Official 2016 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Transposony

Transposony

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That week I reviewed a couple of my weaker areas (ie, biostats and biochem) which helped. But also I think I was more comfortable and relaxed for this exam. I think the fear of the unknown definitely messed with my performance on the first exam...


aeruginosa said:
That is so cool! What did you do?
Click to expand...
 
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Update: 3 days of studying left

What do I do?
Haven't looked at First Aid yet (hate the book but wanted to at least do a quick pass of weak areas and remind myself of everything that's out there)
Still have NBME 17
Still have 700 UWorld questions (Hit 75-88 on 19 out of my last 20 blocks)

I really wanted to take 17 to boost my confidence (which I think is important) since I took a hit on 18 and went down to 241 from 251s on 15 and 16. I planned on doing 350ish Uworld today, but it was more difficult than I anticipated. I've only done about 200 so far (although I do have a few more hours). Help me plan please!

@plasmodium @kirbymiester @walakin25 @msquaredb @tasar1898 @TBV @Phloston , I've appreciated everyones help thus far!
 
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Ophthoseidon said:
Update: 3 days of studying left

What do I do?
Haven't looked at First Aid yet (hate the book but wanted to at least do a quick pass of weak areas and remind myself of everything that's out there)
Still have NBME 17
Still have 700 UWorld questions (Hit 75-88 on 19 out of my last 20 blocks)

I really wanted to take 17 to boost my confidence (which I think is important) since I took a hit on 18 and went down to 241 from 251s on 15 and 16. I planned on doing 350ish Uworld today, but it was more difficult than I anticipated. I've only done about 200 so far (although I do have a few more hours). Help me plan please!

@plasmodium @kirbymiester @walakin25 @msquaredb @tasar1898 @TBV @Phloston , I've appreciated everyones help thus far!
Click to expand...

Take a look at the Rapid Review section at the end of First Aid and crank through as many remaining UW questions as you can.
 
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I took my exam April 26th (Tuesday), when should i expect my results ? May 18th? (this upcoming Wednesday) or May 25th? (next Wednesday)

Thanks All!!!
 
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Ophthoseidon said:
Update: 3 days of studying left

What do I do?
Haven't looked at First Aid yet (hate the book but wanted to at least do a quick pass of weak areas and remind myself of everything that's out there)
Still have NBME 17
Still have 700 UWorld questions (Hit 75-88 on 19 out of my last 20 blocks)

I really wanted to take 17 to boost my confidence (which I think is important) since I took a hit on 18 and went down to 241 from 251s on 15 and 16. I planned on doing 350ish Uworld today, but it was more difficult than I anticipated. I've only done about 200 so far (although I do have a few more hours). Help me plan please!

@plasmodium @kirbymiester @walakin25 @msquaredb @tasar1898 @TBV @Phloston , I've appreciated everyones help thus far!
Click to expand...
Just focus on remaining calm and filling in the blanks. A first look at FA with 3 days remaining may intimidate you because, unfortunately, there will be plenty in there that you haven't seen before. However, rest assured that your practice test scores indicate you've prepared well and that you're looking at least a 240-253 score, 255+ if you have a particularly good test day.

Remain calm and do what you've been doing. I say take NBME 17 and maybe some UWorld questions. Brush up on weak areas using familiar resources (i.e., FA may be a bad idea if you haven't touched it for the reasons that I mentioned before).

Best of luck. You'll do well.
 
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Quick question: when viewing a brainstem image, are we assuming that the patient is lying prone and we are standing at the patient's feet? Or do we view it the same way we view cross-sectional CTs (pt in a supine positions)?

Thanks
 
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Just took the beast today. Feel horrible, but for those who hasn't taken it, please don't be discouraged. A quarter of the questions were very easy straight forward questions including anatomy and behavioral sciences. Again, stick to FA and that is really the best thing you can do before the exam.

However, I guessed on half of the questions since they were not seen in any UW or NBME qs.

I already know I got 2 easy questions wrong and I am really hoping that at least I get half of questions I guessed right.

I got nervous in the beginning of the 1st block, but as time passed, I started to have a confidence. I think my performance was the worst during my 1st block where I made 2 extremely stupid mistakes.

At this point, I would be happy to just get a pass.

I had 7 blocks total and each had 40 qs for 60 min/block.

I didn't feel like the question stems were that long despite the fact that they reduced the # of q.

Also, I didn't feel like they made the questions particularly harder either.

Unlike most folks here, I struggled earlier just to pass this exam, so I would take any score as long as I don't have to repeat this exam.

Good luck and let me know if you guys any questions.
 
