*** Official 2005 Step I Results Thread ***

[bigfrank]

Alright, let's get this off right. Results were just released in my neck of the woods, 12:00 EST.

Just like last year, let's have a cohesive thread. Be sure to mention your Step I score (of course!) and any other correlative material you choose (study plan, NBME exams, etc.).

Best of luck, let's keep it cordial.

---

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[Subonim]

NBME Form 2 680 (253) 6/10/05 (1 week out)
QBANK 88% completed 84% avg. (mostly random 50 question tests)
USMLE 265 (99) 6/17/05
MCAT 34
I got my scores on 7/21/05 from my school's office of the registrar.


Studied 8-11 hours a day for 4.5 wks (started at 8, worked up to 11 as test date approached). Took one weekend off for a wedding. Studied:

First Aid 2005
BRS Path
BRS Phys
BRS Human Behavior
HY Embryo
BRS Pharm Flashcards
My home school Micro Director's wicked USMLE prep slides

I spent the first week reading First Aid thoroughly. The next 2.5 weeks reading the above books and annotating the crap out of FA. Did at least 50 q a day from Qbank, again annotating everything I didnt know (a ton) into FA. Last week re-read my annotated FA and did 2 days of solid Qbank.

Best advice I can offer: Nothing beats working hard your first 2 years. It is infinitely easier to review than to learn for the first time.

 

[idq1i]

Congratuatations everyone! Great Score Long Dong!

I can't wait to see Idq1i, p53, and Pox's score!

p53 and Pox don't forget to post your step 1 experience too!

iDq1i is busy being on-call. I'll post my score as soon as I get the official letter

MCAT: 11v/13p/11b
NBME a&b: not taken
Path shelf: 780
Class rank: Almost all H's
Step 1: 256/99

Study "plan":
Qbank completed: 81%.
Skimmed Cecil Essentials of Medicine.
Read BRS behavioral
Threw FA in the garbage after two days
Studied on and off for ~3 weeks. Absolutely no study plan (as far as timing, schedule, etc). I wanted 4 more points, but with the amount of work that I put in, I'll take this.
The best study method for step one = doing well in your 2nd year. There is no substitute.

 

[xaelia]

SAT I: 1530
MCAT: 12V, 13P, 10B, S
MS-I: 82% avg., class avg. 81%
MS-II: 86% avg., class avg. 82%
NBME #1: 510/221 (4/29)
NBME #2: 560/232 (5/20)
USMLE Step 1: 253 (5/31)

I had to learn everything from the first two years from scratch because I was drinking too much; I studied for about 20 hours a week for a month, and then about 40 hours a week for another month.
BRS Path - useless
Robbins, Robbins Question book - good
BRS Physiology - good
BRS Behavioral Science - good
BRS Gross Anatomy - not so good
HY Cell & Molecular Bio - ok
Pharmacology Recall - good
First Aid - embryo, anatomy good; other areas helpful, but not complete
Microbiology Made Ridiculous - good
The rest of the gaps were filled in via misc. textbooks and questions. I did thousands and thousands of questions through QBank, QBook, other misc. question books, NBME, released questions, flashcards I made, etc. Helpful in figuring out what I'd learned and what I still needed to learn, as well as having a their own intrinsic factoids to impart.

 

[46&2]

Step 1: 258/99
NBME Form 2: 240
MCAT 30S (12V, so I'm a fruity liberal)
Kaplan QBank and Full Length: 75%

Forgive me if I am long winded.

I've been following this board since I was in undergrad. I never thought I would get to this point. I was told, like others, that I would not be a physician, that I lacked certain qualities, that I wasn't good enough for certain institutions. But I kept fighting. I'd like to thank Big Frank & Idiopathic esp., as I modeled my studying after them. My pharm teacher and Goljan taught me the essence of medicine (Goljan even helped me in my surgery quiz today). My parents, my good friends in my med school, the good people in the DOD, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and God made me do what I do. There were many times when I wanted to give up, but then I thought of these things. OK, enough with the hokey bulls***.

I studied about 4 weeks hardcore for Path and Pharm for their shelf exams. Got a pretty high score in both thanks to Pharm teacher. Then 4 weeks to emphasize Step 1. I couldn't do the 6 months haul advocated by others, but I worked hard throughout. I went to a cheap public school in the south which emphasized nice people over stereotypical gunners (my classmates are great). Didn't go to a single day of nonmandatory class 2nd year because I'm weird and like to be free and sleep in. Studied my ass off, though, but went home for Mother's Day. Worked out every day as well. The test I took was very balanced in terms of subjects covered... you had to cover all bases...

