USMLE Step 1 Experience – 255 – Med School Student 1
Here is my “experience”.
Score – 255 , Test date – march 14
Cumulative prep time – 11 months
Im not going to BS you by telling i did this 2x and did that 3x.
So lets keep it simple.
I was very weak at basics , so watched najeeb for relevant topics like neuroanatomy , receptors , biochem ,a few endocrine sections etc.
Did kaplan only for biochem , physiology and pharmacology.
BRS for psy , Conrad and Khan for ethics , HY series for embryo , neuroanatomy and molecular / genetics.
I probably did biochem many times because this was very volatile for me , everytime going back to lectures and watching them at 1.5-2x. This applied to whatever concepts i felt i was lacking in , watched a lot of youtube videos too.
I also took a baseline old NBME , scores were around 200 to begin with. The prep went on for a long time , NBMEs plateaued and i felt lost like anyone else would. But i knew only if i understood what im reading would they improve so thats what i did – “UNDERSTANDING” and the scores improved as predicted.
Dont think doing FA 20x , and UW 30x will fetch you the scores you need magically. FA is just a review book and should be treated as such. The book is gold , only if you know the bigger story behind each and every line they put in there. Dont try to know those lines and sentences by heart , because you should know you are sure to perform terrible if you do that.
Consistency in your efforts is key , if you are the guy who buys a gym membership and visits once a week to use your mobile phone in the gym , you’d probably do the same with your test prep. Its no different , so dont be lazy – come at it and its a full throttle ALWAYS.
And UW ! This is major along with FA. You should read ALL explanations thoroughly , even if you get something right. Cant stress this enough , but understanding is very important , and it doesnt hurt to do UW a second time.
If you do it right your scores will definitely improve else you should reassess yourself and make decisions for yourself.
For your NBME obsessivity , here are my scores (all taken online)
12 – 209
13- 240+ (offline)
15- 236
16- 230
17- 244
18- 244
19- 248
UWSA 1 – 264
UWSA 2 – 260
18 , 19 and both UWSAs were taken during the month before the test date.
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