Got my score 2day, 252/99 - shady

[ArchivalUser]

I was really surprised (but happy) when I printed my score report.

[ArchivalUser]

Awesome job.....What were your overall averages in question banks or NBME's??? Please share..

[ArchivalUser]

congratulations.please share ur exam preparation and experience

[ArchivalUser]

Thanks guys,

I'll try to share as much as I can. I'm from Canada, so I'm not as familiar with USMLE prep sources. The sources I used were:

1. First Aid 2008: Read this cover-to-cover 3 times and on my 3rd read I wrote down things I was having trouble memorizing.
2. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple: My microbiology knowledge was lacking so I put in the effort to read this book once (almost cover to cover) and making notes of most of the impt bugs. I think this book improved my score dramatically b/c Micro/Immunology was my strongest section on the test.
3. First Aid question book: I was averaging about 8-12 wrong per 50 question section.
4. USMLE world Test #1: I got 250 on this test, but my performance was variable. I got anywhere from 8-14 q's wrong per 48 question block, but I must admit that I didn't write the test in test-like conditions.
5. I didn't do any NBME tests b/c I simply didn't have the time. That being said, I'm someone who generally prefers to go into a exam feeling comfortable with the material. I generally don't learn that well from practicing tons of question. My study strategy revolves more around reading.

If I can offer any advice, it would be to make First Aid your go-to book. One of my buddies also got 240 and he only used first aid. Depending on how rigorous your courses are in medical school, there might not be much need to delve into multiple sources.

Cheers

[ArchivalUser]

WOW CONGRATULATION.
MY EXAM IS IN 50 DAYS ,CAN U PLZ ADVICE WAT SHUD I CONCENTRATE ON?
I HAVE DONE 2 READING OF KAPLAN AND DID UW ,FA JUST READ ONCE (STILL HAVE TO COMPLETE FEW PAGES)
PLZ ADVICE AS HOW TO GO ABOUT.
THNKS

[ArchivalUser]

congrats.
i took Usmle cd practice test for step 1 and got 83%
any correlation with real exam ?
Exam in 3 weeks and reading kaplan notes.
any advise for these final three weeks
any input will be appreciated.
thanks

[ArchivalUser]

congratulations! how long was your prep time?

[ArchivalUser]

congratulations congratulations congratulations

[ArchivalUser]

Hey, thanks everyone,

I don't know much about the usmle cd practice test. To be honest, I found the usmle world self-assessment tests to be a fairly accurate predictor of the real thing. And my scores on these practice tests were almost identical to my actual score.

In terms of my prep time, it was really focused studying, 5 hrs/day for about 5 weeks. I heard of many students hitting up multiple sources for their prep which was a bit intimidating. But a few of my close friends told me that knowing First Aid for the USMLE inside and out would be enough for a good score. I tried my best to master that book cover to cover. Any time I came across an unfamiliar topic I would read about it in more detail. It's unbelievable high yield. I remember one page in the endocrine section which had intracellular messengers for various hormones.....there were easily 5 questions on the actual exam from this. I know there are many useful resources out there, but I think committing to First Aid is the most impt thing for this exam. And work on weaknesses.......my microbiology was horrible until I committed to mastering Clinical Micro made Ridiculously Simple. But I don't think I would have scored the way I did without some luck. I found about 20 questions on test day to be ridiculously impossible and I had to guess. It was just one of those days.

Hope this helps. I wish you guys the best with the test.

[ArchivalUser]

Hey vickyl, in the final 3 weeks I did a bunch of practice q's from the First Aid Question book, and I read First Aid 2008 cover to cover twice