First Aid: Definitely memorize this thru and thru. Even the little diagram w/ the tRNA molecule. It really covered my pharm, biochem, embryo, and physio well. I made notecards of nearly each of the little boxes with the SuperMemo computer program and drilled on these for 3 weeks (I feel like a tool writing that). Then my head exploded, and I just sort of ad libbed my studying after that. I really hated the book at irst, but it's subtle and sublime like fine wine (I'm a little wasted right now). I list a lot of books, but this is KEY!!!!

Goljan Rapid Review Path: The shizzle. It's clinical presentation aspects cause it to supersede BRS Path (anally read both). BRS is stronger perhaps in the initial chapters, but Goljan is king. Integrates other subjects well.

Goljan Audio: Please get this, esp. if you plan on long drives. Entertaining, relevant, and passionate at times. He blared in my head during the test. This fills in the cracks in First Aid. Earthquake in California w/ a fungal bloom? Coccidoidies, it's too dry in the desert for Histo.

Robbins Review Path: THE question book for path. Outstanding.

QBank: I thought it was pretty good; the explanations were nice. QBank IV isn't bad either, though I finished only a little over half.

Brainchip for Biochem: Harder to find book, but superior to Lippincott & BRS. Short, sweet, and makes you think about the important points. Nicely elaborates on the points brought up in First Aid.

HY Anatomy: Worth a review. First Aid did not cover this so well. I actually bombed this on the practice shelf, and this really helped me make up ground.

HY Neuroanatomy: Excellent. Had an equal # of these as anatomy. Worth the read.

HY Histo: Get this or HY Cell Molec... I advocate Histo since it links more subjects like Path and Micro. Be warned, this is NOT an easy read or a short book.

BRS Physio: Read it once, very good book, integrates other subjects well... but as another poster stated, QBank and First Aid cover this subject well.

Katzung's Review of Pharm: A very good book, but you can afford to not really look at this and focus on First Aid and whatever your pharm teacher gives you. I would do the questions out of the back.

Lange Micro & Immuno: I only did the crap in the back, the Qs, and some immuno, but I liked it.

How the Immune System Works: Written in English, a great review of a subject that scared me.

USMLE Blueprints Q&A: Only 450 Q&A, but pretty solid. Worth checking out from the library.

Rapid Review Questions: Friend burned these off Ebay. I'd say these are equivalent to or equal to the real thing.

Step-Up: Don't bother so much. First Aid just seemed superior. Not as detailed.

God bless you all. You've helped me a lot, and hopefully I can help others as well. Keep posting.

 

[beanbean]

I will be brave and post my very AVERAGE score here...

214


Considering my life with my husband, three kids with end of school activites, a paper presentation in Barcelona 36hrs after Step 1 and a nasty sinus infection the week before the exam....I am relieved and very pleased.

My study time was minimal. FA once and Goljan Audio. Qbank: ~25%.

Congrats to everyone here on SDN with such awesome scores!

 

[trkd]

I will be brave and post my very AVERAGE score here...

214


Considering my life with my husband, three kids with end of school activites, a paper presentation in Barcelona 36hrs after Step 1 and a nasty sinus infection the week before the exam....I am relieved and very pleased.

My study time was minimal. FA once and Goljan Audio. Qbank: ~25%.

Congrats to everyone here on SDN with such awesome scores!

I won't let down the average people out there. I got a 207 (two-digit 84). I am relieved to have passed though I would have liked to at least add a few to it. Anyway, my studying was a bit stretched out over a few months before I got down to review hardcore for a few weeks. I didn't do the 14-hr study days for 4 weeks straight. I guess it would have been better to study in a shorter time frame so that I didn't forget the bits I studied at first but I can't study like a machine for 14 straight hours like some people. That said, some of the early subjects like embryology were fuzzier in my mind than the later topics (pharm, micro).

That said, my studying consisted of reading (in generally this order):
HY gross anatomy
HY embryology
HY biochem
HY neuroanatomy
HY biostats
HY behavioral science
Micro made ridiculously simple
HY immunology
BRS physiology
BRS path
HY Cell and molecular biology (last minute decision to skim)
HY pharm
FA review of all sections

I followed the order mostly from the 6-wk study plan on www.residency.info but I didn't follow the timeline because I wanted more time for some subjects and less for others. Plus, I didn't do the 8-hr days they did. On the analysis of my test that was provided, it seems that the subjects I did worse on were generally one's I did early in this drawn out study plan. I guess there is something to be said for doing things in a shorter time frame but sample size is 1 here.

