7811
Everything u need to know to pass usmle with high score ..✨🌟 U can also join us on step 2 ck experiences : https://t.me/Yousmle2
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🌹😉Uworld free online Step1😉
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🌹😉Uworld free online Step2😉
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🌹😉Uworld free online Step3😉
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🌹😌Join Telegram Group for instructions😉 link Bellow:
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🌹😉/channel/studentdoctor 😉
👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆
🌹😉Watch this video to know❤️How to create a System wise test ?
🌹😉Uworld free online Step1😉
https://www.medicospira.com/uworld1/signup.php
🌹😉Uworld free online Step2😉
https://www.medicospira.com/uworld2/signup.php
🌹😉Uworld free online Step3😉
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#USMLE Step1 Experience 261
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Dr:Hipocrates Medici
Prep time:
11 months
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My goal score :
starting was 240
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Phase1 :
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(I was reading only experiences of those who scored 240s thinking above that is for nerds)
I have done Kaplan Biochemistry, physiology, microbiology(sketchy microbiology), immunology and pharmacology(along with sketchy pharmacology) plus pathoma along with firstaid
Then I did in December 2020
Online nbme 13 to 19 as they were retiring : 236-24
This gave me the confidence to start reading experiences of people scoring 250s and 260s.
(Bnb was mentioned alot, anki and uworld).
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Phase2 :
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After that I started in January boards and beyond in the morning and 40 questions of online uworld random in the afternoon my average starting was 82 percent and finished 86% (93 percentile) total.
Since anatomy was my weak area I started
->(anki Dorian )during this time early morning during my walking time.
->And biochemistry pixiorize (which helped alot in the real deal)
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Self Assessments:
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⏯While doing this I was doing nbmes every two weeks intially then every week.
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22/01/2021 nbme 20 offline :(36 incorrects) 241🤔
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29/01/2021 nbme 21 offline: (24 incorrects)
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254,👍 07/02/2021 nbme 22 offline: (17 incorrects) 260👍,
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Late February amboss self assessment step 1: 254😁
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I was only doing uworld random in between with bnb and fa.
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30/05/2021 nbme 23 offline:( 27 incorrects) 251
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05/06/2021 nbme 18 offline: (10 incorrects) 263 ,😁
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12/06/2021 nbme 24 offline: (16 incorrects)
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261😁, 26/06/2021 nbme 25 offline: (13 incorrects) 263😁
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19/06/2021 nbme 27 offline: (12 incorrects) 263 😁
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03/07/2021 UWSA1 online: (21 incorrects) 269 😁
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10/07/2021 nbme 28 offline: (19 incorrects) 256 🥺
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18/07/2021 nbme 29 offline: (21 incorrects) 253 😤
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22/07/2021 nbme 30 offline 8 days before the step 1 exam: (12 incorrects) 263 👍👍😁
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24/07/2021 Uwsa2 and free 120 online together to simulate exam one week before the exam: 262 and 97%
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Last month before my exam :
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my online uworld 6 months subscription expired after I did wrongs and marked plus 10 percent second round (my average was 96% I was remembering them I guess).I did amboss 2700 qs qbank system wise (started with 78% and finished with 86% (97 percentile them 98 percentile respectively) after it was suggested by my dear friend Hisham Harty (thanks bro)
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For biostatistics ->
in addition to bnb and Dr. Randy Neil, I did uworld biostatistics 100 questions offline and amboss. For communication I used uworld and amboss, not one ethics question on exam but I have done Dr conrad Fischer's ethics 100 cases.
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My study schedule:
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Mornings Wake up, walk plus anki Dorian
Followed by bnb plus fa then lunch
and In the afternoon 40 questions of uworld and review in the afternoon
I Stopped studying after 7 pm.
Every first day of my study week assessments every especially last week's before the exam.
I watched biostatistics Dr Randy Neil's adv
I studied 6 days per week with one day total off thanks to my wife for being patient with me and supporting me, I love you 💕💕💕 God bless you. 〰️〰️〰️〰️
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Last week of the exam
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I did nbme 30, uwsa2 and free 120, revised pathoma 123 using pdf only plus fa, general principles amboss (300 questions).
#USMLE Step1 Experience 262
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Dr: Etebong Augustine
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Background:
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Non- US IMG
Real deal 262
Goal 270
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Introduction to Preparation
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started my preparation august 2018, by building a solid foundation
I read Goljan rapid review pathology and started doing zanki. The mistake I made during this period was that I was brute forcing my way through cards only(200 new cards a day), no qbanks and I hate watching videos. The exception to my video phobia was sketchy which I watched most of. Once you watch sketchy and do the deck, trust me microbiology becomes a joke. By december I took the cbse and scored 240.
That December i started doing amboss, my first block on amboss i scored 56%, i had to buckle up, i finished amboss with a 72% in February but by January I started making my way through the nbmes from nbme 1 to 24, and the qbank usmlerx because i am a completionist.
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Self Assessments
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NBME 1- 183/200
NBME 2 - 180/200
NBME 3- 190/200
NBME 4 - 185/200
NBME 5-184/200
NBME 6- 179/200
NBME 7-188/200
nbme 11-187/200
NBME 12- 189/200
NBME 13- 191/200
NBME 15- 178/200
NBME 16- 188/200
NBME 17- 191/200
NBME 19- 192/200
NBME 22- 183/200
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I started uworld september 2019, since it was only 2180. I did 2 blocks a day plus my anki reviews and i was done with the first pass in a month with a 93%. When i finished uworld, i read through the biostatistics section of kaplan behavioral(this is an underrated resource) since this was a weakness for me.
I did UWSA 1 and scored a 275(the curve is very kind) although the test had some vague concepts i had never heard of.
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As a completionist i started beating my way through kaplan qbank october and part of november then i did nbme 24.
NBME 24-257 nov 23 2019 online
I got depressed and slacked off studying because i couldnt schedule my exam, on december 28 i decided to take an nbme for testing sake
NBME 23 -244 online december 28(the score drop shocked me).
