Official 2013 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[Phloston]

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

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

Cheers to 2013

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jenniferleigh]

The nice thing about rx is that they literally paste the first aid page on the bottom of the answer key so you don't even need to have your first aid to look things up so you are actually getting multiple chances to go through first aid.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

So I am 50 days out from Step now.

I took my first NBME (5) 1 month ago and got 191.
I took my second NBME (13) this weekend and got 228.
I am 99% done with Kaplan at 55% (but started this last August)
60% done with USMLErx at 68%
And 6% on Uworld with 66%
I have finished first aid but have been watching some DIT and just trying to fill in my weak areas. My last class test is Friday and at that point I think I'll just do qbanks. I really hope I can score above 240 by April 15!

Wow, great progress! Almost a 40 point jump in a month!

How has the transition from Kaplan/USMLERx to UWorld been? I don't plan on starting UWorld until April, but I'm about 75% through Rx and a little over 25% through Kaplan.

 

[CDI]

The nice thing about rx is that they literally paste the first aid page on the bottom of the answer key so you don't even need to have your first aid to look things up so you are actually getting multiple chances to go through first aid.

I figured I'd maybe use my Rx subscription with a few weeks left to get those simulation exams in after UW was done. I've been working on FA + UW exclusively after my last NBME 13 (207 on 2/1).

First block in Rx I got a 79% so I wasn't really sure (read: I'm not that good )...but seeing your progress (without even doing UW) I'm thinking maybe it is worth the time after all. If anything seeing FA again, that many times, will be huge in the end. Also nice that it's FA 2013 now, and not busted FA 2012.

 

[jenniferleigh]

Yeah it really helped me. I think it is worth it. In general doing as many qbanks as you can means more opportunity to see different questions and therefore knowing a broader range of material.

 

[jenniferleigh]

The consultant that my school hired told me this afternoon that scoring a 228 means nothing because I didn't do two in a row - I did 3 blocks of Kaplan to make 7 hours. I'm not sure if that's true or not but I'm kind of upset because I thought NBMEs were pretty accurate.

 

[CDI]

The consultant that my school hired told me this afternoon that scoring a 228 means nothing because I didn't do two in a row - I did 3 blocks of Kaplan to make 7 hours. I'm not sure if that's true or not but I'm kind of upset because I thought NBMEs were pretty accurate.

Is the consultant someone who has gone through Step I previously?

The NBME correlations are based off of your performance on the set of 4 blocks. Nothing more, nothing less. They're useful to assess where you stand in your prep and to learn what areas to work on.

 

[barkatthemoon]

My step 1 studying:

Took an NBME required for school early on and got 218 (it was # 6 I think). After that I started to study a lot and did uword. All timed random spending abou t3 hours a block. I also did all or really all or RX which I liked. I watched the pathoma videos and listened to Goljan when walking around. I just barley finished uword before the exam. If I did it again I would have just wanted more time to go though uwrold and first aid like 10 hrs a day for two weeks, but with family commitments I couldn't pull it off. Also this study carries over to your shelf early on in third year, I had peds first and was tired of studying, I essentially didn't study during the clerkship and got 94% percentile on the shelf.

Score: 250

 

[jenniferleigh]

He has never taken the exam so I am taking that with a grain of salt.

 

[CDI]

Took NBME 12 today: 500/221...Felt like I got my rear handed to me though. I guess by SD standards I did.

 

[hrain]

So I am 50 days out from Step now.

I took my first NBME (5) 1 month ago and got 191.
I took my second NBME (13) this weekend and got 228.
I am 99% done with Kaplan at 55% (but started this last August)
60% done with USMLErx at 68%
And 6% on Uworld with 66%
I have finished first aid but have been watching some DIT and just trying to fill in my weak areas. My last class test is Friday and at that point I think I'll just do qbanks. I really hope I can score above 240 by April 15!

Well, jenniferleigh, it seems that we're still on the same path...I took NBME 7 today and got a 228 as well. Pretty stoked for it, since I told myself I could only start planning my post-boards trip tonight if I got a 220 or above. I'm taking it the earliest in my class (April 18th, about a week before anyone else), so I need to make sure I'm ready and that I'm not being a ******* taking it early.

I keep wanting to do Rx and finish Kaplan qbank (that's not happening...I think it expires tomorrow?)...maybe if I have time over the next 3 weeks before dedicated study starts I'll try to get a bit of Rx in. We'll see. Good luck!

