USMLE Official 2018 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[Foot Fetish]

I've always wanted to start one of these...So here we go!

My stats:

M2
Test time: June 2018
Goal score: 270

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[sharkbyte]

I got a 243 on UWSA1. Pretty nervous as I know this one tends to overpredict. I'm 3 weeks out from my exam. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should do until then? I would like to score 240+ but I'm unsure now if that is possible..

 

[Analfissure]

I would try to do at least NBME18. Ideally you would do 18+/- 19 (or 17, Idk, haven't taken it yet). I felt like 18 was very challenging compared to UWSA's and NBME19 and NBME13.

Interesting. If I did another, I was planning on 18. I hear 19's curve is very very difficult (not sure if the questions are much different that any other's tho).

The UWA1 is hard to compare to any other NBMEs Ive done, they were very first order in my opinion. And therefore, didnt know how that question style compares to the real deal.

 

[The.Supinator]

I got a 243 on UWSA1. Pretty nervous as I know this one tends to overpredict. I'm 3 weeks out from my exam. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should do until then? I would like to score 240+ but I'm unsure now if that is possible..

hey I got a similar score on usaw1, mind sharing all other assessments you took so far, like nbmes etc, I think it over predicts if you nbmes are much lower,

 

[sharkbyte]

hey I got a similar score on usaw1, mind sharing all other assessments you took so far, like nbmes etc, I think it over predicts if you nbmes are much lower,

So far this is what I have:

NBME 13 - 228
NBME 15 - 242
UWSA1 - 243

If UWSA1 overpredicts by a lot then I'm nowhere near where I want to be . I still have 3 weeks left to make progress so I'm hoping it won't be too significant. I made a handful of dumb mistakes but I also changed a bunch of incorrect answers to correct answers, so it probably evens out.

 

[Azete]

So far this is what I have:

NBME 13 - 228
NBME 15 - 242
UWSA1 - 243

If UWSA1 overpredicts by a lot then I'm nowhere near where I want to be . I still have 3 weeks left to make progress so I'm hoping it won't be too significant. I made a handful of dumb mistakes but I also changed a bunch of incorrect answers to correct answers, so it probably evens out.

I took it last year, but thought I'd offer some encouragement. I got your exact score on NBME 15 three days before taking the real deal; ended up with a 259.

Usually NBMEs are fairly predictive, but there's one variable they don't account for and that's nerves. People that can control their test anxiety (naturally or via beta blockers) are more likely to outperform their NBME average because statistically there's going to be more people making "silly mistakes" on the real thing due to nerves. By consequence, they land higher on the grading curve than they otherwise would if the test were administered in a "neutral" setting.

Also, here's a little advice for the rest of you -- be happy if your exam feels very difficult. If you were scoring reasonably on the NBMEs then your preparation was sufficient. A very hard exam means a more generous curve at the end, which means you can make more mistakes. If it feels easy, like you're cruising through ~90% of the questions, then you have more reason to be concerned because the inevitable stupid mistakes you make are going to exponentially impact your final score. The NBME curves are not representative of the real test, not even close. I personally counted 29 questions I definitely got wrong and I still landed in the ~97th percentile.

So, when you feel like NBME is shoving it in and they decided against lubrication, just accept that they're performing the same non-consensual crime to everybody else taking the test and it's a rite of passage. Find your happy place, hum a tune in your head, and accept your punishment will soon be over.

 

[The.Supinator]

So far this is what I have:

NBME 13 - 228
NBME 15 - 242
UWSA1 - 243

If UWSA1 overpredicts by a lot then I'm nowhere near where I want to be . I still have 3 weeks left to make progress so I'm hoping it won't be too significant. I made a handful of dumb mistakes but I also changed a bunch of incorrect answers to correct answers, so it probably evens out.

yeah dude your fine, I got a 205 on nbme 15 and one month late 245 on UWSA1, if anything I should be more worried than you, if these nbmes are close to each other esp 15 and uwsa1 then you gotta relax and just work your butt off next three weeks.

 

[Throwawayacct1234]

Never posted here before but these forums have helped me a lot over the past few months preparing for Step 1 so I figured I would give back what I could.

