Official 2014 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[900829]

Too early? Pff nah it's not.
It's our time to shine bright like a diamond!
It's our time to make step 1 our Goliath.

. . . and may the odds be ever in your favor.
WE GOT THIS!

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[Brain Bucket]

Starting it off with Rihanna and Hunger Games quotes doesn't bode well.

P.S. I'm sorry I'm such a db. Good luck!

 

[900829]

Starting it off with Rihanna and Hunger Games quotes doesn't bode well.

P.S. I'm sorry I'm such a db. Good luck!

Aww it's ok.
We got this regardless.
Best of luck to you as well!

 

[CaliAtenza]

hey my exam is Friday!!! So i might be the last one on here taking the exam before the new year! Good luck to everyone

 

[Bancrofti]

Just gonna go ahead and put that I'm shooting for a 270. That way when I take my first exam and have to realistically drop my expectations, I can drop it down 20 points to 250 and still be fine.

 

[ulikedaggers]

Just gonna go ahead and put that I'm shooting for a 270. That way when I take my first exam and have to realistically drop my expectations, I can drop it down 20 points to 250 and still be fine.

270 is pretty weak... that's not even 0.5SD above the SDN mean.

 

[900829]

hey my exam is Friday!!! So i might be the last one on here taking the exam before the new year! Good luck to everyone

Hey, I wish you the very best!

 

[Alacran]

looking forward to this thread. I'll be taking mine around April. Best of luck to all

 

[CaliAtenza]

Just gonna go ahead and put that I'm shooting for a 270. That way when I take my first exam and have to realistically drop my expectations, I can drop it down 20 points to 250 and still be fine.

I see that statement has kicked off the thread already . I would be happy with a 240 plus; my NBMEs are in the 250s, but im fine with 240..

 

[Bancrofti]

270 is pretty weak... that's not even 0.5SD above the SDN mean.

Been gunning since I finished orgo

Good luck to those of you taking it soon.

 

[BlueArc]

Taking it in May. Aiming for a 240.

 

[001100010010011]

May. Aiming for a 250.

 

[900829]

Nice goals.

 

[surgok]

Gl to you all. Tired of upper classmen giving out "advices" without stating their goal or their actual score.

 

[WGB]

My bad surgok; edited.

Plan: Step 1 sometime in August next year.
Goal: 265+

 

[surgok]

You make an excellent point. You should disregard our "advices". Good luck to you too.

I was referring to upper classmen at my school in general. SDN usually states goal, what they got, etc, which is necessary draw comparisons and such. But yes, if you give out a blank advice without stating what your goal was or without what you have achieved, I'll mostly disregard your advice.

 

[surgok]

taking mine in early June. shooting for 250+, but 260 won't hurt.

 

[ketap]

hi,i'll be taking the exam on march or april..my target above 250...good luck to all of us

 

[NSurgOrBust]

Goal: 260+

Exam: Late June

 

[001100010010011]

Early June for me too.

 

[BlueArc]

I am trying to hammer down the lange pharma cards at the moment. Also Good luck for tomo CaliAtenza!

 

[900829]

I am trying to hammer down the lange pharma cards at the moment. Also Good luck for tomo CaliAtenza!

Pharm's no joke. I used KissPharm to review it and I found it helpful. U have to subscribe of course, but there are people out there with the bootleg version which is actually legit.
Bon Chance!

 

[Phloston]

Based on the above posts, someone should develop a thread asking about what shooting for a 270 vs 265 vs 260 actually means in terms of prep.

Shooting for 260+ = I'm going to kill myself with study.
Or shooting for a 250 = I'm going to kill myself with study, but not really kill myself.

 

[surgok]

Based on the above posts, someone should develop a thread asking about what shooting for a 270 vs 265 vs 260 actually means in terms of prep.

Shooting for 260+ = I'm going to kill myself with study.
Or shooting for a 250 = I'm going to kill myself with study, but not really kill myself.

I'm sure it's individual specific, but do you think 260+ requires world of pain in general?

 

[BlueArc]

Yea i have heard about KissPharm, but since i am half way done with the lange cards i think i will stick with them, then review them with FA to add the resistance mechanisms, add some of the brenner drugs Phloston posted and do the initial chapters of kaplan pharma.
Phloston i am so glad to see you here!

 

[Modeselektor]

270 is pretty weak... that's not even 0.5SD above the SDN mean.

And this is why I love all you *******! <3 <3 <3

 

[900829]

Whatever works

 

[001100010010011]

What are you all doing to develop a study schedule?

 

[MilkIsGood]

Taking mine the first or second day of May. Havent scheduled it yet. So soon

 

[Apoplexy__]

What are you all doing to develop a study schedule?