 

[CDI]

Well, jenniferleigh, it seems that we're still on the same path...I took NBME 7 today and got a 228 as well. Pretty stoked for it, since I told myself I could only start planning my post-boards trip tonight if I got a 220 or above. I'm taking it the earliest in my class (April 18th, about a week before anyone else), so I need to make sure I'm ready and that I'm not being a ******* taking it early.

I keep wanting to do Rx and finish Kaplan qbank (that's not happening...I think it expires tomorrow?)...maybe if I have time over the next 3 weeks before dedicated study starts I'll try to get a bit of Rx in. We'll see. Good luck!

Well, at least we know why you chose to take NBME 7, instead of 12 or 13...
(Just joking! Nice work! )

 

[hrain]

Well, at least we know why you chose to take NBME 7, instead of 12 or 13...
(Just joking! Nice work! )

Ha. Actually, I'd read on various threads that people thought 7 seemed hard? Not sure if that's still true, though. I didn't think it was too difficult (although I obviously could have done better)...I was surprised at how many questions I found easier than expected.

Anyway, I wanted to do an earlier one because I plan on probably doing 12+13 as a double / "real length" exam in the week before the real thing.

 

[Phloston]

I keep wanting to do Rx and finish Kaplan qbank (that's not happening...I think it expires tomorrow?)...maybe if I have time over the next 3 weeks before dedicated study starts I'll try to get a bit of Rx in. We'll see. Good luck!

Definitely squeeze in Rx if you can.

 

[jenniferleigh]

Well, jenniferleigh, it seems that we're still on the same path...I took NBME 7 today and got a 228 as well. Pretty stoked for it, since I told myself I could only start planning my post-boards trip tonight if I got a 220 or above. I'm taking it the earliest in my class (April 18th, about a week before anyone else), so I need to make sure I'm ready and that I'm not being a ******* taking it early.

I keep wanting to do Rx and finish Kaplan qbank (that's not happening...I think it expires tomorrow?)...maybe if I have time over the next 3 weeks before dedicated study starts I'll try to get a bit of Rx in. We'll see. Good luck!

That's awesome! I am taking the first full length Uworld this coming weekend and if I score around 225-230 I am booking a flight to France after Step. I believe a nice trip is in order after all this studying.

 

[hrain]

That's awesome! I am taking the first full length Uworld this coming weekend and if I score around 225-230 I am booking a flight to France after Step. I believe a nice trip is in order after all this studying.

Sounds awesome, good luck! France sounds awesome...I'm heading to Cali to visit friends and all the places that I haven't been...and then Vegas

 

[hrain]

Definitely squeeze in Rx if you can.

Thanks for the advice, Phloston. I definitely want to get Rx in...I'm trying to squeeze quite a bit in during my last 2.5 weeks before dedicated study begins, though, including finishing GT and getting my mastery up (luckily at 95.5% banked, so I'm almost there, although my mastery definitely is not), finishing up Kaplan HY (I've seen Biochem, Immuno, and Micro so far, so I've got a long way to go), and going through Pathoma again. I know that Rx would be very helpful, though, so I'm going to try to fit it in. Luckily I've pretty much stopped going to and watching lectures at this point, primarily relying on Step 1 resources to get decent grades. I'm not sure how busy my "competency week" (March 11-15th) will be though.

I'm looking for some advice for real dedicated study time:

I'm going to have about 4.5 weeks (from Sat, March 16 until test day on Thursday, April 18). I've been working up a daily schedule that looks like this right now (I change stuff around a lot, can't decide):

7:00 – Wake up
7:00 – 7:30 – Exercise
7:30 – 8:00 – Shower, breakfast, review from day before
8:00 – 11:00 – Random UW + explanation review (46 q. block)
11:00 – 12:00 – Quick read-through of FA – relevant sections for the day
12:00 – 2:00 – Short walk; Lunch while watching Pathoma or Kaplan HY
2:00 – 5:00 – First Aid detailed review, extra sources reading
5:00 – 6:00 – Dinner with notecard review/rewatching Pathoma
6:00 – 9:00 – Random UW + explanation review (46 q. block)
9:00 – 10:00 – Finish Pathoma, review MB/pharma notecards, or read Secrets
10:00 – 11:00 – TV/reading and bed

I know it's weird to have everything so exactly planned out, but it easies my mind to have a plan haha. And I'm expecting to change some things around depending on the subject for the day, of course. Anyway, what I've been wondering about recently is attempting to cut out the "FA and extra sources reading" parts of that and focusing on doing more questions and having more time to thoroughly review and annotate them. I'm wondering if the FA review won't be as useful for me since I've been through all of GT (which is essentially FA + some parts of BRS phys/Goljan/Pathoma). I know it's not the exact same, which makes me nervous, but I feel like I'd still get a pretty good review of it through doing Rx and UW for more time instead....thoughts? Note: I'd still have 5 days of "final FA/Pathoma/UW review" and a day off before my exam after my individual subject study time.

