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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[deleted645092]

Really? I’ve heard Pathoma >> B&B though. I would only reference B&B if I reaaaally don’t understand something. Also, yes I’m definitely going to include my lecture material but those will be after I’ve gone through Pathoma/FA to figure out what’s high vs. low yield.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Just my suggestion from experience. I used Boards and Beyond for the last 3 weeks of dedicated and definitely got more out of it than I did from any other resource. It’s much more thorough than Pathoma. I would also remove the concept of high vs. low yield from your vocabulary going into second year. Everything is high yield, that’s the mentality I took all of 2nd year and during dedicated and it paid off.

Basically if you’re taught it, it can show up on both classroom and board exams, no matter how obscure of a fact it is. Step 1 was about 75% “high-yield” material for me and 25% random facts most people just discount when learning them. In my opinion those are the curve-setter questions.

 

[21Rush12]

Slightly below average US MD student about to start second year. Curious on any advice to my plan.

Curriculum type: M1 normal, M2 abnormal
Test date: Early May 2019
Dedicated period: 5 weeks
Goal: 250+

Will have done most/all Zanki cards related to my first year by the time school begins (~10k with ~4k matured). Will be continuing Zanki throughout the year and aiming to finish all new cards a week before dedicated. I'll be supplementing classes with UWorld, FA, Pathoma, Sketchy, and B&B (if absolutely necessary). I'll aim to finish a first pass of UWorld by dedicated so I can do a second pass during it.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Too much stuff. Pick 3 and stick with them.

I recommend Boards and Beyond for the semesters and switch to Pathoma for dedicated. Uworld is tricky, I’m of the camp that says use USMLERx first and only switch to UWorld with about 3 months before your dedicated so you’re not wasting the questions. UWorld is hard.

Boards and Beyond is great for foundation and if you build your knowledge from there based on Step 1 resources and pepper in your classroom material you’ll have a solid base going into dedicated. The switch to Pathoma is because it’s a great high yield review that’s fast.

Regarding first aid, I think it’s good to use going along with B+B and class, with a second pass through during dedicated along with Pathoma.

This is only my opinion and there’s no single right way to do it. Most people love sketchy but I didn’t, but it still had niche uses like pharm cramming.

I used this method above, set a goal at 240 and ended up with 250+ on the real deal. Don’t work yourself to death, just keep plugging away and don’t pay any attention to what you think your classmates are doing. Work smart not hard.

 

[dostudent545]

I watched boards and beyond during relevant systems and loved it. Would highly recommend it. I don't think it's useful during dedicated though because it takes up so much time. Watch the videos and annotate FA as you go. Don't drop pathoma, pathoma is huge. I think I did pathoma like 2-3x before step. once during classes, once fully during dedicated. and about 3/4th a second time during dedicated.

Other than that, uworld, firstaid, and sketchymicro were my other main resources.

 

[21Rush12]

What's the opinion on NBME 13?
Took 16 and 19 also. This felt easier.

Agreed. It was simplistic and way easier than others IMO as was 15.

 

[Lnsean]

is this year’s average still 229? Reading this thread I feel like national average is at least 245 and I can only do rural FM with my 230

It's a curved exam...they're not gonna have the average be in the 240s

 

[BurnedOut]

It's a curved exam...they're not gonna have the average be in the 240s

do you have any evidence to buttress your assumption that this exam is curved? the average has been slowly rising. it didnt this year apparently and it certainly wont jump to 240 overnight but as first aid is gaining in girth so is the exam average.

 

[ERWINSHRODINGER]

do you have any evidence to buttress your assumption that this exam is curved? the average has been slowly rising. it didnt this year apparently and it certainly wont jump to 240 overnight but as first aid is gaining in girth so is the exam average.

I guess we won't figure out until NBME releases this year's data. But I assume it should still be around 230

 

[Lnsean]

do you have any evidence to buttress your assumption that this exam is curved? the average has been slowly rising. it didnt this year apparently and it certainly wont jump to 240 overnight but as first aid is gaining in girth so is the exam average.

I'd assume that all exams of this nature are curved like the MCAT..SAT....it is not a raw score you're getting back. An 85% may mean a 240 one year and may mean a 235 another year.

