Official 2014 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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notbobtrustme said:
yea, it's definitely not fair. 🙁 Step 1 is probably the worst way to judge competence in basic sciences because there's so much garbage and filler that it's more like medical trivial pursuit than an examination of w/e or not a student is competent in the basic sciences. I mean, how is a no-context murmur related to basic science competency? It's not, just like knowing that McCune-Albright syndrome is a somatic mutation in Gs. That doesn't show basic science competence, it's just a stupid fact.



I don't recall it being a big emphasis on my exam (6/6), so I'm guessing 1-2 questions. Nothing really pops up in my mind, so I'm guessing it was straightforward.
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I think it is a fair test of what it was actually designed to measure - a basic level of competence after 1.5 - 2 yrs of study of classic and emerging concepts in the biomedical sciences. Using the test for things it wasn't designed to measure - clinical aptitude, critical thinking skills, etc. - seems to be the real challenge to me.
 
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Psai said:
I don't even understand how they think this is a fair question for second year medical students. "Hey guys, I know you don't have any relevant clinical experience but here let me test you on how well you can interpret heart sounds using low quality audio played through horrible headphones."
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Maybe it's calculated. You will encounter things in medical practice that you are not prepared for. A good physician will take things in stride and do the best they can while staying calm. So maybe they throw those curveballs in there to throw most students off. Similar to the MCAT, we all learned to not spend an inordinate amount of time on 1 difficult question or on one verbal passage. You do your best and move on. A good number of people that posted their experience have stated this in their advice. There are bound to be things you don't know, be smart enough to know when to move on and it won't affect you.

I also look at it in the way that someone is getting it right, so I shouldn't complain. There has to be something that differentiates between 210s and 220s from 250s and 260s. I take it in a couple weeks though, so maybe my level headed thoughts on this will do a 180 pretty soon.
 
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Alright Canadian here writing tomorrow, having studied for about 2-3 hours x 1.5 weeks for this exam. Already took Step 2 (251) a few weeks. Here's to hoping there aren't any biochemistry/anatomy/embryology questions hah.
 
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Took the beast yesterday. I would say you could get 50-60% correct if you knew FA, Pathoma, and UWorld COLD. I found myself answering questions from things I remembered in some of the Kaplan videos too. This test is a whole different animal now. I got tons of anatomy and immunology questions which were pretty difficult, BS section was pretty tough, and just overall it was a very difficult exam. You needed to understand everything pretty well to be in a position to get a good score. There was very little regurgitation or straight memorization questions. I would say 20% of the test was like that, the rest was just a battle. Also, 20% of the material on the test I've never seen before in my life and there were a ridiculous amount of clinical anatomy questions that you could never be prepared for. You needed to have done a surgery rotation or have read NMS Surgery or something to get a ton of those questions. It was pretty insane. There were a ton of experiments and analysis of data questions that left you saying WTF. I don't even know how I would study for it again if I had to. All I know is this test is no longer directly correlated with how much you study. This is more like a "standardized" exam now where we are going to reward the guy with the 170 IQ with a great score regardless of whether or not he or she studied. If you are just a 130 IQ guy like me you are going to need to be flawless on test day, not make stupid mistakes, and have the test of your life if you want a great score to do something competitive.
 
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LegitBoss4Life said:
If you are just a 130 IQ guy like me you are going to need to be flawless on test day, not make stupid mistakes, and have the test of your life if you want a great score to do something competitive.
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not sure if sarcasm, but 130 IQ is literally in the top 2.5% of the population.
 
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Honestly I wasn't trying to brag. Medical students usually have some of the highest IQs in the nation. I'm sure the average IQ at any given medical school is probably 140. Maybe I'm wrong, I have no idea. It sure seems that way though.
 
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LegitBoss4Life said:
Honestly I wasn't trying to brag. Medical students usually have some of the highest IQs in the nation. I'm sure the average IQ at any given medical school is probably 140. Maybe I'm wrong, I have no idea. It sure seems that way though.
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I admit it's not subtle anymore and by the way you're statement is false
 
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LegitBoss4Life said:
Honestly I wasn't trying to brag. Medical students usually have some of the highest IQs in the nation. I'm sure the average IQ at any given medical school is probably 140. Maybe I'm wrong, I have no idea. It sure seems that way though.
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Come on man. What does IQ have to do with anything?
 
