USMLE Official 2018 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[Foot Fetish]

I've always wanted to start one of these...So here we go!

My stats:

M2
Test time: June 2018
Goal score: 270

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[Johnlocke3]

Hi everyone,

for those who received your scores today, could you please share when you took the exam? Thanks in advance!

I took my exam on 08/17, but didn't received my score today...Would I have a chance expecting my score next Wednesday?

I did it Monday 13 of this month.

 

[Solard]

Hi everyone,

for those who received your scores today, could you please share when you took the exam? Thanks in advance!

I took my exam on 08/17, but didn't received my score today...Would I have a chance expecting my score next Wednesday?

I'm also waiting for mine from the 17th but I'm hopeful we'll get ours by next Wednesday since a friend of mine and johnlocke both got theirs from the 13th today. The wait is so suspenseful

 

[LaLaLa_2016]

I'm also waiting for mine from the 17th but I'm hopeful we'll get ours by next Wednesday since a friend of mine and johnlocke both got theirs from the 13th today. The wait is so suspenseful

Ugh the wait! Hopefully next Wednesday! I thought it would be today...got me all nervous for nothing

 

[Johnlocke3]

Ugh the wait! Hopefully next Wednesday! I thought it would be today...got me all nervous for nothing

How did you feel during the exam? I may help you diminishing your anxiety.

 

[LaLaLa_2016]

How did you feel during the exam? I may help you diminishing your anxiety.

Thanks so much! During the exam, felt like any other practice NBME, except I thought the questions were longer, and more difficult. There were some "huh?" questions as well. I marked about 10-15 questions per block, a little bit more than what I usually mark. Most of the blocks, I had about 10 minutes or less to review the marked questions. I definitely felt some blocks were more difficult than other blocks, and thought that I didn't well, and for most of Qs, it was down to two choices. I also took a break after each block, which I think really helped me to re-focus. After the exam, I didn't think that I failed, but figured I could have scored anywhere between 210-240 lol. Then the next couple of days, my mind went from "I didn't fail" to "I failed for sure, now what do I do?". I've just been really scared that I got unlucky and gotten an exam that tested my weak areas, and underperformed.

Just to add the context, I scored 210 on both NBME 18 & 19, then studied about a month before I took NBME 16, got 236. Then two weeks later, NBME 15 (2 weeks before), got 232. My UWSA 1& 2 both = 245. UWSA2 was taken a week before my exam. Got 81% on Free 120 four days before exam.

 

[Johnlocke3]

Everyone leaves the exam with this weird sensation of passing but with lower expectations than predicted, then as times goes by you start remembering your most stupid mistakes, and believe me I make eight of them that will hunt me for the rest of my life, without counting my flag questions. I forgot about prader willi imprinting, wrongly calculated a standard deviation of 2.5% from a simple summation, and so on, it felt like a kick aimed to my balls or dick, whichever is more painful, because those are questions that you normally have correct in any other scenario. In the last week you are just praying to pass the exam. But remember that statistically speaking you are more likely to pass the exam having those self assessments scores. Same with planes I hate flying on them but I know that statistically speaking I am not going to die in one. I did make many mistakes there, I was nervous as fck, there asked me my weakest subjects, and marked 20 per block, and I passed. So I am sure you will do it too. Probably between 220-240, I do not think less because of your UWSA2, if I have to put a number it will be something around 235.

 

[TXKnight]

So is score reporting back to normal? I am taking step 1 on the 9/17, should I expect my score 10/3 or 10/10.

I guess is 10/10.it seems to be the 3rd Wednesday starting the week after your test. Though I've read many ppl saying that the eligibility period affects it but I have no idea it what way it does.

 

[mehc012]

I guess is 10/10.it seems to be the 3rd Wednesday starting the week after your test. Though I've read many ppl saying that the eligibility period affects it but I have no idea it what way it does.

