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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[Psai]

It looks like they released up to June 19. June 20 and later weren't released today. Bummed because I took it on the 20th

It's the 4th wednesday after your exam or so I hear

 

[clinke]

Prepped about 2 months of reading FA and 3 weeks dedicated study. Read FA 4 times, did all of uworld. Watched some pathoma. Wanted over 225. DO student.

 

[Dave89]

262. Will update my previous posts later but for those still waiting, I felt like absolute dog **** after my exam. Keep the faith and trust the system. My NBME average (only 15 and 16) was 256 and my high NBME was 260 one week out. Absolutely stoked about my score considering I felt like I would be lucky to even hit my lowest NBME after the exam. Congrats to everyone for making it out alive. It's been a long month!

I feel like we had very similar journeys. Congratulations!

 

[ashokaramani]

Score: 261

CBSE (9 weeks out): 255
NBME 7 (4 weeks out): 249 (91%)
NBME 11 (3 weeks out): 251 (91.5%)
NBME 12 (2 weeks out): 262 (95%)
NBME 16—>13 (1 week out): 262 (93.5%), 266 (95.5%)
2014 Free 150 (3 days out): 88%
Average of last 3 NBMEs: 263.3

260+ was my goal, and it's what I got.
...I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel just a little disappointed that I didn't get higher based on my NBME's, but I also recognize that I'd be ******ed to complain about it. My prep, exam, and entire Step 1 journey have been nothing but what I have hoped and tried for, and that's really all one can ask for.

I owe this site and its members a very sincere expression of gratitude. There are so many members here that have helped me and contributed to this huge adventure, that it would be silly to try and list them all. You know who you are -- to everyone that has messaged me, followed my progress with encouragement, replied to my posts: thank you. It's really amazing that completely anonymous people over the internet have made a verifiable difference in the rest of my life. What I'm doing in 20 years has been changed by your contributions.

I'd love to help anyone in any way I can. Pre-meds, MS0's, MS1's, and people still about to take the exam -- please message me about anything. Congratulations to everyone who has already completed this beast.

...It's finally over.

Help me taking the exam on Monday and I got similar scores to you. Except CBSE was lower.

 

[Drsoonenough]

Anyone here an IMG? Did you all receive your scores through NBME or did some come from ECFMG?

Most IMG received scores through ECFMG. Best wishes

 

[Drsoonenough]

It looks like they released up to June 19. June 20 and later weren't released today. Bummed because I took it on the 20th

By any chance are they going to continue to release scores today or is it once a day? I took it on 24th, too....anxiously waiting....

 

[Drsoonenough]

I am so happy for everyone that totally rocked their Step 1....I am still waiting for my results...I am totally terrified...I had a huge issue with time and I had to just mark answers in the last three blocks...about 5 to 6 answers...Did anyone that scored well have that problem? Took exam June 24th...

 

[Apoplexy__]

what about urinary incontinence ?step2 question? from where we can study those

I'd look it up in any textbook from class or online. I think Goljan RR also has it. Here's a video that might help.

If you know nothing else about urinary incontinence, just know:
Old women w/ multiple pregnancies = weak pelvic muscles = stress incontinence = urine release with cough/sneeze/bearing down
Every part of that is very high-yield. I think I got two Q's on that alone on my real deal lol.

 

[4thQTHailMary]

I am so happy for everyone that totally rocked their Step 1....I am still waiting for my results...I am totally terrified...I had a huge issue with time and I had to just mark answers in the last three blocks...about 5 to 6 answers...Did anyone that scored well have that problem? Took exam June 24th...

I marked probably anywhere from 5-15 every block but I tend to mark anything that I'm not 100% on. I will say that I know made some stupid mistakes due to second guessing myself, and I'm pretty confident that, at the very least, I missed 20-23, that I know of. This doesn't include the many others I was uncertain/missed that I can't remember. What I'm trying to say is that I made a high score and missed a lot more questions comparatively to the NBMEs. The curve is real.

 

[alkaabi]

I didn't take any NBME's or self-assess but I did UWorld+Pathoma+First Aid very thoroughly. My prep was good but on the actual test day I made a lot of dumb mistakes and messed up because I was nervous. Score: 247. I don't know if I should be happy or upset.

u shd be more than happy for the 247! congrats!!

 

[Enzymes]

250! All the hard work actually paid off! Hope everyone is content with their scores.

 

[BearAttack]

I posted about my Step 1 study regimen and testing experiences upthread, but here's a quick recap of the scores I had been getting:

UWSA 1 - 8 weeks out - 242
NBME 12 - 4 weeks out - 247
CBSE - 2 weeks out - 94/260+
UWSA 2 - 10 days out - 265
NBME 16 - 1 week out - 256
USMLE Step 1 - June 2 - 257

Obviously, I was hoping that the CBSE and UWSA2 would be correct, but I have to admit this is an awesome score and the future is wide open for me with a 257. Gonna go celebrate with friends tonight!

 

[madchemist89]

262!

 

[4thQTHailMary]

Anyone else curious about their percentile? Kinda lame that the NBME doesn't give out two digit scores anymore as well but oh well.

 

[GadRads]

Step 1 was tough. It was like the UWSAs. Will post full thoughts when I get my scores. I only slept 1 hr the night before since I was so used to staying up till 6 AM. My biggest regret is not getting some Ambien or Benadryl. Though caffeine helped, I felt like a zombie after I walked out. I was surprisingly able to think through most of questions that required some logic/thought, especially experiments and pedigrees. This was my biggest worry concerning my lack of sleep.

