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Official 2016 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Transposony

Transposony

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Took mine yesterday. Definitely a tough test. Right on par with NBME 18 or UWorld, but maybe a little harder because of the endurance factor. Questions were all over the place, but a few were definitely re-used from NBME 16,17,18 despite them claiming contrary.

I've recalled about 40+ questions that bothered me because I didn't know them or was torn between choices. And it looks like I've missed about ~17 of those. Of course, there will be some random questions I missed that I didn't expect to. My batting average going into this thing was around 259 across NBME 12 - 18 and UWSAs, with NBME 17: 260, NBME 18: 262. With the number of questions I've already gotten wrong, I doubt I will make 260.
 
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Donald Kimball said:
Took mine yesterday. Definitely a tough test. Right on par with NBME 18 or UWorld, but maybe a little harder because of the endurance factor. Questions were all over the place, but a few were definitely re-used from NBME 16,17,18 despite them claiming contrary.

I've recalled about 40+ questions that bothered me because I didn't know them or was torn between choices. And it looks like I've missed about ~17 of those. Of course, there will be some random questions I missed that I didn't expect to. My batting average going into this thing was around 259 across NBME 12 - 18 and UWSAs, with NBME 17: 260, NBME 18: 262. With the number of questions I've already gotten wrong, I doubt I will make 260.
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I took mine on the 17th and I was scoring in the 240s on practice exams. I am freaking out because I am counting about 30 wrong and I can remember about 150 that I got right. I basically have to dominate the last 100 questions that I cannot think of right now in order to get back in the 240s. I made so many stupid stupid mistakes. It seems like they went out of their way to avoid "buzzwords". It definitely tripped me up a little.
 
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postbacpremed87 said:
I took mine on the 17th and I was scoring in the 240s on practice exams. I am freaking out because I am counting about 30 wrong and I can remember about 150 that I got right. I basically have to dominate the last 100 questions that I cannot think of right now in order to get back in the 240s. I made so many stupid stupid mistakes. It seems like they went out of their way to avoid "buzzwords". It definitely tripped me up a little.
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Surprisingly, I still saw a handful of buzzwords.

Glad to see someone else unhealthily obsesses over missed questions. The bright side is that we're more likely to remember frustrating, hard questions, so the sample of questions we remember should account for most of our incorrects. In the end, I hope we'll score right around our averages, but it's easy to psych ourselves out.
 
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Donald Kimball said:
Surprisingly, I still saw a handful of buzzwords.

Glad to see someone else unhealthily obsesses over missed questions. The bright side is that we're more likely to remember frustrating, hard questions, so the sample of questions we remember should account for most of our incorrects. In the end, I hope we'll score right around our averages, but it's easy to psych ourselves out.
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Hopefully that's the case. Let us know how you did!
 
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Donald Kimball said:
Surprisingly, I still saw a handful of buzzwords.

Glad to see someone else unhealthily obsesses over missed questions. The bright side is that we're more likely to remember frustrating, hard questions, so the sample of questions we remember should account for most of our incorrects. In the end, I hope we'll score right around our averages, but it's easy to psych ourselves out.
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It is highly likely that you scored right near your NBME average. Do your best to relax and rejoice in the fact that you'll never have to take Step 1 again.
 
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postbacpremed87 said:
I took mine on the 17th and I was scoring in the 240s on practice exams. I am freaking out because I am counting about 30 wrong and I can remember about 150 that I got right. I basically have to dominate the last 100 questions that I cannot think of right now in order to get back in the 240s. I made so many stupid stupid mistakes. It seems like they went out of their way to avoid "buzzwords". It definitely tripped me up a little.
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In the exact same situation. I know of at least 20-30 I've missed (and I'm sure there were others I've forgotten) and was also scoring in the 240s-260s on practice exams. I'll keep my fingers crossed for both of us. 🙂
 
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I don't know how you guys remember this many questions afterwards! I think there were maybe ten that I put in the back of my mind to look up later, and of those I think I missed four. Not a great ratio of correct to incorrect answers on questions I remember...

Maybe I don't remember specific questions because I didn't sleep the night before, and the first thing I did when I got home afterward was drink beer and take a snooze on the porch until night.
 
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doyouhaveaflag said:
I don't know how you guys remember this many questions afterwards! I think there were maybe ten that I put in the back of my mind to look up later, and of those I think I missed four. Not a great ratio of correct to incorrect answers on questions I remember...