 

[stronghold]

7:30 – 8:00 – Shower, breakfast, review from day before

The three together in just half an hour!! If you could then you are the man

 

[hrain]

The three together in just half an hour!! If you could then you are the man

The woman, actually But really, I take pretty quick showers and just mean to review anything very quick from the day before while I eat a quick breakfast. Nothing major.

 

[JShephard]

The woman, actually But really, I take pretty quick showers and just mean to review anything very quick from the day before while I eat a quick breakfast. Nothing major.

!? A woman getting ready and eating in less than 30?

 

[CassieBagley]

!? A woman getting ready and eating in less than 30?

It's possible in an hour and 5 minutes. Here's how it would go, with buffer time added:

7:00: wake up at first alarm, say "FML" audibly

7:10 start exercise (read notes if doing elliptical/stair or listen to lecture on ipod). my legs hurt.

7:40 finish exercise. consider stretching, but choose to stretch your mind with first aid instead

7:45 make the quickest breakfast possible: cereal w/ milk. Eat now so you can simultaneously cool down.

7:47- 7:52 read notes while eating. spill milk on notes. eat enough cereal to ensure hyperglycemic nausea for the next few hours.

7:52-7:58: shower. wash genitals, face and hair only. the rest of the body will be cleaned in 3rd year.

7:58-8:03: dry off and get dressed, one more FML

8:05: begin studying.

 

[CDI]

It's possible in an hour and 5 minutes. Here's how it would go, with buffer time added:

7:00: wake up at first alarm, say "FML" audibly

7:10 start exercise (read notes if doing elliptical/stair or listen to lecture on ipod). my legs hurt.

7:40 finish exercise. consider stretching, but choose to stretch your mind with first aid instead

7:45 make the quickest breakfast possible: cereal w/ milk. Eat now so you can simultaneously cool down.

7:47- 7:52 read notes while eating. spill milk on notes. eat enough cereal to ensure hyperglycemic nausea for the next few hours.

7:52-7:58: shower. wash genitals, face and hair only. the rest of the body will be cleaned in 3rd year.

7:58-8:03: dry off and get dressed, one more FML

8:05: begin studying.

With a schedule like that, when do have time to brush your teef and/or use the bathroom? And are you telling me you don't listen to Goljan while in the shower?

Reminds me of the Matt Damon Youtube clip where he refuses to use the bathroom, except this time its until Step 1 is over.

 

[CassieBagley]

With a schedule like that, when do have time to brush your teef and/or use the bathroom? And are you telling me you don't listen to Goljan while in the shower?

Reminds me of the Matt Damon Youtube clip where he refuses to use the bathroom, except this time its until Step 1 is over.

diapers and listerine

 

[hrain]

It's possible in an hour and 5 minutes. Here's how it would go, with buffer time added:

7:00: wake up at first alarm, say "FML" audibly

7:10 start exercise (read notes if doing elliptical/stair or listen to lecture on ipod). my legs hurt.

7:40 finish exercise. consider stretching, but choose to stretch your mind with first aid instead

7:45 make the quickest breakfast possible: cereal w/ milk. Eat now so you can simultaneously cool down.

7:47- 7:52 read notes while eating. spill milk on notes. eat enough cereal to ensure hyperglycemic nausea for the next few hours.

7:52-7:58: shower. wash genitals, face and hair only. the rest of the body will be cleaned in 3rd year.

7:58-8:03: dry off and get dressed, one more FML

8:05: begin studying.

You know, I tend to prefer to wash my whole body, but it still only takes me about ten minutes tops I figure 15 for showering and getting dressed, 15 for breakfast, and I'll be good.

Are you guys trying to tell me it takes you longer than half an hour to get ready in the morning before sitting at home studying? Seems like the perfect time for that to be a decently short process...