UW First Pass – 84%

CBSE -- 86 (Correlation - 240)
UWSA1 – 269 (5.5 weeks out)
UWSA2 – 249 (4.5 weeks out)
NBME 17 – 244 (3.5 weeks out)
NBME 18 – 252 (2.5 weeks out)
NBME 16 – 259 (1.5 weeks out)
NBME 19 – 92-93% (Took offline, not sure what this correlates to but from what I’ve read close to 250ish) (1 week out)
Free 120 – 92% (4 days out)

Step 1 – 258

I think the most helpful piece of advice I can give is when waiting for your score, TRUST YOUR PREPARATION over your "feelings" coming out of the exam. I did not at all feel great coming out. My goal was always 255+ but I would have been content with anything over 250, and coming out it did NOT feel like a 250 performance in the slightest. I counted at least 12-15 I knew for sure that I got wrong and every day 2-3 new potential wrong answers popped back in to my head. Overall I just had this sinking feeling that I had dropped the ball. The three weeks of waiting was almost worse than studying. I eventually convinced myself that I missed the mark and would have to settle with a sub 250 score. I was ecstatic when I opened my score and since then the horrors MS2 have slowly faded into the rear view. If you are waiting for you score keep you head up, do NOT look up questions, and trust your prep.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I've taken NBME 15, 16, and 17 but it looks like I'll only have a chance for one more NBME before my test. So should I go with 18 or 19?

 

[Foot Fetish]

Does anyone know if the Kaplan Diagnostic Test and 2 Simulated Exams provide you with the correct answers at the end?
It would be pretty worthless if all they gave you was a total score...

 

[The.Supinator]

Does anyone know if the Kaplan Diagnostic Test and 2 Simulated Exams provide you with the correct answers at the end?
It would be pretty worthless if all they gave you was a total score...

yeah they do just like uwsa, but the software sucks to use.

 

[Lannister]

Sometimes in Uworld, I'll be going through questions and all of a sudden realize that I've skipped a question. Except that I did not skip the questions, it's like the software skipped over it by itself, like it goes right from number 10 to number 12. And then often when I go back to the "skipped" question to answer it there will be things highlighted and answers crossed off, even though I never even looked at the question! Does this happen to anyone else?

 

[EquityinMedicine]

Hello

Never posted on here, but as someone who used this thread a lot during dedicated for motivation to keep studying wanted to add my two cents. Hopefully this can encourage someone with similar experience.

UW First Pass – 70% (finished pre-dedicated)
UW Second pass- 85% (only finished 2/3 of 2nd pass)

Form 13- 207 (5.5 weeks out)
Form 16-232 (4 weeks out)
Form 17-230 UWSA #1 256 (3 weeks out)
Form 19-232 (2 weeks out)
Free 120- 84 % and Form 18-236 (1 week out)
UWSA #2 251 (4 days out)

Actual exam: 255

So it seems like my score was most accurately predicted by UWorld Self Assessments. I had a hard time with the NBME format that was too simple and I always thought it was a trap. It was helpful to be exposed to the topics on NBMEs to identify areas of weakness. Throughout test prep I performed better on multistep reasoning and more lengthy questions which is what my exam was like on the real test day! Studied 12-16 hrs a day throughout dedicated with 1 day off weekly. Then one week out I switched to shorter study days mostly reading FA, focused on trying to relax and get 8 hrs of sleep. Went into the exam very well rested, prayed and took many breaks.

Best of luck everyone you got this!

 

[Dr. Death]

Sometimes in Uworld, I'll be going through questions and all of a sudden realize that I've skipped a question. Except that I did not skip the questions, it's like the software skipped over it by itself, like it goes right from number 10 to number 12. And then often when I go back to the "skipped" question to answer it there will be things highlighted and answers crossed off, even though I never even looked at the question! Does this happen to anyone else?

Dissociative identity disorder? Your alternate personality answers the question, you have no recollection afterward.

 

[Lannister]

Dissociative identity disorder? Your alternate personality answers the question, you have no recollection afterward.

Haha that is actually exactly what I was thinking when it happened a few hours ago! It's pretty bizarre, normally there's just stuff highlighted but the fact that two answer options were crossed off was really weird.

 

[orangetea]

Hello

Never posted on here, but as someone who used this thread a lot during dedicated for motivation to keep studying wanted to add my two cents. Hopefully this can encourage someone with similar experience.

UW First Pass – 70% (finished pre-dedicated)
UW Second pass- 85% (only finished 2/3 of 2nd pass)

Form 13- 207 (5.5 weeks out)
Form 16-232 (4 weeks out)
Form 17-230 UWSA #1 256 (3 weeks out)
Form 19-232 (2 weeks out)
Free 120- 84 % and Form 18-236 (1 week out)
UWSA #2 251 (4 days out)

Actual exam: 255

So it seems like my score was most accurately predicted by UWorld Self Assessments. I had a hard time with the NBME format that was too simple and I always thought it was a trap. It was helpful to be exposed to the topics on NBMEs to identify areas of weakness. Throughout test prep I performed better on multistep reasoning and more lengthy questions which is what my exam was like on the real test day! Studied 12-16 hrs a day throughout dedicated with 1 day off weekly. Then one week out I switched to shorter study days mostly reading FA, focused on trying to relax and get 8 hrs of sleep. Went into the exam very well rested, prayed and took many breaks.

