USMLE Official 2019 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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chigirl23 said:
It's so weird to me how different the forms are ... I had a friend take it today who said he had a only handful of biochem questions on the entire thing and they were super easy and that it was nothing like the NBME's and exactly like UWorld. I really think the forms are generated completely randomly (ie: they have a question bank and press a button that randomly gives you 280 questions) -- he said within one block he had a question that he wasn't really sure about and then 5 or so questions later he had a question stem that gave him the answer to the previous question. Like blatantly spelled out the info he needed to answer it. He also had 2 questions on the exact same topic asking about the exact same concept for that topic.
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Yeah i'm praying the average for my test was really low.

Flagged b/w 60-75% of my test. Had time to relook at things but didn't feel great about anything.
 
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My test was definitely more NBME than Uworld.. I flagged 8-12 Qs per block that ended up being educated guesses. I also did not have one organ system tested more than others... very evenly distributed. As long as I got the ~30 Qs per block I did not flag right I probably did decent. Kicking myself for 4-5 right now but thank god I have a horrible memory and can’t remember anything

I could not have possibly studied more.. the other ~20-30% of my test came down to test taking ability, not knowledge. The people who are good test takers will be able to come up with the answer. I’m a pretty bad test taker so hopefully got half of so of these questions right
 
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🙁
Frogger27 said:
My test was definitely more NBME than Uworld.. I flagged 8-12 Qs per block that ended up being educated guesses. I also did not have one organ system tested more than others... very evenly distributed. As long as I got the ~30 Qs per block I did not flag right I probably did decent. Kicking myself for 4-5 right now but thank god I have a horrible memory and can’t remember anything

I could not have possibly studied more.. the other ~20-30% of my test came down to test taking ability, not knowledge. The people who are good test takers will be able to come up with the answer. I’m a pretty bad test taker so hopefully got half of so of these questions right
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That’s exactly how mine was. I was coming in thinking 235 and now I’m not even sure I hit 220 haha like I know at least 6-7 I messed up that I should’ve gotten. But I’m gonna keep drinking and then start on COMLEX tomorrow to prep for Friday
 
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Neopolymath said:
I am definitely kicking myself over missing some absolute sitters. Questions that on UW would be 70% I think...

My exam was easier than UW honestly. I could not tell you more than 2 questions I thought were experimental. Really worried about the curve being non-existent.
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Same boat here. I feel like the curve on my form is gonna be fukin brutal. I missed some EASY questions which isn't as bad if you have a form with a more generous curve, but I felt like mine was so straight-forward there's barely any room for error.
 
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Neopolymath said:
I am definitely kicking myself over missing some absolute sitters. Questions that on UW would be 70% I think...

My exam was easier than UW honestly. I could not tell you more than 2 questions I thought were experimental. Really worried about the curve being non-existent.
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Same

Effin

Boat
 
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sunshinefl said:
Guys!!! I know you’re all celebrating being done! I’m just over here celebrating my first 100% block on UWorld. (Full disclosure, it was social sciences only—ethics/legal/professional— not random haha but I’m still proud!)
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You act like that isn't a great feat with those tricky questions. You go, Glen Coco!
 
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1st time posting since MCAT just recently took it, now playing the waiting game for a month. Zanki was amazing would recommend if you’re a flashcard person. Would say ≥90% of my practice test scores are due to Zanki.

Test day:
Even distribution of subjects except less biochem (which sucked I like that lol).
Takeaways that might be applicable to your test day experience:
-If you have vague ethics questions don't spend lots of time trying to reason through it when you could use that time for questions you actually know.
-Don't be afraid to pick an answer just because you don't know it, IF you know all the other ones are wrong (be confident in what you know). Had 2 Qs I looked up after test that I got right, but had not learned that correct answer just had learned all the other answer choices and knew they weren't the question stem.
-Continuation of the "Be confident in what you know" principle. If you flat out know something and a Q asks it and you see that answer, don't spend another 40 seconds re-reading and thinking of another way that the Q could be tricking you. You're wasting time . I caught myself doing this on first block then corrected it and had more time on all my other blocks.

Completed Q bank averages and Practice test scores (in order):
•RX=84%
•Kaplan=86.9%
•UWorld=90.2

•NBME 13: 248
•NBME 15: 257
•NBME 16: 263
•NBME 17: 259
•NBME 19: 257
•UWSA 1: 275
•NBME 20: 267
•NBME 21: 259
•NBME 22: 252
•NBME 23: 250
•Free 120: 96%
•NBME 24: 257
•NBME 18: 259
•UWSA 2: 262

•STEP 1: TBD
 
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Gomedorgohome said:
1st time posting since MCAT just recently took it, now playing the waiting game for a month. Zanki was amazing would recommend if you’re a flashcard person. Would say ≥90% of my practice test scores are due to Zanki.

