Official 2011 USMLE Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[ProtossCarrier]

Hello everyone. I am a second year who will write the exam in June 2011. Meanwhile let this be a good thread where everyone share their study progress and recent trend of the exam.

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[step1saga]

277/99

http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png

By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - !

Congrats is that the highest ever?

 

[bbydoc]

277/99

http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png

My main study strategy was to do as many questions as possible. I did the WebPath questions during 1st year, all of USMLERx during the summer before 2nd year, Kaplan Qbank during 2nd year along w/ classes, and UWorld during my dedicated study time. I then did all of the questions in all 3 qbanks that I got wrong again until I had gotten all of them right. I also did the Robbins Review of Pathology question book.

I annotated FA and read RR Path along w/ classes during 2nd year. During the dedicated study period, I did 3 runs through the material, using FA, RR Path, and BRS Physio, along w/ UWorld. I used the "CramFighter" iPhone app to do my study schedule. I preferred to do three 2-week runthroughs of the material to one long one, as I found the repetition helpful. The first runthrough I studied more casually, getting down the main concepts. The 2nd and 3rd times through the material, I focused more on the topics to memorize/cram (I got at least one question right on the test thanks to rote memorization (of the pharyngeal arch derivatives)! )

Practice scores:
UWorld Sim Exam #1 (10 weeks out): 265+
UWorld SimExam #2 (8 weeks out): 265+
NBME CBSE (provided by school before dedicated study time): 260+
NBME 11 (6 weeks out): 266
NBME 7 (5 weeks out): 268
NBME 6 (4 weeks out): 273
NBME 12 (3 weeks out): 275

By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - on some of these, I was able to reason out the answers. The remainder of this 5% made up the 6 questions I know I got wrong - these were all questions that you either know or don't - e.g. specific adverse effects within a single class of HIV drugs, muscle attachments, etc.

Hope this was helpful!

just wow. I think this is the second highest score I've seen on SDN, the highest with screenshot.
(highest I've seen on here was 279)

 

[srm16]

just wow. I think this is the second highest score I've seen on SDN, the highest with screenshot.
(highest I've seen on here was 279)

Yep, I saw someone w/ a 278 on SDN, and I've heard of a >280 (that was a friend of a friend).

 

[fahimaz7]

lol, you shouldn't be surprised that you killed it. is neurosurgery still in the cards? I'm not sure what I want to do anymore.

I don't know what I want to do either. Thinking Rads atm. Maybe ER.. hmm...

 

[Rollo]

277/99

http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png

My main study strategy was to do as many questions as possible. I did the WebPath questions during 1st year, all of USMLERx during the summer before 2nd year, Kaplan Qbank during 2nd year along w/ classes, and UWorld during my dedicated study time. I then did all of the questions in all 3 qbanks that I got wrong again until I had gotten all of them right. I also did the Robbins Review of Pathology question book.

I annotated FA and read RR Path along w/ classes during 2nd year. During the dedicated study period, I did 3 runs through the material, using FA, RR Path, and BRS Physio, along w/ UWorld. I used the "CramFighter" iPhone app to do my study schedule. I preferred to do three 2-week runthroughs of the material to one long one, as I found the repetition helpful. The first runthrough I studied more casually, getting down the main concepts. The 2nd and 3rd times through the material, I focused more on the topics to memorize/cram (I got at least one question right on the test thanks to rote memorization (of the pharyngeal arch derivatives)! )

Practice scores:
UWorld Sim Exam #1 (10 weeks out): 265+
UWorld SimExam #2 (8 weeks out): 265+
NBME CBSE (provided by school before dedicated study time): 260+
NBME 11 (6 weeks out): 266
NBME 7 (5 weeks out): 268
NBME 6 (4 weeks out): 273
NBME 12 (3 weeks out): 275

By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - on some of these, I was able to reason out the answers. The remainder of this 5% made up the 6 questions I know I got wrong - these were all questions that you either know or don't - e.g. specific adverse effects within a single class of HIV drugs, muscle attachments, etc.

Hope this was helpful!

Just want to point out how ridiculously over-prepared you were by the time you took your Step.

You're scoring 265+ 10 weeks out?!

I don't know how you managed to study for those next 10 weeks. If I were you, I would have taken a 10 week vacation and took the exam!!

Congratulations!

 

[wegener]

good job!
could you expand on how you managed to get that awesome score?

Sure! I worked hard for the first two years of med school and did quite well in my classes - I really think it's important to focus on getting as much as you can out of your classes, so the info sticks with you.

I took 5 weeks to study, and focused primarily on FA and the UWorld qbank. I supplemented with a couple of other books, CMMRS, HY Behavioral Science, Netter's, BRS Physio, RR Path, but I usually only looked at them if I didn't get what FA was telling me.

My practice exam scores:
NBME 1 (back when it was available in March) - 236
NBME 6 (2 weeks in) - 261
NBME 12 (3 weeks in) - 271
NBME 11 (4 weeks in) - 264

My UWorld percentage after completing the qbank (random timed blocks of 46, done all throughout my study period) was 82%, predicting a score of 273.

Like a lot of people in this thread, the NBMEs actually underpredicted my real score. Maybe that's because this particular administration of the exam was unusually difficult?

 

[jtse106]

i scored 232/99 on my exam, though i'm a DO student though not an MD student.

i'm thinking about going for IM, PM&R, or oncology in the future. would my score be competitive enough? i don't think i'd make it into a harvard/yale but ideally something like a UC or another school on either coasts would be nice.