 

[studentdocftw]

Any July 15th testers here? I'm assuming we get our scores this Wed at 11

 

[randomguy123456]

For those that took their Step1 in Mid July, did anyone's permit disappear yet??

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

For those that took their Step1 in Mid July, did anyone's permit disappear yet??

Took July 20.

not sure what permit disappear means tho

 

[randomguy123456]

Took July 20.

not sure what permit disappear means tho

I took mine on July 18th, not sure if my score's coming out this week or next week, but I've heard that the "Print Permit" link disappears a couple days before the score is released. If that link is gone, it means you passed. If it's still there...it means you supposedly failed.

 

[swollcat]

Permit also disappears if your testing window/period has ended (e.g. 7/31). As such, you would not be able to use the "disappearing permit link" as an indicator for subsequent score release.

 

[musicalscientists]

Took the test on June 25th.

I did three qbanks because I like questions.

USMLERx: 74%
Kaplan: 77%
UW: 84%
Didn't do a second pass through UW.

NBME 13: 248
NBME 15: 248
NBME 16: 257
NBME 17: 259
NBME 18: 268
NBME 19: 261
UWSA1: 275
UWSA2: 273

Actual: 260

 

[Epicurusall]

Took the test on June 25th.

I did three qbanks because I like questions.

USMLERx: 74%
Kaplan: 77%
UW: 84%
Didn't do a second pass through UW.

NBME 13: 248
NBME 15: 248
NBME 16: 257
NBME 17: 259
NBME 18: 268
NBME 19: 261
UWSA1: 275
UWSA2: 273

Actual: 260

Congrats! Mind giving a timeline for the qbanks, practice tests, and your preparation?

 

[musicalscientists]

Congrats! Mind giving a timeline for the qbanks, practice tests, and your preparation?

I started ~6-7mo out during Christmas break by trying to nail biochemistry in first aid. I majored in biochem during undergrad (graduated more than 6 years ago), and I'm convinced that no medical school can actually teach biochemistry well. (Plus biochem tends to be taught early in first year anyway, so people forget it by the time Step1 rolls around) That being said, I felt relearning all the biochemistry actually laid a nice foundation for a lot of the material later on (like learning all the integrated pathways of the folate/B12 cycle and where drugs play a role etc.)

Next came the QBanks. I did NOT use qbanks by section. I ONLY randomized the questions. Review answers to right and wrongs ALWAYS.

I started USMLERx after Christmas break with randomized tests from the material I'd learned from my previous semester and gradually tried to integrate topics as I went along. I used FA to try and learn some topics as I went because I didn't want to rely solely on the QBanks for information. Lectures also provided a foundation for material. I completed USMLERx by the end of my spring break in March.

During the second half of my second semester, I focused primarily on doing the Kaplan QBank. By the time of my lecture exams in May, I felt like I didn't need to study much for my exams because I had learned a lot of information just by doing the QBanks. That being said, I kept doing Kaplan questions but devoted some more time to studying for my lecture exams. By the time I finished my lecture exams, I had finished Kaplan. I hear from people "don't do Kaplan because it's too detailed." My response to that is this: If it's too detailed, then clearly you must have a deeper level of understanding or better knowledge of a subject to do well and learn from it.

Post Kaplan/Post Lecture exams: I took the weekend off and then spent our 6 week dedicated study period doing 80 UWorld questions per day. I saved UW for last because I do believe that UW is the most precious resource that's available. By this time, I felt like UWorld was merely enhancing my knowledge and filling in the gaps to concepts I'd not fully understood, but I wasn't trying to learn new things I'd never seen before (ie not trying to master all of biochem w/in 6 weeks, which a lot of people tend to do and then blame the school for not teaching them well enough)

All NBMEs and UWSAs were done over the course of the six weeks whenever I felt like testing my knowledge. I did the last three NBMEs back to back for three days close to the end of the study period.

By the time I had finished UW, I was so sick of doing questions.
By the time the actual test rolled around, I was numb to the idea of doing another 280 questions that my test anxiety was far below what I thought it was going to be.

