Official 2016 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Transposony

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I personally think that it is because of better exam resources and people busting their ass more for the test. The questions were perhaps easier than what we have now. I have seen a 20 year old step1qbook in my school library and it was quite simple. The questions were mainly one liners. There were not many high quality exam resources in those days. I mean it would be really tough to do well in step1 if we had to study from Robbin's path.
These days , we have on demand lectures, anki deck , qbanks that simulate the real deal and host of other stuff. My theory is the the 5 point increase in the median score in the last 5 years is due to people using Pathoma and other resources. 5 years ago people used bootlegged audio lectures of Goljan. Besides FA today is a lot more detailed compared to what it was in 2010.
 
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I just called and they said they send you an email between 1030-11am EST, and then the score is reported at 11am EST. They said its not necessarily only on Wednesday's either.
 
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ShahRukhKhan said:
I just called and they said they send you an email between 1030-11am EST, and then the score is reported at 11am EST. They said its not necessarily only on Wednesday's either.
Click to expand...
LOL I called them too "You will get your score back in 3-8 weeks, any time of the day"... Note to anyone reading this - don't even bother calling them.

and no @optimuss were all still waiting too

EDIT: If ANYONE has received an email today please post!
 
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Silverish said:
LOL I called them too "You will get your score back in 3-8 weeks, any time of the day"... Note to anyone reading this - don't even bother calling them.

and no @optimuss were all still waiting too

EDIT: If ANYONE has received an email today please post!
Click to expand...

I took the test on November 18th and I got my score last week. I guess thanksgiving delayed everything if you took it on that week.
 
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Also got my score! 236 (see page 2 of this thread for my NBMEs/UWSA)

Edit:
NBME11 - 224
CBSE (school mediated) - 225
NBME12 - 228
NBME13 - 232
NBME15 - 245
NBME16 - 239
NBME17 - 230 (I think I stopped caring about NBME's at this point because I had the jist of what I was likely to get)
UWSA1 - 247
UWSA2 - 238
Uworld Avg - 73%
Kaplan Qbank (early) - 66%
 
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tasar1898 said:
Congrats @Silverish , seems like UWSA-2 was right on the spot for you! Hope you are happy with your score
Click to expand...
Crazy thing is... if you take out the earlier NBME's of mine (11, CBSE, and 12), then average them, it gives you exactly my STEP1 score

Also, Im very happy with my score. It doesn't eliminate me from many fields of practice and keeps my options open, so im very optimistic!
 
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Wish you the best , maybe any advice for my last 7 days?? Still have CV,resp,repro,micro,MSK,neuro,psych to go through and I feel drowned in all this info..
 
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tasar1898 said:
Wish you the best , maybe any advice for my last 7 days?? Still have CV,resp,repro,micro,MSK,neuro,psych to go through and I feel drowned in all this info..
Click to expand...
Obviously go through those things, but truthfully - if you feel like you just can't - thats also alright.
On the STEP, I thought I'd be screwed because I forgot to look over some "short-term memory stuff" and I hardly got any questions on it (i.e CYP inhibitors/inducers), best of luck to you!
 
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tasar1898 said:
Wish you the best , maybe any advice for my last 7 days?? Still have CV,resp,repro,micro,MSK,neuro,psych to go through and I feel drowned in all this info..
Click to expand...

Skim through FA, at this point you either know the material or you don't, don't bother with minutae, high yield is high yield for a reason, I wouldn't even worry about annotations nor notes. There were a few qs on my exam that were only in FA and not in any other resource and I regretted not giving it another run a week before the exam. Make sure you get a good night's rest the day before the exam and try to sleep ( I know it'll be difficult). Make sure you take a 5 min breather between every block and relax and forget about it. IMO there will be 3-4 questions in a block that are pretty wtf that you can't really prepare for no matter how much you study, just take your best shot and accept it. Try to not overthink questions, atleast 50% will be easy stuff right from FA/Qbank concepts, 35-40% will be those concepts tested in a more complex difficult way.