 

[suizyme09]

lol, you shouldn't be surprised that you killed it. is neurosurgery still in the cards? I'm not sure what I want to do anymore.

Thanks!! I've still considered Neurosurgery, but I've also been intrigued by trauma surgery and Plastics recently so I'm glad I got a high enough score to have my choice for the most part.

I'm sure you also made some kind of unholy massacre out of your test!

 

[thecalccobra]

277/99

http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png

My main study strategy was to do as many questions as possible. I did the WebPath questions during 1st year, all of USMLERx during the summer before 2nd year, Kaplan Qbank during 2nd year along w/ classes, and UWorld during my dedicated study time. I then did all of the questions in all 3 qbanks that I got wrong again until I had gotten all of them right. I also did the Robbins Review of Pathology question book.

I annotated FA and read RR Path along w/ classes during 2nd year. During the dedicated study period, I did 3 runs through the material, using FA, RR Path, and BRS Physio, along w/ UWorld. I used the "CramFighter" iPhone app to do my study schedule. I preferred to do three 2-week runthroughs of the material to one long one, as I found the repetition helpful. The first runthrough I studied more casually, getting down the main concepts. The 2nd and 3rd times through the material, I focused more on the topics to memorize/cram (I got at least one question right on the test thanks to rote memorization (of the pharyngeal arch derivatives)! )

Practice scores:
UWorld Sim Exam #1 (10 weeks out): 265+
UWorld SimExam #2 (8 weeks out): 265+
NBME CBSE (provided by school before dedicated study time): 260+
NBME 11 (6 weeks out): 266
NBME 7 (5 weeks out): 268
NBME 6 (4 weeks out): 273
NBME 12 (3 weeks out): 275

By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - on some of these, I was able to reason out the answers. The remainder of this 5% made up the 6 questions I know I got wrong - these were all questions that you either know or don't - e.g. specific adverse effects within a single class of HIV drugs, muscle attachments, etc.

Hope this was helpful!

Amazing score! How did you manage to do all of USMLERx during the summer when you hadn't even taken Path yet? Moreover, all of webpath during 1st year? Am I missing something here?

 

[ArcGurren]

277/99

http://i.imgur.com/veT6J.png

My main study strategy was to do as many questions as possible. I did the WebPath questions during 1st year, all of USMLERx during the summer before 2nd year, Kaplan Qbank during 2nd year along w/ classes, and UWorld during my dedicated study time. I then did all of the questions in all 3 qbanks that I got wrong again until I had gotten all of them right. I also did the Robbins Review of Pathology question book.

I annotated FA and read RR Path along w/ classes during 2nd year. During the dedicated study period, I did 3 runs through the material, using FA, RR Path, and BRS Physio, along w/ UWorld. I used the "CramFighter" iPhone app to do my study schedule. I preferred to do three 2-week runthroughs of the material to one long one, as I found the repetition helpful. The first runthrough I studied more casually, getting down the main concepts. The 2nd and 3rd times through the material, I focused more on the topics to memorize/cram (I got at least one question right on the test thanks to rote memorization (of the pharyngeal arch derivatives)! )

Practice scores:
UWorld Sim Exam #1 (10 weeks out): 265+
UWorld SimExam #2 (8 weeks out): 265+
NBME CBSE (provided by school before dedicated study time): 260+
NBME 11 (6 weeks out): 266
NBME 7 (5 weeks out): 268
NBME 6 (4 weeks out): 273
NBME 12 (3 weeks out): 275

By doing so many practice questions, when I took the actual test, it felt kinda natural, and so I was more at ease. After the test, I made note of 18 questions that I had been unsure of, and I got 6 of those questions wrong, so I estimate/guess that I got between 6 and 12 questions wrong total. The test felt tough during and afterwards, and I would have guessed that my score was lower, so don't worry afterwards if you think you didn't do well! About 60% of the q's on my test were straight-forward (one or two-step reasoning, material covered in FA), 35% required slightly more thinking (but still based on material covered in FA or RR Path), and maybe 5% were things I had never seen before (and not covered in FA or RR Path) - on some of these, I was able to reason out the answers. The remainder of this 5% made up the 6 questions I know I got wrong - these were all questions that you either know or don't - e.g. specific adverse effects within a single class of HIV drugs, muscle attachments, etc.

Hope this was helpful!

Jesus f****** chr--wow what a score. You win this round, sir.

I swear, every time I come on SDN there's an even bigger score posted up... amazing work and well done. You probably deserve it for starting studying using WebPath questions from first year anyway .

 

[ArcGurren]

Amazing score! How did you manage to do all of USMLERx during the summer when you hadn't even taken Path yet? Moreover, all of webpath during 1st year? Am I missing something here?

My guess is that he goes to a school with a systems based curriculum. Or he just studied ahead (which is plain nuts). Anyway setting up a long-term schedule like that is pretty much guaranteed a nasty high score... I studied for most of the second half of my second year + dedicated study time, managed 250s.

 

[mrmandrake]

Doesn't it seem kind of strange that the two people on this page that scored over a 270 are first time posters? I'm not saying they are lying but it's pretty easy to fake scores so I wouldn't rely on screenshots for proof. If they did have those amazing scores ... good for them.

