Step I Official 2015 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[KushWeedNuggetsStankyLeg]

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M2 here. Starting today, I am just going to be reviewing for Step 1 which I am taking next May, and nothing else. Here is my plan:

Oct 23-Dec 31: Memorize FA2014, Watch all of Pathoma
Jan 1-Jan 31: FA2015, Pathoma (pass 2), Kaplan QBank
Feb 1-Feb 28: FA2015 (pass 2), Pathoma (pass 3), USMLERX
March 1- March 31: FA2015 (pass 3), Pathoma (pass 4): UWorld
April 1- Mid May: FA2015 (pass 4), Pathoma (selective topics), UWorld (pass 2), all practice tests

Goal: High number

 

[abolt18]

Score came back Wednesday: mid 260's. Pretty happy with this, keeps all my options open.

Rough time line of my studying:
Beginning of M1: start Firecracker, did it religiously up to test day. I also annotated in things from Pathoma and QBanks during M2 so that I could see them again.
M1 along with classes: BRS physio, SketchyMicro, Picmonic
M2 summer: some review of M1 stuff in Kaplan (anatomy, physiology, neuroanatomy, immunology [not sure that any of this was that helpful outside maybe immuno since I didn't have a great handle on that]), try to flag stuff in FC that we had mentioned in M1 but was more M2 material (75% flagged by the start of M2).
M2 first semester: USMLERx by system along with classes, Kaplan pharm, Pathoma and RR Path along with classes, would also read FA chapters along with class but not annotating anything yet or spending much time there.
M2 winter break: preread coming semester systems in Pathoma and finish flagging FC
M2 2nd semester: essentially the same as first semester M2 except I also completed Kaplan QBank on timed random and made a first pass from beginning to end of first aid (tried to read around 25 pages before bed each night, would annotate some things from this into Firecracker). This got to be a bit of a grind towards the end because I miscalculated and got a little behind on Kaplan, so some days I had to do up to 3 blocks. My grades really took a hit here (though we're true P/F so it's not super concerning, just not ideal).
Dedicated 5 weeks: UWorld timed random (88% first pass average), 2 passes of first aid, pathoma (read the book because I didn't feel like I had time to watch the vids, which was not ideal since I think that's the best part of pathoma), BRS physio, Kaplan Ethics, HY neuroanatomy, blue boxes in Moore's. All additional things from UWorld/Pathoma were annotated by hand into first aid (which I'd highly recommend getting hole punched at put into a binder).

Practice tests:
UWSA1 5wks out/beginning of dedicated: 265
NBME11 3 wks out: 269
UWSA2 2 wks out: 265
I did the last 5 NBME's over 4 days leading into the last week of my prep. I wouldn't recommend this, but it's just kind of what happened and I wanted to make sure I got through them all in case there were any repeats on the real thing.
NBME12: 273
NBME13: 273
NBME15: 262
NBME16: 266
NBME17: 271
Free 150: ~96-7%

Real thing ~265
I already posted about my feelings on test day earlier, but in brief: it sort of sucked. Didn't feel great about it at all, but didn't feel terrible.

Overall I think things turned out great. 2nd semester of M2 really sucked at parts, but I think front loading my work made it a little more low key during my dedicated prep time which was nice. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping to break 270 based on practice test scores (and for bragging rights 😉 ), but my final score is pretty in line with my later NBME's and should be more than enough for whatever I end up deciding to do so I am psyched. As an aside, I think it's funny that I was always railing against UWSAs as a predictive tool and ended up scoring very close to them, but I still don't think they're great predictors and their cutoff at 265 made their prediction in my case somewhat coincidental.

Big thanks to all those who've made this forum as helpful as it is. Congrats to those of you who've already taken it, and best of luck to those still preparing. Happy to answer any questions via PM, I'd hoped to do a more thorough write up but M3 has already gotten the better of me and I should get back to studying (it never ends...).

Congrats on really killing it! I'm quite envious that you were able to start firecracker 1st year. I knew nothing about it so I didn't start until 2nd year. Currently just over 75% flagged (not flagging anymore) and just trying to see as much as I can in the next few weeks. It's been the biggest help for me. Can't help but feel like I'd be doing better on practice tests and UWorld if I had. Great job!

