USMLE Official 2020 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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efle said:
This was specifically talking to someone interested in community hospital for a low-score specialty. If you want a 250 because it'll help your match in something like IM or EM and you're aiming high, then I think you fall in the same crowd as the surgical subspecialty people banking on their numbers for their match.
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Or it means that I recognize that with the current system in place, a high Step 1 score can only help you and I want to maximize my odds of matching where I really want to go. Of course a high Step 1 score doesn't come close to sealing the deal as I still need to do well on rotations, sharpen my clinical acumen and be an overall pleasant person and hard worker but as a DO student with some odds already stacked against me by virtue of where I go to school, I need every opportunity I can get to level the playing field with my MD counterparts. A numerical Step 1 score provides that opportunity.
 
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efle said:
Because having a Pass along with everyone else won't be why you fail to match community PM&R in South Florida. For christs' sake you've still got a 80% match rate with a 20X score where they know you bombed the test. If you're having difficulty getting those interviews you've got bigger problems than a Pass.
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IM*** but yeah, pretty much what @GoCards05 just said. It just takes something else that was a chance for me to shine out of 1000s of applicants away. Of course it's not the end all be all, no one is saying that. But you keep removing things, and all of a sudden there's nothing left for us to stand out with. It's about having an end goal in mind and wanting to maximize my chances of getting it.
 
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Ah, I see the confusion. I thought he was presenting himself as someone who had no use for a high score, but wanted one anyways to be the culmination of his hard work. In reality he doesn't care for the knowledge, but his happiness and proximity to someone he loves hinges on his ability to match a specific place, so he's the EXACT opposite.
 
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efle said:
Ah, I see the confusion. I thought he was presenting himself as someone who had no use for a high score, but wanted one anyways to be the culmination of his hard work. In reality he doesn't care for the knowledge, but his happiness and proximity to someone he loves hinges on his ability to match a specific place, so he's the EXACT opposite.
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Yessir. I wouldn't say I dont care for knowledge but that's just the cherry ontop. At the end of the day my main goal for being a Doc is providing representations for my racial/ socioeconomic group. But selfish personal goals hinges on a good step so ima need that score.
 
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efle said:
Damn, that means I still haven't met a fan of numerical scores who doesn't need a numerical score
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I feel most people in med school have their own personal wants and needs and know Step is a thing they can control to achieve it. Most students except the top school students wants a good step score for their own goals. Either to go to a top program for fellowship prospects or your classic cali/nyc people who want a good score to go back. Most of us need it in one way or the other.
 
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efle said:
Damn, that means I still haven't met a fan of numerical scores who doesn't need a numerical score
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Yeah, no. Screw that. If I didn't want to go to a very limited geographic area (based on my SO) I would've chilled the last 2 years and wouldn't care at all about my score. It's a means to an end that we can control, as others mentioned. I suppose it's a bit about control, too....it makes me feel like I can somewhat control my own fate? This is an interesting discussion for sure.
 
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efle said:
I mean have they actually posted anything more than this little corporate-speak deflection towards "complexity" and "stakeholders"?

I think USMLE should institute Pass/Fail scoring for the Step 1 examination as soon as possible because of all the stresses on examinees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this a possibility?

No. The decision to move to a Pass/Fail scoring system for Step 1 impacts many individuals and stakeholders beyond USMLE and will require a considerable amount of time and coordination among many in medical education and licensing to implement successfully. Any effort to accelerate this change could introduce further stress in an already complex system.


I can def see why DO students aiming at competitive matches would be willing to tolerate Hell itself for six months for a numerical score.