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MudPhud20XX said:
Just took the beast today. Feel horrible, but for those who hasn't taken it, please don't be discouraged. A quarter of the questions were very easy straight forward questions including anatomy and behavioral sciences. Again, stick to FA and that is really the best thing you can do before the exam.

However, I guessed on half of the questions since they were not seen in any UW or NBME qs.

I already know I got 2 easy questions wrong and I am really hoping that at least I get half of questions I guessed right.

I got nervous in the beginning of the 1st block, but as time passed, I started to have a confidence. I think my performance was the worst during my 1st block where I made 2 extremely stupid mistakes.

At this point, I would be happy to just get a pass.

I had 7 blocks total and each had 40 qs for 60 min/block.

I didn't feel like the question stems were that long despite the fact that they reduced the # of q.

Also, I didn't feel like they made the questions particularly harder either.

Unlike most folks here, I struggled earlier just to pass this exam, so I would take any score as long as I don't have to repeat this exam.

Good luck and let me know if you guys any questions.
Click to expand...

How do you think the questions compared (in terms of difficulty/style) to things like UW or NBME?
 
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in terms style it was lot simpler than long UW qs. I think it was closer the NBME. in some sense I did feel like it was easier.

at least a quarter of the qs, you didn't have to read the entire stem and you could tell what they were trying to do.

ethics questions were really straight forward.

but half of the questions, I didn't have confidence and had to make a leap of faith and this really required mastering topics in FA and having that quick knee jerk thinking process.

i didn't have any crazy experimental questions so it does sound contraindicating, but it was a difficult and but at the same time surprisingly easy if that makes any sense.
 
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MudPhud20XX said:
in terms style it was lot simpler than long UW qs. I think it was closer the NBME. in some sense I did feel like it was easier.

at least a quarter of the qs, you didn't have to read the entire stem and you could tell what they were trying to do.

ethics questions were really straight forward.

but half of the questions, I didn't have confidence and had to make a leap of faith and this really required mastering topics in FA and having that quick knee jerk thinking process.

i didn't have any crazy experimental questions so it does sound contraindicating, but it was a difficult and but at the same time surprisingly easy if that makes any sense.
Click to expand...
Congrats on being done. Don't fret over missed questions- it's already in the past. Thanks for sharing your experience! I think the scores will be out around July's 2nd week. I know that's way too long.Also the exams scores are scaled(like NBME's), so people who got experimental/harder questions, won't score lower than the ones who did not.

My exam is on the 31st and I'm really stressed. I've had sleepless nights, random panic attacks, and some days I'm so confident and relaxed. UGH =(
 
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MudPhud20XX said:
in terms style it was lot simpler than long UW qs. I think it was closer the NBME. in some sense I did feel like it was easier.

at least a quarter of the qs, you didn't have to read the entire stem and you could tell what they were trying to do.

ethics questions were really straight forward.

but half of the questions, I didn't have confidence and had to make a leap of faith and this really required mastering topics in FA and having that quick knee jerk thinking process.

i didn't have any crazy experimental questions so it does sound contraindicating, but it was a difficult and but at the same time surprisingly easy if that makes any sense.
Click to expand...
Did you take NBME 18?
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Could anyone answer this for me? Pleeeeez!
Click to expand...
Are you wondering how to orient yourself with the image? If so, just know what the ventral and dorsal sides look like for each section, because from what I've seen, the image could be flipped around.
The medulla has pyramids on the ventral side with the squiggly olivary nucleus pushed up against it.
The pons looks like a big round belly on the ventral side
The midbrain looks like two legs spread wide apart on the ventral side
 
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What're you guys eating for breakfast the morning of? Also, what did you take with you to the testing center as far as food/snacks? Seems like you need the right amount of food in you for 8 hours without filling yourself up.
 
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GomerPyle said:
What're you guys eating for breakfast the morning of? Also, what did you take with you to the testing center as far as food/snacks? Seems like you need the right amount of food in you for 8 hours without filling yourself up.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna have a ham sandwich the morning of and a ham sandwich during the exam. I'm trying to strike the balance between low energy and food coma.
 
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aeruginosa said:
Is it just me or are the free 150 questions really hard?
Click to expand...

I didn't do so hot on them, lots of really dumb mistakes. I took it at the pro metric center and I swear that place alone is enough to drop my score 15 pts haha, it just shuts my brain down I swear.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
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MudPhud20XX said:
Just took the beast today. Feel horrible, but for those who hasn't taken it, please don't be discouraged. A quarter of the questions were very easy straight forward questions including anatomy and behavioral sciences. Again, stick to FA and that is really the best thing you can do before the exam.

However, I guessed on half of the questions since they were not seen in any UW or NBME qs.

I already know I got 2 easy questions wrong and I am really hoping that at least I get half of questions I guessed right.

