USMLE Official 2017 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[WeedForLunch]

I know this is quite early but most American Students have finished giving the test for this year.
I am an IMG and have been prepping for the steps since quite some time and have seen Phloston, Transposony's and others' threads for their respective years and how helpful they have been.

I intend on giving step in Jan.. let's share timetables, plans and other stuff on how everyone intends on taking on this beast.

P.S. : I think it is not that early.. the 2015/2016 threads were started in September/October.. but in true SDN gunner style..i wanna start it in August..

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[blaco24]

Took my test on the 28th, and I feel like crap. But from reading people's experiences, that doesn't correlate well with actual performance, so I'm just trying not to think about it (no success so far).

Block time management was a problem, I always had to rush through my marked qs. Break time was ok. I had one almost exact repeat from free 120.

Question stems were mostly long, lots of pictures, a few very obscure questions (e.g, asking about a specific CYP enzyme isoform), etc...

I've discovered some mistakes I really should not have gotten wrong, but thankfully I've forgotten most questions by now.

Anyone know when I should expect my score? And my girlfriend took it on the 30th (Wednesday), should she expect her release the same week as me?

My friend took it in Berlin on Monday as well and also had a cyp450 enzyme question. Funny how it repeats.

 

[Osteoth]

No offense to olga, but we obviously dont know her full story. If you look at her nbme score increase she essentially had a jump akin to taking PEDs in one month. Low 200s to 269 is almost unheard of. Search "olgaw007" in search forum by member name to see what i mean. When i read her post the first time before seeing her score i already saw something was fishy. If i had to guess, she cheated on nbme 17 by looking up answers before or during the exam. From my experience, this is a common practice and many do it especially near their exam date when they want to convince themselves theyre ready for the exam.
In terms of her other nbme scores which she obviously undershot as well by a ton - perhaps she did have some serious test day anxiety, who knows. All in all, i refuse to believe she legitimately scored a 269 and then scored a 192 on the real exam. I wouldnt put any stock into her story if i were you guys. Just be honest in your prep and work hard everyday.

Wait people do this regularly?! Jesus literally the worst idea on the planet.

 

[trs88]

I was just reading through some old comments on this thread, and a few people actually mentioned the same thing. I guess this is becoming HY then. Take note, people.

I had a legit first order question back in July on "*blank* is a what specific CYP enzyme?". No joke. Not even beating around the bush with 'Patient presents' just, "here's the thing, what is it?"

 

[L.Messi]

Took my test on the 28th, and I feel like crap. But from reading people's experiences, that doesn't correlate well with actual performance, so I'm just trying not to think about it (no success so far).

Block time management was a problem, I always had to rush through my marked qs. Break time was ok. I had one almost exact repeat from free 120.

Question stems were mostly long, lots of pictures, a few very obscure questions (e.g, asking about a specific CYP enzyme isoform), etc...

I've discovered some mistakes I really should not have gotten wrong, but thankfully I've forgotten most questions by now.

Anyone know when I should expect my score? And my girlfriend took it on the 30th (Wednesday), should she expect her release the same week as me?

You and your girlfriend should be getting your scores on 20 Sep.
Good luck.

 

[lmnnnnn09]

Thanks for the advice.
Worked on some weak areas and had better success with NBME 19 today. Took it after UWSA2 to simulate a full length.
- UWSA2 (~83%) 254
- NBME19 (~92%) and 244
Hopefully test day is more like today.

Long post!

Another 244 on NBME 18 on Monday.

Took exam today. Didn't sleep well last night but still awake enough for the exam just not as sharp as usual. Finished every block with >5 minutes to spare. Felt the exam was a poor representation of what preclinical medical students should know -- it seemed better fit for people doing a degree in molecular biology. I think any of the NBME or UWSA exams better represent preclinical medicine, but I suppose they have to differentiate students somehow.

Not sure how I did. A lot of educated guessing, especially on the last block.

On average, I did not find the stems any longer than Uworld or NBME18. There were a couple really long stems but most of the information was garbage and not needed to answer the question.

There were a few really easy questions. Other than that I felt the questions were more difficult than Uworld or NBME, especially the physiology questions.

All in all the exam was just weird. After taking it, it just seems like such a bummer it is so important for getting into residency.

We shall see how I do, I worked my butt off studying for this exam but I am kinda just hoping for the pass right now. I shall let y'all know in 3-4 weeks either way.

