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

 

[britesky89]

Hi guys, just wanted to share my experience!

I had a bit of a weird experience with NBME assessements. No matter how many I got wrong I still kept getting 226, even when at the end of my 4 assessments I got 8 less wrong than my first one (NBME 16) on my final NBME 12. It was frustrating that my score didn't even go up by 2 points 😡. My original exam date was April 28, but when I got 226 for a third time, I delayed it to May 9th. Then on April 27, lo and behold I got another 226 🙄. I seriously don't understand how NBME determines their scores. So I decided to do UWSA2 since I bought it and hadn't taken it yet; I got a 242 and decided against delaying the exam any further.

When I walked out of the exam I felt like it was much more like UWORLD than NBME. I didn't think it was an extraordinary level of difficult, as some claim here, that it's 'nothing' like the practice tests. I felt that the exam was just like UW and about the same level of difficulty. Maybe that's why my actual score was closer to UWSA's prediction.

Anyways, I just wanted to post this in reply to all those who wonder whether anyone scores +10 their NBME prediction: YES IT CAN HAPPEN.


UWSA1 Feb 2105 - 230
NBME 16 (March 13, 2015) - 226 (42 wrong)
NBME 13 (March 31, 2015) - 226 (37 wrong)
NBME 11 (April 16, 2015) - 226 (36 wrong)
NBME 12 (April 27, 2015) - 226 (34 wrong)
UWSA2 (April 27, 2015) - 242

Exam May 9, 2015: 238 !!!!


Although, my score may not be 240+, I'm just THRILLED!!! I was so depressed by my NBME scores, especially since everyone says UWSA predicts way to high, and that NBME is spot on. I was praying to just break 230, THAT'S IT. But, truly it's GOD ALONE, who brought me to the level where I could take this exam, blessed me with fruits for my toil, much, much beyond my expectations!!!!

 

[Bancrofti]

You are a huge dork, but I laughed when I saw this. Congrats on Step 1.

 

[pd1112]

Hi guys, just wanted to share my experience!

I had a bit of a weird experience with NBME assessements. No matter how many I got wrong I still kept getting 226, even when at the end of my 4 assessments I got 8 less wrong than my first one (NBME 16) on my final NBME 12. It was frustrating that my score didn't even go up by 2 points 😡. My original exam date was April 28, but when I got 226 for a third time, I delayed it to May 9th. Then on April 27, lo and behold I got another 226 🙄. I seriously don't understand how NBME determines their scores. So I decided to do UWSA2 since I bought it and hadn't taken it yet; I got a 242 and decided against delaying the exam any further.

When I walked out of the exam I felt like it was much more like UWORLD than NBME. I didn't think it was an extraordinary level of difficult, as some claim here, that it's 'nothing' like the practice tests. I felt that the exam was just like UW and about the same level of difficulty. Maybe that's why my actual score was closer to UWSA's prediction.

Anyways, I just wanted to post this in reply to all those who wonder whether anyone scores +10 their NBME prediction: YES IT CAN HAPPEN.


UWSA1 Feb 2105 - 230
NBME 16 (March 13, 2015) - 226 (42 wrong)
NBME 13 (March 31, 2015) - 226 (37 wrong)
NBME 11 (April 16, 2015) - 226 (36 wrong)
NBME 12 (April 27, 2015) - 226 (34 wrong)
UWSA2 (April 27, 2015) - 242

Exam May 9, 2015: 238 !!!!


Although, my score may not be 240+, I'm just THRILLED!!! I was so depressed by my NBME scores, especially since everyone says UWSA predicts way to high, and that NBME is spot on. I was praying to just break 230, THAT'S IT. But, truly it's GOD ALONE, who brought me to the level where I could take this exam, blessed me with fruits for my toil, much, much beyond my expectations!!!!

Congrats, awesome perseverance despite the identical NBMEs - must've been torture! Never heard of that before, I probably would've broken something valuable.

 

[mastermind8490]

 

[Ryuzaki]

You are a huge dork, but I laughed when I saw this. Congrats on Step 1.

Yeah, the last 3 weeks all I have been playing Call of Duty to take my mind off the exam which I then thought I failed!

 

[ldhlsu1]

Just took the exam today and I can say around ~90% of the material on the exam is in some way, shape, or form in First Aid, Pathoma, and Uworld. The exam was definitely more difficult than the NBMEs and around the difficulty of some of the harder UWorld questions. There were very few straightforward recall questions like there are on the NBMEs. A lot of questions on the real thing have long stems with associated lab values. I was finishing NBMEs with around 10-15 minutes to spare but finished each section on the real thing with only around 2-3 minutes to spare so there was no time to review the questions you had marked. Content wise, it was similar to what the past few people have said on this forum.

My exam was completely different. I took it about a month ago. I had super easy questions that were strictly recall and my question stems were short. I am starting to think there are two types of forms for this exam.

 

[stepone2015]

What do you guys think of pulling an all nighter two nights before taking the real deal? I always have had issues sleeping before big tests, and I figure that will at least force myself asleep the night before the exam.

 

[pd1112]

What do you guys think of pulling an all nighter two nights before taking the real deal? I always have had issues sleeping before big tests, and I figure that will at least force myself asleep the night before the exam.

Don't do it. A better idea would be to try to get as much sleep as possible that night, assuming you won't sleep well the night before. Do something active the day before to give yourself the best chance to sleep. I wouldn't take any sleep-aids unless you already take them regularly. Treat it like any other night, don't try anything crazy because you don't know how your body will respond.

 

[ldhlsu1]

Yeah, the last 3 weeks all I have been playing Call of Duty to take my mind off the exam which I then thought I failed!

