Official 2014 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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MJA said:
Hi everyone

I am a Canadian img graduated 2 yrs ago from Ireland and finished one year of internship in Ireland. I have done step 2 right after because I was fresh with clinical stuff and scored 240+. I want to start my prep for step 1 and I am a bit confused about the resources. I have first aid 2014 with me, I am planning on using Uworld. I have kaplan videos and lecture notes. My plan was to go thru fa 2 or 3 times plus uworld then do nbmes and see how am doing. Do u think I shud read kaplan? Or watch the videos? Do I need a pathology book too? Any suggestions would help. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Add in pathoma or Goljan.
 
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I just took the psychiatry shelf exam and I found it to be exclusively DSM-IV focused. I don't remember specifics for step 1 but i think it will be a few years before DSM-V starts becoming noticeable. So my answer for you is no.

seminoma said:
DSM V? Big Deal?
Click to expand...
 
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Ionian said:
CBSE 1 (13 weeks out): 238
NBME 1 (offline) (12 weeks out): 223
NBME 2 (offline) (11 weeks out): 234
NBME 3 (offline) (10 weeks out): 242
NBME 4 (offline) (9 weeks out): 245
NBME 5 (offline) (8 weeks out): 242
NBME 6 (offline) (7 weeks out): 242
NBME 7 (6 weeks out): 245
NBME 11 (5 weeks out): 247

Just came here mostly to complain, haha. I don't understand NBME 11, it has been the hardest NBME I've taken thus far, I thought I was going to get a 220's, felt terrible throughout, and seem to hit on all my weaknesses. Did anyone else have trouble with this one?

Seemed so unbalanced, and 80% of the test was genetics/pathology/anatomy of the musculoskeletal section of first aid.
I swear everyother question was about Bones, Muscles, Nerves, and general anatomy -.-
Click to expand...

Hey! I just took offline NBME and was wondering which score correlation technique you used since your offline NBME score seems pretty close to your online score. I used the #correct x 1.46 formula and got 211 but the website correlation says 233.
I just wanted a ballpark range but um...something better than "in between 211 and 233" lol!
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!
 
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togaedere said:
I just took the psychiatry shelf exam and I found it to be exclusively DSM-IV focused. I don't remember specifics for step 1 but i think it will be a few years before DSM-V starts becoming noticeable. So my answer for you is no.
Click to expand...

Advice for MS2 psych then? They gonna teach us DSM-V.. but clearly we'll need to know DSM-IV for step.
 
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blahblah56 said:
so you guys remember the autoimmune cerebellar ataxia q on uworld? yeah... that showed up
Click to expand...

Haha, one of the grand rounds presentations was on the anti-Hu/Yo Ab autoimmune cerebellar ataxia topic during my third year neurology rotation.
 
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IMG.
Score back: 236.
Studied FA 3Xs. Worked through UWorld once. Lange biochem flash cards. Part of Lippencott Biochem.
Not sure if to be happy or sad. My NBME scores were from 215-245.
It's still good for a decent residency in internal med / fam med is it? How about in the DC area where I want to be, is it gonna be impossible?
 
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tangster1985 said:
IMG.
Score back: 236.
Studied FA 3Xs. Worked through UWorld once. Lange biochem flash cards. Part of Lippencott Biochem.
Not sure if to be happy or sad. My NBME scores were from 215-245.
It's still good for a decent residency in internal med / fam med is it? How about in the DC area where I want to be, is it gonna be impossible?
Click to expand...


Congrats Tangster!!! That is an amazing score!

When did you take the exam? I took mine on the 29th, wondering if I'll get it back today or next week. Thanks!
 
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Hey Guys got my score yesterday and thank God!! 245, I was praying to at least get >230 and then this beautiful number popped up. It is totally doable for anyone who puts the time in! I will post my exam experience soon.
 
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I always used to check this forum for advice on the Step 1 exam so I find it mandatory to add some input on the exam.

Let me start off by explaining a couple very important details about the exam itself, and although I am not allowed to give too much detail there are just some minor things that you must be aware of before taking the exam.

