USMLE Official 2020 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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What are yalls thoughts on takin Comlex before step by a month. Im thinking if i do well itll give me a boost and also may be good practice because the exam isnt as high stakes and ill walk into step feeling like it wasnt the first time
 
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Deecee2DO said:
What are yalls thoughts on takin Comlex before step by a month. Im thinking if i do well itll give me a boost and also may be good practice because the exam isnt as high stakes and ill walk into step feeling like it wasnt the first time
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May be a good idea, a month of time to keep doing dedicated would be good. Just gotta spend that time cramming the OMM stuff beforehand.

However, if you do it after step/at the end of dedicated, you’ll be in tip top shape and may get an even higher COMLEX score.
 
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Deecee2DO said:
What are yalls thoughts on takin Comlex before step by a month. Im thinking if i do well itll give me a boost and also may be good practice because the exam isnt as high stakes and ill walk into step feeling like it wasnt the first time
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Even if you take it a month before usmle you still might not have your scores back by the time you take step. Pretty much no one feels good walking out of comlex no matter how well you end up doing. I know after I took comlex it put me in a bad mood cuz i thought I did horrible lol but I ended up doing pretty well. Most people take usmle first and then take comlex a week later or so while it’s still fresh and just cram omm in between but I know that’s probably not possible for a lot of people due to prometric
 
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Steve_Zissou said:
May be a good idea, a month of time to keep doing dedicated would be good. Just gotta spend that time cramming the OMM stuff beforehand.

However, if you do it after step/at the end of dedicated, you’ll be in tip top shape and may get an even higher COMLEX score.
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yeah man It feels like it could be a good idea and yeah id rather that higher score be step than comlex
 
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Mr.IceHockey said:
My dude, if I am chillin at 50% on my first pass with 67% completed and I feel very okay with that lol I am not going to break 70% correct on my first pass either.
Damn should I be concerned??
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Nah 70% was just my personal goal I set for myself. How are yall reviewing questions? I usually spend the vast of majority of my day doing zanki reviews, then 2 hours on 50 Uworld questions, have of that being review
 
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ohmanwaddup said:
Nah 70% was just my personal goal I set for myself. How are yall reviewing questions? I usually spend the vast of majority of my day doing zanki reviews, then 2 hours on 50 Uworld questions, have of that being review
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IMO this is a solid strategy. Though, closer to the test I'd personally do more questions per day.
 
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Just got rocked by a block of U world. Oh well, the only day in the week I dipped below 70% and I was still slightly above average.

School is requiring us to do a 500 question practice exam. Why? I don't know. I figure I'll rush through it tomorrow since it's not worth any points.
 
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Steve_Zissou said:
Just got rocked by a block of U world. Oh well, the only day in the week I dipped below 70% and I was still slightly above average.

School is requiring us to do a 500 question practice exam. Why? I don't know. I figure I'll rush through it tomorrow since it's not worth any points.
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Getting owned by a block just puts you in a bad mood for the rest of the day until you hopefully do better on tomorrow's block(s)
 
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Steve_Zissou said:
Just got rocked by a block of U world. Oh well, the only day in the week I dipped below 70% and I was still slightly above average.

School is requiring us to do a 500 question practice exam. Why? I don't know. I figure I'll rush through it tomorrow since it's not worth any points.
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Bro i dont think anything makes me more pissed off than getting wrecked by a UW block. I get so mad almost end up throwing my computer lol my entire family like what is wrong with this kid
 
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how high yield do you guys think it is to know all the details first aid has on lower extremity nerves in the MSK section (pg 442 2018 FA)

Ive only done like 500 world questions and haven't seen one yet, so just curious
 
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CyrusHabs7695 said:
how high yield do you guys think it is to know all the details first aid has on lower extremity nerves in the MSK section (pg 442 2018 FA)

Ive only done like 500 world questions and haven't seen one yet, so just curious
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If its not clinically relevant anatomy dont even bother. I have 2019 so im not sure but if youre asking if you have to memorize the lumbosacral plexus dont waste your time. Just know like how common peroneal vs sciatic vs L5 palsy type stuff presents and like disc herniation levels and UMN vs LMN. Ive done half of UW 1/4 of kaplan nd all of Rx and havent seen a single question on what youre saying either
 
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Steve_Zissou said:
Just got rocked by a block of U world. Oh well, the only day in the week I dipped below 70% and I was still slightly above average.

School is requiring us to do a 500 question practice exam. Why? I don't know. I figure I'll rush through it tomorrow since it's not worth any points.
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I think there's some merit to programs having students take 1-2 practice exams that they can use to predict whether or not a student will pass. That really would be a nightmare. But 500 is a lot.
 
