USMLE Official 2017 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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WeedForLunch

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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.. 🙂
 
thats crazy, when did you take 15? i think since dec 2016 they made the grading harder or something along with the format of per subject breakdown.

last year i took 15 and got 72% which was a 200. so to get 5% higher and only 5 points is crazy

I took Nbme 15 just this past Monday.
 
has anyone realized towards the end of last year NBME changed its reporting. they give a different breakdown of subjects and areas to show strengths and weaknesses. while they made that update did they also change the curves? to me it seems like scoring after the update got a lot harsher. if you search forums you can see that people missed the same amount for a certain NBME but scored lower after the update. this is crazy to me, as if its not hard enough


I think so too, my friend took Step 1 two years ago and I have her breakdown of % incorrect vs. score and she was getting over 220s with like 78%.
 
This might be a dumb question but how does one review the answers to the all NBME questions if you take the test under the regular timed 1 hour/40Q block
 
This might be a dumb question but how does one review the answers to the all NBME questions if you take the test under the regular timed 1 hour/40Q block
always buy extended feedback so you know what you got wrong. also while taking nbme leave a couple mins at end and snap a picture of all your answers or assign a key on computer to take screenshots (makes life very easy) as you finish questions.
 
Can we therefore safely say that the curve is more difficult now? I'm trying to get a 220 on NBME and so far that hasn't happened.
all i can let you know in 13 days is wether step 1 has a similar curve or not. everyone says nbme curve is steeper than step 1. we shall see when i get my score. the exam was very comparable to difficulty to nbmes so im sure i got around 80%, i felt good coming out the exam and to be honest was suprised how fair and simple it was. a lot easier than nbme 18
 
all i can let you know in 13 days is wether step 1 has a similar curve or not. everyone says nbme curve is steeper than step 1. we shall see when i get my score. the exam was very comparable to difficulty to nbmes so im sure i got around 80%, i felt good coming out the exam and to be honest was suprised how fair and simple it was. a lot easier than nbme 18

Thanks. I don't remember seeing your previous posts with your nbme progress, did you post that? How did you do?
 
Thanks. I don't remember seeing your previous posts with your nbme progress, did you post that? How did you do?
i was going to post all my nbmes and qbank percents with my actual score. doesnt hold much value til then

i can tell you i started at a 142 and i got to a 220

yeah im not the usual 240+ sdn person. im hear for us average students. more people score below 229 than above
 
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Hey guys international medical student from Greece here.
Just received my score-254 .. 😀 😀 so I would like to share my experience.

Resources
  1. First Aid
  2. Becker video lectures
  3. Pathoma
  4. CMMRS
  5. First Aid
  6. Kaplan qbank
  7. UWorld qbank
  8. ANKI

Preparation


January 2016-June 2016: First pass through my resources and annotation of First Aid 2015 (along with my Med school courses)

DEDICATED (August 2016-January 2017)

  1. 5 Aug-19 Oct: Studying of (annotated) FA2015 & transferring notes to FA2016
  2. 20 Oct 2016: NBME 12-->230
  3. 22 Oct-31 Nov: UWorld (1 block/day) & taking notes & review theory when needed
  4. 1 Dec-26 Dec: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
  5. 27 Dec: NBME 17-->255
  6. 29 Dec-10 Jan: UWorld (2 blocks/day) & taking notes & review theory when needed
  7. 14 Jan: 2 assessments back to back & 1h total break ----> NBME 15-->252 & UWSA 1-->266
  8. 15 Jan-24 Jan: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
  9. 25 Jan: NBME 18-->246 (not a good day)
  10. 26 Jan-5 Feb: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
  11. (31 Jan-->practice session at prometric center = free 120 q’s-->89%)
  12. 7 Feb 2017: REAL TEST-->254

Comments

1. Anki

I was pretty lucky to have a friend with whom we began our preparation together using the same resources. He spent a lot of time (and I mean A LOT of time) creating his own flashcards , which he shared with me. Every time I received a deck from him was like receiving a blessing from God( 😛 ).Sadly by the time I began my dedicated period he hadn’t completed about half of the sections of FA, and I had to use Brocencephalon’s deck for the missing ones (Bro’s deck was far inferior compared to the deck my friend was making, but I guess it was better than nothing). I did flashcards everyday (at least one hour per day from November 2015 to 15 Jan 2017 without skipping a single day) which really improved my long-term retention of knowledge and minimized the time required for reviews.

