poor uw scores hurting my confidence

[ispy]

hi everyone. i'm new on USMLE forums.

i am an IMG preparing to give my Step 1 in nov/dec 2011. i have finished reading the KAPLAN lecture series and Goljan Pathology twice and First Aid once. Then I started doing the questions since last month. Here's my problem: I'm still only getting only 40 to 50 percent of the answers right on first attempt. Is this natural for everybody or am I just dumb? I still have time to go through the questions the second time but wud really like to improve my scores and of course, do well in the exams.

also, i have one embarrassing question to ask abt the exam. do they allow bathroom breaks in between blocks and even during the blocks? I just happen to pee abnormally frequently when i'm nervous (esp during exams).

Thanks!

[anonymoususer]

You have break time between blocks but if you leave during a block the timer won't stop. UWorld is designed to learn from not predict a score. I know people who get 50-60% and then get 250+ so don't worry so much.