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My 267 story

36K views 143 replies 57 participants last post by  SushantPuri 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello people...i am an img graduated in december 2012..below I'm going to briefly mention my step 1 journey..hope it helps.

I started in feb 2013...first 2 months I went over Kaplan lecture notes and videos except for patho for which I did pathoma...I made sure I understood each and everything in the video lectures...although I kept forgetting stuff I was quick to realize that the exam was mostly about concepts so I moved on...next 2 months I read Kaplan notes and pathoma without the videos..to further enhance my concepts I did usmle Rx subject wise after each subject I read...

I then gave first aid a read in 14 days. Next 10 days till the end of June I did Kaplan q bank. I basically ran through it and managed to get around 40-50% of it done...

in July I started uworld and managed to get it done in 22 days (78% aggregate) and made annotations off it on my fa... After uworld I gave nbme 11 and scored 252...gave another read of fa in 12 days and read genetics from Kaplan and saw neuro videos again after which I gave nbme 12 and scored 252...I went through some of my uworld again in next 8 days after which I gave nbme 7 and got 257 and uwsa 1 and got 263 both on the same day...gave a 3rd read of fa in 6 days and gave nbme 13 ( 257) and uwsa2 ( more than 265) after that on the same day. Next day I gave nbme 15 and scored 257 again ( lol I know I was super consistent in my nbmes)...last 3 days I just went over fa high yield topics or concepts that i thought needed reinforcement...the day before my exam I just relaxed mostly, watched some football, went out with a friend to get some snacks...I tried to sleep early but i couldnt sleep properly due to the expected anxiety . Had a 6 7 hour sleep in pieces.

Exam was trickier than most nbmes but doable. I marked any question I had a doubt on so I ended up marking 20 to 25 a block....I thought genetics and behavioral sciences had more wtf type questions but genetics was solvable if one had done their kaplans right...the rest all subjects were fair game...

Timeline:

Nbme 11 ( 5 weeks out) : 252
Nbme 12 ( 3 weeks out) : 252
Nbme 7 ( 2 weeks out): 257 and uwsa1: 263
Nbme 13 ( 1 week out): 257 and uwsa2: >265
Nbme 15: (6 days out): 257
Usmle step 1: 267

I know I leveled up from my nbmes but I owe it mostly to the fact that in the exam I was much more focused and perhaps the pressure got the best out of me....
my advice to anyone looking ahead to tame this beast would be to simply make concepts from whatever tools you decide to use for your prep. I think kaplan video lectures do that job in the best possible manner and then you have fa which gives you all you need to know for the exam but without the concepts , so I would recommend doing lectures. I know some would argue that uworld does a fine job in making you understand conceptual stuff but the problem is that while the kaplans give u everything in sequence the qbanks albeit awesome study tools don't give u things in a proper sequence which leaves u a bit confused at the end of the day since the exam content is so vast...just my opinion. However doing as many questions as possible is also key since they help reinforce stuff over and over again and in different scenarios. VERY IMPORTANT!!!!

I tried not to write a whole notebook,lol, so if anyone has any specific questions regarding the prep material or anything I would be glad to help out to my best ability...many people will tell you many different ways to go by your prep but as doctors its a part of our training to use our own judgment as to what's best at the end of the day.

-limits begin where the vision ends-
 
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#49 ·
UOTE=asmz34;220190]Hello....Congrats on your achievement..such a great score:)
I have a question about cell and molecular biology ,do I need to you use any separate book for that or you think FA & KLNs aswell e sufficient.......
Thanks in advance[/QUOTE]

Hey, thanks alot... I only used these tools and u thought they were good enough for genetics... Im sure tgere must be other good resources but none that i know off.. Just dry to do many many questions as well for genetics...
 
#51 ·
thanks

thanks alot for replying bfr :)

i have some ques again..

plz tell tht did u take uworld online as well? & was it mixed or subject-wise?

& also is it poss. tht u plz send ur pathoma videos to me? or paste it here?
i really need them..as im doing goljan bk & audio but i dnt think i will b able to retain the whole goljan bk !!

plz help .. thanks alot.. GOD bless u !
 
