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

 

[thatsmate]

I wonder if it's more stressful to see the haters or the fanbois.

Which puts more pressure on Phlo?
"I love Phloston he's my hero he's gonna get 285+ I know it!!!"
"OMG Phloston's a ******* who would prep that much for step1 he's gonna get 270 like those other guys who prepped way less lol."

I'd like to say I'm not in either camp, but I'm still excited to see the score. Whatever the score is, I'm sure it will be high enough to meet your goals and move on in life.

 

[Victorinox]

Took exam on 15th December, not in the same league as the Phlost-meister, but I have extenuating circumstances:
237 (84)

Graduated in 2003 from the UK, did a few things along the way with my life, including getting a PhD from Cambridge.

Now trying to get back to what I love (I did pre-clinical in 1997-1999), so took some effort to pick up where I left off in regard to the Step I material. I am grateful to the Lord nonetheless!

My first NBME was so bad, I thought the score out of 800 was the real score 😱(i.e. 220, which translated to a 160, I think) – at that point, I knew it would be a long road ahead!
PATHOMA + UWorld !!!

 

[Zzmed]

And btw, I apologize in advance if I don't live up to everyone's standards. I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

Chill out man! No need to apologize for anything. It's your step1 score, your life!
And as stated above, we all love you no matter what!!

Good luck!!

 

[Zzmed]

Took exam on 15th December, not in the same league as the Phlost-meister, but I have extenuating circumstances:
237 (84)

Graduated in 2003 from the UK, did a few things along the way with my life, including getting a PhD from Cambridge.

Now trying to get back to what I love (I did pre-clinical in 1997-1999), so took some effort to pick up where I left off in regard to the Step I material. I am grateful to the Lord nonetheless!

My first NBME was so bad, I thought the score out of 800 was the real score 😱(i.e. 220, which translated to a 160, I think) – at that point, I knew it would be a long road ahead!
PATHOMA + UWorld !!!

Great score! Gongrats. You should be proud! Enjoy and get back to what you love!
...And one piece of advice: There is no need to compare yourselves with Phloston.

 

[hippopolice]

Midnight on Thursday here in Australia.

Score's not out yet (9am Wednesday Boston-time).

I can't be staying up all night waiting for it, but if it does come out by the time I wake up (Wednesday evening Boston), I'll do my best to put together a little write-up, so I'll post Wednesday evening/night or on Thursday.

And btw, I apologize in advance if I don't live up to everyone's standards. I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

I'd be fortunate for things to go okay.

At the end of the day, you've given all of us a lot of insight into preparing for this exam, and you don't owe us anything.

Thanks for all you've helped us, and take pride in what your hard work has gotten you.

 

[doctr2be]

Goodluck!! Hard work always pays off 🙂

 

[OneMoreRound]

Midnight on Thursday here in Australia.

Score's not out yet (9am Wednesday Boston-time).

I can't be staying up all night waiting for it, but if it does come out by the time I wake up (Wednesday evening Boston), I'll do my best to put together a little write-up, so I'll post Wednesday evening/night or on Thursday.

And btw, I apologize in advance if I don't live up to everyone's standards. I've felt quite a bit of pressure from the SDN community.

I'd be fortunate for things to go okay.

I really don't think it's that big of a deal either way. It's just and test, and it really isn't that important if you get a 240, 250, 260, 280, etc. The goal is to become the type of doctor you want to become - maybe even in the area you want to practice... after that you are looking at ego, prestige, and other fleeting / intangible nonsense.

With all that said, my guess is 270 for you.

 

[Old Style Nanny]

The goal is to become the type of doctor you want to become - maybe even in the area you want to practice... after that you are looking at ego, prestige, and other fleeting / intangible nonsense.

You really have your priorities straight, don't you?

 

[g8orlife]

What?! Are you disagreeing with his statement that USA is the center of the world and that the smartest people in the world are in USA?

shhhh!!!! He/she may hear you and try to get me exhiled 🙄

 

[g8orlife]

Pretty quiet over here on a Wednesday. Is Phloston the only one in the world who received his score today??