But stepping back to look at it more broadly, you've got to imagine you're the typical US MD student that composes most of the testing population. As Joe Average, surely you might rather move the P/F change sooner than deal with 5+ months of dedicated culminating in the middle of a rotation. Maybe dedicated was a different experience for people who Zankied in preclinicals, but if my two month dedicated had turned into six months, I would've just left for a research year. You can't put thousands of US MD MS2s in that situation and think the majority will want to tough it out.
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Lots of ways this could be solved without doing this. Why not just allot students appropriate time during rotations to wrap up studying for the exam? Your idea is basically trying to use a jackhammer to fix a single screw.
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
Yeah, no. Screw that. If I didn't want to go to a very limited geographic area (based on my SO) I would've chilled the last 2 years and wouldn't care at all about my score. It's a means to an end that we can control, as others mentioned. I suppose it's a bit about control, too....it makes me feel like I can somewhat control my own fate? This is an interesting discussion for sure.
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Very interesting take. Most of the defense I got in the P/F megathread was about Step content being good prep for the wards, good predictor of boards passage, etc. Nobody has said yet that it's good for being a reliable way to grind out success
 
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I turned down a T15 2 years ago to go my state school to be with my family and fiancé. I did this knowing I would be putting myself at an uphill battle, but was always comforted by the fact that I could kill Step 1 and would be all good. 2 years later and thousands of hours of work later, I am predicted in the 250+ range. If it goes p/f than that will be the most f’d up thing ever.
 
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NotSoObvious said:
I turned down a T15 2 years ago to go my state school to be with my family and fiancé. I did this knowing I would be putting myself at an uphill battle, but was always comforted by the fact that I could kill Step 1 and would be all good. 2 years later and thousands of hours of work later, I am predicted in the 250+ range. If it goes p/f than that will be the most f’d up thing ever.
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When are you scheduled to take?
 
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Deecee2DO said:
And youre already at 250? Damn bro you may cop a 270. How many questions have you done?
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Haha that would be amaizing!! I’m starting to reach my plateau though I think. I’ve done all of UWorld, most of Kaplan, about half of Rx, prob about 1/5 of Amboss, and nbme 18 and nbme 20
 
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NotSoObvious said:
Haha that would be amaizing!! I’m starting to reach my plateau though I think. I’ve done all of UWorld, most of Kaplan, about half of Rx, prob about 1/5 of Amboss, and nbme 18 and nbme 20
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Nice ya thats a good amount. Whats your plan for coasting? I dont see myself being able to take till July prolly bc of covid but im scheduled for late June as well. You must be avging at least 85%ile on UW. Right now im at about 75%ile and trying to figure out how im gonna coast once I reach my peak since Im sure that will happen for me some time in late May or early June. NBME 20 is a biotch i hear howd that go for you compared to 18
 
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Deecee2DO said:
Nice ya thats a good amount. Whats your plan for coasting? I dont see myself being able to take till July prolly bc of covid but im scheduled for late June as well. You must be avging at least 85%ile on UW. Right now im at about 75%ile and trying to figure out how im gonna coast once I reach my peak since Im sure that will happen for me some time in late May or early June. NBME 20 is a biotch i hear howd that go for you compared to 18
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I took 18 way back in October cuz my school gave it me. At that point it was honestly a crapshoot. I took 20 more recently and it went a lot better because I had a lot more knowledge but it was a toughie for sure. I’m taking 24 next week so I’ll let you know how that goes.

But yeah I was 83rd %tile on UWorld after my first pass (finished last weekend). I’m a little nervous about my plan coming up because I feel like my peak is only a couple weeks away. I’m pretty sure I would be able to maintain that with Amboss qs (I like the bank a lot) and redoing my uworld incorrects but honestly don’t know what I’m going to do to keep from regressing if my date gets pushed. Really just hoping it doesn’t go p/f right now lol.

I think you’re sitting pretty with at the 75th %tile with that much time though! Tbh, I wish I held off with my step prep a little longer considering everything that’s going on right now. My dedicated technically doesn’t start until next week. So overall, my strategy was good but I’m feeling like I went a little too hard too early, so you seem to be in a good spot!
 
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NotSoObvious said:
I took 18 way back in October cuz my school gave it me. At that point it was honestly a crapshoot. I took 20 more recently and it went a lot better because I had a lot more knowledge but it was a toughie for sure. I’m taking 24 next week so I’ll let you know how that goes.

But yeah I was 83rd %tile on UWorld after my first pass (finished last weekend). I’m a little nervous about my plan coming up because I feel like my peak is only a couple weeks away. I’m pretty sure I would be able to maintain that with Amboss qs (I like the bank a lot) and redoing my uworld incorrects but honestly don’t know what I’m going to do to keep from regressing if my date gets pushed. Really just hoping it doesn’t go p/f right now lol.