#54 ·
thanks alot for replying bfr :)

i have some ques again..

plz tell tht did u take uworld online as well? & was it mixed or subject-wise?

& also is it poss. tht u plz send ur pathoma videos to me? or paste it here?
i really need them..as im doing goljan bk & audio but i dnt think i will b able to retain the whole goljan bk !!

plz help .. thanks alot.. GOD bless u !
I did all online, random, timed and tutor mode.. Im sorry i dont have pathoma videos with me right now otherwise i would send them to you... I think you can find them online easily... Best!
 
#53 ·
great score
congratulations:)
im doing all of the stuff u mentioned except the kaplan qbank (not enuf time for it)
sometimes i get real scared by the fact that if its going to hamper my goal of getting a 250 plus score

so how much does it matter?
 
#56 ·
[QUOTdwar;220888]great score
congratulations:)
im doing all of the stuff u mentioned except the kaplan qbank (not enuf time for it)
sometimes i get real scared by the fact that if its going to hamper my goal of getting a 250 plus score

so how much does it matter?[/QUOTE]
its difficult to quantity how much it would matter, but if u do ur uworld correctly and nbmes r going fine then that would mean your prep is good... Dont stress out on this too much, use nbmes to gauge ur prep...
 
#63 ·
also can you please most ppl me is there some way to find out the correct answers to our incorrect ones in the nbme?
I am unable to work out an ans from nbme 15.
Uwsa predictability is pretty variable... For most ppl nbmes r more predictive .. You can try different forums ppl keep posting what they think r the right answers
 
#62 ·
awesome score !! congrats ..i'm an old img ..have two months left in hand . considering the fact that finished twice text reading thoroughly wd uw nd fa done once , can u plz tell me how to prepare the last two months aiming a high score ? I mean where to concentrate or focus or how to proceed ? is it possible or necessary to go thr' whole text again along wd uw ,fa again nd again ? i'm planning to take kap q bank too .I need ur guide plz
 
#66 ·
many congratulations on the great score

Im an old graduate (2007) tried twice studying and then going for the step 1 exam but everytime something or the other comes up and i couldnt just go for the exam ... U being a fresher with a great score what do you recommend for me ??

I am not new to all the study material but can you please suggest/advice how should i re-start my studies ?? i did kaplan an year back with videos n then dit n what not

please do reply , i would like to talk to u in skype, can you please send me your skype if possible ??

Thanks n wish u all the very best
 
#69 ·
many congratulations on the great score

Im an old graduate (2007) tried twice studying and then going for the step 1 exam but everytime something or the other comes up and i couldnt just go for the exam ... U being a fresher with a great score what do you recommend for me ??

I am not new to all the study material but can you please suggest/advice how should i re-start my studies ?? i did kaplan an year back with videos n then dit n what not

please do reply , i would like to talk to u in skype, can you please send me your skype if
Thanks n wish u all the very best
Well you need to find your motivation for this exam first... Then sit down n make a plan according to your requirements and then just register n pick a date thats suitable... That shud certainly hype you up... Trust me this exam is very doable, but you have to keep yourself focused and you l b just fine... Let me know if you want any specific advices as you move along... Currently im not active on skype so you can inbox me if you want...
 
#67 ·
Hello! I've read this thread a number of times. Many congratulations to you. Now that I see it's still alive, could you tell me the percentage of questions you got right (or wrong ) in uwsa2 to get that 265 (if you remember)? Just trying to get some perspective. Thank you and good luck..
 
#68 ·
following You !

hey, Barcaboy, i have gone through your exam experience for a couple of times, n it is saved in my desktop as well :p

would you pls let me know what was your RX percentage after finishing each subject?

i have subscribed to Rx seeing you, but not doing that well.... by the way i am doing it just like you after finishing each subjct, kinda trying to follow you...
 