I got nervous in the beginning of the 1st block, but as time passed, I started to have a confidence. I think my performance was the worst during my 1st block where I made 2 extremely stupid mistakes.

At this point, I would be happy to just get a pass.

I had 7 blocks total and each had 40 qs for 60 min/block.

I didn't feel like the question stems were that long despite the fact that they reduced the # of q.

Also, I didn't feel like they made the questions particularly harder either.

Unlike most folks here, I struggled earlier just to pass this exam, so I would take any score as long as I don't have to repeat this exam.

Good luck and let me know if you guys any questions.
Click to expand...

It seems like you had been studying hard for this exam, I'm confident you have done well
 
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plasmodium said:
Just focus on remaining calm and filling in the blanks. A first look at FA with 3 days remaining may intimidate you because, unfortunately, there will be plenty in there that you haven't seen before. However, rest assured that your practice test scores indicate you've prepared well and that you're looking at least a 240-253 score, 255+ if you have a particularly good test day.

Remain calm and do what you've been doing. I say take NBME 17 and maybe some UWorld questions. Brush up on weak areas using familiar resources (i.e., FA may be a bad idea if you haven't touched it for the reasons that I mentioned before).

Best of luck. You'll do well.
Click to expand...

This is golden advice here bud. Goodluck and follow it i recommend highly
 
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Ophthoseidon said:
I thought they were hard too. When I went over them I made some realy stupid mistakes, but I was 50/50 on a lot
Click to expand...
The free 150 was 50/50 for me too. I think I got too used to UW type questions. I just hope I do better on the NBME. Taking 17 on the 23, 18 on the 29th. Just revise FA/anki/UW questions in between.

Good luck with your exam =) I sincerely hope it goes well for you
 
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Quick question guys. I have seen people have been scoring a little lower on NBME 18 than 17. Do you think it's better to take 17 after 18? I will be taking my last NBME a week before the actual exam and don't want a lower NBME score from previous NBMEs get to me.
 
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4 weeks to test day... Kinda freaking out and need to know what to do in these 4 weeks. Do UW again? (Did it once and redid the incorrect/marked) Do pathoma once more? (Listened to lectures 1 1/2times) Listen to goljan audio? (Did it once a long time ago) Read brs Physio? (I think this is imp) Do all the new nbmes and read FA couple more times (Def) .. I made a schedule to incorporate all this but it's stressing me out... Am I on the right track doing all that's listed above?
 
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Firefly90 said:
4 weeks to test day... Kinda freaking out and need to know what to do in these 4 weeks. Do UW again? (Did it once and redid the incorrect/marked) Do pathoma once more? (Listened to lectures 1 1/2times) Listen to goljan audio? (Did it once a long time ago) Read brs Physio? (I think this is imp) Do all the new nbmes and read FA couple more times (Def) .. I made a schedule to incorporate all this but it's stressing me out... Am I on the right track doing all that's listed above?
Click to expand...

Just revise first aid and UW again (the questions and your notes). Also since you have 4 weeks, try a full simulated exam-like test (7 Hours). If you took NBME, and are weak in some subjects revise those before the others (add pathos is you're particularly weak in a discipline). 4 weeks is enough to do this and more. You're in good shape!
 
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Been reading people's experiences since I gave my exam on 4th. To be honest I don't have any idea how I did. Some of the questions were absolutely straight recall while others I stared at with no idea whatsoever. Most of the questions I missed or I am unsure about were so general and vague and didn't seem to test any of the core concepts that we studied during med school. I thought path and pharm were pretty straightforward except for some weird graphs. Result is expected next wednesday and I am totally freaking out. Unfortunately Im not the kind who forgets about what happened and I think I definitely missed 20 questions 🙁. Lets hope it turns out to be good and all the best to everyone taking the test and awaiting results!
 
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How long does it take to do a proper pass of uWorld...My exam is likely going to be middle July, I have 430 Rx, 1200 Kaplan left and all of uWorld to do and want to ensure I leave enough time to do a proper pass of it.
 
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Qester said:
How long does it take to do a proper pass of uWorld...My exam is likely going to be middle July, I have 430 Rx, 1200 Kaplan left and all of uWorld to do and want to ensure I leave enough time to do a proper pass of it.
Click to expand...
depends on your speed tbh. I am a slow reader and it was so hard for me to go through 2 blocks in a day. Most of the days I never finished reviewing 2 blocks. But I guess its more important to grasp the concept from every question no matter how long it takes. I would leave atleast 5 weeks if I were you.
 
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The day of the examination was a total disaster. I slept not one minute the night before - hotel room was located next to a main street so traffic was noisy, and the temperature control was wonky, not to mention anxiety.

