USMLE Official 2018 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

If there's any advice I can give people waiting for scores...it's trust your practice scores...all my friends told me the same thing and I kept telling them I failed...felt like I had missed around 100 questions...actually had a point in the test where I put my face in my hands and started bawling (the proctors were probably wondering what's wrong with me!!)...I scored around 228-235 on NBMEs, 243 on UWSA2 (over predicted for me). Real deal: 230....missed about 20 really easy questions due to nerves which may have pushed it up a bit but I am so happy to be done with the test and get a decent score!! Trust yourself and you will succeed!!! Good luck to all!!!!!

 

Wanted to share my practice test experience for step 1 as I know this was some info I was searching for while studying:

Form 13 (baseline early before studying): 192
Form 19 (beginning of dedicated period - 4 weeks out): 240
UWSA1 (3 weeks out): 258
Form 17 (2.5 weeks out): 261
Form 18 (2 weeks out): 240
Form 15 (1.5 weeks out): 242
Free 137 questions %: 87
UWSA2: 258
uWorld first pass: 88% (I think? May be lower but definitely >85%)

Real score: 254

 

Nicely done! Seems like NBMEs are bad predictors..

 

Do you think you're practice scores underpredicted because the test wasn't representative of them, asking a greater frequency of questions beyond your knowledge base, or because you were nervous and under performed relative to your knowledge level? Still a great and competitive score, though!

 

For sure. Especially form 19 (I only missed 9 questions on it which is somehow a 240?).
I think the consensus in the step 1 internet ether is that the UWSA's are best (especially #2).Good luck!

 

Diagnostic pre dedicated NBME 13 = 150 (I learned nothing first couple years)
In order:
UWSA1= 232
UWSA2= 226
NBME17= 209
NBME16= 225
NBME18= 242
UW% (1st pass random timed)= 66%
Kaplan Qbank (random timed, 2/3 through it)= 77%

Real Deal: 244

Wanted >250 but I guess a 94 point jump isn't bad.

 

Hard to say since I don't know what I got wrong. In my score report, I didn't star some subjects that I starred in 7 practice NBMEs, so I think there were some flukes. There were 3 questions I 100% knew the answer for, but was stupid.

My test didn't test anything that was completely foreign, so maybe it had a harsh curve. All the really weird/hard questions I got right, so if there are experimental questions, I probably got those right. The 13 I know I got wrong did not seem experimental.

NBME 19 was the most predictive test for me (I scored 250).

 

How many total questions could you remember?

 

I haven't done too well on the NBMEs, but my UWSA1 at 3 weeks out is similar to your's, and I'm hoping to break a 250. Cheers!

 

Right from the horses mouth! Weird that it worked out differently for us.

 

Just took the test today. Pretty easy to be honest especially if you have been studying for the first 2 yrs. My only gripe is that the easy questions are way too easy, so the high scores would probably depend highly on the relatively fewer hard questions.
Wish the test was moderately difficult throughout instead of very hard and very easy questions.
Hoping mid 250s to 260 based on practice tests.

 

Took 8 weeks of dedicated, first practice was 4 weeks in and then weekly from there on out. I actually got snowed out of my exam the night before, twice, so it ended up being longer than 8 weeks total (hence the kaplan bank). Was a brutal experience overall.

 

How many questions do you think you got wrong? Mainly WTF impossible questions but questions that stumped you but which you could have prepared for?

 

Yeah thankfully. I'm interested in a surgical subspecialty so hopefully its close enough.
It was 8 weeks out, took it 2 days before dedicated lol

 

Congrats to everyone who got their scores today!!

I took the CBSE this afternoon, think it went decently well. Does anyone know how long it takes to get your score for CBSE? I was originally told we'd be getting it on the 25th but I've heard some conflicting information. Hoping we hear sooner!

 

Thank you! Good luck!

 

We took ours on a Monday and got it that Friday

Sent from my SM-G935U using SDN mobile

 

Who here is using RX for questions? Seems like they have added/redone a lot of their bank and explanations to make it more UW-like. I did about half the bank last year and it seems much better this time around with the explanations.

 

Took step this past Monday and can't stop obsessing over the questions I know I got wrong. Up to at least 12 with 5 truly dumb mistakes. I'm trying to distract myself with research but my mind keeps going right back to the test. Tips and tricks for quelling the anxiety until scores are out? Or does the obsessing just gradually die down?

 

got my score yesterday, these threads were useful to me so here's my progression

NBME 13 (school mandated, 5 mo. out) - 145
CBSE (3 mo out) 193
NBME 15 - 217
NBME 16 - 231
UWSA 1 - 245
NBME 17 - 245
NBME 18 - 234
UWSA 2 - 244
NBME 19 - 234
Free 120 - 82%

UW 1st pass - 66%
UW 2nd pass - 88%

Step1: 249


First emotion was relief as I was bracing myself for something in the 230's. Really elated with this score as my goal was always a 240+
I really struggled during first year, mostly scoring at average or slightly below in my exams. I was super discouraged after that first NBME. Worked my ass off for 6 months and I knew going in that I did everything I could and it feels great to see all that work pay off. Keep fighting the good fight everyone, hard work will be rewarded!

