USMLE Official 2020 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Not bad tbh. Know your viscerosomatics, know your spinal innervation levels and know how to set up various treatments based on direct vs indirect. It was honestly much more straightforward than I was expecting.
What do you mean by spinal innervation levels? Like for reflexes or for actual muscles?
 
So I thought I finished UWorld, was all excited.....nope, they added 1 question while I was doing my last block lol. So I'm just going to wait until the end of the day and do the last handful of questions they've added, and then be done.
Same thing happened to me this morning 🤣 (I test tomorrow). I did the single question block, and of course got it wrong. The first 0% I've ever seen!
 
Well y'all - it's been real.

I got a 229.

CI was 241-255. I keep re-checking my score report and hope I'm reading it wrong. You read about the predictor overpredicting by 20 and you hope that isn't you, but now it's me. Really disappointed but just need to move on.

edit: looking back, it’s really only a point off from my original goal of 230. I’ve never considered myself as smart as many of my classmates and to be able to be near average of all med students is something I should be proud of. Thank you all for the kind words and support. I guess we’ll be seeing each other in the Step 2 thread!
 
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Well y'all - it's been real.

I got a 229.

CI was 241-255. I keep re-checking my score report and hope I'm reading it wrong. You read about the predictor overpredicting by 20 and you hope that isn't you, but now it's me. Really disappointed but just need to move on.
76% UWorld and 256 on UWSA2, man I'm so sorry. That's tough. I hope you don't lose track of the fact that you can still do just about anything you like with that score especially if you're a USMD. But I know it doesn't reflect the work you put in to prepare, and that's not right.
 
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Freaking out. Seems like a lot of overpredictions on reddit today
Someone had a 19 point drop
Stop focusing on the negatives! There are also a ton of people hitting right around their predictor and/or UWSA2. There will always be outliers and those who get unlucky, unfortunately there's no way to know if it will be you. Focusing on that is just going to make you feel worse.
 
Well y'all - it's been real.

I got a 229.

CI was 241-255. I keep re-checking my score report and hope I'm reading it wrong. You read about the predictor overpredicting by 20 and you hope that isn't you, but now it's me. Really disappointed but just need to move on.

You know what though? You're going to be a physician and it'll be ok! If you were wanting something non-competitive, your score is good enough for basically every one of those fields. If you were wanting something competitive, you're not out of it. Maybe you'll have to work a bit harder at it, but it's been done. This is just one part of your residency application. You finished the hardest exam you'll ever take in your life, and you did not do badly on it by any means. Not sure if that helps at all, but you should definitely feel accomplished for finishing!
 
We have the same Uworld score. , you help give me faith and determination lol, I feel like all I read from people are 73+% Uword scores. Thank you so much for sharing this!

No worries! I think a lot of it is luck and if the exam plays to your strengths, you come out solid. I think that's likely what happened to me here.
 
CI 230-255 with a predicted of 243.

Real deal: 235

I beat my goal and am absolutely ecstatic. Hit the average between UWorld and the new NBMEs which seems to be the trend lately. Will have a full write up once I have called all my family members crying tears of joy.
Strong work!!!
 
STEP score 255
I took 0 NBMEs
I did 1500Q amboss got 75.3% first pass

I just had to pass STEP1

I am an oral surgery resident (6yr combined MD program) so I had to take STEP1 Prior to July 1. I go to a dental school where we had same premed courses as med students, but our exams were written by a dentist and weren’t med style questions (one liner fact based questions).

I took CBSE last february (entry exam to oral surgery) and got a 96. I did all of Uworld then and got 80% right first pass.

I went heavy on content review focused on b&b, pathoma, first aid, and Uworld explanations.

I went hard but not maximum considering I was just taking it PF. If anyone has questions let me know. Very happy with my score!
 
STEP score 255
I took 0 NBMEs
I did 1500Q amboss got 75.3% first pass

I just had to pass STEP1

I am an oral surgery resident (6yr combined MD program) so I had to take STEP1 Prior to July 1. I go to a dental school where we had same premed courses as med students, but our exams were written by a dentist and weren’t med style questions (one liner fact based questions).

I took CBSE last february (entry exam to oral surgery) and got a 96. I did all of Uworld then and got 80% right first pass.

I went heavy on content review focused on b&b, pathoma, first aid, and Uworld explanations.

I went hard but not maximum considering I was just taking it PF. If anyone has questions let me know. Very happy with my score!
Cutting it close with that narrow margin of 61 points...
 
Congrats to everyone getting your scores today!

