Official 2014 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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also what do people think about bringing FA to the actual test center (so you can check if you got things wrong or right) instad of wondering? (during the break of course and with the permission of the test ppl!)
 
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1dayatatime said:
also what do people think about bringing FA to the actual test center (so you can check if you got things wrong or right) instad of wondering? (during the break of course and with the permission of the test ppl!)
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Dude Really? why would you want to know if you got things right or wrong in between blocks. you're really going to spend you're break time on figuring that out? just concentrate on doing well. jeez
 
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Haha I did that an got every one I looked up wrong. Certainly didn't help morale 🙂 but do what you think is best!

1dayatatime said:
also what do people think about bringing FA to the actual test center (so you can check if you got things wrong or right) instad of wondering? (during the break of course and with the permission of the test ppl!)
Click to expand...
 
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1dayatatime said:
also what do people think about bringing FA to the actual test center (so you can check if you got things wrong or right) instad of wondering? (during the break of course and with the permission of the test ppl!)
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That sounds like you're putting an another, and unnecessary, obstacle in your way. You should do things to improve your mental function, not hamper it.

TL;DR that's the stupid thing I've ever heard
 
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yea don't do that. it's the same reason I always saved multi-part questions until the end. knowing that you got #5 wrong messes up your game for the rest of the block.
 
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1dayatatime said:
also what do people think about bringing FA to the actual test center (so you can check if you got things wrong or right) instad of wondering? (during the break of course and with the permission of the test ppl!)
Click to expand...

I did. If I came up on something I didn't know I didn't want to get a similar question about it later and still not know. But I had a lot of break time built up, finished each section in about half the time. It actually turned out to be a confidence booster since I found out I got most of the questions I had guessed on right. But it could have just as easily been frustrating.
 
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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

><

Big sigh. Can't get out of the 240s, 7 weeks of the same thing? -.-

I feel I've had nothing left to learn or review too, I'm just memorizing minutia now, cause it's all there is left.

Maybe some people based on testing skills, are just limited as to how well they can perform.

1.jpg
 
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What are you guys doing about CTs/MRIs/Angiograms? There seems to be a lot of people saying they had that sort of stuff on their exam and the Holy Trinity doesn't have a whole lot of depth in regard to imaging studies.
 
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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

><

Big sigh. Can't get out of the 240s, 7 weeks of the same thing? -.-

I feel I've had nothing left to learn or review too, I'm just memorizing minutia now, cause it's all there is left.

Maybe some people based on testing skills, are just limited as to how well they can perform.

View attachment 181073
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I feel you man, it sucks to feel like you've plateaued. On the bright side you have 6 weeks to improve, your score right now is still a good one, and memorizing minutae can only help. You may want to think about moving it up 2 weeks, but that's just my opinion.
 
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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

View attachment 181073
Click to expand...


I wish I was you... 🙁
 
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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

><

Big sigh. Can't get out of the 240s, 7 weeks of the same thing? -.-

I feel I've had nothing left to learn or review too, I'm just memorizing minutia now, cause it's all there is left.

Maybe some people based on testing skills, are just limited as to how well they can perform.

View attachment 181073
Click to expand...
I hate u. *envious
 
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I've been reading this thread, but haven't contributed until now. Got my score back, 249. I really wanted to break 250, but oh well. I'm still pretty happy, especially considering how terrible I felt leaving the testing center!

CBSE 230 (6 weeks out)
UWORLD SA #1 252 (2 weeks out)
UWORLD average (timed, random) 75% correct (I actually only got through 80% of it)

I didn't do any NBMEs, so I can't speak to how those are. But clearly the UW self assessment was fairly predictive for me. I wish I'd had time to finish UWORLD and do an NBME, but I was burning out and just wanted to take it. Hope this helps someone. Good luck to everyone who has an upcoming test!
 
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I'm about to start dedicated and had a good pace going until schoolwork caught up with me over the last few weeks.
· USMLE Rx: 65% avg
· Kaplan qbank (random-timed): 66% avg
· Kaplan Simulated Exam 1 (3/10): 69%
· UWSA1 (4/13): 238
· Free 150 (4/18) : 87%
· NBME 13 (5/1): 245
· Finished UWorld (random-timed) (5/4/14): 73% avg

I'm probably going to take UWSA2 tomorrow and NBME 12 this weekend. I plan on doing a NBME every few days throughout dedicated. I also need to get through a COMLEX question bank at some point, but those questions are not nearly as time-intensive.