I made this in 2 minutes:
http://i.imgur.com/Qjzh8.jpg

 

[JasonXenakis]

Hey Im an MS2 with about 10 months to prepare for the step one and I'd like to ask some questions about resources that were not touched upon very much in this thread. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

(1) Gunner Trainning has gotten some pretty good reviews by some high scorers and some very negative reviews from many people that "just couldn't use that modality". I have a good deal of time and was wondering if anyone cold elaborate on their experience with this program, as i have done the free two week trial and it seems like a good investment.

(2) Also some other books that i have or can aquire that i was wondering is any users could comment on include: Secrets, the clinical vignettes subject books?

(3) Finally, its seems like programs like DIT and Kaplan are not really necessary to buy. Some people say they work well for them others use only small components of one or the other like the Kaplan Pharmacology videos, ect. Any additional info on these sources and which parts of the would be most useful could really help me out. Also, if i did go ahead with the Gunner Training program would it be worth my time to use either Kaplan or DIT on top of that? Even if i was supplementing GT with FA, the Qbanks, RR Path + Goljan Audio, CMMRS, and some HY books?

I know this is sort of a detailed and hard to awnser questions, but im just trying to figure out a smart/parsimnoious strategy for the next year. Thanks for any help in advance and congrats on your success and entry in MS3!

 

[Gullain Barre]

I don't really doubt at all that those high 270's folks exist, and they are indeed more likely to be posters on SDN.

That being said, I wouldn't worry if they're real or not.. with regards to study methods, there are people I know who have scored 250+ with just a dedicated 4-5 week study period. Then there are people who have been studying since Day 1 of MS2 that score above and below 250. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Gullain Barre]

(1) Gunner Trainning has gotten some pretty good reviews by some high scorers and some very negative reviews from many people that "just couldn't use that modality". I have a good deal of time and was wondering if anyone cold elaborate on their experience with this program, as i have done the free two week trial and it seems like a good investment.

(2) Also some other books that i have or can aquire that i was wondering is any users could comment on include: Secrets, the clinical vignettes subject books?

If you feel you must study from Day 1 of MS2.. since you feel comfortable with GT, then why not get it? I've seen people on these boards doing GT along with their coursework. At the minimum it helps you in your MS2 courses which by definition is the best way to prepare for Step 1.

Underground Clinical Vignette books were mildly useful for me. I got four of them for $5 apiece in the last 2 weeks of my study time and just read them in bed at night. They're a nice refresher on associations and findings associated with conditions and diseases. That's about it.

 

[liberaldoc238]

Did anyone else hardly get a any sleep the night before the exam? I hardly slept...I was getting angry that I couldn't fall asleep and that didn't help much. I was really tired in the morning but then the adrenalin kicked in for the test. I know I probably scored lower just because of lack of sleep.....kind of frustrating.

 

[Torquer]

My guess is that he goes to a school with a systems based curriculum. Or he just studied ahead (which is plain nuts). Anyway setting up a long-term schedule like that is pretty much guaranteed a nasty high score... I studied for most of the second half of my second year + dedicated study time, managed 250s.

I was thinking the EXACT same thing will i was scrolling down the thread. I guess even if they're fake they kinda just made me wanna bump up my studying.

>270s DO exist and a guy in my college got a 280 something last year. second highest in the world. he spent two years doing research and studying for the exam though

 

[HouseTroyhybrid]

I don't really doubt at all that those high 270's folks exist, and they are indeed more likely to be posters on SDN.

That being said, I wouldn't worry if they're real or not.. with regards to study methods, there are people I know who have scored 250+ with just a dedicated 4-5 week study period. Then there are people who have been studying since Day 1 of MS2 that score above and below 250. Different strokes for different folks.

27 days of dedicated study at the end of second year, with a booze-er-rific weekend in DC in between! 265!

 

[VenusinFurs]

Road to scoring the national average:

I followed a schedule. Like, biochem over three days, embryo the next day, etc. I started out reading FA, doing Uworld, then annotating first aid with new fascinating facts from Uworld. That got cumbersome so I stopped. I usually got in only 4-6 hours of studying a day. Also I got drunk twice shhhh.

EDIT: I got Gunner Training, but the fact that I couldn't just ignore my review questions from my flash cards pissed me off so I never ended up finishing it. I don't have the patience for Gunner Training.

 

[ThereHeIs]

Did anyone else hardly get a any sleep the night before the exam? I hardly slept...I was getting angry that I couldn't fall asleep and that didn't help much. I was really tired in the morning but then the adrenalin kicked in for the test. I know I probably scored lower just because of lack of sleep.....kind of frustrating.

Yeah it took me a while to sleep and then I was up at 5am, and about every hour thereafter until 8am lol .. Exam was at 11:30am

 

[235009]

Did anyone else hardly get a any sleep the night before the exam? I hardly slept...I was getting angry that I couldn't fall asleep and that didn't help much. I was really tired in the morning but then the adrenalin kicked in for the test. I know I probably scored lower just because of lack of sleep.....kind of frustrating.

unfortunately this is a common horror story but luckily it didn't happen to me ....its all psychological....you have to convince yourself that you've done all you can and let the chips fall as they may ...that's the only way you'll be able to sleep the night before

also 12:30pm exam time was awesome! i was able to follow the same exact schedule i had been following for the previous 5.5 weeks and wake up at 9am.