Just your obligatory reminder that if you didn't hit your target score, you are completely valid in being upset about it. After so much effort, being disappointed is a completely normal way to feel. However, once that moment passes remember that even below average scores leave open a LOT of options for you. A board score is only one piece of the application, and there are a lot of ways to build a high quality application for many great specialties to help overcome a lower score.
 
edit: looking back, it’s really only a point off from my original goal of 230. I’ve never considered myself as smart as many of my classmates and to be able to be near average of all med students is something I should be proud of. Thank you all for the kind words and support. I guess we’ll be seeing each other in the Step 2 thread!
Just scrolled back through the thread and read this update. I'm glad you're finding peace with your score, and you're 100% right: being average on an exam like this is pretty kick ass when you think about how this is probably like one of the hardest exams out there. I feel like I am in a similar position to you-- I originally told myself I wanted 230 and would be happy in the 220s. Now as dedicated has progressed, it's easy to feel like that's no longer good enough. BUT IT IS. At the end of the day, at least you know that you gave it your all and there was nothing more you could have done. Your work ethic is admirable and you're going to make a great doc!
 
well guys my roommate and study partner EXTREMELY underperformed on step. Called me in tears. Predicted at 250 (CI 245-255) UW first pass 76% correct. 254 UWSA2 and 251 UWSA1. 238 on NBME 22 2 weeks out. Unreal guys. unreal. His step score? 235. Im guessing only way to guarantee a 240+ is 240+ on the new NBMEs smh this SUCKS
 
well guys my roommate and study partner EXTREMELY underperformed on step. Called me in tears. Predicted at 250 (CI 245-255) UW first pass 76% correct. 254 UWSA2 and 251 UWSA1. 238 on NBME 22 2 weeks out. Unreal guys. unreal. His step score? 235. Im guessing only way to guarantee a 240+ is 240+ on the new NBMEs smh this SUCKS

My highest NBME was 230 and that was really close to my exam. not necessary but still doable for sure.
 
Y'all have been here since the beginning of the year so I don't need to repeat my resources used and study strategies but quick layout of all my practice scores in order:

NBME 20 (3/15) - 219

UWSA 1 (5/6) - 243

NBME 21 (5/11) - 228

NBME 23 (5/18) - 232

NBME 24 (5/25) - 229

NBME 18 (6/1) - 224

UWSA 2 (6/7) - 251

Free 120 (6/9) - 75%

Real Deal (6/12) - 235

Post-score thoughts: I was predicted at 243 but I always felt the predictor was giving UWorld too much credit. My UWorld average was like 247 while my NBME average was 230 so I realistically expected to land somewhere between the two and I am not at all disappointed that I fell below my predicted score. I was severely burnt out by the end of dedicated (likely exacerbated by all the Prometric drama) and like I said before, there was nothing more I could've done to prepare for that exam so I was ready when I took it. There were many more straightforward gimme questions than I was expecting and I know I definitely overthought some of them on the exam (I literally chose the only live vaccine option when the vignette involved a pregnant woman). I also feel I had a relatively easier form in terms of there not being a ton of super difficult WTF questions compared to other people so I feel the curve was more unforgiving and those missed gimmes cost me a bit. I felt pretty meh leaving the exam, not good or bad but more relieved it was over and still running on adrenaline but I literally did a complete 180 the next day and was terrified I had massively underperformed. I can't even describe my anxiety over the past week and a half feeling like the past 2 years of my life were going to amount to nothing and I had no one to blame but myself for missing stuff I would normally answer correctly without a second thought. The stress and nerves of exam day are real and it will trip you up on stuff you know you know and you will be kicking yourself afterwards (I know I did). I kept torturing myself (for whatever reason) by reading threads on Reddit about people who felt fine leaving the exam and ended up scoring well below predicted and I was wholly convinced that was going to be me. This was only exacerbated when I started reviewing for COMLEX and kept being reminded of questions on my exam and realizing I had gotten them wrong. I went home for COMLEX this weekend and had to come back to my apartment last night because I couldn't bear to be around my family when I got my score as I really felt it was not going to be what I wanted. I had to go outside because I have hardly any reception in my apartment and still don't have WiFi yet and literally burst into tears in the middle of a very crowded bike path when I saw my score. My goal was always 230 as I want to do EM and have absolutely no desire for surgery or anything more competitive than EM so I am absolutely ecstatic. For a split second I was disappointed that I didn't hit 240+ as UWorld had given me hope that I could score higher but I landed right where I could've realistically expected and I am perfectly competitive for the field I want to pursue and that's all that matters.