#71 ·
hey, Barcaboy, i have gone through your exam experience for a couple of times, n it is saved in my desktop as well :p

would you pls let me know what was your RX percentage after finishing each subject?

i have subscribed to Rx seeing you, but not doing that well.... by the way i am doing it just like you after finishing each subjct, kinda trying to follow you...
Hey, really glad you like my study plan... But do remember things work out differently for different people aswell... I was getting an average low 80s on the rx... But it varied from subject to subject aswell.... I just used it as an accessory qbank to practice questions while i made my initial concepts from kaplan, didn't really put too much time into its explainations... Good luck
 
#74 ·
Hey. First of all many many congrats on ur amazing score...
I need help....I gave nbme11 and scored sooo low that I think am going in depression.....I scored 184.... My exam is in Jan....plz guide me how should I proceed with my prep and how do I improve my score....
I was doing uworld and had been scoring around 65 to 75%....
:(
 
#80 ·
Hey. First of all many many congrats on ur amazing score...
I need help....I gave nbme11 and scored sooo low that I think am going in depression.....I scored 184.initial nbmes My exam is in Jan....plz guide me how should I proceed with my prep and how do I improve my score....
I was doing uworld and had been scoring around 65 to 75%....
:(
Hey i think your uworld scores r pretty awsome given that this is your first try. I can certainly give you my piece of advice but i need to know how much uve studied thus far... Btw initial nbmes can be demoralizing, you have to keep ur chin up and keep going forward...
 
#75 ·
Hi loads n loads of congrats .......need help plz!! I ve my exam in 3wks did 60% uw bt have v liw scores 62%......i do make blunders min 4 to max10.....v depressed wt to do ve already took extension :( regarding biochem n pharma i 4get alot wt to do plz plz tell me.....m gona take nbme 13 in nxt 2 days will let u knw abt my score :,(
 
#81 ·
Hi loads n loads of congcompared to .......need help plz!! IJust focus one my exam in 3wks did 60% uw bt have v liw scores 62%......i do make blunders min 4 to max10.....v depressed wt to do ve already took extension :( regarding biochem n pharma i 4get alot wt to do plz plz tell me.....m gona take nbme 13 in nxt 2 days will let u knw abt my score :,(
Hey the scores are not as important in uw as compared to the concepts you gain . Just focus on understanding stuff and see what you get on the nbme... All the bes!!
 
#77 ·
Heeyyyy congrats for such a great score....m new to all the preparation...ryt nw m doing kaplan videos and notes...but i feel i want to solve a few questions simultaneously. Can u suggest a q bank for that...and usmlerx and kaplanq bank..u did online ones or just offline questions???
 
#82 ·
Heeyyyy congrats for such a great score....m new to all the preparation...ryt nw m doing kaplaquestions deos and dont nd notes...but i feel i want to solve a few questions simultaneously. Can u suggest a q bank for that...and usmlerx and kaplanq bank..u did online ones or just offline questions???
I think thats a great strategy, did the same myself.... I would say do any of the 2 but keep ur focus on practicing questions and don't dwelve too much on their explainations as youl cover the stuff in uworld... Id recommend rx online
 
#79 ·
barcaboy ..i just a piece of advice regarding u world ..as i have started with it .. but i m not able to finish even one block a day
. explanation n taking notes take me so long that i m not able to go through FA .. i dnt know where is the actual defect .. y i m not finishing in 6 hrs as ppl take half day but i m not able to manage
. I have done FA once only but just superfacial .. what u suggest how to go thrugh it ..n how to manage time .. will be thankful ..
 
#88 ·
Hey I know it's a tough situation to be in but honestly it's very difficult to give you an accurate idea of how you can speed up....I would say take your time as the more important thing is to understand the explainations very well...if you have any specific questions I'd be glad to help
 
#84 ·
Thank u bracaboy.... I was really upset....
Hmmm so far I have read Kaplan except for anatomy and behavior once and then started off with uworld along with scattered read of FA....I haven't finished even half of it...going through explanations take a lot of time....and exam is in Jan....I plan to do a lot per day but manage to do only part of it... :(
Could u plz tell me how should I go about my prep?
 