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CyrusHabs7695 said:
how high yield do you guys think it is to know all the details first aid has on lower extremity nerves in the MSK section (pg 442 2018 FA)

Ive only done like 500 world questions and haven't seen one yet, so just curious
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Ive only gotten asked about Common Peroneal and i swear Ive been asked in like 3 or 4 different ways
 
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CyrusHabs7695 said:
@Deecee2DO word, I figured the superior gluteal/trendelenburg sign might be something worth knowing too. You see a lot of brachial plexus type stuff?
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Know klumpkes vs erbs for brachial plexus and you should be golden. And yeah know superior gluteal and trendelemburgs for sure. Imean think of it this way there are 280 questions the chances of them asking some crazy hard brachial plexus **** is low and if they do screw it let them have it its one question. I would maybe know claw hand table you know the one in first aid?
 
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Deecee2DO said:
Know klumpkes vs erbs for brachial plexus and you should be golden. And yeah know superior gluteal and trendelemburgs for sure. Imean think of it this way there are 280 questions the chances of them asking some crazy hard brachial plexus **** is low and if they do screw it let them have it its one question. I would maybe know claw hand table you know the one in first aid?
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Awesome thanks. And yeah Im looking at it now actually

Screen Shot 2020-05-02 at 7.18.33 PM.png
 
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Cath Up said:
I think there's some merit to programs having students take 1-2 practice exams that they can use to predict whether or not a student will pass. That really would be a nightmare. But 500 is a lot.
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We’ve already had 4 practice ones, one full length. We have the 500 question one and a Deans Comsae left still.
 
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Started the HY Anatomy deck that was posted here a few days ago and I'd highly recommend it. I was slightly annoyed to have to do new cards after finishing zanki, but it's already showed up on a couple questions on UWorld. It's only less than 500 cards, ~200 of which you could suspend/delete since it was covered in zanki.
 
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iforget2 said:
Started the HY Anatomy deck that was posted here a few days ago and I'd highly recommend it. I was slightly annoyed to have to do new cards after finishing zanki, but it's already showed up on a couple questions on UWorld. It's only less than 500 cards, ~200 of which you could suspend/delete since it was covered in zanki.
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you know which day it was posted on, cant seem to find it
 
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So if someone is consistently scoring above the median on UW, and if we did a crude extrapolation of the UW median to the Step 1 median of 230, will this person likely score above 230 on the real deal? Was just wondering this the other day, but feel free to correct my assumption if it is incorrect.
 
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iforget2 said:
So if someone is consistently scoring above the median on UW, and if we did a crude extrapolation of the UW median to the Step 1 median of 230, will this person likely score above 230 on the real deal? Was just wondering this the other day, but feel free to correct my assumption if it is incorrect.
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A lot of people used this and said it was spot on to their actual score if you are looking for predictions. If you are in the 70s or 80s timed random on UW consistently it is safe to say you are most likely predicted to score in the 240+ range. Adding in NBMEs makes it even more accurate, yet the newer NBMEs (20+s) can underpredict by 10 or even up to 20 points from what I've gathered
 
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Deecee2DO said:
A lot of people used this and said it was spot on to their actual score if you are looking for predictions. If you are in the 70s or 80s timed random on UW consistently it is safe to say you are most likely predicted to score in the 240+ range. Adding in NBMEs makes it even more accurate, yet the newer NBMEs (20+s) can underpredict by 10 or even up to 20 points from what I've gathered
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Can confirm about the new NBMEs. Granted I've only done one of them so far but this predictor put my projected score about 25 points higher than what I got on NBME 20. Currently sitting in the low 70s on UWorld.
 
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GoCards05 said:
Can confirm about the new NBMEs. Granted I've only done one of them so far but this predictor put my projected score about 25 points higher than what I got on NBME 20. Currently sitting in the low 70s on UWorld.
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Yeah man youre bound to break 240 if youre already in the 70s and you still have weeks left
 
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Deecee2DO said:
A lot of people used this and said it was spot on to their actual score if you are looking for predictions. If you are in the 70s or 80s timed random on UW consistently it is safe to say you are most likely predicted to score in the 240+ range. Adding in NBMEs makes it even more accurate, yet the newer NBMEs (20+s) can underpredict by 10 or even up to 20 points from what I've gathered
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Thanks for this! Sitting at a 74 avg right now with 1/3 done and dedicated starting tomorrow. I'm definitely hoping for a 240+ but still need to put in the work.
 
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I hear NBME 23 and 24 are a bit more predictive of the real deal than 20-22. I'm doing UWSA1 on Tuesday to kick off dedicated (need to confirm my June appointment with my local Prometric center tomorrow and who knows how long that will take lol) then doing all the new NBMEs throughout and finishing with NBME 18 (2 weeks out), UWSA2 (1 week out) and the free 120 (3 days out). Let's do this y'all!
 