Best of luck everyone you got this!

That is really reassuring thanks for sharing! Would you say you had many NBME type questions on your exam or was it more similar to the difficulty of UWSA?

 

[faisal 2000]

"Dermatomyositis may present with a malar rash that is similar to SLE"

the difference is malar rash in dermatomyositis involves nasolabial fold while SLE does not.

 

[BrachialComplexus321]

Hello

Never posted on here, but as someone who used this thread a lot during dedicated for motivation to keep studying wanted to add my two cents. Hopefully this can encourage someone with similar experience.

UW First Pass – 70% (finished pre-dedicated)
UW Second pass- 85% (only finished 2/3 of 2nd pass)

Form 13- 207 (5.5 weeks out)
Form 16-232 (4 weeks out)
Form 17-230 UWSA #1 256 (3 weeks out)
Form 19-232 (2 weeks out)
Free 120- 84 % and Form 18-236 (1 week out)
UWSA #2 251 (4 days out)

Actual exam: 255

So it seems like my score was most accurately predicted by UWorld Self Assessments. I had a hard time with the NBME format that was too simple and I always thought it was a trap. It was helpful to be exposed to the topics on NBMEs to identify areas of weakness. Throughout test prep I performed better on multistep reasoning and more lengthy questions which is what my exam was like on the real test day! Studied 12-16 hrs a day throughout dedicated with 1 day off weekly. Then one week out I switched to shorter study days mostly reading FA, focused on trying to relax and get 8 hrs of sleep. Went into the exam very well rested, prayed and took many breaks.

Best of luck everyone you got this!

Congrats on the awesome score!! Could you comment on your prep prior to dedicated and the resources that you used ? Thank you!

 

[EquityinMedicine]

That is really reassuring thanks for sharing! Would you say you had many NBME type questions on your exam or was it more similar to the difficulty of UWSA?

In my opinion, much more like UWSA than NBME but there were some straight forward ones like the NBMEs.

 

[EquityinMedicine]

Congrats on the awesome score!! Could you comment on your prep prior to dedicated and the resources that you used ? Thank you!

Prior to dedicated went through First Aid, Pathoma, Sketchy micro and pharm and UWorld along with the sections in our curriculum. Uworld by section for first half of year then switched to random 3 months out which was a rough transition. I paired UWorld with first aid so if it showed up in a question I reviewed it and added important things/notes to help me understand in first aid. So when I finally reread first aid by chapter during dedicated it was really first aid plus UW high yields. Tried a few other resources nothing I would recommend except the Goljian lectures for long car rides or walks.

I did try sketchy path it was very thorough but it was too much to get through so I dropped it. If you have enough time to spend on it may be worth it. I barely had time to repeat First Aid, Pathoma, Sketchy micro and pharm and 2/3 of UW during dedicated so I do not think it is a good resource on a short timeline, but that's just my experience. I did make anki cards on things I struggled with that I reviewed daily during dedicated which I think helped maintain things I studied but took time each day.

 

[Blunt Dissection]

Sat nbme 15 today and it made me feel way better about myself compared to 13, Not where I want to be yet, but I've got 1.5 weeks to go so hopefully doing the rest of the nbmes will get me there.

uwsa 1 (5/14) - 251
uwsa 2 (5/16) - 232
nbme 13 (5/18) - 209
nbme 15 (5/21) - 236

 

[njtrimed]

For those of you who received your scores two days ago, when did you sit for the exam? I'm trying to understand if I should expect my scores next Wednesday since I took the exam on May 1, a Tuesday.

For everyone I know who took it on a weekday in April, it came out the Wednesday 2.5-3 weeks later (for April 9-13, scores came 5/2, and for April 16-20, 5/9, etc.) I took it Saturday 4/28 and haven’t gotten my score, but everyone who took it 4/23-27 already did. It seems like all the scores from Saturday of one week to Friday of the next come out at the same time, so I think 4-28-5/4 should come out this Wednesday, and then anyone after that will be waiting until July.

Has anyone had their permit disappear this week?

 

[Krabbeman]

For everyone I know who took it on a weekday in April, it came out the Wednesday 2.5-3 weeks later (for April 9-13, scores came 5/2, and for April 16-20, 5/9, etc.) I took it Saturday 4/28 and haven’t gotten my score, but everyone who took it 4/23-27 already did. It seems like all the scores from Saturday of one week to Friday of the next come out at the same time, so I think 4-28-5/4 should come out this Wednesday, and then anyone after that will be waiting until July.