 

[CDI]

You know, I tend to prefer to wash my whole body, but it still only takes me about ten minutes tops I figure 15 for showering and getting dressed, 15 for breakfast, and I'll be good.

Are you guys trying to tell me it takes you longer than half an hour to get ready in the morning before sitting at home studying? Seems like the perfect time for that to be a decently short process...

Why take a shower at all then?

1. Roll out of bed
2. Sit down at desk (14-16 hrs)
3. Sleep
4. Rinse & repeat (...minus the rinse!)
5. ???
6. 260+

 

[CaliDoc89]

I've been following this thread on and off, thought I'd share my test experience.

Just took the beast today! I spent about 3 months to prepare:

1st month: had classes so I only did 1 kaplan qbank a night (most nights...) , took about 3 hours + annotating FA and reading relevant pages in FA. I was getting low 50s/high 40s when I started (which is expected).

2nd month: did pathoma over winter break. DIT when I came back form break (15 day pass). finished kaplan qbank (overall 61%, had a rough start). and took school administered NBME basic science exam - 235

3rd month: Uworld + numerous passes through FA and pathoma for my weak areas. I also went over about 1/2 the questions I got wrong in UW (ran out of time). 2 weeks before my exam I took NBME 7 - 248. finsihed UW with 74% (was getting upper 70s/low 80s consistently in the last 15ish blocks). my last 10 blocks averaged to 78%. The week before my exam I hammered home the short term memory info, i.e. embryology, biochem, pharm, and micro.

Exam day:
I can't say specifics about the exam, but I can say it was more challenging than typical UW questions and several levels above NBME. I feel like NBME questions are just too easy to actually prepare for the real thing. It might be a good score predictor, but I got a lot more out of doing UW questions and reasoning my way through things. I spoke with several third and fourth year students and they all claimed that their real exam was similar to UW (difficulty wise), but I feel like the Step 1 is going towards a new direction, i.e. no more buzz words, no more classical phrases, longer more complicated histories with multiple issues and plenty of distractors. All in all I don't think I could have prepared myself any better for the real exam. The test just comes down to applying your knowledge, performing on the day of the exam, and hoping for questions that test your strengths.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

I've been following this thread on and off, thought I'd share my test experience.

Just took the beast today! I spent about 3 months to prepare:

1st month: had classes so I only did 1 kaplan qbank a night (most nights...) , took about 3 hours + annotating FA and reading relevant pages in FA. I was getting low 50s/high 40s when I started (which is expected).

2nd month: did pathoma over winter break. DIT when I came back form break (15 day pass). finished kaplan qbank (overall 61%, had a rough start). and took school administered NBME basic science exam - 235

3rd month: Uworld + numerous passes through FA and pathoma for my weak areas. I also went over about 1/2 the questions I got wrong in UW (ran out of time). 2 weeks before my exam I took NBME 7 - 248. finsihed UW with 74% (was getting upper 70s/low 80s consistently in the last 15ish blocks). my last 10 blocks averaged to 78%. The week before my exam I hammered home the short term memory info, i.e. embryology, biochem, pharm, and micro.

Exam day:
I can't say specifics about the exam, but I can say it was more challenging than typical UW questions and several levels above NBME. I feel like NBME questions are just too easy to actually prepare for the real thing. It might be a good score predictor, but I got a lot more out of doing UW questions and reasoning my way through things. I spoke with several third and fourth year students and they all claimed that their real exam was similar to UW (difficulty wise), but I feel like the Step 1 is going towards a new direction, i.e. no more buzz words, no more classical phrases, longer more complicated histories with multiple issues and plenty of distractors. All in all I don't think I could have prepared myself any better for the real exam. The test just comes down to applying your knowledge, performing on the day of the exam, and hoping for questions that test your strengths.

Thanks for the post! It sounds like you peaked at the right time.

 

[Phloston]

!? A woman getting ready and eating in less than 30?

haha totally

 

[blaqmamba]

I've been following this thread on and off, thought I'd share my test experience.

Just took the beast today! I spent about 3 months to prepare:

1st month: had classes so I only did 1 kaplan qbank a night (most nights...) , took about 3 hours + annotating FA and reading relevant pages in FA. I was getting low 50s/high 40s when I started (which is expected).

