Official 2008 Usmle Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[lion]

Greetings my brothers and sisters ,

I am new member here and will be taking my boards in another few months .
I thought I would start a thread devoted to a compilation of 2008 usmle experiences . I don't have anything to report as yet since my test is in a few month but anyone who has taken the test in 2008 please share with us your experience and feedback so we can keep the SDN tradition alive !

Good Luck

"Never , never , never , never Give up ! "

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[MaxMoonMD]

Finally got my score tonight
90/217, and I'm happy with that score, even in SDN with 99'ers

Detailed exam experience: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6348543&postcount=71

Congratulations Ertugrul, well done!

 

[lankysudanese]

How long did it take you to make all these tables?

Did you find it very beneficial for micro?

....and is this why you have an antibiotics fetish....?

Just curious.

the tables took me 1 day to compose. they helped me a lot during my prep, and in my actual test, but most importantly on the wards.

the fetish began way before i start preparing for step 1. but its ok, it hasn't made me disfunctional....yet

 

[78222]

the tables took me 1 day to compose. they helped me a lot during my prep, and in my actual test, but most importantly on the wards.

the fetish began way before i start preparing for step 1. but its ok, it hasn't made me disfunctional....yet

Don't suppose you have a copy of those lying around in Word/PDF/jpg/anything format do ya?

 

[lankysudanese]

Don't suppose you have a copy of those lying around in Word/PDF/jpg/anything format do ya?

nah. i kept adding to the tables after step 1 (in the wards), and after a while they started looking more or less like the sanford guide, so i just ended up buying the book. i will dig in my trash e-mails, but i doubt it.

 

[socmob]

Logging in just after midnight worked for me, and I didn't get the email for hours...so word to the wise for those waiting on scores...

 

[volcanicglass]

So, I've been waiting a long time to post here. I've found this forum (well, you know, the previous years' versions) very helpful in knowing what to expect and how to prepare so here's my experience:

It's hard for me to say what was on my exam...I felt like everything was covered in such a random fashion. As everyone says, you can't ignore any topic 'cause you just never know...I, unlike many, did NOT have a neuro-heavy test (thank god) but I did have one killer section with a ton of musculoskeletal physiology and path that I didn't know. Be prepared to have 1-2 really hard sections...you can't let it get you down, it's just how it is. All of my friends and I, for example, despite having totally different tests, felt that we'd guessed on at least half the questions in the 7th section..it just murdered us. But everyone's happy now that we have our scores, so TRY to shrug off the feeling that you failed.

I studied for 4.5 weeks with about 4 days off, ranging from 8-12hrs/day. I used Goljan, First Aid, BRS Phys, RR Behavioral Science, BRS Neuro, and the 1999 version of HY Cell & Molecular. While I'd like to say that these books are a "must have" (I loved them all), my friends all used different books and all did well (220-245) so do what works for you.

I did go through the material slowly, taking notes (I never really looked at them again, but it was the act of taking notes that put things into my memory), which didn't always leave me with enough time to do USMLE World questions (which I also highly recommend). I figured there was no point in doing questions if I hadn't covered the material...which I still believe, but I do wish I'd covered more of the bank. So w/o further ado:

MCAT: 29
USMLE World: 53% done, was getting mid-50% for a while, but was in the 60s at the end (hit 75% once. that was a highlight)

NBME 4 - 4 weeks out: 193

NBME 2 - 2 weeks out: 195
I think that some of my answers to the first 1-2 blocks were changed b/c I was copying/pasting the questions to look up later and realized mid-way through that it was changing my answers to "C"...also the exam crashed like 5 times. Basically, I wasn't sure if this was an accurate score or not, but I was pretty freaked out, considered delaying my test, etc.

NBME 5 - 1.5 weeks out: 209
My exam still crashed 5 times and I still wasn't happy, but I felt like if I studied hard I could achieve my goal (the mean or higher). I was really unsure about what to do though.