I should also mention that I did Qbank. I think I finished about 60% of the questions with an average of 63ish. I did them by subject at the end of study for each subject instead of random. I thought this consolidated what I learned better for me. I also did 2 NBME exams and got something like 205 (2 week before) and 210 (4-5 days before). Sorry for the vague numbers but it has been awhile.

So there is some info for the other average folk out there. I hope it helps .

 

[bulldog]

I won't let down the average people out there. I got a 207 (two-digit 84). I am relieved to have passed though I would have liked to at least add a few to it. Anyway, my studying was a bit stretched out over a few months before I got down to review hardcore for a few weeks. I didn't do the 14-hr study days for 4 weeks straight. I guess it would have been better to study in a shorter time frame so that I didn't forget the bits I studied at first but I can't study like a machine for 14 straight hours like some people. That said, some of the early subjects like embryology were fuzzier in my mind than the later topics (pharm, micro).

That said, my studying consisted of reading (in generally this order):
HY gross anatomy
HY embryology
HY biochem
HY neuroanatomy
HY biostats
HY behavioral science
Micro made ridiculously simple
HY immunology
BRS physiology
BRS path
HY Cell and molecular biology (last minute decision to skim)
HY pharm
FA review of all sections

I followed the order mostly from the 6-wk study plan on www.residency.info but I didn't follow the timeline because I wanted more time for some subjects and less for others. Plus, I didn't do the 8-hr days they did. On the analysis of my test that was provided, it seems that the subjects I did worse on were generally one's I did early in this drawn out study plan. I guess there is something to be said for doing things in a shorter time frame but sample size is 1 here.

I should also mention that I did Qbank. I think I finished about 60% of the questions with an average of 63ish. I did them by subject at the end of study for each subject instead of random. I thought this consolidated what I learned better for me. I also did 2 NBME exams and got something like 205 (2 week before) and 210 (4-5 days before). Sorry for the vague numbers but it has been awhile.

So there is some info for the other average folk out there. I hope it helps .

cheers for the average sdners! (i'm in the same group...hehe). how'd nbme compare to the real deal in difficulty?

 

[mark1070]

how'd nbme compare to the real deal in difficulty?

I found the NBME questions to be much shorter and straight forward than the actual USMLE, which were somewhere in between the NBME tests and QBank. That being said, the correlation is very good (mine was exact), even down to where NBME said I needed work compared to my final results.

score: 257/97 (June 14)

Kaplan Diagnostic: 55% (10 wks prior)
Kaplan Simulated: 73% (8 days prior)
Kaplan QBank: 72% (100% - completed by subject area)
USMLE CD - 46, 45, 42 (7 days prior)
nbme 1: 630 (245 - 6 days prior)
nbme 2: 710 (257 - 2 days prior)


I basically used QBank and First Aid almost exclusively, except for BRS Behavioral Science which was very good.

Best of luck to everyone yet to take their exam!

 

[realmdo]

I will be brave and post my very AVERAGE score here...

214


Considering my life with my husband, three kids with end of school activites, a paper presentation in Barcelona 36hrs after Step 1 and a nasty sinus infection the week before the exam....I am relieved and very pleased.

My study time was minimal. FA once and Goljan Audio. Qbank: ~25%.

Congrats to everyone here on SDN with such awesome scores!

congrats and hat off!!!!!!!

 

[ascrimmins]

I will be brave and post my very AVERAGE score here...

214


Considering my life with my husband, three kids with end of school activites, a paper presentation in Barcelona 36hrs after Step 1 and a nasty sinus infection the week before the exam....I am relieved and very pleased.

My study time was minimal. FA once and Goljan Audio. Qbank: ~25%.

Congrats to everyone here on SDN with such awesome scores!

I don't think you need to be brave - I think you should be proud. How many moms of three are courageous enough to go to medical school? I know my mom would have liked to go back to school, and even now that my sis and I are grown and gone she is afraid. Congrats!

 

[carrigallen]

I think the sdn poll 'selection bias' is more a result of reading the great advice from past posters! Thank you for the advice!
I barely passed my classes during 1st year, so I am very happy with my score: 250/99.

 

[beanbean]

I was being a bit sacastic about being "brave". I am proud of my score as I mentioned. Some people get a bit intimidated by some of the brillant people here on SDN.

Tell your Mom there are plenty of older students out there. I am 37 and I am not the oldest in my med school class. My husband's grandmother went to school in her late 50's and became an English teacher. Its never to late. I was a bit concerned before starting back again that my brain might not work in the 'academic way' anymore after being out of school for so many years. I had no problems and actually found school easier than when I was in my twenties.

