USMLE Official 2017 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[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.. 🙂

 

[Major procrastinator]

I absolutely agree. I put that disclaimer as I have no idea where they're at in their study prep. If they're 2 weeks out, it would be better to fly through the videos 2x times listening/understanding rather than spending time writing things down that they might not have time to read again.

yes sir, you know how to get it done. i would do the same. although id be very suprised if someone had only 2 weeks left and never done pathoma. that person has guts

 

[dachigo]

You guys are right...I am about 8.5 weeks away from test so i guess thats ample of time to write so i would not have to look for things later. thanks for the input guys...

 

[blueforest]

hey did you work on weaknesses for thr week after nbme 15? or did you just continue your normal routine?
trying to figure out if you fixed areas or it was just truly more towards clinical

I'm doing Pathoma videos on 1.5-2x speed and about 80 Uworld questions a day (really trying to get another block in but i'm slow and trying to do a million other things at once). I'm also not really "reading" FA cover to cover, i'm flipping through it when I don't know something or to make notes.. I use ANKI and Bro's deck to try to memorize what's in there. I'm getting nervous about that because I don't think I will be that person that will go into the exam saying I read FA cover to cover like 5 times.. not even 3? Should I? ugh 🙁 I must say though, ANKI is really helping me retain the facts, I would NEVER be able to do this on my own by staring at FA because it's too passive for me. I need something active by reciting back facts with the help of a program, i'd be too lazy to do it on my own lol.

 

[Major procrastinator]

I'm doing Pathoma videos on 1.5-2x speed and about 80 Uworld questions a day (really trying to get another block in but i'm slow and trying to do a million other things at once). I'm also not really "reading" FA cover to cover, i'm flipping through it when I don't know something or to make notes.. I use ANKI and Bro's deck to try to memorize what's in there. I'm getting nervous about that because I don't think I will be that person that will go into the exam saying I read FA cover to cover like 5 times.. not even 3? Should I? ugh 🙁 I must say though, ANKI is really helping me retain the facts, I would NEVER be able to do this on my own by staring at FA because it's too passive for me. I need something active by reciting back facts with the help of a program, i'd be too lazy to do it on my own lol.

i think its important to read every word in FA cover to cover just a couple times. there are details you will miss otherwise, and everything in FA is very HY. they dont waste space putting words that could not potentially be an answer

 

[Anti-PD1]

So what's the verdict, are UWSA scores inflated?

Trying to calm my nerves.

 

[TheOther]

So what's the verdict, are UWSA scores inflated?

Trying to calm my nerves.

It seems like most people say the average of your most recent NBMEs is your best bet for score prediction. But some will swear the UWSA is more predictive.
You've put in the time and effort studying hard. No need to stress at this point. You got this!

 

[StyleBoy4Life]

So what's the verdict, are UWSA scores inflated?

Trying to calm my nerves.

I got a 240 on NBME 18 1 week out and two days later I got a 254 on UWSA 2. 254 on the real thing. So, in my experience, you could say UWSA doesn't inflate scores. A classmate and I plugged our scores into the equations given here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/4uej4b/survey_results_2016_usmle_step_1_correlation/

Both of us scored within the range provided by doing this with ~5 practice exams plus the free questions. Do with it what you will.

 

[Anti-PD1]

How do you take the free questions? I'm at the website, do you click "do all blocks" and "show correct answers"?

I want to see what the correct answers are later. Are you able to pause between blocks?

 

[DocSpy332]

How do you take the free questions? I'm at the website, do you click "do all blocks" and "show correct answers"?

I want to see what the correct answers are later. Are you able to pause between blocks?

If you just want to see the correct answers later just see this after you finish the questions http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/step-1/2016samples_step1.pdf (There may be a new pdf updated for 2017..)

 

[Anti-PD1]

If you just want to see the correct answers later just see this after you finish the questions http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/step-1/2016samples_step1.pdf (There may be a new pdf updated for 2017..)

Cool, thanks!

 

[Surgeria]

If you just want to see the correct answers later just see this after you finish the questions http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/step-1/2016samples_step1.pdf (There may be a new pdf updated for 2017..)

