Struggling with Usmle Step 1

[medhope777]

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Hey everyone. I have been on a year long personal leave of absence since 2018 and will be returning to start 3rd year in a month. I still have to take my step 1 which I have been studying throughout the entire year for. My test date is in 4 weeks. I feel really burnt out and recently I have been having panic attacks and am barely getting even 4 hours a day in to study. I really want to just pass. I have taken 4 nbme so far. The scores are as follows

NBME 18 ( taken on 1/7) : 225

NBME 15 ( taken on 1/28) : 213

NBME 13 (taken on 2/18) : 217

NBME 19 ( taken on 2/25) : 219


As you can see the score are decreasing/fluctuating. What worries me is that on one test I would do amazing ( the bar would be all the way to the right with a star) in some subjects ( like genetics, behavior science,…) and then in the next NBME exam for those same subjects my bar would be all the to the left with a star ( so beyong failing in those subjects).

I have only done 1000 uworld questions so far. I just do not like them because they take forever and I just get easily distracted trying to do them. I have read some parts of first aid not all ( I have read maybe 20%). I can not concentrate when reading. I have been mianly just watching lectures on boards and beyond, sketchy, Kaplan, and physeo. Recently I have been really unmotivated and I need some help guys. What do you think my chances of passing are ( considering that for each exam I take the subjects that I am good at become worse).

 

[differentiating]

It sounds like you’ve been studying inefficiently for a year, and are burnt out now that you’ve reached crunch time. I would be worried about how Step 1 will go - though I would take one of the UWorld self-assessments as a gauge, as NBMEs aren’t very predictive or similar to Step 1 in my experience.

 

[mrbreakfast]

NBMEs have utility, but as far as predicting how well you're score on Step 1 (and Step 2) they are notoriously inaccurate. You should take a UWSA. I think it's pretty much established that UWSA scores and your first-pass UWorld % correct are the two best predictors.

I have only done 1000 uworld questions so far. I just do not like them because they take forever and I just get easily distracted trying to do them. I have read some parts of first aid not all ( I have read maybe 20%). I can not concentrate when reading. I have been mianly just watching lectures on boards and beyond, sketchy, Kaplan, and physeo. Recently I have been really unmotivated and I need some help guys. What do you think my chances of passing are ( considering that for each exam I take the subjects that I am good at become worse).

This paragraph more concerning. It sounds like you're burned out and haven't actually used the highly-recommended resources (UW, FA).

I think with your NBME scores you'll likely pass. If you want to maximize your chances, take a few days off to refocus, then do 3 full sets of UWorld questions (timed) a day for a few weeks. And read FA!

 

[libertyyne]

IM unsure why people are claiming NBMEs are not correlated with passing. Almost every school administers one to gauge readiness and to give the green light to take the exam. And most of the literature published on this question also says it is a fairly good correlation between nbme performance and score. Your current average of of ~218 gives you roughly a 24 point cushion in passing. I think you will pass.

 

[ciestar]

My NBME averages were a lot closer than the UWSA’s (like.. 20 points higher on UWSA2..)

 

[MerYangBey]

You need to do questions. Part of the deal is understanding how they ask about things.
Do Uworld. That’s your best shot. Don’t panic that’s not gonna help. Breath, relax, go get a coffee. Sit down and Uworld
4 weeks is plenty of time that’s all the time I had for dedicated studying.

 

[deleted547631]

Hey everyone. I have been on a year long personal leave of absence since 2018 and will be returning to start 3rd year in a month. I still have to take my step 1 which I have been studying throughout the entire year for. My test date is in 4 weeks. I feel really burnt out and recently I have been having panic attacks and am barely getting even 4 hours a day in to study. I really want to just pass. I have taken 4 nbme so far. The scores are as follows

NBME 18 ( taken on 1/7) : 225

NBME 15 ( taken on 1/28) : 213

NBME 13 (taken on 2/18) : 217

NBME 19 ( taken on 2/25) : 219


As you can see the score are decreasing/fluctuating. What worries me is that on one test I would do amazing ( the bar would be all the way to the right with a star) in some subjects ( like genetics, behavior science,…) and then in the next NBME exam for those same subjects my bar would be all the to the left with a star ( so beyong failing in those subjects).

I have only done 1000 uworld questions so far. I just do not like them because they take forever and I just get easily distracted trying to do them. I have read some parts of first aid not all ( I have read maybe 20%). I can not concentrate when reading. I have been mianly just watching lectures on boards and beyond, sketchy, Kaplan, and physeo. Recently I have been really unmotivated and I need some help guys. What do you think my chances of passing are ( considering that for each exam I take the subjects that I am good at become worse).

You're squarely in the passing zone. I think you're going to be good with four weeks left to study.