Insurgency and GTA V over here!

 

[pathologyDO]

So uh... bros... we can write anything down on our laminated sheet we want during the tutorial section, right? Like all the crazy mnemonics for bugs n drugs?

 

[pd1112]

^ likewise, say you crammed x number of equations right before walking into the test center, then wrote them on your sheet as soon as you sat down. Could you theoretically look at FA or another reference sheet during a break, come back in & write anything down that you had forgotten the first time? Just wondering about the stipulations of this sheet, since it seems odd that you can't erase & have to request a new one if the first is full.

 

[pathologyDO]

^ likewise, say you crammed x number of equations right before walking into the test center, then wrote them on your sheet as soon as you sat down. Could you theoretically look at FA or another reference sheet during a break, come back in & write anything down that you had forgotten the first time? Just wondering about the stipulations of this sheet, since it seems odd that you can't erase & have to request a new one if the first is full.

Oh sweet mother of Mary, why have I not thought of this?

 

[Ryuzaki]

Insurgency and GTA V over here!

Is GTA V good? I heard mixed reviews about it so far. I am planning on getting that or Titan Fall, I still haven't played that yet.

 

[deleted564496]

NBME 13--217 (2 weeks ago)
NBME 15--241 (1 week ago)
NBME 17--249 (today)

I cannot help but feel like there is no way I am around those past two scores... I feel like I have so many gaps in my knowledge and feel like I'm guessing on a lot of those NBME questions.. Which is not good if the real deal is much harder.

Anyways, I have two weeks left and am looking for any advice on what to do with them. My plan is to get through all of FA again, basically doing 1 chapter a day. I have made a powerpoint of all the micro and drugs that I'm struggling with and will go through those 1x daily.. I have a hard time memorizing all the damn drugs, especially what they are used for. I also am about to finish up UW and then plan on doing my incorrects without actually answering the questions, just reading the explanation.

however, I haven't done pathoma at all (other than the first two chapters + Renal + GI). I don't really think I want to try fitting it in these last two weeks, because I think it will just stress me out even more. Probably one of the few who did not use it, but my strategy was based off two upperclassmen at my school who I felt like were very similar to me in regards to how much they study, did in classes, etc and they did not use it.

Anybody have any thoughts?

 

[ldhlsu1]

^ likewise, say you crammed x number of equations right before walking into the test center, then wrote them on your sheet as soon as you sat down. Could you theoretically look at FA or another reference sheet during a break, come back in & write anything down that you had forgotten the first time? Just wondering about the stipulations of this sheet, since it seems odd that you can't erase & have to request a new one if the first is full.

Yeah you could do that. Pretty sure a guy taking the exam with me went out to his car to memorize stuff.

Is GTA V good? I heard mixed reviews about it so far. I am planning on getting that or Titan Fall, I still haven't played that yet.

I have it on PC. It runs pretty well. The field of view is not very good but can be fixed with a mod. Overall, I have enjoyed it.

 

[Ryuzaki]

NBME 13--217 (2 weeks ago)
NBME 15--241 (1 week ago)
NBME 17--249 (today)

I cannot help but feel like there is no way I am around those past two scores... I feel like I have so many gaps in my knowledge and feel like I'm guessing on a lot of those NBME questions.. Which is not good if the real deal is much harder.

Anyways, I have two weeks left and am looking for any advice on what to do with them. My plan is to get through all of FA again, basically doing 1 chapter a day. I have made a powerpoint of all the micro and drugs that I'm struggling with and will go through those 1x daily.. I have a hard time memorizing all the damn drugs, especially what they are used for. I also am about to finish up UW and then plan on doing my incorrects without actually answering the questions, just reading the explanation.

however, I haven't done pathoma at all (other than the first two chapters + Renal + GI). I don't really think I want to try fitting it in these last two weeks, because I think it will just stress me out even more. Probably one of the few who did not use it, but my strategy was based off two upperclassmen at my school who I felt like were very similar to me in regards to how much they study, did in classes, etc and they did not use it.

Anybody have any thoughts?

I made a 217 about three weeks out, but I ended up making a 232, I think you can do it, there is still room to improve. I never broke 220 on any NBME. I did make the average of both my UWSA (211/252)

 

[airforcejuans]

Okay, for those who have taken the test, 1. Congrats on being done! 2. i'm 6 days out, anxiety is definitely setting in.

After some advice, I don't think I'm gonna take another NBME. Took NBME 15 3 days ago and got a 228. This was up from a 205 a couple weeks before on NBME 12. Hoping to make at least 230 on the real thing. I've just started going over missed questions on UWorld. What would you guys advise for the last few days before the test? More reviewing of FA/Pathoma; or going over missed questions?? (In advance, I am going to do the free 150).

 

[pathologyDO]

Okay, for those who have taken the test, 1. Congrats on being done! 2. i'm 6 days out, anxiety is definitely setting in.

After some advice, I don't think I'm gonna take another NBME. Took NBME 15 3 days ago and got a 228. This was up from a 205 a couple weeks before on NBME 12. Hoping to make at least 230 on the real thing. I've just started going over missed questions on UWorld. What would you guys advise for the last few days before the test? More reviewing of FA/Pathoma; or going over missed questions?? (In advance, I am going to do the free 150).