Anyway, since I was tired/hazy, I tried to read questions as carefully and deliberately as I could. I often finished with 13-15 minutes left, and used that time to review marked questions (~10 per block). My last block was the hardest, and I marked about 17 on it, and while the vignettes were slightly longer overall, they were even more so in this block. I had 9 minutes left to review the marked 17 questions. Overall, I was generally sure of about half my answers per block, and made educated guesses on the others. There were usually 3-4 questions per block of which I had no clue.

Nothing was overly emphasized. Every organ system was tested.

I did my UWSAs and NBMEs usually late night/wee hours of the morning, and often under some fatigue and after a long day of studying, so I'm hoping fatigue didn't cost me too much. I went in pushing for a 240, but a 220 would be ok, and a 230 would be very nice. Just really hoping I didn't make too many mistakes due to fatigue.

Overall, I walked out feeling like I borderline passed.

CBSE before dedicated study: 215
U-World first pass average (random-timed): 71%
U-world incorrects: 89%
NBME 7 (offline): 87% (5 days out)
NBME 12 (offline): 86% (about 1 wk out)
Free 138 (2014): 85% (4 days out)
UWSA1: 75%-248 (1 week out)
USWA2: 80%-259 (2 days out)

Ended up with a score btw 245-250. God is good.

On the morning of my test, I was tired due to lack of sleep. So, to test my mental capacity, I took a 30-question, random u-world block before I left the house and the results suggested I was still functional. But that capacity diminished as the test went on, so I am glad I escaped with my score. A failing score wouldn't have been surprising, to be honest.

EDIT: I often studied from 7 PM - 6 AM in the morning almost everyday for 6 weeks. I think that was too much studying. I could have studied 9 hrs per day and gotten the same result, it seems. Second, studying at night when my test was in the day was a mistake.

 

[GadRads]

Got my score. I was dead on - low 230s.

Tanked it. Honestly in shock right now. I worked so hard and came up short of my goals. Have to rethink my specialty choices now, as my score pretty much takes me out of the running for everything I was interested in.

NBME 16 - 260 (1 week out)
NBME 15 - 250 (2 weeks out)
NBME 13 - 260 (5 weeks out)
UWSA 1 - 260 (4 weeks out)

I still think Step 1 (like many other Steps) is a worthless test. But low 230s shouldn't throw you out of anything, depending on other parts of your CV. I know someone who matched into a solid academic derm program with a 236.

 

[SBR249]

Anyone else curious about their percentile? Kinda lame that the NBME doesn't give out two digit scores anymore as well but oh well.

Assuming Step1 scores fall in a normal distribution (which is a pretty fair assumption) with a mean=median=228 and SD of 21, then you can calculate your z score = (score-mean)/sd. Then you can find your one-tailed percentile using any normal distribution z score table or use an online percentile calculator. It's just an estimate, but shouldn't be wildly off the mark.

 

[anonymitas]

Anyone else curious about their percentile? Kinda lame that the NBME doesn't give out two digit scores anymore as well but oh well.

Two digit score is not a percentile. They got rid of it because everyone confused it for a percentile.

 

[anonymitas]

Assuming Step1 scores fall in a normal distribution (which is a pretty fair assumption) with a mean=median=228 and SD of 21, then you can calculate your z score = (score-mean)/sd. Then you can find your one-tailed percentile using any normal distribution z score table or use an online percentile calculator.

Not a fair assumption. Step 1 scores are severely left skewed. The test has poor discriminatory ability above the 260 level. The test and current scoring scale were simply not designed for current day levels of competition. The right edge of the curve falls off fast. Consequently, real percentiles are higher than would be expected in a normal distribution. A 261 is higher than the expected 94th percentile. By this chart, it's about 97th. http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/pdf/usmle1-13b.pdf

 

[4thQTHailMary]

Two digit score is not a percentile. They got rid of it because everyone confused it for a percentile.

True. I guess it's just easier for me to compute a two digit score.

 

[jibberjabber]

what was the national average and standard deviation for 2014?

 

[Shmemifly]

.

 

[4thQTHailMary]

It's now 228, SD= 21. That's a pretty ridiculous average.

 

[crystall]

261. Scored between 255~265 in NBME form 9, 10, 11, 13 and 16. 262 and 265+ in U World assessment forms. On the day of the real test, I was feeling awful. I have no clue for a lot of questions. Especially during the first block, I was not able to focus very well. It gradually got better. And I forced myself to believe each new block is a restart. But barely have any time left for each block. In one block, I had to rush through the last 5 questions in 3 mins. I was expecting a score around 240. It seems the curve is friendly.

Just want to say, It is very important to keep faith in yourself and do not get destroyed by those unexpected and weird questions.

 

[guitarguy23]

I take it Friday, here are my numbers:

Did ~60% of USMLERX, I think the % was roughly mid 60s.

UWorld 74% (upper 60's starting, last third of it I averaged ~80%, Finished a few weeks ago)
^Incorrects ~90%
CBSE 250 (1 month out)
NBME 12 247 (5/22)
NBME 13 251 (5/29)
UWSA 1 265 (6/5)
NBME 7 260 (6/9)
NBME 11 251 (6/11)
UWSA 2 265 (6/13)
NBME 15 254 (6/15)
NBME 16 249 (6/17)

I used FA/Uworld/Pathoma for 95% of my prep. Read FA 3x, starting with ~10-20 pages each day back in January, with random Rx questions every other day or so. Last pass did 45 pages a day. Used Pathoma during coursework religiously, probably have gone through each chapter 3-4x, some sections more. Started UWorld in April, annotated everything I thought mattered into FA-->read FA for the 3rd time. I kept a log of my missed questions written as one-liners from each missed UWorld question and each missed NBME question and reviewed these a little each day.