I figured out one thing, maybe it is important. When I opened that page you provided it was 2017 questions, but then I changed number 7 in browser to 6, then to 5, and it poped out 2016 year forms and 2015 year forms. I think it is great way to test on previous year forms, in case if it doesn't overlap, and I think it isn't. I checked now and there is 2015, 2016 and 2017 forms, total of around 350 + questions.

My theory is next. Uworld is enough for concepts and no need to do any other question bank, there is also no need to do RX if you remember FA minutae otherwise (in my case anki deck is amazing for this sake). To become familiar with usmle type question go for 1-18 NBME forms + this 3 year forms of free 120 question on usmle web page. I hope I am right ...

 

[Major procrastinator]

Cool, thanks!

you just do all blocks without answers.

at the end of each block there is an answer key

keep in mind if you do timed they dont grade for you and they will end the block without you knowing what you got.

 

[Major procrastinator]

I got a 240 on NBME 18 1 week out and two days later I got a 254 on UWSA 2. 254 on the real thing. So, in my experience, you could say UWSA doesn't inflate scores. A classmate and I plugged our scores into the equations given here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/4uej4b/survey_results_2016_usmle_step_1_correlation/

Both of us scored within the range provided by doing this with ~5 practice exams plus the free questions. Do with it what you will.

Ive seen this graph, but it seems too good to be true. almost everyone does way better than NBME 18 and has a high score.

i will say i talked to a good friend of mine yesterday, he had a 230 on UWSA2 and got a 229. i think you have to just keep a range in mind. if you say +/-10 points most people fall in that-just like nbme says 2/3 students will be +/-8

 

[DocSpy332]

I figured out one thing, maybe it is important. When I opened that page you provided it was 2017 questions, but then I changed number 7 in browser to 6, then to 5, and it poped out 2016 year forms and 2015 year forms. I think it is great way to test on previous year forms, in case if it doesn't overlap, and I think it isn't. I checked now and there is 2015, 2016 and 2017 forms, total of around 350 + questions.

My theory is next. Uworld is enough for concepts and no need to do any other question bank, there is also no need to do RX if you remember FA minutae otherwise (in my case anki deck is amazing for this sake). To become familiar with usmle type question go for 1-18 NBME forms + this 3 year forms of free 120 question on usmle web page. I hope I am right ...

I dont know if the questions overlap but thats pretty easy to check out 😛
I agree with you about uworld but I think 4 online NBMEs & free 120 of 2017 (if possible at prometric) are more than enough to become familiar with the test!

 

[Surgeria]

I dont know if the questions overlap but thats pretty easy to check out 😛
I agree with you about uworld but I think 4 online NBMEs & free 120 of 2017 (if possible at prometric) are more than enough to become familiar with the test!

I agree. I am totally sure about that an average person with a 90-100 IQ score can't digest more concepts than is given in uworld + fa + pathoma. I think it's impossible. So I decided to totally skip kaplan bank, I will use it only if after 2 runs of uworld I will still be very and very low in some objects, and even after this I will adhere to advises of some people and use kaplan in only micro,behavior,biochem and physio. It's silly to invent a new bicycle when so many people ate a pound of salt already, just adhere to them, no need to look clever and score less than was your potential. Absolute mastering of ufap I am sure will easily break 250, absolute means absolute.

 

[TheOther]

It's silly to invent a new bicycle when so many people ate a pound of salt already

Hahaha. What country are you from? I'm loving this expression.

 

[Surgeria]

Hahaha. What country are you from? I'm loving this expression.

I am from Europe. Besides, excuse me for not a perfect english. I think it's our obligation of img's to speak perfect English because we are guests in USA, and guests must act like a guests before they become the part of a family. Unfortunately many nations which I will not show to, don't care about this and resume speaking on their disgusting accent, it's a total lie that all accents are beautiful - they are not )) off topic. So many things to do, toefl one of them. but first this beast )) (that doesn't seem such a beast like it seemed earlier)

are the free queastions from usmle easier than nbme? Some of them seems to be too easy ... for example clinics of myasthenia + mediastinal mass on ct, and the question is what's the diagnosis? Or maybe I nailed it. Now I start overthink because some things seems to me easy, I think they want to trick me 😀

 

[Anti-PD1]

you just do all blocks without answers.

at the end of each block there is an answer key

keep in mind if you do timed they dont grade for you and they will end the block without you knowing what you got.