2020 COVID happened countries locked down so no hope, i just kept up with my anki reviews and infact started studying for step 2 since borders did not open for the country i was planning to take the exam, and you know travelling during covid is hectic.
february 2021 i took the amboss self assessment and scored 264
April 2021 i got my scheduling permit, i began taking my prep seriously,
May 20th i did Usmlerx assessment and scored 279.
i flew through most of amboss since it was a 2nd pass and finished with a 92%,
Meanwhile i purchased uworld, and shocker they had added 1500 questions making it a 3500qs qbank.
I did Uworld along with my anki reviews and bought my first of the new nbmes;
nbme 26 on the 16th of june and i scored 263
All of a sudden Trinidad announced they were opening their border 17th of July, I immediately booked my exam.
At the beginning of july, I had like 2000 uworld questions to do, 5 nbmes, UWSA 2 and free 120. Do not procrastinate like me
I did nbme 28 on the 25th of July and scored 261 then i focused on finishing uworld which I did on August 30th with a 94% and around 200 incorrect.
For my last week I did
Free 120 on 1st August- 90%
UWSA2- 2nd August 269(biochemistry heavy)
Nbme 30 on 4th august- 266
NBME 25 on 6th august-260 (hardest nbme)
Nbme 27 on 7th august-268
Nbme 29 on 7th august-272
For the nbmes what i noticed was my first instinct was right most of the time, but there is this voice in my head that usually constructed a weird reasoning and i would change my answer, especially for nbme 25 i changed a couple of correct answers to incorrect whereas on 27 and 29 i just let things be.
You have to be prepared to make educated guesses on things you don't know.
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Exam Day
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Exam date was 9th august, I told myself i was not going to change any answers because of my test taking history
Read the explanations properly. Focus on understanding rather than trying to
memorize everything. If you do want to memorize, focus on the tables/charts.
Educational objective gives you the take-home point.
Lot of topics will turn up repeatedly. That mixed with contextual learning makes it an excellent memorization tool as well.
UW conceptual illustrations are on another level of superior class/quality.
If you can do 2passes, that’s good, but one pass is enough too IMHO. (I didn’t complete my UW 1st pass.)
ALWAYS Quality>Quantity .
7) (Hard work + Smartwork) >>> smartwork > Working with no direction.🏋️😎
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At the same time, keep in mind that way more success in the world has been achieved by brutal desperate hardwork than by the aforementioned “smartwork”.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work
hard.” -Tim Notke
😎 Respect the challenge.⛰🧗
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The exam’s pretty doable. But it’s not a cakewalk. Take it seriously
during your prep and you shall do well on the big day.
“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.”-Norman S.
9) Shaykh Sattar ❤️ and Dr Ryan are a blessing🥺🤍.
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️ I’ve watched pathoma 4-5 times(watched
once or twice for MBBS patho exams too). Would have watched BNB twice if time had
permitted. Would highly recommend BNB atleast for the concept-heavy systems.
Pictorial mnemonics(sketchy,pixorize,etc) have immense value, are supported by evidence and hv unlocked the next level of memorization. Now that we have these tools available, use them as and when required.
10) For Neurodivergents- Congrats for reaching till here! :D👨💻
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I wanna say Eliminate all distractions.
All you gotta do is put in the work. Do whatever it takes to discipline yourself. Its better to be limited by your abilities than by lack of effort.
11) Trust your assessments.📋
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For the most part, you’ll not see any big jump/miracle or fall/disaster on your big day from your performance in MULTIPLE RECENT assessments.
Use themthroughout your prep to measure/assess current status, progress and readiness for the real deal.
In recent times, I’ve seen UWSA2 taken ~2weeks before the real deal to be most accurate
predictor +/-5.
12) I was lucky to have a very strong support system in my Family( first like and comment by DOM TORETTO 🤣:p) and friends.👨👩👧👦🙂
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Also, I was able to find great mentors, SPs and mentees throughout my prep. All this definitely helped a lot and I’m extremely thankful to them.
For some reason, I only came across the nicest of people throughout my prep. But if by chance, you do face any negativity, ignore that noise. Always have faith in your capabilities. If you've made it till here, you can make it further. And anyone who says otherwise is doing some NambaWanBoolsheet-ing.
13) Regarding Resources in life💰💻
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If you’re privileged, appreciate and help those without. And if you’re not, don’t lose hope because when a person has nothing, he/she has DRIVE and that’s a really
strong weapon to have in your arsenal.
I’ve seen people who did 10k$ commercial prep courses not do well. I’ve also seen people who didn’t buy UW get a 265+.
14) “One exam doesn’t define who you are”...💭
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
... is good advice for someone who has already taken the exam. Its BS advice for someone prepping for it. When you’re preparing, you need to consider this as one of the most imp milestones in your life.
As an IMG, its better to give your all at this
stage, rather than spending lots of years and money(and effort, duh) trying to make up for a low score.
But once you’ve given it your all, acceptance is key and the statement then becomes extremely relevant.
Nbme 27 is free online in our website
Details of the website and coupons for the first 100 subscribers.
Make sure you subscribe to our channel so u can get new updates about the Other NBME assessments
It's totally free for the first 100 subscribers .
Don't lose this golden chance 😁
Join now
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http://t.me/USMLE_QBANKS_bot
USMLE Step 1 Experience – 246 – American Medical Student MS2
First time here on SDN. I’ve been lurking on SDN for a while seeking comfort in reading about other people’s success. I really hope I can do the same for others.
NBME 12: 200
NBME 13: 215
UWSA 1: 237
NBME 15: 217
NBME 16: 225
UWSA 2: 239
NBME 17: 234
NBME 18: 236
Step 1: 246 March 9th, 2017
By the grace of God, I achieved a score that I don’t deserve. Anything can happen if you work hard and sincerely hope that you will be successful.