My question to you all: Would my time be better spent doing another full pass of UWorld, or would you only focus on incorrect/marked questions? I plan on splitting my days between UWorld, Anki pharm decks of FA, and doing another pass of FA.

At this point, I am worried that my score has plateaued around a 240 and my time crunch means that I need to be extra-efficient, so I appreciate any input you all have.
 
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001100010010011 said:
My question to you all: Would my time be better spent doing another full pass of UWorld, or would you only focus on incorrect/marked questions? I plan on splitting my days between UWorld, Anki pharm decks of FA, and doing another pass of FA.

At this point, I am worried that my score has plateaued around a 240 and my time crunch means that I need to be extra-efficient, so I appreciate any input you all have.
Click to expand...
all studies point to focusing on questions as your best chance for significant score improvement.
 
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001100010010011 said:
My question to you all: Would my time be better spent doing another full pass of UWorld, or would you only focus on incorrect/marked questions? I plan on splitting my days between UWorld, Anki pharm decks of FA, and doing another pass of FA.
Click to expand...

Honestly man, coming from someone with the same amount of dedicated time as you, I'm finding it really difficult to even get through FA as much as I wanted to. I underestimated how time-consuming NBME's are. One NBME pretty much eats up an entire day when you factor in the review and looking up Q's. If you do 4-5 in a 3.5 week period, you're down to <3 weeks.

You've already done 3 effing QBanks now. You've seen every presentation of these diseases, and you know all the tricks they pull in stems. I think you're at the point of diminishing returns...I assessed myself as being at that point having only done UWorld + 1/4 of flagged and 15% of another QBank. I say do FA until there's not a single sentence whose knowledge you can't demonstrate you know in MCQ format.
 
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001100010010011 said:
I'm about to start dedicated and had a good pace going until schoolwork caught up with me over the last few weeks.
· USMLE Rx: 65% avg
· Kaplan qbank (random-timed): 66% avg
· Kaplan Simulated Exam 1 (3/10): 69%
· UWSA1 (4/13): 238
· Free 150 (4/18) : 87%
· NBME 13 (5/1): 245
· Finished UWorld (random-timed) (5/4/14): 73% avg

I'm probably going to take UWSA2 tomorrow and NBME 12 this weekend. I plan on doing a NBME every few days throughout dedicated. I also need to get through a COMLEX question bank at some point, but those questions are not nearly as time-intensive.

My question to you all: Would my time be better spent doing another full pass of UWorld, or would you only focus on incorrect/marked questions? I plan on splitting my days between UWorld, Anki pharm decks of FA, and doing another pass of FA.

At this point, I am worried that my score has plateaued around a 240 and my time crunch means that I need to be extra-efficient, so I appreciate any input you all have.
Click to expand...

You're going to straight up murder Step 1.
 
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Started dedicated today. I was hoping to do 30 pages of biochem/genetics in 4 hours...ended up taking me 5. Hoped to do one block of UWorld in 2-3 hours...took me 4. This is going to be a long day. Still need to do another block and watch Pathoma at warp speed before bed.
 
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Silly question. I must be missing something... Where can I buy NBME forms? I see there's seven comprehensive basic science self assessments. Is this what I'm looking for? I thought they were two different things.
 
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addy said:
Follow-up silly(-ier) question: do people buy NBME shelf to use during dedicated time??
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Yes?
NBMEs (CBSSA) are used to asses how you will perform.

A safe/average number to do is 4 (during your dedicated study period which is generally 3-6 weeks long).
That being said by the time I take my test I will have taken 12.
13 including the school administered one.

Edit: Wait, not shelves.... but you can't buy shelves, or find them, and if you could you dont want to do those...
 
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Fox800 said:
Would you mind sharing your study plan during your 5 week dedicated period?

Are the CBSSAs retired USMLE exams in their entirety, or are they just a bunch of practice questions that the NBME threw together?
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Nothing too fancy. 2-3 days per organ system/FA chapter, with the shorter stuff like Behavioral Sci condensed into a 1/2 day. Start with some random UW blocks to get warmed up. Then Pathoma videos and annotation PRN. Reading FA. Writing stuff down that I was prone to forget. And then a UWSA/NBME every weekish. My study period was much more relaxed than it could have been due to the investment of learning the stuff well throughout MSII.