 

[differentiating]

IM unsure why people are claiming NBMEs are not correlated with passing. Almost every school administers one to gauge readiness and to give the green light to take the exam. And most of the literature published on this question also says it is a fairly good correlation between nbme performance and score. Your current average of of ~218 gives you roughly a 24 point cushion in passing. I think you will pass.

I say this based on personal experience - my real score was right around my UWSA average, and like 20 points higher than the NBME I took 3 days prior to the real thing. All it did was serve to freak me out. I was also annoyed to realize that the questions/format were more like UWorld than the NBMEs, since that had been my only reason for taking it in the first place.

I know that anecdotes != data, and other people clearly have different experiences, so I might have just taken the worst one. But I still think the advice to take one of the UWSAs to assess how accurate those NBME scores are is valid. Another source confirming that they’re on track to pass would likely help with their anxiety.

 

[sloop]

NBMEs have utility for a few things. The most important reason to do them (if you have enough time to actually utilize the information to plan accordingly) is to get a baseline evaluation of your knowledge base. Secondary uses include: studying the questions you were unsure of or got wrong/learning from them and getting familiar with NBME style questions (which actually are somewhat different from UWorld, for instance I actually think NBME questions are better written and try harder not to test controversial details vs UWorld which will and will justify it as a learning opportunity).

NBMEs are not as good for evaluating areas of stength/weakness. This is mainly because despite taking forever to do, there are actually not that many questions in each category from one test. UWorld is better for this once you’ve done much of the Qbank but even then, for some subjects you have to take it with a grain of salt (some topics only have a handful of questions too). If you’re scoring much below average in a section with like 100 questions, you should pay attention to that. If you’re scoring below average in a topic that has like 20 questions in the whole Qbank, don’t prioritize that and just maybe do a focused review when your test gets closer if you have time.

 

[medhope777]

A quick update: Since feb 27 I have taken NBME 17 ( scored 225), NBME 16 ( scored 234), and UWSA 2 ( scored 245). However, since feb 27 I have not done a single uworld question. I maybe studied at max 2 hours each day and it was not productive at all. I have just been watching videos passivly. I was feeling really burnt out and mainly I just watched netflix all day long. But recently I have regained motivation and i recently took uwsa 2 and i got a 245. I was really suprised to get this because I basically did nto study at all for the past 1.5 weeks. Now my test is exactly in 2 weeks ( march 29) and I still have 1000 uworld questions to do and I still have not read half of first aid yet. How do you guys suggest I spend my time studying the next 2 weeks. I was thinking that I would practically go through first aid cover to cover with baords and beyond ( I have already watched all of boards and beyond already). I most likely will not do anymore uworld questions because I really do not learn well by doing questions and I really feel like the questions I have got wrong in uworld was because of a lack of knowledge not because of lack of test taking skills ( by the way my uworld percentage so far in the 1500 questions i have done is 73%). So do you think with this plan I can pass. I just want to pass and start third year.

 

[libertyyne]

A quick update: Since feb 27 I have taken NBME 17 ( scored 225), NBME 16 ( scored 234), and UWSA 2 ( scored 245). However, since feb 27 I have not done a single uworld question. I maybe studied at max 2 hours each day and it was not productive at all. I have just been watching videos passivly. I was feeling really burnt out and mainly I just watched netflix all day long. But recently I have regained motivation and i recently took uwsa 2 and i got a 245. I was really suprised to get this because I basically did nto study at all for the past 1.5 weeks. Now my test is exactly in 2 weeks ( march 29) and I still have 1000 uworld questions to do and I still have not read half of first aid yet. How do you guys suggest I spend my time studying the next 2 weeks. I was thinking that I would practically go through first aid cover to cover with baords and beyond ( I have already watched all of boards and beyond already). I most likely will not do anymore uworld questions because I really do not learn well by doing questions and I really feel like the questions I have got wrong in uworld was because of a lack of knowledge not because of lack of test taking skills ( by the way my uworld percentage so far in the 1500 questions i have done is 73%). So do you think with this plan I can pass. I just want to pass and start third year.

Just do uworld, 100 questions a day.

 

[differentiating]

A quick update: Since feb 27 I have taken NBME 17 ( scored 225), NBME 16 ( scored 234), and UWSA 2 ( scored 245). However, since feb 27 I have not done a single uworld question. I maybe studied at max 2 hours each day and it was not productive at all. I have just been watching videos passivly. I was feeling really burnt out and mainly I just watched netflix all day long. But recently I have regained motivation and i recently took uwsa 2 and i got a 245. I was really suprised to get this because I basically did nto study at all for the past 1.5 weeks. Now my test is exactly in 2 weeks ( march 29) and I still have 1000 uworld questions to do and I still have not read half of first aid yet. How do you guys suggest I spend my time studying the next 2 weeks. I was thinking that I would practically go through first aid cover to cover with baords and beyond ( I have already watched all of boards and beyond already). I most likely will not do anymore uworld questions because I really do not learn well by doing questions and I really feel like the questions I have got wrong in uworld was because of a lack of knowledge not because of lack of test taking skills ( by the way my uworld percentage so far in the 1500 questions i have done is 73%). So do you think with this plan I can pass. I just want to pass and start third year.