Has anyone had their permit disappear this week?

I have 2 friends in my class who took it the 28th and both got their score last Wednesday... maybe you were just unlucky? Idk.

Also I took it the 4th so I'm hoping you're correct haha I'd hate to wait another week

Update: just checked after writing this- my link is gone

 

[Mortiest Morty]

For everyone I know who took it on a weekday in April, it came out the Wednesday 2.5-3 weeks later (for April 9-13, scores came 5/2, and for April 16-20, 5/9, etc.) I took it Saturday 4/28 and haven’t gotten my score, but everyone who took it 4/23-27 already did. It seems like all the scores from Saturday of one week to Friday of the next come out at the same time, so I think 4-28-5/4 should come out this Wednesday, and then anyone after that will be waiting until July.

Has anyone had their permit disappear this week?

Long time lurker here but I took it 5/4 and my permit just disappeared today

 

[orangetea]

Sat nbme 15 today and it made me feel way better about myself compared to 13, Not where I want to be yet, but I've got 1.5 weeks to go so hopefully doing the rest of the nbmes will get me there.

uwsa 1 (5/14) - 251
uwsa 2 (5/16) - 232
nbme 13 (5/18) - 209
nbme 15 (5/21) - 236

awesome job! What helped you make the jump?

 

[njtrimed]

I have 2 friends in my class who took it the 28th and both got their score last Wednesday... maybe you were just unlucky? Idk.

Also I took it the 4th so I'm hoping you're correct haha I'd hate to wait another week

Update: just checked after writing this- my link is gone

I guess I was just unlucky. My permit disappeared this morning, thankfully!

 

[docksan]

Took it today, I guess this is the "new" Step 1. To sum: It was horrible. Wall of text/rant incoming. I'm going to refrain from saying anything specific of course and stick to generalities.

I'd say about 50% of it was roughly, kinda straightforward, as long as you had studied. There were a few give-me's here and there but those were in the minority. Often times, the freebies were preceded by extraordinarily long question stems, so you paid the price of time in exchange for an easy question. There were very, very few buzzwords, but I expected that much going in. Oh, I remember chuckling because they actually used the words "malar rash" for SLE. Yeah, I think that was it. Also, from talking to my dad (who is a physician as well), one of the questions described a disease that apparently has a super classic demographic that I've never heard of in my life. The disease is in FA and I knew it, but this classic demographic isn't in it or any of the review sources, and the actual patient's presentation was pretty different.

A few times every block, I would come across a question where I'd think, "Alright here we go, EZ mode", where I thought I knew almost every detail of the disease from studying Zanki/FA/UWorld/Pathoma/Sketchy obsessively throughout the year. Then I'd find that they wanted me to answer some random aspect of the disease that you wouldn't find in any of the main review sources, or was a tiny detail that was (in one example) literally one word from FA. It's absolutely crushing to come across questions like this; they feel like points slipping right through your fingers.

Then of course there was stuff that no reasonable MS2 would expect to know. I actually thought that people were exaggerating when they said stuff like that; surely we'd be at least roughly familiar with it. Nope. No matter how much you've studied there will be something you would never in a million years get without guessing. Half the time you can't even PoE it because there's still like 6 choices.

Other times they actually deliberately mislead you. Not only did it seem like every question stem was exquisitely long, but many times, the patient had symptoms that clearly included another disease in the differential, and was distinguished by a very small detail. Or they included details in the stem that truly had nothing to do with what they were asking you for, and only served to distract your thoughts. Sometimes there just didn't seem like there really was a good answer at all.

I think the worst part was how much anatomy I had on mine. It was the one topic I was dreading, because our MS1 anatomy course is agreed to be the weakest part of our curriculum at my school. I'd say 4-5 questions per block were anatomy for me; some were easy, some were obscure. I learned all the anatomy from FA and UWorld, and only half of it showed up.

My practice scores were pretty good, and around what I wanted.
UWorld average: 87% first pass
NBME 16 (taken 1 week from exam): 255
NBME 18 (taken Wednesday): 257
NBME free 120: 93% (took right after NBME 18 to simulate a full test day)
UWSA 2 (taken yesterday): 266

But I've walked out of it feeling like I barely scraped 220. I don't think I've ever felt this disappointed in myself. I second guessed myself a lot of times, and changed answers that turned out to be right the first time. I've counted like ~8-10 questions already that I know I got wrong. I'm trying to resist thinking of more and looking them up, too. And the worst thing is I don't get my score for 2 months, so there's nothing to do but mope around for a few days and then start preparing for third year.