Lol, just did this. Ended up going back to see calculate what my score would be.

 

[TheOther]

I am from Europe. Besides, excuse me for not a perfect english. I think it's our obligation of img's to speak perfect English because we are guests in USA, and guests must act like a guests before they become the part of a family. Unfortunately many nations which I will not show to, don't care about this and resume speaking on their disgusting accent, it's a total lie that all accents are beautiful - they are not )) off topic. So many things to do, toefl one of them. but first this beast )) (that doesn't seem such a beast like it seemed earlier)

are the free queastions from usmle easier than nbme? Some of them seems to be too easy ... for example clinics of myasthenia + mediastinal mass on ct, and the question is what's the diagnosis? Or maybe I nailed it. Now I start overthink because some things seems to me easy, I think they want to trick me 😀

No no, I hope I didn't give any offense in my question/comment. It was just an expression I found funny -- I'm a US citizen to immigrant parents (who are now citizens as well) and bilingual so I appreciate expressions of different languages/cultures. Some I find funnier than others.

I think it's great that you write English well! Keep at it!

 

[Surgeria]

No no, I hope I didn't give any offense in my question/comment. It was just an expression I found funny -- I'm a US citizen to immigrant parents (who are now citizens as well) and bilingual so I appreciate expressions of different languages/cultures. Some I find funnier than others.

I think it's great that you write English well! Keep at it!

Of course no offence, I got what you meant : ))

Happy for you, you have way less things to go trough, your parents have done the hardest part. Every time happy to hear stories like this, cool. Thank you!

 

[Indirect&Passive]

Got my score from an early February test. Always appreciated when people posted this when I was taking NBMEs and stuff so here you go.

NMBE 12: 230 (2 months out)
UWSA1: 251 (1 month out)
NBME 13: 250 (28 Days out)
NBME 15: 240 (took right after 13 on same day, 28 days out)
NBME 16: 257 (19 days out)
UWSA2: 260 (13 days out)
NBME 17: 255 (9 days out)
NBME 18: 246 (6 days out)
Real Thing: 260

Did ~13,500 questions before exam (Kaplan USMLE, Kaplan Comlex, COMQuest, COMBank, USMLERx, & UWorld)
Went through FA & Pathoma each twice (2nd pass within last 30 days)
Sketchy Micro & Pharm is incredible (Micro>Pharm)
Goljan audio all day, everyday
Brosencephalon Anki deck is perfect for little facts you'll never get questions about (and great for hammering in Pharm & Biochem)
Cram fighter is Godsend.
Good luck all.

 

[Major procrastinator]

Lol, just did this. Ended up going back to see calculate what my score would be.

If you don't mind me asking what did you get? I'm interested to know if I was right about it being 89% or higher

 

[Surgeria]

Got my score from an early February test. Always appreciated when people posted this when I was taking NBMEs and stuff so here you go.

NMBE 12: 230 (2 months out)
UWSA1: 251 (1 month out)
NBME 13: 250 (28 Days out)
NBME 15: 240 (took right after 13 on same day, 28 days out)
NBME 16: 257 (19 days out)
UWSA2: 260 (13 days out)
NBME 17: 255 (9 days out)
NBME 18: 246 (6 days out)
Real Thing: 260

Did ~13,500 questions before exam (Kaplan USMLE, Kaplan Comlex, COMQuest, COMBank, USMLERx, & UWorld)
Went through FA & Pathoma each twice (2nd pass within last 30 days)
Sketchy Micro & Pharm is incredible (Micro>Pharm)
Goljan audio all day, everyday
Brosencephalon Anki deck is perfect for little facts you'll never get questions about (and great for hammering in Pharm & Biochem)
Cram fighter is Godsend.
Good luck all.

congratulations with a killer score. What do you think contributed for such a high overshoot to the mean 246 from nbme? Just the right for that fit you and your best topics/concepts? Hope to be one of that guys that gets the right form )))

 

[Major procrastinator]