2nd month: did pathoma over winter break. DIT when I came back form break (15 day pass). finished kaplan qbank (overall 61%, had a rough start). and took school administered NBME basic science exam - 235

3rd month: Uworld + numerous passes through FA and pathoma for my weak areas. I also went over about 1/2 the questions I got wrong in UW (ran out of time). 2 weeks before my exam I took NBME 7 - 248. finsihed UW with 74% (was getting upper 70s/low 80s consistently in the last 15ish blocks). my last 10 blocks averaged to 78%. The week before my exam I hammered home the short term memory info, i.e. embryology, biochem, pharm, and micro.

Exam day:
I can't say specifics about the exam, but I can say it was more challenging than typical UW questions and several levels above NBME. I feel like NBME questions are just too easy to actually prepare for the real thing. It might be a good score predictor, but I got a lot more out of doing UW questions and reasoning my way through things. I spoke with several third and fourth year students and they all claimed that their real exam was similar to UW (difficulty wise), but I feel like the Step 1 is going towards a new direction, i.e. no more buzz words, no more classical phrases, longer more complicated histories with multiple issues and plenty of distractors. All in all I don't think I could have prepared myself any better for the real exam. The test just comes down to applying your knowledge, performing on the day of the exam, and hoping for questions that test your strengths.

Congrats on being done.

Did you feel that hammering those crammable topics in the last few days helped you?

Also, since you say Step 1 is no longer giving classical phrases and/or buzzwords, how were you approaching each question??
Obviously not all information needs a buzzword to be answered, but with so much overlap and similarities, I feel like some diseases/treatments/etc. you still need relevant info that could only be provided as a "classical phrase"

 

[thecalccobra]

Congrats on being done.

Did you feel that hammering those crammable topics in the last few days helped you?

Also, since you say Step 1 is no longer giving classical phrases and/or buzzwords, how were you approaching each question??
Obviously not all information needs a buzzword to be answered, but with so much overlap and similarities, I feel like some diseases/treatments/etc. you still need relevant info that could only be provided as a "classical phrase"

Nice avatar.

 

[blaqmamba]

Nice avatar.

LIkewise

Only upside of the chance the Lakers miss the playoffs is the extra study time I would potentially gain come May...

Lakers>USMLE

 

[ortho2581]

hey guys and gals! i'm a June 21st Step 1 taker...trying to get through Rx, Kaplan right now. I get sections that I do great on, then sections where I can only get 50%....a bit frustrating, but there's time. My question is this, would anyone recommend continuing through theses qbanks and holding off UW for the 5 weeks up to the exam? Some people it seems go through UW twice and not in a memorize questions way, but to really focus on seeing how things are presented and rereading explanations, etc...if that's the case, maybe incorporating UW one time through would be helpful....other than that, FA 2013 and Goljan RR are my only resources...just feel like knowing these 2 would be better than 6 or 8 resources overall..too much info, not enough time.
Keep calm and chive on.

 

[CDI]

Congrats on being done.

Did you feel that hammering those crammable topics in the last few days helped you?

Also, since you say Step 1 is no longer giving classical phrases and/or buzzwords, how were you approaching each question??
Obviously not all information needs a buzzword to be answered, but with so much overlap and similarities, I feel like some diseases/treatments/etc. you still need relevant info that could only be provided as a "classical phrase"

Rhomboid-shaped crystals of pseudogout = "There are crystals seen which are in the shape of a parallelogram having adjacent sides of unequal length".

 

[bbaggins]

I just finished NBME 5 and got a 600/245. I am taking the test early April. I start dedicated studying next week. I have already been through most of UW, I used it in tutor mode by subject during MS2 blocks. I have been using gunnertraining pretty consistently as well. I will reset and restart UW starting next week.

 

[ortho2581]

so would you recommend a 2 pass at UW?

 

[lykyamy00]

can you use usmleRx on a smart phone or tablet (both android)?

 

[CDI]

can you use usmleRx on a smart phone or tablet (both android)?

I haven't seen a USMLERx app. Seems like the only major Qbank that doesn't have one. Would be awesome to be able to see FA pages on the go like that.

 

[jpudge12]

Need some advice on what to do next/focus on...

Background:
US citizen IMG
~75% on UW 2nd pass (first pass did the bank on subject mode to learn the explanations very well which really helped inetegrate info)
Also did Kaplan bank and about 40% of Rx...I had done Kaplan Lecture notes with vides 8 months ago took a long break from studying. Did DIT and pathoma, and I cant force myself to read the Damn FA page by page

1/1/13 NBME 5: 217
2/14/13 NBME 11: 231
2/28/13 NBME 12: 219 (pretty surprised my score went down)??