Anyway. Just wanted to get that off my chest/give some more insight into this horrible process that is Step 1.

Reading this I would agree 100%, but based on your scores and your fears I am deathly afraid for myself lol

UW1: 232
NBME13: 223
UW2: 228
NBME15: 221

First pass: 64% on UW.

 

[Reperfused]

For everyone I know who took it on a weekday in April, it came out the Wednesday 2.5-3 weeks later (for April 9-13, scores came 5/2, and for April 16-20, 5/9, etc.) I took it Saturday 4/28 and haven’t gotten my score, but everyone who took it 4/23-27 already did. It seems like all the scores from Saturday of one week to Friday of the next come out at the same time, so I think 4-28-5/4 should come out this Wednesday, and then anyone after that will be waiting until July.

Has anyone had their permit disappear this week?

I have 2 friends in my class who took it the 28th and both got their score last Wednesday... maybe you were just unlucky? Idk.

Also I took it the 4th so I'm hoping you're correct haha I'd hate to wait another week

Update: just checked after writing this- my link is gone

Long time lurker here but I took it 5/4 and my permit just disappeared today

I guess I was just unlucky. My permit disappeared this morning, thankfully!

Hey guys, I took the exam on April 30th so I should be getting my result this Wednesday (4th Wednesday). I just checked and my permit link is still there. What’s happening?
Could you please tell where exactly do you check for the permit link? I am an IMG so I checked on ECFMG website.

Thanks

 

[mikil100]

Anyone have thoughts on NBME 18 vs 17? I just took 17 and scored 6 points higher. I thought it was easier than 18, but I'm not sure if that's due to my knowledge being better or just the nature of the exams.

NBME18 was 16 wrong for a 257
NBME17 was 8 wrong for a 263

Either way I'm happy to see a positive trend

 

[RockMcat520]

Never posted here before but these forums have helped me a lot over the past few months preparing for Step 1 so I figured I would give back what I could.

UW First Pass – 84%

CBSE -- 86 (Correlation - 240)
UWSA1 – 269 (5.5 weeks out)
UWSA2 – 249 (4.5 weeks out)
NBME 17 – 244 (3.5 weeks out)
NBME 18 – 252 (2.5 weeks out)
NBME 16 – 259 (1.5 weeks out)
NBME 19 – 92-93% (Took offline, not sure what this correlates to but from what I’ve read close to 250ish) (1 week out)
Free 120 – 92% (4 days out)

Step 1 – 258

I think the most helpful piece of advice I can give is when waiting for your score, TRUST YOUR PREPARATION over your "feelings" coming out of the exam. I did not at all feel great coming out. My goal was always 255+ but I would have been content with anything over 250, and coming out it did NOT feel like a 250 performance in the slightest. I counted at least 12-15 I knew for sure that I got wrong and every day 2-3 new potential wrong answers popped back in to my head. Overall I just had this sinking feeling that I had dropped the ball. The three weeks of waiting was almost worse than studying. I eventually convinced myself that I missed the mark and would have to settle with a sub 250 score. I was ecstatic when I opened my score and since then the horrors MS2 have slowly faded into the rear view. If you are waiting for you score keep you head up, do NOT look up questions, and trust your prep.

Would you mind sharing how you studied pre-dedicated?

 

[CX2014]

Hey guys, I took the exam on April 30th so I should be getting my result this Wednesday (4th Wednesday). I just checked and my permit link is still there. What’s happening?
Could you please tell where exactly do you check for the permit link? I am an IMG so I checked on ECFMG website.

Thanks

I’m also an IMG who took the exam on April 30th. My permit link on IWA is still there too I remember it disappeared before I got my CS and CK results so I really hope it doesn’t mean we’re not getting results this Wednesday...

 

[socalrulez]

4 weeks until the big day

NBME 13: 252 (baseline, 2wk ago)
NBME 19: 244 (1 wk ago)
UWSA1: 256 (yesterday)
UW% finished, prior to 13: 76%

Still got a few nbme's and UWSA2 left. Pretty freakin tired/burned out, and I've been feelin this way for the past week despite getting 8+ hrs of sleep. My eyes were glazed over when reading FA for my weaknesses, and I realized 2 days later that I had forgotten most of what I had just read. IDK what to do for the next 4 weeks, exam is first week of June. Would love 250+ (maybe even daring to hope 255-260), but just mentally exhausted at this point.