Actual Step 1 Score: 226 =)

So, yeah, not a superstar SDN score by any means. But I'm going for a medium competitive specialty so I still have a pretty good shot at the best/better programs in the field (depending on the rest of my application of course). My goal from the beginning was to get the mean or higher, with 230 as my highest realistic goal. When I started getting my sad practice test scores, I started thinking that I'd be happy above 210. So I'm thrilled to have achieved what I'd originally set out to do. Also, I know that someone else who posted on here had a similiar pattern of practice tests to actual score and they really inspired me to keep on studying and not give up, so thanks to that person, and I hope that my story can inspire someone else. =)

 

[Nodelphi]

So, I've been waiting a long time to post here. I've found this forum (well, you know, the previous years' versions) very helpful in knowing what to expect and how to prepare so here's my experience:

It's hard for me to say what was on my exam...I felt like everything was covered in such a random fashion. As everyone says, you can't ignore any topic 'cause you just never know...I, unlike many, did NOT have a neuro-heavy test (thank god) but I did have one killer section with a ton of musculoskeletal physiology and path that I didn't know. Be prepared to have 1-2 really hard sections...you can't let it get you down, it's just how it is. All of my friends and I, for example, despite having totally different tests, felt that we'd guessed on at least half the questions in the 7th section..it just murdered us. But everyone's happy now that we have our scores, so TRY to shrug off the feeling that you failed.

I studied for 4.5 weeks with about 4 days off, ranging from 8-12hrs/day. I used Goljan, First Aid, BRS Phys, RR Behavioral Science, BRS Neuro, and the 1999 version of HY Cell & Molecular. While I'd like to say that these books are a "must have" (I loved them all), my friends all used different books and all did well (220-245) so do what works for you.

I did go through the material slowly, taking notes (I never really looked at them again, but it was the act of taking notes that put things into my memory), which didn't always leave me with enough time to do USMLE World questions (which I also highly recommend). I figured there was no point in doing questions if I hadn't covered the material...which I still believe, but I do wish I'd covered more of the bank. So w/o further ado:

MCAT: 29
USMLE World: 53% done, was getting mid-50% for a while, but was in the 60s at the end (hit 75% once. that was a highlight)

NBME 4 - 4 weeks out: 193

NBME 2 - 2 weeks out: 195
I think that some of my answers to the first 1-2 blocks were changed b/c I was copying/pasting the questions to look up later and realized mid-way through that it was changing my answers to "C"...also the exam crashed like 5 times. Basically, I wasn't sure if this was an accurate score or not, but I was pretty freaked out, considered delaying my test, etc.

NBME 5 - 1.5 weeks out: 209
My exam still crashed 5 times and I still wasn't happy, but I felt like if I studied hard I could achieve my goal (the mean or higher). I was really unsure about what to do though.

Actual Step 1 Score: 226 =)

So, yeah, not a superstar SDN score by any means. But I'm going for a medium competitive specialty so I still have a pretty good shot at the best/better programs in the field (depending on the rest of my application of course). My goal from the beginning was to get the mean or higher, with 230 as my highest realistic goal. When I started getting my sad practice test scores, I started thinking that I'd be happy above 210. So I'm thrilled to have achieved what I'd originally set out to do. Also, I know that someone else who posted on here had a similiar pattern of practice tests to actual score and they really inspired me to keep on studying and not give up, so thanks to that person, and I hope that my story can inspire someone else. =)

Congratulations! Job well done! I can't tell you how encouraging it is to see descriptions like this that I can totally identify with.

 

[zedx]

Congratulations! Job well done! I can't tell you how encouraging it is to see descriptions like this that I can totally identify with.

I got my score exactly 21 days after taking the exam (3/11/08). Form 3 projected my score exactly spot on (projected: 253; Actual Score: 254/99).

 

[will try my bes]

zedx when did you receive your score?I gave my exam on 7th March and have not yet received it.Waiting desparetely.......

 

[Xavier08]

This has been a great resource for me over the years, so I figured I'd post my experience for posterity's sake.

Resources:
Goljan RR Path and audio lectures
First Aid 2008
Robbins Review of Pathology question book
USMLEWorld Qbank


I had one month to study for this exam, took it early in March 2008. I listened to all of the Goljan lectures the first week and went through his book. This was good because it structured my time for me: roughly 8-10 hours a day to get through the lectures and the book simultaneously (I would pause the lecture and read the book to clarify/consolidate.) I don't study as hard as many med students, so this was good for me.