 

[suizyme09]

Did anyone else hardly get a any sleep the night before the exam? I hardly slept...I was getting angry that I couldn't fall asleep and that didn't help much. I was really tired in the morning but then the adrenalin kicked in for the test. I know I probably scored lower just because of lack of sleep.....kind of frustrating.

Took a benadryl at 7 the night before my 730AM exam...slept like a baby and rocked the exam!

 

[Day man]

this thread gave me just about all of my ideas for prep, so i felt compelled to give a little back. my prep had 3 major phases. I slacked 1st year and knew I'd have to really bite the bullet 2nd year if I wanted to get a score I would be proud of. It's not that long, forget about going out and distractions and get this done...anyway, my prep:

1. do well second year in path/pathophys/pharm. I used GT from november until my test date. peaked at 99% complete with 70% mastered. switched to lite mode once my dedicated time began due to time constraints, but i thank that program for my path shelf grade (90+). It works, use it if you learn by questions or tend to wonder what's for dinner/on tv/what's going on later while 'reading' texts.

2. I triaged my worst 3 subjects and started with them first. I did this 6 months before my test. I used GT to memorize micro + immuno (which ended up being the bulk of my exam). I used the kaplan biochem notes and lectures (bought the course, used it for biochem, realized the rest wouldn't be worth my time and returned the course for a full refund and got to keep the books...not sure if this is common but it was my experience). During this time I began using usmle RX, trying to do as many questions as I could.

3. 6 weeks before my exam I began my dedicated time. I focused on completing UW at first, and annotating FA. I read through BRS for phys then watched the kaplan pharm videos (raymond made all my pharm questions gimmes). My studying for the path shelf made path a lower priority for me. I ended up doing all of UW once with marked questions again, then about half the kaplan qbank in subject based mode. I also used tutor mode for all these, as I never had trouble with timing and would suggest this for those who can't stand re-reading the question while reviewing. I took 3 nbme's and the UWSA's:
5 = 212 (~12 weeks out)
UWSA1 = 238 (6 weeks out)
6 = 242 (4 weeks out)
11 = 243 (2 weeks out)
UWSA2 = 263 (4 days before)
Real slim shaddy = 253

Hope this helps someone. Best of luck to everyone. Focus on your weaknesses and just buckle down.

 

[Rollo]

Doesn't it seem kind of strange that the two people on this page that scored over a 270 are first time posters? I'm not saying they are lying but it's pretty easy to fake scores so I wouldn't rely on screenshots for proof. If they did have those amazing scores ... good for them.

I made this in 2 minutes:
http://i.imgur.com/Qjzh8.jpg

Interesting...

since this is an online forum, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt considering they are at least 24 years old medical students and therefore a bit more mature than trying to post a fake score online to impress a handful of people.

But then again, they ARE at least 24 year old medical students so this might be pretty entertaining to them...

 

[Encephalectomy]

this thread gave me just about all of my ideas for prep, so i felt compelled to give a little back. my prep had 3 major phases. I slacked 1st year and knew I'd have to really bite the bullet 2nd year if I wanted to get a score I would be proud of. It's not that long, forget about going out and distractions and get this done...anyway, my prep:

1. do well second year in path/pathophys/pharm. I used GT from november until my test date. peaked at 99% complete with 70% mastered. switched to lite mode once my dedicated time began due to time constraints, but i thank that program for my path shelf grade (90+). It works, use it if you learn by questions or tend to wonder what's for dinner/on tv/what's going on later while 'reading' texts.

2. I triaged my worst 3 subjects and started with them first. I did this 6 months before my test. I used GT to memorize micro + immuno (which ended up being the bulk of my exam). I used the kaplan biochem notes and lectures (bought the course, used it for biochem, realized the rest wouldn't be worth my time and returned the course for a full refund and got to keep the books...not sure if this is common but it was my experience). During this time I began using usmle RX, trying to do as many questions as I could.

3. 6 weeks before my exam I began my dedicated time. I focused on completing UW at first, and annotating FA. I read through BRS for phys then watched the kaplan pharm videos (raymond made all my pharm questions gimmes). My studying for the path shelf made path a lower priority for me. I ended up doing all of UW once with marked questions again, then about half the kaplan qbank in subject based mode. I also used tutor mode for all these, as I never had trouble with timing and would suggest this for those who can't stand re-reading the question while reviewing. I took 3 nbme's and the UWSA's:
5 = 212 (~12 weeks out)
UWSA1 = 238 (6 weeks out)
6 = 242 (4 weeks out)
11 = 243 (2 weeks out)
UWSA2 = 263 (4 days before)
Real slim shaddy = 253

Hope this helps someone. Best of luck to everyone. Focus on your weaknesses and just buckle down.

congrats day man! awesome work!

 

[qmcat]

I'm taking this beast on Wednesday. Please send me good thoughts and prayers. I'll post my experience when I finish.

 

[blueboyscholar]

good luck bro/broette!