You put in enough work the past few months and it will pay off! Best of luck. Step 1 prep is a marathon and not something that's cram-able.
 
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@Silverish @Leafcolonel thanks to both of you . I was trying to be REALLY thorough with my last pass of FA, but didn't work coz I only managed like 30 pg's a day.. I ll just skim through everything and hope my subconscious absorbs more than my cortex.. Resp/psych finished now MSK , neuro , micro , cv , repro left
 
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dfib slim said:
Don't forget about the rapid review in the back of FA.
Click to expand...
Sketchy micro is amazing and very useful, but not at all complete. While you can just skim over the actual organisms since you've got the big picture on all of them, you DO have to go over the other stuff found in FA like the toxins, cell structures, etc. With those two things, you're okay for Step Id say.
 
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12172015 said:
Thanks. But I'm not sure I'd agree that zero improvement over the course of six weeks is a positive thing.
Click to expand...

It is impossible to give suggestions or insight into your lack of improvement without details of what you have been doing with your time.
 
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Dont mind me , just want to whine a little .. 4days of studying left but motivation is zero. still have micro msk half of CV neuro and uworld notes to go through..

Managed to finish 137 free q's over 3 last days , got 131/137 . Feels like i know nothing but i guess i can answer q's so hope for the best. Good luck to all others taking it soon..
 
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I felt the same way in the days leading up to the exam and it's not true! Keep up the studying and take the day before the exam off. Good luck!
 
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tasar1898 said:
Dont mind me , just want to whine a little .. 4days of studying left but motivation is zero. still have micro msk half of CV neuro and uworld notes to go through..

Managed to finish 137 free q's over 3 last days , got 131/137 . Feels like i know nothing but i guess i can answer q's so hope for the best. Good luck to all others taking it soon..
Click to expand...

You got this!
 
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tasar1898 said:
Dont mind me , just want to whine a little .. 4days of studying left but motivation is zero. still have micro msk half of CV neuro and uworld notes to go through..

Managed to finish 137 free q's over 3 last days , got 131/137 . Feels like i know nothing but i guess i can answer q's so hope for the best. Good luck to all others taking it soon..
Click to expand...

ATypicalLymphocyte said:
I felt the same way in the days leading up to the exam and it's not true! Keep up the studying and take the day before the exam off. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Glad to know other people feel like this.

Good luck @tasar1898. Have faith in your practice test scores, show up test day and you'll rock it.
 
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@tasar1898

You seem to be really doing great on the assessments like NBME and free 137,Uworld etc..can u please post your prep materials? and your prep strategy? How long did it take you?

Lowly IMG here going to start step 1 prep..would love to hear from you 🙂
 
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Did anyone's Rx question account show any recent changes? I was working through them, and then the other day, the number of unused questions went up mysteriously by a couple hundred.

edit: person below noticed changes as well...if anyone knows did they substitute in questions or simply add more in?
 
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Hey guys.. I am finally done with step 1!!! i ll do a fast write up since i gotta pack to leave for skiing tomorrow

First about test: Its doable.. Most of the questions test super classic concepts but they may twist it a bit so you can never be sure .. I felt like I was guessing in >40% of my questions… They took a great effort to make even simple stuff as vague as possible . I got tricked in stupid answers in at least 3 questions! Like when i saw the answer in FA i wanted to hit my head on the wall.. Anyways the questions are like that : 5% super easy , just a random guy off the street can answer them , 10% easy for med student , 40% normal stuff but twisted , 35% kinda hard but doable , 5% impossible!! ( i have never seen this stuff in my life before , total guess) Don't care about this last 5% unless you are shooting for 280.. They put them in there so noone can ever answer all the questions correct

About time : I had like 10-15 mins spare in each block that I used as extra break to relax , reviewing stuff tends to make me over think and do stupid mistakes.. Last 2 blocks i finished just on the hour mark because I was tired and wasn't 100% focused ( checked ceiling , floor , other people etc.. )

Be very careful with red bull and other similar products .. I wasn't used to it and chugged one before my 2nd block and i thought my heart was gonna break and got super dizzy during the last 10q's of the block ( hope i didn't bomb them…) Had to take 30 min break to get well again… If u don't drink that stuff regularly stick to good old coffee

Minutiae questions were around 5 in my test , so don't get too crazy with memorizing .. Also i had ZERO questions on milestones!!! GOOD RIDDANCE , i never bothered to 100% memorize it and never will , also ZERO questions on lysosomal storage diseases… GOOD RIDDANCE too!