Every day did at least 50 UWorld questions. This Qbank became the center for my study. I found it easier to do questions all day long than try to read First Aid.

I know everyone worships First Aid, and it is a good resource, but I didn't focus on it very much. I would leaf through areas I wasn't sure about, and spent time on things that were mainly memorization, like genetic diseases and pharmacology. I'm not sure I even read the whole thing 1 time.
If you're a memorizer, First Aid is for you.

Goljan RR Path on the other hand was gold. Sure, there's more detail there than you need to know, but he explains things so you understand them. So if you're like me and you need to understand how things work, not just memorize that they do, Goljan is the way to go. Supplement that with Robbins qbook and do UWorld questions like crazy, focusing on understanding the answer; their explanations are generally fantastic. Couldn't recommend UWorld enough... Great resource. Harder than the exam, but the questions really test your understanding with multi-step reasoning.
The week before my test I was averaging about 65-70% correct on UWorld.
Took NBME 4 exam 2 weeks out and got 220.

Step 1 score: 99/240+

All in all, I got too worked up over this exam.. Didn't sleep the night before at all, and it wasn't worth getting worked up over. It isn't that bad. Just go in there, answer some questions and have fun with it.

Hope this helped some people.

 

[SuperMonkey]

The wait is over. 252. I'm happy with the score since I felt horrible after taking the test.

My method was a little different from most other methods posted, so I'll share it here.

During my last semester, I recorded myself reading FA 2007 and re-recorded it on high speed. That enabled me to listen to FA while I was working out during the school year. I think that helped. The high-speed recording allowed me to cover FA numerous times. I annotated FA with Kaplan. Some subjects I used the 7 book series--others I used the home study series. I used Goljan for path and I did not annotate FA with his book. I used UW and averaged 70%. My record score for 50 questions was 90%, which I got about a week before the exam. I looked at FA 2008 while playing the recording for 2007, which made finding the 2008 additions much easier. I then added the new 2008 info to my annotated 2007 version. For about 2 months, I studied an average of 5 hrs a day. I only took a few days off the entire time. The last 2 weeks, I studied 8 hrs a day and I spent 90% of my time looking at my annotated version of FA, 5% on Goljan, and about 5% of the time going over things I never got around to studying (like behavioral science, which was one of my better subjects).

NBME 2 : 253 7 weeks out (I should have taken the exam then)
NBME 1 and 4: 247 or 248 (i forget which was which) 2 and 4 wks out resp.

My excuse for not doing better than my nbme 2 was that I was battling the squirts a week of the test and I wasn't really sure if I could make it through 50 q's without a bathroom run. I probably could have studied more than 5 hrs a day, too. Also, I should have read more of the explanations from UW and annotated FA with UW from the start. But I really disliked the wording of some of UW's explanations. I skimmed through Physio BRS after the test and I think it would have been better than Kaplan physio for my particular test. But who cares? I'm pleased with the score.



Edit: A few people have asked me for the recordings, but I lost them with a hard drive crash. Sorry to those interested. I suggest getting together with friends and take one chapter each. You should have the entire book completed in less than a week. Good luck.

 

[zedx]

zedx when did you receive your score?I gave my exam on 7th March and have not yet received it.Waiting desparetely.......

I took it on March 11, got my score April 2.

 

[78222]

hey guys, I'm curious, how did UW pharm questions compare to the real thing? I've noticed that a lot of the pharm questions seem somewhat ridiculous on UW even by UW standards. Also, I've noticed there have been quite a few drugs in UW that are not mentioned in FA. Since Pharm isn't my strongest subject anyway (the straight memorization kills me), I am a little concerned by the fact that my pharm scores are sitting around 50%.

 

[zedx]

hey guys, I'm curious, how did UW pharm questions compare to the real thing? I've noticed that a lot of the pharm questions seem somewhat ridiculous on UW even by UW standards. Also, I've noticed there have been quite a few drugs in UW that are not mentioned in FA. Since Pharm isn't my strongest subject anyway (the straight memorization kills me), I am a little concerned by the fact that my pharm scores are sitting around 50%.

From my experience with the exam, the format UW uses (scope and level of detail) can sometimes show up on the actual exam. Overall, FA-pharm + the stuff in UW covers most drugs. For alot of the pharm-kinetics, the figures in the first few chapters of Lippencott's were very similar to figures on pharm I saw on some of the NBMEs and on the actual exam.

