I have to go and take 13 this weekend to see if I am really worth my salt...

 

[Jonari]

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

11 being easy? Ugh, I felt good about my score on 11, now I have to go and take 13 this weekend to see if I am really worth my salt...

you didn't think so? i felt that there wasn't really thinking required on most of the questions, it was just straight recall facts...sorry, wasn't trying to burst anybody's bubble - just my opinion. out of my mistakes...i went back 15 were silly mistakes i shouldn't have gotten wrong.

13 isn't bad either, but i think that each of these latter NBMEs give you a 5 point automatic boost...literally, there's 2-3 questions that got repeated on each of the last 4 latest NBMEs, from the prior NBME

 

[sharklasers]

that's what UWorld, Kaplan, Rx are for. When you feel confident that you've covered enough ground on topicS take a nbme exam and it'll assess what areas you're weak and strong in. Take the weak areas and review those for the next week, and retake another nbme exam.

one block of a nbme per day...is just...lol

well im going through uworld.

and i could see your point if i had time enough time to do all of the NBMEs , but i don't have time to do them, so wouldn't it be better to practice with NBME questions than Kaplan questions?

Basically, which would you choose

1) Kaplan questions by block
2) NBME questions by block

 

[Jonari]

well im going through uworld.

and i could see your point if i had time enough time to do all of the NBMEs , but i don't have time to do them, so wouldn't it be better to practice with NBME questions than Kaplan questions?

Basically, which would you choose

1) Kaplan questions by block
2) NBME questions by block

i'd say 2, mainly because the questions put you in the frame of thinking you need to be when taking the real deal. as ijn and phloston state...it prepares you to get an idea of how the examiners are asking the questions since it's the same test writers.

 

[Goober11]

It's fine man, I needed a kick in the pants anyways

 

[suji0]

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

11 being easy? Ugh, I felt good about my score on 11, now I have to go and take 13 this weekend to see if I am really worth my salt...

dang me too goobs

 

[ZzzZzzZzzZzzZzz]

this. i did all 11 of them, granted some are easier than others...but more questions = more practice = better stamina..etc

you postponed? Don't you just want to get it over with? talk about stamina, I'm sick of studying and would gladly take a 220 than study another month or two...

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

11 being easy? Ugh, I felt good about my score on 11, now I have to go and take 13 this weekend to see if I am really worth my salt...

13 is not to bad; it just required more thought than 11 and 12 in my opinion. I am down to NBME 15 before my exam in 10 days.

 

[Goober11]

dang me too goobs

We are one in the same my man

 

[Jonari]

you postponed? Don't you just want to get it over with? talk about stamina, I'm sick of studying and would gladly take a 220 than study another month or two...



13 is not to bad; it just required more thought than 11 and 12 in my opinion. I am down to NBME 15 before my exam in 10 days.

i do, but all i have left is to get FA down. im having a tough time with it. no new information im learning...however, peaking at possibly getting a mid 225...putting some time in and getting FA down cold...will hopefully/praying help me get another 10 points...😳

 

[CDI]

Jonari, MD/PhD


[PhD in Step 1 ]

 

[Jonari]

Jonari, MD/PhD


[PhD in Step 1 ]

i need to turn my laptop off or something and read FA...

 

[CDI]

i need to turn my laptop off or something and read FA...

Just go to the public library with only your FA and a water bottle. Leave the phone in the car and laptop at home. Bang it out.

 

[Goober11]

This has been asked before but I couldn't find a solid response. From HY Neuro, what are some money sections you would recommend? The brain slices are of course clutch but what else?

 

[CDI]

one block of a nbme per day...is just...lol

Eh, could be worse...say if one were to take it at...5:00 AM