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J DUB said:
For those that have just taken it with the last several weeks, have you all been seeing many questions on acid/base? Like having to determine mix acid/base stuff?
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Those are the easiest questions. Take your time time understand acid/base pathophys if you have the time. If you get it once, you'll never need to learn it again.
 
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rodmichael82 said:
Lol excuse me Shakespeare. I'm so sorry I offended you.
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Not offended at all (I don't recall saying I was.)
And I'm no Shakespeare man, I just make sure my basic writing skills are in check before I call someone out. Only so I don't look like a *****.
 
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doc2b193 said:
Not offended at all (I don't recall saying I was.)
And I'm no Shakespeare man, I just make sure my basic writing skills are in check before I call someone out. Only so I don't look like a *****.
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So your first 2 posts on SDN were carried out to put someone in check? Over grammar? That's, kinda, sorta, lame.
 
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LegitBoss4Life said:
Took the beast yesterday. I would say you could get 50-60% correct if you knew FA, Pathoma, and UWorld COLD. I found myself answering questions from things I remembered in some of the Kaplan videos too. This test is a whole different animal now. I got tons of anatomy and immunology questions which were pretty difficult, BS section was pretty tough, and just overall it was a very difficult exam. You needed to understand everything pretty well to be in a position to get a good score. There was very little regurgitation or straight memorization questions. I would say 20% of the test was like that, the rest was just a battle. Also, 20% of the material on the test I've never seen before in my life and there were a ridiculous amount of clinical anatomy questions that you could never be prepared for. You needed to have done a surgery rotation or have read NMS Surgery or something to get a ton of those questions. It was pretty insane. There were a ton of experiments and analysis of data questions that left you saying WTF. I don't even know how I would study for it again if I had to. All I know is this test is no longer directly correlated with how much you study. This is more like a "standardized" exam now where we are going to reward the guy with the 170 IQ with a great score regardless of whether or not he or she studied. If you are just a 130 IQ guy like me you are going to need to be flawless on test day, not make stupid mistakes, and have the test of your life if you want a great score to do something competitive.
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Dude, my exam is next week and this ^ is a straight up confidence killer (I appreciate the honesty). I haven't done any surgery rotations yet, I have to clear step 1 first... so my question is, now that you're done with the exam, what would you do to prepare for those left field and difficult q's?
 
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Cali 916 said:
Dude, my exam is next week and this ^ is a straight up confidence killer (I appreciate the honesty). I haven't done any surgery rotations yet, I have to clear step 1 first... so my question is, now that you're done with the exam, what would you do to prepare for those left field and difficult q's?
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Pray and repent.
 
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Cali 916 said:
Dude, my exam is next week and this ^ is a straight up confidence killer (I appreciate the honesty). I haven't done any surgery rotations yet, I have to clear step 1 first... so my question is, now that you're done with the exam, what would you do to prepare for those left field and difficult q's?
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Why are you on SDN? Go study and don't log back in until after your exam.
 
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I understand that many feel that the test is hard/difficult, which questions coming out of left field. In my opinion, the best anyone can do is not necessarily prepare for those questions with the content itself, but rather prepare with test-taking strategy and understanding there will be WTF questions. It would be silly to spend the last few days covering very low yield information, in hopes that some of it may appear on your exam. Best of luck to all!
 
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Took the test today. Definitely was a fair test IMO. Expected questions and weighed distribution of questions. Definitely some WTF questions (focused more on Anatomy, how healthcare pays, some random q about Lean procedure, etc.) Answered them as best as I could and moved on.
I finished blocks about 7-10 minutes early. Used all of that time to review that block.
I took break at the end of every block, got a banana, granola bar, water, milk, etc. Definitely bring more food than you can eat. You never know how hungry you can get!
Test day experience was excellent. A couple of CT/CXRs, 3 murmur type audio clips (2 of them you can kinda tell from vignette).
A lot of focus on Micro, a lot less on Urinary (in my opinion), average focus on other aspects! Had less questions on pharmacology than I expected (I consider it to be my stronger subject).