 

[dilatate]

I have been looking at this forum for quite some time now and found it somewhat useful. Here are some bullet points (high-yield).
PREP
1. USMLE World (74%, random sets of 50 Qs) is superior to Kaplan QBank 70% mixex), but it is always better to do more questions.
2. Robbins Review is useful but easy. I averaged around 80%
3. Gojan is superior to BRS Path if you want to know mechanisms and get some pathophysiology as a bonus
4. Do the Forms. They are the best predictors of where you will end up that are currently available (Form 4=236, Form 5=253). I would suggest doing more than two forms but not more than four. If you are not scoring what you want to be scoring, it is quite a dangerous bet to think you will magically improve on the real thing.
5. If you do well in your first two years (or my 1.5 years) there is no reason to think you won't do well on this test.
NOTE: This test is sensitive but not specific, i.e. if you are below average you can fool this test by memorization and cramming.

The TEST:
1. It is useless to read this forum to try to figure out what will be on the test and what won't. You won't get asked alot of things that are supposedly HY in First AID. Learn everything
2. No one remembers the distribution of questions that they got on this test. Anyone who claims they do is foolish. Anyone who believes these claims is even more foolish. It is 8 hours of hell. I didn't remember my name at the end.
3. NO ONE FEELS GOOD ABOUT THIS TEST. I FELT ****TY and SO DID OTHERS WHO GOT A 270. If you have done well on tests, have done well in medical school, etc. there is no reason this will be any different (unless there are extenuating circumstances).
4. This test is not a joke but it should be easy to pass for anyone that has had a decent medical education. The only reasons to not pass this test are a lack of effort, a lack of capacity or both. There is a reason why many states won't give a license to people who need to take this thing 3 times.
5. This is the most important test of your medical career regardless of what specialty you may be interested in. There is no way to sugar-coat this fact.

258/99.

 

[TonyDaTigrUprct]

I have been looking at this forum for quite some time now and found it somewhat useful. Here are some bullet points (high-yield).
PREP
1. USMLE World (74%, random sets of 50 Qs) is superior to Kaplan QBank 70% mixex), but it is always better to do more questions.
2. Robbins Review is useful but easy. I averaged around 80%
3. Gojan is superior to BRS Path if you want to know mechanisms and get some pathophysiology as a bonus
4. Do the Forms. They are the best predictors of where you will end up that are currently available (Form 4=236, Form 5=253). I would suggest doing more than two forms but not more than four. If you are not scoring what you want to be scoring, it is quite a dangerous bet to think you will magically improve on the real thing.
5. If you do well in your first two years (or my 1.5 years) there is no reason to think you won't do well on this test.
NOTE: This test is sensitive but not specific, i.e. if you are below average you can fool this test by memorization and cramming.

The TEST:
1. It is useless to read this forum to try to figure out what will be on the test and what won't. You won't get asked alot of things that are supposedly HY in First AID. Learn everything
2. No one remembers the distribution of questions that they got on this test. Anyone who claims they do is foolish. Anyone who believes these claims is even more foolish. It is 8 hours of hell. I didn't remember my name at the end.
3. NO ONE FEELS GOOD ABOUT THIS TEST. I FELT ****TY and SO DID OTHERS WHO GOT A 270. If you have done well on tests, have done well in medical school, etc. there is no reason this will be any different (unless there are extenuating circumstances).
4. This test is not a joke but it should be easy to pass for anyone that has had a decent medical education. The only reasons to not pass this test are a lack of effort, a lack of capacity or both. There is a reason why many states won't give a license to people who need to take this thing 3 times.
5. This is the most important test of your medical career regardless of what specialty you may be interested in. There is no way to sugar-coat this fact.

258/99.

well done dilatate... and congrats on the score.

 

[rox]

hey guys, I'm curious, how did UW pharm questions compare to the real thing? I've noticed that a lot of the pharm questions seem somewhat ridiculous on UW even by UW standards. Also, I've noticed there have been quite a few drugs in UW that are not mentioned in FA. Since Pharm isn't my strongest subject anyway (the straight memorization kills me), I am a little concerned by the fact that my pharm scores are sitting around 50%.