As for other resources:
1. Pathoma was essential. Know it back to front as well as you can. I read and watched videos as needed. I used Goljan Rapid Review Pathology as a supplement because sometimes it explained things better than Pathoma. Pathoma is a highly condensed book of high yield material. Path was actually the best section per my score report.
2. I listened to Goljan Audio every morning. He's funny and he has a nice way of helping you remember things.
3. Sketchy Micro because I'm not going to sit around and memorize all these random tidbits about random microbes without any context. I was actually excited to get micro questions on the test.


TLDR: My tips:
1. Master biochemistry early and review it little by little until the actual test so you don't completely forget it.
2. Tackle weaknesses early
3. Don't memorize anything worth understanding
4. Do questions on random
5. Study with someone to keep you on track (I did the exact same study plan with my girlfriend, and we both scored 260! We were dumbfounded)
6. Take the year seriously.
7. Find balance
8. Remember: it's one exam - work your a-- off and feel proud after you get your score. Scoring higher can only help you in the long run.

Typos galore and bad grammar just happened.

 

[BurnedOut]

I'd assume that all exams of this nature are curved like the MCAT..SAT....it is not a raw score you're getting back. An 85% may mean a 240 one year and may mean a 235 another year.

we know nothing about what score we are getting back so far. in fact we just recently found out what the %iles are and i believe the general consensus on the boards here was that the distribution was bell-shaped prior to that.... so you may very well be right. but you may very well be wrong.

 

[BurnedOut]

I guess we won't figure out until NBME releases this year's data. But I assume it should still be around 230

all those getting results back still have a 229 on their results. why would that change now unless we have a major wave of IMGs doing well above their traditional average which i believe is below the US med student average.

would be interesting to know why the nbme holds back the results until early july. probably to make sure the test is valid just as they take about 3 wks to let you know what you got normally. must be nerve wrecking to wait for the score...

 

[Step2myLou]

I started ~6-7mo out during Christmas break by trying to nail biochemistry in first aid. I majored in biochem during undergrad (graduated more than 6 years ago), and I'm convinced that no medical school can actually teach biochemistry well. (Plus biochem tends to be taught early in first year anyway, so people forget it by the time Step1 rolls around) That being said, I felt relearning all the biochemistry actually laid a nice foundation for a lot of the material later on (like learning all the integrated pathways of the folate/B12 cycle and where drugs play a role etc.)

Next came the QBanks. I did NOT use qbanks by section. I ONLY randomized the questions. Review answers to right and wrongs ALWAYS.

I started USMLERx after Christmas break with randomized tests from the material I'd learned from my previous semester and gradually tried to integrate topics as I went along. I used FA to try and learn some topics as I went because I didn't want to rely solely on the QBanks for information. Lectures also provided a foundation for material. I completed USMLERx by the end of my spring break in March.

During the second half of my second semester, I focused primarily on doing the Kaplan QBank. By the time of my lecture exams in May, I felt like I didn't need to study much for my exams because I had learned a lot of information just by doing the QBanks. That being said, I kept doing Kaplan questions but devoted some more time to studying for my lecture exams. By the time I finished my lecture exams, I had finished Kaplan. I hear from people "don't do Kaplan because it's too detailed." My response to that is this: If it's too detailed, then clearly you must have a deeper level of understanding or better knowledge of a subject to do well and learn from it.

Post Kaplan/Post Lecture exams: I took the weekend off and then spent our 6 week dedicated study period doing 80 UWorld questions per day. I saved UW for last because I do believe that UW is the most precious resource that's available. By this time, I felt like UWorld was merely enhancing my knowledge and filling in the gaps to concepts I'd not fully understood, but I wasn't trying to learn new things I'd never seen before (ie not trying to master all of biochem w/in 6 weeks, which a lot of people tend to do and then blame the school for not teaching them well enough)

All NBMEs and UWSAs were done over the course of the six weeks whenever I felt like testing my knowledge. I did the last three NBMEs back to back for three days close to the end of the study period.

By the time I had finished UW, I was so sick of doing questions.
By the time the actual test rolled around, I was numb to the idea of doing another 280 questions that my test anxiety was far below what I thought it was going to be.