I am from Europe. Besides, excuse me for not a perfect english. I think it's our obligation of img's to speak perfect English because we are guests in USA, and guests must act like a guests before they become the part of a family. Unfortunately many nations which I will not show to, don't care about this and resume speaking on their disgusting accent, it's a total lie that all accents are beautiful - they are not )) off topic. So many things to do, toefl one of them. but first this beast )) (that doesn't seem such a beast like it seemed earlier)

are the free queastions from usmle easier than nbme? Some of them seems to be too easy ... for example clinics of myasthenia + mediastinal mass on ct, and the question is what's the diagnosis? Or maybe I nailed it. Now I start overthink because some things seems to me easy, I think they want to trick me 😀

exam is similar in difficutly, do not doubt your self and never convince your self of changing an answer unless you have 100% reasoning, your gut is almost always right the first time. USMLE and NBME are not like uworld in the sense that they are not trying to trick you. Just because you now have the knowledge and find it easy does not mean its a trick. on step 1 you dont get a sense of trickery at all like nbme. Just go with your knowledge and preparation and pick the best answer, dont ever tell yourself it must be wrong cause its too easy, I used to do that and it always hurt me.

 

[Major procrastinator]

Got my score from an early February test. Always appreciated when people posted this when I was taking NBMEs and stuff so here you go.

NMBE 12: 230 (2 months out)
UWSA1: 251 (1 month out)
NBME 13: 250 (28 Days out)
NBME 15: 240 (took right after 13 on same day, 28 days out)
NBME 16: 257 (19 days out)
UWSA2: 260 (13 days out)
NBME 17: 255 (9 days out)
NBME 18: 246 (6 days out)
Real Thing: 260

Did ~13,500 questions before exam (Kaplan USMLE, Kaplan Comlex, COMQuest, COMBank, USMLERx, & UWorld)
Went through FA & Pathoma each twice (2nd pass within last 30 days)
Sketchy Micro & Pharm is incredible (Micro>Pharm)
Goljan audio all day, everyday
Brosencephalon Anki deck is perfect for little facts you'll never get questions about (and great for hammering in Pharm & Biochem)
Cram fighter is Godsend.
Good luck all.

WOW CONGRATS!!!
It's very nice to see another score about 15 points higher than NBME 18, this gives me hope for my result in a week!
Did you find NBME 18 to be harder then the actual exam? I found it to be a lot harder than my real exam.
I absolutely agree with sketchy micro, pathoma and FA, and cram fighter is amazing.

 

[Indirect&Passive]

congratulations with a killer score. What do you think contributed for such a high overshoot to the mean 246 from nbme? Just the right for that fit you and your best topics/concepts? Hope to be one of that guys that gets the right form )))

I hadn't finished going through all the body systems when I took 12, and I think taking 2 back to back NBMEs was a bad idea, as this ends up being 10 hours of testing, probably why NBME 15 was lower. I think in general from what I remember reading, the NBMEs tend to underpredict a little bit anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Indirect&Passive]

WOW CONGRATS!!!
It's very nice to see another score about 15 points higher than NBME 18, this gives me hope for my result in a week!
Did you find NBME 18 to be harder then the actual exam? I found it to be a lot harder than my real exam.
I absolutely agree with sketchy micro, pathoma and FA, and cram fighter is amazing.

Yeah, I hated NBME 18. Exam was easier.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[DocSpy332]

Yeah, I hated NBME 18. Exam was easier.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Hey congrats on your score.. I absolutely agree about NBME 18.. I scored 246 too and underestmated me for 8 points (ended up with a 254)
Anyway congrats again!!!!!!

 

[Surgeria]

exam is similar in difficutly, do not doubt your self and never convince your self of changing an answer unless you have 100% reasoning, your gut is almost always right the first time. USMLE and NBME are not like uworld in the sense that they are not trying to trick you. Just because you now have the knowledge and find it easy does not mean its a trick. on step 1 you dont get a sense of trickery at all like nbme. Just go with your knowledge and preparation and pick the best answer, dont ever tell yourself it must be wrong cause its too easy, I used to do that and it always hurt me.

Thank you very much, thank you for you time!


my 2 friends scored 255 on nbme 18. one of them broke 260 and scored 263. The other scored 255. But this was 3 and 8 month ago. Maybe curve became less steep or just the other friend was not lucky enough and she god the same as in nbme 18.