Test day:
Even distribution of subjects except less biochem (which sucked I like that lol).
Takeaways that might be applicable to your test day experience:
-If you have vague ethics questions don't spend lots of time trying to reason through it when you could use that time for questions you actually know.
-Don't be afraid to pick an answer just because you don't know it, IF you know all the other ones are wrong (be confident in what you know). Had 2 Qs I looked up after test that I got right, but had not learned that correct answer just had learned all the other answer choices and knew they weren't the question stem.
-Continuation of the "Be confident in what you know" principle. If you flat out know something and a Q asks it and you see that answer, don't spend another 40 seconds re-reading and thinking of another way that the Q could be tricking you. You're wasting time . I caught myself doing this on first block then corrected it and had more time on all my other blocks.

Completed Q bank averages and Practice test scores (in order):
•RX=84%
•Kaplan=86.9%
•UWorld=90.2

•NBME 13: 248
•NBME 15: 257
•NBME 16: 263
•NBME 17: 248
•NBME 19: 257
•UWSA 1: 275
•NBME 20: 248
•NBME 21: 248
•NBME 22: 248
•NBME 23: 248
•Free 120: 96%
•NBME 24: 248
•NBME 18: 259
•UWSA 2: 262

•STEP 1: TBD
Click to expand...
Zanki + 3 qbanks + USWA1/2 and free 120 + TEN NBMES. Your work ethic is legendary - enjoy your 260.
 
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Gomedorgohome said:
1st time posting since MCAT just recently took it, now playing the waiting game for a month. Zanki was amazing would recommend if you’re a flashcard person. Would say ≥90% of my practice test scores are due to Zanki.

Test day:
Even distribution of subjects except less biochem (which sucked I like that lol).
Takeaways that might be applicable to your test day experience:
-If you have vague ethics questions don't spend lots of time trying to reason through it when you could use that time for questions you actually know.
-Don't be afraid to pick an answer just because you don't know it, IF you know all the other ones are wrong (be confident in what you know). Had 2 Qs I looked up after test that I got right, but had not learned that correct answer just had learned all the other answer choices and knew they weren't the question stem.
-Continuation of the "Be confident in what you know" principle. If you flat out know something and a Q asks it and you see that answer, don't spend another 40 seconds re-reading and thinking of another way that the Q could be tricking you. You're wasting time . I caught myself doing this on first block then corrected it and had more time on all my other blocks.

Completed Q bank averages and Practice test scores (in order):
•RX=84%
•Kaplan=86.9%
•UWorld=90.2

•NBME 13: 248
•NBME 15: 257
•NBME 16: 263
•NBME 17: 248
•NBME 19: 257
•UWSA 1: 275
•NBME 20: 248
•NBME 21: 248
•NBME 22: 248
•NBME 23: 248
•Free 120: 96%
•NBME 24: 248
•NBME 18: 259
•UWSA 2: 262

•STEP 1: TBD
Click to expand...
I'm exhausted just looking at this list
 
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I just bailed out of doing UWSA2 after the first block because I was so flustered and tilted at feeling like there was so much I didn't know. Got 92% correct :smack: Biggest enemy on test day is going to be myself.

Finding that getting going on the first block is always a huge struggle - brain is mush until I get halfway through. Gonna save UWSA2 blocks 3 and 4 for tomorrow morning so I can simulate this pain again. Based on UWSA1 and NBME18, I feel like the only thing I get out of doing a full practice in one shot is more burnout. Not that concerned about stamina on the real thing.

Planning to hit 80 questions of the free 120 on Thursday, and the final 40 on Friday morning.
 
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Chibucks15 said:
Anybody got advice on how to shake this feeling I really messed that thing up? Bourbon worked yesterday but long term I don’t need to check off the CAGES questions on myself
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This was posted on reddit today... May help you.. It doesn't take away from the crappy feeling, but everything will end up being alright in the end
c5z842rc44531.jpg
 
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Frogger27 said:
This was posted on reddit today... May help you.. It doesn't take away from the crappy feeling, but everything will end up being alright in the endView attachment 268093
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That’s helpful. Just hard to think I may be pigeonholing myself based on this score. I don’t want anything competitive specialty wise, but I’d for sure like a say in where my family and I will live for 3-4 years :/
 
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Legit dreamed about a few questions that were easy as **** that I just let inertia push me to the wrong answer. One of them I even changed as time expired to the wrong answer and attempted to change back with 1 second left. I mean I have never done that in my entire life. Why now haha??? Prepared to be sorely disappointed at this point because I left it on the table.
 