#89 ·
I think u need to organize and make a plan for the next month or so, bearing in mind your speed and all...like give a thorough read of fa followed by uworld...if you keep switching too much and be irregular with your study tools then ur not moving forward much....try to read stuff faster and motivate yourself to focus focus focus....you have good time to prepare really well, let me know if you have any specific questions
 
#85 ·
Hello barcaboy

thats such an amazing score:):):):) many many congratulationsss you can celebrate to the most hardcore now!!!!

thts like my beyond achievable dream score; which i know is not in my reach;

i've been preparing ineffectively for a while; how was your daily schedule? like what time u started and breaks for how long???

presently my exm is scheduled for dec 30..but last 2 weeks in the assessments i 've took which were uworld self assessment form 1 i scored 186...:confused::confused:

and last sunday i took kaplan simulation exam and i got 54% overall.

have you done any of those? which is the exam more like nbme or uworld?

i started uworld and dit a month back..i'm not even close to being done yet... uworld my average is 58% so far. DIT i'm doing to get me thru first aid one reading at least once. b/c i get bored of doing fa alone. i fall asleep.

how many blocks did u do per day in uworld the last month? if i postpone my exam to mid january? do you thinki ts better? is there any way i can improve or get more done? or should i give dec 30!?

is it necessary to usmlerx if i've already done kaplan qbank and uworld 2x????

if you could please advice me that would be great thanks

also i'm plannin to give an nbme once i finish DIt..i have 140 videos to go:(:(:(:( and i also wanted to finish pathoma before my exam..i'm on ch.7 now but its getting too much to do 2 blocks uworld ; revise pathoma and dit is impossible in one day right?

how should i do ? finish DIT then spend a week on pathoma? what you say???
 
#90 ·
Hello barcaboy

thats such an amazing score:):):):) many many congratulationsss you can celebrate to the most hardcore now!!!!

thts like my beyond achievable dream score; which i know is not in my reach;

i've been preparing ineffectively for a while; how was your daily schedule? like what time u started and breaks for how long???

presently my exm is scheduled for dec 30..but last 2 weeks in the assessments i 've took which were uworld self assessment form 1 i scored 186...:confused::confused:

and last sunday i took kaplan simulation exam and i got 54% overall.

have you done any of those? which is the exam more like nbme or uworld?

i started uworld and dit a month back..i'm not even close to being done yet... uworld my average is 58% so far. DIT i'm doing to get me thru first aid one reading at least once. b/c i get bored of doing fa alone. i fall asleep.

how many blocks did u do per day in uworld the last month? if i postpone my exam to mid january? do you thinki ts better? is there any way i can improve or get more done? or should i give dec 30!?

is it necessary to usmlerx if i've already done kaplan qbank and uworld 2x????

if you could please advice me that would be great thanks

also i'm plannin to give an nbme once i finish DIt..i have 140 videos to go:(:(:(:( and i also wanted to finish pathoma before my exam..i'm on ch.7 now but its getting too much to do 2 blocks uworld ; revise pathoma and dit is impossible in one day right?

how should i do ? finish DIT then spend a week on pathoma? what you say???
Hey thanks a lot...listen, you can certainly achieve whatever score you aim for, your mind and body will work you towards it provided that you have the right sort of motivation...

I didn't do dit so I can't advice you on it...as far as nbmes i think it's very important to do all nbmes as they r very accurate and also help you prepare for the real thing....

For the last month or so you have to go all in, like 10 to 12 hours a day...and as far as postponing is concerned that really depends on the score your aiming for and what ur getting in your nbmes...

Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way..
 
#86 ·
I have a concern .. I finished all of my Kaplan videos and books except biostats and behavioural science .. I am gonna do them in the end.. I am trying to revise collaborating FA with Kaplan .. But since FA is system vise and not subject wise .. I'm revising for instance for lung I do FA anat,physio,patho and pharma .. Is this a good way? Or should I do the Kaplan subject wise revision.. I'm really confused .. Please help
 
#93 ·
Hey !!! congrats
I 've my step 1 on 30th dec..... i'll tell u about my preparationand would like u 2 guide me....
I first read all kaplan notes along with videos and intermittently did question from kaplan Q bank subjectwise ...... Then i read FA and started doing uworld 2012 offline sometime with my timer on ....sometime not in time mode......and kept on adding extra material in my note copy which was missing in FA or i had a tendency to do mistake .........then did offline NBME 5, NBME 6 offline ...........now again doing my third revision of FA ....intermittently if i 've any confusion i revise my Kaplan book also and add on to my note.......

