Hi guys! I have been stalking this thread for the past couple of months and am finally posting after receiving my score (got locked out of my old account so had to make a new one)..
I am a US DO student, always have been an average student (MCAT 26). I started doing really well end of 1st year and ended up in top 15% of my class by end of 2nd year. I strongly agree that learning the subjects well during school really helped me succeed.
NBME 13 (4 weeks out): 219
NBME 18 (2 weeks out): 230
NBME 16 (1 week out): 244
Uworld sim 1: 248
Uworld sim 2: 258
Real deal, 7/3/17: 255
Incredibly SHOCKED and overwhelmed with this score. It still feels surreal and I feel like a sort of imposter. I set my goal to be 235 and honestly left the exam feeling like I had been hit by a train. I felt that my exam was much more challenging than any of the NBMEs and Uworld, in terms of the critical thinking it required. I spent the 3 days after the exam crying randomly, couldn't sleep, and was convinced there was no way I'd break a 220. I remember reading this thread with everyone saying to trust your NBME averages, and I thought to myself, "I'm the exception. There's no way I scored well on that exam." There were at least 15 questions I remembered getting incorrect, and then a good 20-30+ I was unsure of and many more that I had marked (i have never been a marker on exams). So the moral of my story is to try and relax after and remind yourself that no matter how bad you feel after this exam, it's literally NO indicator of how you did. I promise!!!!
**Edited to include my 2 cents on study strategy: my best way of learning is through active recall, i.e. questions, flashcards etc. I cannot stress how important UWorld was in terms of prep for not just content, but also learning how to critically think and analyze tough questions. I have never been able to retain a lot by just reading straight out of a book, so I'd do a majority of my content review through questions, and would then review and annotate the relevant part of First Aid. I'd usually start the day with a block or two of random UWorld questions and would review/annotate those topics in FA. Then I'd do specific content review with Kaplan Qbank (or whatever other bank you use) on tutor mode...I'd try to answer the question on my own, but if not, I'd search for the answer in First aid or pathoma. I found that by actively searching for a concept, as opposed to just reading pages at a time, I was able to retain that specific topic much more. I'd then do anki cards (from the brosencephalon deck) later in the day on whatever content areas I'd reviewed earlier (i.e. I'd try to do the cardiac FA phys & pharm deck, and some of the pathoma deck) or UWorld questions specific to that area. I'd pepper in sketchy micro/pharm as needed, especially for weak areas, and would be sure to quiz myself after watching the videos (again...anything active!).
Good luck to everyone
Trust yourself and all of your prep!!