My understanding of the NBMEs is a collection of retired qs that cost an arm and a leg. The benefit for me was score estimation and a source of more qs to practice.
 
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Ionian said:
Yes?
NBMEs (CBSSA) are used to asses how you will perform.

A safe/average number to do is 4 (during your dedicated study period which is generally 3-6 weeks long).
That being said by the time I take my test I will have taken 12.
13 including the school administered one.

Edit: Wait, not shelves.... but you can't buy shelves, or find them, and if you could you dont want to do those...
Click to expand...

there are offline NBMEs, which I think are way more popular than buying them from the NBME.
 
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I'm noticing a trend here in the last half dozen or so score reports: nbme 16 (and 15 to a lesser extent) are significantly underpredicting. I wondered if it was just me (despite 16 being the final nbme I took it was the least accurate, and underpredicted by 13) but I think it's safe to say don't freak out if your scores drop on the newest nbmes right before your test.
 
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Extremely Urgent Question!!!
So, for those who just took the exam this year, regardless of the weirdness/unusual nature of the exams, would you still concur that the usual focus/emphasis of the exam has remained unchanged...i.e: Pharm, Micro, Pathology (esp Neuro)>General Physiology>Anatomy=BioChem???
 
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Took my test April 3.

7 wks out - NBME 5 : 179 (taken as a kick in the butt to start reviewing)
5 wks out - NBME 6: 217
4 wks out - NBME 12: 230
3 wks out - UWSA 1: 242 (first day of dedicated study period)
2.5 wks out - NBME 15: 249
2 wks out - NBME 16: 245
1.5 wks out - UWSA II: 252
1 wk out - NBME 13: 262
1 day out - Free 150: 91%

Real thing: 243.

Really happy with my score, but felt like the final week I lost more little details than I gained. Peaking is real!

Even 3 weeks of dedicated study was too much for me- I have no idea how people who take 6 weeks do it!
 
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bleeting said:
Took my test April 3.

7 wks out - NBME 5 : 179 (taken as a kick in the butt to start reviewing)
5 wks out - NBME 6: 217
4 wks out - NBME 12: 230
3 wks out - UWSA 1: 242 (first day of dedicated study period)
2.5 wks out - NBME 15: 249
2 wks out - NBME 16: 245
1.5 wks out - UWSA II: 252
1 wk out - NBME 13: 262
1 day out - Free 150: 91%

Real thing: 243.

Really happy with my score, but felt like the final week I lost more little details than I gained. Peaking is real!

Even 3 weeks of dedicated study was too much for me- I have no idea how people who take 6 weeks do it![/QUOTE
Click to expand...
Congrats....


Can you please tell me what really helped you improve your score from 217 to 230-242?
 
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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

><

Big sigh. Can't get out of the 240s, 7 weeks of the same thing? -.-

I feel I've had nothing left to learn or review too, I'm just memorizing minutia now, cause it's all there is left.

Maybe some people based on testing skills, are just limited as to how well they can perform.

View attachment 181073
Click to expand...


Can you please tell me what study method worked for you and how you kept all the info fresh in your brain? I learn one thing and forget the other. Why can't I be like you?...
 
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bleeting said:
Took my test April 3.

7 wks out - NBME 5 : 179 (taken as a kick in the butt to start reviewing)
5 wks out - NBME 6: 217
4 wks out - NBME 12: 230
3 wks out - UWSA 1: 242 (first day of dedicated study period)
2.5 wks out - NBME 15: 249
2 wks out - NBME 16: 245
1.5 wks out - UWSA II: 252
1 wk out - NBME 13: 262
1 day out - Free 150: 91%

Real thing: 243.

Really happy with my score, but felt like the final week I lost more little details than I gained. Peaking is real!

Even 3 weeks of dedicated study was too much for me- I have no idea how people who take 6 weeks do it!
Click to expand...

There goes my theory. Great job!
 
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LightHouse123 said:
Extremely Urgent Question!!!
So, for those who just took the exam this year, regardless of the weirdness/unusual nature of the exams, would you still concur that the usual focus/emphasis of the exam has remained unchanged...i.e: Pharm, Micro, Pathology (esp Neuro)>General Physiology>Anatomy=BioChem???
Click to expand...