Total studying was as follows:
-- Started studying in fall
-- Kaplan Qbank, Kaplan test 1 and 2, some of USMLERx -- all during school year (3200 questions + 2 practice exams)
-- FA x3 (once during school alongside courses and twice this summer -- 6 week dedicated study time this summer).
-- Pathoma 3-7 times depending on section (during school and 1.5 passes during 6 week dedicated)
-- Uworld x2 this summer + UWSA1 and 2
-- NBME 16, 17, 18, 19
-- Also select use of DIT, MMRS, Sketchy micro, and Goljan pathology
-- Did well in my courses
Probably only posted that to try and convince myself that I did not fail today. . . I am so bad at standardized testing.

 

[psychMDhopefully]

I have a question, wondering if anybody has any info on this, is it possible that Deans from your school know if you passed step 1 soon after you take the test? I'm asking this because I have had instances where I canceled test dates without telling them and I would get emails from deans like " Why did you cancel your test date?" So I think they have some behind the scenes insight into our testing experience. I took the test recently, and I had a dean tell me he had faith that I passed and "good work", I don't know what to think of this, I didn't feel the best coming out of the exam and my highest practice test scores were in the low 200s.

 

[Osteoth]

I had a legit first order question back in July on "*blank* is a what specific CYP enzyme?". No joke. Not even beating around the bush with 'Patient presents' just, "here's the thing, what is it?"

Jesus. People are getting wayyy too smart...

 

[Koosh_Ball]

Anyone got any advice on how to effectively not lose your marbles while awaiting step 1 results? Difficulty level: No anxiolytics. Studying for CK on a tight schedule. Obsessive personality leading to compulsively tallying number of potential mistakes. Tried yoga and meditation without much success. Emotional rollercoaster. And I hate rollercoasters.

It's all doom and gloom here, people, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LyMed]

Exercise or music always helped me. Plus research has shown exercise helps you retain information more, so you really can't lose there.​

 

[Porcelain Gallbladder]

Guys need some input:
In all of my assessments I finished assessments on time or maybe didnt even mark the answer.
1. What do you do when you get stuck at a question?
2. Do you get the question in one read?
3. Do you get enough time on assesments and real exam to go back to mark questions?

 

[goodvibes27]

Guys need some input:
In all of my assessments I finished assessments on time or maybe didnt even mark the answer.
1. What do you do when you get stuck at a question?
2. Do you get the question in one read?
3. Do you get enough time on assesments and real exam to go back to mark questions?

Hey,

1. I would say it's best to ask yourself if you really know the answer, if you don't, don't waste precious time. Pick something and move on. If it's something familiar to you, cross out the answer choices that seem completely far-fetched / wrong, and again pick a choice and move on.

2. If you feel the need to reread question stems, you could try highlighting symptoms, abnormal lab values, etc as you read long vignettes. Then important information will stick out and you won't have to read through them multiple times.
Another strategy could be to read the question and look over the answer options. Then read the vignette. It kinda gives the brain a little direction while analyzing the vignette.

3. Depends. I did have time to go through marked questions in a few blocks, but in 2 or 3 blocks I really had no time.

Hope this helps.


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[gozes]

Hey guys, not sure if anyone is following the score release dates. I took my exam on August 15 and was wondering if anyone knows if I am more likely to get my score back tomorrow 9/6 or next Wednesday 9/13? Thanks guys. My neurotic anxiety ridden self appreciates it.

 

[Porcelain Gallbladder]

Hey,

1. I would say it's best to ask yourself if you really know the answer, if you don't, don't waste precious time. Pick something and move on. If it's something familiar to you, cross out the answer choices that seem completely far-fetched / wrong, and again pick a choice and move on.

2. If you feel the need to reread question stems, you could try highlighting symptoms, abnormal lab values, etc as you read long vignettes. Then important information will stick out and you won't have to read through them multiple times.
Another strategy could be to read the question and look over the answer options. Then read the vignette. It kinda gives the brain a little direction while analyzing the vignette.

3. Depends. I did have time to go through marked questions in a few blocks, but in 2 or 3 blocks I really had no time.

Hope this helps.


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What about NBMEs or UWSA, how much time were you left with?

 

[forums2012]

262 in step 1- My story. Check out the pdf

Hey thanks a lot for the awesome write-up. Congratulations!

Any tips on a good Ethics resource? Really struggling as an IMG.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Hey thanks a lot for the awesome write-up. Congratulations!

Any tips on a good Ethics resource? Really struggling as an IMG.