 

[raingirl]

Good Luck qmcat! Mine's in 2 weeks

 

[MKMD86]

Done. Doing uworld a second time paying special attention to weak sections, reading through entire first aid with special attention to weak sections is key toward the end. both those things combined can be done in 10 days. I did uworld twice and read first aid again in 7 days combined because I was short on time. It helped because if u suck at memorizing like me u need to be looking at material til the last day even if you learned it before. I had 12 questions that seems almost straight from uworld including 3 ethics ones that were exactly like uworlds. For me uw and fa was almost 80% of the test. Pharm was much easier than I expected, I was worried about difficult drug of choice questions like antimicrobials or cardio drugs but i only had a few doc questions which were easy ones straight from FA which didn't have to involve deciding between two drugs, also had mostly side effects and mechanisms as questions. anatomy not as bad either fa plus uw was 75% for me, lots of CT scans which are easy. Those were my two problem sections. Second half of exam seemed pretty tough i think all my experimentals were there. Ethics questions are hard, I would look for additional practice questions Uworld is weak on it.

Anyway to summarize, FA + UW plus random details you remember throughout 2 years is key. You really need to completely memorize FA I was tested on details that I didn't think were important and that last run of FA got me those questions.

 

[naseeha]

Done. Doing uworld a second time paying special attention to weak sections, reading through entire first aid with special attention to weak sections is key toward the end. both those things combined can be done in 10 days. I did uworld twice and read first aid again in 7 days combined because I was short on time. It helped because if u suck at memorizing like me u need to be looking at material til the last day even if you learned it before. I had 12 questions that seems almost straight from uworld including 3 ethics ones that were exactly like uworlds. For me uw and fa was almost 80% of the test. Pharm was much easier than I expected, I was worried about difficult drug of choice questions like antimicrobials or cardio drugs but i only had a few doc questions which were easy ones straight from FA which didn't have to involve deciding between two drugs, also had mostly side effects and mechanisms as questions. anatomy not as bad either fa plus uw was 75% for me, lots of CT scans which are easy. Those were my two problem sections. Second half of exam seemed pretty tough i think all my experimentals were there. Ethics questions are hard, I would look for additional practice questions Uworld is weak on it.

Anyway to summarize, FA + UW plus random details you remember throughout 2 years is key. You really need to completely memorize FA I was tested on details that I didn't think were important and that last run of FA got me those questions.

congrats on being done. In what other resources could you find the 20% you feel wasn't in FA + UW

 

[Mandy22]

Does anyone know if the scores for the rest of June come out tomorrow? I am terrified. I found the real thing so much harder than the nbme's.

 

[Pinworm]

Does anyone know if the scores for the rest of June come out tomorrow? I am terrified. I found the real thing so much harder than the nbme's.

Yes they do - through july 2nd. Good luck!

 

[chad5871]

Yes they do - through july 2nd. Good luck!

Where do you get this information? I took mine on July 14th and don't know when to expect my score. I'm anxious about mine as well...

 

[christiansteph1]

Yes the remainder of the scores should be released today. I took mine on June 28 and my request document page has changed as described in earlier posts.

 

[Pinworm]

Where do you get this information? I took mine on July 14th and don't know when to expect my score. I'm anxious about mine as well...

from tracking patterns. The week goes from Sunday to Saturday with the scores being released at the 3nd wednesday after the wednesday for that week. I took mine on a saturday and got it in 2.5 weeks (3 wednesdays after) yet my friend who took it on the sunday after my test got it back 1 week later.

 

[MKMD86]

congrats on being done. In what other resources could you find the 20% you feel wasn't in FA + UW

Thanks. Just random stuff I learned in school mostly and there was some questions that were just weird probably the experimental ones. Aside from FA and UW I used Kaplan videos which helped me understand some subjects better, but that gave me two questions extra that I wouldn't have gotten with FA and UW alone. I also did half of Kaplan Q bank, that gave me 1 question, but aside from that was useless. That Qbank is probably better used along with classes before your dedicated step time. If I had to do it over again I would probably still stick to the same few sources. I'm pretty sure if I read more sources I would have had less UW and FA material retained which was more high yield.

 

[cyberer]

I got a 229/99, beating my target score of 225. I thought the exam went horribly, and although not as flashy as some scores on here, hopefully good enough to get me where I want to go. I am very happy and relieved.

 

[375RGRRGT]

I did step 1 today.......i think

I did UW with 71% overall once through.
qbank was through the year but about the same.
Did DIT as well.......but there wasn't a thing they discussed that was on my exam so I guess a paid 700 some odd bucks to aid in excluding a few answer choices.
UWSA2 = 254
NBME 7, 11, 12 = all between 245-255

Im not sure where my Step 1 questions came from or what they were even asking.

I must have drawn an erratic or odd set of questions. Pretty much an even 3 way split between micro, immunology, and anatomy. Other than those topics, I had about 1-2 questions from the other basic/organ subject areas.

I marked the questions that were topics I had no clue what an answer might be.....I marked a low of 11 in one section and a high of 21 in another. On the NBME SA's I usually marked 2-4 per section. Usually marked 3-4 in my random UW 46 question blocks as well.

Feel pretty indifferent about it, hoping that I just drew a hard set of questions......but its over and cant do anything about it now anyway

Best of luck to all those of you who take it in the future.

Ended up 243 - very happy and sigh of relief.

 

[River Rat]

240/99. Very ecstatic, I met my target. Took it without being able to sleep the previous night (anxiety and then frustration that I couldn't sleep. Bad recipe for disaster) and came out feeling like crap because there were so many questions I narrowed down to 50/50. Not sure how long I studied for, it's all one big blur, but I know I started reading FA in February (briefly, from front to back.) My test date was 6/28.

