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IMG, Step 1 score 247, my study plan

34K views 52 replies 37 participants last post by  Mark12345 
#1 · (Edited)
hi everyone, :D:D I got my score last night. I'm very happy with my score report. Through this post, would like to thank to everyone on this forum who has been a guide for students like myself. Posts on this forum have been extremely helpful during my prep. I'll be more than happy to help anyone who is preparing for step 1 and guide them thru their difficult time.
NBME 13 online: 243
NMBE 17 online: 249 (quite predictable)
Usmle Step 1: 247 :) Exam month: December

Total prep time: 7-8 months (13-14 hrs of study/day):rolleyes:

Study material: Kaplan (except Goljan for pathology), Dr. Najeeb lecture notes (it took me extra 2 months to see all 400 hrs of lecture notes and make written notes:rolleyes:), first aid, Uworld q bank

Study plan: Started with neuroanatomy from Dr. Najeeb videos, made notes from Dr. Najeeb (for revision)+ did Kaplan neuroanatomy side by side.
Followed same plan for subjects like biochemistry, immunology, Physiology.

Goljan: Total three reads, also did CNS (most students tend to skip it), Chapters like immunopathology and genetics were really helpful while doing their respective Uworld questions.
Some people prefer pathoma, its a great book i would say. i didnt read it cuz i had already gone thru goljan and didnt want to waste time on a new book. Goljan has soooo much information that On first read, u end up confused that "do i actually remember what I just read". Thats the reason why i had to go through goljan three times :eek::eek:
So if u like to grasp more info (which might prove helpful) go for goljan. Otherwise Pathoma is a choice of book for students who have less time and want to get maximum out of a book in 1-2 reads.

Behavioral/ biostats: Kaplan + FA + Uworld. Some people prefer BRS but I had already gone thru kaplan videos and lecture notes. and didnt have time go thru another book.

Ethics: Most tested on my exam. I did Conrad fischers ethics book. Go thru it atleast twice. I wish i had read it twice :p:p.

Pharmacology: Kaplan videos and lecture notes. + ANS from Dr. Najeeb. + FA+ uworld

Microbiology: Kaplan + FA+ Uworld

Embryology: Kaplan + Dr Najeeb + FA + UW. Uworld has now added many new illustrations in embryology and they are quite helpful in memorising stuff.

Anatomy: kaplan (must do) + FA + UW. most difficult part of my exam. Although i had a higher performance in my score report in gross anatomy and embryology:confused: but i can't believe it lol.:)):))
upper limb and lower limb are a must from kaplan (FA doesnt really explain every injury, Not sure about the 2016 edition)

I also referred Netters anatomy for better understanding of nerves of upper limb and lower limb.
Arteries of upper and lower limb are also important.

If u really want to score good in anatomy, choose a good book (not kaplan) that has explainations in a little more detail than kaplan. For that ofcourse, you need more time.:D

First revision: After I was done ONCE with kaplan and dr.NAJEEB, I started a second read of My notes that i made from Dr. Najeeb + Kaplan books itself, this time along with FA and Uworld.
I would do one unit e.g. Neurology, do its FA and then uworld.
and so on for all the other subjects

uworld score was ~70-75%

Second revision : Only First Aid and Uworld online.
So I Did uworld online twice, second time score was ~90% (idk if that matters but just for your reference)

by this time, it was end october. My next step was revision of uworld.
for that, i made uworld notes while I did it online, Although i still had a uworld subscription but i preferred reading my notes cuz they included notes from ques that were new to me and The ques i DID wrong. Revising uworld proved VERY VERY HELPFUL
I would advise each one of you to make ur own uworld notes for revision. ( i know some people who dont :p:eek:)

November: revised uworld notes and First aid, Took NBME 13 online in last week of november: 243 (extended feedback)

repeated same in december: Uworld notes + First aid 4th revision,
Took NBME 17 online 1 week before exam- 249 (extended feedback)

during the last week: Last and fifth revision of First aid only (although I couldnt go thru Psychiatry and one more unit).
Final EXAM: 247.

Thankyou everyone for bearing with me. I wish everyone good luck and pray for your good score on step 1.:plz::plz:
 
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#3 ·
Great job! Your hardwork paid off

I wanted to know one thing.. does the edition of kaplan lecture notes matter? Which one did you study?
I studied an older edition of kaplan, but if you have access to newer edition then go for it.
The only difference would be an addition of new topics, but kaplan is known to not updating their books quite often.
Study the latest edition of first aid and do uworld online. That would suffice.
 
#6 ·
Congrads! Awesome score! Wish you all the best, with the next steps ahead!!

I do have some really basic qs
1. How heavy was Biochem and genetics?
2. Is Kaplan anatomy enough? (not talking about neuro here)
3. Are the ethics cases do-able, if concepts from fisher's book and bits of Kaplan are applied? Or are they giving out vague scenarios?

and finally

4. UWSA scores co-related, or you did not do them?

Thanks Happy-2
 
#7 ·
Congrads! Awesome score! Wish you all the best, with the next steps ahead!!

I do have some really basic qs
1. How heavy was Biochem and genetics?
2. Is Kaplan anatomy enough? (not talking about neuro here)
3. Are the ethics cases do-able, if concepts from fisher's book and bits of Kaplan are applied? Or are they giving out vague scenarios?

and finally

4. UWSA scores co-related, or you did not do them?

Thanks
1. There were quite a few ques from genetics, some of which I haven't seen before. But they weren't really conceptual.
Don't remember much about biochem.
2. Like I said, anatomy was the toughest out of all. So If u have time go for a good detailed book, I know some people referring to snells :D but if you don't have enough time, kaplan would suffice for the theory part.
3. Fishcer and kaplan tell us about a lot of cases that are important for exam point of view but then there are still so many of them which you're going to get on your exam. And you can't really do anything about it.
4. Didn't do any UWSA.
 
#18 ·
Thnx Craig.

Hi everybody !! I'm IMG for 2 years. I wanted to ask you guys whether ti start studying for step 1 or step 2 ? I'm an average student, but i really cnt recall much of what i hv studied in the past. I have no idea how or when to start and the sources. I really need your help. Thanks in advance.
 
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