 

[Major procrastinator]

Thank you very much, thank you for you time!


my 2 friends scored 255 on nbme 18. one of them broke 260 and scored 263. The other scored 255. But this was 3 and 8 month ago. Maybe curve became less steep or just the other friend was not lucky enough and she god the same as in nbme 18.

Since your friends are scoring so high they have very little room or error to get there score to keep going up. Compared to them I have a lot more points I could have gained from NBME 18. Honestly I just want a 5 point improvement to be satisfied, if I were to get a 15 point improvement like some of these guys I would be on cloud 9.

after NBME 18 I still had a week to study in which I read all of FA 2016 and all changes in FA 2017 and I hit my weaknesses first and hard with FA, anki cards, and questions on those topics.

I did free 120 and uworld questions as well.

During the exam I felt a lot better about the weak topics I had in NBME 18 so I'm positive I made a jump in my score and I think it should be a significant one.

The only thing I hope is that at the very least I get the same score as NBME 18, anything higher will just boost my confidence and give me a ton of energy to study hard for step 2

 

[Surgeria]

Since your friends are scoring so high they have very little room or error to get there score to keep going up. Compared to them I have a lot more points I could have gained from NBME 18. Honestly I just want a 5 point improvement to be satisfied, if I were to get a 15 point improvement like some of these guys I would be on cloud 9.

after NBME 18 I still had a week to study in which I read all of FA 2016 and all changes in FA 2017 and I hit my weaknesses first and hard with FA, anki cards, and questions on those topics.

I did free 120 and uworld questions as well.

During the exam I felt a lot better about the weak topics I had in NBME 18 so I'm positive I made a jump in my score and I think it should be a significant one.

The only thing I hope is that at the very least I get the same score as NBME 18, anything higher will just boost my confidence and give me a ton of energy to study hard for step 2

To be honest I don't remember if you posted about your nbme scores. If not, what was your nbme scores and what score are dreaming about?

 

[Major procrastinator]

To be honest I don't remember if you posted about your nbme scores. If not, what was your nbme scores and what score are dreaming about?

I'm going to post a detailed reponse after I get my score about my scores, percents, and experience.

I can tell you that I started at a 142 on my first NBME and I finished at 220 on NBME 18. I basically had to teach my self basic sciences so I'm very proud of the hard work I put in to get an 80 point increase (I'm aware that going from a 140 to a 200 is a lot "easier" than a 200 to a 240), I'm sure some people (especially US students) will think I'm a loser and thats fine. If someone like me can get close to the Step 1 average, which is considered to be one of the top 5 hardest exams in world then its fine by me. The best thing is that now that I have a very good foundation, and it puts me a lot better playing field for step 2 on which I want to achieve a 250+...unlike step 1 I'm already starting my nbme out at a 210 which is the passing line (having step 1 done and doing rotations in the US helped a lot)

my dream score for step 1 would be 230+, why 230? because 229 is the average and I would love to beat it.

I cannot say much else til I get my score back to give all of this some value. If i get a 230 then its gonna be WOW, if i get 192 then I guess I'm just stupid.

p.s. I never mention my UW assessment exams because I feel for me personally they overpredict. if i compare by NBME to Uworld its always 10 points less.
yes on my UW assessment 2 i scored a 232-but I disregard it as overpredicting. I must say lately though from people on this forum and a couple of friends who recently took the exam, UWorld was either right on or a couple points away. and NBME 18 seems to be 5-10 points under predicting so who knows.

since I started med school I've been reading this forum but I only posted something after I actually took the beast because I have the experience of the exam to help others and I'm going crazy waiting for my score.

 

[Joanna1987]

I'm going to post a detailed reponse after I get my score about my scores, percents, and experience.

I can tell you that I started at a 142 on my first NBME and I finished at 220 on NBME 18. I basically had to teach my self basic sciences so I'm very proud of the hard work I put in to get an 80 point increase (I'm aware that going from a 140 to a 200 is a lot "easier" than a 200 to a 240), I'm sure some people (especially US students) will think I'm a loser and thats fine. If someone like me can get close to the Step 1 average, which is considered to be one of the top 5 hardest exams in world then its fine by me. The best thing is that now that I have a very good foundation, and it puts me a lot better playing field for step 2 on which I want to achieve a 250+...unlike step 1 I'm already starting my nbme out at a 210 which is the passing line (having step 1 done and doing rotations in the US helped a lot)

my dream score for step 1 would be 230+, why 230? because 229 is the average and I would love to beat it.