 

[nds86]

Score came back Wednesday: mid 260's. Pretty happy with this, keeps all my options open.

Rough time line of my studying:
Beginning of M1: start Firecracker, did it religiously up to test day. I also annotated in things from Pathoma and QBanks during M2 so that I could see them again.
M1 along with classes: BRS physio, SketchyMicro, Picmonic
M2 summer: some review of M1 stuff in Kaplan (anatomy, physiology, neuroanatomy, immunology [not sure that any of this was that helpful outside maybe immuno since I didn't have a great handle on that]), try to flag stuff in FC that we had mentioned in M1 but was more M2 material (75% flagged by the start of M2).
M2 first semester: USMLERx by system along with classes, Kaplan pharm, Pathoma and RR Path along with classes, would also read FA chapters along with class but not annotating anything yet or spending much time there.
M2 winter break: preread coming semester systems in Pathoma and finish flagging FC
M2 2nd semester: essentially the same as first semester M2 except I also completed Kaplan QBank on timed random and made a first pass from beginning to end of first aid (tried to read around 25 pages before bed each night, would annotate some things from this into Firecracker). This got to be a bit of a grind towards the end because I miscalculated and got a little behind on Kaplan, so some days I had to do up to 3 blocks. My grades really took a hit here (though we're true P/F so it's not super concerning, just not ideal).
Dedicated 5 weeks: UWorld timed random (88% first pass average), 2 passes of first aid, pathoma (read the book because I didn't feel like I had time to watch the vids, which was not ideal since I think that's the best part of pathoma), BRS physio, Kaplan Ethics, HY neuroanatomy, blue boxes in Moore's. All additional things from UWorld/Pathoma were annotated by hand into first aid (which I'd highly recommend getting hole punched at put into a binder).

Practice tests:
UWSA1 5wks out/beginning of dedicated: 265
NBME11 3 wks out: 269
UWSA2 2 wks out: 265
I did the last 5 NBME's over 4 days leading into the last week of my prep. I wouldn't recommend this, but it's just kind of what happened and I wanted to make sure I got through them all in case there were any repeats on the real thing.
NBME12: 273
NBME13: 273
NBME15: 262
NBME16: 266
NBME17: 271
Free 150: ~96-7%

Real thing ~265
I already posted about my feelings on test day earlier, but in brief: it sort of sucked. Didn't feel great about it at all, but didn't feel terrible.

Overall I think things turned out great. 2nd semester of M2 really sucked at parts, but I think front loading my work made it a little more low key during my dedicated prep time which was nice. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping to break 270 based on practice test scores (and for bragging rights 😉 ), but my final score is pretty in line with my later NBME's and should be more than enough for whatever I end up deciding to do so I am psyched. As an aside, I think it's funny that I was always railing against UWSAs as a predictive tool and ended up scoring very close to them, but I still don't think they're great predictors and their cutoff at 265 made their prediction in my case somewhat coincidental.

Big thanks to all those who've made this forum as helpful as it is. Congrats to those of you who've already taken it, and best of luck to those still preparing. Happy to answer any questions via PM, I'd hoped to do a more thorough write up but M3 has already gotten the better of me and I should get back to studying (it never ends...).

Congrats on the great score man. Your step experience from MS1 should be made as a sticky so that an ideal MS1 can start the prep early. I wish I read your experience two years ago. Great job and enjoy the vacation.

 

[pathologyDO]

Anyone using Firecracker for dedicated study period? I'm using it for neuro A&P and there is a lot of info to be getting through but I feel like this is more effective than just reading FA.

 

[jshei0625]

this is what I see

Yeah your permit is missing too, so you also should be getting your scores this Wednesday

 

[seminoma]

Can anyone comment on the quality of heart sound/murmur audio on the real thing? I just did a UW question (QID 2109) that had some audio, but the quality was terrible.. It kept cutting in and out and I could barely hear it with earphones + max volume (and I have good earphones). The heart sound questions in Kaplan qbank were all easy to hear. Anyone have problems on the real thing?

 

[abolt18]

Anyone using Firecracker for dedicated study period? I'm using it for neuro A&P and there is a lot of info to be getting through but I feel like this is more effective than just reading FA.

