USMLE Official 2019 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Just took UWSA2, found something kind of interesting: average percentage correct overall is 67%. Average percent correct in UWorld is 63%. I assume that most people take UWSA2 as one of their last tests, probably after all UWorld is done (could be a faulty assumption as I'm basing that off of what people post online but most people online are thinking about this more than the average med student).

For the sake of argument, let's say that UWSA2 reflects how people will do at UWorld at the end of their dedicated period, and lets say that people improve linearly throughout dedicated. If average on UWSA2 is 67%, average overall is 63%, could you claim that the mean improvement over dedicated was 8% (from 59 - 67)?

That seems like less than I was expecting. However, I have heard a lot of people talking about how they plateaued early in UWorld. I'm wondering if this is actually the norm.

What do you guys think?

Edit: I'm definitely also thinking way too much about this for a guy whose test is in 4 days.
 
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Agent Michael Scarn said:
So with this progression:

NBME16 (1.5 months ago): 252
NBME20 (3 weeks ago): 244
UWSA1 (1 week ago): 273
NBME18 (Yesterday): 257

I'm scheduled for about four weeks from now.
Would I be stupid to move it up to two weeks from now? Goal is 255+. I could get greedy and say I want 260, but that probably just depends on the form I get. I'm only 10ish days into dedicated. Looking at my mistakes on 18, it seems like there weren't huge knowledge gaps, and I got like 4 gimme ethics-type questions wrong.

I just need to know if I'm good to switch it to Threat Level Midnight.
Click to expand...
killing it dude. Take uswa 2 and if it is above 250. take the damn thing and call it a day.
 
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Agent Michael Scarn said:
So with this progression:

NBME16 (1.5 months ago): 252
NBME20 (3 weeks ago): 244
UWSA1 (1 week ago): 273
NBME18 (Yesterday): 257

I'm scheduled for about four weeks from now.
Would I be stupid to move it up to two weeks from now? Goal is 255+. I could get greedy and say I want 260, but that probably just depends on the form I get. I'm only 10ish days into dedicated. Looking at my mistakes on 18, it seems like there weren't huge knowledge gaps, and I got like 4 gimme ethics-type questions wrong.

I just need to know if I'm good to switch it to Threat Level Midnight.
Click to expand...

I was in a similar position about a month ago. I decided not to move it up because I wanted to make it through all of UWorld (I'm very slow covering questions), and I'm glad that I did that - however, I think you're probably good to go if you'll be able to finish UWorld 100% by then.

Agreed about 260+ being mostly a matter of luck/intrinsic ability.
 
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FindersFee5 said:
I was in a similar position about a month ago. I decided not to move it up because I wanted to make it through all of UWorld (I'm very slow covering questions), and I'm glad that I did that - however, I think you're probably good to go if you'll be able to finish UWorld 100% by then.

Agreed about 260+ being mostly a matter of luck/intrinsic ability.
Click to expand...


Finished Uworld a couple weeks ago at 84%. About a fifth of the way through a second pass right now.
 
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Agent Michael Scarn said:
So with this progression:

NBME16 (1.5 months ago): 252
NBME20 (3 weeks ago): 244
UWSA1 (1 week ago): 273
NBME18 (Yesterday): 257

I'm scheduled for about four weeks from now.
Would I be stupid to move it up to two weeks from now? Goal is 255+. I could get greedy and say I want 260, but that probably just depends on the form I get. I'm only 10ish days into dedicated. Looking at my mistakes on 18, it seems like there weren't huge knowledge gaps, and I got like 4 gimme ethics-type questions wrong.

