Struggling - Any Last Minute Advice?

[glenoid fossa]

I'm taking Step 1 on Monday, and despite five weeks of studying, it looks like I'm not going to do very well. My best estimate (from Qbank, NBME exams, etc.) is a score in the low 200's. All I really wanted was to beat the average, but it seems like no matter how much I study, my score simply does not increase.

Does anyone have any advice about how to focus my studying for the highest yield in the next few days? There isn't a particular subject that I am especially weak in - about the same across the board. If I had to choose, pharm is probably my weakest area, but I can't decide whether to focus on that or focus more on path since that seems to make up the largest percentage of test questions.

Any advice?

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[soysauz]

I think Path does comprise the majority of test questions on Qbank, but I wouldn't be sure it's the same on the actual USMLE.

What I've heard is that the boards go something like this:
Path 30%
Physio 20%
Pharm 25%
Anatomy/Embryology 10%
Microbio 10%
Behavioral/Biostats 10%
Neuroanatomy 5%

Notice that the numbers don't really add up, so not too sure how accurate this is. My point is just that the Qbank breakdown is not necissarily the USMLE breakdown. For example, I tended to get at least 5 anatomy questions per 50 mixed-question block, but only 1 if any, physio questions. Physio is waaaay underepresented.

I'm taking the boards next Saturday, and what I'm doing is just making sure I can memorize the forgotten details in first aid, and doing lots of questions! (I have like 50% of Qbank to go).

 

[soysauz]

P.S. Confidence is everything, so stop assuming you're going to get in the low 200's, brainwash yourself to believe you're going to ace that test and maybe you'll actually score a little closer to your goal! Qbank is not that predictive anyway, it seems like it can still go either way, and in the end it depends on your luck of the draw with what questions you end up getting. As cheesy as it sounds, believe in yourself!

 

[glenoid fossa]

Thanks for the information, soysauz. I just assumed that Qbank's breakdown was representative of the actual thing, so it's certainly good to know that they are different. I think I will spend a little more time on pharm and devote the rest of my time doing questions.

Good luck on Saturday!

 

[PELE#10]

I'm taking Step 1 on Monday, and despite five weeks of studying, it looks like I'm not going to do very well. My best estimate (from Qbank, NBME exams, etc.) is a score in the low 200's. All I really wanted was to beat the average, but it seems like no matter how much I study, my score simply does not increase.

Does anyone have any advice about how to focus my studying for the highest yield in the next few days? There isn't a particular subject that I am especially weak in - about the same across the board. If I had to choose, pharm is probably my weakest area, but I can't decide whether to focus on that or focus more on path since that seems to make up the largest percentage of test questions.

Any advice?

What have you scored on the NBME exams?
Just keep cranking man. I'm with you. I have 5 weeks and anxiety kicks in pretty hard from time to time. But if you work as hard as you can until that last moment your gonna make it. I have friends that left the exam thinking they failed because they guessed on so many questions. When they got there score they both were just over 220. So go and give it your best shot and take each question one at a time!!

All the best!!!!

 

[sophiejane]

I'm taking Step 1 on Monday, and despite five weeks of studying, it looks like I'm not going to do very well. My best estimate (from Qbank, NBME exams, etc.) is a score in the low 200's.

What field of medicine are you interested in?

Plenty of people get into very respectable programs in IM, family, OBGYN, psych, and peds with scores in the 200-220 range. I guess if your life will be meaningless and ruined unless you get into optho at Stanford or whatever, then maybe you should be worried. Although if that's true, you probably have some soul searching and perspective-getting to do.

I know you've heard it before, but it truly is part of a whole package.

I get so sick of seeing people on this site ready to slash their wrists if they get below a 220. Get a grip, folks. Do your best. Quit focusing on the numbers and use those neurons to learn something new that might help your patients one day.

Once you get your score back, once ALL of the parts of your application come together, be honest with yourself about what you can and can't do with that whole package. Shoot for a few programs out of your league, but apply to many that you think you have a good shot at. Then take a deep breath and move on!

Best of luck.

 

[Poopy]

I think Path does comprise the majority of test questions on Qbank, but I wouldn't be sure it's the same on the actual USMLE.

What I've heard is that the boards go something like this:
Path 30%
Physio 20%
Pharm 25%
Anatomy/Embryology 10%
Microbio 10%
Behavioral/Biostats 10%
Neuroanatomy 5%

Notice that the numbers don't really add up, so not too sure how accurate this is. My point is just that the Qbank breakdown is not necissarily the USMLE breakdown. For example, I tended to get at least 5 anatomy questions per 50 mixed-question block, but only 1 if any, physio questions. Physio is waaaay underepresented.

I'm taking the boards next Saturday, and what I'm doing is just making sure I can memorize the forgotten details in first aid, and doing lots of questions! (I have like 50% of Qbank to go).

Your breakdown is missing biochem!!!

 

[mugen99]

how did it go eh

 

[glenoid fossa]

how did it go eh

Well, it was tough. Overall, I feel that it was more difficult than I expected. There was a lot of pharm, and as discussed above, I don't think the breakdown of Qbank questions is representative of the real thing (at least not my version). I had very little anatomy (and when anatomy was tested, there were no easy questions like which nerve is injured in mid-humeral fracture; they were usually questions with an accompanying MRI or CT that required interpretation).

I spoke to other students at the testing center who also felt that it was harder than expected, so I guess one just never knows until the scores come back. I'm confident that I passed at least, so right now, I am just happy to have it behind me!

 

[PELE#10]

Well, it was tough. Overall, I feel that it was more difficult than I expected. There was a lot of pharm, and as discussed above, I don't think the breakdown of Qbank questions is representative of the real thing (at least not my version). I had very little anatomy (and when anatomy was tested, there were no easy questions like which nerve is injured in mid-humeral fracture; they were usually questions with an accompanying MRI or CT that required interpretation).