Definitely! Planning to do minimum 500q's per day for the next 3 weeks along with my Uworld and Pathoma. I figure it'll show me my weaknesses all day rather than reading through first aid and trying to pick through the stuff I know already.

 

[medcyclothymia]

Can anyone comment on the quality of heart sound/murmur audio on the real thing? I just did a UW question (QID 2109) that had some audio, but the quality was terrible.. It kept cutting in and out and I could barely hear it with earphones + max volume (and I have good earphones). The heart sound questions in Kaplan qbank were all easy to hear. Anyone have problems on the real thing?

I had 2 heart sound questions on mine. Don't worry about the sound quality cuz they are way better than UW. I set the volume to mid-high during tutorial and it was good enough.

 

[jshei0625]

Can anyone comment on the quality of heart sound/murmur audio on the real thing? I just did a UW question (QID 2109) that had some audio, but the quality was terrible.. It kept cutting in and out and I could barely hear it with earphones + max volume (and I have good earphones). The heart sound questions in Kaplan qbank were all easy to hear. Anyone have problems on the real thing?

You will have no issue on the real thing. UWorld stinks when it comes to heart sounds. The heart sounds on the real thing also are on a loop back so you do not have to keep on pressing play

 

[Dr.G1989]

So none of the NEW FORMAT test takers are going to share anything.....??? 🙁

 

[Clumpofstuff]

Can anyone comment on the quality of heart sound/murmur audio on the real thing? I just did a UW question (QID 2109) that had some audio, but the quality was terrible.. It kept cutting in and out and I could barely hear it with earphones + max volume (and I have good earphones). The heart sound questions in Kaplan qbank were all easy to hear. Anyone have problems on the real thing?

The real thing was so much better. You could actually hear splitting of S2 and time it correctly because they also show the person breathing.

 

[QualityProcess]

did you guys think the style of questions were more like NBME, or UWorld? I felt like NBME 15 (the only one ive taken) was very memorization-based rather than the more critical thinking based Uworld blocks ive done. Got my glutes kicked by 15.

 

[Lord_Vader]

did you guys think the style of questions were more like NBME, or UWorld? I felt like NBME 15 (the only one ive taken) was very memorization-based rather than the more critical thinking based Uworld blocks ive done. Got my glutes kicked by 15.

Same thing I felt about NBME 17 tbh.

 

[dfib slim]

did you guys think the style of questions were more like NBME, or UWorld? I felt like NBME 15 (the only one ive taken) was very memorization-based rather than the more critical thinking based Uworld blocks ive done. Got my glutes kicked by 15.

Aw man, I'm taking that one when the website opens back up today. Hopefully my score doesn't drop too much.

 

[seminoma]

Is the NBME site down often? I'm planning on taking one on Monday...

 

[theTruth_97]

Is the NBME site down often? I'm planning on taking one on Monday...

i dont think so- on their front page it said that their site would be down from 5 am today to 2 pm today so I don't think its that common

 

[cs24]

Is the NBME site down often? I'm planning on taking one on Monday...

It's back up now. Today was just scheduled maintenance that they had posted on their site for a while

 

[FrodoBagassosis]

Hey guys, typical long time lurker.. thought I'd share my thoughts on the new format for those interested. I took the beast a couple days ago, honestly, the new form didn't feel too different than the most recent NBMEs/Free150 as far as distribution of questions and question length. I probably had 5 really long questions per block and 5 truly WTF questions per blocks but everything else seemed fair or something I've seen before but just couldn't remember. I might have had a total of 1 or 2 questions I would consider "safety science" but it was seemingly common sense. There was a good amount of ethics questions each block and some were actually pretty tough. There were 3-4 ethics questions I really didn't think there was a good answer to, but I don't think it was anything you can really prepare for. To echo what some have said before, pelvic anatomy and incontinence seemed to be popular but they were not out of the scope of UFAP.. One of them I actually only got because of a UW question. Overall I don't know how I feel at all, pretty sure I passed but I don't think I did well (although this is also how I felt after any NBME) ... Just trying to not trip about it for the next 6-8 long weeks and hope that my real score falls close to my higher NBMEs, will update when I get my results. I'll post more later if I think of anything else, keep fighting the good fight to everyone still studying... I felt kind of crappy after the test but also so relieved to be done!