As for other resources:
1. Pathoma was essential. Know it back to front as well as you can. I read and watched videos as needed. I used Goljan Rapid Review Pathology as a supplement because sometimes it explained things better than Pathoma. Pathoma is a highly condensed book of high yield material. Path was actually the best section per my score report.
2. I listened to Goljan Audio every morning. He's funny and he has a nice way of helping you remember things.
3. Sketchy Micro because I'm not going to sit around and memorize all these random tidbits about random microbes without any context. I was actually excited to get micro questions on the test.


TLDR: My tips:
1. Master biochemistry early and review it little by little until the actual test so you don't completely forget it.
2. Tackle weaknesses early
3. Don't memorize anything worth understanding
4. Do questions on random
5. Study with someone to keep you on track (I did the exact same study plan with my girlfriend, and we both scored 260! We were dumbfounded)
6. Take the year seriously.
7. Find balance
8. Remember: it's one exam - work your a-- off and feel proud after you get your score. Scoring higher can only help you in the long run.

Typos galore and bad grammar just happened.

Thank you for that!! Which qbank, Kaplan or Rx, do you think was more useful/representative of the exam after having done all three?

 

[KAIVMAC]

Pretty devastated. Need some advice guys.,,,
Test date: July 12th
Real deal: 232
M3 here. Australian IMG hoping to match gas and IM. Now I'm not sure if I should still try to match anaesthesia or go for community IM or FM. Thoughts please?

Dedicated: 7 weeks
Finished DITx1
First Aid x2
Kaplan videos x0.5 during second year
USMLE Rx x1 during second year
Pathoma 1.5
UWorld x0.9 (300 questions left) average 72%

UWSA1 198 - 7 wks prior
NBME 18 222 - 2 wks prior
UWSA 2 251- 4 days prior
Free 120 (back to back with UWSA 2)- 87%

 

[studentdocftw]

Pretty devastated. Need some advice guys.,,,
Test date: July 12th
Real deal: 232
M3 here. Australian IMG hoping to match gas and IM. Now I'm not sure if I should still try to match anaesthesia or go for community IM or FM. Thoughts please?

Dedicated: 7 weeks
Finished DITx1
First Aid x2
Kaplan videos x0.5 during second year
USMLE Rx x1 during second year
Pathoma 1.5
UWorld x0.9 (300 questions left) average 72%

UWSA1 198 - 7 wks prior
NBME 18 222 - 2 wks prior
UWSA 2 251- 4 days prior
Free 120 (back to back with UWSA 2)- 87%

How'd you feel during your exam? 20 point drop is reasonable for UWSA1..but I thought UWSA2 was usually within 10-15? Either way, I don't think a 232 will hold you out of IM, FM or Gas...just make sure your app is well rounded. Take a look at NRMP and see where the rest of your app stands..Step 1 is literally one metric...FWIW..average step for Non-US IMG: Gas average matched = 240, FM average matched = 220, IM average matched = 236.

 

[razza1]

Just took Step 1

UWSA 1 228 2 weeks prior
UWSA 2 224 1 week prior

I keep thinking about the questions I got wrong and its driving me up the wall.
I made some silly mistakes and I keep thinking that its going to tank my score and I'm literally on edge.
I know I got a lot of the hard questions correct, but I feel so annoyed that I missed some easy questions.

I literally have no idea how I did. I feel like it could go either way. I could have bombed it or aced it. Its such a weird feeling.
Literally I was on autopilot most of the exam.

I'm not sure how they even grade it, I know I missed some questions, but I really have no idea how many.

The wait is agonizing!! Literally every day that goes by I feel like I might have failed!

Anyone else feel this way? and any AUGUST test takers here?

 

[WeedForLunch]

Pretty devastated. Need some advice guys.,,,
Test date: July 12th
Real deal: 232
M3 here. Australian IMG hoping to match gas and IM. Now I'm not sure if I should still try to match anaesthesia or go for community IM or FM. Thoughts please?