I don't think there's much utility in rereading/rewatching sources you've already used. You're better off exposing yourself to new information to expand your knowledge - whether by doing UWorld to figure out what you don't know (you should use uworld to improve your knowledge; use the tutor format) or using a different resource.

 

[ciestar]

Finish UWorld. I very much regret that I didn’t.

 

[sunshinefl]

A quick update: Since feb 27 I have taken NBME 17 ( scored 225), NBME 16 ( scored 234), and UWSA 2 ( scored 245). However, since feb 27 I have not done a single uworld question. I maybe studied at max 2 hours each day and it was not productive at all. I have just been watching videos passivly. I was feeling really burnt out and mainly I just watched netflix all day long. But recently I have regained motivation and i recently took uwsa 2 and i got a 245. I was really suprised to get this because I basically did nto study at all for the past 1.5 weeks. Now my test is exactly in 2 weeks ( march 29) and I still have 1000 uworld questions to do and I still have not read half of first aid yet. How do you guys suggest I spend my time studying the next 2 weeks. I was thinking that I would practically go through first aid cover to cover with baords and beyond ( I have already watched all of boards and beyond already). I most likely will not do anymore uworld questions because I really do not learn well by doing questions and I really feel like the questions I have got wrong in uworld was because of a lack of knowledge not because of lack of test taking skills ( by the way my uworld percentage so far in the 1500 questions i have done is 73%). So do you think with this plan I can pass. I just want to pass and start third year.

Hey there, I’m just another M2 prepping for step 1 so I’m not an expert. However, I would like to say that I also have good general test-taking skills and don’t get anything out of “just doing questions”. However, Uworld has been invaluable to me so far (~300 questions in) specifically in filling in knowledge gaps because their explanations are so educational. I spend hours going through the explanations on every question, every block. Even the ones I got right. Because the explanations will touch on other topics too and I can learn from them as well. Please finish Uworld as a knowledge resource!

 

[Ryuzaki]

IM unsure why people are claiming NBMEs are not correlated with passing. Almost every school administers one to gauge readiness and to give the green light to take the exam. And most of the literature published on this question also says it is a fairly good correlation between nbme performance and score. Your current average of of ~218 gives you roughly a 24 point cushion in passing. I think you will pass.

It's never correlated with me, I was hitting the high 190s/low 200s, when I was taking the NBMEs.
I ended up scoring approximately 40 points higher on the real thing.
Step 1 was a really all over the place.

 

[libertyyne]

It's never correlated with me, I was hitting the high 190s/low 200s, when I was taking the NBMEs.
I ended up scoring approximately 40 points higher on the real thing.
Step 1 was a really all over the place.

There are always outliers. Doesnt mean the correlation doesnt hold for a vast majority of people.

 

[Ryuzaki]

There are always outliers. Doesnt mean the correlation doesnt hold for a vast majority of people.

Yeah, it was a weird experience for me, I took the Step 1 right after my last NBME showed me getting a 198 or something low like that and then I took the UWSA forms after that in the last 2 weeks of prep hitting a 211 and a 253. Perhaps it was the grind or the last minute thing, it worked out well AH.

 

[NotYou20]

A quick update: Since feb 27 I have taken NBME 17 ( scored 225), NBME 16 ( scored 234), and UWSA 2 ( scored 245). However, since feb 27 I have not done a single uworld question. I maybe studied at max 2 hours each day and it was not productive at all. I have just been watching videos passivly. I was feeling really burnt out and mainly I just watched netflix all day long. But recently I have regained motivation and i recently took uwsa 2 and i got a 245. I was really suprised to get this because I basically did nto study at all for the past 1.5 weeks. Now my test is exactly in 2 weeks ( march 29) and I still have 1000 uworld questions to do and I still have not read half of first aid yet. How do you guys suggest I spend my time studying the next 2 weeks. I was thinking that I would practically go through first aid cover to cover with baords and beyond ( I have already watched all of boards and beyond already). I most likely will not do anymore uworld questions because I really do not learn well by doing questions and I really feel like the questions I have got wrong in uworld was because of a lack of knowledge not because of lack of test taking skills ( by the way my uworld percentage so far in the 1500 questions i have done is 73%). So do you think with this plan I can pass. I just want to pass and start third year.

Move the test up and take it asap. 2 more weeks wont change things if you aren't studying well