The other 5% was with pharmcards and microcards, which I do think helped if only for the breaking up the monotony of reading FA. I would just grab a random card from a huge mixed pile I had and read about a bug/drug. My scores in these two areas remained high throughout, so I do feel like this has helped my retain the "crammable" info.

My goal is >250, hopefully my test won't by Behavioral heavy I will post soon after with my experience.

This thread has been extremely helpful for me while studying. The advice and motivation have been great. I'll do my best to offer up any helpful advice in return. Good luck!

I took the exam yesterday. Yes, the question stems were longer than NBMEs and UWorld. Yes, some questions didn't seem to have the right answer. And yes, I felt a little more pressed for time. However, my form at least was FAIR. ~80% of it came from FA/UWorld/Pathoma. ~50% concepts were questioned in their classical question scenarios with no trickiness. I think it was much more like UWorld in question style.

My exam was a good balance of everything, honestly. Systems were mixed pretty evenly. If anything stood out I would have to say Pulm and Renal were covered more than others but not by much. For subjects: I felt like my exam had more "general principle" type questions than anything else. A lot of stuff from the first 3 Pathoma chapters popped up (praise be to Sattar). As others have said, Immuno was tested in terms of both concepts and diseases. Know your Humoral/Cell-mediated responses and how they interact well. I think a "big picture" understanding of immunology will take you far on a lot of the questions. FYI the new Pathoma material in chapter 2 scored me 2 questions I would not have gotten otherwise. Micro and Pharm were straight forward, either you knew the bug/drug or you didn't. As others have said, FA Pharm is all you need. If you are in a crunch with Pharm-focus on the mechanisms. I had ~30 Pharm questions and >2/3 literally just asked which drug has blah blah mechanism, basically. Know parasites and their treatment! Don't skimp that stuff. Anatomy was well represented, but again, the same concepts in the NBMEs and UW showed up and were VERY familiar. Brachial plexus and Lower limb anatomy=key. The anatomy I had that wasn't in FA/UW just involved spatial awareness of what nerves are where..etc. Like the inferior vesical artery is nowhere near the spleen right? That kind of awareness. Biostats questions were straightforward as well, or just required you to think a step to the left of what you had learned.

In terms of questions people are worried about:

1) "Next best step". These were straight forward for me, and I only had maybe 5-6. The stem seemed like it was leading me to the correct choice and it usually involved the most emergent option for the patient. I think if you focus on what they tell you in the question you don't have to try and remember anything.
2) Ethics. I only had about 5-6 of these and I won't lie a few of them came down to picking between two "correct" choices. I was able to reason through these after I read the stem again most of the time.
3) Anatomy: See above. FA covered ~75% of this, the rest I felt I could reason through based on what they gave me in the image or what I knew about the body region.

Overall, my advice would be to do what others have said: Know FA/UW/Pathoma. Seriously 80% of my exam came from this stuff. Also, for the random questions, don't be intimidated if it wasn't in any of the prep materials. I recognized something I had seen before in all of those WTF questions. The tricky part are the answer choices. I kind of had an idea what they were talking about in these WTF questions, but the answer choices didn't give you any help. I just went with what was the most familiar and didn't think twice. Be confident that you are prepared and have a clear head.

Test day advice: Sleep. Seriously go to bed at 8 the night before and get >8 hrs of sleep. My last few days of prep I was averaging about 6 hours of sleep for 5 days in a row and it showed in my stupid mistakes on NBMEs. I was refreshed and focused during the real thing after getting 2-3 nights of amazing sleep, no matter what. Also, take more food than you need and take a variety. You won't know what you feel like eating that day, or if you'll have time between breaks. I took the test in 2-2-1-1-1 blocks with breaks between, which helped immensely. I had to calm down after the first 5-10 questions because I was spazzing, then I realized it wasn't that bad. I anticipated long stems (and they all were) so I tried to just read faster and move through the blocks without any hiccups. You WILL get screwed on timing if you get hung up on 2-3 questions. For me, going through the questions relatively quickly then going back to my marks was helpful. I marked ~10 questions a block, but reviewed every question. I usually finished each block with about 20 minutes left, which was my goal. It helps to allow enough time. For every block there were 5 that were toss ups where I had to just guess and move on. Be comfortable doing this! I think this mindset really made me more focused and I got a lot of easy questions right by moving on from harder questions and forgetting them as soon as the block was over.

Good luck! If anyone has any questions please ask.

Hey all, I promised I would post when I got my score and here it is:

258

Needless to say, ecstatic and humbled. My initial goal was >250 although I missed the illustrious "260" (KIDDING).

I wouldn't change a thing about what I did. I have to thank Tau and Phloston for their crucial advice/plans. I followed a modified Tau plan (you can search for the actual plan on this site) and used Phloston's advice for the final 2 weeks before taking it, which was critical. Thank you to you both. See my quotes above for more info.