 

What was the time course?

 

Drinking, drugs and bedroom sports ftw

 

Took Step 1 yesterday...not sure what to think...

Practice scores were:

Uworld (1st pass random, timed) = 82%
Baseline NBME 18 (7 weeks out) = 211
NBME 13 (5.5 weeks out) = 232
UWSA1 (5 weeks out) = 260
NBME 15 (4 weeks out) =242
NBME 19 (3 weeks out) = 238...made quite a few dumb mistakes
NBME 16 (2 weeks out) = 252
NBME 17 (1.5 weeks out) = 248
UWSA2 (1 week out) = 249

Overall I thought it was a pretty fair test, I feel that my test scores were significantly worse than my Uworld qbank % based on what I have seen others post around here and I think that was largely a function of me overthinking NBME questions and changing answers. I tried not to do this on the real exam but at the same time I honestly felt most questions were pretty easy, which probably means the curve will be brutal. Praying a broke a 250 but am not too confident in it, this will be a long ~3 weeks. Goodluck to everyone else still studying

 

How often do you guys fluctuated on uworld? Tend to have a great streak of 70+ but then I hit a bump of getting below 60 and get really frustrated and start getting the easiest questions wrong.

 

Happens to me too. Don't think of it as "Damn I just got a 60, FML I'm going to drop out and work at McDonalds." Think of it as "Thank god I found out that I didn't know something before the real deal." Just learn from the Q and you'll do better next time.

 

Im not sure what a "fluke" is. Sure, luck can play a few points in either direction. The measurement error on the real exam is 6 points. Unless you cheated on that nbme, i would feel great about it. Obviously take another

 

Antibiotic pharm was very basic on my exam. Neuro wasn't heavily covered in my exam, but you never know. Most of my friends ended up with a sort of abstract element of biochem being emphasized... for me, I had about 6-8 questions on inborn errors of metabolism (*palm to face*)! I didn't have it at the time, but some of my friends used the 'doctors notes medical biochemistry poster' and thought it was extremely helpful for them and their ability to remember all the important parts of biochem (including inborn errors of metabolism) and how all the reactions relate to each other, so you may want to check that out. Apparently, visual learning is a big deal. Hope that helps!

 

I have been lurking on this page for awhile And posts here helped me. Though my score isnt great at all, I m thankful I passed. I was originally scheduled to take the step 1 on the 5th of March but My nbmes were stuck on 200 for a long time and so I had to extend my exam by three weeks.
During the extension I focused on first Aid and my saved notes on uworld. I believe that boosted my score. Not the greatest score but I just want to encourage anyone whose scores have plateaued. You can definately improve. If need be please try and extend your exams till you fall in the score range you can live with. Trust your Nbmes. They are predictive of your strengths and weaknesses.

IMG
Initial goal score 240
Nbme 18 (9/1/2017) - 200 (pre-dedicated)
Took a six week break to prep for my final med school exams
Nbme 19 (11/16/2017)- 200
Nbme 17 (2/19/2018) - 200
Nbme 16 (3/17/2018) - 217
Nbme 15 (3/24/2018) - 228
Actual step 1 score (3/26/2018) - 228.

 

Similar practice test scores. Felt the same too. Exam was very easy. Hoping that's because of prep and the curve still holds

 

Hopefully we both did well. Yeah I don't want to say I thought it was easy and then get back a bad score but it was significantly more straightforward than I have been told. I am hoping that was just because I was prepared and the exam played to my strengths but who knows. I've been looking up questions that I wasn't sure on and seemed to guess correctly on most which is a good feeling

 

I don't wanna ruin the flow of people chatting who just got scores back or just took step.

But I had a quick content question.

I keep missing ASA tox questions because I never know if they want resp alk or meta acidosis. I know resp alk is first and metabolic acidosis comes after, but whats the real timeline? For the purposes of step, At what point/time after toxicity do I differentiate and choose an answer suggesting metabolic acidosis versus metabolic alkalosis? I've tried looking it up and can't find a solid answer

 

Respiratory alkalosis is pretty much immediate, metabolic acidosis triggers roughly around 12 hours post ingestion.

If the pH falls in the normal range, and you see low PCO2 and low HCO3, thats likely a combined disorder, since as a general rule compensation is never complete.

 

Yeah I also had this question when I was studying, I'm sure in reality it depends on a host of factors but Uworld says 12 hours so that is what I used as my threshold during studying

 

Okay I thought 12 hours too from the Q bank. But question 19 on free NBME has an ASA tox question, 3 hours after ingestion, and the answer is metabolic acidosis (dec HCO3, dec pH, dec CO2). Is there another way to tell what they're looking for on any particular question?

its frustrating to keep missing the same question when you literally have all the facts memorized correctly and just aren't sure what that particular question writer wants you to answer

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me directly! I'll be sure to give biochem one more quick pass before calling it a day

 

How did you feel post exam? Was it hard?...easy?