The exam is an extremely fair exam. I would say out of the 46 questions per block; 30 of them are dead giveaways, 10 require some abstract thinking, and 5-6 will make you go insane because of the wording of the question (but you can usually eliminate some choices you are 100% sure are completely wrong), so it is not too bad. I would say probably the most challenging thing that I faced as well as other colleagues is the TIME ISSUE!!! If you have not practiced "timed" NBMEs or some sort of timed assessment: DO NOT GO FOR THE EXAM. You need to test yourself on how well you do under pressure, because I can assure you, when you are sitting there staring at the screen with that timer getting smaller and smaller you WILL start to panic+pissed+. I finished every block with around 4 min. left to double check my answers.

After the exam I felt like crap, it was a mix of being happy on one hand, but on the other I was worried that I would score around a 210-215. Then the wait started and 3 weeks got my results. :) 245!!! I was super excited.

My prep:

I used Kaplan Lecture notes and FA 2014 for Everything except: Neuro and Pathology.

What I did with my Kaplan lecture notes during medical school was while I was going through the different courses, instead of writing down notes into a notebook that I knew I would never open again. I used to put whatever notes that were missing from the actual lecture notebook in the margins and throughout the text. That way I was killing two birds with one stone; I would use these notes for my shelf exams and during my Step Review I looked no where else (because all the info that I needed were in these books). I would also watch the videos during school and again during step review.
  • For Neuro I used High Yield Neuroanatomy and FA (which is way way more than you need for the exam)

  • For Pathology I used the Goljan Rapid Review<---However I used this extensively in my second year when I was actually learning the material for the first time in class. During Step 1 review I never had a chance to re-open the book due to time restraints
  • PATHOMA IS A MUST....LET ME REPEAT THIS PATHOMA IS A DEFINITE MUST it will make the difference between a gunner score and a normal mediocre score.
Qbanks:

I know people will tell you to do as many questions as you can. I sort of agree with this statement as long as you are learning the material. Please do no think that by simply memorizing questions you will get the score you want. I had a friend who told me all I have to do is memorize "buzz words"; unfortunately for us these days the board examiners have caught on and now rarely, if ever, include buzz words. For example instead of saying "buffalo hump" for any hypercortisolism syndrome they will say "increased mass around the lower part of the neck" and stuff like that.

I stuck with 1 bank which was Uworld and learned every detail in and out and supplemented material in my FA. I have no experience with the newly updated Kaplan Qbank but from what I have heard it is pretty decent and a little cheaper. I liked Uworld because it trains you to think before you answer the question. I used to be the biggest "knee jerk test taker"

I never did a timed session with Uworld, I usually could only finish about 2 blocks per day because of the length of material.

Like I said keep your FA handy while answering questions and fill in any missing info from Uworld to your FA.

Scores:

NBME 7: 360( 3.5 months before exam)
NBME 11: 360 (3 Months before exam)
NBME 12: 380 (2.5 months before exam)

NBME 13: 580 (245) (3 weeks before exam) *Notice the huge jump; this was after I finished pathoma and 50% of Uworld, so you can see how important this material is.

Actual Exam: 245 :soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:

In the end do not stress about this exam it is totally doable, you get exactly what you put in. Don't stress and make sure to review your FA as much as you can it will be worth it on exam day.

The night before your exam make sure to get 8 hours of sleep, wake up and have a huge carb filled breakfast and make sure to plan a lunch schedule, I had my brother drop of some subway and coffee exactly after I finished my 4th block, then I took a 25 min break.

I wish all of you the best of luck!!!
 
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Melatonin87 said:
I always used to check this forum for advice on the Step 1 exam so I find it mandatory to add some input on the exam.

Let me start off by explaining a couple very important details about the exam itself, and although I am not allowed to give too much detail there are just some minor things that you must be aware of before taking the exam.