Exam date first week of April...

Planning on doing NBME 7 and 13 and UWSA 1....My questions is when should I do those exams?
And what should I continue studying/focus on (UW, FA, Rx DIT or pathoma) in between the exams?
Really want to get 230 or higher.

Thanks in advance

 

[CDI]

Need some advice on what to do next/focus on...

Background:
US citizen IMG
~75% on UW 2nd pass (first pass did the bank on subject mode to learn the explanations very well which really helped inetegrate info)
Also did Kaplan bank and about 40% of Rx...I had done Kaplan Lecture notes with vides 8 months ago took a long break from studying. Did DIT and pathoma, and I cant force myself to read the Damn FA page by page

1/1/13 NBME 5: 217
2/14/13 NBME 11: 231
2/28/13 NBME 12: 219 (pretty surprised my score went down)??

Exam date first week of April...

Planning on doing NBME 7 and 13 and UWSA 1....My questions is when should I do those exams?
And what should I continue studying/focus on (UW, FA, Rx DIT or pathoma) in between the exams?
Thanks in advance

I'm about the same as you (US IMG, did some Kaplan a long time ago, some DIT which went in one ear out the other and left me tired).

In the end, buckled down with FA + UW after Phloston's advice. Since mid Jan, went from 186 (7) - 207 (13) - 221 (12). Exam is in 3 weeks. Aiming for 220+.

I'd say take NBME 13 earlier, personally felt it was tough and could hurt ones confidence.

If you can't hit FA directly, but can focus with the qbank approach, Rx is a great way to go (between doing UW hardcore) and you can hit FA indirectly.

 

[jpudge12]

I'm about the same as you (US IMG, did some Kaplan a long time ago, some DIT which went in one ear out the other and left me tired).

In the end, buckled down with FA + UW after Phloston's advice. Since mid Jan, went from 186 (7) - 207 (13) - 221 (12). Exam is in 3 weeks. Aiming for 220+.

I'd say take NBME 13 earlier, personally felt it was tough and could hurt ones confidence.

If you can't hit FA directly, but can focus with the qbank approach, Rx is a great way to go (between doing UW hardcore) and you can hit FA indirectly.

Oh nice man! Yea the nbme 12 felt wayy harder then 11 and 5 was pretty easy....so your saying 13 could be harder then 7?

Also should we taking an nbme every week or hold them off till end with exception 13 like you said I should take soon.

 

[CDI]

Oh nice man! Yea the nbme 12 felt wayy harder then 11 and 5 was pretty easy....so your saying 13 could be harder then 7?

Also should we taking an nbme every week or hold them off till end with exception 13 like you said I should take soon.

I felt 13 was one of the harder ones, I think thats the general consensus. I think at this level (210-230 range) various NBMEs hit you harder than if you're up at the 250-260 level.

I feel like at this stage the actual feedback from these NBMEs is still very important and can be effectively used to focus and fill in gaps in weaker areas. So the earlier the NBMEs, the more time you have to adjust your studying and improve. Now, when you take NBMEs depends on how well you hit your weak areas off the last NBMEs. My longitudinal progress charts are all almost identical and just rose consistently as I did that. I even got a few stars for the first time...finally. Feels like kindergarten all over again.

Anyways, you should probably listen to the guys who've been through the exam successfully since I may be a success story...or a bust, haha.

 

[jpudge12]

I felt 13 was one of the harder ones, I think thats the general consensus. I think at this level (210-230 range) various NBMEs hit you harder than if you're up at the 250-260 level.

I feel like at this stage the actual feedback from these NBMEs is still very important and can be effectively used to focus and fill in gaps in weaker areas. So the earlier the NBMEs, the more time you have to adjust your studying and improve. Now, when you take NBMEs depends on how well you hit your weak areas off the last NBMEs. My longitudinal progress charts are all almost identical and just rose consistently as I did that. I even got a few stars for the first time...finally. Feels like kindergarten all over again.

Anyways, you should probably listen to the guys who've been through the exam successfully since I may be a success story...or a bust, haha.

Thanks man Ill take the 13 soon and we'll keep ea other posted....we are soo close to being done w this!

 

[CDI]

Thanks man Ill take the 13 soon and we'll keep ea other posted....we are soo close to being done w this!

No doubt. Good luck!

 

[CaliDoc89]

Congrats on being done.