So by now in question ......i've done only offline uworld 2012 subject wise with explanation , Kaplan Q bank , NBME 5 & 6 usmle rx part of it (2block ).....and 've done NBME 15 online little long back ( didnt do well would not like to tell u that score )......

Plannning to take self assessment UWorld online on 19th and may be NBME 13 also.......
I feel i 've good concept and doing well overall... need to increase my speed little more as ,i 'm around 5- 10 minutes delayed .....

Please guide me barcaboy :rolleyes:
 
#95 ·
Hello people...i am an img graduated in december 2012..below I'm going to briefly mention my step 1 journey..hope it helps.

I started in feb 2013...first 2 months I went over Kaplan lecture notes and videos except for patho for which I did pathoma...I made sure I understood each and everything in the video lectures...although I kept forgetting stuff I was quick to realize that the exam was mostly about concepts so I moved on...next 2 months I read Kaplan notes and pathoma without the videos..to further enhance my concepts I did usmle Rx subject wise after each subject I read...

I then gave first aid a read in 14 days. Next 10 days till the end of June I did Kaplan q bank. I basically ran through it and managed to get around 40-50% of it done...

in July I started uworld and managed to get it done in 22 days (78% aggregate) and made annotations off it on my fa... After uworld I gave nbme 11 and scored 252...gave another read of fa in 12 days and read genetics from Kaplan and saw neuro videos again after which I gave nbme 12 and scored 252...I went through some of my uworld again in next 8 days after which I gave nbme 7 and got 257 and uwsa 1 and got 263 both on the same day...gave a 3rd read of fa in 6 days and gave nbme 13 ( 257) and uwsa2 ( more than 265) after that on the same day. Next day I gave nbme 15 and scored 257 again ( lol I know I was super consistent in my nbmes)...last 3 days I just went over fa high yield topics or concepts that i thought needed reinforcement...the day before my exam I just relaxed mostly, watched some football, went out with a friend to get some snacks...I tried to sleep early but i couldnt sleep properly due to the expected anxiety . Had a 6 7 hour sleep in pieces.

Exam was trickier than most nbmes but doable. I marked any question I had a doubt on so I ended up marking 20 to 25 a block....I thought genetics and behavioral sciences had more wtf type questions but genetics was solvable if one had done their kaplans right...the rest all subjects were fair game...

Timeline:

Nbme 11 ( 5 weeks out) : 252
Nbme 12 ( 3 weeks out) : 252
Nbme 7 ( 2 weeks out): 257 and uwsa1: 263
Nbme 13 ( 1 week out): 257 and uwsa2: >265
Nbme 15: (6 days out): 257
Usmle step 1: 267

I know I leveled up from my nbmes but I owe it mostly to the fact that in the exam I was much more focused and perhaps the pressure got the best out of me....
my advice to anyone looking ahead to tame this beast would be to simply make concepts from whatever tools you decide to use for your prep. I think kaplan video lectures do that job in the best possible manner and then you have fa which gives you all you need to know for the exam but without the concepts , so I would recommend doing lectures. I know some would argue that uworld does a fine job in making you understand conceptual stuff but the problem is that while the kaplans give u everything in sequence the qbanks albeit awesome study tools don't give u things in a proper sequence which leaves u a bit confused at the end of the day since the exam content is so vast...just my opinion. However doing as many questions as possible is also key since they help reinforce stuff over and over again and in different scenarios. VERY IMPORTANT!!!!

I tried not to write a whole notebook,lol, so if anyone has any specific questions regarding the prep material or anything I would be glad to help out to my best ability...many people will tell you many different ways to go by your prep but as doctors its a part of our training to use our own judgment as to what's best at the end of the day.

-limits begin where the vision ends-[/QUO

hey.that's a great score..hearty congratulations.

i am studying goljan for pathology. i am unaware of pathoma. can u please guide me on this,on what to follow. waiting for ur reply

thank u and A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR:)
 
#100 ·
many congrats ,

i want to know what is a good approach for pathoma, to do the text first and then watch video or watch video first,
My bet would be on giving a quick read first then doing the videos. that way u get an initial basic understanding while reading, and the while watching the videos which are ofcourse a better tool over all you get the chance to master the stuff..
 
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