I just need to know if I'm good to switch it to Threat Level Midnight.
Click to expand...
IMO 260+ seems to be all about what form you get/your mindset during test day, even if youre hitting 260+ on practice exams there's people on this site and people i know IRL that have put in far more work than i ever thought possible and end up falling short of 260. I feel like it's all about luck at a certain point. Except a few exceptions here and there of people that couldnt make a mistake if they tried lol. If your goals 255+ I'd say youre comfortably there and echo what people above have said if you've finish UW to take UWSA 2 and if it's where you want it to be to get it over with already. Maybe get a quick pass through FA and pathoma to make sure youve got your bases covered and crush the beast!

best of luck fam
 
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Agent Michael Scarn said:
So with this progression:

NBME16 (1.5 months ago): 252
NBME20 (3 weeks ago): 244
UWSA1 (1 week ago): 273
NBME18 (Yesterday): 257

I'm scheduled for about four weeks from now.
Would I be stupid to move it up to two weeks from now? Goal is 255+. I could get greedy and say I want 260, but that probably just depends on the form I get. I'm only 10ish days into dedicated. Looking at my mistakes on 18, it seems like there weren't huge knowledge gaps, and I got like 4 gimme ethics-type questions wrong.

I just need to know if I'm good to switch it to Threat Level Midnight.
Click to expand...

Man, if I were getting your scores, I would take it next week.
 
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Besides the AMBOSS assessment, I took NBME 17 by PDF. What is the order of NBMEs that are recommended? I am starting dedicated next week
 
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Phoodie said:
Any test day tips? So far, I've heard of bringing ear plugs, snacks, NSAID of choice, and loperamide.
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Stress activates the sympathetic NS which will depress bowel movement lol. I brought ear plugs, snacks, an ibuprofen but didn't use it because even though my head was hurting, I was too numb to care and once the questions hit you, any type of pain just goes out the window.
 
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sunshine02 said:
Stress activates the sympathetic NS which will depress bowel movement lol.
Click to expand...

The >800mg of caffeine I plan to consume throughout the day might have other ideas about bowel movement, though.

I was planning pepto-bismol, never tried loperamide - worry a little about possible cognitive effects even though according to Zanki it doesn't cross the blood brain barrier (...unlike diphenoxylate which has to be given with atropine...). Maybe I'll try loperamide at some point though.
 
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what are some good protien bars for test day ?
Also are you taking pill form of caffeine or how are you taking caffiene during the test?
 
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libertyyne said:
what are some good protien bars for test day ?
Also are you taking pill form of caffeine or how are you taking caffiene during the test?
Click to expand...
If you've tried caffeine pills before and liked them id go for it, but when i took caffeine pills for the MCAT they absolutely tore up my stomach and didnt have the same "effect" i felt as a drink with the same caffeine content. Idk i might have had an abnormal experience but i hated them.

I also like to be well hydrated all the time (either that or im just diabetic and dont know it yet) so working in pee breaks is just something im gonna have to work into my time so im not gonna try to hard to avoid liquids. Though the hardcore sign in sign out pat down process of prometric is annoying to deal with just to take a piss.

With regards to protein bars i like quest bars, close to zero sugar and not super high in carb content. Ill probably mix that in with some unsalted unsweetened nuts.
 
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libertyyne said:
what are some good protien bars for test day ?
Also are you taking pill form of caffeine or how are you taking caffiene during the test?
Click to expand...

Big fan of caffeine pills, just don't let other people know what you're up to or you'll get dirty looks, as they sip their 64oz mocha grande late sugary fatty starbucks drink...

I like how easily you can regulate your intake and more easily manage your tolerance/withdrawals - you can use the minimum necessary to get the result you want in a given situation, and taper down your intake carefully over days to avoid headaches/fatigue. My baseline is 100mg when I wake up, and 100mg around noon. Will cut down to <100mg only in the morning throughout the last week of dedicated, to maximize my buzz on test day.

Also not having to consume a bunch of fluid with your caffeine is useful for obvious reasons.
 
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A shot of bourbon to calm the nerves of course + 2 cups of coffee before I leave. Load up with 3 monsters and 2 waters for the day. PB&J + chips for lunch. Some peppermints for between blocks. Nitro for the MI during my 4th block. A few cliff bars in case I need a recharge. And a full ice chest in my car to look forward to afterwards.
 