Did you feel that hammering those crammable topics in the last few days helped you?

Also, since you say Step 1 is no longer giving classical phrases and/or buzzwords, how were you approaching each question??
Obviously not all information needs a buzzword to be answered, but with so much overlap and similarities, I feel like some diseases/treatments/etc. you still need relevant info that could only be provided as a "classical phrase"

I should elaborate. I looked over the "crammable" material several times during my 3 months of studying, but the week before I really sat down and drilled it into my head. I tend to forget the "crammable" topics in a matter of days so it helped ME, there were a handful of questions I would have missed if I didn't cram those the week before. It might not be as useful for others. I felt pharm and micro were very straightforward.

Of course there will still be questions that have buzzwords/classic phrases, i.e. cottage cheese discharge . And you're right, some diseases will have "classic" lab values, but I felt there were a good amount of the question stems were very vague and could have been due to several of the answer choices. I think recognizing the most likely reason vs. trying to reason with myself that other answers COULD be right and second guessing myself was the hardest part. Again, this is all my experience and it just may be that I wasn't as prepared as I should have been.

 

[CDI]

UW crackin jokes now...

"since treating 66.6 of a person is seldom a good idea, we round up to 67"

 

[blaqmamba]

I just finished NBME 5 and got a 600/245. I am taking the test early April. I start dedicated studying next week. I have already been through most of UW, I used it in tutor mode by subject during MS2 blocks. I have been using gunnertraining pretty consistently as well. I will reset and restart UW starting next week.

How would you compare NBME 5 and UW?

 

[CDI]

How would you compare NBME 5 and UW?

I'd like to know that as well. I saved it as my final "confidence booster" because its the most outdated version, and ppl seem to do well on it. I wonder if its got shorter stems?

 

[blaqmamba]

I should elaborate. I looked over the "crammable" material several times during my 3 months of studying, but the week before I really sat down and drilled it into my head. I tend to forget the "crammable" topics in a matter of days so it helped ME, there were a handful of questions I would have missed if I didn't cram those the week before. It might not be as useful for others. I felt pharm and micro were very straightforward.

Of course there will still be questions that have buzzwords/classic phrases, i.e. cottage cheese discharge . And you're right, some diseases will have "classic" lab values, but I felt there were a good amount of the question stems were very vague and could have been due to several of the answer choices. I think recognizing the most likely reason vs. trying to reason with myself that other answers COULD be right and second guessing myself was the hardest part. Again, this is all my experience and it just may be that I wasn't as prepared as I should have been.

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm pretty much the same way about random facts so hopefully looking at a few times and cramming towards the end.

I'm sure you still did better than you think. Let us know how it ends up!

 

[bbaggins]

How would you compare NBME 5 and UW?

That is hard to say for now. It's been almost 1 month since I've done any UW blocks. And when I was doing UW I was doing it on tutor mode untimed and by subject, along with the block I was studying in classes. I felt like doing UW whenever I got a question wrong it was an "oh, of course" reaction, or I was really close to knowing the right answer and recognized it right away when I saw it. Taking NBME 5 today there were a few questions that I had no idea on, some things that were a lot less familiar. But that could also because it was not by a subject I had just been studying. There were more easy questions on the NBME than on UW. A few were very simple fact recall questions only 1 line long. One thing that was harder with the NBME was the mental fatigue. It's only 4 blocks, but it's a lot harder when it is timed and I don't get a break between questions to learn what I got wrong and take notes. By the end of the 2nd and 4th (but not 3rd) blocks I found myself having to re-read questions multiple times because I was zoning out.

 

[neutropos]

Just wanted to echo the importance of FA and UW. These are the only 2 resources I used to study. Anything more would have driven me nuts. I went through UW and annotated my FA with anything I didn't know in the explanations. I don't recall the % correct I had on UW (only did one pass) but I think it was in the mid to high 70s. I did fairly well 1st and 2nd year and studied very hard for 5-6 weeks before the exam. Ended up with a 257.

 

[blaqmamba]

Just wanted to echo the importance of FA and UW. These are the only 2 resources I used to study. Anything more would have driven me nuts. I went through UW and annotated my FA with anything I didn't know in the explanations. I don't recall the % correct I had on UW (only did one pass) but I think it was in the mid to high 70s. I did fairly well 1st and 2nd year and studied very hard for 5-6 weeks before the exam. Ended up with a 257.

How many times did you get through FA?