So...Umm...

[Batmaan21]

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I just took the beast - what can I say - one of the strangest experiences I've EVER experienced - I mean of course I was able to narrow questions down to a few choices, but on some of my sections I felt like almost every other or every third one I was putting an answer that I was somewhat to very unsure of - I honestly walked out thinking that I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how I did - and I can already think of 2 really, and I MEAN REALLLY stupid renal physiology mistakes I made -

is this normal? or am I the only loser that feels like tihs post test? 🙁

 

[Femtochemistry]

trust me, you are not the only one to feel like this. After I finished the exam and on my way home, I opened up FA and checked out all the STUPID LITTLE mistakes I made throughout this beast--at least 10 or so questions I, for some benign reason, picked the wrong answer. Don't worry too much about it. Remember, there's 340 odd questions! Missing a dozen or so questions won't matter all that much--don't forget all those "experimental" questions. I ended doing well...better than I expected. Not the "SDN average" (i.e., 99 percentile!) but I am satisfied with my score.


cheers!

 

[Batmaan21]

but what about the feeling of being unsure about sooooo many of my answers, and having no clue as to how I actually ended up doing today - is that normal too?!

 

[Femtochemistry]

but what about the feeling of being unsure about sooooo many of my answers, and having no clue as to how I actually ended up doing today - is that normal too?!

Seriously, don't let it get to you! There is NOTHING you can do now--in the words of Lady Macbeth, "what's done can not be undone." Try to get your mind off the exam.
My friends took me out the night after and got me drunk; totally cleared my head lol. But honestly, try to focus on your work now. I know this is easy said than done. Don't let it get to you. I can't tell you how many times I would break into cold sweats thinking about the exam and what I have to do if I failed it.
What helped me also was during the 4-weeks post-step 1 in which I was waiting for the results, I never logged on to SDN. I hated to see all these SDN freaks with their 99's!

best of luck dude!

 

[LUBDUBB]

but what about the feeling of being unsure about sooooo many of my answers, and having no clue as to how I actually ended up doing today - is that normal too?!

Batmaan21,

Hang in there bud...I just cranked out the exam today too. There's just no predicting how you did, honestly I feel like my score can be between a 200-230, talk about a loose confidence interval. I love reading about ppl's experience who are like "OMG I never cracked 230 on NBME and I just got a 247!!" makes me fee like I can be in for a pleasant surprise too, then again it might go the other way too. Okay I'm going to stop being OCD; any idea when we get our scores? Now just sit back and relax, let the BP drop to a normal level - I'm going to watch as many episodes of House MD back to back now as I can before I fall asleep.

 

[Batmaan21]

Hey lubb - congrats - but so I have a question - it seems like a few weeks ago I saw some people on here posting about how they felt miserable after the test and that it seemed at times like half the test they were guessing (in an educated manner) - that was me today, for sure!! those people who wrote that - you still out there? did you end up doing ok? 🙂

 

[McMD]

To the OP: You're feeling what MOST ppl feel post-exam. My personal experience was...I felt "iffy" during the test, and after the test...I felt "ok"..I felt like I had passed, but my score could range anywhere from 200-260. However, my feelings QUICKLY deteriorated over the next few hours and the following week when I kept remembering questions and I'd go look them up only to find out I had gotten it wrong. So don't worry, your feelings are very very normal. After about a week to a week and a half, you completely forget about the test and you stop remembering those stupid questions (thank god!!!). Then, it's just waiting......

P.S. congrats on being done...that's the best part!!!

 

[UditNarayan]

hey OP,

yea many people feel this way, but not most. there are some that actually are neutral or think they did well. For any of these population of testtakers, it doesn't seem like one group does better than the others. There is a post on another thread about someone who felt good after the step and then didnt do well.

as for me, i felt pretty bad during and after the test. there was a lot more educated guessing than i was used to and i ended up marking like 10-18 questions per section!! and there's only 48 to begin with! tough stuff but if you didnt let that phase you, im sure it will turn out like the NBME's...i got a 266 in the end and my NBME's were even predicting that. I felt so much better after the NBME's than the real thing, but that is the nature of the beast my friend

my advice: forget about the exam, i didn't look up a single question and just didnt care what dumb mistakes i made. obsess up until you take the test then just let go because it's out of your hands.

good luck!

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

yep, that's me, and everyone else I've talked to. Basically, everyone feels like like they bombed. I felt certain that I failed until a day ago; I'm now calming down bit. I'm a strong standardized test taker, when I put in effort, which I can't say was necessarily the case for this exam. But, I am reassured that I probably passed and did okay. I'm taking a lot of comfort in hearing that others felt as traumatized as I did during the exam. Easily 2-3 blocks in which I was guessing/clueless for almost half the questions. I wish I could give you some better advice than let it go, DO NOT lookup questions only to find out you missed them, and try hard to keep the faith! 🙂

Hang in there! We made it through the worst part (god willing) already!

 

[Tiger26]

Definitely felt like there was a possibility that I failed (but probably not) and that my score could be anywhere from a 180-260 in the end. I ended up with a 247/99 (still slightly in shock), so keep in mind that your feeling afterwards doesn't necessarily correlate with the score

 

[flashMD]

Hey Baatman21,

I just took the test 2 days ago (16th) and already posted on my experience...

I feel the EXACT same way. I seriously marked so many questions, I couldn't believe it! I definitely marked as many as half in some blocks and felt like I was going with instinct much more than actual recall! So scary!

I walked out of there feeling like I could honestly could be anywhere from <185 to 250!?! Totally clueless.

I hope like some of the other posters said, these feelings will dissipate over the next several days, 'cause I can't live with this kind of worry for much longer!