I went into the examination with a big bag of Wether's Originals and a large McDonald's Americano in my locker. I indulged between blocks.

The first three blocks were incredibly difficult. I used up the entire allotted time. The topics were surprisingly oriented towards obscure topics. Because of how supposedly "low-yield" these topics were, I convinced myself that they were experimental questions and thought nothing of them.

The remaining blocks were of NBME-level difficulty, and varied widely between topics. Finished these in less than half the remaining time.

Walked out feeling like it was the hardest exam I've written. As I am a type-A personality like the rest of us, I was fretting over the questions I knew I had gotten wrong but paid little attention to the rest, which I knew I had gotten right.

I received the score report today.

265

------this was close to my NBME 18 score of 269, and my NBME 17 score of 270. My UWSAs were similar. In my cases both were predictive------

My experience is inapplicable to most medical students since I am somewhat "mature" so-to-speak and thus have more "experience" than a typical second-year medical student.

I used FA with Rx, pathoma and UWORLD for prep. I consulted the internet, Robbins and Constanzo for clarification of details. I used MMRS for an adjunct to micro.

DON'T BASE YOUR POTENTIAL SCORE ON YOUR MCAT SCORE. HARD PREPARATION OVER THE LONG TERM WILL PAY OFF

I've never been much of a standardized test writer. My MCAT was completely average, maybe even below, after essentially zero preparation. But I can memorize better than anyone and this test requires a LOT of memorization, and a LOT of preparation, to perform well. I know people will say understanding is more important, but I disagree. It is equally important. You can have the best analytical mind out there and still bomb this test if you haven't memorized some obscure fact about alpha-hemolytic bacteria. Conversely you can have the best memory but bomb physiologic questions if you don't understand them.

TRUST YOUR GUT

I found the mistakes that I made were a direct result of going against my gut after reading the question entirely and understanding it, and then second-guessing myself. It's not an A-HA moment. It's tentative and unsure. You move on to the next question feeling anxious. My advice is if you are in this situation, stick with your gut. Don't change based on self-doubt.

CAREFULLY READ THE QUESTIONS TO THE END

Conversely, there are moments when rushing through I would pick an answer, only to re-read the question and realize I completely skipped a VERY important qualifier (often one important Boolean operator like "or"). "Eureka!", I would change the answer. In these situations, trust your A-HA moment.

IF YOU DON'T SLEEP WELL THE NIGHT BEFORE, SO WHAT?

If you don't sleep well, or at all, don't worry. You can still do very well. Trust your prep.
 
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Got my score report today.

Progress

UWSA 1: 248 (before dedicated)
NBME 12: 243
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 249
NBME 16: 256
NBME 17: 266
Step 1: 271

------------------------------

Method: UFAP+SM throughout MS2 and 6 weeks of dedicated.

UW
I bought this at the start of second year and went through the corresponding questions for what I was covering in class. I read every word (incorrects too) on the first pass and it was very valuable. My first pass was around 80% and taking/reviewing 44 questions took about 2 hours total.

I started my second pass at the start of dedicated. I reset the program and did timed random blocks of 44. My second pass was 93%. On the second pass I made cards out of things that I got wrong and things that I still didn’t know or felt like I’d never seen.

FA
This was crucial for me. As the year progressed I would make the corresponding section for what I was covering in class into Anki. I had 10,000 cards by the end. I would take 1-3 passes through the cards before the corresponding exam then I didn’t touch them again until dedicated. At that point I tried to keep them all reviewed and fresh. This is a task I failed at (too many), but I still saw thousands of cards every day. I know lots of people don’t like Anki and thats ok, but if you have any questions about it let me know. It was the key to success for me.

Pathoma
Like UW and FA, I would watch the corresponding section for what I was covering in class. This is an invaluable resource. I didn’t actively study (no Anki) it or refer to it much, but Dr. Sattar is such a good instructor that you'll find that you retain an extraordinary amount. More than you think. I then rewatched them all during dedicated.

Sketchy Micro
This followed the same pattern as the other resources. If you aren’t using this you need to. I am good at memorizing stuff via Anki, but even micro was rough for me to brute force memorize. However, after one view of one of these videos I found I could easily refer back to them when needed. Lets just saw lots of cartoon images came up in my mind when I took the real thing and Im sure SM directly got me lots of points.

Class
Yes. Class is important. There is a lot of stupid details that may seem unnecessary, but it may just get you a point here and there. I also found that digging for answers in books like Robbins or Katzung and making sure I understood the level of detail presented in class built a great foundation that made my second pass and review resources much more useful. I think my 271 is largely a product of studying hard every day for the past 2 years rather than things I did during dedicated.