The exam is an extremely fair exam. I would say out of the 46 questions per block; 30 of them are dead giveaways, 10 require some abstract thinking, and 5-6 will make you go insane because of the wording of the question (but you can usually eliminate some choices you are 100% sure are completely wrong), so it is not too bad. I would say probably the most challenging thing that I faced as well as other colleagues is the TIME ISSUE!!! If you have not practiced "timed" NBMEs or some sort of timed assessment: DO NOT GO FOR THE EXAM. You need to test yourself on how well you do under pressure, because I can assure you, when you are sitting there staring at the screen with that timer getting smaller and smaller you WILL start to panic+pissed+. I finished every block with around 4 min. left to double check my answers.

After the exam I felt like crap, it was a mix of being happy on one hand, but on the other I was worried that I would score around a 210-215. Then the wait started and 3 weeks got my results. :) 245!!! I was super excited.

My prep:

I used Kaplan Lecture notes and FA 2014 for Everything except: Neuro and Pathology.

What I did with my Kaplan lecture notes during medical school was while I was going through the different courses, instead of writing down notes into a notebook that I knew I would never open again. I used to put whatever notes that were missing from the actual lecture notebook in the margins and throughout the text. That way I was killing two birds with one stone; I would use these notes for my shelf exams and during my Step Review I looked no where else (because all the info that I needed were in these books). I would also watch the videos during school and again during step review.
  • For Neuro I used High Yield Neuroanatomy and FA (which is way way more than you need for the exam)

  • For Pathology I used the Goljan Rapid Review<---However I used this extensively in my second year when I was actually learning the material for the first time in class. During Step 1 review I never had a chance to re-open the book due to time restraints
  • PATHOMA IS A MUST....LET ME REPEAT THIS PATHOMA IS A DEFINITE MUST it will make the difference between a gunner score and a normal mediocre score.
Qbanks:

I know people will tell you to do as many questions as you can. I sort of agree with this statement as long as you are learning the material. Please do no think that by simply memorizing questions you will get the score you want. I had a friend who told me all I have to do is memorize "buzz words"; unfortunately for us these days the board examiners have caught on and now rarely, if ever, include buzz words. For example instead of saying "buffalo hump" for any hypercortisolism syndrome they will say "increased mass around the lower part of the neck" and stuff like that.

I stuck with 1 bank which was Uworld and learned every detail in and out and supplemented material in my FA. I have no experience with the newly updated Kaplan Qbank but from what I have heard it is pretty decent and a little cheaper. I liked Uworld because it trains you to think before you answer the question. I used to be the biggest "knee jerk test taker"

I never did a timed session with Uworld, I usually could only finish about 2 blocks per day because of the length of material.

Like I said keep your FA handy while answering questions and fill in any missing info from Uworld to your FA.

Scores:

NBME 7: 360( 3.5 months before exam)
NBME 11: 360 (3 Months before exam)
NBME 12: 380 (2.5 months before exam)

NBME 13: 580 (245) (3 weeks before exam) *Notice the huge jump; this was after I finished pathoma and 50% of Uworld, so you can see how important this material is.

Actual Exam: 245 :soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:

In the end do not stress about this exam it is totally doable, you get exactly what you put in. Don't stress and make sure to review your FA as much as you can it will be worth it on exam day.

The night before your exam make sure to get 8 hours of sleep, wake up and have a huge carb filled breakfast and make sure to plan a lunch schedule, I had my brother drop of some subway and coffee exactly after I finished my 4th block, then I took a 25 min break.

I wish all of you the best of luck!!!
Click to expand...

Congrats.... How many long stem questions were there/block?
 
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I would say there were about 15 per block that were decent size ranging from around 2 paragraphs sometimes with pictures
 
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are there questions about origin and insertion of muscles of upper and lower limb ??
which muscles should i know their origin and insertion ?
 
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Hey all, exam in 2 days. Just wondering more or less the length of question stems. I've practiced under timed conditions, and can finish a 1 hr NBME block in 30-40 minutes. I highly doubt that will be the case on the real deal, so just want to get a ballpark of what to expect as far as length. Like, above when you say 2 paragraphs, how long are those paragraphs?Thanks so much!
 