 

Thought I would share mine since this thread really helped me during dedicated.

UWorld 1st pass: 85%
NBME 13 - 242 (7 weeks out)
NBME 15 - 248 (5 weeks out)
USWA1 - 269 (4 weeks out)
USWA2 - 256 (3 weeks out)
NBME 16 - 242 (2.5 weeks out)
NBME 17: 255 (2 weeks out)
NMBE 19: 257 (1.5 weeks out)
Free 120: 91% (1 week out)
NBME 18: 261 ( 4 days out)

Real Deal: 253


UFAPS + B&B + Zanki. Rx during MS1/MS2, UWorld during dedicated, Kaplan sprinkled around. Exam was tough, mixture of both UWorld/NBME style questions, marked ~15 each block. Good luck to everyone studying!

 

Yep. Did a block of 40 yesterday and got 55% and felt pretty mad even though it doesn't really mean anything haha. Then today, just did a 40 question block and got an 80%, and now I feel great, even though THAT doesn't mean anything either. I feel like it can be a win-win, the blocks you do well on boost your confidence for those particular topics while the blocks where you don't do so hot are good learning opportunities.

 

Congrats on the awesome score! Would you recommend watching all B&B videos? Or are there certain subjects/organ systems you think he is really good at and others not so much?

 

Jealous! Any insight to what you did around 2-3 weeks out to bump up from 240s to 250s?

 

Can anyone comment on the wild variability of UWorld scores vs. NBMEs/real scores going on in this thread? I'm seeing tons of people with UWorld > 80% and NBMEs/real scores in the 230s and 240s. I started dedicated with Rx finished (82%), ~500 Qs of Kaplan (81%), and ~1000 Qs of UWorld (83%). I took NBME 16 as a baseline 6 weeks out (start of dedicated) and got a 255. Then I finished UWorld (84%) a week later and took NBME 15 and got a 250. Even the completely epic 270+ posts have UWorld in the 85-88% range for first pass. I'm honestly just a bit confused. I know it's not exact, but I'd think we'd have better than a 20 point variability in scores between people scoring the same in UWorld. Is the massive UWorld bump the Zanki effect (there are a lot of cards that give away the tricky UWorld questions)? Is the scale on NBMEs and the real deal simply way harder? Just trying to see a trend here, because in past years it seemed that finishing UWorld on first pass with 85%+ was a pretty clear sign you'd crack 260.

 

I've been wondering the same exact thing. It seemed like anything above 80% was exceptional on Uworld and correlated to high 250s+ before, but then I'm also seeing tons of people post this year with U-World in the 80s and step scores significantly lower and it's freaking me out.

 

Thanks guys. These past two days have now been just been ups and downs from 70 to 50 and its two days before dedicated but we finished all of our classes. Hoping I get to a steady state of at least 60+ after a week into it. First NBME tomorrow

 

I have kaplan 84%, Rx 83%, and Uworld 84% but my baseline NBME (13 taken at 5 weeks out, after kaplan and Rx but before Uworld) was a 232, which shocked me cause I thought, seeing everyone elses scores on here I'd have done a lot higher. I've never touched Zanki. I wonder if thats that why while going through Uworld, I would randomly miss questions that I thought were impossible and for sure would be a <30% correct type of question, only to see like 60+% of people got it correct lmao I had no idea zanki gave away Uworld answers like that cause I've never seen/touched it.

 

Seriously that's the worst, especially when they're questions with 70%-80%+ correct. I've had a few of those and it puts me in a terrible mood for the rest of the block. I'm just thinking how weird it is that I could know so much but be oblivious to some random factoid that apparently everyone else knows about.

 

On a lighter note, have you guys ever picked the answer choice that only 1-2% of people picked? I always laugh when that happens because I feel so dumb.

 

not sure. its a school administered NBME. but thanks! I will need it

 

Is this for real? Do you mind sharing your prep during your first two years?

 

legit just died reading this lmao

 

I have the exact same problem regarding Aspirin toxicity concept.
Took free 120 today so I’ll share how I ended up on the right answer.
Basically while reading the qs I had completely made up my mind that this is Respiratory Alkalosis for sure. Then I got to the options and tried to find the option with pH up and the other two down. But, a twist in the story, there wasn’t any such option! So I was kind of forced to go with the option of metabolic acidosis. Even though I have no idea how exactly it can occur within 3 hours. Anyone with a nice explanation, please?

Also, does anyone have any idea what range do I expect to stand within with 78% on free 120? (For reference, NBME 17=220, NBME 19=215, both taken within the last week-10 days). Can I expect to be in 220s atleast atm?
NBME 18 still left.