 

[sloop]

did you guys think the style of questions were more like NBME, or UWorld? I felt like NBME 15 (the only one ive taken) was very memorization-based rather than the more critical thinking based Uworld blocks ive done. Got my glutes kicked by 15.

Haven't taken that form so I couldn't tell you, but along the lines of the NBMEs, I wanted to ask: In general, how much do you honestly think that the specific form impacts your score aside from some forms incidentally having more or less concepts and details you are shaky on?

I'm curious because I've only done NBME 11 and I'm wondering how variable I can expect my performance on certain forms to be/how good they are at curving them to be consistent as they say they do. Obviously if you're somewhat lopsided in your aptitudes, your scores will vary more but I'm talking generalities.

 

[QualityProcess]

I've only taken form 15 so I can't really know how they vary form to form, but my experience was strange. I think I had an off day yesterday to be honest.

Strangely, I correctly answered about 10% more on NBME15 than I've been getting on my UWorld questions, but my NBME score was significantly below the avg USMLE score and my UWorld is at or higher than average Uworld scores. I don't know if that makes sense the way I described it.

 

[Radiolucent]

Haven't taken that form so I couldn't tell you, but along the lines of the NBMEs, I wanted to ask: In general, how much do you honestly think that the specific form impacts your score aside from some forms incidentally having more or less concepts and details you are shaky on?

I'm curious because I've only done NBME 11 and I'm wondering how variable I can expect my performance on certain forms to be/how good they are at curving them to be consistent as they say they do. Obviously if you're somewhat lopsided in your aptitudes, your scores will vary more but I'm talking generalities.

I´d say they are surprisingly consistent. Sure there are some variations but to give you an example:

So far I´ve done 4 online and all the offline NBMEs during a three month period. Even though my score has risen slowly and steadily the variation in % correct between the forms are ~ 6%. Of course the curve varies slightly betweed the individual forms but somehow you´re score always lands in a tight interval.

 

[Radiolucent]

I've only taken form 15 so I can't really know how they vary form to form, but my experience was strange. I think I had an off day yesterday to be honest.

Strangely, I correctly answered about 10% more on NBME15 than I've been getting on my UWorld questions, but my NBME score was significantly below the avg USMLE score and my UWorld is at or higher than average Uworld scores. I don't know if that makes sense the way I described it.

For me it is the opposite - my UW and UWSA % scores are in the top percentiles but my NBME scores are far from it.

 

[sloop]

I've only taken form 15 so I can't really know how they vary form to form, but my experience was strange. I think I had an off day yesterday to be honest.

Strangely, I correctly answered about 10% more on NBME15 than I've been getting on my UWorld questions, but my NBME score was significantly below the avg USMLE score and my UWorld is at or higher than average Uworld scores. I don't know if that makes sense the way I described it.

Since I also only have one NBME under my belt my sample size is small, but my reaction to having done NBME 11 was realizing that UWorld, while great, tests somewhat more minutiae and has less straightforward questions and questions that, while multi-step and indirect, were mostly asking for an application of concepts. I also felt that the NBME had better worded questions. There have been a lot (well, maybe not a lot but a significant amount) of UWorld questions where I have just been like "What? Yeah. I knew that and I was thinking about that when answering the question but I decided on something else because I couldn't understand whether you were asking that question or a slightly different question because of your wording."

I don't think that percent correct are meant to be comparable between them.

I´d say they are surprisingly consistent. Sure there are some variations but to give you an example:

So far I´ve done 4 online and all the offline NBMEs during a three month period. Even though my score has risen slowly and steadily the variation in % correct between the forms are ~ 6%. Of course the curve varies slightly betweed the individual forms but somehow you´re score always lands in a tight interval.

Thanks! We'll see how it goes. I'm just hoping I don't take another NBME and see some dramatic drop in my scores from last time despite studying.