2. Hours per day during dedicated

August-September : 6h/day (including Anki)
Oct-Nov: 7-8h/day (including Anki)
Dec:9h/day (including Anki)
Jan:11h/day (not including Anki)

3. Sites that I found useful
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html
I didn't use it systematically but if I had to prepare for step 1 again I would definitely incorporate that in my studying

https://www.usmle-rx.com/proposed-errata-and-suggestions-fa-step-1
When you end a system or a section in First Aid just check out what other people proposed to change in next first aid version. You will find too many hidden gems here PLUS you will have the new First Aid long before its published 😉

https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/4uej4b/survey_results_2016_usmle_step_1_correlation/
When taking your NBMEs just check out these correlation charts to assess where you stand.

how do you register for the prometric practice free 120?
 
Got my score yesterday from an early Feb test. Thought I would share me assessments and final result.

5 weeks out: UWorld #1 262
3 weeks out: NBME #18 240
2 weeks out: UWorld #2 254
1 week out: NBME #17 244
Actual score: 246

One year out I started using Firecracker and USMLE Rx, completing USMLE Rx 3 months out.

I then switched to UWorld, doing all questions in tutor mode, spending about 9 hours a day on UWorld and the explanations. I used pathoma and sketchy micro/pharm for the other 3-4 hours a day. I did not use First Aid at all surprisingly. I also used quizlet for hard to remember facts, doing the match game on my decks every day, but I would only get through like 1/10 of my cards a day.

I would say that I seriously outperformed my predictors in that I only scored 31 on the MCAT and I was slightly below average on exams compared to my class through the first two years of school.

Good luck to everyone studying. Study hard, this is one test you don't want to have regrets about.
 
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I don't know what to make of my scores. NBME 17 was so strange.

My test is next week, still have to take NBME 18, 19, and UWSA2.

So far

NBME 15: 255
UWSA1: 262
NBME 17: 250

My UWorld average was 84%, timed, random, first pass.

Something about NBME wording or something throws me off. I'm not performing where I should be as might be predicted from UWorld.
 
I don't know what to make of my scores. NBME 17 was so strange.

My test is next week, still have to take NBME 18, 19, and UWSA2.

So far

NBME 15: 255
UWSA1: 262
NBME 17: 250

My UWorld average was 84%, timed, random, first pass.

Something about NBME wording or something throws me off. I'm not performing where I should be as might be predicted from UWorld.
your way above my league but my 17 score dropped 15 points and i had answered only 2 more questions wrong. because its considered to be so "easy" it has a very steep curve. i wouldnt let it get you down. take 18 its a way better indicator and see how you do on the free 120. most people in your range get 89% or higher. your golden to get 250+ i bet your nbme 18 will be closer to 255-260. your scores were always just a dream for me
 
Just a little background: my school has a "compressed" pre-clerkship curriculum (1.5 years); therefore, I performed my core clinical rotations from January of my 2nd year until December of my 3rd year. I had 5 weeks of dedicated study time during the month of January, and I took my exam in early February. I received my results this past week.

The UWorld Step 1 QBank was my primary study resource (~100 questions/day), and I supplemented my studies with First Aid and the Pathoma textbook (I watched the videos in 1st and 2nd year, but I did not re-watch them during the dedicated study period). I did not study for Step 1 during my core clinical rotations because I was focused on preparing for the shelf exams.

NBME Form 17: 207 - January 2 [No Prior Preparation]
UWorld Form 1: 249 - January 18 [Day 17 of preparation]
UWorld Form 2: 247 - January 31 [Day 30 of preparation]
NBME Form 18: 236 - February 4 [Day 34 of preparation]
UWorld QBank: 67% (First pass through all 2,500 questions) - USMLE Score Correlation = 243-244

Final Score: 243

Hope this helps! Good Luck
 
I don't know what to make of my scores. NBME 17 was so strange.

My test is next week, still have to take NBME 18, 19, and UWSA2.

So far

NBME 15: 255
UWSA1: 262
NBME 17: 250

My UWorld average was 84%, timed, random, first pass.

Something about NBME wording or something throws me off. I'm not performing where I should be as might be predicted from UWorld.

Blows my mind how some people's average score is so high on a first pass through Uworld doing timed and random. Even high scorers that I know were getting 60%-65% in the beginning and were only hitting 80% towards the end of the Qbank...
 