NBME 15 last week: 252
NBME 16 (today): 240

Literally thought wtf when I got the score report. 16 felt easier but I did much worse. Score profile doesn't show any glaring flaws, but I feel like my weaknesses keep shifting. On one nbme I'll have stars on certain disciplines and then the next test I do much worse on those exact same fields. 2.5 weeks left, still hoping that I can make more progress.

 

[throwaway37373]

It pains me to write this but after crying for a few days I decided to post...

Practice scores:
UW Avg 63% all random, timed. Scoring 70s-80s consistently a couple weeks before the test.
NBME 15 (6 weeks out) - 211
UWSA 1 (3 weeks out) - 245
NBME 16 (5 days out) - 242
UWSA 2 (3 days out) - 245
Free 120 (2 days out) - 88%

*Other NBMEs were taken offline, but based on percent correlations found on forums, these were in the 230s-240s range (except 19).

Real Deal: 225

I don't know and will never know what went wrong on test day. I was not anxious, I am generally calm. The test did feel more difficult than practice, and I felt horrible after, but I figured most people do. I was trying to trust my practice scores and preparation (which also included Rx and Kaplan q banks done before dedicated). This score makes me think it was a grading mistake, but I guess those don't really happen, so I just have to make peace and get over it. There is literally nothing else I could have done differently in my prep. Don't mean to scare anyone. I think I am an outlier, as most people seem to be scoring around their practice scores.

 

[Lannister]

It pains me to write this but after crying for a few days I decided to post...

Practice scores:
UW Avg 63% all random, timed. Scoring 70s-80s consistently a couple weeks before the test.
NBME 15 (6 weeks out) - 211
UWSA 1 (3 weeks out) - 245
NBME 16 (5 days out) - 242
UWSA 2 (3 days out) - 245
Free 120 (2 days out) - 88%

*Other NBMEs were taken offline, but based on percent correlations found on forums, these were in the 230s-240s range (except 19).

Real Deal: 225

I don't know and will never know what went wrong on test day. I was not anxious, I am generally calm. The test did feel more difficult than practice, and I felt horrible after, but I figured most people do. I was trying to trust my practice scores and preparation (which also included Rx and Kaplan q banks done before dedicated). This score makes me think it was a grading mistake, but I guess those don't really happen, so I just have to make peace and get over it. There is literally nothing else I could have done differently in my prep. Don't mean to scare anyone. I think I am an outlier, as most people seem to be scoring around their practice scores.

Sorry you didn't get the score you were hoping for Just remember that your score doesn't define you. Later in your career you'll probably look back and not even remember what you got on step 1.

 

[khrisskhoras]

It pains me to write this but after crying for a few days I decided to post...

Practice scores:
UW Avg 63% all random, timed. Scoring 70s-80s consistently a couple weeks before the test.
NBME 15 (6 weeks out) - 211
UWSA 1 (3 weeks out) - 245
NBME 16 (5 days out) - 242
UWSA 2 (3 days out) - 245
Free 120 (2 days out) - 88%

*Other NBMEs were taken offline, but based on percent correlations found on forums, these were in the 230s-240s range (except 19).

Real Deal: 225

I don't know and will never know what went wrong on test day. I was not anxious, I am generally calm. The test did feel more difficult than practice, and I felt horrible after, but I figured most people do. I was trying to trust my practice scores and preparation (which also included Rx and Kaplan q banks done before dedicated). This score makes me think it was a grading mistake, but I guess those don't really happen, so I just have to make peace and get over it. There is literally nothing else I could have done differently in my prep. Don't mean to scare anyone. I think I am an outlier, as most people seem to be scoring around their practice scores.

sorry to hear, but if u dont mind me asking....how many did u feel u got wrong post-exam? gut feeling

 

[afib123]

It pains me to write this but after crying for a few days I decided to post...

Practice scores:
UW Avg 63% all random, timed. Scoring 70s-80s consistently a couple weeks before the test.
NBME 15 (6 weeks out) - 211
UWSA 1 (3 weeks out) - 245
NBME 16 (5 days out) - 242
UWSA 2 (3 days out) - 245
Free 120 (2 days out) - 88%

*Other NBMEs were taken offline, but based on percent correlations found on forums, these were in the 230s-240s range (except 19).

Real Deal: 225

I don't know and will never know what went wrong on test day. I was not anxious, I am generally calm. The test did feel more difficult than practice, and I felt horrible after, but I figured most people do. I was trying to trust my practice scores and preparation (which also included Rx and Kaplan q banks done before dedicated). This score makes me think it was a grading mistake, but I guess those don't really happen, so I just have to make peace and get over it. There is literally nothing else I could have done differently in my prep. Don't mean to scare anyone. I think I am an outlier, as most people seem to be scoring around their practice scores.