 

[slim shanie]

Yeah I have to say that I was ecstatic with my score and though I realize there are a number of people who did better than me, it's pretty damn intimidating to read that almost everyone's scores were higher than yours. Don't get me wrong, I hate ophthalmology and dermatology so I'm not overly concerned haha but woowee you people are driving me crazy!

Shane

 

[Andy Dufresne]

so I have to post for my best friend here at school who just got his score back....

269

..holy damn. i mean, we studied together pretty much the whole time, and i knew he was gonna do well, but that is insane. He pretty much read anything he could get his hands on: kaplan, first aid, high yield, brs, boards and wards, etc. he just did qbank too. photographic memory maybe?

That kicks bigfrank's ass. Hats off to your friend.

 

[Kluver_Bucy]

I got the score today :

USMLE: 233
NBME 1: 550
NBME 2: 600

Man, im so relieved. I knew I screwed up alot of questions when i left that test to the point where I could have failed. So i guess u can miss alot and still do ok at the end.

From the questions that I know I missed like 10-15 that I remembered, the answers are in either First AID, the drugs that arent in First AId are in USMLE Secrets, Goljan Audio has some USMLE Step 2 concepts that were on my exam that most will never know until they are in 3rd year or have listened to Goljan. ANd also the Goljan high yields are really worth looking at.

What I used to study in the 5 weeks:

-Appleton and Lange book: completed all of it at 69%
-Qbank- 30% complete at 63%
-NMS - completed 50% at 66% (but never went over the answers so didnt learn much from this)
-NBME 1,2 exams
-HY Molec bio
-HY histo
-HY Neuro
1 time thru First AID
-About 60% of goljan audio

I admit my studying in the 5 weeks was kinda laid back (I was burnt out), but whatever, I cant cram. So if u are like me, then start early, and do questions starting early. If i could do it over again, I would perhaps make the following changes:

1)Listen to goljan audio once in second year, and again in the weeks when u are cramming for the USMLE. This guy should be arrested, he is basically getting USMLE questions from his student and telling u what is gonna be on the test. U better believe that I will take him seriously for USMLE 2.

2) DO BSS in the summer before M2. These questions are written by Goljan and many other good peeps. P53, idiopathic and Long Dong gave me this idea but my ******* never did them.

3) I took off December for vacation but i recommened that u take 1 week off, and 1 week knock out NMS (great book) and only 850q so it can be knocked out quick

4) I wish i studied in spring break (maybe start qbank?) instead of partyin w badboyofmed (punk ass got a 242!! hahah u owe me at the bachelor party fool!!)

alrite thats it. Im gonna go celebrate and finally know im an M3. Thanks to Idio, bigfrank, alexrusso, and many others that gave great advice and know that u postively impacted my score and I really owe u guys for that.

Holler at a Baller

Congratulations Omar!! You deserve this because you have helped out people on SDN so much. Thank you so much for helping me out. As for me I hope I passed!! I'll find out in August.

Anyways, just out of curiousity ever since I've talked to you, your goal has always been above 230. Is this a magic cutoff point for some specialties?

If anyone else knows the significance of a 230+ feel free to reply.

Karen

 

[mballs182]

can someone explain these score sheets. i got my scores yesterday and the only thing i really understand is the box that says i passed. i have no clue how the other two numbers compare, and the NBME is not offering any information to explain the scales they use to score the exams. does anyone know what those scales go up to, or better yet, what are considered competative scores?

thanks, mike

 

[GreatSplanchnic]

Hey guys:

What do you guys think of the following package from the website below. Also are the video lectures, Qbank, Qbook and the rest of the things offfered really the same as those from the Kaplan website? I just can not believe the prize. This is the same website where they sell Goljan Audio (Is this the one everybody talks about?)

Thank you


http://usmlestep.com/step1-kaplan-dvd.htm

Standard Edition Premium Edition Deluxe Edition
Video Lectures X X X
Step 1 Notes X X
Qbook X X
Qbank X X
Simulated Exam X X
6-month guarantee X X X
6 medical books in electronic format - PDB X X
USMLE Easy Qbank X X
Kaplan Webprep X
Alert X
NMS X
Compass ArcVenture X
Shipping X X X
Price $149 $179 $199

 

[omarsaleh66]

Congratulations Omar!! You deserve this because you have helped out people on SDN so much. Thank you so much for helping me out. As for me I hope I passed!! I'll find out in August.