Good luck! My plan for the last week is going to be pathoma, biochem, behavioral, biostats, pharm, micro. I've heard the biochem and pharm is really helpful to cram a few days out

 

[*brobro*]

Long time lurker here. I always found it helpful (or at least it satisfied my neuroticism) when people would simply lay out their experience and provide a data point. Just took step 1, so here's mine:

NBME 12 - 220 (january)
NBME 11 - 243 (march)
NBME 13 - 243 (april)
NBME 15 - 258 (May, about one week into dedicated period and 3 weeks out from exam)
UWSA 1 - 259 (i think it was 259, can't access it anymore but either 258 or 259....anyways)
NBME 17 - 258 (one week out)
UWSA 2 - 265 (maybe 5 days before or so)
NBME 16 - 260 (did this one untimed a couple days before exam just to make sure I wasn't thrown off by any question)

My study plan was centered around qbanks and using an anki deck made originally from FA 2012 and edited slightly. I started slowly chipping away at anki in august and just kept a nice slow but consistent pace throughout MS2 while gradually ramping up the number of new cards per day. I started USMLERx in the late fall and finished it probably around january or february. My school gave us access to Kaplan's qbank so I burned through that and finished in probably early april. I then started Uworld and made one pass through, which I finished about a week before the real exam. Those were pretty much the only resources I used. I always used Pathoma throughout MS1/2 to accompany path lectures but never really used it during the dedicated period. So, pretty much just attempted to memorize FA and do every question I could get my hands on.

Anyways, the test:

IMO it was like doing 7 blocks of an NBME. I had heard the hype about these big long question stems and totally wtf questions but that wasn't really my experience. There was certainly plenty of tough questions but no different than an NBME (you know, you narrow it down to 2 answers and go with your gut and hope for the best). All in all, I thought it was tough but fair. I felt like they pretty much tested every subject and I was happy that I focused on breadth rather than depth of knowledge when I studied. I can already think of quite a few I missed and I'm pissed but I still say it was fair because the information was basically in FA in one form or another. If I end up anywhere near my NBMEs, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[stevesteve123]

Long time lurker here. I always found it helpful (or at least it satisfied my neuroticism) when people would simply lay out their experience and provide a data point. Just took step 1, so here's mine:

NBME 12 - 220 (january)
NBME 11 - 243 (march)
NBME 13 - 243 (april)
NBME 15 - 258 (May, about one week into dedicated period and 3 weeks out from exam)
UWSA 1 - 259 (i think it was 259, can't access it anymore but either 258 or 259....anyways)
NBME 17 - 258 (one week out)
UWSA 2 - 265 (maybe 5 days before or so)
NBME 16 - 260 (did this one untimed a couple days before exam just to make sure I wasn't thrown off by any question)

My study plan was centered around qbanks and using an anki deck made originally from FA 2012 and edited slightly. I started slowly chipping away at anki in august and just kept a nice slow but consistent pace throughout MS2 while gradually ramping up the number of new cards per day. I started USMLERx in the late fall and finished it probably around january or february. My school gave us access to Kaplan's qbank so I burned through that and finished in probably early april. I then started Uworld and made one pass through, which I finished about a week before the real exam. Those were pretty much the only resources I used. I always used Pathoma throughout MS1/2 to accompany path lectures but never really used it during the dedicated period. So, pretty much just attempted to memorize FA and do every question I could get my hands on.

Anyways, the test:

IMO it was like doing 7 blocks of an NBME. I had heard the hype about these big long question stems and totally wtf questions but that wasn't really my experience. There was certainly plenty of tough questions but no different than an NBME (you know, you narrow it down to 2 answers and go with your gut and hope for the best). All in all, I thought it was tough but fair. I felt like they pretty much tested every subject and I was happy that I focused on breadth rather than depth of knowledge when I studied. I can already think of quite a few I missed and I'm pissed but I still say it was fair because the information was basically in FA in one form or another. If I end up anywhere near my NBMEs, I'll be a happy camper.

sounds good bro i had pretty much same experience as u

hope it turns out for us both (or me at least lel)

 

[airforcejuans]

Good luck! My plan for the last week is going to be pathoma, biochem, behavioral, biostats, pharm, micro. I've heard the biochem and pharm is really helpful to cram a few days out

Alright definitely, I actually have a very similar list for the last few days. Didn't know if I should be focusing more on missed UWorld questions instead, or even going through another NBME even if it's not timed, just to see some more questions. Good luck to you too!

 

[dartmed]

I feel like such a slacker today. I took the day off because I just couldn't study. Decided to order pizza, have a wine party for my birthday tomorrow. Oh well. 3.5 weeks out. Done with DIT. On my second pass of FA!! 65% overall in Uworld, but now, I am averaging 70-80% on Uworld!

 

[super_mom]

I feel like such a slacker today. I took the day off because I just couldn't study. Decided to order pizza, have a wine party for my birthday tomorrow. Oh well. 3.5 weeks out. Done with DIT. On my second pass of FA!! 65% overall in Uworld, but now, I am averaging 70-80% on Uworld!

i totally feel you on taking the day off….some days you body is jus so exhausted and u just want to relax and just breathhhhhh (wuu saaaa)….which is why i look forward to sundays since that is my day off but some sundays i do some work but not as intense as week days as for me i am still working on UW i have 65% left and 5weeks left, on my second pass on FA as well…..i did Rx about 2 months ago but got through 1800 questions with a 67%. my average on UW as of now is 75% but its subject wise.

 

[Ryuzaki]

Okay, for those who have taken the test, 1. Congrats on being done! 2. i'm 6 days out, anxiety is definitely setting in.

After some advice, I don't think I'm gonna take another NBME. Took NBME 15 3 days ago and got a 228. This was up from a 205 a couple weeks before on NBME 12. Hoping to make at least 230 on the real thing. I've just started going over missed questions on UWorld. What would you guys advise for the last few days before the test? More reviewing of FA/Pathoma; or going over missed questions?? (In advance, I am going to do the free 150).