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YoungDoc25 said:
A shot of bourbon to calm the nerves of course + 2 cups of coffee before I leave. Load up with 3 monsters and 2 waters for the day. PB&J + chips for lunch. Some peppermints for between blocks. Nitro for the MI during my 4th block. A few cliff bars in case I need a recharge. And a full ice chest in my car to look forward to afterwards.
Click to expand...

You forgot to include the foley you'll be needing with all of that liquid
 
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Took 20 today and got a 225. Really happy with the improvement. I was expecting to do much lower after hearing all the stories on here but I guess when you are already scoring pretty low its hard to go down too much. I have 7 weeks until test day and hoping to score 240+. Test scores are as follows
NBME 17 (12 weeks out): 196
CBSE (10 weeks out): 215
NBME 18 (8 weeks out): 207
NBME 20 (7 weeks out): 225

Behavioral sciences are dragging me down, I feel like I am leaving a lot of easy points out there. Has anyone tried the Kaplan 100 ethics book or have any recommendations for behavioral? Going to use B&B here this afternoon
 
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Taking the test in 2 days and taking tomorrow mostly off (IE, no SDN or reddit to psych myself out), so I figured I'd post this now.

Finished UWorld at 91.4% correct.
Practice tests, in order:

NBME 15 - 257
NBME 17 - 263
NBME 18 - 255
NBME 20 -252
UWSA1 - 275
NBME 22 - 259
NBME 13 (offline) - ~265
NBME 16 (offline) - ~263
NBME 21 - 265
UWSA2 - 271
Free 120 - 95% correct

Planning on reviewing the free 120, doing my cards for today, then looking over some of the really easy to forget stuff (brainstem sections, signaling mechanisms, abx mechanisms, germ layer origins, and the biologics). Might do a few cards tomorrow but mostly trying to relax and get myself mentally prepared.

For anybody in dedicated now and noticing their scores dropping, don't automatically assume you've plateaued! I almost moved my test up after NBME 20, but realized that I was still learning and the dropping scores were primarily due to errors in my mental game. Working out those kinks could push me up a solid 5-10 points on test day, I think.
 
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FindersFee5 said:
Taking the test in 2 days and taking tomorrow mostly off (IE, no SDN or reddit to psych myself out), so I figured I'd post this now.

Finished UWorld at 91.4% correct.
Practice tests, in order:

NBME 15 - 257
NBME 17 - 263
NBME 18 - 255
NBME 20 -252
UWSA1 - 275
NBME 22 - 259
NBME 13 (offline) - ~265
NBME 16 (offline) - ~263
NBME 21 - 265
UWSA2 - 271
Free 120 - 95% correct

Planning on reviewing the free 120, doing my cards for today, then looking over some of the really easy to forget stuff (brainstem sections, signaling mechanisms, abx mechanisms, germ layer origins, and the biologics). Might do a few cards tomorrow but mostly trying to relax and get myself mentally prepared.

For anybody in dedicated now and noticing their scores dropping, don't automatically assume you've plateaued! I almost moved my test up after NBME 20, but realized that I was still learning and the dropping scores were primarily due to errors in my mental game. Working out those kinks could push me up a solid 5-10 points on test day, I think.
Click to expand...

I honestly believe you have what it takes to hit a 270. As it has already been said, luck is definitely involved when we 're talking about scores beyond the 250s/260s range. Your practice scores basically prove you 've hit the roof in terms of basic raw knowledge and now it mostly comes down to 50/50 questions or dodgy ethics bs.

Having similar practice scores, I 've noticed that most of my mistakes come from overthinking questions and rationalizing answers - which I believe is the one and only "side effect" of UWorld. So getting into that straightforward NBME mode of thinking rather the more complex Uworld mode of thinking is what I personally believe might help you get to those elusive 260s/270s scores. Wishing you good luck on your exam.
 