I don't think so man. You did just below average. Yeah you didn't get your practice score range but like I posted a few days ago that is extremely common. The only people posting on sdn are people that did well. in fact sdn average step is probably a 245, so don't worry about it. Unless you were aiming for an extremely competitive speciality which will be tougher

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

@bananafish94 Sorry if this is a dumb question, but im an incoming MS1 who just recently learned about the Anki program. Ive been looking everywhere and am having a hard time figuring it out, but is "Zanki" a pre-made set of anki cards or something? I see everyone talking about it, but im confused as to what it is. Thanks!

 

[sharkbyte]

It pains me to write this but after crying for a few days I decided to post...

Practice scores:
UW Avg 63% all random, timed. Scoring 70s-80s consistently a couple weeks before the test.
NBME 15 (6 weeks out) - 211
UWSA 1 (3 weeks out) - 245
NBME 16 (5 days out) - 242
UWSA 2 (3 days out) - 245
Free 120 (2 days out) - 88%

*Other NBMEs were taken offline, but based on percent correlations found on forums, these were in the 230s-240s range (except 19).

Real Deal: 225

I don't know and will never know what went wrong on test day. I was not anxious, I am generally calm. The test did feel more difficult than practice, and I felt horrible after, but I figured most people do. I was trying to trust my practice scores and preparation (which also included Rx and Kaplan q banks done before dedicated). This score makes me think it was a grading mistake, but I guess those don't really happen, so I just have to make peace and get over it. There is literally nothing else I could have done differently in my prep. Don't mean to scare anyone. I think I am an outlier, as most people seem to be scoring around their practice scores.

Sorry to hear. As someone who did a lot lower on the MCAT than how I did on the practice tests (I know it's not the same but still), I feel your pain. Hang in there.

 

[bananafish94]

It pains me to write this but after crying for a few days I decided to post...

Practice scores:
UW Avg 63% all random, timed. Scoring 70s-80s consistently a couple weeks before the test.
NBME 15 (6 weeks out) - 211
UWSA 1 (3 weeks out) - 245
NBME 16 (5 days out) - 242
UWSA 2 (3 days out) - 245
Free 120 (2 days out) - 88%

*Other NBMEs were taken offline, but based on percent correlations found on forums, these were in the 230s-240s range (except 19).

Real Deal: 225

I don't know and will never know what went wrong on test day. I was not anxious, I am generally calm. The test did feel more difficult than practice, and I felt horrible after, but I figured most people do. I was trying to trust my practice scores and preparation (which also included Rx and Kaplan q banks done before dedicated). This score makes me think it was a grading mistake, but I guess those don't really happen, so I just have to make peace and get over it. There is literally nothing else I could have done differently in my prep. Don't mean to scare anyone. I think I am an outlier, as most people seem to be scoring around their practice scores.

Just randomly checked this thread...remember that you got very close to the average! There is a huge selection bias towards people that post their score on forums like this...it seems like everyone and their cousin says that they were averaging in the 220s on practice exams and then got a 250, but <25% of people get above a 245. Just eyeballing the NBME charting outcomes, it looks like pretty much everything is very much in play except for the crazy ones like plastic surgery or neurosurgery. There's a lot to be very hopeful for!

 

[throwaway37373]

I don't think so man. You did just below average. Yeah you didn't get your practice score range but like I posted a few days ago that is extremely common. The only people posting on sdn are people that did well. in fact sdn average step is probably a 245, so don't worry about it. Unless you were aiming for an extremely competitive speciality which will be tougher

My school's Step 1 average is significantly higher than the national average. And I have always scored higher than the average at school, so I had high expectations. I understand doing a bit worse than practice, but this is a significant decrease in score... Thanks for trying to put it in perspective though! Wasn't planning on anything competitive, just hurts to be so crushed by an exam I put lots of hard work into

 

[bananafish94]

@bananafish94 Sorry if this is a dumb question, but im an incoming MS1 who just recently learned about the Anki program. Ive been looking everywhere and am having a hard time figuring it out, but is "Zanki" a pre-made set of anki cards or something? I see everyone talking about it, but im confused as to what it is. Thanks!

Yes, that's exactly what it is. A very driven student basically made an Anki deck of all of Pathoma and most of First Aid. There's also the famous Brosencephalon deck which is the same thing except from 2014 (as opposed to 2016) with about 70% of the cards. I found Zanki super helpful for certain things, and not so helpful for other things (e.g., it's immensely helpful for nailing down random minutiae that just need to be brute-force memorized, but less helpful to me for physiology stuff that is better to just understand). You can download these Anki decks at r/medicalschoolanki if you would like. I definitely recommend at least checking them out; obviously it's not everybody's best learning style but many people find them quite helpful.