 

[Focused1]

Hey guys, typical long time lurker.. thought I'd share my thoughts on the new format for those interested. I took the beast a couple days ago, honestly, the new form didn't feel too different than the most recent NBMEs/Free150 as far as distribution of questions and question length. I probably had 5 really long questions per block and 5 truly WTF questions per blocks but everything else seemed fair or something I've seen before but just couldn't remember. I might have had a total of 1 or 2 questions I would consider "safety science" but it was seemingly common sense. There was a good amount of ethics questions each block and some were actually pretty tough. There were 3-4 ethics questions I really didn't think there was a good answer to, but I don't think it was anything you can really prepare for. To echo what some have said before, pelvic anatomy and incontinence seemed to be popular but they were not out of the scope of UFAP.. One of them I actually only got because of a UW question. Overall I don't know how I feel at all, pretty sure I passed but I don't think I did well (although this is also how I felt after any NBME) ... Just trying to not trip about it for the next 6-8 long weeks and hope that my real score falls close to my higher NBMEs, will update when I get my results. I'll post more later if I think of anything else, keep fighting the good fight to everyone still studying... I felt kind of crappy after the test but also so relieved to be done!

Thanks for the post

How many anatomy questions would you say you had per block ?

Thanks !

 

[seminoma]

did you guys think the style of questions were more like NBME, or UWorld? I felt like NBME 15 (the only one ive taken) was very memorization-based rather than the more critical thinking based Uworld blocks ive done. Got my glutes kicked by 15.

I feel like alot of UW questions are memorization-based. I mean, there's always a thinking component to help get you to the answer, but then choosing the answer is still based on memory. Example, cancer cell described with a big nucleus and dark basophilic intranuclear inclusions. Question is what enzyme is likely highly active? Then there's a list of enzymes. You probably would need to think about the fact that intranuclear inclusions = nucleoli = ribosome synthesis = rRNA synthesis, but if you don't remember which RNAP (1, 2, or 3) synthesizes rRNA you're still screwed.

 

[Radiolucent]

Thanks! We'll see how it goes. I'm just hoping I don't take another NBME and see some dramatic drop in my scores from last time despite studying.

Took NBME 15 today, my score dropped 4p since last week, but I attribute that to other factors than lack of knowledge. What I mean is there is always the possibility of score drops but those are likely to be small ones. Trust your studying and try to learn something from the NBMEs.

 

[stevesteve123]

Hey guys, typical long time lurker.. thought I'd share my thoughts on the new format for those interested. I took the beast a couple days ago, honestly, the new form didn't feel too different than the most recent NBMEs/Free150 as far as distribution of questions and question length. I probably had 5 really long questions per block and 5 truly WTF questions per blocks but everything else seemed fair or something I've seen before but just couldn't remember. I might have had a total of 1 or 2 questions I would consider "safety science" but it was seemingly common sense. There was a good amount of ethics questions each block and some were actually pretty tough. There were 3-4 ethics questions I really didn't think there was a good answer to, but I don't think it was anything you can really prepare for. To echo what some have said before, pelvic anatomy and incontinence seemed to be popular but they were not out of the scope of UFAP.. One of them I actually only got because of a UW question. Overall I don't know how I feel at all, pretty sure I passed but I don't think I did well (although this is also how I felt after any NBME) ... Just trying to not trip about it for the next 6-8 long weeks and hope that my real score falls close to my higher NBMEs, will update when I get my results. I'll post more later if I think of anything else, keep fighting the good fight to everyone still studying... I felt kind of crappy after the test but also so relieved to be done!

wait i thought scores get released in 3 weeks? did they change that too?

 

[FrodoBagassosis]

Thanks for the post

How many anatomy questions would you say you had per block ?

Thanks !

I think on average maybe 2-3 per block. Anatomy was definitely an area of concern for me, but I felt the majority of questions were either in FA/UW or you could make a reasonable guess by ruling out options that you knew weren't anywhere near the area they were asking about. I did have a couple that really made me say WTF but I just made a guess and moved on, I couldn't have prepared myself for those. I hope that helps!

 

[FrodoBagassosis]

wait i thought scores get released in 3 weeks? did they change that too?