Final advice: Don't be intimidated by this test, especially if you have done well your first two years. The whole "some people just aren't good at standardized tests" stuff is not true. I got a 19 the first time I took the MCAT. A 19! I then got a 29, and 29 respectively. Was it because I couldn't take a standardized test? No: It was because I drank every other night and partied rather than GChem, Ochem, Physics, and pretty much everything else the first few years of college. Especially true of Step 1: The MORE you study, the BETTER you will do. The test makers aren't playing some cruel game by giving this test. Put in the work and you will do well.

Good luck to all of those waiting for their scores, and to those taking it in the upcoming weeks!

 

[SBR249]

Not a fair assumption. Step 1 scores are severely left skewed. The test has poor discriminatory ability above the 260 level. The test and current scoring scale were simply not designed for current day levels of competition. The right edge of the curve falls off fast. Consequently, real percentiles are higher than would be expected in a normal distribution. A 261 is higher than the expected 94th percentile. By this chart, it's about 97th. http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/pdf/usmle1-13b.pdf

If it is a left-skewed distribution (and I have no reason to doubt that), then assuming a normal distribution at worst underestimates percentile. Not a huge deal. It's a ballpark-ish estimate maybe.

 

[Etorphine]

For people who get 250+
Can you please tell us how you felt after your exams? please because I did mine today and I feel like absolute crap about it. I am not trying to spread panic it wasn't hard it was doable .. but still I feel bad .. I don't think I gave it 100% .. although my NBME scores were high .. So is it okay to feel this way? and how did you feel after you took your test?

felt like crap. thought I dropped 10-15 pts. from average. ppl thought I was trolling this thread. 250-260 today

 

[gasknight]

Looking for a little advice on what to focus on these next 13 or so days. Goal score is a 255.

NBME 11: 256 (6 weeks out)
NBME 12: 258 (3 weeks out)
NBME 13: 251 (2 weeks out)
UWSA 2: 265 (2 weeks out)

I've got NBME 15 & 16 coming up. Lately, I've just been grinding Pathoma/Uworld/FA. I'm on my second pass Uworld - 47% left (97% correct).

I think I should be able to finish my second pass through Uworld, though it'll be close.
Should I dive into any other resources at this point or just stick with the golden trio?

264 on nbme 15!

I'd say UWSA2 was a good indicator for me; it had me at 265 a few days ago.

Prep: Pathoma/UW/FA/UsmleRX/Khan's ethics/HY biostats

Test experience: Not sure if this write up will be helpful to anyone as it will likely be much shorter than most posts in regard to test experience. But here goes. The meat (80%) of this exam was fair, I thought. No real surprises except that the vignettes were considerably longer than anything I had seen before. I was pressed for time on a few blocks, something I never experienced on any NBME or Uworld block. You really do have to work quickly, which can be very stressful given that many questions aren't straight recall/click.

The other 20% of the exam was so spotty. It was either a one-liner question about something I've never even heard of before, or it was a three paragraph vignette with a graph and a table of experimental data that made it feel like MCAT verbal all over again. It was tough for me to gauge the intent of the test writer on these questions. But still, these longer questions were possible to answer; you just have to be feeling fresh on test day and willing to skim some of the fluff. Sometimes it's hard to skim because we're afraid of missing crucial info. But using multiple paragraphs to say that a patient has chronic bronchitis - that's frustrating once you realize you wasted a minute reaching this conclusion, when all you needed to read was "pt is a 50 pack year smoker and has had a productive cough for 3 years."

Also, I tried to be very aggressive on eliminating answers which I'm hoping will pay off.

I can already recall 5 or so questions I got wrong, and there were many many others where I just gave my best guess and moved on. It's sort of a terrible feeling to think that I prepped for so long, scored well on practice exams, but might have really under-performed on the real thing. Though, I realize this is a common feeling leaving the exam, so I'm hoping to score my average NBME. Fingers crossed.

I thought the subjects on the exam were evenly distributed aside from a couple subjects - I felt like I had a ton of lung pathology and dermatology. Yes, derm. I nearly punched my computer screen when I got my 6th derm question. Pharm/Biochem was relatively straight-forward. The heart murmurs were very fair.

Tl;dr It's a challenging test, but with good prep, I do believe most of the test is beatable; however, be aware that there is a small minority of questions that are out of this world and you just can't prepare for them. Answer them as best you can and just move on.

Real deal: 259

 

[BlueArc]

261. Scored between 255~265 in NBME form 9, 10, 11, 13 and 16. 262 and 265+ in U World assessment forms. On the day of the real test, I was feeling awful. I have no clue for a lot of questions. Especially during the first block, I was not able to focus very well. It gradually got better. And I forced myself to believe each new block is a restart. But barely have any time left for each block. In one block, I had to rush through the last 5 questions in 3 mins. I was expecting a score around 240. It seems the curve is friendly.

Just want to say, It is very important to keep faith in yourself and do not get destroyed by those unexpected and weird questions.

NBME form 9 and 10? where can i buy them?

 

[Sublimazing]

237...pretty happy for no med school and only 3 months warning

 

[elegantorchid]

Hi guys I just got score today and figured I'd report on my exp etc.
score: 235
uwas1: 242
uwas2:236

So i had roughly 8 weeks to prepare but I dont' think I was particulary productive until like 4 weeks in when I started panicking. I essentially studied from waking up around 8-9 to 10ish. With about 2 hour official break initially for lunch and dinner (with lots of random procrastination in the middle). towards the end i cut that down to about 30 minutes per meal. i essentially was going at about 2 days per section of FA and 1 day per block of uworld (if i'm lucky 2 blocks). Its tiring to study that long but i essentially put myself in that crappy situation by slacking off initially.