My study period started on Dec 26th, 2016 and ended on March 8th, 2017. I studied around 8 hours a day and took Sundays off or had a light review. The only resources I used were Uworld (did it 1.5 times), FA (read it probably twice in its totality), Sketchy pharm and micro, BRS physio, Pathoma and Boards and Beyond. Pathoma videos are key for mastering path and Boards and Beyond for everything else that Pathoma doesn’t cover (such as biochem and physio). Achieving a 240+, in my opinion, is doable and anyone can do it if they study smart. The most important thing to do during your dedicated study period is to keep your resources thin and to really master Uworld. Uworld is the most important resource you have. It is much more important than FA and knowing it well is the key to breaking the 240 mark.
Good luck everyone and please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
STEP 1 EXPERIENCE – 260 – Dr Vashistha (Indian IMG)
USMLE Step 1 Experience - 260
USMLE Step 1 Experience – 260
HI , EVERBODY . I AM KIRTIVARDHAN VASHISTHA FROM SMS MEDICAL COLLEGE , JAIPUR , RAJASTHAN , INDIA . HERE IS MY EXPERIENCE IN A SHORT FORMAT FOLLOWED BY A LONG ONE , I HOPE ITS HELPFUL TO YOU
PREP DURATION :- 10 MONTHS , FROM MAY 2016
SUBJECTS :- ANATOMY – KAPLAN —> THEN FA + U WORLD
PHYSIO – KAPLAN —> THEN FA + UW BCHEM – KAPLAN —> THEN FA + UW MICRO – FA + UW IMMUNO – KAPLAN —> THEN FA + UW GENETICS – KAPLAN ( WEAK IN FA AND UW) —> FA + UW PHARMA – KAPLAN —> FA + UW PATHOLOGY – GOLJAN + FA + UW BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE – KAPLAN —> FA + UW + 100 CASES
BY CONRAD + HY ETHICS BIOSTATS – KAPLAN —> FA + UW AND UW BIOSTATS REVIEW
SCORES :-
UW FIRST PASS AVG :- 77 % SECOND (ONLY 1/4TH) :- 92 % JAN 3RD – NBME 16 – 30 ques wrong – 232 FEB 7TH – NBME 17 – 17 ques wrong – 248 FEB 25TH – NBME 18 – 16 ques wrong – 255 MARCH 9TH – UWSA 1 (85%) AND 2 (90 %) – 264 AND 264 SAMPLE QUESTIONS FROM USMLE – 93 % , A DAY BEFORE MY EXAM MARCH 20TH – STEP 1 , RESULT ON APRIL 12TH – 260
CLOSEST FORMS TO THE EXAM :- NBME 18 , UW SA & U WORLD Q BANK !
NOW IN A MORE DETAILED WAY :-
First of all , its important for everybody to realize that uploading experiences for others to read isn’t a way to show off your high scores , i have already done that on my Facebook / INSTA and with my family and friends . I have read tons of experiences whilst preparing for my step and found them immensely helpful and my heart was itching to help my fellow mates on this forum who have been tremendously helpful .
For ones who are going to start , you will feel lost , hopeless and , especially so if you have been an average student (just like me) . The point here is to work continuously for the goal you want to achieve
i started with kaplan subject wise with videos in early may during my internship year . it took me 4 months , which by any standard would give a turtle a run for its money .
i regret wasting so much time in kaplan , but after that i switched to u world and fa ,annotating extra info from uw into fa, in september with my friend and thats when the real preparation started for me.
Make sure you understand everything there is , on u world and fa , use multiple resources if a particular topic is making you cringe . For instance , you tube videos , dit , google images have been immensely helpful in a deeper understanding of the step 1 content.
As you move forward in your preparation , you would realize that the way you look or understand something has an added dimension to it , which will make you feel satisfied and you would be more confident about your preparation .
i could barely do 20-30 ques/day initially , and i managed to complete uw by mid december . After that i thought of starting with nbme’s and gave myself 25 days to complete it ( which i couldn’t ) gave 16 on 3rd jan – got a 232 , it was the lowest point in my step preparation . i expected myself to be at least a 240 .
i took extension for my period from nov – dec – jan to feb – march – april and gave myself another month for NBME 17. While doing that i worked on my weaknesses and tried to memorize facts , especially that of micro and bchem.
Gave 17 on 7th feb – got a 248 , was relieved .
On 25th feb i gave 18 , and got a 255 , this form was the closest to the real exam . All others are pretty vague in my view point .
I kept revising fa , did random questions from random resources (for e.g. :- fa q and a and usmlerx ) in last two weeks and gave uw sa 1 and 2 on the same day to get the feeling of the exam .
On the exam day , most important thing is to have a strong mindset and its not hard to get that . i’v had panic attacks in almost all the nbme’s i gave and i was considering seeking professional help for that .
But on the exam day , i told myself that i did whatever i could and now is the time to add 2-3 to your score and the only way i could do it is to face the exam headstrong .
#USMLE Step1 Experience 261
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Dr:Hipocrates Medici
Prep time:
11 months
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My goal score :
starting was 240
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Phase1 :
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(I was reading only experiences of those who scored 240s thinking above that is for nerds)
I have done Kaplan Biochemistry, physiology, microbiology(sketchy microbiology), immunology and pharmacology(along with sketchy pharmacology) plus pathoma along with firstaid
Then I did in December 2020
Online nbme 13 to 19 as they were retiring : 236-24
This gave me the confidence to start reading experiences of people scoring 250s and 260s.
(Bnb was mentioned alot, anki and uworld).
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
➖➖➖
Phase2 :
➖➖➖
After that I started in January boards and beyond in the morning and 40 questions of online uworld random in the afternoon my average starting was 82 percent and finished 86% (93 percentile) total.
Since anatomy was my weak area I started
->(anki Dorian )during this time early morning during my walking time.
->And biochemistry pixiorize (which helped alot in the real deal)
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Self Assessments:
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
⏯While doing this I was doing nbmes every two weeks intially then every week.
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
22/01/2021 nbme 20 offline :(36 incorrects) 241🤔
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
29/01/2021 nbme 21 offline: (24 incorrects)
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
254,👍 07/02/2021 nbme 22 offline: (17 incorrects) 260👍,
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
Late February amboss self assessment step 1: 254😁
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
I was only doing uworld random in between with bnb and fa.
