Hi I've been studying for USMLE Step 1 since August 2019. I have a few questions about my preparation methods

[Awra]

I recently did UWorld simulated assessment and my 'approximate 3 digit score' is 193. I know UWorld sim is a bit overpredictive, but anyway I would really love to know how to effectively tackle my weaknesses using the Q bank. Thanks very much in advance

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[treatem-and-streetem]

Which UW assessment did you take? UWSA1 or UWSA2? Anyway do completely random and heavily review. A 193 isnt a weakness in one category.

 

[Oligodinero]

So I just finished UWSA1 a few minutes ago. Assessment score is 600 (whatever that means). My Approximate 3-digit score is 249. I'm supposed to take Level 1 on 5/18 and step 1 on 5/21.....if Prometric has reopened by then.

Anyone know how well UWSA1 correlates with Step 1 scores?

 

[Deecee2DO]

So I just finished UWSA1 a few minutes ago. Assessment score is 600 (whatever that means). My Approximate 3-digit score is 249. I'm supposed to take Level 1 on 5/18 and step 1 on 5/21.....if Prometric has reopened by then.

Anyone know how well UWSA1 correlates with Step 1 scores?

UWSA 1 notoriously known for overpredicting. UWSA2 a lot more accurate

 

[Awra]

Which UW assessment did you take? UWSA1 or UWSA2? Anyway do completely random and heavily review. A 193 isnt a weakness in one category.

I did UWSA 1. How do I go about reviewing, and does my overall UW percentage matter? What should I prioritize the most and focus on?

 

[Deecee2DO]

I did UWSA 1. How do I go about reviewing, and does my overall UW percentage matter? What should I prioritize the most and focus on?

Dont focus on UW percent just learn as much as you can from it. Review your UWSA 1 and dont focus on the score too much it overpredicts. The only assessments you should really take seriously as far as predictions go are UWSA2, free 120, NBME 18 (save them for last)

 

[Awra]

Dont focus on UW percent just learn as much as you can from it. Review your UWSA 1 and dont focus on the score too much it overpredicts

How do I go system by system instead of question by question? So far almost all my blocks are random and timed and all the subjects are jumbled in together.

 

[Deecee2DO]

How do I go system by system instead of question by question? So far almost all my blocks are random and timed and all the subjects are jumbled in together.

Dont need to go by system just go question by question. I like to review incorrects first then corrects it saves me time and energy on the stuff i got wrong and trains my brain to focus on the concepts that tripped me up.

 

[Awra]

Dont need to go by system just go question by question. I like to review incorrects first then corrects it saves me time and energy on the stuff i got wrong and trains my brain to focus on the concepts that tripped me up.

I plan to take the exam towards the end of June. How do I pace myself according to that?

 

[treatem-and-streetem]

I did UWSA 1. How do I go about reviewing, and does my overall UW percentage matter? What should I prioritize the most and focus on?

UWSA1 underpredicted me but that’s because I took it before I finished all the content for school. Over UW percentage does not matter but you should see somewhat of a trend in a positive direction if you are reviewing questions well. Obviously every once in a while your score can drop depending on the difficulty of the question set. You really need to focus on finding a way to do spaced Review on concepts you are missing in UW questions

 

[Awra]

UWSA1 underpredicted me but that’s because I took it before I finished all the content for school. Over UW percentage does not matter but you should see somewhat of a trend in a positive direction if you are reviewing questions well. Obviously every once in a while your score can drop depending on the difficulty of the question set. You really need to focus on finding a way to do spaced Review on concepts you are missing in UW questions

I posted my queries on another site and two of them said that I need to go back to basics because I should not be having an average of 56 on UW. They said to go back to pathoma and BNB again

 

[Deecee2DO]

I posted my queries on another site and two of them said that I need to go back to basics because I should not be having an average of 56 on UW. They said to go back to pathoma and BNB again

All i can say is UW should be your last and final Qbank after you have a solid foundation. They are the best questions, really make you think and are known to be most like the real thing. A 56% isnt all that bad what qbanks have you done before UW

 

[treatem-and-streetem]

I posted my queries on another site and two of them said that I need to go back to basics because I should not be having an average of 56 on UW. They said to go back to pathoma and BNB again

Most people don't do only a question based dedicated. You should be incorporating content review throughout focusing on weakest subjects first. Personally I did subject specific content review combined with random question banks.

 

[Awra]

All i can say is UW should be your last and final Qbank after you have a solid foundation. They are the best questions, really make you think and are known to be most like the real thing. A 56% isnt all that bad what qbanks have you done before UW

I don't know if it counts but I did Kaplan questions that were paired subject by subject in a book series

 

[Awra]

Most people don't do only a question based dedicated. You should be incorporating content review throughout focusing on weakest subjects first. Personally I did subject specific content review combined with random question banks.

How do you avoid wasting time on the stuff you already know instead of reading it A -Z all over again? I would much rather spend time drilling on the weak areas way more than what I already know. And in every subject there are things which I know and don't know, no subject is completely either or, so it's harder to pinpoint exactly the weak areas

 

[samac]

How do you avoid wasting time on the stuff you already know instead of reading it A -Z all over again? I would much rather spend time drilling on the weak areas way more than what I already know. And in every subject there are things which I know and don't know, no subject is completely either or, so it's harder to pinpoint exactly the weak areas

When I was doing a second pass through material I did look it all over, but I didn’t spend a lot of time digesting the stuff I didn’t have issues with. So biochem was a weak point for me so I spent a full day trying to get pathways down, but genetics was easy for me so I spent maybe an hour on those topics. You can triage what you’re learning.

 

[Awra]

When I was doing a second pass through material I did look it all over, but I didn’t spend a lot of time digesting the stuff I didn’t have issues with. So biochem was a weak point for me so I spent a full day trying to get pathways down, but genetics was easy for me so I spent maybe an hour on those topics. You can triage what you’re learning.

So basically if you get the concept being asked in the question and understand/memorize it fully you're good, right?

 

[samac]

So basically if you get the concept being asked in the question and understand/memorize it fully you're good, right?

I mean when I did a couple passes through the material that’s how I triaged it, not with the questions.
I would only do about 20-30 questions/day while I was passing through the material in my notes. After that time I would be doing 100-200 questions per day and only using my materials to review things I’m struggling with. This was in the month leading to the exam.

 

[Deecee2DO]

How do you avoid wasting time on the stuff you already know instead of reading it A -Z all over again? I would much rather spend time drilling on the weak areas way more than what I already know. And in every subject there are things which I know and don't know, no subject is completely either or, so it's harder to pinpoint exactly the weak areas

Your basically doing content review though as you review questions you have first aid sketchy and pathoma open and your flipping to and rereading those concepts/facts. By doing this with 7000+ questions after all said and done and on top of your first pass of content review from prededicated youre essentially seeing everything like 3x

 

[Awra]

I mean when I did a couple passes through the material that’s how I triaged it, not with the questions.
I would only do about 20-30 questions/day while I was passing through the material in my notes. After that time I would be doing 100-200 questions per day and only using my materials to review things I’m struggling with. This was in the month leading to the exam.

Can I use videos instead of FA?

 

[samac]

Can I use videos instead of FA?

You can study however you want, I just can’t do videos because I find my mind wondering and I don’t pay proper attention. It can also take more time as you’re not pacing yourself.