 

[Old Style Nanny]

shhhh!!!! He/she may hear you and try to get me exhiled 🙄

Haha. Alex Jones of SDN.

 

[OneMoreRound]

What?! Are you disagreeing with his statement that USA is the center of the world and that the smartest people in the world are in USA?

Well, I'm not taking the Russian Medical Liscening Exam and trying to land a residency there.

There are good schools all around, but some of the top medical schools are in the US, I don't think there's any debate there... some of the world's top physicians too are practicing in the US. You are all taking an exam so you can practice in the US. I see a pattern.

 

[startswithb]

Almost halfway done with world. FA 2013 is definitely superior to the 2011 I was using. After world I think I'll do USMLErx and then redo world. Other than that, reading FA a lot is my plan. My school is P/F and low on required activities so I have SO MUCH TIME to study atm, just hoping not to get burnt out.

 

[OneMoreRound]

Almost halfway done with world. FA 2013 is definitely superior to the 2011 I was using. After world I think I'll do USMLErx and then redo world. Other than that, reading FA a lot is my plan. My school is P/F and low on required activities so I have SO MUCH TIME to study atm, just hoping not to get burnt out.

When is your exam?

 

[Old Style Nanny]

Well, I'm not taking the Russian Medical Liscening Exam and trying to land a residency there.

Great. I'm happy for Russia.

There are good schools all around, but some of the top medical schools are in the US, I don't think there's any debate there... some of the world's top physicians too are practicing in the US.

Strangely you are right here. Yes, some of the top medical schools are in US. And some of the top physicians are practicing in US. Some of the top medical schools are in Sweden. Some of the top medical schools are in UK. Some are in Germany. Some are in Australia. Some in Switzerland. Some in Canada. You get the idea (hopefully, considering how smart you are).

If not, look up universities like Karolinska, Cambridge, Oxford, U-T, Leiden (oh yes, this is the place in Holland where your factor V was identified).

You are all taking an exam so you can practice in the US. I see a pattern.

The big question is, what pattern do you see? What I see is people wanting to get exposure to the training in United States of America. How do you make the jump to "wanting to practice"? A little presumptuous are we?

 

[docnotsopc]

Almost halfway done with world. FA 2013 is definitely superior to the 2011 I was using. After world I think I'll do USMLErx and then redo world. Other than that, reading FA a lot is my plan. My school is P/F and low on required activities so I have SO MUCH TIME to study atm, just hoping not to get burnt out.

SO jealous!
Our schools 2nd semester of 2nd year is the busiest. My ******* school feels the need to cram multiple courses into the end to the point where we are taking multiple systems at once instead of spreading them out better

You sir are chilling and good to go!😎

Also, when are you writing your exam? Halfway done UWorld is impressive for mid January

 

[loayshoubash]

any advice i wana start studing step one for 6 months... are the vids so imp
thx

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SDN Mobile

 

[pauldevil]

Hey Im an IMG and im taking the test in a week.. I was supposed to take my test at prometric on Jan 15th but a bunch of centers in the country crashed and i had to reschedule about 2 days before my exam to jan 23rd.. All my prep had been geared to taking the thing on jan 15th but all thats out of the window so am stuck in a bit of an anticlimactic rut right now and not too sure what to read in the last week
NBME 7 - 254 (4 weeks out)
NBME 12- 252(2 weeks out)
UWSA 1- 265+(around 86% correct)
NBME 13 - 245 ( 1 week out)
UWSA 2- 265+(around 88% correct)
Slightly worried why my NBME 13 was down compared to the others.. plus any thoughts on what would be best to do in the last week would be awesome

 

[usmlefighter]

Phloston ..can you upload your score card performance profile here?

 

[Phloston]

Phloston ..can you upload your score card performance profile here?

Yeah, that's fine.

I've blackened out my real name and USMLE ID# (for obvious reasons).

Biochem, pathology and micro were my three highest in UWorld. On the real exam, I felt that translated over comparably. I had also mentioned that I had a neuro-heavy exam. I was lucky that I had touched up on that subject the day before.

 

[usmlefighter]

Yeah, that's fine.

I've blackened out my real name and USMLE ID# (for obvious reasons).