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
30/05/2021 nbme 23 offline:( 27 incorrects) 251
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
05/06/2021 nbme 18 offline: (10 incorrects) 263 ,😁
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
12/06/2021 nbme 24 offline: (16 incorrects)
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
261😁, 26/06/2021 nbme 25 offline: (13 incorrects) 263😁
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
19/06/2021 nbme 27 offline: (12 incorrects) 263 😁
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
03/07/2021 UWSA1 online: (21 incorrects) 269 😁
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
10/07/2021 nbme 28 offline: (19 incorrects) 256 🥺
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
18/07/2021 nbme 29 offline: (21 incorrects) 253 😤
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
22/07/2021 nbme 30 offline 8 days before the step 1 exam: (12 incorrects) 263 👍👍😁
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
24/07/2021 Uwsa2 and free 120 online together to simulate exam one week before the exam: 262 and 97%
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Last month before my exam :
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my online uworld 6 months subscription expired after I did wrongs and marked plus 10 percent second round (my average was 96% I was remembering them I guess).I did amboss 2700 qs qbank system wise (started with 78% and finished with 86% (97 percentile them 98 percentile respectively) after it was suggested by my dear friend Hisham Harty (thanks bro)
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
For biostatistics ->
in addition to bnb and Dr. Randy Neil, I did uworld biostatistics 100 questions offline and amboss. For communication I used uworld and amboss, not one ethics question on exam but I have done Dr conrad Fischer's ethics 100 cases.
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My study schedule:
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Mornings Wake up, walk plus anki Dorian
Followed by bnb plus fa then lunch
and In the afternoon 40 questions of uworld and review in the afternoon
I Stopped studying after 7 pm.
Every first day of my study week assessments every especially last week's before the exam.
I watched biostatistics Dr Randy Neil's adv
I studied 6 days per week with one day total off thanks to my wife for being patient with me and supporting me, I love you 💕💕💕 God bless you. 〰️〰️〰️〰️
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Last week of the exam
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I did nbme 30, uwsa2 and free 120, revised pathoma 123 using pdf only plus fa, general principles amboss (300 questions).
three days before i went to Prometric center checked the place, the parking and their requirements. Thanks to the advice of my friend Wei Jun Lee.
#USMLE Step1 Experience 262
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
Dr: Etebong Augustine
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Background:
➖➖➖➖➖
Non- US IMG
Real deal 262
Goal 270
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Introduction to Preparation
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
started my preparation august 2018, by building a solid foundation
I read Goljan rapid review pathology and started doing zanki. The mistake I made during this period was that I was brute forcing my way through cards only(200 new cards a day), no qbanks and I hate watching videos. The exception to my video phobia was sketchy which I watched most of. Once you watch sketchy and do the deck, trust me microbiology becomes a joke. By december I took the cbse and scored 240.
That December i started doing amboss, my first block on amboss i scored 56%, i had to buckle up, i finished amboss with a 72% in February but by January I started making my way through the nbmes from nbme 1 to 24, and the qbank usmlerx because i am a completionist.
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Self Assessments
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
NBME 1- 183/200
NBME 2 - 180/200
NBME 3- 190/200
NBME 4 - 185/200
NBME 5-184/200
NBME 6- 179/200
NBME 7-188/200
nbme 11-187/200
NBME 12- 189/200
NBME 13- 191/200
NBME 15- 178/200
NBME 16- 188/200
NBME 17- 191/200
NBME 19- 192/200
NBME 22- 183/200
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
I started uworld september 2019, since it was only 2180. I did 2 blocks a day plus my anki reviews and i was done with the first pass in a month with a 93%. When i finished uworld, i read through the biostatistics section of kaplan behavioral(this is an underrated resource) since this was a weakness for me.
I did UWSA 1 and scored a 275(the curve is very kind) although the test had some vague concepts i had never heard of.
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
As a completionist i started beating my way through kaplan qbank october and part of november then i did nbme 24.
NBME 24-257 nov 23 2019 online
I got depressed and slacked off studying because i couldnt schedule my exam, on december 28 i decided to take an nbme for testing sake
NBME 23 -244 online december 28(the score drop shocked me).
2020 COVID happened countries locked down so no hope, i just kept up with my anki reviews and infact started studying for step 2 since borders did not open for the country i was planning to take the exam, and you know travelling during covid is hectic.
february 2021 i took the amboss self assessment and scored 264
April 2021 i got my scheduling permit, i began taking my prep seriously,
May 20th i did Usmlerx assessment and scored 279.
i flew through most of amboss since it was a 2nd pass and finished with a 92%,
Meanwhile i purchased uworld, and shocker they had added 1500 questions making it a 3500qs qbank.
I did Uworld along with my anki reviews and bought my first of the new nbmes;
nbme 26 on the 16th of june and i scored 263
All of a sudden Trinidad announced they were opening their border 17th of July, I immediately booked my exam.
At the beginning of july, I had like 2000 uworld questions to do, 5 nbmes, UWSA 2 and free 120. Do not procrastinate like me
I did nbme 28 on the 25th of July and scored 261 then i focused on finishing uworld which I did on August 30th with a 94% and around 200 incorrect.
For my last week I did
Free 120 on 1st August- 90%
UWSA2- 2nd August 269(biochemistry heavy)
Nbme 30 on 4th august- 266
NBME 25 on 6th august-260 (hardest nbme)
Nbme 27 on 7th august-268
Nbme 29 on 7th august-272
For the nbmes what i noticed was my first instinct was right most of the time, but there is this voice in my head that usually constructed a weird reasoning and i would change my answer, especially for nbme 25 i changed a couple of correct answers to incorrect whereas on 27 and 29 i just let things be.
You have to be prepared to make educated guesses on things you don't know.
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Exam Day
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#USMLESTEP1EXPERIENCE261
By dr : Shreena Gandhi
Hello USMLErs we need your support by like,comments and share .