Some random things I would redo/thought was a mistake.

1. start earlier. I think 8 weeks is enough if you were a good student to begin with or is just really smart. lots of ppl say oh 6 weeks is enough but I say that really depends. I wasn't a great student for first 2 years ( was close to failing path, pharm etc + consistently scoring lower than class avg) and I think that definitely played a role in me needing longer time. I think if your reading this and you think your not doing too great you should prob start earlier.

2. should have stuck with Uworld and not go into Rx. Rx is good if you have time but in 8 weeks you ain't got time for that.

3. do more uworld I only got about half the questions done. its like pure blasphemy on these boards and i agree. uworld is great question bank. I used it initially all random but i ended up really liking tutor mode more and did subjects that i just read from FA. the other thing about uworld is that even though its crucial you shouldn't obsess over them. i spent so much time intially analyzing like every question and answer in painful detail. the test is not that specific. you don't need to memorize every detail in uworld to do ok/good. what you do need is a solid foundation. If i had gone over them faster i would have had a chance to reread the explainations for the questions i did which i really wanted to do.

4. read FA faster. when i first started it took me literally close to one week to finish psych section. theres no need to obsess over details that hardcore. theres just not enough time assuming you didn't start super early (which i would really recommend if your a weak student). In the end I only got to read FA 1-2x (not including the whole flipping back to FA when reviewing uworld). I wish I got to read it more because FA is really good.

5 wish i pinpointed my weakness more accurately. During the test I noticed one topic that I was gettign slammed on over and over again. I'm not sure if i can talk about what i was getting wrecked by but point is if you think you are weak in that subject don't just let it skid by and hope somehow it doesn't come up on the real test.

in summary:
if your doing crappy in school don't panic! you can still do ok/good. it'll be harder for weaker students like us but its doable. start earlier if possible. give urself like 8 weeks of dedicated time and study hard. Use FA and Uworld. and read over FA as much as possible to get a solid foundation. Uworld answers are great and do as many as you can but obviously its not the end of the world if you are a slowpoke and only managed liek 50% complete like me.

also thanks to various sdners for giving me advice and also some hate to ppl who i reached out to for advice and ignored me.

if anyone got specific questions I'll be happy to answer. If i don't answer your q, u can msg me.

 

[BoBeanEater]

> 260

 

[GadRads]

Final advice: Don't be intimidated by this test, especially if you have done well your first two years. The whole "some people just aren't good at standardized tests" stuff is not true. I got a 19 the first time I took the MCAT. A 19! I then got a 29, and 29 respectively. Was it because I couldn't take a standardized test? No: It was because I drank every other night and partied rather than GChem, Ochem, Physics, and pretty much everything else the first few years of college. Especially true of Step 1: The MORE you study, the BETTER you will do. The test makers aren't playing some cruel game by giving this test. Put in the work and you will do well.

Step 1 is a knowledge-based test highly dependent on effort (generally); not so for the MCAT. In all likelihood, it will be easier to score 250+ on Step 1 than break 40 on the MCAT, after normalizing for applied effort.

 

[ninini]

...

 

[TWarrior75]

Step 1 is a knowledge-based test highly dependent on effort (generally); not so for the MCAT. In all likelihood, it will be easier to score 250+ on Step 1 than break 40 on the MCAT, after normalizing for applied effort.

I'd agree...25 mcat; 630's comlex, 240's usmle

 

[alpinism]

Hey all, I promised I would post when I got my score and here it is:

258

Needless to say, ecstatic and humbled. My initial goal was >250 although I missed the illustrious "260" (KIDDING).

I wouldn't change a thing about what I did. I have to thank Tau and Phloston for their crucial advice/plans. I followed a modified Tau plan (you can search for the actual plan on this site) and used Phloston's advice for the final 2 weeks before taking it, which was critical. Thank you to you both. See my quotes above for more info.

Final advice: Don't be intimidated by this test, especially if you have done well your first two years. The whole "some people just aren't good at standardized tests" stuff is not true. I got a 19 the first time I took the MCAT. A 19! I then got a 29, and 29 respectively. Was it because I couldn't take a standardized test? No: It was because I drank every other night and partied rather than GChem, Ochem, Physics, and pretty much everything else the first few years of college. Especially true of Step 1: The MORE you study, the BETTER you will do. The test makers aren't playing some cruel game by giving this test. Put in the work and you will do well.

Good luck to all of those waiting for their scores, and to those taking it in the upcoming weeks!

That's probably the highest score differential (19 MCAT---> 258 USMLE) I've ever seen (assuming you actually studied before your first MCAT).

Either way, a 29--->258 is really impressive as well.

Congrats!

 

[rodmichael82]

I took my exam yesterday. My Uworld average score was in the higher 70s-lower 80s. My NBME scores # 7 was 235, NBME 16 was 235, NBME 11 was 251, NBME 13 250 and NBME 15 took it offline and got 87 % correct 2 day before my exam.

The exam was HARD, I'm talking about much harder than any NBME exam, harder than Uworld. Usually during a NBME exam I mark 5-6 questions (mark as in I'm kind of unsure), on the real deal I was marking 25-30 questions per block it was a nightmare. Usually during a Uworld block I have 10-15 minutes left, NBME I have at least 10 minutes to spare but on the real deal I was running out of time on EVERY SINGLE BLOCK.

I honestly don't even know if I passed, I feel like total crap right now.