Just a little background: my school has a "compressed" pre-clerkship curriculum (1.5 years); therefore, I performed my core clinical rotations from January of my 2nd year until December of my 3rd year. I had 5 weeks of dedicated study time during the month of January, and I took my exam in early February. I received my results this past week.

The UWorld Step 1 QBank was my primary study resource (~100 questions/day), and I supplemented my studies with First Aid and the Pathoma textbook (I watched the videos in 1st and 2nd year, but I did not re-watch them during the dedicated study period). I did not study for Step 1 during my core clinical rotations because I was focused on preparing for the shelf exams.

NBME Form 17: 207 - January 2 [No Prior Preparation]
UWorld Form 1: 249 - January 18 [Day 17 of preparation]
UWorld Form 2: 247 - January 31 [Day 30 of preparation]
NBME Form 18: 236 - February 4 [Day 34 of preparation]
UWorld QBank: 67% (First pass through all 2,500 questions) - USMLE Score Correlation = 243-244

Final Score: 243

Hope this helps! Good Luck
that is awesome, improving 36 points in a month is stellar, i couldnt make that jump in 6 months. do you think it was more of a review for you? everything clicked and came together fast? i ask cause im an iMg i had to learn from the beginning
 
that is awesome, improving 36 points in a month is stellar, i couldnt make that jump in 6 months. do you think it was more of a review for you? everything clicked and came together fast? i ask cause im an iMg i had to learn from the beginning

My clinical experiences during my core clinical rotations and preparing for the NBME shelf exams made it easier to answer questions related to the presentation and management of disease. My major weaknesses in my first practice NBME were in the basic sciences (biochemistry, genetics, immunology) because it had been about 2 years since I studied these topics. I spent two weeks re-studying these topics and my scores improved drastically. It was hard to improve my scores after that (I made very little to no improvement during my final two weeks of preparation).
 
My clinical experiences during my core clinical rotations and preparing for the NBME shelf exams made it easier to answer questions related to the presentation and management of disease. My major weaknesses in my first practice NBME were in the basic sciences (biochemistry, genetics, immunology) because it had been about 2 years since I studied these topics. I spent two weeks re-studying these topics and my scores improved drastically. It was hard to improve my scores after that (I made very little to no improvement during my final two weeks of preparation).

Did you find 100 questions a day on UWorld pretty tough to keep up with?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Did you find 100 questions a day on UWorld pretty tough to keep up with?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Yes, it was very difficult; however, using UWorld as my primary study tool made studying more efficient for me because I have a tendency to waste time "digging through the weeds" instead of grasping the "big picture." I did my questions in tutor mode, and I would actively study while doing the questions. It took me about 6-7 hours to get through 100 questions because I read all of the explanations, and I read the corresponding areas in first aid and pathoma so I could learn as much as I could from each question.

With a one month subscription, I was forced to do 100 questions/day to finish all of the questions (I took 3-4 days off if I remember).
 
Yes, it was very difficult; however, using UWorld as my primary study tool made studying more efficient for me because I have a tendency to waste time "digging through the weeds" instead of grasping the "big picture." I did my questions in tutor mode, and I would actively study while doing the questions. It took me about 6-7 hours to get through 100 questions because I read all of the explanations, and I read the corresponding areas in first aid and pathoma so I could learn as much as I could from each question.

With a one month subscription, I was forced to do 100 questions/day to finish all of the questions (I took 3-4 days off if I remember).

How important / helpful was it reading through every explanation in Uworld? Do you think it is ok to skip the explanations for questions you get right?
 
Yes, it was very difficult; however, using UWorld as my primary study tool made studying more efficient for me because I have a tendency to waste time "digging through the weeds" instead of grasping the "big picture." I did my questions in tutor mode, and I would actively study while doing the questions. It took me about 6-7 hours to get through 100 questions because I read all of the explanations, and I read the corresponding areas in first aid and pathoma so I could learn as much as I could from each question.

With a one month subscription, I was forced to do 100 questions/day to finish all of the questions (I took 3-4 days off if I remember).

Thanks for the response. Did you also use sketchy micro or sketchy pharm?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
I don't know what to make of my scores. NBME 17 was so strange.

My test is next week, still have to take NBME 18, 19, and UWSA2.

So far

NBME 15: 255
UWSA1: 262
NBME 17: 250

My UWorld average was 84%, timed, random, first pass.

Something about NBME wording or something throws me off. I'm not performing where I should be as might be predicted from UWorld.