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Diphyllobothrium latum said:
I honestly believe you have what it takes to hit a 270. As it has already been said, luck is definitely involved when we 're talking about scores beyond the 250s/260s range. Your practice scores basically prove you 've hit the roof in terms of basic raw knowledge and now it mostly comes down to 50/50 questions or dodgy ethics bs.

Having similar practice scores, I 've noticed that most of my mistakes come from overthinking questions and rationalizing answers - which I believe is the one and only "side effect" of UWorld. So getting into that straightforward NBME mode of thinking rather the more complex Uworld mode of thinking is what I personally believe might help you get to those elusive 260s/270s scores. Wishing you good luck on your exam.
Click to expand...

I'm starting to realize this as well, with NBMEs and even other qbanks every sentence/word in the stem was there to get you to the answer you need/cross off foils. With UW it seems they throw in things to make you think something else, like using buzzwords that are unrelated. Such as pt recently went on a trip to "arizona" even though they definitely dont have coccidio or throwing in unrelated medical hx stuff. It's definitely an interesting difference, and i wonder if the real exam does stuff like this
 
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FindersFee5 said:
Taking the test in 2 days and taking tomorrow mostly off (IE, no SDN or reddit to psych myself out), so I figured I'd post this now.

Finished UWorld at 91.4% correct.
Practice tests, in order:

NBME 15 - 257
NBME 17 - 263
NBME 18 - 255
NBME 20 -252
UWSA1 - 275
NBME 22 - 259
NBME 13 (offline) - ~265
NBME 16 (offline) - ~263
NBME 21 - 265
UWSA2 - 271
Free 120 - 95% correct

Planning on reviewing the free 120, doing my cards for today, then looking over some of the really easy to forget stuff (brainstem sections, signaling mechanisms, abx mechanisms, germ layer origins, and the biologics). Might do a few cards tomorrow but mostly trying to relax and get myself mentally prepared.

For anybody in dedicated now and noticing their scores dropping, don't automatically assume you've plateaued! I almost moved my test up after NBME 20, but realized that I was still learning and the dropping scores were primarily due to errors in my mental game. Working out those kinks could push me up a solid 5-10 points on test day, I think.
Click to expand...

Good luck, you're going to crush it. Could you put some estimated weeks from your test next to the tests you took? Trying to get an idea of progression over time
 
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Diphyllobothrium latum said:
I honestly believe you have what it takes to hit a 270. As it has already been said, luck is definitely involved when we 're talking about scores beyond the 250s/260s range. Your practice scores basically prove you 've hit the roof in terms of basic raw knowledge and now it mostly comes down to 50/50 questions or dodgy ethics bs.

Having similar practice scores, I 've noticed that most of my mistakes come from overthinking questions and rationalizing answers - which I believe is the one and only "side effect" of UWorld. So getting into that straightforward NBME mode of thinking rather the more complex Uworld mode of thinking is what I personally believe might help you get to those elusive 260s/270s scores. Wishing you good luck on your exam.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I would be absolutely thrilled with anything above a 260, my goal (set early first year) was 250+ for my desired specialty. Agreed that so much of it does come down to luck of the test but I think I've put myself in a solid position for hitting my original goals.

The main mental improvement I've noticed over the last few weeks, which was improved by doing a ton of NBME style questions, is a metacognition of when I'm overthinking something. There's this tangible voice in the back of my head now as I start to enter that overthinking/anxiety spiral that asks, "Do you really think this is the answer or are you just worried that you're missing something?" When I start to get that tickle, I just leave it and move on.

Frogger27 said:
Good luck, you're going to crush it. Could you put some estimated weeks from your test next to the tests you took? Trying to get an idea of progression over time
Click to expand...

15-22 were once a week, starting 7 weeks out. The rest have all been done within the last week.
 
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FindersFee5 said:
Taking the test in 2 days and taking tomorrow mostly off (IE, no SDN or reddit to psych myself out), so I figured I'd post this now.