I got my score today and scored between the range of 235-245. I am relieved that this exam is over but I'm also a slight bit disappointed that I scored lower than the 250s that I got on 2 NBME exam and UWSA-1 but either way I'll take that any day.

 

[guitarguy23]

.

 

[guitarguy23]

Step 1 is a knowledge-based test highly dependent on effort (generally); not so for the MCAT. In all likelihood, it will be easier to score 250+ on Step 1 than break 40 on the MCAT, after normalizing for applied effort.

I am positive I would have score high 30's or broken 40 on the MCAT if I had put the same effort in during undergrad that I have in medical school. I already know I scored higher on Step 1 than others in my undergrad class did on their MCAT. Apples to oranges though to some extent, that I agree on.

 

[Volvulus10]

I received my score today (taken June 4th) of a 246. Very pleased!

I did Uworld about 1.5x through (67% the first time through as I progressed through 2nd year)
NBME 6: 187 ((very early on in 2nd year - required by my school as a baseline)
NBME 12: 231 (halfway through the year)
NBME 13: 237 (spring break-ish)
NBME 15: 245
NBME 16: 243
NBME 7: 241

UWorld Assessment 1: 259
UWorld Assessment 2: 251

Resources used:
DIT
Uworld
USMLERx
First aid
Rapid review Goljan + some of the audio

 

[Double A]

252!

Studied for just under six weeks although I used FA, pathoma, and uworld to study for my classes during second year.

I used only FA (2x) and uworld (1x) during dedicated study time. I don't know how people get through more sources because I studied 12 hrs per day religiously and took only one full day and 3 or 4 half days off. I read very deliberately and memorize as I go so maybe that's the difference.

UWSA 1: 238 about 4 weeks out
USWA 2: 256 about 2 weeks out
Free 150: 252 about 1 week out
NBME 15: 251 a few days out

Thanks to everyone who contributed.

 

[Laplace]

263.

Not the type to do huge write-ups but did DIT and one pass through FA after DIT. Had 30% UWorld questions left at the end but was consistently scoring mid-80s with occasional 90s at some instances. Used pathoma only for breast pathology. I think my approach was more laid back than most folks but it worked for me because I made an effort to learn the material well during the first 2 years. Feel free to ask questions

 

[Prince090]

NBME form 9 and 10? where can i buy them?

Please someone answer it.

 

[spartan564]

Please someone answer it.

I actually found form 14 to be almost identical to my exam. would definitely recommend doing this form at least once before the exam.

In short, I did FAx4, pathoma, UW, kaplan, rx banks over 6 months. Did all the nbmes which in hind sight were pretty bad learning tools but good for assessing your progress. UWSA are good for learning though and were fairly accurate in the end, 265 on both. initial NBME score 2 months out was 240 then was scoring 260 - 265 doing 1 nbme every sunday for the last 6 weeks. I would recommend finishing usmlerx during the school year. then kaplan then world during dedicated. I know a lot of ppl did world twice, but i found that after doing it once + all the wrongs, I was getting 95-100% on second pass so it wasn't worth it. better to see more new questions IMO.

NBME 16: 262 1 week before exam. Actual 263.

 

[surgok]

Test in 2 days, can't wait to get this thing behind me.
UWSA 1: 244
UWSA 2: 263
NBME 16: 256
NBME 12: 251
CBSE : 260
NBME 11: 258
NBME 13: 260
NBME 15: 264
Free 150 : 94%

Trying to skim through pharm, some Goljan high yield notes, and picmonic..

Will update when the score comes back..

Good luck everyone

Update: Took the exam today. Overall, I felt like the exam was nothing like NBMEs in terms of ambiguity and difficulty. I had a lot of factual questions that seemed like exam writers just took right out of some obscure journal articles. Just like majority of people, I felt DEFEATED walking out. There wasn't one subject that particularly stood out. I had a mix of easy, medium, hard, and WTFs all over. The language however, was very different from NBMEs which probably made it seem more difficult than it really was. Now the wait begins.....

Considering how I felt about the exam despite many reassurances, I thought my score could be anywhere from 240-260. The wait this morning was pretty nerve- racking to say the least. I was secretly hoping it would reflect my last 2 nbme's. It felt a little short, but still quite satisfied nonetheless. I guess what people say about post-exam emotion was true after all.

257

 

[DrFit]

Undergrad Science GPA: 2.9 (cum: 2.87)
MCAT: 31
Bench Press: 410 (this matters about as much as my MCAT or UG science GPA)
CBSE (end of 2nd year): 240
U world 1st pass average: 73%
UWSA 1- 252 (after 1st pass through U world about 1 week post CBSE)
UWSA 2- 260 (after 2nd pass through U world)
NBME 16- 260 (2 days after UWSA 1)
NBME 15- 260 (Day after UWSA 2, 4 days out)

Actual: 256

Resources: Used Firecracker through first 2 years. 4 weeks prep with U world (2x through) Pathoma review, Baby Robbins for questions, and Goljian Audio in the car during the school year. I didn't open FA consistently enough to say I used it. Went to <10 classes my first two years and did not use lecture material to prep for school exams (was interesting in hindsight). Happy with my score overall.

 

[tartrate]

Holy cowballs.

I was most worried about forgetting/missing things in FA on the real thing, and there were probably at least 10 questions I missed just from that. Easy points! Makes me kind of depressed thinking about it. Of course this is not including the non-FA stuff, of which there were plenty I missed/was unsure of. But it's these recall type of questions that are really frustrating to miss!

