Postponed Step 1--Advice?

[gatorbate3]

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I have postponed Step 1 due to poor scores on the practice NBME's. I've already taken my allowed 2 months vacation from school to study more and am now in a dilemma where I need to make an important decision. If I take Step 1 in July, I'll still be allowed to graduate with my class, but I'll have to finish a rotation after graduation and before residency OR I could take a year off.

1st NBME-->161 Step 1 equivalent
2nd NBME-->196 Step 1 equivalent
3rd NBME-->184 Step 1 equivalent

Has anyone else been in this situation and have any advice. I don't want to rush to take Step 1 just so I can graduate with my class; however, I also don't want to delay Step 1 and have all my interviewers for residency asking why I needed to take a year off. (I do have a decent explanation though...it's just disappointing to keep failing at this!)

Also, I already did the Kaplan lectures & about 1/2 the Q-bank plus about 1/2 of the U-World Q-bank...so together, that's approximately 1 Q-bank finished. I've also been using Pathoma as a supplement. Would ya'll recommend buying DIT? It's so much money & I'm unsure if it's worth adding this late in the game...plus doesn't it take 6-12 weeks and I really only have 4 if I don't want to sit out a year.

So confused. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AngryBird69]

Graduate on time with a not-so-hot score vs. delaying a year with a better score?

Gator I definitely understand where you're coming from as I have afriend who is in a similar dilemma. I would say, if you are going into a less competitive residency, take the on time option. However if you are thinking of a ROAD specialty, I would say there is no harm in taking the latter option. You can use the first 2-3 months to correct your fundamentals and use the remaining time to do research which will boost your ERAS.

If you choose the year off, you really need to get at the root of your weaknesses and what is keeping your score down, though. With a year off it may be easy to slack off so that is something to police yourself about.

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

no do not buy DIT. Maybe your not learning as much from the videos? Try some active learning by reading first aid. If you done Kaplan already there really is no point in doing DIT

 

[thinkenergy]

Oh no do NOT buy DIT, it is a complete waste of time unless you have to have someone read FA out loud to you.

 

[StressedMedStud]

I would disagree with you guys about DIT. I find it to be realllyyyyy helpful!!! It goes over FA nice and slow and the guy Dr. Jenkins goes over review quizzes that hammers in the material even more. It technically takes 15 days to complete but for me it took longer b/c i acutally do the quizzes and the assignments.

 

[mymembernames]

edit.

 

[Auvelity]

well I believe in this
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...core-220-230-on-step-1.1160828/#post-17330673
and DIT worked fine for me too. at least for some difficult subjects