Biochem, pathology and micro were my three highest in UWorld. On the real exam, I felt that translated over comparably. I had also mentioned that I had a neuro-heavy exam. I was lucky that I had touched up on that subject the day before.

Thanks for score card. Your score card reflects mind-blowing performance...OMG ! you are really hardworking guy.

Can you plz guide what books to use for step-1.

I am using following sources

Kaplan book+videos for all subjects except Goljan for pathology and (Pathoma book just extra points)
HY for GA & Neuro anatomy along with kaplan
BRS Beh science and HY CMB ( Reference books)
Fischer 100 cases
FA 2012
Kaplan q bank and UW Q bank online ( also planning offline Rx q bank)
Robbins Q Book and Rubbins Q book

I am not going for BRS Physio and patho but definitely General pathology Robbins for reference.

For patho i will plan Goljan and pathoma books apart from webpath material and Robbins. I think am using more sources for pathology but more focussed on Goljan book and audio

Apart from patho the above books for all subjects is ok?

I am Asian IMG,Just started my prep and my target is 250+ . I may take exam in July 2013 about 6 months prep and just started from scratch with Biochem &micro as start subjects

 

[Leon22]

Yeah, that's fine.

I've blackened out my real name and USMLE ID# (for obvious reasons).

Biochem, pathology and micro were my three highest in UWorld. On the real exam, I felt that translated over comparably. I had also mentioned that I had a neuro-heavy exam. I was lucky that I had touched up on that subject the day before.

What you think about hematology and renal question in term of difficulty?according to the report

 

[Phloston]

Thanks for score card. Your score card reflects mind-blowing performance...OMG ! you are really hardworking guy.

Can you plz guide what books to use for step-1.

I am using following sources

Kaplan book+videos for all subjects except Goljan for pathology and (Pathoma book just extra points)
HY for GA & Neuro anatomy along with kaplan
BRS Beh science and HY CMB ( Reference books)
Fischer 100 cases
FA 2012
Kaplan q bank and UW Q bank online ( also planning offline Rx q bank)
Robbins Q Book and Rubbins Q book

I am not going for BRS Physio and patho but definitely General pathology Robbins for reference.

For patho i will plan Goljan and pathoma books apart from webpath material and Robbins. I think am using more sources for pathology but more focussed on Goljan book and audio

Apart from patho the above books for all subjects is ok?

I am Asian IMG,Just started my prep and my target is 250+ . I may take exam in July 2013 about 6 months prep and just started from scratch with Biochem &micro as start subjects

Your resource selection looks really good.

What you think about hematology and renal question in term of difficulty?according to the report

Lol. I like how you ask that because I didn't star them.

Honestly, one of the stupid errors I made was on a haematology question. I'm still vexed by it. It was middle-ground difficulty, but I shouldn't have let it escape me. Nothing else from haeme stands out as peculiar/difficult from my exam though. I really have no idea where I lost those points.

I had also had a really tough renal question regarding the administration of a drug, but at the same time, I did well on pharm, so I'm not sure if I got this one right or wrong.

Overall though, I don't recall renal and haeme having been too difficult on my exam.

I thought micro and physio were by far the hardest. If you read my review, physio was where most of the obscure "IQ"-type questions popped up. I had also messed up on a CAKE-easy micro question. So yeah, I definitely thought I had tanked micro.

I'm also not sure what happened with nutrition. I had a tough question on a vitamin, but I'm pretty sure I got it right. You usually see nutrition overlapping with biochem, but biochem went well for me, so once again, I'm not sure where I lost those nutrition points.

With behavioral science, I had encountered (no joke) about half of my ethics questions during the last two blocks. This annoyed me because I wasn't as awake as during the early-exam, so it's possible I may have flaked on a few of those toward the end.

 

[cage92]

hey phloston congarat i have a question i still have 1 year and half to step1 and after 3 month i will finish firstaid with gunner ... i am aiming to do in my summer usmlerx and kaplan and usmleworld do you recomend do not doing usmle world very early despite i am finished wwith all material and still have time enough? thank you

 

[usmlefighter]

Your resource selection looks really good.