As posted previously, I personally found UW pharm questions very complicated. I can't seem to understand why they test the anti-viral agents that heavily!

IMHO, If there was only one thing in pharmacology you want to do tough questions for, that would be the kinetics and dynamics. It's definitely worth it. Otherwise, you'll be doing great with FA.

 

[78222]

As posted previously, I personally found UW pharm questions very complicated. I can't seem to understand why they test the anti-viral agents that heavily!

IMHO, If there was only one thing in pharmacology you want to do tough questions for, that would be the kinetics and dynamics. It's definitely worth it. Otherwise, you'll be doing great with FA.

Thanks, what about cancer specific drugs? Like, will there be questions that give a cancer and ask what drug to use???

 

[SoCuteMD]

Thanks, what about cancer specific drugs? Like, will there be questions that give a cancer and ask what drug to use???

There was nothing like that on my test!!!

 

[78222]

There was nothing like that on my test!!!

I hope not. I was reading the anti-CA agents part of FA and noticed it mentioned all the uses for various drugs. Unless they ask what you treat with Gleevec i'm boned.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I hope not. I was reading the anti-CA agents part of FA and noticed it mentioned all the uses for various drugs. Unless they ask what you treat with Gleevec i'm boned.

Ooooh, do know the monoclonal antibody ones!

 

[78222]

another week of this crap and I'll be able to post here. Seems like my UW score is plateauing. I keep getting right around 70% on random, timed, sets. I hope the 2.4*UW+84 rule holds remotely true.

 

[dilatate]

another week of this crap and I'll be able to post here. Seems like my UW score is plateauing. I keep getting right around 70% on random, timed, sets. I hope the 2.4*UW+84 rule holds remotely true.

I don't know why everyone keeps wasting their time trying to come up with formulas to predict their score. Here is the best formula of all...Take the NBME Forms. They are the only proven and standardized way to predict your score. If you score a 230 1 week out, it is reasonable to assume that with one final week of FIRST AID cramming you will do better than 230 at least. Stop wasting your time on this.

 

[78222]

I don't know why everyone keeps wasting their time trying to come up with formulas to predict their score. Here is the best formula of all...Take the NBME Forms. They are the only proven and standardized way to predict your score. If you score a 230 1 week out, it is reasonable to assume that with one final week of FIRST AID cramming you will do better than 230 at least. Stop wasting your time on this.

I don't feel like wasting more time on a test I can't even really review. Plus, if I took one now and did poorly I would be demoralized.

 

[BusterDO]

I don't feel like wasting more time on a test I can't even really review. Plus, if I took one now and did poorly I would be demoralized.

First off, from what i understand, if you are scoring around a 70% on UW you're in decent shape. Secondly, it would be better to be demoralized on a practice exam than the real thing. I've only seen a few post where NMBE scores were different from the actual exam, so if you want to guesstimate your score, take an NBME.

 

[lankysudanese]

I don't feel like wasting more time on a test I can't even really review. Plus, if I took one now and did poorly I would be demoralized.

or you could find out what subjects you are still weak in, and work on them before your test - thus improving your chances of scoring higher.

just a thought

 

[darkmansaad]

or you could find out what subjects you are still weak in, and work on them before your test - thus improving your chances of scoring higher.

just a thought

i think he means if he gets rocked as to the point where his weaknesses is "pathology" or "physiology" as opposed to "renal path". if i got rocked by an entire NBME id get down too but i suggest taking it anyway, i mean if u dont have to the stomach to look at a bad nbme score god help u during the step 1

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

hey all,
just took the test yesterday...it was horrible! i would say i had at least 30 questions of "what does the doctor say next"...not ethics..but more dr. /patient..how weird?!! those questions were soo difficult because at least 3 out of 5 question choices look good. i thought the questions were comprable to the BRS behavioral section for doctor patient relationship. i would definitely suggest going through these if possible.
also...there was tons of anatomy. for anyone studying for this thing...i'd say Roadmap anatomy + netter's for clarification is a must and probably the bare minimum (my opinion...based on my exam)

i'm kind of freaking out though...i feel as though i might not have passed..how do people generally feel after the exam? i was doing well on the NBMEs/Uworld..is it possible to go from doing well on these and then not passing? should i just have faith in the curve? i keep thinking of questions i got wrong...where i knew the answer but just made stupid mistakes...i'm driving myself crazy!