Where do you even go to check? If this is accurate timing, I've still got until next week, but I realized today that I have no idea where they post...

 

[justthrowingitaway]

Where do you even go to check? If this is accurate timing, I've still got until next week, but I realized today that I have no idea where they post...

You go to the nbme website (where you signed up online for the test). Log in with your account and there they will post the score report. Also, they send you an email when the score is posted so you'll have a link to the scores.

 

[dpace]

Hey guys when do u think I should expect my result if I took it on 24 august, friday. I am expecting it this wednesday, 12 th september. Or is it going to scare me for 1 more week.
Very scared, didnt do that good on my exam day.
About half of the questions were like 50/50.

 

[lucky01]

22 weeks (3months) away till exam, is it too late to start anki? (thinking of doing zanki) i cant memorize FA for the life of me

 

[Freshstart91]

22 weeks (3months) away till exam, is it too late to start anki? (thinking of doing zanki) i cant memorize FA for the life of me

Do you mean 12 weeks away?

 

[Murrish]

Hey guys when do u think I should expect my result if I took it on 24 august, friday. I am expecting it this wednesday, 12 th september. Or is it going to scare me for 1 more week.
Very scared, didnt do that good on my exam day.
About half of the questions were like 50/50.

Took mine same day got it 2 days ago

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and intermittent poster. Got my score recently and wanted to pay it forward. I took 7 weeks of dedicated time and used BnB, Sketchy micro, and pharm flash cards for content with UW. I was not a fan of FA, but I did use it for memorization stuff. Also used a handful of pathoma chapters in trouble areas.

Data
School CBSE (right before dedicated): 218
Form 15 (5 weeks out): 236
UW Form 1 (4 weeks out): 262
Form 16 (3 weeks out): 242
Form 17: (2 weeks out): 242
Form 18: (1 week out): 238
Free 120: (1 week out): 83%
UW Form 2: (5 days out): 247
UW first (and only) pass: 78%
Real deal: ~250

Hope this helps those who are either about to take it or are waiting for results.

 

[Step2myLou]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and intermittent poster. Got my score recently and wanted to pay it forward. I took 7 weeks of dedicated time and used BnB, Sketchy micro, and pharm flash card for content with UW. I was not a fan of FA, but I did use it for memorization stuff. Also used a handful of pathoma chapters in trouble areas.

Data
School CBSE (right before dedicated): 218
Form 15 (5 weeks out): 236
UW Form 1 (4 weeks out): 262
Form 16 (3 weeks out): 242
Form 17: (2 weeks out): 242
Form 18: (1 week out): 238
Free 120: (1 week out): 83%
UW Form 2: (5 days out): 247
UW first pass: 78%
Real deal: 249

Hope this helps those who are either about to take it or are waiting for results.

Congrats on the score! Mind sharing what you did prededicated to start with a good baseline? Also did you use any other qbanks besides UW? Thank you!

 

[MaxillaryCa]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and intermittent poster. Got my score recently and wanted to pay it forward. I took 7 weeks of dedicated time and used BnB, Sketchy micro, and pharm flash card for content with UW. I was not a fan of FA, but I did use it for memorization stuff. Also used a handful of pathoma chapters in trouble areas.

Data
School CBSE (right before dedicated): 218
Form 15 (5 weeks out): 236
UW Form 1 (4 weeks out): 262
Form 16 (3 weeks out): 242
Form 17: (2 weeks out): 242
Form 18: (1 week out): 238
Free 120: (1 week out): 83%
UW Form 2: (5 days out): 247
UW first pass: 78%
Real deal: 249

Hope this helps those who are either about to take it or are waiting for results.

Congrats on the score! All your hard work really payed off! If you don't mind, can you tell me how many silly/dumb mistakes you think you made? I'm still awaiting my results, but I made about 6 so far. I had really similar scores to you (NBME 18-238, UWSA2- 245, UWSA1- 256 all within 1-2 weeks before the test). It's just really annoying to remember the things I messed up on. Do you think I still have a chance at a score in the 240s?