I was searching for Resources what you used for exam. I know just about Q banks you used but cannot find the thread by you on Books used. can you send me link on books what you studied.

Thanks for guidance !

 

[HockeyDr09]

Took the plunge and signed up for the USMLE on May 21st and the COMLEX on May 28th. Unfortunately my school only gives us two weeks "dedicated" study time as we end mid May and start rotations June 3rd.

I'm going with

Review "Books":
FA
Pathoma
BRS Phys
Micro Ridic Simple (just one pass early, micro is my weakest subject)
OPP Saverese

QBanks:
COMBANK (Free from school)
USMLE Test Weapon (Free from school)
COMQUEST
UWORLD

Yes, I know, I have FAR too many QBanks. Two of them were free (and really do not seem all that strong). I'm saving COMQUEST and UWORLD for closer to test day.

 

[Geekchick921]

May 7th here. They give us 5-6 weeks for test prep at my school. I'm taking the test in the middle of our last week of Step 1 study period so I can have a long weekend.

I'm still not sure how I want to study. I already have physical copies of:
FA 2012 - It has a none of errors... is anyone with FA 2012 debating getting the 2013 edition if it has less errors? I'm not sure whether I should bother either way.
CMMRS
Netters
Pathoma - I also have the subscription for the videos. I am LOVING Pathoma.

UWORLD subscription - I haven't bought it yet. I will get a 3-month sub soon and activate it in a few weeks.

I'm really not sure if I want/need to buy anything else. I have PDF versions of some of the big-name physio or path books but I think I won't use it that much unless I actually buy a book form of it. Only then I'm not sure which to get. I know I want to keep the number of resources I need to a minimum so I don't waste time double/triple checking subjects between books. I'd only want to get one of the big ones, if necessary.

Oh, that reminds me, I have been meaning to buy Pharm Recall.

I did not buy Kaplan or DIT. I kinda wanted to... DIT really sold themselves well, but in the end they were too much money considering the fact that I already borrow extra living expense loans to cover the cost of child care for my two kids. I have always been a good test-taker and never used a formal prep course for the SAT and MCAT so I figure I don't need to rely on one now.

 

[Victorinox]

2011 DIT version was better and I think DIT should stick to what they do best - augmentation of rote memorization (when they do that, they are good).

Pathoma is fantastic, seriously listening to it, and taking active notes, and repeating this several times was key to me.

I know my score is low by SDN standards, but my starting point was very different.

I am truly in awe of Dr Sattar - for the quality of the product he puts out, to charge what he does is a huge act of charity and he should be commended for this.

 

[Victorinox]

.

 

[startswithb]

SO jealous!
Our schools 2nd semester of 2nd year is the busiest. My ******* school feels the need to cram multiple courses into the end to the point where we are taking multiple systems at once instead of spreading them out better

You sir are chilling and good to go!😎

Also, when are you writing your exam? Halfway done UWorld is impressive for mid January

I have not scheduled a date yet. My semester ends the end of May and I plan on taking no more than 4 weeks for dedicated prep. I started UWorld in November. Now I am doing a test per day, which should have me finished in mid-Februrary. It's taking me awhile because I want to get more proficient with physio now rather than later. I have been going along with my school's subject matter, but also consistently reviewing old material. I plan on just multiple passes of FA, Pathoma/Goljan, and many many questions. That's what my "higher score than Phloston" boyfriend did. 😛

 

[startswithb]

May 7th here. They give us 5-6 weeks for test prep at my school. I'm taking the test in the middle of our last week of Step 1 study period so I can have a long weekend.

I'm still not sure how I want to study. I already have physical copies of:
FA 2012 - It has a none of errors... is anyone with FA 2012 debating getting the 2013 edition if it has less errors? I'm not sure whether I should bother either way.
CMMRS
Netters
Pathoma - I also have the subscription for the videos. I am LOVING Pathoma.

UWORLD subscription - I haven't bought it yet. I will get a 3-month sub soon and activate it in a few weeks.

I'm really not sure if I want/need to buy anything else. I have PDF versions of some of the big-name physio or path books but I think I won't use it that much unless I actually buy a book form of it. Only then I'm not sure which to get. I know I want to keep the number of resources I need to a minimum so I don't waste time double/triple checking subjects between books. I'd only want to get one of the big ones, if necessary.