I truly think that if someone reads through FA and truly tries to understand it instead of just trying to memorize it he will do great on this test ( but take it with a grain of salt , I have very mixed feelings about my test , I think my score could be anything from 200-260)

About anatomy… like 20 questions max about classic stuff , 1-2 WTF minutiae that only anatomy professors can answer , so just stick with FA uWorld

My prep : Path : Pathoma in 3rd year ( now I am fifth year , just reviewed a little and annotated to FA ) Goljan one pass and annotated to FA what i found important , Webpath ( GREAT use it if you have time) + Goljan lectures ( hear them if you can , got at least 5 q's right due to listening to the Path master )

Biochem/Molecular/Genetics : Kaplan + HY molecular just a little bit about the developmental genes + FA

Immuno/Micro : Kaplan + FA + Sketchymicro + How the immune system works ( PERFECT BOOK , read it if you have time)

Stats / Behavioral / Ethics blah blah : Kaplan + FA ( wanted to do khans book , had no time..)

Anatomy /Neuro : Kaplan / HY Gross(clinical vignettes only ) / FA--> Neuro super simple on my test .. all these pathways and brain stem memorizing… total waste..

Pharm : Kaplan + FA ( so many drugs , so little time… i got 2 wtf q's on drugs that i think no resource could ever prepare you for )

Physio : Kaplan / Wikipedia/ FA Try to put extra effort here so no arrow q's can scare you

Practicess-- > 6wks ago : NBME 11- 262-660( But i cheated in 2q's)
4wks ago : UWSA -2 : 265+
3wks ago : UWSA - 1 : 262
2wks ago : NBME -17 : 266/680

Will Update with my score when I get it , Good luck to everyone else still struggling with this damn test . Remember its doable , and don't stay too much on SDN ( found out that the stuff we talk about here are so LOWWWW yield.. stick with the basics and master them) Merry Christmas to all!!!

Edit: forgot timeline : first 3-4 months all day reading books and FA , 1 month Kaplan q bank(80%) , then 2nd pass of FA , then Uworld 1 month (88%) , then 2 weeks only FA .. No time to finish 3rd pass .. Total around 7 -8 months with 1 week summer break
 
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tasar1898 said:
Hey guys.. I am finally done with step 1!!! i ll do a fast write up since i gotta pack to leave for skiing tomorrow

First about test: Its doable.. Most of the questions test super classic concepts but they may twist it a bit so you can never be sure .. I felt like I was guessing in >40% of my questions… They took a great effort to make even simple stuff as vague as possible . I got tricked in stupid answers in at least 3 questions! Like when i saw the answer in FA i wanted to hit my head on the wall.. Anyways the questions are like that : 5% super easy , just a random guy off the street can answer them , 10% easy for med student , 40% normal stuff but twisted , 35% kinda hard but doable , 5% impossible!! ( i have never seen this stuff in my life before , total guess) Don't care about this last 5% unless you are shooting for 280.. They put them in there so noone can ever answer all the questions correct

About time : I had like 10-15 mins spare in each block that I used as extra break to relax , reviewing stuff tends to make me over think and do stupid mistakes.. Last 2 blocks i finished just on the hour mark because I was tired and wasn't 100% focused ( checked ceiling , floor , other people etc.. )

Be very careful with red bull and other similar products .. I wasn't used to it and chugged one before my 2nd block and i thought my heart was gonna break and got super dizzy during the last 10q's of the block ( hope i didn't bomb them…) Had to take 30 min break to get well again… If u don't drink that stuff regularly stick to good old coffee

Minutiae questions were around 5 in my test , so don't get too crazy with memorizing .. Also i had ZERO questions on milestones!!! GOOD RIDDANCE , i never bothered to 100% memorize it and never will , also ZERO questions on lysosomal storage diseases… GOOD RIDDANCE too!