Well, in the spirit of SDN, here is my post game review as well as a few comments on things I was curious prior to taking it (plus I've always enjoyed reading about other people's post exam experiences, so here is mine!).

So first of all, yes, FA and UW will adequately prepare you for it, as much as you can prepare (which has a real limit, both in terms of time and mental capacity/willpower). That is, unless your name starts with a P, ends with an n, and rhymes with Boston. The rest really just comes from your experience in years 1+2. A lot of the tougher questions you will have to read between the lines to pick up on what they're talking about, and a few details I knew only because they were mentioned off-hand by an attending or lecturer. But these are really a small fraction of the questions on the test.

In terms of subjects, most were straightforward minus a few questions per subject/system that might ask for really specific items (like what week does X event happen during fetal development?). It's quite difficult to anticipate and prepare for every single one of these types of questions, so you just have to take it and run with whatever they give you.

Pharmacology was mostly straightforward. FA is sufficient. If you have FA pharmacology completely mastered (and I mean completely), then you will get nearly all if not all the pharmacology questions correct. The time investment reading an additional pharmacology text (flash cards included) is not worth it IMO for picking up the 1-2 details that might be tested. I know a majority buy these cards anyway and a majority end up not using them anyway, so just save your monies. The same goes for microbiology.

Physiology was probably the most difficult subject for me. I also had a lot of endocrine/reproductive questions that were also quite challenging, as I had maybe 3-4 questions about cases/scenarios I have never ever encountered during my studies. Like a man with two penises, a vagina, uterus, and three balls kind of thing.

For biostats/behavioral sciences, I felt like FA was good enough. I did not use an external resource, although I was tempted to since this was one of my weakest areas prior to studying.

Oh, another thing I was quite worried about. The question length was not a big deal, although I thought it would be since everyone says the stems are longer than UW/NBME. Time wise, I felt like the really difficult 3-4 questions per block slowed me down more than anything. I probably had 5-15 minutes left per block, whereas in UW I usually have 10-15 minutes. It's hard to use this time properly though, and I only had the will/energy to use this time to review my marked ones. There was however one block where I did not have the time to sufficiently review all my marked questions.

The exam experience overall is kind of odd, in that you are rushing to finish each block (and wish you had more time), but also at the same time wanting to get through the test, a whopping 7 hour ordeal (and thus wanting it to be shorter).

I actually had trouble sleeping even 3-4 days prior to the day before the test, but this was probably more due to an annoying neighbor that recently decided to repeatedly bang on my walls throughout the night.

Alright, I think this is enough for now. Maybe more after I get my score. Time to go sit outside and twiddle my thumbs.

Just looked at my score: 260

UWSA1 260
NBME16 250

Resources used during dedicated time: FA (2x), UW (1x), RX (0.5x).

A few thoughts (for the lackadaisical medical student):
1. I am a strong believer in less is more. You can score very well using only FA and UW (a decent foundation from college + M1/2 certainly makes it easier but I don't think it's absolutely necessary)
2. I notice some people here take a humongous amount of practice tests. I only took two. I don't see taking repeated NBMEs as a good use of time/money as they are rather pricey and do not have explanations. The UWSA does have explanations but towards the end I did not have the motivation to complete UWSA2.
3. This is a test that rewards effort. If you're not good at taking tests, let this be of comfort to you. Unfortunately putting in effort beyond what is necessary was one of my weaknesses coming into my study period, so it helped that I kept my resources to a minimum.
4. This is probably variable, but my advice would be to not waste money on any HY/BRS/Lange books or flash cards. Same goes for DIT/Kaplan, unless you like the feeling of having a head start ahead of your classmates; I definitely would not use these during dedicated period.
5. I found it ludicrous when people said to "memorize first aid." You cannot "memorize" the entire book. However, and a big however, is that you should know the book inside out, outside in. It's a multiple choice test - they won't make you recite the entire list of a drug's side effect profile or list every HIV drug out there.
6. Trust yourself. My school had a popular schedule that nearly everyone used. I made my own schedule according to what I felt would be the most effective way for me to study. This way I understood why I was doing the things I was doing and how I was rationing my time.
7. I feel like redoing UW is highly overrated. Caveat is of course if you've been using it throughout the year. I gave repeating questions a shot, but I found myself just trying to recall what I answered previously than thinking through the questions (towards the end your mind is so tired that it drifts towards the path of least resistance).

Overall remember that you are limited by not just money but time and motivation/energy. So choose your resources wisely and understand your limitations.

 

[4thQTHailMary]

So is there really any that much difference in the eyes of a PD between a 250 vs. 260? It seems like once you hit the 250+ mark you're good for most places, but I could be totally off base with that.

 

[900829]

I got the score of my dreams, and I am probably the happiest person in the world today.
Thank you so much for all your support. I will be posting my details later on. I am just too damn happy to elaborate today. I had to at least let you guys know I did it.
Congratulations to everyone who received their score and are happy with it. If you didn't make it, please keep your head up, study your ass off and hustle for a good score.
All the best to everyone!

