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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[kcb37]

Hey all!! Just registered last night for the first date offered in Jan for step. Just got serious into the study game for a couple weeks now but I'm wondering if anyone has heard anything at all about how this exam is changing starting in January other than whats on the website. I'm not fully aware of what they mean by "an increased focus on quality improvement principles and safety science." Any input or advice would be great - only a few weeks left....

 

[madchemist89]

I'm thinking about taking one of the earlier NBME tests at the end of winter break. I'm planning on taking the exam in June, and I have not done neuro yet (in the middle of musculoskeletal). Would it be a waste to see where I am this early or should I wait?

 

[900829]

I'm thinking about taking one of the earlier NBME tests at the end of winter break. I'm planning on taking the exam in June, and I have not done neuro yet (in the middle of musculoskeletal). Would it be a waste to see where I am this early or should I wait?

I would suggest finishing ur courses before taking any exam that emulates step 1. If you want to see where you stand in ur other subjects, u could do uworld by subject.

 

[900829]

Happy Holidays to all!

 

[Glazebrook]

Taking mine at the end of April with a goal score of 230+ (interested in IM). Best of luck everyone!

 

[Renaissance Man]

Will be taking in mid-June. Hoping for a 240, my First Aid 2014 comes in today, so it's starting to feel real.

 

[900829]

Will be taking in mid-June. Hoping for a 240, my First Aid 2014 comes in today, so it's starting to feel real.

Good stuff.
If u are taking it mid-year next year, u should already have the 2013 FA right? Why get the 2014 version?

 

[Renaissance Man]

Good stuff.
If u are taking it mid-year next year, u should already have the 2013 FA right? Why get the 2014 version?

For $25, it is worth it to me to get the most updated version of FA. I know they talk to test takers each year right after they finish the exam so I figure why not? It won't hurt.

 

[Renaissance Man]

I also contributed to this edition, so there's also that.

 

[900829]

I also contributed to this edition, so there's also that.

Fair enough.
Oh and congrats on contributing!

 

[900829]

Does anyone have the 2013 DIT? If yes, is it a great investment? I'm thinking about it, but I want to opinions first.

 

[001100010010011]

So I've heard from people that it is a good way to get through FA once to make sure you learn everything. If you have seen any of the videos then you'll see that it is really passive and often feels like people are reading FA out loud to you.

 

[900829]

So I've heard from people that it is a good way to get through FA once to make sure you learn everything. If you have seen any of the videos then you'll see that it is really passive and often feels like people are reading FA out loud to you.

So it's kinda like KISSpharm. . . Interesting.

 

[Blue Spoon]

So it's kinda like KISSpharm. . . Interesting.

I know earlier you said you found KISSpharm helpful, would you recommend it? Pharm is kicking the crap out of me. Thanks.

 

[cwaranch]

I'm in on this! I'll be taking the USMLE and Comlex late June before moving to Michigan for rotations!

 

[Xbocker]

Wrote the exam on the 9th of December. Christmas is on the 3rd Wednsday and New Years Day is on the 4th Wednsday. Looks like Im not getting the score until 5th wednsday

 

[Good Mans Armor]

Please use legit versions of the study materials (if you are not), and discourage sharing the bootleg versions. If there is a genuine reason to share, at least make sure the receiving person is generous and will give back to the community in future. - Thank You.

 

[Sanad]

Studying for the Oct Nov Dec 2014 triad. Studying is a bit slow as im on the surgical ward. FA 2014 ordered, doing uworld and usmlerx and will annotate. Hopefully should be done with first FA read by March. Aiming for a 230+ and hoping to join an EM residency. Does UK surgical experience count for anything in the US?

 

[elektroshok]

Please use legit versions of the study materials (if you are not), and discourage sharing the bootleg versions. If there is a genuine reason to share, at least make sure the receiving person is generous and will give back to the community in future. - Thank You.