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egc2012 said:
Hey all, exam in 2 days. Just wondering more or less the length of question stems. I've practiced under timed conditions, and can finish a 1 hr NBME block in 30-40 minutes. I highly doubt that will be the case on the real deal, so just want to get a ballpark of what to expect as far as length. Like, above when you say 2 paragraphs, how long are those paragraphs?Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

I was getting through practice blocks very quickly on both UWORLD and NBME self assessment forms and this was absolutely not the case on the real exam. I was running out of time on every block. In retrospect I really wish I wouldn't have spent so much time on the questions with multimedia (with audio etc) it just wasn't worth the time spent. Learn to move on if you don't know the answer.


In any event, the paragraphs are 4-5 sentences long.. Some of them longer with a huge fatty set of labs at the bottom or other information pertinent to the stem... Least that was my experience
 
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Pathoma's a big time commitment that you could otherwise devote to just doing more questions + memorizing FA. I wouldn't say it's a must by any stretch, but yet again everyone's entitled to his or her own opinions.
 
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Soilworkgmbh said:
I was getting through practice blocks very quickly on both UWORLD and NBME self assessment forms and this was absolutely not the case on the real exam. I was running out of time on every block. In retrospect I really wish I wouldn't have spent so much time on the questions with multimedia (with audio etc) it just wasn't worth the time spent. Learn to move on if you don't know the answer.


In any event, the paragraphs are 4-5 sentences long.. Some of them longer with a huge fatty set of labs at the bottom or other information pertinent to the stem... Least that was my experience
Click to expand...

How did you deal with the long stems? Thanks
 
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determined1. said:
How did you deal with the long stems? Thanks
Click to expand...

Generally I read the questions first at the bottom. Then skimmed back. Generally I started ignoring vital signs which invariably take up 1 sentence if every single stem. You have hopefully trained your eyes by merit of doing tons of practice questions to recognize if a patient is "sick or not sick" based on vital signs in question stems.


Also, by the 4th block your brain is more or less on cruise control so you'll compensate well for the long stems after a while. But overall I think reading the question first is a good start, saves time - which is so valuable during the test as you will be running out of it
 
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Exam Tomorrow.

I just wanted say thanks for the help y'all in case I didn't make it...
 
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Hey guys,

So my test is in a few days. I am in full on freak out mode. Are there any last minute things I can do to fortify my scores?
I got a lot of great advice on here, hopefully you guys will have some gems for the last few days.

NBMEs
July- NBME 12-215
August-NBME 15-207
September-NBME 13-215
October -NBME 11- 222 -UWSA1-236 (back to back)
October (late)- NBME 16-226- UWSA2-230 (back to back)

Prep:
FA: Multiple Times
Kaplan Vidioes
Goljan Audio
DIT (2013)
Uworld (Avg 66%)

Thanks!
 
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flyinkstar89 said:
Congrats Tangster!!! That is an amazing score!

When did you take the exam? I took mine on the 29th, wondering if I'll get it back today or next week. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I took mine on the 25th. So I'm sure you've gotten your score back already? How did you do?

I'm not sure if 236 is an amazing score. Seems like most IMGs are scoring above 240s nowadays, the average has simply risen. Good luck flyinkstar
 
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Hey! have anyone used anki for step prep. I am thinking of using it for my prep. But it takes a long time to make all those Flashcards from FA and UW. Is there any good anki deck that i can use?
 
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i just took the exam on thursday, 23rd october and here are my views and experience.
the test makers are steering away from the buzzwords, and the most high yield associations now, and more questions from anatomy and immunology are coming up on the exams. I had 3-4 questions just on tendons alone. Also, the answer choices on the actual exam are pretty vague as compared to uworld, and more often than not you will be trying to figure out between two answer choices. if you are conceptually strong, and have a good understanding of the subject, it does give an edge. the length of the question stem varies, a single paragraph 40% of the questions in a block, 2 paragraphs another 30%, a big stem with labs 15% of a block, and a multimedia item the rest 15%.
first aid, pathoma and uworld go a long way in prepration, although i think dit is really good, it does a great job of imprinting the key concepts of first aid to the memory. and the biggest thing is, keep calm and dont let the stress and pressure get to you, because that can mess your head and can decrease the score. to all my friends preparing the exam, best of luck, be consistent but dont burn yourself out. keep calm n kill the exam
 