Something to note, many times UWorld over predicts compared to NBME forms, but not to say it overpredicts performance on Step1. For instance many people have taken NBME form 17/18 and gotten 240 and the UWSA says 250. But on game day your score has a pretty good chance of being 240-250 +/- 5 points. Especially when you get into that upper echelon, 8 or 9 questions out of that total 280 Q's is gonna push you over 250 or closer to 240. Kind of a toss up. I would not over interpret small ~5-10 point differences in the NBME vs UWorld self assessments.
 
Thanks for the response. Did you also use sketchy micro or sketchy pharm?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I have never used Sketchy Micro/Pharm, but I have heard only great things about it. Within a 5-6 week study period, many people told me to try to limit the number of study resources to 3-4 because it can be difficult to get through them all effectively. I followed that advice and went "all in" with UWorld and First Aid. I imagine that it would have been easier to remember the finite details of microbiology and pharmacology with the visual aids that Sketchy micro/pharm provides.
 
How important / helpful was it reading through every explanation in Uworld? Do you think it is ok to skip the explanations for questions you get right?

I believe that UWorld should be used as a "learning tool" and not as an "assessment tool." I believe that it is important to read and study the explanations for as many questions as possible even if you got the question correct because it re-inforces your knowledge/learning. UWorld explains why the incorrect answers are wrong which is very important to understand. I would also have first aid open next to you as you go through to supplement the information not covered in the UWorld explanation. If you do this, I believe that you will be surprised how much information you cover everyday as you do questions.
 
your way above my league but my 17 score dropped 15 points and i had answered only 2 more questions wrong. because its considered to be so "easy" it has a very steep curve. i wouldnt let it get you down. take 18 its a way better indicator and see how you do on the free 120. most people in your range get 89% or higher. your golden to get 250+ i bet your nbme 18 will be closer to 255-260. your scores were always just a dream for me

Thanks. Hoping for the best next week.

Best of luck to you!
 
I don't know what to make of my scores. NBME 17 was so strange.

My test is next week, still have to take NBME 18, 19, and UWSA2.

So far

NBME 15: 255
UWSA1: 262
NBME 17: 250

My UWorld average was 84%, timed, random, first pass.

Something about NBME wording or something throws me off. I'm not performing where I should be as might be predicted from UWorld.

I think it is superb to get 84% on first run, I imagine what would be second run % if you had time to do second run ... how did you managed to get 84% first run? If you will have time maybe you will tell us more about you, and resources, UFAP? ... 84 is superb! You have done kaplan before I guess?
 
I think it is superb to get 84% on first run, I imagine what would be second run % if you had time to do second run ... how did you managed to get 84% first run? If you will have time maybe you will tell us more about you, and resources, UFAP? ... 84 is superb! You have done kaplan before I guess?

Thanks. I'll definitely do a full write up next week. My approach was very long term. I've been doing Firecracker for more than a year. It's not good for everyone, and there can be diminishing returns after a while.

My problem is I need for things to make sense. Not just take them at face value. I despise when someone's explanation for something is the thing itself. X is Y. Why? Because X and Y. No, there has to be a reason. So for those few things that have absolutely no foundation in logic, you need rote memorization. Firecracker is good for those few things.

But as I'm finding out on NBMEs, they can circumvent all that and straight up ask you some really inane questions. So, I'll wait until after my test. See what they do to me. Hope it goes well, God willing.
 
I have never used Sketchy Micro/Pharm, but I have heard only great things about it. Within a 5-6 week study period, many people told me to try to limit the number of study resources to 3-4 because it can be difficult to get through them all effectively. I followed that advice and went "all in" with UWorld and First Aid. I imagine that it would have been easier to remember the finite details of microbiology and pharmacology with the visual aids that Sketchy micro/pharm provides.
I would only partly agree with you about Sketchy b/c in sketchy there are too many images so if smn uses only sketchy as resource, will end up memorizing a lot of images along with the info smn has to retain.. My opinion is that it would be better to use sketchy as aid resource and only for sections having a real problem memorizing.. for that use sketchy is an AMAZING tool!
 
I would only partly agree with you about Sketchy b/c in sketchy there are too many images so if smn uses only sketchy as resource, will end up memorizing a lot of images along with the info smn has to retain.. My opinion is that it would be better to use sketchy as aid resource and only for sections having a real problem memorizing.. for that use sketchy is an AMAZING tool!