I had a pretty strict schedule during dedicated to get all of this done. My days were regimented and I usually studied from 9a-9p with a healthy amount of work-out breaks or long walks. I did not take weekends off. I also took the entire last day before my exam off. I think this is a must.

------------------------------

The Exam:
Its long. Be well rested and take the prior day off. I also preferred to take micro breaks rather than save up for large breaks. My first block was a blur and it took me about 20 questions to work through the rush of adrenaline and focus. I would usually mark 10 questions/block on NBME but on the real thing I marked 15+. I would also usually finish blocks on NBME in like 30 minute but took all the time on the real thing. On my form I felt the average difficulty was a notch above NBME and definitely above UW. Additionally, they seemed to be "low-yield" things and I was surprised at how many classic and high-yield topics I didn't see at all.

If you have prepared well and you think your exam is hard just relax and keep going. Everyone else thinks this too.

Summary:

Overall, I am beyond ecstatic. I wanted to echo what other have said time and time again. Although it is hard to do, trust in yourself and your preparation after you finish the exam. It can feel absolutely awful. I believe I got a very difficult form and I truly thought I was going to be the like the first person every to drop 20 points from my NBME average. I felt worse the week after the exam than I ever did during dedicated, which is a shame because its much needed break. I think its just human nature to recall the 20 questions you really struggled with and forget the 250+ you answered with ease and forgot about. Im not going to tell you “Don’t worry” because thats unrealistic. You’ll worry, but I will tell you to distract yourself as much as possible.

Oh, I also wanted to say that this exam is directly related to the work you put in. Also, I only got a 31 on my MCAT. I feel like they are completely different exams and one may be better for some people’s learning styles. (See above poster for another example)

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions and good luck to you all!
 
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msquaredb said:
Got my score report today.

Progress

UWSA 1: 248 (before dedicated)
NBME 12: 243
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 249
NBME 16: 256
NBME 17: 266
Step 1: 271

------------------------------

Method: UFAP+SM throughout MS2 and 6 weeks of dedicated.

UW
I bought this at the start of second year and went through the corresponding questions for what I was covering in class. I read every word (incorrects too) on the first pass and it was very valuable. My first pass was around 80% and taking/reviewing 44 questions took about 2 hours total.

I started my second pass at the start of dedicated. I reset the program and did timed random blocks of 44. My second pass was 93%. On the second pass I made cards out of things that I got wrong and things that I still didn’t know or felt like I’d never seen.

FA
This was crucial for me. As the year progressed I would make the corresponding section for what I was covering in class into Anki. I had 10,000 cards by the end. I would take 1-3 passes through the cards before the corresponding exam then I didn’t touch them again until dedicated. At that point I tried to keep them all reviewed and fresh. This is a task I failed at (too many), but I still saw thousands of cards every day. I know lots of people don’t like Anki and thats ok, but if you have any questions about it let me know. It was the key to success for me.

Pathoma
Like UW and FA, I would watch the corresponding section for what I was covering in class. This is an invaluable resource. I didn’t actively study (no Anki) it or refer to it much, but Dr. Sattar is such a good instructor that you'll find that you retain an extraordinary amount. More than you think. I then rewatched them all during dedicated.

Sketchy Micro
This followed the same pattern as the other resources. If you aren’t using this you need to. I am good at memorizing stuff via Anki, but even micro was rough for me to brute force memorize. However, after one view of one of these videos I found I could easily refer back to them when needed. Lets just saw lots of cartoon images came up in my mind when I took the real thing and Im sure SM directly got me lots of points.

Class
Yes. Class is important. There is a lot of stupid details that may seem unnecessary, but it may just get you a point here and there. I also found that digging for answers in books like Robbins or Katzung and making sure I understood the level of detail presented in class built a great foundation that made my second pass and review resources much more useful. I think my 271 is largely a product of studying hard every day for the past 2 years rather than things I did during dedicated.

I had a pretty strict schedule during dedicated to get all of this done. My days were regimented and I usually studied from 9a-9p with a healthy amount of work-out breaks or long walks. I did not take weekends off. I also took the entire last day before my exam off. I think this is a must.

------------------------------

The Exam:
Its long. Be well rested and take the prior day off. I also preferred to take micro breaks rather than save up for large breaks. My first block was a blur and it took me about 20 questions to work through the rush of adrenaline and focus. I would usually mark 10 questions/block on NBME but on the real thing I marked 15+. I would also usually finish blocks on NBME in like 30 minute but took all the time on the real thing. On my form I felt the average difficulty was a notch above NBME and definitely above UW. Additionally, they seemed to be "low-yield" things and I was surprised at how many classic and high-yield topics I didn't see at all.

If you have prepared well and you think your exam is hard just relax and keep going. Everyone else thinks this too.