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Hey guys,

I have 14 days before the exam. My goal is realistically 235+. I have taken the exam in these order. Every NBME says I have a different weakness -.- What are your thoughts?
NBME 16 = 232
NBME 17 = 236
NBME 19 = 217
UWS1 = 247
NBME 18 = 225
Will be taking UWS2 next week.

Thanks in advance!

 

[sunshinefl]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and intermittent poster. Got my score recently and wanted to pay it forward. I took 7 weeks of dedicated time and used BnB, Sketchy micro, and pharm flash card for content with UW. I was not a fan of FA, but I did use it for memorization stuff. Also used a handful of pathoma chapters in trouble areas.

Data
School CBSE (right before dedicated): 218
Form 15 (5 weeks out): 236
UW Form 1 (4 weeks out): 262
Form 16 (3 weeks out): 242
Form 17: (2 weeks out): 242
Form 18: (1 week out): 238
Free 120: (1 week out): 83%
UW Form 2: (5 days out): 247
UW first pass: 78%
Real deal: 249

Hope this helps those who are either about to take it or are waiting for results.

Can you tell me more about the pharm flash card thing you used? Pharm rote memorization has been a weakness for me throughout school.

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

Hey guys,

I have 14 days before the exam. My goal is realistically 235+. I have taken the exam in these order. Every NBME says I have a different weakness -.- What are your thoughts?
NBME 16 = 232
NBME 17 = 236
NBME 19 = 217
UWS1 = 247
NBME 18 = 225
Will be taking UWS2 next week.

Thanks in advance!

UWS2 is probably the most accurate predictor. 235+ is definely possible.

 

[sunshinefl]

My bad, should have been more specific, I used the Lange flash cards and they were amazing. Pharm ended up being one of my strengths and I remember one question that was almost verbatim of one of the flash cards.

Thank you so much!!

Edited to add—I legit just ordered the Lange cards thanks to you. I’ve seen them mentioned before but then I saw a couple bad reviews on Amazon item page and I backed off. But now they are on the way!

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

Thank you so much!!

Edited to add—I legit just ordered the Lange cards thanks to you. I’ve seen them mentioned before but then I saw a couple bad reviews on Amazon item page and I backed off. But now they are on the way!

Glad to help. The deck is big, but what I ended up doing was going through the deck and taking out cards as I mastered them. I did 1-1.5 hrs of pharm flash cards a day and I think I ended up going through the deck like 4-5 times.

I’d say definitely know on all the side effects because they sometimes ask you about the obscure ones (eg like bismuth causing black stools). There was only one drug on the test I didn’t know and that’s because it’s not quite finished with clinical trials according to Dr. Google.

 

[sunshinefl]

Glad to help. The deck is big, but what I ended up doing was going through the deck and taking out cards as I mastered them. I did 1-1.5 hrs of pharm flash cards a day and I think I ended up going through the deck like 4-5 times.

I’d say definitely know on all the side effects because they sometimes ask you about the obscure ones (eg like bismuth causing black stools). There was only one drug on the test I didn’t know and that’s because it’s not quite finished with clinical trials according to Dr. Google.

Thank you for the follow up tips! You’re the best!

 

[DrImg2020]

Exam in 2 days. Can anyone predict me? And advice for last 2 days lol.

August till now.
NBME 15: 230
NBME 13: 234
NBME 16: 246
NBME 17: 248
NBME 18: 246
NBME 19: 232
UWSA2: 258
FREE 120 at the center = 90%

What do you think? What should I do for the next 48 hours? Revise first aid?

 

[21Rush12]

Exam in 2 days. Can anyone predict me? And advice for last 2 days lol.

August till now.
NBME 15: 230
NBME 13: 234
NBME 16: 246
NBME 17: 248
NBME 18: 246
NBME 19: 232
UWSA2: 258
FREE 120 at the center = 90%

What do you think? What should I do for the next 48 hours? Revise first aid?