Oh, that reminds me, I have been meaning to buy Pharm Recall.

I did not buy Kaplan or DIT. I kinda wanted to... DIT really sold themselves well, but in the end they were too much money considering the fact that I already borrow extra living expense loans to cover the cost of child care for my two kids. I have always been a good test-taker and never used a formal prep course for the SAT and MCAT so I figure I don't need to rely on one now.

Good luck GC!!! I was so impressed with your MCAT experience, way back when. I'm sure you'll do awesome!

 

[Ilovewater]

May 7th here. They give us 5-6 weeks for test prep at my school. I'm taking the test in the middle of our last week of Step 1 study period so I can have a long weekend.

I'm still not sure how I want to study. I already have physical copies of:
FA 2012 - It has a none of errors... is anyone with FA 2012 debating getting the 2013 edition if it has less errors? I'm not sure whether I should bother either way.
CMMRS
Netters
Pathoma - I also have the subscription for the videos. I am LOVING Pathoma.

UWORLD subscription - I haven't bought it yet. I will get a 3-month sub soon and activate it in a few weeks.

I'm really not sure if I want/need to buy anything else. I have PDF versions of some of the big-name physio or path books but I think I won't use it that much unless I actually buy a book form of it. Only then I'm not sure which to get. I know I want to keep the number of resources I need to a minimum so I don't waste time double/triple checking subjects between books. I'd only want to get one of the big ones, if necessary.

Netters as in Netters Atlas for anatomy???

 

[Geekchick921]

Yeah, and that's pretty much all the actual books I've purchased over the last 2 years.

 

[Ilovewater]

Sorry, you were just saying you have physical copies of those. I thought you meant those were resources you will be using for Step 1. I was just shocked that someone would use Netters to study anatomy for boards haha.

 

[Phloston]

I was in the process of posting to my SoM forum, so I converted my original word doc into PDF format.

I've also added/removed stuff and overall cleaned it up a bit. So the PDF is a prettier "second edition" of the rushed, initial word doc.

If you check my original post on the other thread about the exam, you'll now see a PDF there.

(that's for anyone who's saved the doc to his or her computer; the PDF is easier to read through)

 

[Geekchick921]

Sorry, you were just saying you have physical copies of those. I thought you meant those were resources you will be using for Step 1. I was just shocked that someone would use Netters to study anatomy for boards haha.

Yeah, I wasn't clear. Sorry. 😳 I was definitely not planning on using Netters to study for Step 1. I think I'm in the FA + Pathoma + UWorld camp, plus maybe CMMRS for micro and Pharm Recall.

 

[g8orlife]

It's nice seeing these familiar names and avatars from the 2010 MCAT Threads! 🙂

Good luck, guys/gals!

May 7th here. They give us 5-6 weeks for test prep at my school. I'm taking the test in the middle of our last week of Step 1 study period so I can have a long weekend..

Took the plunge and signed up for the USMLE on May 21st and the COMLEX on May 28th. Unfortunately my school only gives us two weeks "dedicated" study time as we end mid May and start rotations June 3rd.
.

I have not scheduled a date yet. My semester ends the end of May and I plan on taking no more than 4 weeks for dedicated prep. I started UWorld in November. Now I am doing a test per day, which should have me finished in mid-Februrary. It's taking me awhile because I want to get more proficient with physio now rather than later. I have been going along with my school's subject matter, but also consistently reviewing old material. I plan on just multiple passes of FA, Pathoma/Goljan, and many many questions. That's what my "higher score than Phloston" boyfriend did. 😛

 

[Beets]

So, here's my plan so far. I read what Phloston did and kinda modified it a bit to, I hope, fit my schedule better. We don't have many required classes here (appx. 8 hrs/week), so hopefully that will give me more flexibility with step studying. They give us about 8 weeks of dedicated step study time, but I think most people only take 6 so that they can have a break before third year, which would put me taking my test mid-end June.