My school just thrusted the QBank (Combank) they provide onto us and I'm suddenly scrambling to start up a strategy too. My tentative plan:
-Now until March: FC + Combank until March; Combank will be minimal but I'll try and do blocks that coordinate with classes and FC
-In March: UWorld in random blocks + FC, with a Taus method-based strategy

 

[MalibuPreMD]

Personal goal is 255. Everything is made more difficult having a 10 month old son and a wife in med school too. Planning to take the exam in late June.

Currently studying system's relevant Lange pharmcards and completing system specific USMLE-RX, Goljian chapters, and little Costanza chapters before exams.

 

[001100010010011]

My school just thrusted the QBank (Combank) they provide onto us and I'm suddenly scrambling to start up a strategy too. My tentative plan:
-Now until March: FC + Combank until March; Combank will be minimal but I'll try and do blocks that coordinate with classes and FC
-In March: UWorld in random blocks + FC, with a Taus method-based strategy

That's my plan through February (FC + qbank). Are you also reading FA alongside FC?

I plan on hitting Kaplan and UWorld at some point too.

 

[Alacran]

Personal goal 250-260

Doing DIT, Uworld, RR Path

 

[stronghold]

Good luck everybody!

 

[NewYorkDoctors]

honestly everyone, if you are ahead of the Step 1 schedule curve, do some Step 2 studying (not a joke.. but to reach the absolute highest scores, you have to realize there are a number of purely clinical type questions on Step 1 that is not basic science and belongs more in Step 2 in the sense that it is clinical medicine. Fortunately, these qusetions tend to be more of the outpatient family medicine variant)

Example: on my Step 1 years ago, they described a baby's head and you had to know how to differentiate a cephalohematoma from caput succedeaneum. That's not in First Aid Step 1 now is it?

 

[900829]

honestly everyone, if you are ahead of the Step 1 schedule curve, do some Step 2 studying (not a joke.. but to reach the absolute highest scores, you have to realize there are a number of purely clinical type questions on Step 1 that is not basic science and belongs more in Step 2 in the sense that it is clinical medicine. Fortunately, these qusetions tend to be more of the outpatient family medicine variant)

Example: on my Step 1 years ago, they described a baby's head and you had to know how to differentiate a cephalohematoma from caput succedeaneum. That's not in First Aid Step 1 now is it?

What the . . . ? (Palm to face)
And just when I thought I was semi ready.
Yaaa, I probably would have answered that question incorrectly. . . for sure.

 

[NewYorkDoctors]

What the . . . ? (Palm to face)
And just when I thought I was semi ready.
Yaaa, I probably would have answered that question incorrectly. . . for sure.

rest assured, most of the test is NOT so advanced in level.

You'll come across about 5-6 of these questions and then think (wth?)

These are just questions that separate the 250s260s from the 270s280s

But honestly after finish Step 3 and reflecting backward, the surefire way to getting to know those type of "purely clinical questions" is just to grab a Family Medicine shelf exam book and then peruse through those questions. That shoudl be more than adequate to fulfill that niche of questions on Step 1

 

[900829]

rest assured, most of the test is NOT so advanced in level.

You'll come across about 5-6 of these questions and then think (wth?)

These are just questions that separate the 250s260s from the 270s280s

But honestly after finish Step 3 and reflecting backward, the surefire way to getting to know those type of "purely clinical questions" is just to grab a Family Medicine shelf exam book and then peruse through those questions. That shoudl be more than adequate to fulfill that niche of questions on Step 1

Sigh of relief!
Ya cos ain't nobody got time for that!

Thanks for the heads up! I'll be sure to grab a fam med shelf book.
Much appreciated.

 

[BlueArc]

[quote="NewYorkDoctors,
the surefire way to getting to know those type of "purely clinical questions" is just to grab a Family Medicine shelf exam book and then peruse through those questions. That shoudl be more than adequate to fulfill that niche of questions on Step 1[/quote]

Can you please suggest a name?

 

[NewYorkDoctors]

[quote="NewYorkDoctors,
the surefire way to getting to know those type of "purely clinical questions" is just to grab a Family Medicine shelf exam book and then peruse through those questions. That shoudl be more than adequate to fulfill that niche of questions on Step 1

Can you please suggest a name?[/quote]

Just peruse Case Files Family Medicine (you may need to get this for MS3 anyway) or Pretest Family Medicine.
I reiterate, only do this if you're a stud on the main Step 1 material. Do not focus too much on this.

But just like how there are some pure Step 1 basic science questions on Step2/3 (I seriously had to dig deep into my memory banks to recall the neutrophil burst for NADPH oxidase and recalling Vibrio vulnificus was a halophillic organism or how properdin deficiency can cause Neisserial infections.. why would I need to know that as a medicine resident?), there are some purely clinical questions on Step 1.

But seriously don't beat yourself up over this. Study the extra stuff near the end if you have time, but it's seriously diminishing returns...unless you want that 270+

 

[900829]

How do you guys plan on studying for the steps? What sources are you going to use for ur preparations?