You should review lightly and relax! Go in well rested and trust your prep. I’m sure you’re in the 250 range.

 

[Jdjj]

Has anyone heard anything regarding issues/errors with the scoring of the real exam?

 

[DrImg2020]

You should review lightly and relax! Go in well rested and trust your prep. I’m sure you’re in the 250 range.

Seriously? Lol it sounds too good to be true. I hope your prediction comes true. Thank you.

 

[21Rush12]

Seriously? Lol it sounds too good to be true. I hope your prediction comes true. Thank you.

If you’re in the neighborhood on the UW2 I really think that’s where you’ll land. Definitely don’t forget to tell us how you do!

 

[DrImg2020]

If you’re in the neighborhood on the UW2 I really think that’s where you’ll land. Definitely don’t forget to tell us how you do!

Thank you. Will do. If I get a good score like your prediction, I'll make a good contribution for the future step 1 takers.

 

[lucky01]

Hey guys, so i just started zanki 3.1 .... I'm having a really tough time deciding whether or not i should go 100% on zanki (for review) or should i use my FA(annotated with bnb notes) to review? Please can anyone who's done zanki shed some light on this, it'll reallyyyyyy help me. Does zanki have everything from FA? if so then i'd prefer zanki over FA because zanki is more interactive and "fun" vs FA itself is too torturous to review. thanks!

 

[21Rush12]

Hey guys, so i just started zanki 3.1 .... I'm having a really tough time deciding whether or not i should go 100% on zanki (for review) or should i use my FA(annotated with bnb notes) to review? Please can anyone who's done zanki shed some light on this, it'll reallyyyyyy help me. Does zanki have everything from FA? if so then i'd prefer zanki over FA because zanki is more interactive and "fun" vs FA itself is too torturous to review. thanks!

Some people swear by it. If it fits your style and you “enjoy” it more, by all means go for it. It’s a massive deck. You can always lightly skim first aid to cover things from Zanki that you’re struggling with also.

 

[ASGD1983]

I was discouraged to go the Zanki route by a friend of mine because I thought I could do it in 2-3 month frame I had at the time. He believes you need 6 months+ to really reap the benefits of any pre made Step 1 deck (he started in MS2 September scored a 230+ from a DO school while constantly being below average in most classes due to focusing purely on board studying months earlier than most).

I always wonder what's the best way to split time resource between boards, classes, extra-curriculum and so on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that person will suffer by ranking low in his class - due to him putting more time for board prep. AFAIK PDs still check your class rank and everything. For example which one is better to have: 230 step 1 and a class rank of 180 out of 250 or a 220 step 1 and a class rank of 40 out of 250? To put it differently, his grades were probably B and C with 230 step1, while someone can have A and B with 220 step1.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

230 step 1 and a class rank of 180 out of 250 or a 220 step 1 and a class rank of 40 out of 250? To put it differently, his grades were probably B and C with 230 step1, while someone can have A and B with 220 step1.

Give me the spot with the 230. Easily. Class rank matters much less than board score.

 

[mehc012]

Alright, so:

Kaplan and UW Qbanks, on full mixed, tutor mode: 80%
Kaplan full length:80%
UWSA 1: 265
NBME 15: 250
NBME 17: 250
NBME 16: 270

Decided not to take UWSA 2 because it was supposed to be my confidence boost before the exam and, well...NBME 16 happened, lol.

Prediction coming out of the test: 240s-low 250.
Actual score: 258

I guess that's where I ought to have expected to score, but tbh taking NBME 16 2d before the real deal and nailing it out of the park had me hoping to at least break 260, lol. So while I'm obviously very happy, as this score doesn't close ANY doors for me, I almost wish I hadn't taken #16! Or that I had actually buckled down and used my dedicated properly, as I really just half-assed a bunch of different sources and didn't comprehensively cover anything except Sketchy Micro.