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GoCards05 said:
I hear NBME 23 and 24 are a bit more predictive of the real deal than 20-22. I'm doing UWSA1 on Tuesday to kick off dedicated (need to confirm my June appointment with my local Prometric center tomorrow and who knows how long that will take lol) then doing all the new NBMEs throughout and finishing with NBME 18 (2 weeks out), UWSA2 (1 week out) and the free 120 (3 days out). Let's do this y'all!
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What are you doing to confirm your appointment? Did you receive a confirmation email a few days ago?
 
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iforget2 said:
What are you doing to confirm your appointment? Did you receive a confirmation email a few days ago?
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So a long convoluted story to a cap off a horrible week: my original June Step date was canceled last week and I rescheduled for July a couple hours away from my rotation site. On Friday there was a mass opening of May and June dates at the site by my house so I took back my original June date there. However last night there was another mass opening of May and June dates at only select centers in my state including the center by my house which was a little suspicious to me since this had happened two nights in a row at locations where mass cancellations had took place and when the spots had opened the night before, they were all taken up quickly. So I was worried it was a glitch and that they weren't real spots. I managed to snag another June date at the center near my rotation site which hasn't had these random mass openings but has had a day pop up here and there so it seemed like that was more likely to be a real open seat.

Long story short: with these mass openings people have been calling their individual centers to confirm if they are on the roster or not and apparently some of these seats have been legit while others haven't so I want to ensure my seat is legit before I proceed with dedicated as if I'm testing in June.
 
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My stupid mistakes on UWorld are killing me, guys. Soo many dumb mistakes where I talk myself out of something I know. I recovered from my earlier block by getting a 77% on the block I just finished, but I missed 3-4 questions that I know I know. How to get brain to stop doing this???

Also, the amount I am learning from UWorld is insane. What a beautiful qbank.

GoCards05 said:
I hear NBME 23 and 24 are a bit more predictive of the real deal than 20-22. I'm doing UWSA1 on Tuesday to kick off dedicated (need to confirm my June appointment with my local Prometric center tomorrow and who knows how long that will take lol) then doing all the new NBMEs throughout and finishing with NBME 18 (2 weeks out), UWSA2 (1 week out) and the free 120 (3 days out). Let's do this y'all!
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Pretty much same here, taking UWSA1 tomorrow.
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
My stupid mistakes on UWorld are killing me, guys. Soo many dumb mistakes where I talk myself out of something I know. I recovered from my earlier block by getting a 77% on the block I just finished, but I missed 3-4 questions that I know I know. How to get brain to stop doing this???

Also, the amount I am learning from UWorld is insane. What a beautiful qbank.


Pretty much same here, taking UWSA1 tomorrow.
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You'll figure out how to reduce the stupid mistakes. It happens.

The questions are just so good. And the diagrams in the explanations are truly second to none, in my opinion.

I predict a 256 UWSA1
 
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GoCards05 said:
So a long convoluted story to a cap off a horrible week: my original June Step date was canceled last week and I rescheduled for July a couple hours away from my rotation site. On Friday there was a mass opening of May and June dates at the site by my house so I took back my original June date there. However last night there was another mass opening of May and June dates at only select centers in my state including the center by my house which was a little suspicious to me since this had happened two nights in a row at locations where mass cancellations had took place and when the spots had opened the night before, they were all taken up quickly. So I was worried it was a glitch and that they weren't real spots. I managed to snag another June date at the center near my rotation site which hasn't had these random mass openings but has had a day pop up here and there so it seemed like that was more likely to be a real open seat.

Long story short: with these mass openings people have been calling their individual centers to confirm if they are on the roster or not and apparently some of these seats have been legit while others haven't so I want to ensure my seat is legit before I proceed with dedicated as if I'm testing in June.
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Ah I see. Yea this whole thing has been absolutely crazy. Biggest test of our lives and we're all just stressed out to the point we just want to get this over with.
 
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I just want to pass this thing and never hit a spacebar again.

Yesallmynoteswillbetypedlikethis,Idon'tcare.IsaidwhatIsaid.
 
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I took UWSA 2 today and I got 232. Got around the same on UWSA 1 a few weeks ago. My nbmes have been all over the place, usually lying between 210-230. My goal score is 230+ but I’ll be ok if I get 220s. I have 2 weeks until my exam. I’m planning on taking nbme 24 and 18 as well. Other than doing these exams what should I be doing over the next 2 weeks? Going through things I have trouble with in first aid? More questions? Both?

I sorta wish I could take it already because I’ve been waiting to take it since last month. New spots opened up for early May so should I just take it and get it over with?
 
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