 

[Blesbok]

hey all,
just took the test yesterday...it was horrible! i would say i had at least 30 questions of "what does the doctor say next"...not ethics..but more dr. /patient..how weird?!! those questions were soo difficult because at least 3 out of 5 question choices look good. i thought the questions were comprable to the BRS behavioral section for doctor patient relationship. i would definitely suggest going through these if possible.
also...there was tons of anatomy. for anyone studying for this thing...i'd say Roadmap anatomy + netter's for clarification is a must and probably the bare minimum (my opinion...based on my exam)

i'm kind of freaking out though...i feel as though i might not have passed..how do people generally feel after the exam? i was doing well on the NBMEs/Uworld..is it possible to go from doing well on these and then not passing? should i just have faith in the curve? i keep thinking of questions i got wrong...where i knew the answer but just made stupid mistakes...i'm driving myself crazy!

You did fine. No one walks out of a test that covers 2 years of material and says " I raped that thing"

 

[hj0517]

Well done for getting through it soon2be!

I will be taking the exam in a couple months - just wondering is all the anatomy clinical anatomy and also are you including the neuroanatomy when you say you had a lot of anatomy?

I just ask because my anatomy review is basically the first aid bits and pieces so was wondering if an anatomy review is a worthwhile investment

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

Well done for getting through it soon2be!

I will be taking the exam in a couple months - just wondering is all the anatomy clinical anatomy and also are you including the neuroanatomy when you say you had a lot of anatomy?

I just ask because my anatomy review is basically the first aid bits and pieces so was wondering if an anatomy review is a worthwhile investment

hey....there was tons of neuroanatomy...but the anatomy i was talking about was really like extremities, rotator cuff...a lot of thorax anatomy including embryology. i would say it's definitely worth doing anatomy...go through road map...and if you have the kaplan videos...the anatomy videos are an amazing starting point.
again...this is just my opinion...hope that helps!

 

[lankysudanese]

there was tons of anatomy. for anyone studying for this thing...i'd say Roadmap anatomy + netter's for clarification is a must and probably the bare minimum (my opinion...based on my exam)

hey....there was tons of neuroanatomy...but the anatomy i was talking about was really like extremities, rotator cuff...a lot of thorax anatomy including embryology. i would say it's definitely worth doing anatomy...go through road map...and if you have the kaplan videos...the anatomy videos are an amazing starting point.
again...this is just my opinion...hope that helps!

the era of "FA is sufficient for anatomy" and "anatomy is not high yield" is coming to an end.

 

[bigfrank]

nice job on the scores, guys and gals.

It wasn't too long ago that I was in your shoes. Life definitely gets better, especially after that Step I score comes back.

 

[lord_jeebus]

nice job on the scores, guys and gals.

It wasn't too long ago that I was in your shoes. Life definitely gets better, especially after that Step I score comes back.

The legend returns!

Hail to the king

 

[Pewl]

the era of "FA is sufficient for anatomy" and "anatomy is not high yield" is coming to an end.

I'm not sure if that's true. There hasn't been a single person I've talked to who said FA anatomy was lacking.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I'm not sure if that's true. There hasn't been a single person I've talked to who said FA anatomy was lacking.

First Aid Anatomy is severely lacking, in my opinion.

 

[blz]

I'm not sure if that's true. There hasn't been a single person I've talked to who said FA anatomy was lacking.

Just to add to the debate, all my anatomy questions on the boards were NOT in FA. That doensn't mean I advocate wasting your time memorizing all that anatomy (since its not that highly represented). Most of it could be reasoned through.

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

i do'nt think the questions could be reasoned through...the questions i got were really detailed..i don't think memorizing anatomy is high yield if you're just trying to pass...but i think for a high score (i'll leave the interpretation of that statement up to you) it is necessary. but either way...anatomy in first aid was not sufficient..although i would like to believe it is. i think waiting for the score is just as bad as studying for the dumb exam!

 

[lankysudanese]

i think waiting for the score is just as bad as studying for the dumb exam!