Anyways, just out of curiousity ever since I've talked to you, your goal has always been above 230. Is this a magic cutoff point for some specialties?

If anyone else knows the significance of a 230+ feel free to reply.

Karen

Hey Karen

Thanks for the kind words, and goodluck, hopefully u will do fine. USMLE was stressful but not too much, cuz i told myself that no matter what i got, I could still do something in medicine where I could bank and have a decent lifestyle. As a goal I wanted atleast a 220 cuz alot of competitive anesthesia programs have cutoffs at 220.

My other option was to maybe look into radiology cuz my family is in the radioloogy business, and as a radiologist i could do some damage when i get out of residency so the 230 might help me squeeze into some rads program somewhere in the country.

I wouldnt worry too much about cutoffs tho, I know alot of stories where other factors besides the USMLE helped people get what they wanted so at the end of the day, there are many different routes to get what u want.

 

[bigfrank]

Congratulations on all these fabulous scores!!! I'm certainly seeing some selection bias here!!!

 

[EasyRider]

If anyone else knows the significance of a 230+ feel free to reply.

Karen

Check out this link. I have also copied the most important information below.

http://www.studentsofmedicine.com/chapt5mg.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to the NBME, the USMLE grading system was devised to allow the ability to compare the level of examinee performance over time. In other words, a score of 215, 10 years ago indicates the same level of examinee performance as a score of 215 today, even if the pass fail standard has changed. This holds true for both the 3-digit, and 2-digit scores. For more information visit the following USMLE websites: http://www.usmle.org/news/newspercent.htm; http://www.usmle.org/news/faqusmlescores.htm; http://www.usmle.org

One Sample Scale of 3-digit Step 1 Scores I came across:
245+ = “A+ or Exceptional” (Approximately 80’s in Qbank)
230-245 = ”A or Great” (Approximately 70’s in Qbank; also, some secretly talk about a cut-off of 230 on Step 1 for many competitive specialties at competitive programs, below which applications are overlooked)
215-230 = ”B or Good” (Approximately 60-70’s in Qbank)
200-215 = ”C or Average” (Average in 2003 was 216, with SD of 24)
182-200 = “D or Pass” (Pass in 2003 was 182; Kaplan talks about a 50-60% on Q-bank to pass Step 1)

Be very careful when looking at the above scores, and the scale. I know that many statisticians may feel this scale is very simplified, and it is. Also, Step 1 is weighted differently by different programs, and some are considering not using it at all, relying more accurately to determine your potential for the field by grades, evaluations and letters. Lastly, you will find by asking around, that there were students getting 75’s on Qbank who failed the actual exam, so take these figures with a grain a salt.

 

[KNightInBlue]

Hey guys:

What do you guys think of the following package from the website below. Also are the video lectures, Qbank, Qbook and the rest of the things offfered really the same as those from the Kaplan website? I just can not believe the prize. This is the same website where they sell Goljan Audio (Is this the one everybody talks about?)

Thank you


http://usmlestep.com/step1-kaplan-dvd.htm

Standard Edition Premium Edition Deluxe Edition
Video Lectures X X X
Step 1 Notes X X
Qbook X X
Qbank X X
Simulated Exam X X
6-month guarantee X X X
6 medical books in electronic format - PDB X X
USMLE Easy Qbank X X
Kaplan Webprep X
Alert X
NMS X
Compass ArcVenture X
Shipping X X X
Price $149 $179 $199

DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THAT SITE!!

There was a thread a while back that said it was a scam run by some guy from Russia.

 

[uclabruins47]

229/93, which pales in comparison with the rest of you guys but im happy
NBME1: 510
NBME2: 520
Kaplan prac test CD: 63%

Did some "Kaplan Qbank" downloaded off of www.limewire.com, which i think is still there if you search for it. It does have around 2000 Q's and is of the same caliber as the real qbank i would think, although i've never seen the real qbank.

Mainly Goljan notes + 1st aid + Kaplan notes. Goljan 100 page notes days before the test is extremely helpful.

 

[Pox in a box]

Congratuatations everyone! Great Score Long Dong!

I can't wait to see Idq1i, p53, and Pox's score!

p53 and Pox don't forget to post your step 1 experience too!

I don't know what's going on. My scores didn't come in today. I checked my mailbox this afternoon and they weren't there. I was too nervous to go to the SAO this week when I heard from others that the scores had arrived. I was studying all week for an exam and didn't want to risk getting complacent for that one. When I checked my mailbox, the other mail was there but nothing from the NBME...anyone got any ideas?