I kind of made up my own study thing, and ignored whatever my school told me (not the biggest fan of how my school does things.) I had the fortune of knowing people that have already gone through it, and my friend dumped a bunch of his books off on me.

I made sure to read through First Aid from front to back before I started (I think I stopped at neuro because I was really rusty and wanted to brush up on Neurophys/anat first before getting bombarded by high yield Neuro from first aid.)

Then read Goljan's RR Path front to back.

2. RR Biochem
3. RR Behavorial Sciences
4. BRS Physiology
5. one ancillary Neuro book (BRS? or HY, don't remember)


All while going along First Aid again, doing UWorld (first run I think I averaged a 55%, doing random timed quizzes since February.)

I then started my DIT program about 3 weeks out. Continued to read ancillary books in the down time while doing UWorld and Combank Questions (DO Student.) Avged 78% UWorld second run through. 92% Combank second run through. Read BRS Path to patch up some stuff I was blanking on.

Took the NBME11 I think 8 weeks out: 217
UsmleWorldSA1 2 weeks out: 234

Target was a 240 all along and I'm glad to have made it!

 

[SlickNickMD]

Ok I'm bored so I'll tell my story. My goal was over 250, my score was 260/99

Uworld twice/thrice. 75+ percent correct first run random tutor mode. Did certain topics again for miniboard exams (Path, pharm, micro, behavioral).
2nd run-89 percent. Re-did questions I got wrong
Kaplan-finished, 76ish percent correct, did path, pharm, micro, behavioral twice for miniboards. Used throughout year to study for exams
USMLERx-finish 85 percent of it which was a feat considering how many qs there were. Used for miniboards and throughout year
Did as many questions from as many sources I can get my hands on for 1st and 2nd year courses-review of path (excellent), webpath, brs, pretest, etc etc

Practice tests:
Performed way above national average for my NBME shelf exams (95th-99th percentile). Studying for these second year helped tremendously for prep. Did pretty well on my first year shelfs as well, the style of qs are identical to the boards so all that exposure helps.

NBMES: 1 through 6 (averaged about 250+ for each), 7 (253), 11 (242), 12 (255).

Debated doing the Uworld assessments but I ran out of money

Real deal-was a blur to be honest. Got out feeling "ok", but thinking there was no way I hit my goal. 2 weeks before score release I started to doubt I even got over 240 and started wishing for anything above that. I was pleasantly surprised when I received my score. Hard work + learn the material + luck=great score. Good luck gaiz.

 

[Tig2575]

Hey guys, took my test yesterday, here's a quick writeup out of my step 1 experience.

Little background:

CBSSE (2 weeks before finishing school) - 235
Started studying May 16
UWSA 1 (4 weeks in) - 265/800
NBME 12 (5 weeks in) - 257/650
UWSA 2 (Little after 5 weeks in) - 265/800
Free 150 - 95%
Uworld full pass - 86% correct
Real deal (6/27) - 270

I kept a log of hours I spent in the library over the course of my 6 week study period, and ended up with a touch over 560 hours overall. I found it helpful to keep such a log, because it kept me focused on maximizing my effort - there was no point where I thought "aww I've spent so much time in the library today, lemme just go home and relax," because I knew I was keeping track of every minute I wasted.

I originally had my test scheduled for 6/30 at 12:00 in the testing center in the city where I live, but I decided right after I started studying to bump it up 3 days. The only time available then was 8:00am, which I wasn't going to take, so I had it changed to a testing center in a nearby town, which had a spot available for 1:00. I'd HIGHLY recommend taking it in the afternoon - I had plenty of time to sleep in, get a shower, grab a nice lunch, and watch an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia being filmed right outside of my house (more on that later). Additionally, the testing center I went to was much smaller than the one in the city, which meant fewer delays, fewer distractions, less noise, etc.

The test:

I'm really not sure if I just got an unbelievably lucky draw of questions or what, because I thought the test was really easy - far easier than the free 150 questions or the NBME11/12 exams, and definitely way easier than Uworld. The questions weren't all that long, and there didn't seem to be a lot of "tertiary" questions at all (like on Uworld where you have to figure out the diagnosis, decide what the correct treatment is, and then answer a question about a side effect of the treatment). In fact, there were a lot of questions that were so basic (2 sentences testing a BASIC fact, like what the diagnosis is for a pt with B symptoms and acid fast bacilli on sputum) where I just tilted my head and said "wait, really???"

That actually concerns me, because a friend of mine took the test recently and got SLAMMED with embryology / anatomy - she said it was incredibly hard. My brother took the test 3 years ago and walked out feeling like he completely screwed up on the questions, and ended up getting a 260+. I would not be surprised at all if you're graded based on the difficulty and statistical analysis of the questions you took, which means if my test was full of cake walk questions, it's going to be a lot harder for me to clear the 260 level. But, who knows. We'll find out in 3 weeks - I know for sure that I'm going to get a score high enough to get me into the specialty I want to go into, I just want to get a score that'll make the *******s at the NBME sputter their coffee when it pops up on the discharge screen


I had maybe 4 or 5 embryo questions, and probably 9 or 10 anatomy questions, although they were all very, very reasonable. The CT scans are HIGH quality (not the copyright(c) 1993 scans you get from Uworld), and for the most part they were all fairly reasonable questions (as reasonable as USMLE-style anatomy questions can be).