I truly think that if someone reads through FA and truly tries to understand it instead of just trying to memorize it he will do great on this test ( but take it with a grain of salt , I have very mixed feelings about my test , I think my score could be anything from 200-260)

About anatomy… like 20 questions max about classic stuff , 1-2 WTF minutiae that only anatomy professors can answer , so just stick with FA uWorld

My prep : Path : Pathoma in 3rd year ( now I am fifth year , just reviewed a little and annotated to FA ) Goljan one pass and annotated to FA what i found important , Webpath ( GREAT use it if you have time) + Goljan lectures ( hear them if you can , got at least 5 q's right due to listening to the Path master )

Biochem/Molecular/Genetics : Kaplan + HY molecular just a little bit about the developmental genes + FA

Immuno/Micro : Kaplan + FA + Sketchymicro + How the immune system works ( PERFECT BOOK , read it if you have time)

Stats / Behavioral / Ethics blah blah : Kaplan + FA ( wanted to do khans book , had no time..)

Anatomy /Neuro : Kaplan / HY Gross(clinical vignettes only ) / FA--> Neuro super simple on my test .. all these pathways and brain stem memorizing… total waste..

Pharm : Kaplan + FA ( so many drugs , so little time… i got 2 wtf q's on drugs that i think no resource could ever prepare you for )

Physio : Kaplan / Wikipedia/ FA Try to put extra effort here so no arrow q's can scare you

Practicess-- > 6wks ago : NBME 11- 262-660( But i cheated in 2q's)
4wks ago : UWSA -2 : 265+
3wks ago : UWSA - 1 : 262
2wks ago : NBME -17 : 266/680

Will Update with my score when I get it , Good luck to everyone else still struggling with this damn test . Remember its doable , and don't stay too much on SDN ( found out that the stuff we talk about here are so LOWWWW yield.. stick with the basics and master them) Merry Christmas to all!!!
Click to expand...

Good luck champ! merry christmas and happy new year
 
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tasar1898 said:
Hey guys.. I am finally done with step 1!!! i ll do a fast write up since i gotta pack to leave for skiing tomorrow

First about test: Its doable.. Most of the questions test super classic concepts but they may twist it a bit so you can never be sure .. I felt like I was guessing in >40% of my questions… They took a great effort to make even simple stuff as vague as possible . I got tricked in stupid answers in at least 3 questions! Like when i saw the answer in FA i wanted to hit my head on the wall.. Anyways the questions are like that : 5% super easy , just a random guy off the street can answer them , 10% easy for med student , 40% normal stuff but twisted , 35% kinda hard but doable , 5% impossible!! ( i have never seen this stuff in my life before , total guess) Don't care about this last 5% unless you are shooting for 280.. They put them in there so noone can ever answer all the questions correct

About time : I had like 10-15 mins spare in each block that I used as extra break to relax , reviewing stuff tends to make me over think and do stupid mistakes.. Last 2 blocks i finished just on the hour mark because I was tired and wasn't 100% focused ( checked ceiling , floor , other people etc.. )

Be very careful with red bull and other similar products .. I wasn't used to it and chugged one before my 2nd block and i thought my heart was gonna break and got super dizzy during the last 10q's of the block ( hope i didn't bomb them…) Had to take 30 min break to get well again… If u don't drink that stuff regularly stick to good old coffee

Minutiae questions were around 5 in my test , so don't get too crazy with memorizing .. Also i had ZERO questions on milestones!!! GOOD RIDDANCE , i never bothered to 100% memorize it and never will , also ZERO questions on lysosomal storage diseases… GOOD RIDDANCE too!