Materials available that I'm considering:
USMLE-Rx - I got this because of Phloston's advice to use this as a companion to FA
FA 2013 - Even though I had 2012, I decided to buy 2013 since I read that they corrected the errors... and hopefully they haven't made more.
Pathoma
UWorld - My school bought us a 6 month subscription that I activated a few days ago, just because the code was going to expire soon.
RR Path - Not sure if I'm going to use this, since I think Pathoma will be sufficient, but I might read it leisurely to review a bit before my dedicated board studying.
BRS Phys - Again, not sure if I'm going to use this for dedicated board studying, but it's pretty short so I think I can read a bit here and there during the semester.
CMMRS - I bought this during first year and I've never even cracked it open, maybe I should change that? I feel like our classwork in micro hasn't stuck in my long term memory.
Brenner Pharm Flash Cards - I feel like this is one of my weaker subjects.
Rohen's Anatomy Flash Cards - Another of my weaker subjects.
HY Neuroanatomy - Again, bought this because of Phloston. I'm pretty average in this subject.

Things I'm thinking about getting:
Kaplan's QBank - not decided. I guess I'll see how much time I have between using USMLE-Rx and when I need to start UWorld to see if I have time for this.
Kaplan's Step 1 High Yield Program - Haven't heard many reviews on this, but it seems similar to DIT in that it's basically First Aid.

So, my original plan was to go through FA and USMLE-Rx hand in hand, like doing corresponding questions after reading the chapters in FA, then going over the explanations. Not sure long how this should take me, though, considering I still have my other classes to study for. Any advice? I don't want to get behind and then end up not having enough time to fully utilize UWorld. After finishing that, I was planning on doing Kaplan's QBank to fill in the gaps that Phloston mentioned, along with another pass of FA probably. Finally, during my dedicated step studying time, I wanted to make it through UWorld completely at least once, while also making it through FA a couple more times. Is this overly ambitious for the amount of time I have available to me? Should I stick to mostly the Qbanks and FA, ignoring the extra subject review books and flash cards? I have a lot of stuff... figuring out what I need to use is proving to be difficult. Any advice you guys might have for a timeline to get the most out of what I have?

As far as using a structured program, most people at my school are using DIT from what I understand, as that's the review program that's pushed hardest here. However, I don't *think* I need someone to hold my hand while I'm reading FA, so if it's not really going to give me anything other than that (and not augment my score anymore than regular ol' hard work will), I'll save my money for something else. I just feel really weird not using any structured program, since the vast majority of people at my school use one. That's why I was thinking of using Kaplan's, but I'm not sure if it would ultimately be a waste of money like I hear DIT is for most people. Also, I think this is the first year that people have been using it, so there's not a lot of reviews/success stories out there to help me make my decision.

Ugh. Step review programs... taking advantage of insecurities!! Haha.

 

[docnotsopc]

First of all, there is some INTENSE study plans on here with an overwhelming amount of resources. I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my plan? Anyone have suggestions to improve it or make it more realistic (I dont know if my plan is unrealistic)

Now until march spring break:
1) Doing FA at an ok pace. Should finish it by mid march
2) Doing a few Kaplan Q Bank questions / night (like 10-15 questions) --> 700-800 questions
3) Watching pathoma once. Done 1/3 of it already (plus did them during my systems)
4) Get through a bunch of Kaplans Pharmacology videos

Spring Break in March (10 days):
Do all of pathoma + 50 Kaplan Qbanks/day.... is this reasonable/doable?
BRS physiology

Spring break until Mid May (when classes end):
1) Another run through FA
2) Kaplans Microbiology/ Finish Kaplan Pharmacology videos. Would it be better to get through Micro made ridiculous easy?
3) Rewatch Pathoma videos for weak chapters only
4) Start UWorld (try to get halfway?)

Dedicated Study break (5 weeks):
1) DIT + Finish UWorld in 2 weeks? Is this possible?
2) Redo questions i got wrong on UWorld again
3) FA again + BRS physiology + Micro made ridiculous easy

What do you guys think? I would really appreciate any feedback 🙂 I have read so many threads on this and they vary so much. There is some consistency but still.