Took it three days ago and yes I would agree. The exam, overall, was about what I expected as you described. However there were a (relatively) small number of questions unlike anything I'd seen on any practice tests. Just make your best guess and move on.

Stay focused on the fundamentals in your final days of studying. I don't care much about the ridiculous questions I inevitably got wrong... but what makes me groan and cringe are the subjects I reviewed a dozen times, thought I had a solid grasp on, but missed because they found a way to make the question tricky... or in the later blocks there were a few I missed simply due to fatigue and not thinking straight.
 
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Morzh said:
Took it three days ago and yes I would agree. The exam, overall, was about what I expected as you described. However there were a (relatively) small number of questions unlike anything I'd seen on any practice tests. Just make your best guess and move on.

Stay focused on the fundamentals in your final days of studying. I don't care much about the ridiculous questions I inevitably got wrong... but what makes me groan and cringe are the subjects I reviewed a dozen times, thought I had a solid grasp on, but missed because they found a way to make the question tricky... or in the later blocks there were a few I missed simply due to fatigue and not thinking straight.
Click to expand...


What is this 'fatigue' you humans speak of?
 
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WilburSK said:
How does one access these offline NBME's? Are they the same as offered currently via NBME? How do you know your score?
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Google or torrent sites

Well, I'm sure you could find pirated versions of the practice tests currently offered, but that would be wrong to use because you can buy them. What people refer to the "offline NBMEs" is NBME tests 1-6, the tests that were once offered but have since been retired as official use.

You can grade the tests yourself (again, google for the most accurate answer keys). Your 3-digit score will only be a crude estimate, since you can't actually weigh any questions.
 
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My stats so far:
CBSE (9 weeks out): 255
NBME 7 (4 weeks out): 249 (91%)
UWorld 1st pass completed (in blocks, NOT random / timed / 3.5 weeks out): 81%
NBME 11 (3 weeks out): 251 (91.5%)
NBME 12 (2 weeks out): 262 (95%)

I'm only posting this to try and help anyone who is considering doing what I did between NBME 11 and 12: Pure FA. I ditched the QBanks, and just devoted every hour of studying to FA. I'm about halfway through 2nd run, trying to get at least 2.5x reps in.

If you feel like you're plateauing (I did) or have done enough Q's that you personally feel like you're approaching max benefit (I did), then it's something to consider. The studies saying Q's are the most important thing for your score do suggest a point of diminishing returns exists.
 
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kirbymiester said:
My stats so far:
CBSE (9 weeks out): 255
NBME 7 (4 weeks out): 249 (91%)
UWorld 1st pass completed (in blocks, NOT random / timed / 3.5 weeks out): 81%
NBME 11 (3 weeks out): 251 (91.5%)
NBME 12 (2 weeks out): 262 (95%)

I'm only posting this to try and help anyone who is considering doing what I did between NBME 11 and 12: Pure FA. I ditched the QBanks, and just devoted every hour of studying to FA. I'm about halfway through 2nd run, trying to get at least 2.5x reps in.

If you feel like you're plateauing (I did) or have done enough Q's that you personally feel like you're approaching max benefit (I did), then it's something to consider. The studies saying Q's are the most important thing for your score do suggest a point of diminishing returns exists.
Click to expand...

Wow. You're going to do really badly. 262 is a terrible score. Have you considered dropping out?
 
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3 weeks left for me.
Uworld timed, random - 80%
UWSA 1 - 244
UWSA 2 - 263

Plan to take 5-6 NBME's. Still have 70% of Uworld to go through...
 
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Hey, I plan on taking a nbme today. Just wanted to know where I stand in my preparation. It would be my first nbme. Which one do you guys suggest I take ?
I'd like to do as many nbmes as I can.
Could someone tell me the nbme sequence i should follow ,including the offline and online ones.
 
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kagman said:
Hey, I plan on taking a nbme today. Just wanted to know where I stand in my preparation. It would be my first nbme. Which one do you guys suggest I take ?
I'd like to do as many nbmes as I can.
Could someone tell me the nbme sequence i should follow ,including the offline and online ones.
Click to expand...

Two ways to go about this. You could take 15 or 16 to simulate the real test or you could save 15 or 16 for later and go from early to late. It really depends on how you plan to use the NBMEs as a whole. They're all relatively predictive.
 
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