Maybe I don't remember specific questions because I didn't sleep the night before, and the first thing I did when I got home afterward was drink beer and take a snooze on the porch until night.
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Probably a good thing you don't remember questions, else you'll just beat yourself up for missing dumb ones
 
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6 days until my exam and finishing up my Uworld incorrects currently. Planning to do the FA rapid review as well as re-watch some sketchy for just the organisms that I don't feel 100% about. any other suggestions for these last couple days? things you wish you had done before your exam?
 
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clon0rchis said:
hi guys,
new to this. i took step 1 a few months ago and scored 220. I'm a caribbean med student. can someone tell me if i will ever match to a university-program IM or anesthesiology residency?
much appreciated.
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W19 said:
Apply broadly! IM--maybe. Gas--unlikely.
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Community gas is more likely than university IM for a Carib student with a 220.

University either are really low chance tho.
 
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postbacpremed87 said:
I missed some really dumb ones. After the stress of the test was over, I finally figured out what they wanted on one of the questions. It's so ANNOYING.
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UGH. SAME. I took it on Wednesday (6/22) and I feel like I kept second-guessing myself over truly STUPID things. Its going to be a LONG few weeks.

For those that haven't taken it yet, here are my two cents-
My test was a lot heavier on biostats than other people have said, which really surprised me. I honestly didn't spend that much time (only one whole study day) on biostats because I didn't think it would be as high-yeild as it seemed to be on my test. Those are definitely some "gimme points" kind of questions if you are prepared but unfortunately I wasn't. However, as far as the other questions go, I felt like it was very similar to Uworld and NBMEs. Of course there were maybe ~4ish per block that were things I had never seen before but at the same time I felt that someone could reason through them if they had enough time- hopefully those are the "experimental" ones I keep hearing about... ha. I think the reason I kept second guessing myself was because I just got a little flustered a couple of times for random reasons- feeling a little pressed for time on a couple of blocks, person next to me sounding like he was playing a symphony on his keyboard for an hour while typing for a GRE, etc. I wish I was able to stay a little more calm during some parts of the test, but taking a break for a few minutes to get some water, eat a snack, and walk around helped me return to it feeling a little refreshed. I did bring First Aid and some other notes to keep in my locker, and I tried looking at it a couple of times between blocks but it felt pretty useless because its impossible to know what is about to be tested and I just found myself just obsessing over things I thought I missed during the previous block and beating myself up over it.

It may sound cheesy, but just try and stay calm and go in there knowing that there is no way you can possibly know everything. No one can. You've done everything you can up to this point, and you should be excited to show what you DO know. If you come to a question that you seriously have no idea, just mark an answer and come back to it if you have time. Take breaks, bring snacks. It goes by pretty fast, you are 7 hours away from FREEDOM. You got this.
 
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TheShaker said:
I'm pretty sure they know exactly what students prioritize and what resources they're using. There can't be any other explanation as to why I got more parasites than I did through my whole time in UW. Almost every time I got a micro question, I was just thinking, "they totally know I blew off parasites and that sketchy kinda sucked for worms."

I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS, RANDOM INTERN AT NBME. I HATE YOU.
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I felt the exact same way. And I didn't even blow off parasites, I learned everything in sketchy and FA. So where in the HELL did they get those parasite questions from?!
 
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I took Step 1 a few weeks ago and I felt horrible for a few days, then took COMLEX a week after. I try not to think about it but I just get little panic attacks once in a while. I don't want a super high score... My last NBME scores were 232, 218, 226. I did USMLE Rx 73%, COMQUEST 72% and 60% of UWORLD 73%. I felt like I made some stupid mistakes (at least 20 that I can easily recall) that I shouldn't had missed and just left feeling like crap after the exam. I'm so worried 🙁
 
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No one is receiving their scores until July 13th. Period.

I've always said this: if the NBME had some expedited score report option for $1000, they would make a killing.
 
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sunealoneal said:
Hey, I'm 10 days away from Step 1.

NBME 18: 500 / 228
14% left on UWorld.

