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how not to prepare for step 1

7K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Jondez 
#1 · (Edited)
Just got my score back - 223/82
A little about me - fresh IMG (sept 2010) from Nigeria looking to get into pathology or general surgery; average-above average student in med school (nothing stellar). Total study time about 1 year but active studying was about 4mths (>6hrs a day).

Materials used
Kaplan videos (path(waste of time), pharm (did not finish) couldn't get to others - I hear behavioral is very nice)
RR Goljan - Too bulky (couldn't get past chapter 14)
BRS physio ( Gold)
BRS biochemistry flashcards (lovely)
BRS pharm flashcards (nice too)
Some flashcard set for Micro (can't remember)
FA (majorly flashcards too - loved them)
DIT cram session flashcard (from some guy dat got DIT - excellent - started late tho but still finished)
Usmleworld (offline, bootlegged version - didn't do up to half)
NBMEs (none)
UWSA (none)

I feel very disappointed because I had a golden opportunity and just blew it. I know a lot of people will say that I still av step 2 but we all know it doesn't count like the step 1. Being an IMG, I just gave away that one part of my application dat I somewhat had a great control over. My advice to all that are yet to write the steps is to not just come up with your own thing but instead try to tow the line of those that have come before you. You should also try to get online versions of Qbanks instead of the bootlegged ones that can't assess you or tell you your weak points. The most annoying part of this whole thing is that I had near-stellar performance in most subjects but the behavioral killed me completely - the exam was actually very doable for me and I got lots of gimmes but the ethics questions were very hard for me - a lot had to do with patient compliance and all (not watching the kaplan videos or doing the online uworld didn't help matters - @ least it would have highlighted my weakness in this area). I hope somebody learns one thing or two from this long, disorganised post. I have attached d breakdown of my performance for you all to seee. I'll be writing step 2 c-k in a bit insha Allah n hope not to make the same mistakes. I felt devastated after getting that score (was hoping for @least 240).
NB: All flashcards were gotten from Quizlet.com and flashcardexchange.com using a flashcard app on my ios devices.
 

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#2 ·
U passed

HI .. I'm IMG Nigerian as well but Ukraine graduate.... congratz on the score (yea i kno it sounds yack yack,) but you passed and there are a lot who'll die for your score now .. cheer up, but really though u must b really smart to manage that score without finishin UW, or doing any other banks i'm sure if you put the same effort in ur step 2ck w/out makin the same mistakes u are sure gonna ACE IT!!! believe me. So keep going and trust Allah.:)
Thanks for sharing cuz i'll sure learn from this post.. right now i'm sticking to FA cuz i just dont have that time for overt materials in the likes of goljan/kaplan, though i did some of my weak topics with kaplan... finished usmlerx used it as a learning tool, but think i'll do it again using UW offline now .....will subscribe when i've finished learning.... may still hook up with a prep ..not sure oh well! hoping for >250 God help me and help all of us.. Happy-2

But serzzzly if u do well in ur 2ck with some obsverships/externships u can land patho 223 is not a bad score at all...
 
#3 ·
congrats

ya man, your scored are not bad at all. Its good. So don't loose hope and above all i liked your review about stuff. Kinda interseting.
Hey just wanted to know. Do you have those BRS biochem flash cards in PDF or paper book version. If in PDF would you mind sharing. Hope you understand fellow friends worries about a yukky subject like biochem.;)
Best of luck for next steps.
 
#4 ·
I see where you're coming from!

I too have tips on how NOT to prepare. Your thread has inspired me to share my not-to ideas! And, my score is the same as yours (223/82)

Hadn't read all KLNs.. didn't watch the videos either. Didn't read FA even once completely! Hadn't given a proper read to Path, Pharma, Physio! :redcheeks; Didn't take a single NBME!

What I HAD done? Solved UW once and annotated FA with points from UW. Did both the UWSA. Watched Biochem, Behav Sciences, Immuno, Neuro videos.

If I could do it all over again, I would have definitely given FA a couple of reads, accompanied by Kaplan videos!

Good luck for CK!
 
#6 ·
Re:

@all, thanks for d encouragement
@Obincle, all d best with your exam. Go get 'em
@Kabutar n @koolkiller88, I don't have d soft copy but the flashcards are easily downloadable from quizlet.com or flashcardexchange.com. The resources on those sites are invaluable / inexhaustible - jus search for DIT or usmle or whatever you want. All d best. Having an android or ios device might help as you can install flashcard apps dat directly download sets from these sites (I used flashcards deluxe on ipad n twas amazing)
@docwedsengr, serendipity @ its peak. All d best wiv c-k too (that's if u avnt taken it already)
 
#10 ·
Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your score! Although its below your expectation, I think its a relatively decent score.

I had a question: are methods like the Penn Method and the 28 day study schedule from Georgetown meant for US students only. Can't an IMG sort of customise it to his or her own style?
 
#12 ·
Thanks a lot for replying! Yup I know, just 28 days would be too much for an IMG but I was hoping I could follow the same study pattern but break it down to around 60 days so that I'm going through it thoroughly rather than skimming. And this is excluding Qbank practice and final cramming so the total duration of study would be somewhere around 3 & 1/2 months.

I must be sounding vague so I'll attach the schedule I was talking about and it would be really kind of you if you could have a look at it and comment whether its practical for an IMG to follow such a pattern, i.e. cover the topics on the same sequence and stress on the ones mentioned in 'Details' column (but increase the time spent on it for thoroughness).

And I'm really glad to see you extensively used sources other than Kaplan cause, from what I see, most people use Kaplan lecture notes and somehow they didn't quite suit me, perhaps because I don't have the videos to watch. So I'm using sources such as BRS, HY and the likes of them. As an IMG, will I be fine with them?

Thanks in advance :)
 

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#13 ·
I've gone through the plan & your modification should maake it just fine but I really don't know much about most of the books mentioned - its only BRS physio I used from the lot. What I did was check the online poll for the best textbook in each subject. The thing about this exam z consistency - stick with whatever plan you choose till the end - then do lots of questions - uworld, nbmes, etc. Wish you the very best
 
#14 ·
dont forget that NRMP uses usmle-scores only as a screening tool, so basically if you above certain barrier(nobody knows what exactly the barrier is for residency programs).You can read official statistic at NRMP website.
To sum up, just go and get flying scores at CK,pass CS, then improve your CV by getting US LORs/researchs etc.I'm sure if you will manage to get it you must match.
 
#15 ·
Thank you so much olsmade :) I really really appreciate you going through it and thats the kind of assurance I wanted from someone who's been there but wasn't getting any. Yup! I too have used the polls in this forum to check out which books are the most preferred and will be substituting a few from the original plan with the most voted ones.

Thanks a lot once again and wish you all the best with Step 2 CK! I'm sure you'll nail it :D
 
#18 ·
Frustrated! Scored 36% on Kaplan Qbank simulated exam. Is this predictive of Step 1

Hello,

I just completed online version of Kaplan Qbank simulated exam 1 hour again. My score was 36%. I feel very disappointed. Is this predictive of USMLE step 1 exam. I need comments please.
 
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