I would recommend memorizable stuff the last two days before the exam for me it was mostly microbiology and pharmacology.
But here's my full detailed schedule, when I was about a week out:

Day 1: Behavioral Science, Psychology & Neurosciences
Day 2: Immunology, Hematology & Cardiovascular
Day 3: Biochemistry, Gastrointestinal & Endocrine
Day 4: Respiratory, Renal, Reproductive
Day 5: Microbiology, Musculoskeletal & Basic Path/Pharm
Day 6: uWorld Missed Questions Review

At this point, I was comfortable enough to go through each system within about 2-3 hours each. I didn't do as many questions the week before, I spent more time reviewing the material because I believe that's what works for me.

 

[Sea Otter]

I would recommend memorizable stuff the last two days before the exam for me it was mostly microbiology and pharmacology.
But here's my full detailed schedule, when I was about a week out:

Day 1: Behavioral Science, Psychology & Neurosciences
Day 2: Immunology, Hematology & Cardiovascular
Day 3: Biochemistry, Gastrointestinal & Endocrine
Day 4: Respiratory, Renal, Reproductive
Day 5: Microbiology, Musculoskeletal & Basic Path/Pharm
Day 6: uWorld Missed Questions Review

At this point, I was comfortable enough to go through each system within about 2-3 hours each. I didn't do as many questions the week before, I spent more time reviewing the material because I believe that's what works for me.

I did something similar to this when it came close to my test but I would recommend reviewing behavioral science closer to the test (like the day or two before) because I had probably 7-10 questions from this section and having those formulas, terms, etc. in that chapter fresh was super helpful.

 

[zyovka]

Well, I took my exam today too. A lot of USMLE test takes I have seen today at Prometric, by the way. I was deadly afraid of the real thing. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get through 8 hours of the exam. It was always difficult to keep the attention span on the block, while preparing, but on the real exam it was sort of easier, probably adrenalin was helping. In general, the real exam felt more like NBME, and UW. Not that many WTF questions, may be 2 per block. Absolutely agree with previously reported opinions, that Stat and Epidemiology are completely twisted, to the point of WTF. I have no good knowledge of these subjects and after trying to get in depth understanding, I said heck with it, waste of time, so I have been doing only saved questions from Qbanks (so I can memorize the question type and may be to resolve it correctly during the test), so I would know at least something. Well, on the real exam Statistics was so f...d up, (just my opinion), nothing like I've seen in UW. So, it was just simple gambling for me and there were like 2-3 questions per block.
A lot of ethics, it feels like a few per block, some of them were ok, some I don't even want to think of them now.
Two questions that required indeed calculations.
Micro felt like simple memorization [nothing exotic though, if Plasmodium is ok for you); a few questions from Immuno, some of them felt puzzling [not like, oh, ok this one is the right one]. I have an impression that many questioned were testing general principles from Pathology, I was expecting something more brain challenging, something like from integrated cases with Dr. Raymon (which solidify your perception big time), but there was nothing out of this world on the real exam. Pharmacology was quite general, nothing like super duper antibodies I was so afraid of, or deep digging into exotic side effects. I was struck by a question that was testing your knowledge of different subtypes of P450 ( I thought this would never can be brought to us, but it was), literally had to choose which one was related to the side action of the drug, so wound up just randomly marking the answer.
Oh, you know, what was unexpected, a few questions about the strategy of diagnosing, what would you choose from the list. I think this is more Step 2 style questions. I was not prepared for this.
Again, I didn't have time left to check the marked questions, because I was barely able to finish all the questions. I'd say, it may be just me ( I am a slow thinker), but I talk to a girl, that was taking Step1 with me today ( we both were leaving the test center simultaneously), and asked her how it felt, she said she felt that it was ok, though she wished she had more time for reasoning. So, who knows?
Oh, fearful Anatomy. No, definitely, not all questions were covered by FA, some of them were ridiculously exotic.
Exam is doable, that is the impression. I am a big coward, guys. I was a dead meet for the last few days, because it seemed like my body and brain seemed was just paralyzed from the fear of inevitable test taking. I was reading posts from this thread, trying to see what to be ready for (I mean thinking "the newly updated Step 1 mode", how horrible and different it might be from what other test takes experienced before). But it does feel like doing NBME+add some stress to this (which actually more helps, than interferes). I don't feel good about how I performed, but this is normal. I didn't score 260's on NBME, The last one I took was form 17, and I got 236 with 29 wrong answers. I did it 3 days before the exam. Doing this form I was under impression I would get stuck in 200's, and was like super surprised with the result. Of course, everybody dreams to score high and to perform the best, but apparently, I have reached my limits within a time frame and hope that NBME correlates well with the "newly updated Step 1 format".But, as for now, I think I didn't do well. I thought the relief would come afterwords, but it didn't. Damn. Now, another month of waiting for the result.

 

[dfib slim]

Tackled the beast today. I have to say I was expecting this crazy hard roundabout test with long stems but it was pretty straightforward. Most questions were only a couple sentences long but there were the occasional super long stems mixed in.

It felt like I was sitting at home doing UWorld blocks. I'd say like 90% came straight out of UFAP and the other 10% is stuff you just happen to remember from class or just out there WTF. Not sure if I had any of those "safety science" questions but if I did they were all common sense and nothing you can really prepare for. From looking at the other posters from today it looks like we had very similar versions. Wouldn't change my resources, looks like UFAP is the way to go.