They released a statement saying if your test date is on or after May 11th, which is when they started the transition to 44q/block, that you should to not expect to get scores for 6-8 weeks... I found that out after I was excited about getting my ideal test date. I was pretty bummed but it is what it is... =/

 

[stevesteve123]

They released a statement saying if your test date is on or after May 11th, which is when they started the transition to 44q/block, that you should to not expect to get scores for 6-8 weeks... I found that out after I was excited about getting my ideal test date. I was pretty bummed but it is what it is... =/

is that temporary or from now on scores get released 6-8 weeks after test date?

 

[pd1112]

is that temporary or from now on scores get released 6-8 weeks after test date?

No.

 

[apr27]

Ok just got out. Had a computer problem at the end, hope it won't mess up with everything I am still freaking out a bit. If I'm lucky enough to get a score, I'll share it.

My exam was "classical", really felt like doing a Qbank (I used UW and URx). I expected 99% of the questions.

Behavioural, biochemistry and immuno were easy. Biostats VERY easy. Anatomy, biochemistry, genetics fair. Patho/physio/microbio/pharmaco also ok. Embryo had some weird questions (spotted many "experimental questions" ^^). Astonishingly not so many 2nd/3dr order question, most of them were: "most probable dx?". Pelvis showed up a lot (seriously, like one or two q per block), mushrooms also. In all fairness looked more like URx than UW even so UW helped me a lot.

I don't know whether it was asked in this thread or another but imo FAPU still covers 95% of the content. I read big Robbins and it helped me more for my school exams than for the step. So keep re-reading your FA

I just had a quick question about this. How did you use big robbins? Did you "have" to read it for a class during m1/m2 or did you constantly reference it throughout the year?

 

[imk90]

How long should a uworld 2nd pass only exp ideally take?

 

[jamjellyham]

When can you write notes on the marker board they give you? I have heard conflicting answers to this. Some said you can only start writing things as soon as the real time counter starts from when you enter the tutorial.

Others said you can write before you input your info/start the real tutorial.

Once the proctors seat you inside the actual test room, can you write down equations,2x2's,etc before you enter your identification info or rather, before the clock starts from the tutorial??

Is there any official usmle documentation on this?

 

[dfib slim]

Took NBME 15 today, my score dropped 4p since last week, but I attribute that to other factors than lack of knowledge. What I mean is there is always the possibility of score drops but those are likely to be small ones. Trust your studying and try to learn something from the NBMEs.

Just took 15 as well and it felt different from the earlier ones. My score dropped 6 points from last week and I felt like it tested a fair amount of things I haven't encountered.

 

[seminoma]

I just had a quick question about this. How did you use big robbins? Did you "have" to read it for a class during m1/m2 or did you constantly reference it throughout the year?

Thought I'd chime in here. We were "required" to read Robbins but I didn't. I read goljan and did pathoma. Only referenced Robbins when necessary (i.e. Used it as it was written to be used). Haven't taken step yet so I can't say if it will matter.
Our path professor notoriously tests directly from Robbins, but everything we got tested on was in either goljan, pathoma, Kaplan qbank, FA/Rx, or Firecracker.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I have taken 13, 15, 16 & 17 in the last 2 weeks and I would say the 3 newest test are more difficult than the early NBMEs. I really thought that 16 was the toughest of them all and my score reflected it. My scores were as follows:
NBME 13 - 268
NBME 15 - 266
NBME 16 - 258
NBME 17 - 271

I take my test on Thursday so I'm starting a cursory final run through FA and the blue text from RR now. I'm also still a little weak on pelvic anatomy so is it enough for me to just run through the corresponding FA/UW sections again or should I dust off good ol' Netter? Maybe someone who has taken the test could help me out. Thanks!

I found FA to be very weak in pelvic anatomy. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a resource for this.

 

[PL198]

what about moore's clinical anatomy for pelvic?

 

[pd1112]

When can you write notes on the marker board they give you? I have heard conflicting answers to this. Some said you can only start writing things as soon as the real time counter starts from when you enter the tutorial.

Others said you can write before you input your info/start the real tutorial.

Once the proctors seat you inside the actual test room, can you write down equations,2x2's,etc before you enter your identification info or rather, before the clock starts from the tutorial??

Is there any official usmle documentation on this?

Call your test center.