I spoke to other students at the testing center who also felt that it was harder than expected, so I guess one just never knows until the scores come back. I'm confident that I passed at least, so right now, I am just happy to have it behind me!

What was you opinion of the Behavorial and Biochem?
Thanks

 

[glenoid fossa]

What was you opinion of the Behavorial and Biochem?
Thanks

Biochem was very low-yield on my test. I had one easy question about the effect of Fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (i.e. +PFK1 -> +glycolysis), and I remember a couple of questions involving vitamin cofactors. There were, however, a lot of genetics and cell bio questions (several with Southern blot interpretation, several with pedigrees, one question about the steps of PCR, and several clinically oriented genetics questions dealing with cancer or with the inheritance pattern of a described disease).

I would guess that the Behavioral questions accounted for about 5-10% of my total questions. Most of them were biostatistics. I remember one question about Sensitivity and Specificity, and there were a few about mean, median, and mode, standard error, and standard deviation. There were also a couple of questions were they explained that a study had X power, X mean with a given p-value, etc., and I had to choose the best interpretation of the study. I probably had two or three questions like the ones on Qbank where they describe a clinical scenario in which the patient is upset or must be given bad news or doesn't want you to share information with their parents and you have to choose the best response.

That's about all I can remember. It would be interesting to see how other versions of the test compare. I hope this helps.

 

[PELE#10]

Biochem was very low-yield on my test. I had one easy question about the effect of Fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (i.e. +PFK1 -> +glycolysis), and I remember a couple of questions involving vitamin cofactors. There were, however, a lot of genetics and cell bio questions (several with Southern blot interpretation, several with pedigrees, one question about the steps of PCR, and several clinically oriented genetics questions dealing with cancer or with the inheritance pattern of a described disease).

I would guess that the Behavioral questions accounted for about 5-10% of my total questions. Most of them were biostatistics. I remember one question about Sensitivity and Specificity, and there were a few about mean, median, and mode, standard error, and standard deviation. There were also a couple of questions were they explained that a study had X power, X mean with a given p-value, etc., and I had to choose the best interpretation of the study. I probably had two or three questions like the ones on Qbank where they describe a clinical scenario in which the patient is upset or must be given bad news or doesn't want you to share information with their parents and you have to choose the best response.

That's about all I can remember. It would be interesting to see how other versions of the test compare. I hope this helps.

Thanks so much for the info. Yeah, It really helps. How about anatomy. I've noticed that qbank has alot of anatomy. I have 4 weeks left with 50% qbank left I really want to finish qbank but I dont want to waste anytime on low yield stuff. Do you think I should just focus on finishing qbank, Reading FA like crazy and listen to goljan(reading Rapid review with the audio) until the exam.

Thanks

 

[Poopy]

Biochem was very low-yield on my test. I had one easy question about the effect of Fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (i.e. +PFK1 -> +glycolysis), and I remember a couple of questions involving vitamin cofactors. There were, however, a lot of genetics and cell bio questions (several with Southern blot interpretation, several with pedigrees, one question about the steps of PCR, and several clinically oriented genetics questions dealing with cancer or with the inheritance pattern of a described disease).

I would guess that the Behavioral questions accounted for about 5-10% of my total questions. Most of them were biostatistics. I remember one question about Sensitivity and Specificity, and there were a few about mean, median, and mode, standard error, and standard deviation. There were also a couple of questions were they explained that a study had X power, X mean with a given p-value, etc., and I had to choose the best interpretation of the study. I probably had two or three questions like the ones on Qbank where they describe a clinical scenario in which the patient is upset or must be given bad news or doesn't want you to share information with their parents and you have to choose the best response.

That's about all I can remember. It would be interesting to see how other versions of the test compare. I hope this helps.

Thanks for your detailed impression of your experience. I'm a bit nervous regarding your cell bio + genetics content. Do you think Hi Yield Molecular Bio is a sufficient review book? Or do you have any other recommendations? Also, I'm curious about how QBank did not reflect the breakdown of your exam...do you think you can give us a rough % breakdown of the subjects in your exam. Thanks a lot and congrats!

 

[PhillyGuy]

I had quite a few (20 or so) pharm question. Most are fairly simple, but every once in a while, I get a question about a drug that I've never heard of. Anatomy is overall very low yield, and certainly much easier than Qbank. There will definitely be several biostat questions, so review them in FA in you are not sure. I thought the molecular questions were not that difficult. Just make sure you understand the basic concepts. Questions are almost like the MCAT in that they are more conceptual and applied as opposed to knowledge based. Focus on phys, path and pathophys since that's the bulk of the exam.

 

[glenoid fossa]

Thanks for your detailed impression of your experience. I'm a bit nervous regarding your cell bio + genetics content. Do you think Hi Yield Molecular Bio is a sufficient review book? Or do you have any other recommendations? Also, I'm curious about how QBank did not reflect the breakdown of your exam...do you think you can give us a rough % breakdown of the subjects in your exam. Thanks a lot and congrats!

I agree with Philly Guy that the cell bio questions weren't that difficult. I was just trying to demonstrate the breakdown of topics on my test and how it differed from Qbank. I don't think you need an extra source for cell bio or genetics beyond what you were planning to use already. FA and Qbank are probably adequate. I was just surprised that there were so many questions on these topics while so few on more clinically oriented topics in biochem.

I am reluctant to attempt to give a % breakdown of subjects because it is really difficult to remember and I feel like I would be guessing. In comparison to the typical distribution of questions on Qbank, I would say my test had more pharm and phys and less anatomy, embryology, and biochem.

 

[glenoid fossa]

PELE#10 - Your box is full.