Immuno was not hard at all - there were definitely a lot of immuno-related vignettes, but the final question asked was not always immuno related. When it was, it was a reasonable concept that you should have learned during your MSII classes.

I had a surprisingly large amount of microbiology, which I'm normally very strong in, however there was (as far as I can remember) 1 question that had me caught in between two answers. I'm refusing to look up any of the questions I wasn't sure about.

People talk about pathophysiology and describe ridiculous arrow questions with values that they had never even thought to consider, but all those questions are perfectly workable - you just need to take a step back and think about the physiology a bit holistically - skip the question and come back to it later if you're getting a bit tunnelvisioned.

As for Uworld / Fist Aid - I highly suggest you do all the questions you'd marked in Uworld the day before the exam (preferably in the morning and taking the afternoon off). I had 2 or 3 concepts that I had marked on Uworld that I had just reviewed the day before, that showed up on my exam. A lot of the info was of course in First Aid, but it's somewhat of a moot point, because you can only get the most out of First Aid if you already understand the material to a degree that you wouldn't really have needed to memorize the book in the first place. They're testing questions more than facts - First Aid is amazing for studying and consolidating your info, but I think you have to have the background knowledge first before relying on it.

Before I forget, here's my study materials:

Pathology during the school year - both Goljan Path and BRS Path
Pathology during board studying - BRS Path
Physiology - BRS Physio
Neuroanatomy - HY Neuro
Anatomy - Mainly First Aid (not enough, but you can figure out a lot of the questions if you remember a few things from your MSI class)
Immuno / Microbio: CMMRS supplemented with the Kaplan notes
Pharm: Pharm Cards + BRS flash cards
Behavioral - BRS
Embryology - First Aid (again, 2 out of the 5 weren't in FA, but you can figure them out if you remember anything from your MSI class)
Biochemistry - Pelley / Goljan's Rapid Review (highly recommended. Biochem was by far my weakest subject in MSI, and after spending 4 days with RR biochem, it was by far one of my strongest going into the test)




Oh, so, It's Always Sunny: I left the house to go grab some lunch before driving to the testing center, and made it about a block before the street was closed off. Turns out they were filming an episode of Always Sunny right there, so I had to circumvent the block they were using in order to get to the Wawa. On the way back, though, I stopped by the film site and managed to snap some pictures of the crew + Mac, Dee and Charlie:

Mac is fat
More Mac
Charlie doing the Charlie face
Dee on the left
Another of Dee

Updated with the results! 270/99!

 

[Striker]

Test date June 29:

215/91

Not really a gunner like most posting their scores here, I guess...but thank God for all matters. I just want to get into General Surgery at this point. Good job for those scoring very high, and for those scoring average or close to average, you aren't alone

Thanks and Good luck.

Edit: I had pretty much the same experience as the dude/dudette posting below me, and pretty much the same study plan.

 

[NyQuil]

NBME 11: 210 (6 weeks out)
UWSA 1: 230 (3 weeks out)
UWSA 2: 224 (2 weeks out)

The real deal Holyfield: 215/91

Kind of upset about my score because I worked really hard, and it's as if I made no progress from the start of my studying until my real exam (in fact, it looks as if I peaked somewhere in the middle, and then slowly regressed).

IDK what my chances are at various residencies now, but it looks like a lot of options have been taken off of the table. I'm kind of upset about it, but not extremely so.

My study plan:
Very minimalist at UW + FA, as per the unanimous recommendations of every upperclassman that I spoke to. Honestly, I thought it was a good system, and my scores seemed to improve over time. I made it through FA about 4x and UW about 1.5x by test-time.

If I could offer people advice about Step I, it would be this: Honor all of your blocks. It seemed like almost every question I answered was knowledge I had gained from studying for the school year. It was always a professor from my school that I could hear speaking the answer, and seldom Goljan or FA or UW.

Similarly, in my score report, I excelled at all of the blocks I honored, and did poorly on the blocks that I just barely passed.

Good luck to everybody else.

Edit: changed the word "never" to "seldom" above.

Also: the more I think about it, the more I realize that I got exactly what I deserved. After the exam, I put my range realistically from 200-220, and a wider, reachier range from 180-240. Thus, I am, at least, glad that I scored in the upper range of my realistic self-assessment.

 

[Gullain Barre]

Major sources used (learned everything within): First Aid 2011, RR Pathology

Minor sources (used as needed for reference): RR Biochemistry, HY Neuroanatomy, HY Embryology, HY Behavorial Sciences, CMMRS

Qbank: USMLEWorld (71%)

Me: Middle of my class

UWSA1: 220 (after 1 week)
UWSA2: 256 (after 3 weeks)
NBME5: 590/242 (after 4 weeks) - this is when I finished my first full pass through FA and RR Path
NBME11: 600/245 (after 5 weeks)
NBME12: 590/242 (T-5 days)
NBME7: 680/264 (T-3 days)

Did not look at FA or RR Pathology during 2nd year courses!

Quick and dirty advice
-If you use only one of these following advice, use this: Work your ass off during the 2nd year courses- this is absolutely the best preparation you can do for Step 1. Don't worry about getting extra materials like RR Path or FA- your first priority should be to master the course materials.

-An extremely significant amount of the test is thinking. But to be successful, you need that knowledge base. Essentially, this means knowing all the facts (even the trivial ones), and most importantly, learn how to use them to get you to the answer in solving 2nd and 3rd order questions. This is how you prepare for the WTF questions- you can at least make educated guesses.