Boards and Beyond


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[aragingelephant]

Hey guys, not sure if anyone is following the score release dates. I took my exam on August 15 and was wondering if anyone knows if I am more likely to get my score back tomorrow 9/6 or next Wednesday 9/13? Thanks guys. My neurotic anxiety ridden self appreciates it.

I took my exam on the 14th and heard that I should expect it tomorrow morning. Since your exam was before that Wednesday you should get it tomorrow as well. These last 12 hours before the score are released are more nerve-racking than taking the actual exam.

 

[gozes]

I took my exam on the 14th and heard that I should expect it tomorrow morning. Since your exam was before that Wednesday you should get it tomorrow as well. These last 12 hours before the score are released are more nerve-racking than taking the actual exam.

Got my score in! I passed.

 

[aragingelephant]

Congrats on passing!! Somehow managed a 247!! This forum was awesome in keeping my wait bearable! Thank you everyone

 

[A$AP]

.

 

[A$AP]

Congrats on passing!! Somehow managed a 247!! This forum was awesome in keeping my wait bearable! Thank you everyone

Gratz on the fantastic score! Took mine on the 24th so still got some waiting to do. How was your feeling of the exam? Especially compared with NBMEs

 

[aragingelephant]

Gratz on the fantastic score! Took mine on the 24th so still got some waiting to do. How was your feeling of the exam? Especially compared with NBMEs

It was harder than the nbme exams and more comparable to uworld in my opinion. I was probably marking 15 questions a block on average but some of the ones I marked were definitely experimentals. I came out thinking my score could be anywhere between 215 and 255.

 

[blaco24]

It was harder than the nbme exams and more comparable to uworld in my opinion. I was probably marking 15 questions a block on average but some of the ones I marked were definitely experimentals. I came out thinking my score could be anywhere between 215 and 255.

Yeah, took it today. Totally agree

 

[goodvibes27]

What about NBMEs or UWSA, how much time were you left with?

NBMEs has short little vignettes usually, so I had time to revise for most of the blocks.

UWSAs, I don't really remember, because I took them early on. But I always finished the test blocks.


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[psychMDhopefully]

The wait is getting real now, my life will either continue, or be over, on 9/20 literally.

 

[blaco24]

The wait is getting real now, my life will either continue, or be over, on 9/20 literally.

Anyone know or have an inkling of how many you're allowed to get wrong in order to get 230 or above? Just wondering. Doing the typical counting the wrongs I can remember lol

 

[A$AP]

Anyone know or have an inkling of how many you're allowed to get wrong in order to get 230 or above? Just wondering. Doing the typical counting the wrongs I can remember lol

Nobody can tell you for sure. Depends on the difficulty of your test form in comparison to all other test forms. My guess is you can get many more wrong on the real thing as compared with NBMEs for a similar score, but thats only based on the fact that most ppl say the real exam is significantly tougher (mine definitely was)

 

[Koosh_Ball]

Nobody can tell you for sure. Depends on the difficulty of your test form in comparison to all other test forms. My guess is you can get many more wrong on the real thing as compared with NBMEs for a similar score, but thats only based on the fact that most ppl say the real exam is significantly tougher (mine definitely was)

I took the exam the day after you did, and I felt it really was quite tough. Rough experience too.

The wait is really getting to me ..

 

[A$AP]

I took the exam the day after you did, and I felt it really was quite tough. Rough experience too.

The wait is really getting to me ..

Same lol the wait is brutal, Sep 20 is the date we should get our scores right? And what made it tough for you? For me, it was that the questions were consistently a notch higher in clinical difficulty. But tbh the more I think about it the more I realize it was a very fair test, and lower yield topics or Qs on very minor minutia were not super represented. so im concerned the scaling may be unforgiving...making the dumb mistakes I made (counted 7-10 already) that much more painful...

 

[Lostinoblivion]

Hi guys. I am so depressed. I am an IMG and i've been preparing for step 1 for months now. I gave nbme 19 3 days back and scored 223 and gave nbme 18 today and scored 225! More incorrects than my 1st nbme (16 with 221 score)
I wanted to break 240 but looks like I can barely even cross 230. I've been studying like crazy and it's disappointing that I am not improving at all.
Exam in one week but now thinking of delaying it. Any advice? I've gone through FA a couple of times, kaplan, uworld, pathoma. I don't know what's wrong with me.
Please help.
And congratulations to those who got great scores!

 

[blaco24]

I took the exam the day after you did, and I felt it really was quite tough. Rough experience too.

The wait is really getting to me ..