 

[Reperfused]

I’m also an IMG who took the exam on April 30th. My permit link on IWA is still there too I remember it disappeared before I got my CS and CK results so I really hope it doesn’t mean we’re not getting results this Wednesday...

It’s hard to believe that we might not be getting scores this Wednesday. People here on sdn who took exam during that week have their permit link gone. And everyone I know who took exam in the previous week have already gotten their results.
I want to believe that our permit link not disappearing is an anomaly. ECFMG website was down for maintenance over the weekend, perhaps that has a role to play?

 

[sharkbyte]

@Lannister, did you find UWSA1 and UWSA2 to be similar in difficulty?

 

[CX2014]

It’s hard to believe that we might not be getting scores this Wednesday. People here on sdn who took exam during that week have their permit link gone. And everyone I know who took exam in the previous week have already gotten their results.
I want to believe that our permit link not disappearing is an anomaly. ECFMG website was down for maintenance over the weekend, perhaps that has a role to play?

Omg! My scheduling permit just disappeared. Maybe yours is gone now too. Results are definitely this Wednesday then.

 

[afib123]

My school's Step 1 average is significantly higher than the national average. And I have always scored higher than the average at school, so I had high expectations. I understand doing a bit worse than practice, but this is a significant decrease in score... Thanks for trying to put it in perspective though! Wasn't planning on anything competitive, just hurts to be so crushed by an exam I put lots of hard work into

Yeah this must be hard for you man. All us high achievers nightmare is working hard and not getting the results while some guy who chilled out gets a higher score because of luck. But you have to keep grinding and you will probably end up farther than the guy who got a high score through luck.

 

[Reperfused]

Omg! My scheduling permit just disappeared. Maybe yours is gone now too. Results are definitely this Wednesday then.

Just came to post the same thing and saw your post. My permit link just disappeared. Yes Wednesday it is!!!!

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

Yes, that's exactly what it is. A very driven student basically made an Anki deck of all of Pathoma and most of First Aid. There's also the famous Brosencephalon deck which is the same thing except from 2014 (as opposed to 2016) with about 70% of the cards. I found Zanki super helpful for certain things, and not so helpful for other things (e.g., it's immensely helpful for nailing down random minutiae that just need to be brute-force memorized, but less helpful to me for physiology stuff that is better to just understand). You can download these Anki decks at r/medicalschoolanki if you would like. I definitely recommend at least checking them out; obviously it's not everybody's best learning style but many people find them quite helpful.

Awesome, thanks alot and congrats!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Pluviophile_622]

Ok for everyone who wants one send me a PM and I’ll send you all the file. Don’t want to miss anyone!

Would you be able to pm me the file as well, please? would really appreciate it!

 

[Dr. SW0LE]

Never posted here before but these forums have helped me a lot over the past few months preparing for Step 1... So here is my 2 cents.... hopefully it helps someone.

Here is what I have so far--- I Just took my Step 1 today!
GOAL-- 260+

NBME 13 --- 205 (1 year out)
NBME 13 --- 240 (3 months out)
NBME 17 --- 240 (2 months out)
UWSA1 --- 266 (5 weeks out)
UWSA2 --- 258 (4 weeks out)
NBME 19 --- 248 (3 weeks out)--- (started to freak out)
Free 120 – 86% (3 weeks out) --- (I did it at the prometrics center)---- def. recommend this
NBME 16 – 250 (2 weeks out) --- (freaked out some more)
NBME 15 – 255 (1.5 weeks out) --- (relaxed a little bit)
Read all of FA cover to cover --- w/ notes and wikipedia references
NBME 18 ---- 271 (2 days out) --- this was the hardest f@#king test I thought I failed it--- I freaked out when I saw my score!!!!!!
UW First Pass – 88%---- I did U world slowly I literally finished my last block the day of my test --- I took my last 40Qs as my warm up in the morning

Actual STEP 1 Score --- ??? --- I will re-post the minute I get my scores

Guys thank you all for all of your help! This website has really helped my relieve some of my stress. It definitely guided my studying.
Hopefully I do well and I can post my study schedule online

 

[Reperfused]

Permit link gone and I can’t even sleep now!

 

[DubbiDoctor]

--- I took my last 40Qs as my warm up in the morning

Now that's what I call dedication. How do you feel the exam went? With that killer 18 score achieved two days before the exam, I'm fairly confident you exceeded 260. What resources, other than practice tests, did you use?