I can't thank you all enough for your support and boosting my morale along the way when I got down on myself. The stress of Step 1 is awful in and of itself but to deal with this in the current circumstances is next level awful and we all deserve so much credit for enduring it no matter what our scores are/end up being. It takes a lot of mental toughness to deal with what we've dealt with and I am so proud of all of you. I will be hanging around here to see all the awesome scores coming in the next few weeks and will be starting our Step 2 thread soon (unless someone else beats me to it lol). And I realize it's easy for me to say this now but Step 1 really is just a number and it does not define you or your future as a physician. Having interacted with all of you for the better part of a year now, I couldn't be happier to have all of you as colleagues.
 
Soooo I am starting to get a little nervous about COMLEX. I did fine on the two practice assessments I took a month ago and that was with no OMM studying, but now that the exam is 1.5 weeks away the nerves are starting to set in. What is funny is I'm mostly nervous about bathroom breaks. I am able to go pee in the middle of the block if I need to?

Also should I switch do True learn blocks for the next week or so instead of uworld or do like 60% true learn 40% Uworld?
How did I miss this?? It's my SDN namesake. Just cath up for your exam. EZpeeZ.
 
Im guessing only way to guarantee a 240+ is 240+ on the new NBMEs
No, I think there's just honestly no way to guarantee a score like that. There's tons of people with NBMEs averaging in the 230s or upper 220s who who scored 250+, and then people the other way who had a couple in the 240s and then scored in the 220s. Predictability seems like it's becoming harder this year, I guess we'll see when the new score predictor data comes out (although we probably won't care by then lol). For the vast majority, it seems like UWSA2 is holding up fairly well, being a slight over-predictor in most cases. 18 is an interesting one, because it seems to be obviously not predictive if you take it way in advance, but more predictive in the 240-250 range taken within a week or 2 of the real thing.

The best way to guarantee a good outcome is to study your ass off and stop trying to interpret the scores tbh. It is apparent, both from people on this thread, reddit, and irl according to your friend, that the numbers are all over the place in terms of predictability. The forms are just so variable. You have people majorly underperforming, and then you have people majorly overperforming (like 10-15 points above every prediction). Focus on giving it your all and then at least you can say you busted your butt for whatever score you get, and there's nothing else you could have done. Regret would be the worst outcome for me, and I worked hard to make sure I have no regrets. Whatever score that yields me....it's what it is.
 
will be starting our Step 2 thread soon (unless someone else beats me to it lol). And I realize it's easy for me to say this now but Step 1 really is just a number and it does not define you or your future as a physician. Having interacted with all of you for the better part of a year now, I couldn't be happier to have all of you as colleagues.
I am SO happy for you. Literally the feels right now reading this. Can't wait for the Step 2 thread.
 
well guys my roommate and study partner EXTREMELY underperformed on step. Called me in tears. Predicted at 250 (CI 245-255) UW first pass 76% correct. 254 UWSA2 and 251 UWSA1. 238 on NBME 22 2 weeks out. Unreal guys. unreal. His step score? 235. Im guessing only way to guarantee a 240+ is 240+ on the new NBMEs smh this SUCKS
Did they take NBME 18 or any other new NBME? How'd they do on that?
 
No, I think there's just honestly no way to guarantee a score like that. There's tons of people with NBMEs averaging in the 230s or upper 220s who who scored 250+, and then people the other way who had a couple in the 240s and then scored in the 220s. Predictability seems like it's becoming harder this year, I guess we'll see when the new score predictor data comes out (although we probably won't care by then lol). For the vast majority, it seems like UWSA2 is holding up fairly well, being a slight over-predictor in most cases. 18 is an interesting one, because it seems to be obviously not predictive if you take it way in advance, but more predictive in the 240-250 range taken within a week or 2 of the real thing.

The best way to guarantee a good outcome is to study your ass off and stop trying to interpret the scores tbh. It is apparent, both from people on this thread, reddit, and irl according to your friend, that the numbers are all over the place in terms of predictability. The forms are just so variable. You have people majorly underperforming, and then you have people majorly overperforming (like 10-15 points above every prediction). Focus on giving it your all and then at least you can say you busted your butt for whatever score you get, and there's nothing else you could have done. Regret would be the worst outcome for me, and I worked hard to make sure I have no regrets. Whatever score that yields me....it's what it is.
IF only all the med schools could pool their data together on all of the practice exams their students take, then we'd get an awesome predictor
 
Just made it home!