 

[Bojack Horseman]

MCAT: 35 (if anyone cares/ thinks it matters)

M1 grades: average or slightly below average
M2 grades: above average, consistent HP in almost everything

CBBSE: 210 (a little more than 2 months out)
NBME 12: 211 (7 weeks out, barely started UWorld at the point)
NBME 11: 241 (4 weeks out, about halfway thru UW)
NBME 16: 245 (3 weeks out)
NBME 15: 251 (2 weeks out)
NBME 13: 254 (1 week out)
UWorld 1st (&only) pass, timed random- 73%
Free "150": 88% (day before)

Real Deal: low 240s

Beginning:
I made a goal in January to try to get a passing score on the CBBSE. I started my 1st pass of first aid in February. Planned on starting in January, but it just didn't happen. Mostly finished my 1st pass by the time of the CBBSE. I had a dedicated period of 4 weeks, but spent the 8 weeks before my exam studying intently. My goal starting out was to hit 240+.

Materials:
Picmonic- I have mixed feelings about picmonic. It seems to take a lot of time to memorize cards, but it's really awesome when you finally get them down. The only caveat is that you have to keep reviewing them periodically or they go away. Additionally, I felt like I reached a "critical mass" of cards where I felt that, by learning new picmonic cards, I was losing old ones. This is one resource that I would say to start very early (fall of 2nd year) because it's harder to give it attention once you get closer to your exam. Also, I wouldn't recommend trying to do all of the cards. Try to pick the things that you have trouble memorizing. And for god's sake, don't do the cards they have for really easy things. That's just a waste of valuable brain space.

Pathoma- did along with 1st and 2nd year when applicable. Repeated some of the videos before my dedicated time. Did not touch much during dedicated unless I was a little fuzzy on a topic or if First Aid did a bad job of explaining things (ahem... repro, glomerular diseases). Videos are great, I wish my instructors at school were capable of teaching with such clarity. Didn't use the book very much unless I wanted to review something and didn't have time to watch the videos.

First Aid- What can you say that hasn't already been said? I hate this book so much. Used it as my bible. Annotated a lot, but not too much. UWorld got a special color -- didn't have a color scheme other than that. I feel like many of the things written into it are just regurgitated facts from all the question sources: NBMEs, CBBSE, UWORLD, etc. However, there doesn't seem to be a better resource. Starting out I would get very frustrated at the ******ed mnemonics until I found myself reciting them during NBMEs. Completed around 3 passes, give or take depending on the section. Neuro, repro sections are f*cking horrible.

UWorld- completed once, timed, random. Started it 2 months out from my exam. Probably my most enjoyable study activity (relatively). Best learning resource for step1 IMO. I took 3-4 hours on most blocks (including test + review time). On days when I did two blocks I usually didn't accomplish much else.

Kaplan- school bought it. maybe did ~100 questions, all on my cell phone when I was waiting on things (doc's office, oil change... you get the picture). I thought the questions were better written than USMLE Rx, but that the topics / answer explanations weren't as "high yield" (I feel like a tool saying that). I would've tried to do more kaplan questions early in 2nd year if I could go back.

USMLE Rx- probably did ~550 questions along with my first pass of first aid. In the beginning the questions helped a lot, but eventually I got frustrated with many of the questions because I felt that they were poorly written. I discussed this some in my previous posts. However, I do think that they're more beneficial than kaplan with regards to learning material in first aid. I think doing the questions early helped me learn first aid faster during my dedicated period.

Test Day:
Woke up early the day before my exam, got some exercise, and I couldn't help but read through the micro section of first aid. I had planned for months to take the day before off, but I couldn't make myself do it. My rationale was that I had never taken a day off before an NBME and had done well enough on those. Looking back I'm not sure if it helped me, but I don't think it hurt me. Stopped studying at 3 or 4 pm. Even though I woke up early and got a lot of exercise I still couldn't sleep well the night before. Got to the testing center early and started a little bit early. I had a horrible first section on my exam. Easily marked 50% and most of them were things I had never seen before. I know that everyone says not to worry when this happens, but when it's around half of your questions, it's really hard not to let this get to your head. As a background, I'm a pretty good test taker and I still felt like there weren't really good ways to eliminate many of the answer choices. My test was very heavy in biochem & heme. Oddly enough, I don't remember ANY questions from my worst sections on the exam (endocrine and repro) and I did decent in the sections I felt were the hardest. I never put much stake in the NBME subject breakdowns anyways because I feel like the sample size is too small to say "I'm bad at X subject", especially once you're scoring ~240. I blew through the first three sections of my exam without taking a break. Wasn't hungry at all during my first break but I made myself eat and drink something. Did two more sections, took a break, then took a break between my last two sections. My exam had a TON of things that I had never seen before. I honestly don't think there is anything I could've studied to get those ridiculous questions right.

Overall, I think this exam is a poor judge of practical knowledge and tests too much minutiae... kinda like school exams, ironically enough. Yeah, I'm a little bitter about the whole experience. However, I do feel like I learned a lot of practical knowledge studying for the exam.

Overview:
I hit my original goal of 240+, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit disappointed with my score considering how well I had been doing on my practice exams. I felt like I got a really hard test form relative to some others that I've talked to and it didn't work out to a more generous curve. I tried to make a final pass through first aid in the week before my exam. This may be a good idea for some people, but honestly I thought it hurt me more than anything. Instead of searching out my weak areas, I reread entire sections and probably wasted a bunch of valuable cram time. Looking back, I should've spent that week on biochem, micro, and pharm.

If I could do things differently, I would've tried to complete more questions. Seriously, more questions = better. Start EARLY. You will get a ****load wrong. KEEP DOING THEM. Other than that, I think that a consistent effort in M1/2 is important like everyone says because you can't predict what they'll ask you.

Glad to be done. Best of luck to everyone who hasn't taken the exam. Don't read SDN too much.