Finished UWorld at 91.4% correct.
Practice tests, in order:

NBME 15 - 257
NBME 17 - 263
NBME 18 - 255
NBME 20 -252
UWSA1 - 275
NBME 22 - 259
NBME 13 (offline) - ~265
NBME 16 (offline) - ~263
NBME 21 - 265
UWSA2 - 271
Free 120 - 95% correct

Planning on reviewing the free 120, doing my cards for today, then looking over some of the really easy to forget stuff (brainstem sections, signaling mechanisms, abx mechanisms, germ layer origins, and the biologics). Might do a few cards tomorrow but mostly trying to relax and get myself mentally prepared.

For anybody in dedicated now and noticing their scores dropping, don't automatically assume you've plateaued! I almost moved my test up after NBME 20, but realized that I was still learning and the dropping scores were primarily due to errors in my mental game. Working out those kinks could push me up a solid 5-10 points on test day, I think.
Click to expand...
are you human?
 
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FindersFee5 said:
The main mental improvement I've noticed over the last few weeks, which was improved by doing a ton of NBME style questions, is a metacognition of when I'm overthinking something. There's this tangible voice in the back of my head now as I start to enter that overthinking/anxiety spiral that asks, "Do you really think this is the answer or are you just worried that you're missing something?" When I start to get that tickle, I just leave it and move on.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you and that's what I will be trying to work on for the last weeks of my prep.

A thing I 've noticed with NBMEs is that the distractors are way more random and don't always make sense. In Uworld, every distractor has its own teaching purpose and corresponds to something closely related to the correct answer. So the benefit is that not only you get to learn about various similar entities, but also learn to differentiate between them.


While in NBMEs, they often throw totally random and unrelated to the correct answer, distractors and it's entirely possible you might 've never heard of them before or that they describe an incorrect/non-existant process. Also the fact that NBMEs stems are much shorter means they provide less info and thus less clues to confirm your answer.

Most of the times, the unrelated distractors just make it easier to exclude them. However, the uncertainty that comes with the short stems and vague phrasings combined with concepts you 're not familiar with or have not seen been put together before, is what often leads to the examinee thinking "but what about answer Y?" - even though his original hunch was answer X. And the more you stay on that question, the greater the probability that you make a weird/far-fetched connection and disregarding the question writer's original plan - which was to ask you that A + B leads to X rather than A + B leads to C, C leads to D, D leads to Y.

In UWorld, there's almost always a clue hidden in there to exclude other options. My incorrect-to-correct changes are more than double the correct-to-incorrect ones. While in NBMEs, I *almost* always lose questions by changing up my mind.
 
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How’s everyone’s sleep schedule? I go to bed at 3AM and get up at 11AM. I feel like I need to fix mine soon but I feel more productive at night.
 
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Messengeri said:
How’s everyone’s sleep schedule? I go to bed at 3AM and get up at 11AM. I feel like I need to fix mine soon but I feel more productive at night.
Click to expand...

I’m a combo of nocturnal/free running sleep/non 24 circadian disorder. I can’t wait to indulge it without extrinsic obligations to my sleep-wake cycle after May 13th (the last school obligation before rotations).
 
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Messengeri said:
How’s everyone’s sleep schedule? I go to bed at 3AM and get up at 11AM. I feel like I need to fix mine soon but I feel more productive at night.
Click to expand...
Haha that's literally my exact schedule, I'm thinking I should change since we need to be up early for the test...like wake up around 7/8am and go to bed at 11, like "normal" people do....
 
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AnatomyGrey12 said:
I get up at 445 and try to go to bed by 930, but it's been more like 11 the last week and a half. I probably should start forcing myself in bed by 9 so I don't start racking up the sleep deficit.
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Finishing a uw block and anki before the sun rises is high yield but I could never function on 6 hours. I can’t keep my eyes open past 10 if I wake up before 5
 
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AnatomyGrey12 said:
I get up at 445 and try to go to bed by 930, but it's been more like 11 the last week and a half. I probably should start forcing myself in bed by 9 so I don't start racking up the sleep deficit.
Click to expand...
I second this schedule. Feels like there's a ton more hours in the day when you start around 5 am
 
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Just officially started my school's version of "dedicated" study time. 38 days until USMLE Step1. 45 days until Level 1.