Haha

 

[Ionian]

Ready to start knocking this out, can't wait to begin plugging in scores:

Uworld: 1st run (Random, timed): X% (started 13 weeks out, finished 6 weeks out)
Uworld 2nd run (Random, timed): X% (6 weeks out-1 week out)
NBME 1 (offline) (13 weeks out):
NBME 2 (offline) (11 weeks out):
NBME 3 (offline) (9 weeks out):
NBME 4 (offline) (7 weeks out; Saturday):
NBME 5 (7 weeks out; Sunday):
NBME 6 (6 weeks out):
NBME 7 (5 weeks out):
UWSA 1 (4 weeks out):
NBME 11 (3 weeks out):
NBME 15 (2 1/2 weeks out):
NBME 12 (2 weeks out):
UWSA 2 (1 ½ weeks out):
NBME 13 (5 days out):
Free 150 (3 days out): X%
-------------------------
Real Deal (June 19) :Highest score ever recorded *crosses fingers*

 

[900829]

Please use legit versions of the study materials (if you are not), and discourage sharing the bootleg versions. If there is a genuine reason to share, at least make sure the receiving person is generous and will give back to the community in future. - Thank You.

. . . I'm pretty sure u have bootleg versions of study materials. All those pdf files u might have of books are bootleg versions, just FYI. (That's if u are a medical student)
Could u please tell me how are we suppose to know if the receiving person is generous or not? Make realistic suggestions.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Please refrain from soliciting or advertising illegal copies of copyrighted materials. It is a violation of the TOS that you all signed.

 

[Renaissance Man]

 

[900829]

Please refrain from soliciting or advertising illegal copies of copyrighted materials. It is a violation of the TOS that you all signed.

My apologies.

 

[900829]

I know earlier you said you found KISSpharm helpful, would you recommend it? Pharm is kicking the crap out of me. Thanks.

Yup, I would suggest it for sure. It helped me tremendously. It's a total of 14 videos, last 2 are reviews. I think the entire thing is 10 hrs only. If u go to their website, u can subscribe. It's a great investment, and u won't regret it.

 

[Bancrofti]

Anyone hear or see posts from other years saying whether the distinction between something being obligate or facultative is high yield for the micro section? Kind of breezed through my micro course and I remember which are anaerobes vs. aerobes, but I don't really remember the obligate part.

I guess I have plenty of time to commit it to memory, but if I didn't have to that would be great.

 

[Ionian]

Obligate aerobes:
-Pulmonary infections
Nocardia
P. aeruginosa (water exposure)
Mycobacterium
Mycoplasma
-Other
Leptospira (water exposure)

Obligate Anerobes (Aminoglycosides will NOT effect them)
Actinomyces
Clostridium
(lower yield G+: Peptostreptococcus P. acnes)
Chlamydia
Fusobacterium
Prevotella
Bacteriodes
Veillonella

Just annotate it, or memorize.

 

[Myxedema]

Anyone hear or see posts from other years saying whether the distinction between something being obligate or facultative is high yield for the micro section? Kind of breezed through my micro course and I remember which are anaerobes vs. aerobes, but I don't really remember the obligate part.

I guess I have plenty of time to commit it to memory, but if I didn't have to that would be great.

Anything in First Aid is high-yield. The mnemonic given in FA is: Nagging Pests Must Breathe:
Nocardia (vs. Actinomyces --> anaerobe)
Pseudomonas (vs. Enterobacteriaceae [like E. coli] --> anaerobe)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (everything about TB is high-yield)
Bacillus (vs. Clostridium --> anaerobe)

 

[900829]

The only PDFs that I have are the Kaplan Lecture Notes, but I have the legit physical copies of the same.

I ordered Pathoma 2013 on pathoma.com
First Aid 2013 - Amazon
Microcards (Lippincott's) - Amazon
Pharmacology Flashcards (Lange) - Amazon
First Aid Q&A and First Aid Cases - Amazon
High Yield-Neuro - Amazon
Secrets - Amazon (but never opened it)
Dr. Najeeb online access


If we know the recipient personally, we will know about them.

I have respect for you and all the forum members. I don't have anything against you.

Aha! so u have the kaplan pdf . . . mmhmm

 

[Phloston]

Anyone hear or see posts from other years saying whether the distinction between something being obligate or facultative is high yield for the micro section? Kind of breezed through my micro course and I remember which are anaerobes vs. aerobes, but I don't really remember the obligate part.

I guess I have plenty of time to commit it to memory, but if I didn't have to that would be great.

Step1 is never going to explicitly ask you whether something is obligate or facultative.

For example, chlamydia and rickettsia are obligate intracellular. The most common thing they ask about that is what they can't produce on their own, with the answers being NAD+ and ATP.