I cannot say much else til I get my score back to give all of this some value. If i get a 230 then its gonna be WOW, if i get 192 then I guess I'm just stupid.

p.s. I never mention my UW assessment exams because I feel for me personally they overpredict. if i compare by NBME to Uworld its always 10 points less.
yes on my UW assessment 2 i scored a 232-but I disregard it as overpredicting. I must say lately though from people on this forum and a couple of friends who recently took the exam, UWorld was either right on or a couple points away. and NBME 18 seems to be 5-10 points under predicting so who knows.

since I started med school I've been reading this forum but I only posted something after I actually took the beast because I have the experience of the exam to help others and I'm going crazy waiting for my score.

You will be great. I really believe in you 🙂 Fingers crossed!

I totally know how you feel. I started from 156 and my NBMEs where 220-232-220 (4 months ago).

I haven't had any NBME since then cause I wasted most of them early in my preparation course.
I'd assume I'm at least 220, not lower (I hope so lol).

Taking the test on the 16th of this month and I hope my exam will be close to free 120/NBMEs.

Goodluck!

 

[Joanna1987]

I'm going to post a detailed reponse after I get my score about my scores, percents, and experience.

I can tell you that I started at a 142 on my first NBME and I finished at 220 on NBME 18. I basically had to teach my self basic sciences so I'm very proud of the hard work I put in to get an 80 point increase (I'm aware that going from a 140 to a 200 is a lot "easier" than a 200 to a 240), I'm sure some people (especially US students) will think I'm a loser and thats fine. If someone like me can get close to the Step 1 average, which is considered to be one of the top 5 hardest exams in world then its fine by me. The best thing is that now that I have a very good foundation, and it puts me a lot better playing field for step 2 on which I want to achieve a 250+...unlike step 1 I'm already starting my nbme out at a 210 which is the passing line (having step 1 done and doing rotations in the US helped a lot)

my dream score for step 1 would be 230+, why 230? because 229 is the average and I would love to beat it.

I cannot say much else til I get my score back to give all of this some value. If i get a 230 then its gonna be WOW, if i get 192 then I guess I'm just stupid.

p.s. I never mention my UW assessment exams because I feel for me personally they overpredict. if i compare by NBME to Uworld its always 10 points less.
yes on my UW assessment 2 i scored a 232-but I disregard it as overpredicting. I must say lately though from people on this forum and a couple of friends who recently took the exam, UWorld was either right on or a couple points away. and NBME 18 seems to be 5-10 points under predicting so who knows.

since I started med school I've been reading this forum but I only posted something after I actually took the beast because I have the experience of the exam to help others and I'm going crazy waiting for my score.

Also, I HIGHLY doubt anyone sees you as a loser.
Frist of all, you gotta remember that there are thousands of people taking this test and only a small fraction of them are active on forums (most of the time the ones who score 240 and higher).
Second of all, if anyone judges you by the score, then F** them. They are a**holes.
🙂

 

[Anti-PD1]

Taking the exam tomorrow, 0900. I don't want to study anymore, maybe just look over parasites. They're just a bunch of stupid worms I tell you!

 

[chromuffin]

Taking the exam tomorrow, 0900. I don't want to study anymore, maybe just look over parasites. They're just a bunch of stupid worms I tell you!

PAM! You got this! (Sketchy reference)

 

[TheOther]

Taking the exam tomorrow, 0900. I don't want to study anymore, maybe just look over parasites. They're just a bunch of stupid worms I tell you!

Right as you sit down, close your eyes and think of that sweet sweet chin dimple on the face of your hero.

Then proceed to crush the exam.

 

[Eagles6389]

Hi all,

I am almost 3 months from my exam (early June test date) and I was wondering how many NBMEs/sample questions/Assessment tests there are total.

So far, I know of NBME 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, as well as the two UWSA tests. Is that all? Are there any other assessments I should complete?