I think you’re sitting pretty with at the 75th %tile with that much time though! Tbh, I wish I held off with my step prep a little longer considering everything that’s going on right now. My dedicated technically doesn’t start until next week. So overall, my strategy was good but I’m feeling like I went a little too hard too early, so you seem to be in a good spot!
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Yeah this was entirely out of our control obviously but i think if we coast with questions and some weak topic content stuff sprinkled in every so often we should be ok. Regardless I think youre set up for a 250+ my man. Good luck keep us posted on how 24 feels next week
 
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Deecee2DO said:
Yeah this was entirely out of our control obviously but i think if we coast with questions and some weak topic content stuff sprinkled in every so often we should be ok. Regardless I think youre set up for a 250+ my man. Good luck keep us posted on how 24 feels next week
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Yeah, there are obviously worse things in the world than any possible complications that can come from Step. I'm just taking this moment for a pity party lolol.

But thanks man! Good luck to you too. Btw, I go to CMSRU. #RowanPower
 
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So my COMLEX date has disappeared from my NBOME account...where my level 1 was listed it currently says I have no exams scheduled.
 
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CyrusHabs7695 said:
Our school administered one before starting dedicated and I was at a 215. Have been wondering if thats a good spot to be with 6 weeks of dedicated still to go.
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Did you use Anki? Heard from M4 at my institution (southeast) that they got a 210s on theirs and ended up in 250+, so I would think that's a very good place to be
 
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Thesimplelifeofamyloid said:
Did you use Anki? Heard from M4 at my institution (southeast) that they got a 210s on theirs and ended up in 250+, so I would think that's a very good place to be
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Yeah I do. I think its been huge for micro and pharm. Ive been making Anki Cards based on my UWorld incorrect and thats seem to be helping too
 
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AnatomyGrey12 said:
This happened to everyone's Level 2 as well. I wasn't scheduled until July so I don't think it's cancelled. The system is probably just down.
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Ok that makes me feel better. Honestly if either of my exams has to be canceled and rescheduled, I'd rather it be Level 1 since my school would have to accommodate me somewhat for that.
 
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My COMLEX 1 has also vanished. The site says it is undergoing maintenance at this time, and everyone in my class had this happen to them, so I highly doubt it is some sort of massive exam cancellation.
That said, I trust gas station sushi and Nigerian princes asking for money more than the NBOME.
 
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Mr.IceHockey said:
My COMLEX 1 has also vanished. The site says it is undergoing maintenance at this time, and everyone in my class had this happen to them, so I highly doubt it is some sort of massive exam cancellation.
That said, I trust gas station sushi and Nigerian princes asking for money more than the NBOME.
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Update: my COMLEX1 registration is back up/visible with no changes.
 
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So, silly question, but do we have to make a separate account for MyNBME or whatever to take the NBMEs? I tried logging in with what I think is the account info I made when I registered for Step 1, but it's not letting me in. Don't want to mess up anything by trying to reset my password if I just need to make a separate account for this.
 
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Since you all are currently going through the process, do you have any advice for an M1 who wants to do well on boards, or anything that you wish you would have done?
 
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Peaches44 said:
Since you all are currently going through the process, do you have any advice for an M1 who wants to do well on boards, or anything that you wish you would have done?
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Definitely prevent COVID.

I just checked the next availability of every testing center within 100 miles (7 centers). Every single one is booked out to August or September, and we've only just started to hear of the first wave of May cancellations.

This is insane. I greatly empathize with all you MS2s right now. Some poor souls may have started in Jan-Feb to eventually test in August-September at this point. To have this occur at the height of Step 1 competitiveness right before it was to become P/F is like a cruel joke. I could not have done what you guys are doing right now, keep it up y'all
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
So, silly question, but do we have to make a separate account for MyNBME or whatever to take the NBMEs? I tried logging in with what I think is the account info I made when I registered for Step 1, but it's not letting me in. Don't want to mess up anything by trying to reset my password if I just need to make a separate account for this.
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I made a separate account. My NBME one for USMLE doesn’t show anything about the practice exams.
 