 

[siempre595]

About half my class got scores today from what I can tell....and the rest of us didn't. I think it's random, just keep waiting....

 

[j-snake]

Score came today.

MCAT: 35
NBME2: 550 (230)
USMLE 1: 241/97

I studied for 3 weeks for the test. I mostly used First Aid and a dvd I was given with a bunch of files on it. I am pleased with my score because I reached where I wanted to be. I just hope it's above the median for my class (my MCAT scores are below).

 

[samyjay]

Score came today.

MCAT: 35
NBME2: 550 (230)
USMLE 1: 241/97

I studied for 3 weeks for the test. I mostly used First Aid and a dvd I was given with a bunch of files on it. I am pleased with my score because I reached where I wanted to be. I just hope it's above the median for my class (my MCAT scores are below).

Wow, way to go, it seems to me you prob go to Upenn or wash u if the median is a 240!

 

[crys20]

only 30 clinical presentations? i was under the impression that the majoirty of the exam was CVs odd

 

[opus03]

Ok so I studied for a little less than 4 weeks including the whole Kaplan intense prep thing which probably saved my butt....

NBME-1 610, 6 days before
NBME-2 580, 3 days before
Step 1- 239/97

My goal was 230 so I'm quite happy to have met that but I agree that my score dims in comparison to a lot of these others...great job guys, you are all awesome!!

 

[Long Dong]

Hey guys:

What do you guys think of the following package from the website below. Also are the video lectures, Qbank, Qbook and the rest of the things offfered really the same as those from the Kaplan website? I just can not believe the prize. This is the same website where they sell Goljan Audio (Is this the one everybody talks about?)

Thank you


http://usmlestep.com/step1-kaplan-dvd.htm

Standard Edition Premium Edition Deluxe Edition
Video Lectures X X X
Step 1 Notes X X
Qbook X X
Qbank X X
Simulated Exam X X
6-month guarantee X X X
6 medical books in electronic format - PDB X X
USMLE Easy Qbank X X
Kaplan Webprep X
Alert X
NMS X
Compass ArcVenture X
Shipping X X X
Price $149 $179 $199

I know someone who well sell you most of that stuff for even cheaper, PM if you want to know who. But I did buy some step 2 stuff from them so I could study with and follow along with each rotation.

I got this package from them in the mail about a week ago: http://usmlestep.com/step2-kaplan-video-dvd.htm

It came with everything promised except for Kaplan 2003 notes (but 2002 was included pdf), Qbank 2005 (but 2004 was included, in word document) Medrevu, Mock Exam, Step 2 secrets, and the collection of medical books in PDF format. It was hella scary sending the money western union and not via paypal. I wasn't sure if I was gonna get the goods or not since I was sending the money out of the country, but the goods came. I also got a group of about 30 of my classmates to split the cost with me so in the end the price was cheap, you might wanna do the same.

I don't have the patients to set down and watch all the lectures but I well be converting them to mp3 to listen to while I work out or drive home. I did this for step one goljan listened to 5X and webprep listened to 2X. So hopefully around dec of next year I can get a repeat of my performance on step 1 on step 2. I'll see all you guys graduating to the step 2 forms and clinical rotations soon.

 

[bigfrank]

Congrats on these fabulous scores. Keep 'em coming!!!

 

[beanbean]

Thank you for being such a great Step1 cheerleader BigFrank...the support and advice on SDN has been invaluable over the last few years to me. I try to give back what I have received and it is important that the tradition continues. There will always be people who are quick to post to others that they will never match, should be in med school, will make a terrible doctor, etc. The people like yourself who offer solid advice and encouragement to others deserve some applause!

 

[Long Dong]

Thank you for being such a great Step1 cheerleader BigFrank...the support and advice on SDN has been invaluable over the last few years to me. I try to give back what I have received and it is important that the tradition continues. There will always be people who are quick to post to others that they will never match, should be in med school, will make a terrible doctor, etc. The people like yourself who offer solid advice and encouragement to others deserve some applause!

Big frank is like the master yoda training the majority of us to fight the dark side (step 1 and soon step 2). Idio is like obi-wan kenobi, and jalby is like mace windu (angry but still helpful if you pm him).

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

Big frank is like the master yoda training the majority of us to fight the dark side (step 1 and soon step 2). Idio is like obi-wan kenobi, and jalby is like mace windu (angry but still helpful if you pm him).

what a starwars freak...

 

[wannabedoc81]

score: 257/97 (June 14)

How come I took it on the same day, got a lower three digit score (251) and got a higher two digit score of 99?