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In your exam how did you personally find PATHOMA??? I mean were some of the questions directly what he said?? I'm having a bit of dilemma of whether to go for GOLJAN or PATHOMA ..what's your on opinion on this ,particularly concerning these changes in the style of the questions asked?
Inderjeet said:
i just took the exam on thursday, 23rd october and here are my views and experience.
the test makers are steering away from the buzzwords, and the most high yield associations now, and more questions from anatomy and immunology are coming up on the exams. I had 3-4 questions just on tendons alone. Also, the answer choices on the actual exam are pretty vague as compared to uworld, and more often than not you will be trying to figure out between two answer choices. if you are conceptually strong, and have a good understanding of the subject, it does give an edge. the length of the question stem varies, a single paragraph 40% of the questions in a block, 2 paragraphs another 30%, a big stem with labs 15% of a block, and a multimedia item the rest 15%.
first aid, pathoma and uworld go a long way in prepration, although i think dit is really good, it does a great job of imprinting the key concepts of first aid to the memory. and the biggest thing is, keep calm and dont let the stress and pressure get to you, because that can mess your head and can decrease the score. to all my friends preparing the exam, best of luck, be consistent but dont burn yourself out. keep calm n kill the exam
Click to expand...
 
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Quick question for you all - I'm planning on taking the exam either on Dec 2 (tuesday) or Dec 8 (the following Monday). If I take the exam on the 2nd of Dec, I should be getting my scores back on Dec 24! But if I take it on the 8th, I should be getting my exam results obviously one week later on the 31st. My question is: Do you think they'll release scores on December 31st being NYE/Holiday season?
I really want to get my score before the New Year for numerous personal reasons! If ANYONE can provide any feedback or has heard of people getting their scores around then, I'd GREATLY appreciate it!!!
 
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blahblah56 said:
CBSE1 (3 months) 220
CBSE2 (2 months) 235
Kaplan SA1 (7 weeks) 240/322 ~75%
NBME7 (6 weeks) 230
NBME11 (5 weeks) 239
NBME12 (4 weeks) 243
UWSA1 (3 weeks) 256
NBME13 (2 weeks) 262
UWSA2 (2 weeks) 261
Free150 91% (1 week) (262)
NBME16 (3 days) 254
Uworld 1st pass 77%
Kaplan Qbank 80%
RX 85%
First aid 2x
Pathoma 2x
Click to expand...

Ended up being closest to NBME16. Thanks for all the help everyone!
 
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I don't remember anything being tested (took the exam in June) that wasn't in First Aid, as far as micro was concerned. Of note, my first question was on parasite treatment, and I got a few others throughout the exam on tapeworms and stuff. Couldn't have answered them without knowing first aid really well.

ALUCSD18 said:
Is First Aid enough for the micro portion of Step 1? Or should I add another resource? Thanks. Test in Dec.
Click to expand...
 
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So I just took Step 1 today. I will be honest, I feel like crap. It seems like I went the wrong way on every single 50/50 question I had. Feels like I failed. My last 3-4 self assessments were 220+ plus.
 
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LAK84 said:
Quick question for you all - I'm planning on taking the exam either on Dec 2 (Tuesday) or Dec 8 (the following Monday). If I take the exam on the 2nd of Dec, I should be getting my scores back on Dec 24! But if I take it on the 8th, I should be getting my exam results obviously one week later on the 31st. My question is: Do you think they'll release scores on December 31st being NYE/Holiday season?
I really want to get my score before the New Year for numerous personal reasons! If ANYONE can provide any feedback or has heard of people getting their scores around then, I'd GREATLY appreciate it!!!
Click to expand...

I would really like the answer to this question too. My test is on Dec 4th. Expecting my score back on Dec 25 (Christmas) or if you take the next Wednesday...Jan 1. I really want it before New Years, too!
 
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