I'm a DO wanting to do rad onc, so I'm "needing" to be in the 240s to be remotely competitive. Is a ~12 point jump in 10 days realistic? My weaknesses seem to be clustered in 2-3 areas if that means anything.
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AnalisCanalis said:
Honestly that won't even do it. 2/2 independent applicants with 260+ failed to match according to the most recent charting outcomes. There even seems to be a negative correlation between score and probability of matching. Tough situation.
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W19 said:
You might need 250+ for rad onc as a DO student...
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Overlay all the 4 DOs that matched into Rad Onc on the 2014 charting outcomes. You will find for certain 1 DO that matched with a USMLE score of 230-240. Now overlay all the DOs on the chart that matched on the extreme end of scores. You have 2 DOs that "may" have 250-260 score and 2 DOs that "may" have a 230-240 score. There are too many factors in play as to say what score is the most effective (there were 2 scores of 260 that matched, but it wasn't that the scores weren't high enough, but other parts of the application were up to par). DOs have some wiggle room here for error, so one "doesn't necessarily" need a 250+. However, everything else has to be great in other aspects of ones application (clinical grades, research etc.). So even a 240+ is in the realm of doable for a DO based on the data.

I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the negative correlation either. This is happening because the numbers are too small to get an accurate read on board scores, even true for fields like plastic surgery. Those who didn't match probably didn't have enough specialty specific research, not so stellar grades, and didn't do well on auditions. Again I think a DO has a "reasonable enough" shot at rad on with a 240+, as long as the other aspects of the application are strong based on the data. It is still an uphill battle for a DO none the less.
 
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I took the practice exam at prometric yesterday. I wonder if anyone came across a similar question: The DM type 1 girl is not following the treatment plan, and her doc (who has been having trouble with her misbehaving son at home) tells the girl "cant you see we're all trying to help you?!" I was stuck between projection and countertransference.
 
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f80.jpg

Every damn morning when I have to wake up and do more UW questions...
 
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Boricua27 said:
I took the practice exam at prometric yesterday. I wonder if anyone came across a similar question: The DM type 1 girl is not following the treatment plan, and her doc (who has been having trouble with her misbehaving son at home) tells the girl "cant you see we're all trying to help you?!" I was stuck between projection and countertransference.
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Doctor --> patient is almost always countertransferance
 
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Feeling a bit disheartened...

Rx- 81%
nbme 12- 247
nbme 13- 258
nbme 15- 247
UWSA1- 256
UWSA2- 243
uWorld-79%, 30% complete

I have been shooting for a 250+ and had been hovering around there, but for some reason UWSA2 predicts me the lowest I've been yet.
 
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Need some help here!

I have completed 75% of Uword with a 57% average.. I have taken 3 NBME and I am not seeing any progress...

NBME 13... 188
NBME 15... 190
NBME 16.... 200

My target score is 220+ and I have a little bit over 2 weeks before my exam... Should I postpone? I am pretty sure my school will give me an extra 4-6 weeks if I ask...But the downside is that I will start clerkship a little late.
 
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Boricua27 said:
I took the practice exam at prometric yesterday. I wonder if anyone came across a similar question: The DM type 1 girl is not following the treatment plan, and her doc (who has been having trouble with her misbehaving son at home) tells the girl "cant you see we're all trying to help you?!" I was stuck between projection and countertransference.
Click to expand...

Countertransference. Please google explanation for 2016 official step1 practice test. There are all of the answers of free 117.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
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W19 said:
Need some help here!

I have completed 75% of Uword with a 57% average.. I have taken 3 NBME and I am not seeing any progress...

NBME 13... 188
NBME 15... 190
NBME 16.... 200

My target score is 220+ and I have a little bit over 2 weeks before my exam... Should I postpone? I am pretty sure my school will give me an extra 4-6 weeks if I ask...But the downside is that I will start clerkship a little late.
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20 points in 2 weeks might be difficult. although you might be able to do it. have you done all of pathoma? pathoma really helped me bring my score from low 200s upward.
 
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Boricua27 said:
I took the practice exam at prometric yesterday. I wonder if anyone came across a similar question: The DM type 1 girl is not following the treatment plan, and her doc (who has been having trouble with her misbehaving son at home) tells the girl "cant you see we're all trying to help you?!" I was stuck between projection and countertransference.
Click to expand...
I found these explanations to be both amusing and helpful. Hope this helps you:

http://www.benwhite.com/medicine/explanations-for-the-2016-official-step-1-practice-questions/
 
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I took my exam on the 27th and am wondering if I will be included in the "May 9th through late June" scores being released on July 13th. Wouldn't that be a very short waiting period?
 