I'll write up my prep when the scores are finally released but basically I did UFAP,
UW first pass - 79%
Prometric free 138 - 96% 1 week out
NBME 17 - 264 3 days out

Doubt I pulled a >260 but I'm putting faith in the NBMEs.

Best advice I have right now is if you see a drop in scores, take a day off. I got burned out from doing 4 blocks of Kaplan a day for a week and my NBME score dropped 13 points. I took a day off, cut out Kaplan, and my score jumped back up 13 points.

I wish I could say I was done with all this but now I get to cram for the comlex.

 

[fssca20]

Just curious, for those who took the exam recently, what was the US national average on your score report? I took it in Feb and it said 228. Wasnt the average 230 last year?

 

[deleted604914]

Tackled the beast today. I have to say I was expecting this crazy hard roundabout test with long stems but it was pretty straightforward. Most questions were only a couple sentences long but there were the occasional super long stems mixed in.

It felt like I was sitting at home doing UWorld blocks. I'd say like 90% came straight out of UFAP and the other 10% is stuff you just happen to remember from class or just out there WTF. Not sure if I had any of those "safety science" questions but if I did they were all common sense and nothing you can really prepare for. From looking at the other posters from today it looks like we had very similar versions. Wouldn't change my resources, looks like UFAP is the way to go.

I'll write up my prep when the scores are finally released but basically I did UFAP,
UW first pass - 79%
Prometric free 138 - 96% 1 week out
NBME 17 - 264 3 days out

Doubt I pulled a >260 but I'm putting faith in the NBMEs.

Best advice I have right now is if you see a drop in scores, take a day off. I got burned out from doing 4 blocks of Kaplan a day for a week and my NBME score dropped 13 points. I took a day off, cut out Kaplan, and my score jumped back up 13 points.

I wish I could say I was done with all this but now I get to cram for the comlex.

First off congrats, I'm sure you did great!

I'm having this problem right now (I'm nowhere near your level though). I've been seeing a plateau/drops in my UW scores (doing 4 blocks/day) and not seeing any improvement in my NBMEs (last couple were in the 220s over last couple weeks.. been aiming for a 240). I'm 3 weeks away from the real deal.

I've been doing so many blocks of UW so I can finish it and go through Kaplan Q bank after. I've been contemplating cutting it Kaplan out and just doing fewer UW blocks a day (currently havent had much time to just read FA, instead spend all day reviewing the 4 blocks) so that I can read more FA. Just nervous about changing my schedule up and not seeing all the questions I can but at the same time not seeing any improvements so just not sure what to do. When you say you cut out Kaplan, why did you and what did you do instead?

 

[stepone2015]

Tackled the beast today. I have to say I was expecting this crazy hard roundabout test with long stems but it was pretty straightforward. Most questions were only a couple sentences long but there were the occasional super long stems mixed in.

It felt like I was sitting at home doing UWorld blocks. I'd say like 90% came straight out of UFAP and the other 10% is stuff you just happen to remember from class or just out there WTF. Not sure if I had any of those "safety science" questions but if I did they were all common sense and nothing you can really prepare for. From looking at the other posters from today it looks like we had very similar versions. Wouldn't change my resources, looks like UFAP is the way to go.

I'll write up my prep when the scores are finally released but basically I did UFAP,
UW first pass - 79%
Prometric free 138 - 96% 1 week out
NBME 17 - 264 3 days out

Doubt I pulled a >260 but I'm putting faith in the NBMEs.

Best advice I have right now is if you see a drop in scores, take a day off. I got burned out from doing 4 blocks of Kaplan a day for a week and my NBME score dropped 13 points. I took a day off, cut out Kaplan, and my score jumped back up 13 points.

I wish I could say I was done with all this but now I get to cram for the comlex.

If Doc Oc can't break 260, there's no hope for any of us non-halfsharkalligatorhalfmans.

Grats on being... half done. Sure COMLEX is just a downhill struggle for you now though.

 

[seminoma]

Just curious, for those who took the exam recently, what was the US national average on your score report? I took it in Feb and it said 228. Wasnt the average 230 last year?

No it was 228 last year. 230 for US students.

 

[dfib slim]

First off congrats, I'm sure you did great!

I'm having this problem right now (I'm nowhere near your level though). I've been seeing a plateau/drops in my UW scores (doing 4 blocks/day) and not seeing any improvement in my NBMEs (last couple were in the 220s over last couple weeks.. been aiming for a 240). I'm 3 weeks away from the real deal.

I've been doing so many blocks of UW so I can finish it and go through Kaplan Q bank after. I've been contemplating cutting it Kaplan out and just doing fewer UW blocks a day (currently havent had much time to just read FA, instead spend all day reviewing the 4 blocks) so that I can read more FA. Just nervous about changing my schedule up and not seeing all the questions I can but at the same time not seeing any improvements so just not sure what to do. When you say you cut out Kaplan, why did you and what did you do instead?

The reason I started doing Kaplan was because I had already went through Rx once and UW twice. I had 2 weeks to fill so I decided to try and knock out Kaplan by doing 4 blocks a day and reading 1 chapter in FA. After a week of that and my NBME drop I said screw it and only read FA for the last week. And by read FA I mean going through it carefully and trying to understand every word. Took me 2 weeks to go through it and only got it done twice. Got through about 2/3 of Kaplan.

Have you gone through FA completely? My NBME originally jumped 13 points after I went through it.

 

[MedicalMBA]

First off congrats, I'm sure you did great!