 

[RLMD]

How come I took it on the same day, got a lower three digit score (251) and got a higher two digit score of 99?

typo

 

[mark1070]

typo

yeah sorry, 257/99!

Mark

 

[blocks]

The second number is your "two-digit score." It is NOT a percentile and is just a representation of your more important three-digit score. Anyone with >240 or so will get a "99" two-digit score. Hope this helps.

Just an FYI, I was told by an assistant residency director at a well-known program at an interview this year that many programs look only at the 2 digit score. The reasoning is that it better reflects how you compare with other candidates. As most know, the USMLE score isn't used for much more than a weed out, and a 99 is a 99, that is to say >240-ish is looked upon equally given variations in tests conditions, luck, etc. At that point, many other factors come into play. Just thought I'd bring it up, because it's something I didn't fully grasp until after going through the whole application/interview process this year.

Congrats to all who passed the exam, and best of luck the next couple of years!

 

[ondansatron]

Hi everyone,

SAT 1580 (800 V, 780 M)
MCAT 36-38 (11 physical science, 12 bio, 13-15 verbal)
Q-bank : 70% but only 35% completed
150 Released questions : 74% (4 weeks before)
NBME 1 : 228 (5 days before)
NMBE 2: 236 (3 days before)
Step 1: 244/99

I was very pleasantly surprised by my score. I left the test feeling that I had my a** kicked by the test. There were sections where I was unsure about the answer on over 50% of the questions! I also knew that there were ~10 questions that I got wrong for sure. But I've always done pretty well on standardized tests in the past, so I guess things worked out in the end.

How I studied... I studied for 5 weeks, but took weekends off to go to weddings and such. I pretty much only used FA and Kaplan q bank (used BRS path a little). FA i went through very throughly and understood, *really* understood all of it. I also annotated it extensively with class notes, or looked at other resources when I didn't understand it. In terms of content, I didn't find Q bank that helpful. the questions were too nitpicky and didn't test the big concepts (which I would argue is the focus of the real test). However it was useful because I got used to taking timed tests on a computer.

How i structured my day.... i did almost all my studying with my roommate. We'd start in the morning at 9 and do questions on our own until 12. Then we'd go through FA together from 1 to 8 or 9pm. If we had enough energy, we'd finish off the day doing more questions on our own. Needless to say, we get along very well. I would not suggest doing this unless you know that you study well together! But if you do I would highly recommend it. we kept each other motivated, taught each other a ton, and paradoxically slowed each other down so that we actually *learned* what was in FA instead of just skimming over it.

Last Thoughts:
1) be sure to use the most current edition of First Aid. I started off using the 2004 version, but found that the 2005 version had a lot of changes and improvements. note: I was also a little nervous that it wouldn't be enough. a lot of people i know were using all sorts of different books and resources. I couldn't understand how they could learn that much stuff when just learning what was in FA was taking me so long! the only other book that I used somewhat regularly was BRS path.

2) take breaks - i would have gone crazy if i had studied for 5 weeks straight. the weekends were key to my sanity!

3) take your first 2 years of med school seriously. though i learned a lot during my 5 weeks of boards study, it was really just the icing on the cake. I'm sure it made my score go up, but i don't know how different my score would have been if i hadn't studied at all. I was always going back to things I had learned during class to answer a majority of the questions. It was only the rarer "fact" questions that my studying helped with.

4) the anatomy section in FA kinda sucks and definitely is not enough.

5) do the NBME tests. they were spot on in terms of concepts and question difficulty... and quite a few people I knew got the exact same questions on the real test! I took them timed, but wrote down a reminder about questions that I wanted to look up later. there is an option to do them in "study mode" which is not timed.

 

[dynx]

iDq1i is busy being on-call. I'll post my score as soon as I get the official letter

MCAT: 11v/13p/11b
NBME a&b: not taken
Path shelf: 780
Class rank: Almost all H's
Step 1: 256/99

Study "plan":
Qbank completed: 81%.
Skimmed Cecil Essentials of Medicine.
Read BRS behavioral
Threw FA in the garbage after two days
Studied on and off for ~3 weeks. Absolutely no study plan (as far as timing, schedule, etc). I wanted 4 more points, but with the amount of work that I put in, I'll take this.
The best study method for step one = doing well in your 2nd year. There is no substitute.

Nice score infact, I think its the perfect score...any more than that and its clear you spent to much time studying.

I notice the silence from p53...what's the deal?