 

[imk90]

I have taken 13, 15, 16 & 17 in the last 2 weeks and I would say the 3 newest test are more difficult than the early NBMEs. I really thought that 16 was the toughest of them all and my score reflected it. My scores were as follows:
NBME 13 - 268
NBME 15 - 266
NBME 16 - 258
NBME 17 - 271

I take my test on Thursday so I'm starting a cursory final run through FA and the blue text from RR now. I'm also still a little weak on pelvic anatomy so is it enough for me to just run through the corresponding FA/UW sections again or should I dust off good ol' Netter? Maybe someone who has taken the test could help me out. Thanks!

Hey how many mistakes did u do in total in each of them ...i just want to know the correlation between the number of mistakes and score

 

[wisco_fanboy]

Hey how many mistakes did u do in total in each of them ...i just want to know the correlation between the number of mistakes and score

For NBME 17, I know I got 6 questions wrong which correlated to a 271.

 

[MD22412]

I have taken 13, 15, 16 & 17 in the last 2 weeks and I would say the 3 newest test are more difficult than the early NBMEs. I really thought that 16 was the toughest of them all and my score reflected it. My scores were as follows:
NBME 13 - 268
NBME 15 - 266
NBME 16 - 258
NBME 17 - 271

I take my test on Thursday so I'm starting a cursory final run through FA and the blue text from RR now. I'm also still a little weak on pelvic anatomy so is it enough for me to just run through the corresponding FA/UW sections again or should I dust off good ol' Netter? Maybe someone who has taken the test could help me out. Thanks!

Gross and developmental anatomy from the Goljan series was amazing. Pelvic section made FA anatomy a joke. Just did the select images/tables and pink boxes (skip the text except for clarification) and highlighted/marked with sharpie. That book people kill shelf with and I thought it was more than adequate for all the anatomy on my step save one very picky CT. Pelvic section would take four hrs from it.

 

[wisco_fanboy]

Gross and developmental anatomy from the Goljan series was amazing. Pelvic section made FA anatomy a joke. Just did the select images/tables and pink boxes (skip the text except for clarification) and highlighted/marked with sharpie. That book people kill shelf with and I thought it was more than adequate for all the anatomy on my step save one very picky CT. Pelvic section would take four hrs from it.

Just bought the electronic version and it looks awesome. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[wangers5270]

268 on Step 1!!!!!
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Study materials/info:
-USMLE World Q-Bank: 1 pass + incorrect question repeats, entirely on timed & random, annotated *heavily* into First Aid as I went along (including incorrect answer choice explanations). This comprised the bulk of my daily routine (3 blocks/day heavy annotation)
-First Aid 2015: 1 thorough pass after annotating most of UWorld (didn't "read" the book until then, but it was always open due to UWorld), followed by a quick pass in the last week. Also found the electronic version to be very helpful in expediting the annotation process (Control+F for seeking buzzwords quickly).
-First Aid Flash Facts- Firecracker was too overwhelming for me so I stopped using it after the free trial a while ago, but FAFF allowed me to learn First Aid before actually using it. Completed ~200 cards/day starting a bit before study period (flagged everything from the start)
-Goljan Audio, once during MS-1 year, once during MS-2 year. There were a handful (15+) of questions on my exam I readily figured out because of listening to this lecture series, and smiled every time Poppie was there to help me out.
-High-Yield Behavioral Science: Given that the USMLE Content Outline had topics all over the place for Behavioral Science, this was a good way to round out this area beyond First Aid / UWorld. Quick read.
-SketchyMicro: To reinforce the obscure facts for bacteria (and now more!)
-UWSA1, UWSA2, NBME 17, Free 138. Annotated UWSA1/2 heavily. Didn't find the need to take all 6 NBME's because each was $50-$60 and they didn't use the actual FRED test interface or simulate the length of blocks, plus the limited feedback offered. Gained back ~20-25 hours of studying as a result. FWIW, my scores were 265 on UWSA1, 265 on UWSA2, 266 on NBME17, and 97% on Free 138.