(ps I got DIT, Kaplan videos for free. Thats the only reason i thought i would use them)

 

[citr8]

It's nice seeing these familiar names and avatars from the 2010 MCAT Threads! 🙂

Good luck, guys/gals!

Ditto! It's been so long since I've logged on that I forgot my password (new comp, not stored)

Any one have any thoughts on using the NBME "Step 1 Content Outline" for 2013 to focus their study in certain topics?

I rarely find it mentioned here, but it seems as though it's pretty exhaustive

check it out
http://www.usmle.org/step-1/

 

[docnotsopc]

Bump. Anyone????? I would really appreciate anyones feedback

First of all, there is some INTENSE study plans on here with an overwhelming amount of resources. I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my plan? Anyone have suggestions to improve it or make it more realistic (I dont know if my plan is unrealistic)

Now until march spring break:
1) Doing FA at an ok pace. Should finish it by mid march
2) Doing a few Kaplan Q Bank questions / night (like 10-15 questions) --> 700-800 questions
3) Watching pathoma once. Done 1/3 of it already (plus did them during my systems)
4) Get through a bunch of Kaplans Pharmacology videos

Spring Break in March (10 days):
Do all of pathoma + 50 Kaplan Qbanks/day.... is this reasonable/doable?
BRS physiology

Spring break until Mid May (when classes end):
1) Another run through FA
2) Kaplans Microbiology/ Finish Kaplan Pharmacology videos. Would it be better to get through Micro made ridiculous easy?
3) Rewatch Pathoma videos for weak chapters only
4) Start UWorld (try to get halfway?)

Dedicated Study break (5 weeks):
1) DIT + Finish UWorld in 2 weeks? Is this possible?
2) Redo questions i got wrong on UWorld again
3) FA again + BRS physiology + Micro made ridiculous easy

What do you guys think? I would really appreciate any feedback 🙂 I have read so many threads on this and they vary so much. There is some consistency but still.

(ps I got DIT, Kaplan videos for free. Thats the only reason i thought i would use them)

 

[Phloston]

First of all, there is some INTENSE study plans on here with an overwhelming amount of resources. I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my plan? Anyone have suggestions to improve it or make it more realistic (I dont know if my plan is unrealistic)

Now until march spring break:
1) Doing FA at an ok pace. Should finish it by mid march
2) Doing a few Kaplan Q Bank questions / night (like 10-15 questions) --> 700-800 questions
3) Watching pathoma once. Done 1/3 of it already (plus did them during my systems)
4) Get through a bunch of Kaplans Pharmacology videos

Spring Break in March (10 days):
Do all of pathoma + 50 Kaplan Qbanks/day.... is this reasonable/doable?
BRS physiology

Spring break until Mid May (when classes end):
1) Another run through FA
2) Kaplans Microbiology/ Finish Kaplan Pharmacology videos. Would it be better to get through Micro made ridiculous easy?
3) Rewatch Pathoma videos for weak chapters only
4) Start UWorld (try to get halfway?)

Dedicated Study break (5 weeks):
1) DIT + Finish UWorld in 2 weeks? Is this possible?
2) Redo questions i got wrong on UWorld again
3) FA again + BRS physiology + Micro made ridiculous easy

What do you guys think? I would really appreciate any feedback 🙂 I have read so many threads on this and they vary so much. There is some consistency but still.

(ps I got DIT, Kaplan videos for free. Thats the only reason i thought i would use them)

Bump. Anyone????? I would really appreciate anyones feedback

Your study plan is rather specific and no one would be in a strong position to critique it because everyone's timeline should be unique based on personal strengths/weaknesses. Your resource selection looks fairly good though.

 

[g8orlife]

Bump. Anyone????? I would really appreciate anyones feedback

God speed with the UW & DIT .... in 2 weeks.

 

[docnotsopc]

God speed with the UW & DIT .... in 2 weeks.