It actually didn’t seem that terrible. I disagree with the people who think the experimental questions might be at the end (I’ve seen that said a few places) - the first couple and last couple of blocks were pretty straightforward (to me), but some of the middle sections felt awful. If anything, maybe they are more heavily concentrated in a couple of blocks, and where those blocks fall for each person is random. I’m at least *hoping* those sections that were rough were mostly experimental. :laugh:

I feel like I had more short NBME-style questions than longer UWorld ones, but it was probably like a 60/40 split. I didn’t have too many biochem questions I don’t think, but I definitely had ones that I remembered from the mad biochem cram that happened last night so I’m glad I did that. Really glad I crammed in general because there were at least three questions I would have missed if I hadn’t seen the topic yesterday.

I feel like I saw a good amount of stuff that was super rare, but those questions were mostly identification questions. You should really know the pathophys of your common stuff the best - heart failure, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, you know the stuff that everyone knows - because those are mostly where the obscure mechanism details and drug mechanism questions come from. Some of the really rare diseases just straight up let me pick a disease name as the answer option, so as long as you can recognize a phenotype you’ll be okay.

If you’re not solid on your biostats, make sure you get solid. I want to say I had at least 1-2 biostats/research study questions per block. It’s not a small part of the test. And I had one stupid ethics question that I still don’t know the answer to, but it’s fine. I’m going to let it go now.

And that’s all I’ve got, I guess. There’s definitely stuff that I missed that I felt like I’d seen eons ago but just didn’t know today because I hadn’t had a chance to review it yet. A couple more weeks would have helped me get through everything, but it’s fine. It wasn’t perfect but I feel like I did well enough. And if all else fails, at least I can do a better job of studying for step 2 than I did for step 1, and do better. 🙂
 
Just scrolled back through the thread and read this update. I'm glad you're finding peace with your score, and you're 100% right: being average on an exam like this is pretty kick ass when you think about how this is probably like one of the hardest exams out there. I feel like I am in a similar position to you-- I originally told myself I wanted 230 and would be happy in the 220s. Now as dedicated has progressed, it's easy to feel like that's no longer good enough. BUT IT IS. At the end of the day, at least you know that you gave it your all and there was nothing more you could have done. Your work ethic is admirable and you're going to make a great doc!
The scored Step exam is (/will have been) by far the most demanding exam, i.m.o. There is so much selection for American physicians - must go to university, excel in difficult coursework, beat ~75% of others on the MCAT, all while working hard on extracurriculars. Then they give us this test that is the biggest determinant of our match. If you can beat half of that group you're a top-shelf mind, no question.
 
Think I'm gonna skip doing Pathoma 1-3 today, just kinda over it tbh lol. Also I'd kinda rather skim through FA Biochem as it's my worst subject. Thoughts? I just feel like since I watched Pathoma in it's entirety not too long ago, and I've done Zanki, it's not that much of a weak subject for me? But just unsure since sooo many people claim you should do it right before.
 
Think I'm gonna skip doing Pathoma 1-3 today, just kinda over it tbh lol. Also I'd kinda rather skim through FA Biochem as it's my worst subject. Thoughts? I just feel like since I watched Pathoma in it's entirety not too long ago, and I've done Zanki, it's not that much of a weak subject for me? But just unsure since sooo many people claim you should do it right before.

I didn’t hit pathoma 1-3 yesterday, and actually haven’t looked at pathoma since last summer (we had a path class that basically covered pathoma 1-3 then), and I felt fine on that stuff. If you know it, don’t bother. I did see a lot of that kind of stuff - inflammation, programmed cell death, etc. and you really do need to know it cold, so it was extremely HY but I felt comfortable with it. So I’d say it depends on where you feel like you stand with it.

It sounds like you’re pretty solid, so in your shoes I would do biochem instead.
 
The scored Step exam is (/will have been) by far the most demanding exam, i.m.o. There is so much selection for American physicians - must go to university, excel in difficult coursework, beat ~75% of others on the MCAT, all while working hard on extracurriculars. Then they give us this test that is the biggest determinant of our match. If you can beat half of that group you're a top-shelf mind, no question.

Beautifully put!!!!!
 
Think I'm gonna skip doing Pathoma 1-3 today, just kinda over it tbh lol. Also I'd kinda rather skim through FA Biochem as it's my worst subject. Thoughts? I just feel like since I watched Pathoma in it's entirety not too long ago, and I've done Zanki, it's not that much of a weak subject for me? But just unsure since sooo many people claim you should do it right before.
Id say if anything go through chapter 2. Idk Chapter 2 has always seemed super high yield to me when doing blocks or NBMEs
 
Think I'm gonna skip doing Pathoma 1-3 today, just kinda over it tbh lol. Also I'd kinda rather skim through FA Biochem as it's my worst subject. Thoughts? I just feel like since I watched Pathoma in it's entirety not too long ago, and I've done Zanki, it's not that much of a weak subject for me? But just unsure since sooo many people claim you should do it right before.