Summary:

Overall, I am beyond ecstatic. I wanted to echo what other have said time and time again. Although it is hard to do, trust in yourself and your preparation after you finish the exam. It can feel absolutely awful. I believe I got a very difficult form and I truly thought I was going to be the like the first person every to drop 20 points from my NBME average. I felt worse the week after the exam than I ever did during dedicated, which is a shame because its much needed break. I think its just human nature to recall the 20 questions you really struggled with and forget the 250+ you answered with ease and forgot about. Im not going to tell you “Don’t worry” because thats unrealistic. You’ll worry, but I will tell you to distract yourself as much as possible.

Oh, I also wanted to say that this exam is directly related to the work you put in. Also, I only got a 31 on my MCAT. I feel like they are completely different exams and one may be better for some people’s learning styles. (See above poster for another example)

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions and good luck to you all!
Click to expand...
Wow! That is an amazing score! Well done. I took the free 150 a couple of days back and missed a lot of questions. Ever Since I'm just freaking out about how similar the exam may be. As crazy as it sounds, I think U world has easier questions, considering they throw all the information at you in the question stem. I tend to do better on such questions. Does Uworld scores really correlate to the real thing at all- is there a saf? I'm taking NBME just a few days before my exam, and there's not much I can do if I don't score well on it.
 
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Al
msquaredb said:
Got my score report today.

Progress

UWSA 1: 248 (before dedicated)
NBME 12: 243
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 249
NBME 16: 256
NBME 17: 266
Step 1: 271

------------------------------

Method: UFAP+SM throughout MS2 and 6 weeks of dedicated.

UW
I bought this at the start of second year and went through the corresponding questions for what I was covering in class. I read every word (incorrects too) on the first pass and it was very valuable. My first pass was around 80% and taking/reviewing 44 questions took about 2 hours total.

I started my second pass at the start of dedicated. I reset the program and did timed random blocks of 44. My second pass was 93%. On the second pass I made cards out of things that I got wrong and things that I still didn’t know or felt like I’d never seen.

FA
This was crucial for me. As the year progressed I would make the corresponding section for what I was covering in class into Anki. I had 10,000 cards by the end. I would take 1-3 passes through the cards before the corresponding exam then I didn’t touch them again until dedicated. At that point I tried to keep them all reviewed and fresh. This is a task I failed at (too many), but I still saw thousands of cards every day. I know lots of people don’t like Anki and thats ok, but if you have any questions about it let me know. It was the key to success for me.

Pathoma
Like UW and FA, I would watch the corresponding section for what I was covering in class. This is an invaluable resource. I didn’t actively study (no Anki) it or refer to it much, but Dr. Sattar is such a good instructor that you'll find that you retain an extraordinary amount. More than you think. I then rewatched them all during dedicated.

Sketchy Micro
This followed the same pattern as the other resources. If you aren’t using this you need to. I am good at memorizing stuff via Anki, but even micro was rough for me to brute force memorize. However, after one view of one of these videos I found I could easily refer back to them when needed. Lets just saw lots of cartoon images came up in my mind when I took the real thing and Im sure SM directly got me lots of points.

Class
Yes. Class is important. There is a lot of stupid details that may seem unnecessary, but it may just get you a point here and there. I also found that digging for answers in books like Robbins or Katzung and making sure I understood the level of detail presented in class built a great foundation that made my second pass and review resources much more useful. I think my 271 is largely a product of studying hard every day for the past 2 years rather than things I did during dedicated.

I had a pretty strict schedule during dedicated to get all of this done. My days were regimented and I usually studied from 9a-9p with a healthy amount of work-out breaks or long walks. I did not take weekends off. I also took the entire last day before my exam off. I think this is a must.

------------------------------

The Exam:
Its long. Be well rested and take the prior day off. I also preferred to take micro breaks rather than save up for large breaks. My first block was a blur and it took me about 20 questions to work through the rush of adrenaline and focus. I would usually mark 10 questions/block on NBME but on the real thing I marked 15+. I would also usually finish blocks on NBME in like 30 minute but took all the time on the real thing. On my form I felt the average difficulty was a notch above NBME and definitely above UW. Additionally, they seemed to be "low-yield" things and I was surprised at how many classic and high-yield topics I didn't see at all.

If you have prepared well and you think your exam is hard just relax and keep going. Everyone else thinks this too.

Summary:

Overall, I am beyond ecstatic. I wanted to echo what other have said time and time again. Although it is hard to do, trust in yourself and your preparation after you finish the exam. It can feel absolutely awful. I believe I got a very difficult form and I truly thought I was going to be the like the first person every to drop 20 points from my NBME average. I felt worse the week after the exam than I ever did during dedicated, which is a shame because its much needed break. I think its just human nature to recall the 20 questions you really struggled with and forget the 250+ you answered with ease and forgot about. Im not going to tell you “Don’t worry” because thats unrealistic. You’ll worry, but I will tell you to distract yourself as much as possible.