Dedicated: 7 weeks
Finished DITx1
First Aid x2
Kaplan videos x0.5 during second year
USMLE Rx x1 during second year
Pathoma 1.5
UWorld x0.9 (300 questions left) average 72%

UWSA1 198 - 7 wks prior
NBME 18 222 - 2 wks prior
UWSA 2 251- 4 days prior
Free 120 (back to back with UWSA 2)- 87%

What did you expect with a 222 NBME 18 2 weeks out.. actually you should be happy with the 10 point increase in 2 weeks.. many people fall around the NBME 18 score..some below and few more..
IM is totally do-able.. get a few first authored pubs if you can.. that will ease the process..else 232 is more than the IMG mean of IM matched applicants..

 

[21Rush12]

What did you expect with a 222 NBME 18 2 weeks out.. actually you should be happy with the 10 point increase in 2 weeks.. many people fall around the NBME 18 score..some below and few more..
IM is totally do-able.. get a few first authored pubs if you can.. that will ease the process..else 232 is more than the IMG mean of IM matched applicants..

He probably expected the 245-250 that UW2 said would happen. It’s the best predictor historically.

I think anesthesia and IM are totally in reach if you’re not picky OP.

 

[alprazoslam]

What did you expect with a 222 NBME 18 2 weeks out.. actually you should be happy with the 10 point increase in 2 weeks.. many people fall around the NBME 18 score..some below and few more..
IM is totally do-able.. get a few first authored pubs if you can.. that will ease the process..else 232 is more than the IMG mean of IM matched applicants..

you did better than two and worse than 1 of your practice tests. did you expect a miracle?

 

[randomguy123456]

FYI I took my Step1 on July 18 and my Permit just disappeared today

 

[speterson]

FYI I took my Step1 on July 18 and my Permit just disappeared today

shoot took mine july 17th and its still there.....good luck to you though!

 

[musicalscientists]

Thank you for the great write-up. I have been using RX and Kaplan alongside classes, and saving UW for dedicated. I’ve been reviewing all the correct and incorrect answer choices to every question and it’s been taking me about an hour to an hour and a half for every 10 questions.

What was the pace like for you doing questions?

I ended up doing so many questions that I got used to never looking at the clock, but I liked to have a minimum of 20 minutes left in a set of 40. I liked to dedicate only a minute per question. I would never leave a question blank. I would answer it and move on. If there were questions I wasn't sure about, I'd simply answer it (gut/best reasoning/best guess), flag it, and come back to it during the last ~20min. The 20min would also leave me time to just go back through and double check all my questions. It was important for me to stick to a routine otherwise my timing would feel all screwed up.

I would typically spend >3 hours after the block reviewing the questions, but this will vary from person to person. I felt confident that I had learned the material really well early on, so reviewing questions was just that - a review.

Thank you for that!! Which qbank, Kaplan or Rx, do you think was more useful/representative of the exam after having done all three?

UW for sure.
USMLERx for me was just to get a feel for doing questions and learning stuff from first aid.
Kaplan was just a next level up and when I started honing my test taking skills/acquiring more knowledge.
The actual exam was most like UW.

 

[razza1]

FYI I took my Step1 on July 18 and my Permit just disappeared today

did your permit link disappear or do you mean when you clicked on you permit link did it say something like error permit not available?

 

[randomguy123456]

did your permit link disappear or do you mean when you clicked on you permit link did it say something like error permit not available?

What you're describing is what I had yesterday. But today, the permit link is no longer there.

 

[razza1]

What you're describing is what I had yesterday. But today, the permit link is no longer there.

what does it mean if the permit link disappears? mine is still there but i just took the exam earlier this August.

 

[randomguy123456]

what does it mean if the permit link disappears? mine is still there but i just took the exam earlier this August.

People have been saying for years that if your permit link disappears a couple of days before your score release date, it means you have passed. If it's still there, you failed. I'm not sure how accurate that is now, but it seems like that is the consensus.

 

[razza1]

I’m devastated. I scored thirty points below my practice test average. A 207. I’m a DO and I’m worried al my options are gone but family med

i just took my exam a few days ago and im worried about the same thing

do you mind sharing your uwsa1 and uwsa2 scores mine were 228 and 224

 

[razza1]

NBME 13: 215
NBME 18: 223
NBME 19: 225
UWSA 2: 234

Took Step 1 today and I honestly feel like I'm going to get 200s. At this point, I just want to pass

literally feel the exam same way uwsa 1 228 , uwsa 2, 224

let me know how you do... you're almost done with the wait!