Let’s make it 200 likes .
—————————————————-
USMLE Step 1 experience
I started my USMLE step 1 journey in June 2019. I had researched everything about the exam, read a lot of experiences, so I had a plan in my mind right from the start.
This is as important as the actual exam preparation because an organised preparation not only saves time but provides more output for the same/ less input.
I had decided to limit myself to a few resources and ace them.
My resources:
1. First aid 2019 – The bible. I did this book at least 6/7 times, and I knew it inside out.
The mistake people often do when approaching the FA is that they try learning everything without understanding the content. Every single word in FA holds a purpose, so if you do not understand what something means, research that topic in depth and clarify that concept. The FB groups were godsend in this respect, I used to post a lot of doubts and everyone is extremely helpful. Another simpler approach is just google it.
2. UW- do not underestimate this resource.
UW is a learning tool. Don’t rush it, it’ll affect the scores towards the end. Solve the Qs diligently, read the entire explanation top to bottom and add the additional points to your FA.
I used to do something called “question hygiene”. What I realised is once you form a habit, it sticks till the very end, even the final board exam. So, don’t solve the questions in a leisurely relaxed mode. I used to sit and solve every block as if it were the real exam, from the first day. I think that helped, because you don’t take questions for granted then and push yourself to look for every possible clue the stem has to offer.
You can take breaks before and after the block or make smaller blocks in the beginning but when you are solving those questions, make sure you’re focused.
3. B&B: One day I hope to go and personally thank Dr. Ryan for making this series. It’s the best! It cut my 1st pass duration into half. It basically takes you through FA, topic by topic and clarifies concepts, and provides additional UW concepts. One drawback, however, if you do not have a strong base, it can be a bit difficult to follow. You can use other resources to supplement.
4. ALL NBMEs: It’s an extremely underestimated resource. I solved all the old NBMEs, they helped me get used to the actual question pattern and trained my mind to use all the information it had in a meaningful way. The newer online ones, I used as an assessment and learning tool, both.
5. Other optional resources:
Sketchy micro (only for bacteria and viruses, absolutely love it)
Anatomy shelf notes (avoidable)
100 cases by Conrad Fischer
Dr. Turco’s Kaplan Biochemistry lectures (very good for forming a good base )
Dr. White’s Kaplan Neuroanatomy lectures
My preparation phase was divided into 5 passes:
1st pass: 5 months
I watched Pathoma and B&B videos (without pathology) and annotated all the points into my FA.
I would go through over the content with my study partner and then I would solve the UW blocks for that system in the same order i.e. embryology anatomy physiology pathology pharmacology. All the extra points I found in UW, I made flashcards out of these.
UW first pass score: 78%
2nd pass: 2.5 months
I now started revising my FA with my flashcards. I annotated all the flashcards into my FA to make it one comprehensive resource for me. You can learn the flashcards separately to save time.
3rd pass: 1.5 months
Now, I started solving all the NBMEs with 3rd pass of my “all annotated” FA. (I don’t remember all the exact NBME scores, but they went all the way from 240s to 260s)
4th pass: 1.5 months
I did my 5th pass with UW mixed and timed blocks. Assessment with weekly NBMEs.
UW second pass score: 94%
5th pass: 1.5 months
Got this additional preparation time due to the COVID-19 lockdown in my country.
I did my 6th pass of FA with weekly NBMEs.
Online NBME scores :
NBME 24 - 241 (4 months out)
Tᕼᗴ ᗰOᔕT ᗪᗴTᗩIᒪᗴᗪ ᗴ᙭ᑭᗴᖇIᗴᑎᑕᗴ YOᑌ ᕼᗩᐯᗴ TO ᖇᗴᗩᗪ !!
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
#𝗨𝗦𝗠𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣𝟭 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 253
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
ᗪᖇ:𝗬𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝘆
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
IᑎTᖇOᗪᑌᑕTIOᑎ :
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم. I’m Yasmin Aly 5th year med student Egypt.
This is gonna be a long experience but I will try to organise it so you can get to whichever part you want directly. I owe it to this page to give a detailed experience as a way of giving back and keeping the good cycle active. This is also an experience of girl who has extreme exam anxiety and thought USMLE is too big for her but during the exam I was surprisingly calm. Guys never doubt yourselves.
First off I want to thank my family and friends for all their support, wouldn’t have made it without them.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Reddit predictor: 258
Real deal: 253
Tested: 24/2/2021
Result: 24/3/2021 ( More about the delay later on)
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
☯️︎ ︎𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱☟︎:
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
started after 3rd year exams but was taking it at a low pace. I started taking it seriously during covid, during my fourth year. So about 1.5 years including breaks of my endrounds and the huge break of 4th year final exams and 1 week of break after. The most important is to condense your studying and not to have long breaks, will cause you to burnout and restarting again to reach the level you were in before the break is devastating. Also not counting 2nd year summer spent doing kaplan cause it was a total waste of time and effort.
➖➖➖
𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 :
➖➖➖
▶️Qbanks:
➖➖➖➖
➪ UWORLD(2x) and AMBOSS(1.5x)
1-Uworld: UWORLD’s tables and diagrams are the best. Make flashcards out of them and review them continuously. Uworld is gold.
2-Amboss: Their knowledge library is amazing, can’t do it justice; it contains all the info you need to know about usmle and directed towards usmle exam. I believe it’s free; google any topic and write amboss after it.
Do AMBOSS biochemistry and anatomy section extremely important! AMBOSS is a really strong qbank and they keep updating it by the second so all the new exam materials are there.
Focus most on the basic sciences part( pathology, microbiology, immunology and so on) tested heavily on the exam is many different ways.
Please get an online subscription for both UWORLD and AMBOSS till the day of your exam as they keep updating and adding new questions close to the ones being added to the real exam.
➖➖➖➖➖➖
▶️ 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
➖➖➖➖➖➖
✍️︎︎• First aid 2020 and reviewed some topics of 2021 but they were useless since uworld had them all covered. The magnificence about FA is it’s ability to summarise and hit the highest of yield so you can review the topics more than once. Done 5 times by the time of my exam.