I started to get tired during the 6th block, that is why I took break between both 6th and 7th block. I stepped outside the center, walked around, talked to some friends, although not about the test to clear my mind off.

Let me know if there are any questions! Good luck, studying guys! We have worked super hard to be in this position for past 2 years. Just think clearly and victory is yours! (I know, super cheesy, but I am tired)
 
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J DUB said:
I get it and then forget it. It is my whale. 🙁
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Then you haven't 'gotten' it. Sit down with someone and go over 50 or so cases. Once you start getting it, won't take you over 5 seconds to figure out the metabolic state.
 
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Brain Bucket said:
Then you haven't 'gotten' it. Sit down with someone and go over 50 or so cases. Once you start getting it, won't take you over 5 seconds to figure out the metabolic state.
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Fine I will if I have the time. I plan to use more time on other stuff since I have not seen too many folks getting hammered with it and I can eliminate down well enough. I consider it a 2 start topic. lol

Just some of them with compensation and mix get me.
 
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J DUB said:
Fine I will if I have the time. I plan to use more time on other stuff since I have not seen too many folks getting hammered with it and I can eliminate down well enough. I consider it a 2 start topic. lol

Just some of them with compensation and mix get me.
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Winter's formula.
 
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doc2b193 said:
Not offended at all (I don't recall saying I was.)
And I'm no Shakespeare man, I just make sure my basic writing skills are in check before I call someone out. Only so I don't look like a *****.
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Cool story bro. You got a lot of time on your hand. Did you consider becoming a writing tutor instead of a doctor?
 
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Swearing and insulting users are both not permitted on SDN. The swear filter is there for a reason.
rodmichael82 said:
Cool story bro. You got a lot of time on your hand. Did you consider becoming a writing tutor instead of a doctor?
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Can you do yourself and everyone a favor and just ***(insults/swearing removed by moderator)***
 
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Is anyone feeling worse about their potential exam performance a few weeks after taking it?? I took it a few weeks ago (6/12) and did not walk out of the room feeling great, but a few weeks later I feel even worse about what my score might be. Every couple of days I imagine my score dropping lower and lower. I'm not sure if it is a normal feeling or if it might be an indicator that I really did perform poorly, given that I feel worse after a few weeks have passed/after I've had time to clear my head...
 
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sjonies88 said:
Is anyone feeling worse about their potential exam performance a few weeks after taking it?? I took it a few weeks ago (6/12) and did not walk out of the room feeling great, but a few weeks later I feel even worse about what my score might be. Every couple of days I imagine my score dropping lower and lower. I'm not sure if it is a normal feeling or if it might be an indicator that I really did perform poorly, given that I feel worse after a few weeks have passed/after I've had time to clear my head...
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As time passes you tend to remember those you missed and not the ones you knew. I have heard it is rather common. Just chill and be glad you are done. At this point, it is what it is.
 
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sjonies88 said:
Is anyone feeling worse about their potential exam performance a few weeks after taking it?? I took it a few weeks ago (6/12) and did not walk out of the room feeling great, but a few weeks later I feel even worse about what my score might be. Every couple of days I imagine my score dropping lower and lower. I'm not sure if it is a normal feeling or if it might be an indicator that I really did perform poorly, given that I feel worse after a few weeks have passed/after I've had time to clear my head...
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@sjonies88 I agree with your feelings for the most part. For me, it started later that day after the exam. I remembered a question and knew I missed it immediately. I still have no idea why I answered the way I did. As time passes, I remember more that I definitely missed/might have missed. That happens to all of us though at some point or another I think.

The biggest factor for me has definitely been the long wait. I took the exam in late May. When I took an NBME and finished the fourth block, I got the score immediately. I didn't have time to think about any previous questions. When I looked at the ones I missed, I would find questions that I absolutely should not have missed. These questions would have popped up later in my mind if I had time to dwell on the exam rather than getting an immediate score. I think this factor is huge for some people.