I'm having this problem right now (I'm nowhere near your level though). I've been seeing a plateau/drops in my UW scores (doing 4 blocks/day) and not seeing any improvement in my NBMEs (last couple were in the 220s over last couple weeks.. been aiming for a 240). I'm 3 weeks away from the real deal.

I've been doing so many blocks of UW so I can finish it and go through Kaplan Q bank after. I've been contemplating cutting it Kaplan out and just doing fewer UW blocks a day (currently havent had much time to just read FA, instead spend all day reviewing the 4 blocks) so that I can read more FA. Just nervous about changing my schedule up and not seeing all the questions I can but at the same time not seeing any improvements so just not sure what to do. When you say you cut out Kaplan, why did you and what did you do instead?

I haven't taken the test yet but in my opinion you should cut out Kaplan. It would be much more high yield for you to do Uworld right (instead of rushing through it) and then hammer FA. Kaplan definitely tests broadly with their questions, but knowing FA and Uworld cold is more likely to get you the score you want. On the other hand trying to cram in Kaplan at the expense of UFAP might actually hinder your score. I've done about half of Kaplan and I can see why it might help people with some minutiae that could help you jump from a 250 to a 260, but without having the core foundation of knowledge from FA and Uworld I can't see it paying off. Just my two cents...goodluck!

 

[deleted604914]

The reason I started doing Kaplan was because I had already went through Rx once and UW twice. I had 2 weeks to fill so I decided to try and knock out Kaplan by doing 4 blocks a day and reading 1 chapter in FA. After a week of that and my NBME drop I said screw it and only read FA for the last week. And by read FA I mean going through it carefully and trying to understand every word. Took me 2 weeks to go through it and only got it done twice. Got through about 2/3 of Kaplan.

Have you gone through FA completely? My NBME originally jumped 13 points after I went through it.

I haven't taken the test yet but in my opinion you should cut out Kaplan. It would be much more high yield for you to do Uworld right (instead of rushing through it) and then hammer FA. Kaplan definitely tests broadly with their questions, but knowing FA and Uworld cold is more likely to get you the score you want. On the other hand trying to cram in Kaplan at the expense of UFAP might actually hinder your score. I've done about half of Kaplan and I can see why it might help people with some minutiae that could help you jump from a 250 to a 260, but without having the core foundation of knowledge from FA and Uworld I can't see it paying off. Just my two cents...goodluck!

Thanks both of you for your advice. I've done Kaplan videos + Pathoma + Goljan audio for corresponding systems throughout the year plus did the DIT course and finished it about a month ago as well. I have always used FA w/ everything, so I've been through FA a decent amount. I went through 1 additional pass through FA + Pathoma (a little superficial in certain sections due to time, I'll admit) about 2 weeks before my dedicated started. I went through UW and Rx during the school year and completed them both before my dedicated study period which was 2 weeks ago.

I then reset UW and just started pounding through it during my dedicated period hoping to get through by next week, leaving me a with about a week to finish Kaplan (at ~4blocks/day). It's been discouraging because I thought I've been doing the right things and showing improvement until I hit dedicated study, when I just seemed to stop. That's why I've been panicking and wondering if I should change my plan and focus on FA more and less on blocks as per some other advice.

 

[*brobro*]

Thanks both of you for your advice. I've done Kaplan videos + Pathoma + Goljan audio for corresponding systems throughout the year plus did the DIT course and finished it about a month ago as well. I have always used FA w/ everything, so I've been through FA a decent amount. I went through 1 additional pass through FA + Pathoma (a little superficial in certain sections due to time, I'll admit) about 2 weeks before my dedicated started. I went through UW and Rx during the school year and completed them both before my dedicated study period which was 2 weeks ago.

I then reset UW and just started pounding through it during my dedicated period hoping to get through by next week, leaving me a with about a week to finish Kaplan (at ~4blocks/day). It's been discouraging because I thought I've been doing the right things and showing improvement until I hit dedicated study, when I just seemed to stop. That's why I've been panicking and wondering if I should change my plan and focus on FA more and less on blocks as per some other advice.

My opinion would be to look at what questions you're missing and why. You can pretty much put any wrong answer into one of three categories:
1) Missed it because you just haven't learned/memorized that material (e.g. not knowing whether a gene is a tumor suppressor vs oncogene or not knowing the side effect of some drug....etc)
2) Missed it and it wouldn't really of mattered how much you studied any particular material (e.g. one of those questions where they set up some crazy hypothetical and then expect you to follow along and answer some related question. For example, when they give a bunch of people who got sick at a picnic and then give you the possible foods that caused it and then apply data points to each food and ask you some question...that kind of crap)
3) You missed it and you had everything you needed already in your knowledge bank but you got tricked or did a poor job of applying memorized information.

If you find that your trend is similar to reason 1, then pick up FA and spend your time memorizing everything.

I wouldn't worry too much about missed questions related to reason 2 because there's really not much you can do to fix that and it probably won't make or break you. You just have to hope you can think through one of these if you get it on the real deal.

If you're errors are related to reason 3, then you need QUESTIONS. Rereading FA over and over won't help you much if your problem is applying the material. Also, I would avoid redoing Qbanks over and over until you've exhausted all new qbanks.

4 blocks of questions a day is quite a bit. Make sure you're giving yourself enough time to review them and ask "why am I missing this?" It's not about just chewing through all the questions, it's about never making the same mistake twice.

Good luck man!