But the facultative intracellular ones come up in tricky questions. For instance, if you note in FA, their mnemonic is "Some nasty bugs may live facultatively," with salmonella, neisseria, brucella, mycobacteria, legionella, fransicella, listeria and yersinia as the pathogens they're referring to. A question I saw once gave a vignette of granulomatosis infantiseptica (which btw is now included in FA14 in the pathology chapter under the granulomatous diseases entry), and then they asked for which of the following would best facilitate immunological clearance of the organism, and the answer was something like "increased intracellular killing" or "increased cell-mediated immunity."

In terms of obligate vs facultative anaerobes, you'll never get asked the distinction. But if you get air-fluid levels indicating an abscess, for instance, you'd have to assume bacteroides as your #1 and clindamycin as the Tx (if it's above the diaphragm, of course).

 

[nguyen1025]

Granulomatosis Infantiseptica was already in FA2013 under Listeria in the Micro section.

 

[Girly X]

Good luck everyone! Will be following your progress for inspiration for next year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DCBFan]

Hey guys, I'm taking the exam in early april and I am looking for input on my study plan. I am not a big fan of structured, systems-based review so I was just thinking about doing a bunch of qbanks and using resources (like FA, goljan, etc.) to look up topics that seem tricky based on the questions that I do. I have about enough time to do the Big Three, plus hopefully all NBMEs and UWSAs, before the big day.

Does anyone have experience with such a method? I hear people talk about prep schedules where they "read FA 5X" or something. I am way too ADD, when I even try to read one section of it I get stir-crazy. Do I need to do at least one overall review of FA and then graduate to qbanks, or can I do well with qbanks as my primary resource?

(Oh there are two exceptions to my plan: I'm doing an in-depth review of neuro and respiratory, b/c for some reason those are huge weak areas for me.)

Thanks for any advice, and good luck folks. Lets all kick so much butt this year that they have to raise the passing score again.

 

[NeuroLAX]

The only PDFs I have are the Kaplan Lecture Notes, but I have the legit physical copies of the same.

I ordered Pathoma 2013 on pathoma.com
First Aid 2013 - Amazon
Microcards (Lippincott's) - Amazon
Pharmacology Flashcards (Lange) - Amazon
First Aid Q&A and First Aid Cases - Amazon
High Yield-Neuro - Amazon
Secrets - Amazon (but never opened it)
Dr. Najeeb online access


If we know the recipient personally, we will know about them.

I have respect for you and all the forum members. I don't have anything against you.

Have you started prep yet? Which Qbank(s) will you be using?

I ask because I would like to share a couple issues I've run into so far. Like you, I bought FA Cases, FA Q&A, and USMLE Secrets. I also bought USMLE Rx. After going through everything since the beginning of M2 (except for Rx which I just started), I've found Cases to be rather redundant with Secrets, and Q&A clearly redundant with Rx qbank. I'm not trying to pressure you to get rid of anything, just wanted to offer my opinion because I think we can all appreciate how precious time will be for prep. By all means, see what works for you. Maybe you'll find better use out of everything than I did. So far, I've resold my FA Q&A book and I'm really thinking about selling my FA Cases.

Good luck!

 

[Good Mans Armor]

Have you started prep yet? Which Qbank(s) will you be using?

I ask because I would like to share a couple issues I've run into so far. Like you, I bought FA Cases, FA Q&A, and USMLE Secrets. I also bought USMLE Rx. After going through everything since the beginning of M2 (except for Rx which I just started), I've found Cases to be rather redundant with Secrets, and Q&A clearly redundant with Rx qbank. I'm not trying to pressure you to get rid of anything, just wanted to offer my opinion because I think we can all appreciate how precious time will be for prep. By all means, see what works for you. Maybe you'll find better use out of everything than I did. So far, I've resold my FA Q&A book and I'm really thinking about selling my FA Cases.

Good luck!

Yes, I have started my prep. Studying FirstAid along with USMLE Rx now. I have Firecracker and U World as well. I would gladly skip FA Q&A and FA Cases. I don't think USMLE Secrets would be of much use considering the time I have.

I have chosen FA + Rx + Firecracker - for gaining mastery over FA
U World and NBMEs for the real thing.

Thank you!

 

[900829]

Anyone else working on their last minute new year resolution?