I thought it was rather unrealistic but wasn't sure. Ok thank you, I will spread that out further into 3-4 weeks

 

[Phloston]

Hey Im an IMG and im taking the test in a week.. I was supposed to take my test at prometric on Jan 15th but a bunch of centers in the country crashed and i had to reschedule about 2 days before my exam to jan 23rd.. All my prep had been geared to taking the thing on jan 15th but all thats out of the window so am stuck in a bit of an anticlimactic rut right now and not too sure what to read in the last week
NBME 7 - 254 (4 weeks out)
NBME 12- 252(2 weeks out)
UWSA 1- 265+(around 86% correct)
NBME 13 - 245 ( 1 week out)
UWSA 2- 265+(around 88% correct)
Slightly worried why my NBME 13 was down compared to the others.. plus any thoughts on what would be best to do in the last week would be awesome

I hope your test went well. I know you just had it a few days ago. Although your NBMEs are good, your UWSA %s are pretty much off the charts. Much of the exam is a toss-up as it is. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts/review.

 

[DoctorDude]

So guys took my exam on Nov 7,2012 .Result was delayed because of some stupid verification issues with my home school.
I am an IMG , I studied for around 6 months after graduation.My stats were
Usmle world (subjectwise, untimed ) -84%
Kaplan Qbank (Random ,timed) -83%

Nbme 12 (8 weeks out)-250
Nbme 11 (7 weeks out)-261
Nbme 13 (1 week out) -266

Final score- 256/88
....kinda less than I expected..Not sure how good it is from IMG prespective?

My apologies if this is a dumb question... The two digit score is a percentile, right? Shouldn't a score of 256 be much higher than the 88th percentile? I always thought 250+ was in the 99th percentile. Thanks in advance for anyone who can clarify.

 

[WashMe]

My apologies if this is a dumb question... The two digit score is a percentile, right? Shouldn't a score of 256 be much higher than the 88th percentile? I always thought 250+ was in the 99th percentile. Thanks in advance for anyone who can clarify.

The two digit score is NOT a percentile. It is a meaningless number to us and it will soon be going away. Also, as a separate issue, a 250 is NOT the 99th percentile. The mean and SD are given for the exam, typically ~224 +/- 22 or so. However, the distribution is NOT Gaussian based on information taken from charting outcomes. It appears the 99th percentile is really somewhere in the low to mid-260's, while a 250 is about 91-92 percentile.

 

[JShephard]

The two digit score is NOT a percentile. It is a meaningless number to us and it will soon be going away. Also, as a separate issue, a 250 is NOT the 99th percentile. The mean and SD are given for the exam, typically ~224 +/- 22 or so. However, the distribution is NOT Gaussian based on information taken from charting outcomes. It appears the 99th percentile is really somewhere in the low to mid-260's, while a 250 is about 91-92 percentile.

What I've heard is approximately:

250 (90th)
260 (97th)

 

[Phloston]

In 2009:

251-260: lower-bound percentile = 93.28%. So your 250 was ~93%tile.

261+: lower-bound percentile = 98.65%. So your 260 was ~98%tile.


In 2011:

251-260: lower-bound percentile = 92.05%. So your 250 was ~91.5%tile.

261+: lower-bound percentile = 97.97%. So your 260 was ~97.5%tile = +2SD

--------------

This also means your 250 and 260 are comparable to around a 33 and 38 on the MCAT, respectively.

--------------

The only reason I put the "1"s as bolded and underlined is because the brackets should have been calculated as 250-259 or 260+, but they were instead calculated as 251-260 and 261+.

 

[WashMe]

In 2009:

251-260: lower-bound percentile = 93.28%. So your 250 was ~93%tile.

261+: lower-bound percentile = 98.65%. So your 260 was ~98%tile.


In 2011:

251-260: lower-bound percentile = 92.05%. So your 250 was ~91.5%tile.

261+: lower-bound percentile = 97.97%. So your 260 was ~97.5%tile = +2SD

--------------

This also means your 250 and 260 are comparable to around a 33 and 38 on the MCAT, respectively.

--------------

The only reason I put the "1"s as bolded and underlined is because the brackets should have been calculated as 250-259 or 260+, but they were instead calculated as 251-260 and 261+.

I agree with all of this except for the MCAT comparisons. You have to remember that a bunch of people who take the MCAT never take Step 1. A 250 is probably more like a 36, whereas a 260 is more like a 40 in terms of raw performance. A 270 is probably similar to a 44.