I truly think that if someone reads through FA and truly tries to understand it instead of just trying to memorize it he will do great on this test ( but take it with a grain of salt , I have very mixed feelings about my test , I think my score could be anything from 200-260)

About anatomy… like 20 questions max about classic stuff , 1-2 WTF minutiae that only anatomy professors can answer , so just stick with FA uWorld

My prep : Path : Pathoma in 3rd year ( now I am fifth year , just reviewed a little and annotated to FA ) Goljan one pass and annotated to FA what i found important , Webpath ( GREAT use it if you have time) + Goljan lectures ( hear them if you can , got at least 5 q's right due to listening to the Path master )

Biochem/Molecular/Genetics : Kaplan + HY molecular just a little bit about the developmental genes + FA

Immuno/Micro : Kaplan + FA + Sketchymicro + How the immune system works ( PERFECT BOOK , read it if you have time)

Stats / Behavioral / Ethics blah blah : Kaplan + FA ( wanted to do khans book , had no time..)

Anatomy /Neuro : Kaplan / HY Gross(clinical vignettes only ) / FA--> Neuro super simple on my test .. all these pathways and brain stem memorizing… total waste..

Pharm : Kaplan + FA ( so many drugs , so little time… i got 2 wtf q's on drugs that i think no resource could ever prepare you for )

Physio : Kaplan / Wikipedia/ FA Try to put extra effort here so no arrow q's can scare you

Practicess-- > 6wks ago : NBME 11- 262-660( But i cheated in 2q's)
4wks ago : UWSA -2 : 265+
3wks ago : UWSA - 1 : 262
2wks ago : NBME -17 : 266/680

Will Update with my score when I get it , Good luck to everyone else still struggling with this damn test . Remember its doable , and don't stay too much on SDN ( found out that the stuff we talk about here are so LOWWWW yield.. stick with the basics and master them) Merry Christmas to all!!!

Edit: forgot timeline : first 3-4 months all day reading books and FA , 1 month Kaplan q bank(80%) , then 2nd pass of FA , then Uworld 1 month (88%) , then 2 weeks only FA .. No time to finish 3rd pass .. Total around 7 -8 months with 1 week summer break
Click to expand...

Congrats on being done!! I'm sure you did great!
 
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Jumping into the step 1 fun.

M2. Taking Step 1 in May, 2016. Goal = 260.

First semester of M2 year I have followed every block with Pathoma and the Kaplan QBank. Straight A's, no honors. Right now I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do over winter break. My plan is to come up with a plan, haha.

October CBSE (from school) = 190. Class avg = 153 with SD of 15.
December CBSE = 220. Class avg = 172 with SD of 16.

My plan for second semester will be a strict combination of question banks, pathoma, and FA - schedule TBD. We were advised to start UWorld in January, doing mixed question sets (10/set) for a minimum of 5 hours a week - but I've heard so many things against doing UWorld that early. Our advisor said to get through 1 pass by dedicated study time so we can do our second pass in our last 6-7 weeks.

Good luck to everyone! It's nice to see the camaraderie. 👍
 
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nsgirl27 said:
Jumping into the step 1 fun.

M2. Taking Step 1 in May, 2016. Goal = 260.

First semester of M2 year I have followed every block with Pathoma and the Kaplan QBank. Straight A's, no honors. Right now I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do over winter break. My plan is to come up with a plan, haha.

October CBSE (from school) = 190. Class avg = 153 with SD of 15.
December CBSE = 220. Class avg = 172 with SD of 16.

My plan for second semester will be a strict combination of question banks, pathoma, and FA - schedule TBD. We were advised to start UWorld in January, doing mixed question sets (10/set) for a minimum of 5 hours a week - but I've heard so many things against doing UWorld that early. Our advisor said to get through 1 pass by dedicated study time so we can do our second pass in our last 6-7 weeks.

Good luck to everyone! It's nice to see the camaraderie. 👍
Click to expand...
1. What school gives their students a CBSE over 6 months in advance of their exam??
2. How are you scoring 220 5 months out from your exam??
 
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