 

[deleted604914]

My opinion would be to look at what questions you're missing and why. You can pretty much put any wrong answer into one of three categories:
1) Missed it because you just haven't learned/memorized that material (e.g. not knowing whether a gene is a tumor suppressor vs oncogene or not knowing the side effect of some drug....etc)
2) Missed it and it wouldn't really of mattered how much you studied any particular material (e.g. one of those questions where they set up some crazy hypothetical and then expect you to follow along and answer some related question. For example, when they give a bunch of people who got sick at a picnic and then give you the possible foods that caused it and then apply data points to each food and ask you some question...that kind of crap)
3) You missed it and you had everything you needed already in your knowledge bank but you got tricked or did a poor job of applying memorized information.

If you find that your trend is similar to reason 1, then pick up FA and spend your time memorizing everything.

I wouldn't worry too much about missed questions related to reason 2 because there's really not much you can do to fix that and it probably won't make or break you. You just have to hope you can think through one of these if you get it on the real deal.

If you're errors are related to reason 3, then you need QUESTIONS. Rereading FA over and over won't help you much if your problem is applying the material. Also, I would avoid redoing Qbanks over and over until you've exhausted all new qbanks.

4 blocks of questions a day is quite a bit. Make sure you're giving yourself enough time to review them and ask "why am I missing this?" It's not about just chewing through all the questions, it's about never making the same mistake twice.

Good luck man!

Thanks so much, I really really appreciate it. I do try to figure out what I did wrong during each block and I'd say its probably a mix of 1 & 3.. sometimes its test taking stupidness (not reading carefully or answering too quickly) or just not deciphering the question right (I know the material but for some reason I had no idea what they were getting at in the question) and often its things that I just forget on the spot (crap, which drug did that? or shoot what receptor is that and how does it work). I have a gut feeling that I need to better memorize some things out of FA bc I think if I can at least eliminate my careless mistakes + dumb recall stuff that I should know, I can improve my score.

I am doing UW again only bc I did it throughout the year and figured I'd forget most of it anyways. I occasionally remember the questions I did most recently and sometimes I do psych myself out and think, 'crap I think I got this Q wrong w/ this answer.. so maybe I should pick a diff one', but its usually only maybe ~3-5 a block at most. I figure UW is so good that anyways its worth it to learn the material in the explanations.

I only have 20% left so I might as well finish UW, but maybe I should just not stress out over trying to finish ~1400 Kaplan questions afterwards in the last 2 weeks? Maybe after UW just do 2 Kaplan blocks/day (on high yield) and focus on FA from there on out. Also thoughts on doing Kaplan on tutor vs timed just to save time in the last 2 weeks?

 

[*brobro*]

Thanks so much, I really really appreciate it. I do try to figure out what I did wrong during each block and I'd say its probably a mix of 1 & 3.. sometimes its test taking stupidness (not reading carefully or answering too quickly) or just not deciphering the question right (I know the material but for some reason I had no idea what they were getting at in the question) and often its things that I just forget on the spot (crap, which drug did that? or shoot what receptor is that and how does it work). I have a gut feeling that I need to better memorize some things out of FA bc I think if I can at least eliminate my careless mistakes + dumb recall stuff that I should know, I can improve my score.

I am doing UW again only bc I did it throughout the year and figured I'd forget most of it anyways. I occasionally remember the questions I did most recently and sometimes I do psych myself out and think, 'crap I think I got this Q wrong w/ this answer.. so maybe I should pick a diff one', but its usually only maybe ~3-5 a block at most. I figure UW is so good that anyways its worth it to learn the material in the explanations.

I only have 20% left so I might as well finish UW, but maybe I should just not stress out over trying to finish ~1400 Kaplan questions afterwards in the last 2 weeks? Maybe after UW just do 2 Kaplan blocks/day (on high yield) and focus on FA from there on out. Also thoughts on doing Kaplan on tutor vs timed just to save time in the last 2 weeks?

I don't see any benefit to doing tutor mode unless you find yourself in a setting where there are distractions and you can't sit silently for an hour and do the questions. I also think new questions are better than repeating questions from a bank you've completed (but that's totally just personal opinion)...I didn't think Uworld lived up to its hype in comparison to kaplan or Rx (I think they're all decent but I don't think Uworld is THAT much better). Uworld likes to purposely make things complicated and the real test didn't do that nearly as much. Uworld puts you in detective mode, like you're always looking for the tricky angle...this can hurt you on NBMEs. In an NBME, if it's waddling, quacking, and floating on the water...it's a duck. In Uworld, if it's waddling, quacking, and floating on the water...it's probably a dog under the water with a duck in it's mouth that just overdosed on fish antibiotics in a mercury poisoned lake.

 

[ALUCSD18]

Got my score back today. I took Step 1 the week of 5/11/15.

I had 4.5 weeks to prepare. Studied an average of 10-12 hrs per day 6 days a week. UFAP plus some Goljan audio and RR when I could manage it. Did well in all of my first and second-year classes. Kept meaning to start board prep during 2nd semester of 2nd year, but...life. So I didn't start studying til my dedicated period.

Didn't start using FA or pathoma til late first year. If I could go back and change anything that I did, it would be to start using those resources from the very beginning. I ended up buying the 2015 edition of FA at the beginning of this year. (I had been annotating my 2013 copy alongside my classes.) I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is a must, but I'm glad I got the most recent edition. If only because having a clean copy kind of discouraged me from taking too many notes and destroying it like I had with my 2013 copy. Plus the 2015 edition has more diagrams that I found more useful.

Finished UWorld 2 days before my exam, ended up with ~67% overall, but I had a pretty sharp increase in my scores (80-85%) 5-6 days before Step.