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Hey friends, because of all this COVID19 craziness I will b forced to take my comlex and step 1 during my first 2 rotations in July/Aug. Im really worried, so I was wondering if any of u know: A, what r the odds of the first couple of rotations in July/Aug becoming online (p/f)? B, how tough is it to study for boards during em and psy rotations? I know psy is pretty laid back but dont know much about em. Im in ny state by the way. Thanks!
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
So, silly question, but do we have to make a separate account for MyNBME or whatever to take the NBMEs? I tried logging in with what I think is the account info I made when I registered for Step 1, but it's not letting me in. Don't want to mess up anything by trying to reset my password if I just need to make a separate account for this.
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I ended up just making a separate account because I couldn't figure it out either. The website is so incredibly difficult to navigate. I feel for you lol
 
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Mithras said:
Hey friends, because of all this COVID19 craziness I will b forced to take my comlex and step 1 during my first 2 rotations in July/Aug. Im really worried, so I was wondering if any of u know: A, what r the odds of the first couple of rotations in July/Aug becoming online (p/f)? B, how tough is it to study for boards during em and psy rotations? I know psy is pretty laid back but dont know much about em. Im in ny state by the way. Thanks!
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Honestly no one knows lol i wish we had better answers for you and most of us if not all of us are rising M3s and don't know what its like studying for boards during rotations
 
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efle said:
Definitely prevent COVID.

I just checked the next availability of every testing center within 100 miles (7 centers). Every single one is booked out to August or September, and we've only just started to hear of the first wave of May cancellations.

This is insane. I greatly empathize with all you MS2s right now. Some poor souls may have started in Jan-Feb to eventually test in August-September at this point. To have this occur at the height of Step 1 competitiveness right before it was to become P/F is like a cruel joke. I could not have done what you guys are doing right now, keep it up y'all
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I will literally drive 500 miles if I have to to take it before August-September. Heck I will take a year off from school to take it if I need to because I for sure won't be able to study for boards like I am now during rotations and i refuse to. I will not take Step 1 until i am 100% confident i will score 250+ lol
 
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Deecee2DO said:
I will literally drive 500 miles if I have to to take it before August-September. Heck I will take a year off from school to take it if I need to because I for sure won't be able to study for boards like I am now during rotations and i refuse to. I will not take Step 1 until i am 100% confident i will score 250+ lol
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Hope you get the chance, man. My school has already started talking about shortening all our 8 week blocks down to 6 weeks just to fit in grad requirements for the classes of '21 and '22. Being able to block out another dedicated after resuming rotations could be tough
 
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Guys panicked and changed my exam a few days ago to August 02 because of the email that was poorly communicated. Changed back to May22. Good luck to everyone!Thank God.
 
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Steve_Zissou said:
Just took NBME 19 and scored 225 (490). Does anyone know of any predictive graphs/info? I'm starting "dedicated" tomorrow. The score predictor spreadsheet is predicting me at 240.
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I just took it today also and scored 232 (520). I found this graph, which supposedly correlated to what looks like a ~248 for my score. The predictor spreadsheet (assuming we are referring to the same one) has me at a 251. This graph also says a 225 would be about a 240 so it seems accurate I think based off our two experiences.

 
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NotSoObvious said:
I just took it today also and scored 232 (520). I found this graph, which supposedly correlated to what looks like a ~248 for my score. The predictor spreadsheet (assuming we are referring to the same one) has me at a 251. This graph also says a 225 would be about a 240 so it seems accurate I think based off our two experiences.

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I am assuming you guys are putting the roughly equivalent COMLEX score in parenthesis? "...scored a 232 (520)".
If so, how are you finding the equivalent COMLEX score/how are you setting up the comparison to the NBME exams?
 
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Mr.IceHockey said:
I am assuming you guys are putting the roughly equivalent COMLEX score in parenthesis? "...scored a 232 (520)".
If so, how are you finding the equivalent COMLEX score/how are you setting up the comparison to the NBME exams?
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Nope, it’s the raw NBME score which is then converted to predicted USMLE. No COMLEX correlation.
 
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