Took NBME 17 and got a 198 (Corrected). Completed approximately 75% of Uworld so far and averaging approximately 60%.

Pretty depressing not seeing much improvement. But just gonna keep chugging. Right now my plan is to complete my official 2nd pass of everything by May 17th.

Edit: I took NBME 17 offline. Found some errors with the answer key. So I found I had a better score than I thought.
 
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wimby2016 said:
Haha that's literally my exact schedule, I'm thinking I should change since we need to be up early for the test...like wake up around 7/8am and go to bed at 11, like "normal" people do....
Click to expand...
You going to go to sleep at 3 am the night before the usmle? you should probably get on a good schedule way beforehand
 
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how many anki cards/day have you guys been doing during dedicated??

I’m at around 1.5k total and I am not sure if I am going to maintain this, takes about 4 hours to complete
 
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Frogger27 said:
how many anki cards/day have you guys been doing during dedicated??

I’m at around 1.5k total and I am not sure if I am going to maintain this, takes about 4 hours to complete
Click to expand...
I'm allowing myself to do 500max, though its usually 300-400. Then I over utilize slackers delight/postpone feature. I regret downloading it but at the same time, nothing else would get done if i was doing 1500 a day as that takes me 6-8hrs. If I start seeing diminishing returns from focusing more heavily on BNB, pathoma, FA, and UW instead of half days of anki I'll switch back though. Kinda playing it by ear with regards to anki usage
 
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so recently took 16. mid 230's same score as 15 from a week before.
Not sure what to think considering my uworld percentage correct of two blocks afterwards was ~87.

Its kinda demoralizing not seeing the needle move. Any of you superstars have any suggestions ?
 
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Took Step 1 ~2.5 weeks ago and still waiting to hear back (hopefully next Wednesday) but definitely getting a little anxious now. My practice exam scores are below. I'll update the thread with a final score once I get it.

NBME 18 = 257
UWSA1 = 269
NBME 17 = 252
NBME 16 = 244 (for what it's worth, this test felt like a fluke -- I made the mistake of taking 16 on a day in a non-serious way which was a waste of money and questions. Don't make the same mistake as me and waste $$!)
NBME 15 = 94% correct
NBME 20 = 250
NBME 21 = 252
UWSA2 = 262
Free 120 = 88%

I took a practice exam every week at the beginning of dedicated and by the end I did 20, 21, UW2 and Free 120 in the last week. For those that see my scores and start off with lower ones, I started studying prior to dedicated (my CBSE was 240 in January). You can definitely get similar scores if not better, just continue working hard! It's always important to take into account what your starting point was when gauging progress. Anyway, this post is already too long so I'll end it here. Good luck to everyone!
 
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libertyyne said:
so recently took 16. mid 230's same score as 15 from a week before.
Not sure what to think considering my uworld percentage correct of two blocks afterwards was ~87.

Its kinda demoralizing not seeing the needle move. Any of you superstars have any suggestions ?
Click to expand...
Good job on the double 87s but I will say this - what you're looking for is a trend of 87s not just 2 examples. What's your average uworld % and uworld trends at right now? Maybe 16 hit more of your weak points. Let's see what your next nbme is going to be. keep studying and going over the pathoma chapters especially your weaknesses and hopefully it'll go up 🙂
 
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watermelon master said:
Good job on the double 87s but I will say this - what you're looking for is a trend of 87s not just 2 examples. What's your average uworld % and uworld trends at right now? Maybe 16 hit more of your weak points. Let's see what your next nbme is going to be. keep studying and going over the pathoma chapters especially your weaknesses and hopefully it'll go up 🙂
Click to expand...
~80% is my average with ~65%% of the bank completed. I wish pathoma went over biochem. Thats why it is frustrating. I seem to do fine on uworld but NBMEs peg me as average.
 
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