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survivingusmle Step 1 Experience 241

9K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  usmled10 
#1 ·
NBME 5 - 188 (before preparation - major freak out)
NBME 11 - 219 (8 weeks out)
NBME 3 - 224 (5 weeks out - did offline)
NBME 5 - 226 (5 weeks out)
NBME 6 - 224 (3 weeks out)
NBME 12 - 225 (3 weeks out)
NBME 7 - 228 (2.5 weeks out)
NBME 13 - 226 (2 weeks out)
UWSA 1 - 238 (2 weeks out)
UWSA 2 - 258 (1 week out)
Free 150q - 89% ~ 257 (5 days out)

The NBME's were a train wreck for me. I would get 83-88% correct on those exams, but the score report was not at all indicative of my performances. I thought that they were too stingy with their points. My advisor told us that some questions are worth more than others on the online NBME's. So if I were to miss 4-5 questions that counted towards two subjects (e.g. cardio and pharm), then I would get -2 instead of -1… I'm not sure she's right, but that is just my experience with the NBME's.

That being said, I got like 6-7 questions DIRECTLY from the NBME's. So it is extremely important to do your NBME's!!

Materials that I used:
1. FA 4x
2. UWorld Q bank 2x
3. Kaplan Q bank (half)
4. Pathoma 2x
5. BRS Phys 1x

I studied for about 3 months and the last month being super intense (17 hour studying days).
I spent the last 5 days rereading all of FA. The day before the test I actually studied from 8am to 8pm going over the topics that I felt weakest in. I am one of those people that relax best by studying the day before… it's a little weird. I ended up sleeping for like 3-4 hours MAX. Be sure you get PLENTY of sleep the nights leading up to the test.

Test day:
I did the first 5 blocks consecutively without a single break. My adrenaline was pumping and I just cruised through it.

That test was probably harder than any of the exams I've taken before. It was harder than the NBME's, UWSA's, or any of the Q banks. There were a bunch of obscure anatomy questions, and A LOT of brainstem questions. Neuro is one of my strong subjects so I did okay with those. Pharm and micro was so easy that I almost felt stupid going over them in FA so many times. I had two heart sound questions and a bunch of weird cardio questions.

After I was finished with my exam, I still had like 55 minutes of my break time left. I felt super uneasy inside like I made a big mistake by not using more of my breaks. But honestly, I wasn't tired at all. I felt like I could have done 4-5 more blocks if I had to. I knew I passed, but felt like my score could have ranged from 210 to 240.

My actual score (end of June) ended up being a 241!

Hope this helps those taking the beast in the future!
 
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#4 ·
Thanks! The first time I did UW, I did them based on subject to learn the material. I made sure to read the explanations as well. The second time I went through it, I did 46Q random and just skimmed through the explanations. UW difficulty was definitely closer to the exam than any of the NBME's. It is probably the best source out there besides FA in my opinion. Good luck man!
 
#6 ·
You and I have the exact same stats. On my nbme 13 I got a 228 and on 11 I got a 230. On 15 I got a 220. Unfortunately for me all I've finished so far in FA is:

First half of book: Biochem, immuno, micro, path, and pharm. I want to say I have 85% of it memorized in the back of my head. Path section is closer to 95% memorized accuracy.

For organ systems all i have memorized is:
Cardio
First 20 pages of gi
Neuro
Repro
Endocrine

Exam is Monday. Uworld finished at 67%. Did pathoma and Kaplan as well. I pray I can break a 240 as well, but I have thoughts that I will fail.
 
#16 ·
hey guys my exam is in 34 days . i just did uswa1 and got 209 :'( ... really depressed and freaking out .. dont lknow wht to do ....is t a horrible score this close to the exam ? .. will i be able to bring it up in time for the exam ? .. my aim is to score around 235 -240 . in the actual exam ... ..really freaking out .. Plz Help !!!

i've been readin only fa and uworld ... on my third round of uworld been scoring on 80% but thts i recognize most of the questions ..

plz help :(
 
#17 ·
hey guys my exam is in 34 days . i just did uswa1 and got 209 :'( ... really depressed and freaking out .. dont lknow wht to do ....is t a horrible score this close to the exam ? .. will i be able to bring it up in time for the exam ? .. my aim is to score around 235 -240 . in the actual exam ... ..really freaking out .. Plz Help !!!

i've been readin only fa and uworld ... on my third round of uworld been scoring on 80% but thts i recognize most of the questions ..

plz help :(
Don't worry, you still have plenty of time. Read first aid well, go over your mistakes in Uworld. Focus on the 3 Ps( patho, pharm and phys), aim for studying minimum 11 hours a day. Do NBME's if you have them.
Be focused and positive, You can make it.
 
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