For the last two months I've been doing USMLE-Rx and completed about 1500 questions at 65% correct cumulative. I started poorly since I hadn't reviewed much of FA, but for the last month I've been hitting 70%+ pretty regularly. Plan is to finish USMLE-Rx by late March and then start UWorld, hoping to get 2x through it by doing 2 full blocks of questions a day. So I'm wondering how many Self Assessment exams there are like the NBMEs so I can figure out when to space them into my schedule. Also, how hard is the histology on Step 1? As in, do you need to know the picture or do you not really need it to get to the correct answer?

Any suggestions are always appreciated 🙂

 

[Ace Khalifa]

So far, I know of NBME 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, as well as the two UWSA tests. Is that all? Are there any other assessments I should complete?

They just retired NBME 12 and just released NBME 19. So now it's NBME 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 + 2 UWSAs. Don't forget the Free 120.

 

[chickensoupdr]

I've had about two days to think about how the exam went, and I still feel like I had a lot of wtf type questions... There were a few questions over topics that I simply had never heard of, and a good handful of questions where I felt like I could only narrow it down to two answer choices. I scored in the 250's for UWSA1 and 230's for UWSA2 and averaged in the 230's on the NBME's. My score always had a big range so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I never felt as unsure as I did during the real exam. Anyone had similar experiences?

 

[ASM student]

I've had about two days to think about how the exam went, and I still feel like I had a lot of wtf type questions... There were a few questions over topics that I simply had never heard of, and a good handful of questions where I felt like I could only narrow it down to two answer choices. I scored in the 250's for UWSA1 and 230's for UWSA2 and averaged in the 230's on the NBME's. My score always had a big range so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I never felt as unsure as I did during the real exam. Anyone had similar experiences?

Everyone had similar experience.

 

[Major procrastinator]

Taking the exam tomorrow, 0900. I don't want to study anymore, maybe just look over parasites. They're just a bunch of stupid worms I tell you!

haha good luck man!!! i hope you kill it and get your 260+

one tip i have is take enough snacks and remember checking in and out can easily take 4-5 mins total. sometimes its good to just stay in your chair and chill for 5-10 mins to avoid wasting break time.

taking breaks from 5-15 min after each block depending on how you feel and how the block went is a great idea.

taking one long break didnt make sense to me. i took minium 7 min break after each block.

i never felt tired, always refocused that way

 

[Major procrastinator]

You will be great. I really believe in you 🙂 Fingers crossed!

I totally know how you feel. I started from 156 and my NBMEs where 220-232-220 (4 months ago).

I haven't had any NBME since then cause I wasted most of them early in my preparation course.
I'd assume I'm at least 220, not lower (I hope so lol).

Taking the test on the 16th of this month and I hope my exam will be close to free 120/NBMEs.

Goodluck!

thank you so much, your definitely in a similar scenario.

im sure you will do great, go kick ass!!

how was your free 120?

 

[Major procrastinator]

Also, I HIGHLY doubt anyone sees you as a loser.
Frist of all, you gotta remember that there are thousands of people taking this test and only a small fraction of them are active on forums (most of the time the ones who score 240 and higher).
Second of all, if anyone judges you by the score, then F** them. They are a**holes.
🙂

haha thanks for the kind words.

i definitely dont care what haters say nor do i look at someone different wether its a 200 or 260

 

[blueforest]

haha good luck man!!! i hope you kill it and get your 260+

one tip i have is take enough snacks and remember checking in and out can easily take 4-5 mins total. sometimes its good to just stay in your chair and chill for 5-10 mins to avoid wasting break time.

taking breaks from 5-15 min after each block depending on how you feel and how the block went is a great idea.

taking one long break didnt make sense to me. i took minium 7 min break after each block.

i never felt tired, always refocused that way

Maybe slightly off-topic, but what do you ( and everyone else) recommend to bring as snacks? I heard some people don't bring a lunch with them so that they don't have a post-meal afternoon crash. I feel like I am the type of person who needs to eat every so often, but if I am super stressed during exam day I might not even want to swallow water because I will be sick to my stomach haha. I was thinking banana + protein bar + pretzels ? Maybe a sandwich if I get really hungry after block 4? I'm also scared to get that afternoon crash because that happens to me everyday when I'm studying for hours..