 

[NeuroLAX]

I guess it is time to join the ranks. I plan on taking both within the May-July block period. Goal is to break 240.

Core resources I plan to use (USMLE): FA + USMLE-Rx Qbank (2-3 months) + UWorld (2-3 months) + re-reading Pathoma +/- RR Path (prn). -- I'm wondering if I've allotted enough time to get through these two qbanks? I already bought USMLE-Rx so I figure I should at least devote a fair amount of time to it, esp. for its connection to FA.

I haven't registered for COMLEX yet, but I will most likely take it after the USMLE (I don't want to cram Chapman's point, viscerosomatics, and cranial before I absolutely need to). I might try to squeeze in some COMBANK along the way, but I don't realistically see myself doing much with it until after USMLE. I hope to have about 2-3 weeks between test dates to become familiarized with the different question styles and maybe going over Savarese once or twice.

GL everyone!

 

[900829]

I guess it is time to join the ranks. I plan on taking both within the May-July block period. Goal is to break 240.

Core resources I plan to use (USMLE): FA + USMLE-Rx Qbank (2-3 months) + UWorld (2-3 months) + re-reading Pathoma +/- RR Path (prn). -- I'm wondering if I've allotted enough time to get through these two qbanks? I already bought USMLE-Rx so I figure I should at least devote a fair amount of time to it, esp. for its connection to FA.

I haven't registered for COMLEX yet, but I will most likely take it after the USMLE (I don't want to cram Chapman's point, viscerosomatics, and cranial before I absolutely need to). I might try to squeeze in some COMBANK along the way, but I don't realistically see myself doing much with it until after USMLE. I hope to have about 2-3 weeks between test dates to become familiarized with the different question styles and maybe going over Savarese once or twice.

GL everyone!

Awesome plan!
Like someone once said, the more questions u do, the better ur chances of u reaching ur goal. (Actually quite a lot of people said that lol)
All the best!

 

[madcowz]

I'm scheduled to take it in late April. The plan is to bust through several subject review books (Pathoma, CMMRS, How the Immune System Works, BRS Physio, RR Biochem, BRS Neuroanatomy) and keep up with my self-made Anki cards between now and late March. I'm doing daily questions from both USMLE-Rx and Kaplan Qbank until late January when I'll switch over to UWorld. For dedicated study time, I'm sticking to just UWorld, FA, and Pathoma. I guess I'm the lone academic deviant in the group because I'm "just" shooting for a 235 as my target score.

 

[Bancrofti]

Anyone hear if Goljan audio is outdated for the current Step? I have the most recent edition of RR and was planning on getting through it along with my Pathophys course while also listening to the audio during free time. Should I stick to the text only or is the audio still valuable?

 

[NeuroLAX]

Anyone hear if Goljan audio is outdated for the current Step? I have the most recent edition of RR and was planning on getting through it along with my Pathophys course while also listening to the audio during free time. Should I stick to the text only or is the audio still valuable?

I've been listening to his audio lectures for concepts and reading his text for content. Overall I think I benefit most from his text, but I definitely appreciate the conceptualized nature of his audio lectures.

 

[ChessMaster3000]

I'm scheduled to take it in late April. The plan is to bust through several subject review books (Pathoma, CMMRS, How the Immune System Works, BRS Physio, RR Biochem, BRS Neuroanatomy) and keep up with my self-made Anki cards between now and late March. I'm doing daily questions from both USMLE-Rx and Kaplan Qbank until late January when I'll switch over to UWorld. For dedicated study time, I'm sticking to just UWorld, FA, and Pathoma. I guess I'm the lone academic deviant in the group because I'm "just" shooting for a 235 as my target score.

with that study plan, if you did well in pre-clinical, you'll likely hit 250 (yes, yes, I know, nothing is guaranteed)

 

[Isradoc16]

Anyone hear if Goljan audio is outdated for the current Step? I have the most recent edition of RR and was planning on getting through it along with my Pathophys course while also listening to the audio during free time. Should I stick to the text only or is the audio still valuable?

I can't speak to its relevance for the current step, but I'm also using his latest edition of the book and listening to the audio. They seem to go along fairly well, and I haven't noticed any big discrepancies in information.

IMO, it's worth it to listen to the audio, especially during free time like on the bus. He gives a lot of great tidbits, and it helps solidify the concepts.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[oraiby]

270 + my dream score
but anything above 250 would be great
aiming for August 2014
IMG doing IM residency(PGY 1 ) at my homecountry
It's an honour to join you guys

 

[900829]

270 + my dream score
but anything above 250 would be great
aiming for August 2014
IMG doing IM residency(PGY 1 ) at my homecountry
It's an honour to join you guys

Welcome! Thanks for joining
270 would be great. How do u plan on studying?