Sketchy is freaking incredible. I knew every sketch (I had been working on it since last summer), and it netted me SEVERAL points on the real exam. There's no way I would have been able to memorize all the drug side effects without it (or the nitty gritty micro details either).
 
Sketchy is freaking incredible. I knew every sketch (I had been working on it since last summer), and it netted me SEVERAL points on the real exam. There's no way I would have been able to memorize all the drug side effects without it.

Did you take your exam this year?
 
Thanks. Hoping for the best next week.

Best of luck to you!
Hi guys! My test is Wednesday, my plan before NBME 19 came out was to do UWSA 2 tomorrow and repeat some uworld q's and go over selected FA tables. Now I'm wondering whether I should do NBME 19? I've done 16-18. I'm worried it'll stress me out too much. Thoughts?
 
Hi guys! My test is Wednesday, my plan before NBME 19 came out was to do UWSA 2 tomorrow and repeat some uworld q's and go over selected FA tables. Now I'm wondering whether I should do NBME 19? I've done 16-18. I'm worried it'll stress me out too much. Thoughts?
i would do nbme 19, you see similar questions to nbme on real thing. sometimes almost identical. i would do uwsa 2 and nbme back to back. thats gonna give you a solid feeling of test day. take your 60 minute break as if you woukd on test day.

also uworld tends to overpredict 10-15%
 
i would do nbme 19, you see similar questions to nbme on real thing. sometimes almost identical. i would do uwsa 2 and nbme back to back. thats gonna give you a solid feeling of test day. take your 60 minute break as if you woukd on test day.

also uworld tends to overpredict 10-15%

I'm soooooo tired. I've been scoring around where I want to be (245-250's), but definitely need the review time as well, I've noticed I've forgotten a lot of minutiae that I used to know. I'm going to take uwsa2 tomorrow morning and then decide, but thank you for the advice, it's definitely solid. Almost done guys, I can't wait to take this already!
 
I'm soooooo tired. I've been scoring around where I want to be (245-250's), but definitely need the review time as well, I've noticed I've forgotten a lot of minutiae that I used to know. I'm going to take uwsa2 tomorrow morning and then decide, but thank you for the advice, it's definitely solid. Almost done guys, I can't wait to take this already!
you got it! home stretch!! if your burnout take a solid day or half day off. and just read your weaknesses from nbme in FA its your last few days, if you are where you wanna be. go kick ass!!! dont forget to do free 120 and tutorial on usmle website!! i got 2-3 exaxt repeata. test has similar difficuly most the way
 
dont be disheartned i think the key is to review each question thoroughly which i did not do. i will tell you my real score in 12 days so we will know how far i truly was
and finally dont worry about your uworld score if you want a true assessment do an nbme go from lowest nunber to highest. uworld worry about learning not the percent. its in our nature to want high percents but its useless. nbme=assesment=end of story
 
Took NBME 18. 252.

I know I should be happy, and I shouldn't be complaining, but I am really disappointed in myself. I can think of 5 incorrect questions that should have been easy. I don't know what to think. Maybe this is my peak?

I can't explain a 10 point difference between my NBME and UWSA.

Should I take NBME 19? I'll definitely take UWSA2 soon. I just feel like I'll get the same score on NBME 19, and my incorrects will again be a mixed bag of wtf questions, and things I overthought, or simply overlooked.

Disclaimer, I'm really interested in neurosurgery, and their matched AVERAGE is 249. Ridiculous. Again, I know I should be happy, I hope we all do our best on test day!
 
Took NBME 18. 252.

I know I should be happy, and I shouldn't be complaining, but I am really disappointed in myself. I can think of 5 incorrect questions that should have been easy. I don't know what to think. Maybe this is my peak?

I can't explain a 10 point difference between my NBME and UWSA.

Should I take NBME 19? I'll definitely take UWSA2 soon. I just feel like I'll get the same score on NBME 19, and my incorrects will again be a mixed bag of wtf questions, and things I overthought, or simply overlooked.

Disclaimer, I'm really interested in neurosurgery, and their matched AVERAGE is 249. Ridiculous. Again, I know I should be happy, I hope we all do our best on test day!
just work on the weakness 18 showed, 252 is stellar you still have step 2 ck as well to make improvements. stupid mistakes always happen.
uworld assessments always overpredict by around 10 points so i wouldnt put a lot of weight on it compared to an NBME

hopefully someone who scored 260-270 can help you
 
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