 

[Long Dong]

Nice score infact, I think its the perfect score...any more than that and its clear you spent to much time studying.

I notice the silence from p53...what's the deal?

I think alot of people are waiting for this one.

 

[xhxlx]

all right. i am one of those long time viewers but first time posters. why didn't i post before? honestly, i didn't think i had anything useful to say. but now that i'm all done with step 1 and have the results in hand, i think some people can benefit from my experience.

first of all, some backround stats:
mcat 32
college gpa 3.95
no med school grades or rankings (strictly p/f for first 2 years)
nbme form 1 - 410 (equivalent to a 195) - taken 5 wks beforehand
q bank - about 71% with around 60-65% complete
step 1 - 99

throughout med school, i've done decently well, but certainly not spectacular in any way. at the same time, i probably didn't work nearly as hard as i should have. but i enjoyed my first two years, and got about 10 hrs of sleep a night every night. i don't think there was one school night during which i got less than 6 hrs sleep. i was a big crammer, and usually got anywhere around the mean to one SD above the mean for my exams. before i started studying for the boards, i felt that i really didn't know a lot of things and that i had forgotten those facts i crammed in my head before an exam. so, i definitely knew that i had a lot of work to do. my ultimate goal was to get >250, and i actually made a sign with "260" on it to keep me motivated and remind me that i still needed to do a lot of work. i studied probably 8-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. i used a bunch of books, but they're the same as everyone else's. on the day of the exam, i felt ok. i thought the first two blocks were really shaky for me simply because i was so damn nervous. the rest of the exam went ok. after the exam, i felt very "blah" about the whole thing. i'm sure a lot of you know what i mean. now that i have my score, however, i am very pleased and definitely don't regret spending 5 hard weeks studying.

so, this post is really for those of you who did not get the greatest score on one of those nbme exams. in 5 weeks, i improved over 50 points. of course, improving 50 points is much easier if you start from a low score, and you cannot expect the same results if you start with a 220 or 230.

anyway, i hope this brings some encouragement to those out there who are struggling and feeling stressed. you definitely can do it, but it will take work and dedication. OF COURSE, the best way to do well is just study really hard during the first two years, but if you did not necessarily give 110% in the first two years, don't lose hope.

thanks everyone. big thanks to big frank for being so willing to help us on these forums and for being so positive.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

so, are most of you A students, or just average students?
(This question pertains to both high and low scorers....)

I'm just a below-average student cuz my memory fu*kin sucks!

 

[VincentAdultman]

so, are most of you A students, or just average students?
(This question pertains to both high and low scorers....)

I'm just a below-average student cuz my memory fu*kin sucks!

Pretty mediocre actually....never honored anything, prolly 75-85 range.

I haven't worked as hard as I did to prepare for Step one since I was an undergrad.

 

[bulldog]

The second number is your "two-digit score." It is NOT a percentile and is just a representation of your more important three-digit score. Anyone with >240 or so will get a "99" two-digit score. Hope this helps.

found this link from another post: http://psych.colorado.edu/~mcclella...rmal/normz.html

so, the values that you'd enter are:
on the box w/ the arrow, select CUMULATIVE.
mean: 220 [not sure what mean is]
std: 20 [not sure what std is]
Y: your score

 

[MeganRose]

found this link from another post: http://psych.colorado.edu/~mcclella...rmal/normz.html

so, the values that you'd enter are:
on the box w/ the arrow, select CUMULATIVE.
mean: 220 [not sure what mean is]
std: 20 [not sure what std is]
Y: your score

http://psych.colorado.edu/~mcclella/java/normal/normz.html

 

[Diana_UC]

So, how do you know if you need to take Step 2 early to make up for your Step I score or if you did ok? I thought I did ok (238), but then everyone else on this thread seems to have gotten higher. Just not really sure how to interpret my score.

-Thanks

 

[p53]

I think alot of people are waiting for this one.

99

 

[bigfrank]

99

 

[idq1i]

So, how do you know if you need to take Step 2 early to make up for your Step I score or if you did ok? I thought I did ok (238), but then everyone else on this thread seems to have gotten higher. Just not really sure how to interpret my score.

-Thanks

You did very well on your test. Relax...enjoy the moment.

 

[candbgirl]

244/99; 257/99; 257/97;239/97;241/97

All of these are scores posted in this thread. I don't understand how there can be such a big discrepancy in the 2 digit score. How can 2 people who got the same 3 digit score get different 2 digit scores? How can someone who scored 7 points less in the 3 digit score get a higher 2 digit score. Is there any explanation that you can think of?