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Neopolymath said:
Legit dreamed about a few questions that were easy as **** that I just let inertia push me to the wrong answer. One of them I even changed as time expired to the wrong answer and attempted to change back with 1 second left. I mean I have never done that in my entire life. Why now haha??? Prepared to be sorely disappointed at this point because I left it on the table.
Click to expand...
I 100% did all of this on test day on at least two questions. I think the stress of test day made me dumber
 
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NecrotizingFasciitis said:
I have been averaging ~85% on UWorld (2nd pass; ~50% done) but for the past 2 days I have barely been making 70's. Starting to worry that I already peaked. Lol....
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This happened to me the last week before my test.. I was getting really nervous that i peaked/was forgetting everything. Obviously i don’t know my score but i did not feel like there was stuff i knew at some point and forgot on my test.. you know more than you think, analyze why you’re missing them. My guess is because you are going too fast which is common on second pass
 
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NecrotizingFasciitis said:
I have been averaging ~85% on UWorld (2nd pass; ~50% done) but for the past 2 days I have barely been making 70's. Starting to worry that I already peaked. Lol....
Click to expand...

Don;t worry. Its just some fatigue. Same happened to me. Make sure to take the day off before the test to clear your mind. I am doing the same today (COMLEX tomorrow). Good luck. 85% is pretty badass.
 
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NecrotizingFasciitis said:
I have been averaging ~85% on UWorld (2nd pass; ~50% done) but for the past 2 days I have barely been making 70's. Starting to worry that I already peaked. Lol....
Click to expand...

I'm right there with you. Last week I was getting high 80's and low 90's. This week I have been getting in the 70's and have a complete inability to even read the questions correctly. I switched to tutor mode for a block and it was a little better. I have just really started to not care anymore.
 
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neurodjent said:
I'm right there with you. Last week I was getting high 80's and low 90's. This week I have been getting in the 70's and have a complete inability to even read the questions correctly. I switched to tutor mode for a block and it was a little better. I have just really started to not care anymore.
Click to expand...

I think people underestimate how different each block of UW can be. I was cruising along my last couple hundred questions, and then blam run into a wall of things I didn't know, and scored ~60% on my last block :shrug:

It could just be that you happen to be running into questions that hit your weaknesses more.

I think this is amplified by the fact that "random" mode is not actually random - you tend to get a bunch of questions about the same topic all at once, and then never again.
 
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Gurby said:
I think people underestimate how different each block of UW can be. I was cruising along my last couple hundred questions, and then blam run into a wall of things I didn't know, and scored ~60% on my last block :shrug:

It could just be that you happen to be running into questions that hit your weaknesses more.

I think this is amplified by the fact that "random" mode is not actually random - you tend to get a bunch of questions about the same topic all at once, and then never again.
Click to expand...

I've kinda started to notice this too actually. Like sure the questions are from different sections but there definitely seems to be some kind of underlying theme or something that you'll get for a couple blocks in a row.
 
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Gurby said:
I think people underestimate how different each block of UW can be. I was cruising along my last couple hundred questions, and then blam run into a wall of things I didn't know, and scored ~60% on my last block :shrug:

It could just be that you happen to be running into questions that hit your weaknesses more.

I think this is amplified by the fact that "random" mode is not actually random - you tend to get a bunch of questions about the same topic all at once, and then never again.
Click to expand...

Yea I gotta say that's my one major issue with UWorld. I think they can do a better job with the randomization.

You're definitely right about rough blocks here and there. I've definitely gotten blocks that rock me and hits that one topic that I really don't understand multiple times.
 
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Chibucks15 said:
Anybody got advice on how to shake this feeling I really messed that thing up? Bourbon worked yesterday but long term I don’t need to check off the CAGES questions on myself
Click to expand...
I definitely have this sinking feeling as well when I walked out of my test. Its not as bad as monday but it still creeps up me thoughout the day. A ton of my classmates (who are doing pretty well, top of the class, etc etc) had the same feeling as well.

My rationale is that I put in all the time i could for this beast. Some of those questions I couldn't have got right even if I had another month to study. Some questions were easy gimmies that i either didn't read but just remember because i review it right before the test.
 
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getfat said:
I definitely have this sinking feeling as well when I walked out of my test. Its not as bad as monday but it still creeps up me thoughout the day. A ton of my classmates (who are doing pretty well, top of the class, etc etc) had the same feeling as well.