Oh, I also wanted to say that this exam is directly related to the work you put in. Also, I only got a 31 on my MCAT. I feel like they are completely different exams and one may be better for some people’s learning styles. (See above poster for another example)

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions and good luck to you all!
Click to expand...
I love anki too. It has been instrumental in my preparation. I am extremely weak in Biochemistry, and was wondering if I should make cards for that? I was just thinking of doing Memorangs biochem section, as they have pre made cards. Would Uworld and FA suffice for something like Biochemistry?
 
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DooyaEvanlift said:
How many questions did you think you missed after? I was averaging 260+ but in the following week after I have counted 12 already that I have missed and I feel like I missed more in there too.
Click to expand...
Oh man... I know I missed 10+ for sure and felt I was 50/50 on more question than ever. I walked out of that exam remembering like 20 that I knew I missed or was very very unsure about. And thats just what I remembered...

You have to be confident about your guessing skills. I don't think Im a genius, but I have mad educated guessing skills. During dedicated Id review your NBMEs and check out how your guesses and 50/50 questions went to get a sense for how good your guessing instinct is.
 
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aeruginosa said:
Wow! That is an amazing score! Well done. I took the free 150 a couple of days back and missed a lot of questions. Ever Since I'm just freaking out about how similar the exam may be. As crazy as it sounds, I think U world has easier questions, considering they throw all the information at you in the question stem. I tend to do better on such questions. Does Uworld scores really correlate to the real thing at all- is there a saf? I'm taking NBME just a few days before my exam, and there's not much I can do if I don't score well on it.
Click to expand...
UW is definitely easier. The real thing was more ambiguous and I felt the diagnosis could go a few ways and I always wanted like one more piece of information. UW practically forces you down the correct path. Oh, and UW is so buzzword heavy. Didn't see nearly as much of that on the real thing.

I don't know if UW correlates, but I do know that I was always hitting ~90% on my NBMEs and that is what my UW percentage was (93% average), so take that for what its worth. Don't even worry about how a percentage or whatever may correlate to a score on the real things. The forms are very different.
aeruginosa said:
Al

I love anki too. It has been instrumental in my preparation. I am extremely weak in Biochemistry, and was wondering if I should make cards for that? I was just thinking of doing Memorangs biochem section, as they have pre made cards. Would Uworld and FA suffice for something like Biochemistry?
Click to expand...
Biochem is something I hadn't made cards for before dedicated so I took the first two days to make and do them. Don't just memorize biochem though. I felt my questions had more to do with an in depth understanding of what state the body is in and what it needs and how that translates to enzyme regulation or levels of metabolites. Id stress a fundamental understanding of the concepts over just regurgitating facts about lysosomal storage diseases (know them though). Example: the regulation of key enzyme section in FA... don't memorize it (well you can as long as you also understand). Instead, look at the regulation and understand why that does what it does. Feedback issue? Feedforward issue? Energy state issue? etc. Also, FA presents biochem in a very patchwork fashion and its a shame (biased former biochem major). Make sure you know how to piece together all the pathways and how they connect.
 
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^^ There's also something to be said for making your own flashcards on a topic vs. using someone else's pre-made cards... Although the pre-made cards may be more polished, I think you subconsciously gain more from the act of making the flashcard. n=1 experience though! Maybe try a bit of both?
 
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midwestm2 said:
^^ There's also something to be said for making your own flashcards on a topic vs. using someone else's pre-made cards... Although the pre-made cards may be more polished, I think you subconsciously gain more from the act of making the flashcard. n=1 experience though! Maybe try a bit of both?
Click to expand...

I believe the act of making them is the most important. Forces you to critically think about a topic then explain it in a way best for you. That's why I didn't use Bros deck and quit Firecracker.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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msquaredb said:
Got my score report today.

Progress

UWSA 1: 248 (before dedicated)
NBME 12: 243
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 249
NBME 16: 256
NBME 17: 266
Step 1: 271

------------------------------

Method: UFAP+SM throughout MS2 and 6 weeks of dedicated.

UW
I bought this at the start of second year and went through the corresponding questions for what I was covering in class. I read every word (incorrects too) on the first pass and it was very valuable. My first pass was around 80% and taking/reviewing 44 questions took about 2 hours total.

I started my second pass at the start of dedicated. I reset the program and did timed random blocks of 44. My second pass was 93%. On the second pass I made cards out of things that I got wrong and things that I still didn’t know or felt like I’d never seen.