✍️︎︎• Ethics, communication skills, behavioral sciences: Conrad Fischer( loved), Khan ethics( loved), BRS behavioral sciences done with kaplan summer of my second year but was good enough. The most important resource for the new communication skills is uworld, nbmes and amboss in my opinion.
✍️︎︎• Pathoma: Loved dr. Sattar’s way of explaining things and making it look so simple. Loved the videos more than the book.
✍️︎︎• Anatomy was really hard for me but I redid AMBOSS anatomy, read msk from FA multiple times, did dorian anatomy flashcards and finally felt comfortable with it. Shelf notes for anatomy is good but I preferred the flashcard version, dorian.
Tᕼᗴ ᗰOᔕT ᗪᗴTᗩIᒪᗴᗪ ᗴ᙭ᑭᗴᖇIᗴᑎᑕᗴ YOᑌ ᕼᗩᐯᗴ TO ᖇᗴᗩᗪ !!
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
#𝗨𝗦𝗠𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣𝟭 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 253
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
ᗪᖇ:𝗬𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝘆
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
IᑎTᖇOᗪᑌᑕTIOᑎ :
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم. I’m Yasmin Aly 5th year med student Egypt.
This is gonna be a long experience but I will try to organise it so you can get to whichever part you want directly. I owe it to this page to give a detailed experience as a way of giving back and keeping the good cycle active. This is also an experience of girl who has extreme exam anxiety and thought USMLE is too big for her but during the exam I was surprisingly calm. Guys never doubt yourselves.
First off I want to thank my family and friends for all their support, wouldn’t have made it without them.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Reddit predictor: 258
Real deal: 253
Tested: 24/2/2021
Result: 24/3/2021 ( More about the delay later on)
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
☯️︎ ︎𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱☟︎:
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
started after 3rd year exams but was taking it at a low pace. I started taking it seriously during covid, during my fourth year. So about 1.5 years including breaks of my endrounds and the huge break of 4th year final exams and 1 week of break after. The most important is to condense your studying and not to have long breaks, will cause you to burnout and restarting again to reach the level you were in before the break is devastating. Also not counting 2nd year summer spent doing kaplan cause it was a total waste of time and effort.
➖➖➖
𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 :
➖➖➖
▶️Qbanks:
➖➖➖➖
➪ UWORLD(2x) and AMBOSS(1.5x)
1-Uworld: UWORLD’s tables and diagrams are the best. Make flashcards out of them and review them continuously. Uworld is gold.
2-Amboss: Their knowledge library is amazing, can’t do it justice; it contains all the info you need to know about usmle and directed towards usmle exam. I believe it’s free; google any topic and write amboss after it.
Do AMBOSS biochemistry and anatomy section extremely important! AMBOSS is a really strong qbank and they keep updating it by the second so all the new exam materials are there.
Focus most on the basic sciences part( pathology, microbiology, immunology and so on) tested heavily on the exam is many different ways.
Please get an online subscription for both UWORLD and AMBOSS till the day of your exam as they keep updating and adding new questions close to the ones being added to the real exam.
➖➖➖➖➖➖
▶️ 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
➖➖➖➖➖➖
✍️︎︎• First aid 2020 and reviewed some topics of 2021 but they were useless since uworld had them all covered. The magnificence about FA is it’s ability to summarise and hit the highest of yield so you can review the topics more than once. Done 5 times by the time of my exam.
✍️︎︎• Ethics, communication skills, behavioral sciences: Conrad Fischer( loved), Khan ethics( loved), BRS behavioral sciences done with kaplan summer of my second year but was good enough. The most important resource for the new communication skills is uworld, nbmes and amboss in my opinion.
✍️︎︎• Pathoma: Loved dr. Sattar’s way of explaining things and making it look so simple. Loved the videos more than the book.
✍️︎︎• Anatomy was really hard for me but I redid AMBOSS anatomy, read msk from FA multiple times, did dorian anatomy flashcards and finally felt comfortable with it. Shelf notes for anatomy is good but I preferred the flashcard version, dorian.
#𝚄𝚂𝙼𝙻𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙿𝟷 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 268
𝙳𝚛: 𝙰𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚅𝚎𝚒𝚍𝚝
𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝟷 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎
𝙻𝚎𝚝’𝚜 𝚐𝚘 💡
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268 Step 1 experience:
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𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
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Let me start off with a little bit of background about myself. I’m an immigrant who came to the US for college and was lucky enough to be admitted to a “top 5 med school”.
I mention this because I can relate to the struggles of many IMGs who have to learn the language not just to assimilate but also to do well on exams (and succeed in college + med school in my case). But I also have a lot of privilege being at a prestigious US Med School.
Overall I studied for about 2.5 months. My dedicated was about 1.5 months but I watched Pathoma twice over a month before dedicated (during school). I started Pathoma early because although I felt like I had a strong background from my med school courses, I only scored ~190s on my CBSE before dedicated which scared me into starting Pathoma.
That being said, I want to highlight some key takeaways from my experience with Step 1 that might resonate with some of you though keep in mind that as many people mention, not everyone has the same learning style and it’s important to follow what works for you.
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𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 #1:
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Despite all the hate, First Aid is the absolute bible for this test!! The point I want to drive here is that FA is incredibly high yield. Every single sentence, graph, chart or table is fair game and UWorld/the real exam will ask questions that I was directly able to answer from FA (albeit most times, with a little bit of critical thinking). I didn’t mind going through FA and encoding the material page by page but most people find this method agonizing. I personally learned FA this way and didn’t use any Anki decks because it was too complicated for me to figure out. If you are one of those people who hate FA I suggest using Anki or another method to learn all the info in FA. I can’t stress how important it is to learn everything in FA!