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I took Step 1 on June 17th and my NBME homepage still shows my permit and basically looks like it did before I took it. Is this the way it is supposed to be?
 
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med001 said:
I took my exam on the 27th and am wondering if I will be included in the "May 9th through late June" scores being released on July 13th. Wouldn't that be a very short waiting period?
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I'm taking mine tomorrow and I was hoping for the same thing. But I doubt it considering July 13 is only 2 weeks away 🙁
 
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Hey guys, my exam is next week and I'm not sure what I should be doing for the next few days in order to maximize my score.

Here's a breakdown of my NBME scores:

School CBSA: 217
NBME 15: 234
NBME 16: 239
NBME 17: 254

I would love to break 260 but with 1 week left the odds are against me. I've read FA a couple of times, UWorld ~2x and Pathoma 1x during the school year. What would you do if you had a week left?
 
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Paeon said:
Hey guys, my exam is next week and I'm not sure what I should be doing for the next few days in order to maximize my score.

Here's a breakdown of my NBME scores:

School CBSA: 217
NBME 15: 234
NBME 16: 239
NBME 17: 254

I would love to break 260 but with 1 week left the odds are against me. I've read FA a couple of times, UWorld ~2x and Pathoma 1x during the school year. What would you do if you had a week left?
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I would definitely do another pass over Pathoma
 
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Hi there,
Have been following SDN since my premed years and now I am here 30days away from the Beast posting for the first time. This has been asked many times but every situation is slightly different so I would appreciate any comment

Dedicated starts tomorrow
School administered CBSA: 205
NBME 15: 210 (few days before school CBSA)
UWORLD: 61% (completed 100% before CBSA)
USMLE Rx: 70% (completed about ½ before CBSA)
Becker Qbank: 61% (started this after CBSA)

By now, went through First Aid x2
Pathoma once during school
Goljan audios x2
Sketchy Micro x2, Pharm x1
Used mix of FC, Anki and self made flash cards extensively throughout my MS2
Planning to take all NBME, UWSA
My goal is >240, is this realistic with a month left and baseline described above
 
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Took USMLE yesterday. Thought it was a fair test, but have been constantly thinking about the select questions that I got stumped on, and in hindsight should have known. Sucks, but hopefully I'm only hyper-focusing on those and tested comparably to my practice test and UWorld performance. My strategy was to read through FA 3X supplemented with Sketchy for micro/pharm, UWorld 2X and Pathoma 2X. Completed the Kaplan QBank provided through the school, and completed UWorld 1.7x through (was hitting 90% correct on blocks leading up to my test date). So with Kaplan, USMLE-Rx (used during school year), and UWorld, I'd say I completed close to 8,000 questions.

Progress:
5/29/2016 NBME 16 243
6/1/2016 USMLE Kaplan practice test through school - 71%
6/9/16 UWorld 1st Pass 79%
6/12/16 UWSA1 264
6/19/16 NBME 17 260
6/26/16 UWorld 2nd Pass 91% (~70% completed)
6/26/16 UWSA2 264
6/29/16 TEST DAY - Actual Score ??????

What I'd do differently: probably not much. Reading FA multiple times was easily the best thing I did. Hammering through UWorld was really helpful. NBME exams were pretty representative of what I saw on my test. Sketchy for micro/pharm was hands-down, the best resource for me to learn those topics. Micro and pharm were so straightforward on the actual test that it was almost laughable. Some questions on the real deal were a little more vague (as in leaving out details that would clue you into a diagnosis faster), but overall a good test. Got quite a few physiology questions with the arrows, which I'm not terribly good at, but think I managed. Just worried about if I performed up to my full potential or if those easy points that I missed point to a larger struggle throughout the test. Who knows. Already anxiously waiting to see my score, but it will be a few weeks...
 
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took the step today! honestly I feel really mixed about it. there were some questions that were definitely really easy but there were also so many that I just wasn't sure about. Of course I have already counted a couple stupid mistakes that I am kicking myself in the butt for. I personally thought some of those questions were much harder than UWorld and NBME. Just my personal opinion. At this point I am just hoping I passed the exam because right now it feels like I could have gotten a 50% on that thing lol. I also felt like I knew sketchy in and out yet somehow that did pretty much nothing for me in micro haha. guess time will tell.
 
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