 

[theonlytycrane]

Alright, so:

Kaplan and UW Qbanks, on full mixed, tutor mode: 80%
Kaplan full length:80%
UWSA 1: 265
NBME 15: 250
NBME 17: 250
NBME 16: 270

Decided not to take UWSA 2 because it was supposed to be my confidence boost before the exam and, well...NBME 16 happened, lol.

Prediction coming out of the test: 240s-low 250.
Actual score: 258

I guess that's where I ought to have expected to score, but tbh taking NBME 16 2d before the real deal and nailing it out of the park had me hoping to at least break 260, lol. So while I'm obviously very happy, as this score doesn't close ANY doors for me, I almost wish I hadn't taken #16! Or that I had actually buckled down and used my dedicated properly, as I really just half-assed a bunch of different sources and didn't comprehensively cover anything except Sketchy Micro.

congrats! Can you elaborate on your post-test feelings? You crushed, yet felt a bit bleh afterwards? Glad it turned out well

 

[mehc012]

congrats! Can you elaborate on your post-test feelings? You crushed, yet felt a bit bleh afterwards? Glad it turned out well

I broke out crying afterwards, thought I maybe only made 240s. Felt like absolute garbage.
It turned out OK after all, but I didn't do as well as I'd hoped to.

 

[Epicurusall]

I broke out crying afterwards, thought I maybe only made 240s. Felt like absolute garbage.
It turned out OK after all, but I didn't do as well as I'd hoped to.

Only on SDN

 

[HoPe4DaBeSt147]

I think my experience with step 1 is a bit unique so I want to post on here. Most of what I see on here and reddit is >230 performances so I am contributing to the information relating to the bottom 20%.

I did not do well during 2nd year. I was close to failing most every class but didn’t fail any. When I started dedicated (we get 6 weeks) I felt like I was learning almost everything in FA for the first time.

4 weeks in I took UWSA1 and got a 181. A week later took UWSA2 and got a 177. after this I had one week left before my step date and had no way to get out of taking it (I talked with admins etc.)

Throughout my prep I became gradually more frustrated with Uworld because I did not have enough content base to reason through the problems thoroughly so in the last week I only read FA all day every day.

Real deal = between 205-210

My percentile on Step was equivalent to my avg percentile on the UW sims. I have drawn two conclusions from my experience.

1) spending time memorizing content can be more efficient for those on the extreme low end when compared to grinding through questions.

2) UW sims may under-predict scores on the low end while over-predicting on the high end. Uworld’s motive would be to encourage more consumption of their product on the low end of performance and to increase consumer satisfaction on the high end.

Ultimately, I learned humility and finally found the limits of my capacity to coast through academic challenges. I am motivated to start step 2 prep on the first day of 3rd year and study a little every day to peak my score and make up for this low step 1. Would love to match psychiatry if possible. I am grateful to have passed.

Hey just read your post and wanted to say congrats on the score! I am in a similar situation and had a really rough time during 2nd year. I was wondering what resources you used and what you thought of the exam? Thank you!!

 

[MaxillaryCa]

Hey guys I just got my results back.

Nbme 17-221
Nbme-19-221
UWSA1- 256
UWSA2-245
NBME18-238

real deal: 238

Is that a good score? These forums have convinced me that only a 240 is considered great.
And can I get a spot in IM or possibly general surgery?

 

[21Rush12]

Hey guys I just got my results back.

Nbme 17-221
Nbme-19-221
UWSA1- 256
UWSA2-245
NBME18-238

real deal: 238

Is that a good score? These forums have convinced me that only a 240 is considered great.
And can I get a spot in IM or possibly general surgery?

It’s a great score and yes you’ll have no trouble with IM or gensurg.

Try this tool out and see for yourself!