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𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 #2:
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UWorld is the most important resource. I attribute 80% of my score to FA and UWorld and 20% to Pathoma (I didn’t use sketchy or Anki) but if I had to choose one resource I would choose UWorld because UWorld will teach you medical knowledge AND test taking skills, whereas FA and Pathoma give you only the former. Importantly, Pay attention to the content on UWorld that isn’t in FA, there’s not a ton but it’s a good amount and it can potentially make a difference. I made flash cards with those extra topics that I went over to add to my medical knowledge. Finally, use this resource for learning, don’t get upset at the # of incorrects you get, only get upset if it’s a concept you’ve already seen a question on and should have learned. Otherwise it’s a learning resource, use it appropriately!
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𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 #3:
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NBMEs 20-25 are NOT predictive, my scores on those NBMEs were between 15-30 points lower than my actual score on the real thing, whereas my avg on UWSA1, UWSA2 and NBME 18 was 265 (3 points from my actual score). Granted, I took the UWSAs and NBME 18 closer to the exam but I stand by this point. Those NBMEs are gone now and I have no experience with the new ones (25-29?)
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𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 #4:
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as with any exam, CONFIDENCE is the most important factor on test day. When I went into the exam, I noticed the questions were different, not the same as UWorld or NBMEs but more similar to UWorld. I was shocked initially but maintained my confidence and decided to use the same test taking strategies I had learned after weeks of doing UWorld. I didn’t feel great walking out but when I got my result, I felt happy but I also realized that this test is meant to shake your confidence and create doubt. The best thing you can do is not let shake you and double down on yourself!
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𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢#5:
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Step 1 is NOT an IQ test! Don’t let this exam define you, your self-worth or your intelligence. Life and medicine are so much bigger and more important than this exam.
The first 4 blocks were relatively similar to UW and NBME style marked about 4-5 questions, the 5th block was catastrophic by all means I had 20 marked questions though I wanted to mark all of them, after I finished it, I knew that I blew my chance of scoring a 260+ then by the time I did my last 2 blocks I was really fatigued, had a continuous abdominal pain during the last hour of the exam.
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🕰𝚁𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 :
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I finished each block in about 40 minutes and managed to review all my marked questions and sometimes even the whole block.
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⁉️𝚁𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 :
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I would say that around 70% were easy and straight forward , 20% were relatively challenging and needed time to exclude options and reach the correct answer , 10% are very hard but know that what seems hard to you also seems hard to most of the other examinees, Images were hard for me especially CT scans and MRIs ( the 5th block was a gallery , I had an awful lot of images ) and I finished my exam feeling angry because I knew that my performance declined after the 5th block and couldn’t keep up my pace after that.
TRY AS HARD AS POSSIBLE NOT TO MISS THE EASY QUESTIONS , in my humble opinion these questions matter the MOST.
Ethics : had about 3-4 questions each block , Most of them felt like UW , easier than AMBOSS and somewhat had logical answers except for a very few where you end up with 2 answers and you’ll have to take your chances.
Words can’t express how stressful were the last 2 weeks , I checked some of my answers and found out that I did about 10 silly unforgivable mistakes ( NEVER CHECK ANSWERS AFTER THE EXAM ) , I tried to suppress my thoughts about the exam as much as I can. Try going out with your friends, work out, binge watch series, really anything that could take your mind away from thinking about it.
⚖️Real deal: 251
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🏁𝚅𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚜 :
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1️⃣. Longer prep time does not correlate with a higher score, if you’re planning to do it during your med school then try to be religious to your schedule and do not procrastinate like I did.
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2️⃣. What works for others may not work for you, for example I heard a lot about ANKI I used it for 1 month then figured out that I can’t stick to doing cards for hours each day so gave it up without thinking twice, same goes for sketchy, 100 cases and many others.
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3️⃣. Nobody ever memorized every single word in FA. Don’t stress out if you can’t do it because nobody did.
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4️⃣. You probably heard this a million times, please read the explanations for ALL the answer choices in UWORLD/NBME questions (VERY VERY VERY HY), I know that it is very time consuming in the beginning, but you will thank yourself later on.
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5️⃣. SELF ASSESMENTS : ( This is just my personal opinion ) We all know that not a single one is 100% predictive , Most NBMEs are under predictive due to the fact that many questions are weirdly written and illogical , contain very bad quality pictures and not evenly distributed between all the materials covered in FA and UWORLD ( for example NBME 22 is anatomy heavy , NBME 23 is a neuro heavy and so on ) plus they do not contain many ethics and biostatistics questions which is not the real case in the actual exam nowadays, although my scores were high in NBMEs and UWSAs, I knew that these assessments are old and are nowhere near the real exam so I was mentally prepared that I may score less than all of them and that’s exactly what happened. It’s still above my goal which is a 250+ but who wouldn’t want a higher score when you are sure that you have the potential to score higher than that, but you have to accept the reality and always look at the bright side.
👌🏻The main point is:
Do not use these assessments as tools to predict your scores, whether your scores are higher or lower than your goal, use them to track your overall progress only. Because it all comes down to your exam day performance. You’ll read experiences for many people scoring 230-240s in the assessments and pulle
Best medical channels for USMLE step 1😁
☎️For details and membership
contact:
@usmle_recall
three days before i went to Prometric center checked the place, the parking and their requirements. Thanks to the advice of my friend Wei Jun Lee.
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One day Before exam :
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I did Dirty medicines advise
Woke up early excersed, studied lightly till 4pm, I watched a movie and slept at 10 pm.
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Exam date : 1st August 2021
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woke up early 5 am, ate breakfast, took my permit plus passport.
I arrived 1 hour earlier and waited some time.
First block was a bit difficult for me with vague communication questions I marked around 10 or 12, continued to second block without taking break, the I took 10 mins break drunk my coffee, ate my chocolate bars, freshened up and stretched. After this I was finding the questions better well balanced. I was taking 10 mins before blocks so by the time I finished the last block I had with 13 minutes of rest remaining.
In addition I was finishing my blocks seven to ten minutes to revise what I marked.
After the exam I felt okay but I ended up looking at some silly mistakes I did which I advise against. And there is no way to know which questions are experimental except for few obviously weird ones. I guessed them and moved on.