 

[Ionian]

Anyone else working on their last minute new year resolution?

Cease interaction with all humans, obtain 280 step score.

 

[Phloston]

Cease interaction with all humans, obtain 280 step score.

Even that wouldn't get someone a 280 step score. You'd have to basically get a hundred.

 

[Ionian]

Even that wouldn't get someone a 280 step score. You'd have to basically get a hundred.

Challenge accepted

Honestly, happy with a 240. As long as I dont have to kill myself to get there.

 

[900829]

Cease interaction with all humans, obtain 280 step score.

280 would be awesome.
I wonder if anyone has ever gotten that high of a score.

 

[Ionian]

280 would be awesome.
I wonder if anyone has ever gotten that high of a score.

Highest I have found is 276.

http://www.usmleforum.com/files/forum/2009/1/379396.php

 

[REFLEXhamma]

Signed up for early June. Shooting for 240+. Plan is to get through practice questions early and often.

 

[900829]

Highest I have found is 276.

http://www.usmleforum.com/files/forum/2009/1/379396.php

I noticed that most people with the ridiculously high scores are IMG students. That's interesting.

 

[900829]

Okay, so I've been seeing this "firecracker" thing being talked about. I tried to read about it on the forum but didn't make sense. What is it about? Has anyone used it? If yes, does it serve its purpose?

 

[NeuroLAX]

Okay, so I've been seeing this "firecracker" thing being talked about. I tried to read about it on the forum but didn't make sense. What is it about? Has anyone used it? If yes, does it serve its purpose?

Classmates that use it claim that it has been pretty beneficial throughout pre-clinicals. The only problem is that it is very time consuming. Probably not something many would feel comfortable starting at this point. Those that have been using it have kept at it for quite some time already. I already have a fair amount of resources and qbanks, so for the sake of efficiency I'm extra cautious about what more I put on my plate.

 

[Xbocker]

So New Years Day is supposed to be the 4th Wednsday after I took the exam. Do you guys think Ill be still able to get my score then or is it going to be delayed. Plus the permit link still appears.

 

[voicesinmyhead]

Ready to start knocking this out, can't wait to begin plugging in scores:

Uworld: 1st run (Random, timed): X% (started 13 weeks out, finished 6 weeks out)
Uworld 2nd run (Random, timed): X% (6 weeks out-1 week out)
NBME 1 (offline) (13 weeks out):
NBME 2 (offline) (11 weeks out):
NBME 3 (offline) (9 weeks out):
NBME 4 (offline) (7 weeks out; Saturday):
NBME 5 (7 weeks out; Sunday):
NBME 6 (6 weeks out):
NBME 7 (5 weeks out):
UWSA 1 (4 weeks out):
NBME 11 (3 weeks out):
NBME 15 (2 1/2 weeks out):
NBME 12 (2 weeks out):
UWSA 2 (1 ½ weeks out):
NBME 13 (5 days out):
Free 150 (3 days out): X%
-------------------------
Real Deal (June 19) :Highest score ever recorded *crosses fingers*

curious about why you chose nbme 13 and not 15 in the end?

Just thinking of an order for myself.

Is this a good order to crack through the nbmes?

 

[900829]

So New Years Day is supposed to be the 4th Wednsday after I took the exam. Do you guys think Ill be still able to get my score then or is it going to be delayed. Plus the permit link still appears.

I think u might be the 1st one posting ur score on this thread.

 

[Good Mans Armor]

Okay, so I've been seeing this "firecracker" thing being talked about. I tried to read about it on the forum but didn't make sense. What is it about? Has anyone used it? If yes, does it serve its purpose?

Firecracker is essentially built on the framework of FirstAid, but incorporates spaced repetition.

Pros: It reinforces the FirstAid.
Cons: (or rather a limitation) it cannot augment the score beyond a certain point. U World takes over when it comes to integration and ciphering.

 

[Ionian]

curious about why you chose nbme 13 and not 15 in the end?

Just thinking of an order for myself.

Is this a good order to crack through the nbmes?

It's been a while since I put together my schedule, I think I may have remembered there being some talk about 15, lots of hard pharm or something that I had to decided to get a crack at it a little earlier to get some practice on some more difficult things that can show up and have a little more time to nail down those trouble areas. And heard good things about the correlations with step 1 with 13 and 12, but not so much 15.