Hi guys. I am so depressed. I am an IMG and i've been preparing for step 1 for months now. I gave nbme 19 3 days back and scored 223 and gave nbme 18 today and scored 225! More incorrects than my 1st nbme (16 with 221 score)
I wanted to break 240 but looks like I can barely even cross 230. I've been studying like crazy and it's disappointing that I am not improving at all.
Exam in one week but now thinking of delaying it. Any advice? I've gone through FA a couple of times, kaplan, uworld, pathoma. I don't know what's wrong with me.
Please help.
And congratulations to those who got great scores!

dont delay it. Go over your incorrects and learn from it. More than likely, you won't be asked about anything you missed. I focused on the details of things I missed in uworld and nbmes and it got me nowhere. Read first aid again and make sure you follow every word.

 

[Lostinoblivion]

dont delay it. Go over your incorrects and learn from it. More than likely, you won't be asked about anything you missed. I focused on the details of things I missed in uworld and nbmes and it got me nowhere. Read first aid again and make sure you follow every word.

Thank you.

 

[alstigy]

Anyone know or have an inkling of how many you're allowed to get wrong in order to get 230 or above? Just wondering. Doing the typical counting the wrongs I can remember lol

My nbme's were around mid 220s and after the real exam I realized I made around 15+ plus mistakes(most prob more) and ended up getting a score over 230.

 

[alstigy]

This forum really helped me through my study, so thought I should give some feedback.
I used Kaplan books and videos, pathoma videos, FA , kaplan qbank and uworld.
Of all, I thought Uworld was the most important learning tool and to integrate things I memorized from FA.
I went through uworld 1.5 times.
I made word document for the notes that took from uworld that I thought it was new to me (really helped me).
NBME 16 242 (20 days)
NBME 18 230 (10 days)
120 q. 85~
Real deal 230 ~
The real exam was really tough, I thought I could have done better, I went out from the exam feeling I might not even going to pass.
Different experience than uworld and NBME.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions

I'd say I felt the same stepping out of the exam and ended up getting a similar score as you did. This forum helped me get over my fear of going in to slay the beast.

 

[Advilll]

Hi guys, i wanna share my experience on step 1, my exam was today (11/9) - on UWORLD my average score was around 75% , did nbme (13) on (21/8) got 220 , did nbme (17) 3 days prior to exam and got 240 . I was confident and relaxed , but sadly I feel that the real exam was really hard , same level of UWORLD , i think 13 & 17 were much easier than the real deal .
I'm not sure if ill get above 200 ,missed a lot of easy questions , a lot of stupid mistakes.
Now ill have to wait 3 weeks for the results

 

[Lostinoblivion]

Hi guys, i wanna share my experience on step 1, my exam was today (11/9) - on UWORLD my average score was around 75% , did nbme (13) on (21/8) got 220 , did nbme (17) 3 days prior to exam and got 240 . I was confident and relaxed , but sadly I feel that the real exam was really hard , same level of UWORLD , i think 13 & 17 were much easier than the real deal .
I'm not sure if ill get above 200 ,missed a lot of easy questions , a lot of stupid mistakes.
Now ill have to wait 3 weeks for the results

I am sure you'll get a good score. From what I've read on these forum, everyone feels the same way but end up getting a satisfying score.
I have my exam in 2 weeks and I can't wait to get done with it. So congratulations and good luck!
Any advice tho?

 

[blaco24]

My nbme's were around mid 220s and after the real exam I realized I made around 15+ plus mistakes(most prob more) and ended up getting a score over 230.

Ok that makes me feel a bit better. I recalled ~150 questions and counted 10-15 wrong so far but I gave up lol. Just shooting for that 230

 

[Advilll]

I am sure you'll get a good score. From what I've read on these forum, everyone feels the same way but end up getting a satisfying score.
I have my exam in 2 weeks and I can't wait to get done with it. So congratulations and good luck!
Any advice tho?

Dont lose your patience , keep calm and focused (i wasnt able to do so since i get bored easily and really want to get done with things really fast- bad habit of mine)
Also I think taking good breaks helps with your performance , I was really stupid for doing 3 blocks, taking a break for around 15 minutes and then doing all the rest without any break.

 

[Lostinoblivion]

Dont lose your patience , keep calm and focused (i wasnt able to do so since i get bored easily and really want to get done with things really fast- bad habit of mine)
Also I think taking good breaks helps with your performance , I was really stupid for doing 3 blocks, taking a break for around 15 minutes and then doing all the rest without any break.

Ahhh! I have the same bad habit.
Thank you.
And relax. You'll end up scoring around your nbme predictions.