Tableau Public

 

[Thelonious Chunk]

Hey just read your post and wanted to say congrats on the score! I am in a similar situation and had a really rough time during 2nd year. I was wondering what resources you used and what you thought of the exam? Thank you!!

Hey just saw this. I used the tried and true UFAP (UWorld, Pathoma, First Aid) and also Savarese for OMT. I would say that 90-95% of the step 1 form I got could have been answered from content within those resources, and the others were things you could partially reason through using general principles (first half of FA, first few chapters of Pathoma). The issue for me was I could recognize that I’d seen the material before but hadn’t mastered the topic enough to differentiate between 2-3 answers. If I could go back, I would focus less on lecture material and more on board prep material throughout the academic year (assuming you can still pass class tests doing so), because now that I’m on my own for 3rd year I am only using UWorld and OnlineMedEd and am doing above the NBME average on shelf exams. From this I’ve learned that my problem wasn’t cognitive, but rather that I didn’t study the relevant material enough (alot of our curriculum is board-irrelevant, and ward-irrelevant tbh). This is why when I got to dedicated, I felt like I was learning UWorld material for the first time. Further evidence to support this idea is that half of my class scored below a 210. I think UWorld is a great teacher if you enjoy learning independently, and I think the didactic years of medical school should become a standardized digital curriculum.

I believe that if administration had simply had their students sit down and memorize UFAP all of second year while going to a clinic once a week, that we would be better prepared for 3rd year. I also like what Baylor does, which is that they have their students take step 1 and step 2 back to back after third year. I feel like the material clicks better in the context of rotations for me. Baylor has the highest step 1 average in the country from what I last saw.

Good luck moving forward. Study hard.

 

[bobthebuilder2]

Anyone recommend redoing Uworld Form 1 if I did it a long time ago to see my baseline? I've already exhausted NBME's 13-17. I'm not really sure what else to do for practice exams (I'm saving 18 and 19 for the week before my test).

 

[humblethinker]

Hey just saw this. I used the tried and true UFAP (UWorld, Pathoma, First Aid) and also Savarese for OMT. I would say that 90-95% of the step 1 form I got could have been answered from content within those resources, and the others were things you could partially reason through using general principles (first half of FA, first few chapters of Pathoma). The issue for me was I could recognize that I’d seen the material before but hadn’t mastered the topic enough to differentiate between 2-3 answers. If I could go back, I would focus less on lecture material and more on board prep material throughout the academic year (assuming you can still pass class tests doing so), because now that I’m on my own for 3rd year I am only using UWorld and OnlineMedEd and am doing above the NBME average on shelf exams. From this I’ve learned that my problem wasn’t cognitive, but rather that I didn’t study the relevant material enough (alot of our curriculum is board-irrelevant, and ward-irrelevant tbh). This is why when I got to dedicated, I felt like I was learning UWorld material for the first time. Further evidence to support this idea is that half of my class scored below a 210. I think UWorld is a great teacher if you enjoy learning independently, and I think the didactic years of medical school should become a standardized digital curriculum.

I believe that if administration had simply had their students sit down and memorize UFAP all of second year while going to a clinic once a week, that we would be better prepared for 3rd year. I also like what Baylor does, which is that they have their students take step 1 and step 2 back to back after third year. I feel like the material clicks better in the context of rotations for me. Baylor has the highest step 1 average in the country from what I last saw.

Good luck moving forward. Study hard.

This was an awesome post. Thanks for posting your thoughts.