-Find that motivation within you to put in quality time. Tell yourself this is the only time that you can put in all that effort for something so important- after you take the test, that's that. So if you can't get up for that, I advise you to try hard and find something that will.

Final score: 250

 

[septoplasty]

on the day of my exam (6/29) i wrote out my thoughts... didn't post because I thought I bombed it, so who'd want my advice lol. Opened up that .doc and it turns out I just didn't have any insight into how I did... at all.

I thought I'd scored in the 220s for one. And the only section I had the right idea about was behavioral.... it felt brutal, and it WAS (my only borderline section). Biostats were fine, quote questions were hellishly vague.

So not gonna bother posting that, every exam is diff anyway. My stats:

nbme 6 189 - 5 weeks out
nbme 12 214 - 4 weeks out
nbme 11 245 - 2 weeks out
free 150 89% - 2 days out

score prediction (after exam): 220s

real deal: 245-250

moral of the story: learning things in the first 2 years is overrated, as you can gather from my diagnostic I didn't do much of that (P/F curriculum hells ya).

in all seriousness, a month and a half is more than enough to make up for being a mediocre student if you're not looking to score super high. i'm sure the 270s have mad retention though. def work hard both years if you can. FA and UW are really great

I have the same scores as you (NBME 6 -- yet to take 12), but how on earth did you manage to bump up that score by 25 points in a week!?

 

[Gullain Barre]

I have the same scores as you (NBME 6 -- yet to take 12), but how on earth did you manage to bump up that score by 25 points in a week!?

Don't know about him, but in general I'd say that when you're taking a practice test one week in, you're probably going to get a big bump after another week of studying new chapters. At some point you'll peak.. just try to make peak at the same time you take the test!

 

[englishpatient]

I have the same scores as you (NBME 6 -- yet to take 12), but how on earth did you manage to bump up that score by 25 points in a week!?

ia with GB... you're gonna have the biggest increases in the beginning.

But I did one run through of FA between the two. I got through FA once every week except between NBME 12 and 11. I felt like I started to forget things I learned at the beginning of the "run" when I took too long. Every time I tried to memorize more and more. Worked for me, although I know most people on SDN take more time but are probably more thorough with their approach. Depends on your attention span and how long you can stand staring at the same pages I guess (mine is very short, lol).

 

[cougarY]

I've been lurking on here for a while during my step 1 studying and thought I'd post to give some hope out there that you don't have to read 30 books front to back to do well on boards. And if you dont kill the UWself-assessments like everyone else on sdn then you can still do well.

I studied 6 weeks for step 1 and ordered first aid during the last week of 2nd year. My main studying was FA, UWorld, and practice tests. I read a select few chapter of rapid review oFn sections where first aid wasn't enough for me (derm).

UWorld - full pass, then all the incorrects, then kept repeating questions probably a total of another run through
First Aid - cover to cover 2-3 times
Usmleconsult - 65% done (did all of these my last week just to do more questions)
A couple of random q books - about 1,000 questions total

(I took the nbmes offline so not sure of score except 11 that I paid for)

NBME 5 - 72% (about 5 weeks out)
NBME 6 - 77%
UWSA1 - 218 (4 weeks out)
NBME 7 - 82.5%
NBME 3 - 86%
NBME 4 - 86.5%
UWSA2- 228 (2.5 weeks out)
NBME 12 - 89.5%
NBME 11 - 240 (3 days left - I took this one online)

Real deal: 250/99

So again, my main sources were first aid and Uworld and trying to do other questions I could find. I didn't read Goljan's rapid review cover to cover - in fact, only a few chapters and didn't use it during the year. And I didn't listen to his audio either. For those that get freaked out about all the long study guides and look book lists everyone posts - it's possible to do well without all that. Coming out of the test I would've guessed anywhere from a 230-245 so I was obviously happy with my score. Best of luck to anyone still taking it soon.

 

[septoplasty]

ia with GB... you're gonna have the biggest increases in the beginning.

But I did one run through of FA between the two. I got through FA once every week except between NBME 12 and 11. I felt like I started to forget things I learned at the beginning of the "run" when I took too long. Every time I tried to memorize more and more. Worked for me, although I know most people on SDN take more time but are probably more thorough with their approach. Depends on your attention span and how long you can stand staring at the same pages I guess (mine is very short, lol).

That sounds about right, I took it before UW (which people say is pretty good in helping to learn the way questions on the NBME are asked so that might have played a role), for now, i'm trying to finish UW within a week, reviewing FA in 1 week, and then taking form 12.

What would you say is better to take 3 weeks out? 7 / 11 / 12?

I could use a motivational boost lol aka I dont want to get anally penetrated by a tough NBME.

 

[qmcat]

good luck bro/broette!

Good Luck qmcat! Mine's in 2 weeks

Thanks guys; I really appreciate it!

I just took the exam yesterday... will post my comments soon.

That sounds about right, I took it before UW (which people say is pretty good in helping to learn the way questions on the NBME are asked so that might have played a role), for now, i'm trying to finish UW within a week, reviewing FA in 1 week, and then taking form 12.

What would you say is better to take 3 weeks out? 7 / 11 / 12?

I could use a motivational boost lol aka I dont want to get anally penetrated by a tough NBME.

I think either 7 or 11. NBME 12 is ridiculous and my least favorite.