 

[Surgeria]

Maybe slightly off-topic, but what do you ( and everyone else) recommend to bring as snacks? I heard some people don't bring a lunch with them so that they don't have a post-meal afternoon crash. I feel like I am the type of person who needs to eat every so often, but if I am super stressed during exam day I might not even want to swallow water because I will be sick to my stomach haha. I was thinking banana + protein bar + pretzels ? Maybe a sandwich if I get really hungry after block 4? I'm also scared to get that afternoon crash because that happens to me everyday when I'm studying for hours..

I was thinking much about the proper nutrition. What I came about this is next:

No bananas, because they make you sleepy because of tryptophane (same as cheese). So no bananas, no cheese, no milky products. You will end up with high serotonin and melatonin
No processed foods, an anything with high carb index (any bars like twix and things along this line). High carb will give some energy and then booom, you crash. Instead of this use whole grains, use rice, use bread. So use some whole grains for you carbs and long term energy and avoid.

My strategy is next. for carbs I will run rice and bread. For proteins I will use eggs because eggs increase orexin level and you will be bumped up. If anyone has no noticed yet, eggs make you less sleepy. Here comes into play 2 points, eggs are a source of protein and amino acids (not trp) make you awake + orexin in eggs. So you will trick the system by using whole grains + eggs.

One more thing to add. I will use with the mentioned products also post work-out protein shake (around 25 grams of proteins from which 5 grams will be BCA) I have optimum nutrition powder left from my workouts before usmle ruined my social life )))

+ I will use tyrosine powder (250 mg before exam, and 250 in between) caffeine 200 mg beffore the exam and 200 in between. theanine 200 before exam and 200 in between. this is focus blend caffeine-theanine-tyrosine.

Bread, rice, eggs, protein shake powder, caffeine, theanine, tyrosine. NO ENERGY DRINKS because they are high in sugar and you will crash. I bet this works for everyone!

Some people eat mcdonals crap before exam. I can't figure out, how can person be so ambitious about being a resident in USA and at the time don't understand they way how foods work. Eating mcdonalds before exam? I don't want to be treated by such a person )))

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Hey guys I was kind of curious to see what y'all we're going to say to this question but how are you guys prepping for the bio stats? My school basically did it in two lectures it was horribly done. I basically have no background in it so I can't just go off first aid


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[Surgeria]

Hey guys I was kind of curious to see what y'all we're going to say to this question but how are you guys prepping for the bio stats? My school basically did it in two lectures it was horribly done. I basically have no background in it so I can't just go off first aid


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I have done kaplan biostat videos by Dr. Dougherty and he is a king in biostats/behavioral + kaplan biostats. After this I went through uworld biostats, even after this I was weak, then I went through first aid biostats. At the moment I have some basic ideas. Now I am going to subscribe for uworld additional biostats. Even after this I am sure I will need repeat all of this. I struggle more when formulas come up. Otherwise biostats is easy if it doesn't deal with formulas.

 

[A$AP]

Hey guys I was kind of curious to see what y'all we're going to say to this question but how are you guys prepping for the bio stats? My school basically did it in two lectures it was horribly done. I basically have no background in it so I can't just go off first aid


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

FA + Uworld + Google/youtube for clarifications

 

[Major procrastinator]

Maybe slightly off-topic, but what do you ( and everyone else) recommend to bring as snacks? I heard some people don't bring a lunch with them so that they don't have a post-meal afternoon crash. I feel like I am the type of person who needs to eat every so often, but if I am super stressed during exam day I might not even want to swallow water because I will be sick to my stomach haha. I was thinking banana + protein bar + pretzels ? Maybe a sandwich if I get really hungry after block 4? I'm also scared to get that afternoon crash because that happens to me everyday when I'm studying for hours..

I had a banana before exam-carbs, and gets yiu constipated haha

i took water, drink very little so you dont need the bathroom every 10 mins

i had a 3 protein bars that is low in sugar (avoid a crash) but high in complex carbs and protein

i had one small sandwich from wawa that i had half after block 4 and half after 6

i ate small amounts but frequently, and i felt great throughout. remeber little breaks often, way better than one long lunch break

i wouldnt eat pretzels-very dry and salty, cause you to get dehydrated and drink water. you dont want to go to the bathroom half way during a block.