Since you've been doing Zanki, I don't think it's necessary. I read over it the night before my exam and felt like I had a good grasp on it because of Zanki and felt good about the questions on that material on the exam. If it's not one of your weak points, then I would just forget about it and just quickly skim over what you do feel are your weak points.
 
Does anyone know of any good resources/guides for rotations/comats?

UWorld is literally the only resource that is really necessary for Step 2. The Dorian deck is excellent but it's large, you could probably get away with just doing the OME and UWorld cards in it and be just fine.

As for specific rotations just read up on your patients a ton. Google, up to date, etc. Rotations is more that than anything else. For COMAT's truelearn has comat specific questions that were helpful. Doing those 3x over the course of the month is a pretty straightforward way to guarantee an above average score.
 
So... what OPP resources do you guys recommend? I have 1.5 days ‘til comlex so if there’s a free video series by someone, that would be great.

I do actually plan on studying for it because I have my OPP practical at school on July 1st, and it’s a couple of cases with potentially any and all parts of the body, and we apparently have to tell them what other body parts we’d check and what significant findings there would be in addition to treating whatever body regions we’re given. Studying for comlex might help me with it. :laugh:
 
So... what OPP resources do you guys recommend? I have 1.5 days ‘til comlex so if there’s a free video series by someone, that would be great.

I do actually plan on studying for it because I have my OPP practical at school on July 1st, and it’s a couple of cases with potentially any and all parts of the body, and we apparently have to tell them what other body parts we’d check and what significant findings there would be in addition to treating whatever body regions we’re given. Studying for comlex might help me with it. :laugh:
I'm doing the step up to omt deck. its like 800 cards so Idk if its doable for you but it is i straightforward. I am able to do 100+ cards in about 10 min every night.
 
I'm doing the step up to omt deck. its like 800 cards so Idk if its doable for you but it is i straightforward. I am able to do 100+ cards in about 10 min every night.
I feel like I could make that happen. My class cumulative OPP deck that I made is like 3k+ cards and I have no intention of going through that mess, so 800 would be awesome.
 
UWorld is literally the only resource that is really necessary for Step 2. The Dorian deck is excellent but it's large, you could probably get away with just doing the OME and UWorld cards in it and be just fine.

As for specific rotations just read up on your patients a ton. Google, up to date, etc. Rotations is more that than anything else. For COMAT's truelearn has comat specific questions that were helpful. Doing those 3x over the course of the month is a pretty straightforward way to guarantee an above average score.
Hold up, curious about this. You did truelearn questions 3x, on top of UWorld? I've always heard to just do UWorld so curious about this approach.

Also, curious about your comment about Dorian (cheesy, I'm assuming?): I'm assuming the deck is split into sub-decks when you mention doing the UWorld + OME specific ones. So, we can only do those cards and yield solid results? I'm definitely over doing tons of cards after this whole Step 1 experience, so the least I could do the better-- I owe it to my SO lol.
 
So... what OPP resources do you guys recommend? I have 1.5 days ‘til comlex so if there’s a free video series by someone, that would be great.

I do actually plan on studying for it because I have my OPP practical at school on July 1st, and it’s a couple of cases with potentially any and all parts of the body, and we apparently have to tell them what other body parts we’d check and what significant findings there would be in addition to treating whatever body regions we’re given. Studying for comlex might help me with it. :laugh:

I second the OME videos. Explains everything in 7 hours and you can play them at 1.5-2x speed. Honestly I’m not sure you really need the OMT deck. The OME videos plus knowing viscerosomatics like the back of your hand should be plenty for OMM. Besides some cranial and weird counterstrain stuff (like 3-4 questions total), the OMM on my exam was pretty straightforward. All viscerosomatics and knowing how set up a treatment based on direct vs indirect. I had maybe 2-3 Chapman’s point questions.
 
What do you mean by spinal innervation levels? Like for reflexes or for actual muscles?

Sorry I forgot to answer your question! I mean that know the spinal levels of all the various nerves like sciatic, femoral, tibial etc. I wasn’t strong in those and had a lot of radiculopathy questions that I think I missed because I couldn’t remember which nerve root would be compressed.
 
Sorry I forgot to answer your question! I mean that know the spinal levels of all the various nerves like sciatic, femoral, tibial etc. I wasn’t strong in those and had a lot of radiculopathy questions that I think I missed because I couldn’t remember which nerve root would be compressed.
Thank you! also another dumb question, what do you mean by knowing how to set up direct or indirect? is just knowing which are direct and indirect fine Or Should I go over how to do each technique
 
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