I took a total of 6 practice tests during my dedicated study time:
School CBSE at the end of second year (early April 2015): 205
UWSA 2: 218
UWSA 1: 225
NBME 16: 222
NBME 17: 228
NBME 15: 228

Real deal: 247

So happy and kinda stunned! I felt like I had a much better understanding of the material than what my scores were reflecting, so, needless to say, I was getting pretty frustrated toward the end. So glad that my score on the real thing matched up better with how I felt about it. Definitely easier than Uworld. I would say it was about the same level of difficulty as the NBMEs, but the questions seemed more straightforward.

As lame as this is going to sound, my best advice is to learn it the first time around. All the stuff that I half assed was the same stuff that became a huge time suck during my study period (ANS drugs, GI). Everything that I had a good handle on during the year came back more easily and I was able to bump it up a level. I really tried to focus on making connections and anticipating whatever I could be tested on.

Other stuff:
-Burn out is real! Don't let it happen to you.
-If something is just not getting into your head, MOVE ON. You're probably still going to get that
question wrong, so you may as well start working on something that will actually end up helping you out.
-SLEEP. Seriously guys, make it a priority. There is no point in trying to learn stuff when you're super tired. Everything just ends up all jumbled in your head and now you're even more tired (and stressed) than you were before.

That's all I can think of for now, if I think of something else that could be useful to you guys I will come back and add more.

Congratulations on your score. Weren't step scores supposed to come out in July for those who took the test on 5/11? Thanks

 

[Ryuzaki]

Yeah, I was under the impression that they were supposed to come out in July?
This would be great news, but does that mean other people have their scores or just a few?

 

[lunalight]

Congratulations on your score. Weren't step scores supposed to come out in July for those who took the test on 5/11? Thanks

Yeah, I was under the impression that they were supposed to come out in July?
This would be great news, but does that mean other people have their scores or just a few?

Thanks! I'm just glad it's over, lol.

I took the 46 question version, so I think that's why I got my score today. I think the center I tested at switched to the 44 question version a day or 2 after I took it.

 

[DrKhan1]

I need some advice regarding ethics. I've done Uworld, Kaplan, FA and 100 cases by Fischer but ethics has been my weakest area on Uworld. If I only have 3 hours to spare for 3 days each, would you guys recommend going through Khan's cases or high yield behavioural science?

 

[DrKhan1]

Also, I'm scoring relatively low on the miscellaneous/ integrated section of Uworld. Any advice on how to make up for that?

 

[seminoma]

The reason I started doing Kaplan was because I had already went through Rx once and UW twice. I had 2 weeks to fill so I decided to try and knock out Kaplan by doing 4 blocks a day and reading 1 chapter in FA. After a week of that and my NBME drop I said screw it and only read FA for the last week. And by read FA I mean going through it carefully and trying to understand every word. Took me 2 weeks to go through it and only got it done twice. Got through about 2/3 of Kaplan.

Have you gone through FA completely? My NBME originally jumped 13 points after I went through it.

Hey congrats on being done with USMLE. I bet you killed it and are gonna crush COMLEX too. Did you do your last pass of FA in any particular order? Trying to do DIT threw my schedule off a ton, but I'm going to make one more complete pass of FA before my test. Over the last week and a half or so I've just been reading the page(s) of FA that correspond to the UW questions I've been doing (rather than just reading a chapter of FA per day like I did for my first pass). Don't have a plan yet for my last full pass though. Can't decide if I want to do stuff like behavioral/micro last because they are "crammable" or if I'd rather do the "high yield" systems (cardio, repro, pulm, renal, neuro) last so they're really fresh going into my test.

 

[dfib slim]

Hey congrats on being done with USMLE. I bet you killed it and are gonna crush COMLEX too. Did you do your last pass of FA in any particular order? Trying to do DIT threw my schedule off a ton, but I'm going to make one more complete pass of FA before my test. Over the last week and a half or so I've just been reading the page(s) of FA that correspond to the UW questions I've been doing (rather than just reading a chapter of FA per day like I did for my first pass). Don't have a plan yet for my last full pass though. Can't decide if I want to do stuff like behavioral/micro last because they are "crammable" or if I'd rather do the "high yield" systems (cardio, repro, pulm, renal, neuro) last so they're really fresh going into my test.

I went through the organ systems first and in order. Then did the first sections in reverse order. I wanted to do all the crammable sections last so they were fresh in my head. Don't forget the rapid review at the end.

 

[super_mom]

I went through the organ systems first and in order. Then did the first sections in reverse order. I wanted to do all the crammable sections last so they were fresh in my head. Don't forget the rapid review at the end.

does the rapid review at the end of FA really help….i have been contemplating doing it or not doing it

 

[stepone2015]

does the rapid review at the end of FA really help….i have been contemplating doing it or not doing it

I liked it. I kind of treat it like mini-practice questions. I read the presentation, and then try to guess what the disease would be. I've found some holes in my knowledge just by doing that.

 

[dfib slim]

does the rapid review at the end of FA really help….i have been contemplating doing it or not doing it

Sure doesn't hurt. Only takes like 1-2 hours.

I liked it. I kind of treat it like mini-practice questions. I read the presentation, and then try to guess what the disease would be. I've found some holes in my knowledge just by doing that.

This is what I did.

 

[super_mom]

I liked it. I kind of treat it like mini-practice questions. I read the presentation, and then try to guess what the disease would be. I've found some holes in my knowledge just by doing that.

ok thanks i will get to it then…i still have about 5 weeks to go

 

[super_mom]

Sure doesn't hurt. Only takes like 1-2 hours.

This is what I did.

thanks i will do it every evening

 

[dfib slim]

thanks i will do it every evening

I wouldn't say every evening. Once a few days before the exam should be plenty.