 

[speterson]

People have been saying for years that if your permit link disappears a couple of days before your score release date, it means you have passed. If it's still there, you failed. I'm not sure how accurate that is now, but it seems like that is the consensus.

do you mind me asking if you signed up via nbme or ecfmg, i'm ecfmg so i'm hoping the delay is due to that and there is still hope/maybe i'll sleep tonight

 

[Hash Slinging Slasher]

Took the exam on 7/20 and noticed that my permit disappeared in the afternoon. Welp, there goes my focus for the first couple days of rotation then :/

Also, does anyone know if "permit disappear = passed Step 1"? Or is that just an observation bias (i.e. most people who take the exam pass so permit disappearing looks like it indicates a pass)?

 

[randomguy123456]

do you mind me asking if you signed up via nbme or ecfmg, i'm ecfmg so i'm hoping the delay is due to that and there is still hope/maybe i'll sleep tonight

I signed up via NBME

 

[StormRising]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are you guys referring to the "print permit" link?

 

[Hash Slinging Slasher]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are you guys referring to the "print permit" link?

Yep that's the one. It's supposed to disappear completely as a button option.

 

[StormRising]

Darn I still have the link but it leads to the following:

Application error: Permit is not available. The candidate may have sat for the exam or the registration is no longer active.

 

[deleted645092]

People have been saying for years that if your permit link disappears a couple of days before your score release date, it means you have passed. If it's still there, you failed. I'm not sure how accurate that is now, but it seems like that is the consensus.

I don’t know if it was earlier on in this thread or on Reddit but there were at least 2 people that failed who had their permits disappear the Monday that they got their stores.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

So people taking exam July 20 get scores back this Wednesday?

 

[ERWINSHRODINGER]

Just took Step 1

UWSA 1 228 2 weeks prior
UWSA 2 224 1 week prior

I keep thinking about the questions I got wrong and its driving me up the wall.
I made some silly mistakes and I keep thinking that its going to tank my score and I'm literally on edge.
I know I got a lot of the hard questions correct, but I feel so annoyed that I missed some easy questions.

I literally have no idea how I did. I feel like it could go either way. I could have bombed it or aced it. Its such a weird feeling.
Literally I was on autopilot most of the exam.

I'm not sure how they even grade it, I know I missed some questions, but I really have no idea how many.

The wait is agonizing!! Literally every day that goes by I feel like I might have failed!

Anyone else feel this way? and any AUGUST test takers here?

Most people I have talked to felt this way, including myself. I felt the exam was harder than anything I’d taken, but I ended up scoring a little higher than my highest practice test (UWSA2).

 

[speterson]

I don’t know if it was earlier on in this thread or on Reddit but there were at least 2 people that failed who had their permits disappear the Monday that they got their stores.

thank you, you gave me hope it doesn't mean i failed

 

[lllauren]

Darn I still have the link but it leads to the following:

Application error: Permit is not available. The candidate may have sat for the exam or the registration is no longer active.

I took mine Saturday the 21st and I am not sure if we should be expecting scores this week or not. My permit is still there.

 

[razza1]

i'm getting the same message and i took my test 3 days ago

I took mine Saturday the 21st and I am not sure if we should be expecting scores this week or not. My permit is still there.

how do you deal with the wait?

 

[razza1]

Darn I still have the link but it leads to the following:

Application error: Permit is not available. The candidate may have sat for the exam or the registration is no longer active.

i have the same message but i just took the exam earlier this month

 

[speterson]

permit just disappeared as an IMG on ECFMG test date July 17th

 

[StormRising]

permit just disappeared as an IMG on ECFMG test date July 17th

Hopefully it really means good news. My test date was July 23. I still have the link.

 

[lllauren]

i'm getting the same message and i took my test 3 days ago


how do you deal with the wait?

I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m ‘dealing with it’ hahaha. I’m going to freak out if someone who took it later that the 21st reports that their permit has disappeared.