 

[TheIllusionist]

I broke out crying afterwards, thought I maybe only made 240s. Felt like absolute garbage.
It turned out OK after all, but I didn't do as well as I'd hoped to.

lmfao

 

[TheIllusionist]

Hey just saw this. I used the tried and true UFAP (UWorld, Pathoma, First Aid) and also Savarese for OMT. I would say that 90-95% of the step 1 form I got could have been answered from content within those resources, and the others were things you could partially reason through using general principles (first half of FA, first few chapters of Pathoma). The issue for me was I could recognize that I’d seen the material before but hadn’t mastered the topic enough to differentiate between 2-3 answers. If I could go back, I would focus less on lecture material and more on board prep material throughout the academic year (assuming you can still pass class tests doing so), because now that I’m on my own for 3rd year I am only using UWorld and OnlineMedEd and am doing above the NBME average on shelf exams. From this I’ve learned that my problem wasn’t cognitive, but rather that I didn’t study the relevant material enough (alot of our curriculum is board-irrelevant, and ward-irrelevant tbh). This is why when I got to dedicated, I felt like I was learning UWorld material for the first time. Further evidence to support this idea is that half of my class scored below a 210. I think UWorld is a great teacher if you enjoy learning independently, and I think the didactic years of medical school should become a standardized digital curriculum.

I believe that if administration had simply had their students sit down and memorize UFAP all of second year while going to a clinic once a week, that we would be better prepared for 3rd year. I also like what Baylor does, which is that they have their students take step 1 and step 2 back to back after third year. I feel like the material clicks better in the context of rotations for me. Baylor has the highest step 1 average in the country from what I last saw.

Good luck moving forward. Study hard.

Agreed. As I have said a 100 times before, cognitive element of med school is so overblown. I am scoring 90th percentile + on 3rd year shelf exams rn and all I do differently is mindlessly memorize uworld facts, firecracker, and zanki. I don't even read anymore and it works out just fine. I did way worse reading first couple of years and trying to develop some sort of magical intuitive capacity. Now I iust study like a robot.

 

[mehc012]

lmfao

View attachment 240727

Sorry, in retrospect this was a total douche post. Not intentional, and doesn't really capture the context, but still a jerk post.

That being said, while I know I did well, that feeling of coming out of an exam thinking you scored lower than your lowest pre-dedicated practice test is still not great, and I think it's worth saying that you can score well and still feel like crap afterwards. If I had scored in the 240s, I would admittedly have been disappointed, even though it's a great score...but I think that anyone who scores 25pts below their final practice exam would be. Just because your overall range is higher doesn't mean that having a bad day and performing in the low end of your range doesn't feel bad, it just means that that bad day won't screw you down the road.

 

[21Rush12]

UW2 is probably the best predictor of the test. There’s a Reddit thread out there with some collected survey data, and anecdotally it predicted my score within 3 points. Most accurate between 220-250 range.

 

[Gurby]

Sorry, in retrospect this was a total douche post. Not intentional, and doesn't really capture the context, but still a jerk post.

That being said, while I know I did well, that feeling of coming out of an exam thinking you scored lower than your lowest pre-dedicated practice test is still not great, and I think it's worth saying that you can score well and still feel like crap afterwards. If I had scored in the 240s, I would admittedly have been disappointed, even though it's a great score...but I think that anyone who scores 25pts below their final practice exam would be. Just because your overall range is higher doesn't mean that having a bad day and performing in the low end of your range doesn't feel bad, it just means that that bad day won't screw you down the road.

You shouldn't have to apologize.

This is the internet. We're on here to vent and share information semi-anonymously. Someone asked for your experience and you gave it. I appreciate that you didn't come up with some lie to protect people's feelings.

 

[Rahas]

Disappointment has less to do with the actual score than with your expectations. Anyone consistently scoring 260+ in NBMEs is 100% going to be disappointed with a 259, which might be very surprising to others. Its a matter of perspective and perfectly understandable.

 

[21Rush12]

Opinions on what to use for biostats/ethics review (besides FA/UWorld/B&B)? Exam's soon (within the next 2 weeks).

Nothing. Just b&b.

 

[Diphyllobothrium latum]

Opinions on what to use for biostats/ethics review (besides FA/UWorld/B&B)? Exam's soon (within the next 2 weeks).

Watch Randy Neil's videos on YouTube where he solves the questions. Best hour spent on YT.