FA
This was crucial for me. As the year progressed I would make the corresponding section for what I was covering in class into Anki. I had 10,000 cards by the end. I would take 1-3 passes through the cards before the corresponding exam then I didn’t touch them again until dedicated. At that point I tried to keep them all reviewed and fresh. This is a task I failed at (too many), but I still saw thousands of cards every day. I know lots of people don’t like Anki and thats ok, but if you have any questions about it let me know. It was the key to success for me.

Pathoma
Like UW and FA, I would watch the corresponding section for what I was covering in class. This is an invaluable resource. I didn’t actively study (no Anki) it or refer to it much, but Dr. Sattar is such a good instructor that you'll find that you retain an extraordinary amount. More than you think. I then rewatched them all during dedicated.

Sketchy Micro
This followed the same pattern as the other resources. If you aren’t using this you need to. I am good at memorizing stuff via Anki, but even micro was rough for me to brute force memorize. However, after one view of one of these videos I found I could easily refer back to them when needed. Lets just saw lots of cartoon images came up in my mind when I took the real thing and Im sure SM directly got me lots of points.

Class
Yes. Class is important. There is a lot of stupid details that may seem unnecessary, but it may just get you a point here and there. I also found that digging for answers in books like Robbins or Katzung and making sure I understood the level of detail presented in class built a great foundation that made my second pass and review resources much more useful. I think my 271 is largely a product of studying hard every day for the past 2 years rather than things I did during dedicated.

I had a pretty strict schedule during dedicated to get all of this done. My days were regimented and I usually studied from 9a-9p with a healthy amount of work-out breaks or long walks. I did not take weekends off. I also took the entire last day before my exam off. I think this is a must.

------------------------------

The Exam:
Its long. Be well rested and take the prior day off. I also preferred to take micro breaks rather than save up for large breaks. My first block was a blur and it took me about 20 questions to work through the rush of adrenaline and focus. I would usually mark 10 questions/block on NBME but on the real thing I marked 15+. I would also usually finish blocks on NBME in like 30 minute but took all the time on the real thing. On my form I felt the average difficulty was a notch above NBME and definitely above UW. Additionally, they seemed to be "low-yield" things and I was surprised at how many classic and high-yield topics I didn't see at all.

If you have prepared well and you think your exam is hard just relax and keep going. Everyone else thinks this too.

Summary:

Overall, I am beyond ecstatic. I wanted to echo what other have said time and time again. Although it is hard to do, trust in yourself and your preparation after you finish the exam. It can feel absolutely awful. I believe I got a very difficult form and I truly thought I was going to be the like the first person every to drop 20 points from my NBME average. I felt worse the week after the exam than I ever did during dedicated, which is a shame because its much needed break. I think its just human nature to recall the 20 questions you really struggled with and forget the 250+ you answered with ease and forgot about. Im not going to tell you “Don’t worry” because thats unrealistic. You’ll worry, but I will tell you to distract yourself as much as possible.

Oh, I also wanted to say that this exam is directly related to the work you put in. Also, I only got a 31 on my MCAT. I feel like they are completely different exams and one may be better for some people’s learning styles. (See above poster for another example)

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions and good luck to you all!
Click to expand...

Great score!
Regarding how you went through your first pass of UW, did you do it timed44q/random or timed44q/block that you were on. And did you make cards out of the questions you went through?
 
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ftp902 said:
Great score!
Regarding how you went through your first pass of UW, did you do it timed44q/random or timed44q/block that you were on. And did you make cards out of the questions you went through?
Click to expand...

The first time through I did subject specific sets of 20-25 questions (2 hours to take and review/annotate in FA) corresponding to what I was covering in class. It was hard for me to thoroughly review much more than that (time and focus issues).

I did not make cards until my second pass which was timed and random with 44 questions.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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Qester said:
How long does it take to do a proper pass of uWorld...My exam is likely going to be middle July, I have 430 Rx, 1200 Kaplan left and all of uWorld to do and want to ensure I leave enough time to do a proper pass of it.
Click to expand...

I did UWorld first over the course of the second half of the second year, system-based, tutor. It took me about 4hrs per block but I feel solid on the material. I'm doing Kaplan Qbank on random, timed, 4 blocks per day (currently sitting at 90% correct with about 700 questions left), with 30min to review each block. I feel like UWorld was such a great learning tool while taking classes. Kaplan's sometimes bizarre questions forces you out of your comfort zone, which is what I expect will happen on test day. Kaplan's reference to First Aid pages listed in the margins makes searching through First Aid for annotations a breeze. I gave my USMLE-Rx qbank away to a friend. Those questions are too easy and thus efficient for test prep. I should have done USMLE-Rx a year ago.
 
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