I walked out of the real exam knowing it was very difficult, but I did not feel awful. I try to remind myself now that I probably should not feel awful. Some days it works better than others.
 
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The fact is that you dont remember all the easy questions you answered in 20 seconds and mostly the ones it took 2-3 minutes to answer or ones you just guessed on. If I try really hard, I start to realize that there were a good number of gimmes but I agree that its tough to do so. I actually feel a little better than I did after the exam but I still have shots of terror run through me every now and then.
 
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sjonies88 said:
Is anyone feeling worse about their potential exam performance a few weeks after taking it?? I took it a few weeks ago (6/12) and did not walk out of the room feeling great, but a few weeks later I feel even worse about what my score might be. Every couple of days I imagine my score dropping lower and lower. I'm not sure if it is a normal feeling or if it might be an indicator that I really did perform poorly, given that I feel worse after a few weeks have passed/after I've had time to clear my head...
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Absolutely yes. I have to keep studying for the COMLEX and every time I go into first aid it feels like I find something else I got wrong. I'm keeping a running list of things I'm pretty sure I missed. Its actually helped me stop thinking about them believe it or not. The bad thing is I'm up to like 35 things 😢 (really embarassing, but it is what it is). At least 10-15 of those were free points that everyone else probably got, and 99 out of 100 times I would have too. I was just too stressed/tired/rushed. Time was never an issue until I took that test.

Came in hoping for a 230+. With that many known misses, and countless more that I don't remember, I would be ecstatic to receive a 210.

Extremely frustrating to know I could have performed much better, even more frustrating that I honestly think I may have failed the biggest test of my life. I know everyone feels that way, but with my current score going down and down, I really can't shake the feeling.

So yeah, if anyone out there feels unsure of their performance after the USMLE, you are not alone at all.
 
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hi all ..i have seen that most ppl here recommend usmle rx over kaplan..i have four weks to go until my exam..have done uwrld twice and kaplan once .my last nbme was four weeks ago nbme 16 :241.unfortunately i just have one more nbme left (used all of them to evaluate myself evry two weeks)just have nbme 7 left...do u think its a good idea to take rx now? would it help me improve my score?please advice
 
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Please knock it off with the back and forth arguing. SDN has multiple options for dealing with this including private conversation and the ignore user feature. Public bickering, swearing, and thread derailment are all against our terms of service. SDN mods do not read every post/thread, so please if you see a troll or a personal attack, just report the post and do not respond to the troll. Thank you.
 
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g2daizh said:
Absolutely yes. I have to keep studying for the COMLEX and every time I go into first aid it feels like I find something else I got wrong. I'm keeping a running list of things I'm pretty sure I missed. Its actually helped me stop thinking about them believe it or not. The bad thing is I'm up to like 35 things 😢 (really embarassing, but it is what it is). At least 10-15 of those were free points that everyone else probably got, and 99 out of 100 times I would have too. I was just too stressed/tired/rushed. Time was never an issue until I took that test.

Came in hoping for a 230+. With that many known misses, and countless more that I don't remember, I would be ecstatic to receive a 210.

Extremely frustrating to know I could have performed much better, even more frustrating that I honestly think I may have failed the biggest test of my life. I know everyone feels that way, but with my current score going down and down, I really can't shake the feeling.

So yeah, if anyone out there feels unsure of their performance after the USMLE, you are not alone at all.
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Was your test roughly on par with nbme difficulty or much harder?
 
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I thought the nbmes were easier because you can usually figure out what they're talking about and the questions are relatively straightforward. If you know the information, you should do well. But there's a lot more thinking and application of knowledge on the real exam. The pressure of the actual test gets to you and the stems are a little longer which contributes to a time crunch which also adds to the stress.
 
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I agree with all sentiments about NBMEs. However, that doesnt mean you should NOT do it. I can recall 2-3 questions were STRAIGHT UP from the NBMEs. Like no joke. So, take them seriously. That is all your, honor!
 
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