I recommend blocking SDN until after you receive your score.

...actually, scratch that. I highly recommend that you block SDN until you get your score.

Best of Luck

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

hahaha...you're right.i think that's good advice..i will do that now!

 

[InternationlDoc]

I think Kaplan anatomy + Road Map + Netter diagram for clarification + blue boxes from Moore or Red from BRS Anatomy

Questions: BRS comprehensive exam at the end + Qbank

Hopefully that is a thorough enough prep

 

[djali]

To add another statistic to the bunch, cuz I know that was what I was looking for pre-step1:

242/99
Was scoring consistently in the mid 60%s in Uworld random 50 question sets.

My 2 cents:
The test is reasonable, and I found that it tests breadth NOT so much depth. First Aid has everything you need to know except for some oncology concepts & genes (which you can get from Goljan/BRS) and neuroanatomy (which I really wish I had read high yield Neuroanatomy for...study your brain stem sections). If you find yourself in a time crunch where you have to choose between calling it a loss on a subject or not fully understanding a different subject, DON'T call it a loss because it will appear on your test and you will be annoyed. Also, 6 weeks is more than plenty of time to study for this. Any longer and you will be wasting time/get burnt out too soon.

 

[registered user]

Test date: Sat. 3-29
Score report: 4-16

MCAT 34
NBME 1 215
NBME 4 220
NBME 5 232

Step 1: 241/99

Favorite color: blue

Will post experiences after I drink (probably more than a few of) my favorite beverages: tie btwn sapphire and tonic and bourbon and coke.

 

[beponychick]

Test date: Sat. 3-29
Score report: 4-16

MCAT 34
NBME 1 215
NBME 4 220
NBME 5 232

Step 1: 241/99

Favorite color: blue

Will post experiences after I drink (probably more than a few of) my favorite beverages: tie btwn sapphire and tonic and bourbon and coke.

Congratulations! This is an amazing score!

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

nice job on the scores, guys and gals.

It wasn't too long ago that I was in your shoes. Life definitely gets better, especially after that Step I score comes back.

Blast from the past! Mr. 267/99!

Dude, you used to be all over this forum back in the days. Thanks again for your outstanding review -- easily one of the best on SDN.

Btw, how's your boy p53?

 

[78222]

To add another statistic to the bunch, cuz I know that was what I was looking for pre-step1:

242/99
Was scoring consistently in the mid 60%s in Uworld random 50 question sets.

My 2 cents:
The test is reasonable, and I found that it tests breadth NOT so much depth. First Aid has everything you need to know except for some oncology concepts & genes (which you can get from Goljan/BRS) and neuroanatomy (which I really wish I had read high yield Neuroanatomy for...study your brain stem sections). If you find yourself in a time crunch where you have to choose between calling it a loss on a subject or not fully understanding a different subject, DON'T call it a loss because it will appear on your test and you will be annoyed. Also, 6 weeks is more than plenty of time to study for this. Any longer and you will be wasting time/get burnt out too soon.

Test date: Sat. 3-29
Score report: 4-16

MCAT 34
NBME 1 215
NBME 4 220
NBME 5 232

Step 1: 241/99

Favorite color: blue

Will post experiences after I drink (probably more than a few of) my favorite beverages: tie btwn sapphire and tonic and bourbon and coke.

Nice Job

 

[sade]

Ertugrul, Tebrikler!!

djali and registered user Congratulations.

Thank you all for posting your experience and advice. Will be facing the beast in a few days time.

 

[bigfrank]

Blast from the past! Mr. 267/99!

Dude, you used to be all over this forum back in the days. Thanks again for your outstanding review -- easily one of the best on SDN.

Btw, how's your boy p53?

She's fine, and I'm even better! Thanks for asking!

 

[Musashi450]

Hey All,
I just wanted to say to everyone that has posted their input thanks. A lot of eyes are on this forum including my own (I take the test in late June). For anyone that hasn't posted yet would you mind also putting you MCAT like some others have done? I know this fact is debatable but its more just for my own curiousity. Thanks and keep rockin those exams guys.

 

[78222]

wtf, I had like 8 or 9 embryo questions...

I'll update more when I am less tired or more drunk