My best advice is to study well during your actual med school classes, don't blow them off because they're "low-yield." Focus hard in school and you'll arrive to your dedicated study vacation with a strong preparation, as well as a nice basis of clinical knowledge that'll help you on the wards. Save your outlines along the way and make them nice and succinct if you can. Good luck to everyone testing soon!
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

 

[kenjixshadow]

268 on Step 1!!!!!
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Study materials/info:
-USMLE World Q-Bank: 1 pass + incorrect question repeats, entirely on timed & random, annotated *heavily* into First Aid as I went along (including incorrect answer choice explanations). This comprised the bulk of my daily routine (3 blocks/day heavy annotation)
-First Aid 2015: 1 thorough pass after annotating from UWorld (didn't "read" the book until then, but it was always open due to UWorld), followed by a quick pass in the last week. Also found the electronic version to be very helpful in expediting the annotation process (Control+F for seeking buzzwords quickly)
-First Aid Flash Facts- Firecracker was too overwhelming for me so I stopped using it after the free trial a while ago, but FAFF allowed me to learn First Aid before actually using it. Completed ~200 cards/day starting a bit before study period (flagged everything from the start)
-Goljan Audio, once during MS-1 year, once during MS-2 year. There were a handful (15+) of questions on my exam I readily figured out because of listening to this lecture series, and smiled every time Poppie was there to help me out. Mostly listened while away from my desk.
-High-Yield Behavioral Science
-SketchyMicro
-UWSA1, UWSA2, NBME 17, Free 138. Annotated UWSA1/2 heavily. Didn't find the need to take all 6 NBME's because each was $50-$60 and they didn't use the actual FREIDA test interface or simulate the length of blocks, plus the limited feedback offered. Gained back ~20-25 hours of studying as a result. FWIW, my scores were 265 on UWSA1, 265 on UWSA2, 266 on NBME17, and 97% on Free 138.

My best advice is to study well during your actual med school classes, don't blow them off because they're "low-yield." Focus hard in school and you'll arrive to your dedicated study vacation with a strong preparation, as well as a nice basis of clinical knowledge that'll help you on the wards. Save your outlines along the way and make them nice and succinct if you can. Good luck to everyone testing soon!
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

How long was your dedicated study time? How many hrs a day? Do you think High Yield Behavior & Sketchy helpful? When did you start on FAFF? That is an amazing score btw.

 

[wangers5270]

How long was your dedicated study time? How many hrs a day? Do you think High Yield Behavior & Sketchy helpful? When did you start on FAFF? That is an amazing score btw.

-Started FAFF 4 weeks before study period
-SketchyMicro / HYBS comments edited into original post. Definitely recommend using both.
-Studied full time for for 5.5 weeks, ~11 hours each day.

 

[FlashTime_91]

-Started FAFF 4 weeks before study period
-SketchyMicro / HYBS comments edited into original post. Definitely recommend using both.
-Studied full time for for 5.5 weeks, ~11 hours each day.

Congrats on the great score!! any reason you chose goljian over pathoma?

 

[imk90]

For everyone.......what are the best resources for anat ct and mris!!!!!!

 

[Lord_Vader]

For everyone.......what are the best resources for anat ct and mris!!!!!!

What?

 

[LaCroix09]

Since I also only have one NBME under my belt my sample size is small, but my reaction to having done NBME 11 was realizing that UWorld, while great, tests somewhat more minutiae and has less straightforward questions and questions that, while multi-step and indirect, were mostly asking for an application of concepts. I also felt that the NBME had better worded questions. There have been a lot (well, maybe not a lot but a significant amount) of UWorld questions where I have just been like "What? Yeah. I knew that and I was thinking about that when answering the question but I decided on something else because I couldn't understand whether you were asking that question or a slightly different question because of your wording."

I'd recommend you take one of the newer forms of NBME. The vignettes are longer and the questions require more reasoning and less rote memorization. I'm not sure how old the CBSE is relative to some of the older NBME forms, but I felt like it was more what you're describing: questions were straightforward and the vignettes were very understandable and classic. NBME15/16 felt a lot more like UWorld: long vignettes, tons of detail, more reasoning; UWSA1 was the same.

Granted, I haven't taken NBME11 or anything older than 15. This is just what I've gathered from friends and from the forum.

 

[imk90]

What?

Websites where we can find ct and mris of anatomy..... i heard a lot of them r showing up on boards thesedays