My rationale is that I put in all the time i could for this beast. Some of those questions I couldn't have got right even if I had another month to study. Some questions were easy gimmies that i either didn't read but just remember because i review it right before the test.
Click to expand...
Yeah I definitely think I was peaking, and my ceiling is just lower than most on here, but there were a ton that I know I messed up when I know the material just misunderstood the question or the answer choices. Idk it’s dumb.

I agree today has been less sinking than yesterday, but it creeps up from time to time that’s for sure
 
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getfat said:
I definitely have this sinking feeling as well when I walked out of my test. Its not as bad as monday but it still creeps up me thoughout the day. A ton of my classmates (who are doing pretty well, top of the class, etc etc) had the same feeling as well.

My rationale is that I put in all the time i could for this beast. Some of those questions I couldn't have got right even if I had another month to study. Some questions were easy gimmies that i either didn't read but just remember because i review it right before the test.
Click to expand...
There always seems to be this emptiness after big tests like this. I think part of it is returning to a mental "baseline" after expending so much energy and time to a singular focus. So after it's over with, we fill the empty space with worry/doubt/examination of our performance.
 
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wanderingorion said:
There always seems to be this emptiness after big tests like this. I think part of it is returning to a mental "baseline" after expending so much energy and time to a singular focus. So after it's over with, we fill the empty space with worry/doubt/examination of our performance.
Click to expand...

And playing Baby Shark on the guitar.
 
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Gurby said:
I think people underestimate how different each block of UW can be. I was cruising along my last couple hundred questions, and then blam run into a wall of things I didn't know, and scored ~60% on my last block :shrug:

It could just be that you happen to be running into questions that hit your weaknesses more.

I think this is amplified by the fact that "random" mode is not actually random - you tend to get a bunch of questions about the same topic all at once, and then never again.
Click to expand...
Ya I posted how I finally was doing well then had a 62 or two. Im pretty sure if a psych saw me on the day of the second one they would make an exception of the 2 weeks rule for MDD lol
 
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Chibucks15 said:
That’s helpful. Just hard to think I may be pigeonholing myself based on this score. I don’t want anything competitive specialty wise, but I’d for sure like a say in where my family and I will live for 3-4 years :/
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Yep I get the fam driven step goal thing. my scores good enough for the specialty I want (not super competitive), but I don't want to move super far from family. I know residency isn't long but seeing my parents and grandparents aging and realizing time with them is finite made me pretty down so I had to come home thinking it would help my mental well-being and stuff. Ironically because I wasn't as efficient as I would be if I stayed at school, it may have lowered my chances of having my pick if where to go to residency. Fun stuff
 
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264 on UWSA2! Spread out over 2 days. Only 3 more days of grinding to go (including today)!!

I feel like I'm still learning a lot every day. I think at this point whether I can crack 260 or not on the real thing will come down to which minutiae shows up on my test and how lucky my guesses are.

giphy.gif
 
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Gurby said:
264 on UWSA2! Spread out over 2 days. Only 3 more days of grinding to go (including today)!!

I feel like I'm still learning a lot every day. I think at this point whether I can crack 260 or not on the real thing will come down to which minutiae shows up on my test and how lucky my guesses are.

giphy.gif
Click to expand...
Haha I got the same practice scores as you buy 20% of your confidence. Keep it up!! Stay gif and meme powered through the end
 
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Paris Geller said:
So how likely is it to seriously underperform your final few practice exams? I didn’t feel horrible walking out but I have since remembered so many easy questions I missed. I didn’t have one of the crazy tests people talk about so I’m scared my curve will not be forgiving
Click to expand...

+1.. I have counted about ~10-15 I’m pretty certain I missed and am getting really nervous
 
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Neopolymath said:
Legit dreamed about a few questions that were easy as **** that I just let inertia push me to the wrong answer. One of them I even changed as time expired to the wrong answer and attempted to change back with 1 second left. I mean I have never done that in my entire life. Why now haha??? Prepared to be sorely disappointed at this point because I left it on the table.
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it man. I did the exact same thing and instantly remembered at least 7 I missed and 3 of those were straight gimme's. I'm kinda hoping everyone else taking it did the exact same thing or I am going to seriously underperform compared to my practice tests.
Paris Geller said:
So how likely is it to seriously underperform your final few practice exams? I didn’t feel horrible walking out but I have since remembered so many easy questions I missed. I didn’t have one of the crazy tests people talk about so I’m scared my curve will not be forgiving
Click to expand...
Paris Geller said:
Me too...and I can only remember like 30 questions.
Click to expand...

Honestly I have no idea, I keep telling myself to trust my practice scores but I have the same thoughts as you. I thought my form was pretty straightforward and the curve will be like NBME 19. Who knows though, all we can do is trust that we put in all the effort we could. It's the only thing giving me solace at this point lol.
 
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