 

[Koosh_Ball]

Hello all! Step 1 score out today: 237. Three points above my best NBME. While I am grateful for this score, I had hoped to hit 240. But c'est la vie, I suppose. At least it won't immediately get me filtered out of competitive residencies.

Best wishes to everyone else getting scores today!

 

[Surgeria]

Hello all! Step 1 score out today: 237. Three points above my best NBME. While I am grateful for this score, I had hoped to hit 240. But c'est la vie, I suppose. At least it won't immediately get me filtered out of competitive residencies.

Best wishes to everyone else getting scores today!

congratulations, your score is enough for any kind of residency, even for the most competitive specialties but in less ive league places. please tell us in which nbme you had 234 score? nbme 18?

 

[A$AP]

Hello all! Step 1 score out today: 237. Three points above my best NBME. While I am grateful for this score, I had hoped to hit 240. But c'est la vie, I suppose. At least it won't immediately get me filtered out of competitive residencies.

Best wishes to everyone else getting scores today!

Gratz on the great score! I am expecting my score today as well (tested aug 24th) but still no e-mail or anything... is it 11am where you are already?

 

[Koosh_Ball]

congratulations, your score is enough for any kind of residency, even for the most competitive specialties but in less ive league places. please tell us in which nbme you had 234 score? nbme 18?

Hi Surgeria! Thanks for your kind words, I really hope you are right!! Yes, I scored 234 in NBME 18. I wish you good luck!

 

[Koosh_Ball]

Gratz on the great score! I am expecting my score today as well (tested aug 24th) but still no e-mail or anything... is it 11am where you are already?

Hi A$AP! Sorry I didnt reply to your earlier message, but was sick with a bad flu so was just lurking. Actually, I got my score at 0700CT. I was shocked at how early it popped up since my CS score was available by 0837CT.

You should get yours fairly soon as well. I know it's frustrating clicking that darned refresh button repeatedly. Just gotta hang on! I have a feeling you will score higher than me, so be patient

 

[Surgeria]

Hi Surgeria! Thanks for your kind words, I really hope you are right!! Yes, I scored 234 in NBME 18. I wish you good luck!

Thank you for your reply, good luck you to!

 

[goodvibes27]

Anyone else stressed out for next week ?


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[harvst]

Hey guys, been lurking here for a while, finally decided to post.

So I'm about 1 month out from taking step, and somewhat discouraged by the trend of my NBME scores:
UWSA1: 224 (3 weeks ago)
NBME 13: 225 (a week ago)
NBME 17: 224 (today)

I'm almost done with first pass with FA, been doing 2 blocks of UWorld a day on random timed, averaging 68% (upward trend to 73% the last week), and going over every UWorld question meticulously, doing some Rx Qbank as well averaging about 75%. I'm a little stumped as to why I'm actively studying hard everyday and improving on UWorld but not improving on my NBMEs. For a little context, my MCAT was 38+ and I did fairly well on school exams during my preclinical years. I went through my NBME score report in detail and there are about 5-10 questions I initially got right but changed to an incorrect answer due to overthinking (lol).

Is it just lack of practice and being neurotic that's preventing me from improving on the NBMEs? Or am I missing something? I'm kind of stressed as I'm a month away from taking step and would love some advice and some constructive input from a different perspective! Thanks in advance!!

 

[usmle313]

NBME score dropped by 20 points

HELP! My exam is in a week.
(7/17)NBME16:219
(8/11)UWSA1:245
(9/11)NBME17:250
(9/18)NBME18:230

And I just finished taking NBME 18 and my score had a drastic drop from my score on NBME 17 last week.

I really dont know where I went wrong. While I was taking it I knew I wasnt doing that well but I wasnt expecting such a low score. The questions did seem a lot harder for me and upon reviewing my wrongs I did make some careless mistakes but not even to account for the big difference in scores.

Any advice??? I really dont want to reschedule my exam. I just want to be done with this.
It's just a bit depressing. I was happy with a 250 NBME score but to see how drastic my performance dropped, made me lose all confidence.

I dont know where to go from here.

 

[texasholdems]

do we usually get an email on the day we are expected to receive the score?
or where can IMGs find their step 1 score?

 

[psychMDhopefully]

I'm going to have take so many tranquilizers just to sleep tonight

 

[Azete]

Ok that makes me feel a bit better. I recalled ~150 questions and counted 10-15 wrong so far but I gave up lol. Just shooting for that 230

I identified 14 questions that I definitely got wrong (I know the final number was way more), and I scored >255.