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Last :
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This journey has helped me make a lot of good friends and bad enemies 🤣🤣🤣🤣 (forget the last part I haven't made any enemies).
My wife is laughing at me right now for writing such a long biography 😂😂😂😂
I am venting I guess, after all this sweat and toil.
I took a 5 minutes breaks after each block except block 4 where I took 20 minutes to eat snacks and receive fresh air. I feel I got an easy exam, every block had at least 4 communication skills only one question on my exam felt experimental. On the final question on my exam after successfully fighting that voice to change answers, I changed the last one and after I checked it online and I failed it.
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Tips :
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The exam felt like the free 120, mostly straightforward and very few difficult questions, I heard if you get an easy form, the curve is harsher and vice versa
Due to my assessment scores I had a gut feeling, I was always going to underperform. I scored a 262. I'm willing to answer any questions
I can share my anki deck if anyone is interested.
Scores indeed don’t define you and I’ve seen many brilliant people with super score predictions done bad by this beast. Its ok. Dust-off, Move on. Not just passing, bt anyone who even turns up at prometric to face this absolute mammoth deserves high commendation.
15) Last but not the least💡.
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
Healthy diet, adequate sleep, exercise and SCHEDULED off-days are important. Test prep is a marathon, not a sprint.
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EXAM EXPERIENCE🚗🏢👨💻-
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I found the exam to be very easy and doable. Tested very basic, superficial and HY knowledge. Prometric staff is very professional and helpful. Temperature is 23-25°C.
Break time is adequate. I’m not really a quick Q solver but I didn’t run out of time on any blocks.
Took a break after everyblock except one in the middle. i brought coffee, darkchocolate and protein bars. Didnt really take anything except water for the first 3blocks. Tapered up the coffee/chocolate after that. Limited myself to one bar only. Don't overeat. You're not there for a picnic,lol. Once again, the fasting state ❤️
Question pattern and length resembles Free120 and somewhat the new NBMEs. Content tested resembled Free120, UWSA1 and the easiest UW questions.
I found the Qs to be shorter and very different(in pattern) from UW. That said, I’d still say UW is the best way to prep for the exam.
I didn’t really have any of the infamous insanely hard ‘WTF’ Qs. Sure, there were Qs which had complexity, but once you sift through the complex language and jargon, they are usually testing some very basic and HY principle.
TBH if you can eliminate silly mistakes and just get all the easy Qs right, you’re on your way to atleast a pretty decent, if not a great score.
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Conclusion💡💡-
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Exam is pretty doable if you put a fair amount of effort in the right direction. If you’ve any further Qs, feel free to ask in the comment section or message me. I shall address it right then or in future posts. Also, I’m tutoring FOR FREE till the end of this month. HMU if interested. Goodluck to y’all. Off to Ck-prep.
Forever Mindset ❤️- حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ
Remember-
وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ ١
إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَفِي خُسۡرٍ ٢
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ ٣
( 103:1-3)
-Ozair S.
~Uzayr S.
~TheWizardOfOz\
#𝗨𝗦𝗠𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝟭 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲251⭐️
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Dr: Uzayr siddiqui
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السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته (Peace be upon you)
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
Got 251 on my step1.
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Introduction✍️
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I fashioned my prep around the 10s of reviews I had read before I started. So it’s my turn to give back now. Before I begin, i'd like to suggest to take any of my advice with a pinch of salt. One person's experience and perspective can very rarely represent the entire picture. Ok that's it. Lets begin. Sit tight cz this might be a long one.
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Resources used📒📔👨💻💻💿-
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1)Pathoma
2)Uworld
3)BNB
4)Google, wiki, Amboss Library(for looking up stuff)
5) Topic/query/doubt discussions/tutoring on forums/groups or with SPs.
6)Sketchy Micro
7)First aid
8)Sketchy pharm, pixorize(as and where needed)
9) Conrad ethics, khan’s cases
10) Amboss Qbank(~200q)
11) Other random misc stuff.
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ASSESMENTS📋📝-
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(At beginning of prep)
NBME 13- 184
(Prep progression. 5-12 months before exam)
NBME 15,16,17,19(All online FREE)- 215- 230s
NBME 18, 20,21,22,23,24- 240s-255
Amboss selfassesment-230
(2-3 months before exam)
UWSA1- 258
UWSA2-245
Skimmed through 1-2 newer NBMEs
Rx self assessment- 258
(5days before real deal)
Free120-88%
Real Deal- 251
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Principles of Prep🤓🧠😼
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So, I feel I’ve a lot to say on the topic of USMLE prep but the scope of a single post is limited. I shall try to summarise it into some general principles that I followed/incorporated or learnt during my prep. I might elaborate these points more in future posts.
1) "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening
the axe." – Abe Lincoln.🪓🌳
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Read up on the neuroscience on learning and memorisation. It wld be pitiful to overlook this despite belonging from the medical field. Read up on the work of Ebbinghaus. Google learning curve, forgetting curve, spacing effect, spaced repetition, priming, interleaving, active learning, active recall, retrieval practice, etc.
Also, Intermittent fasting<3.
2) Focus on High Yield.📔
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Pareto’s principle is true for USMLE as well. 80% of questions(in the exam or any full course mock/assessment) will come from 20% of topics.
For the most part, the test focusses on basics and high yield. Don’t waste your time chasing
Zebras.
The big picture>> Isolated random factoids.
Exam is not some dictionary trivia. They want you to identify general patterns and foundational principles and be able to apply it across a vast plethora of familiar or uncharted situations. (Pathoma is king for providing a bird's eye view/perspective).
3) Effective learning and memorisation is counterintuitive.🏋️🚵
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If it FEELS good, its most likely NOT the
most effective method. Circles back to point 1)
Also, Teaching is the highest form of learning.
I taught/discussed topics with colleagues throughout my prep.
4) (controversial)First Aid might be the best book there is, but its not that good of a
learning tool.💭🤔
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FA is a good place to consolidate info in one place systemwise. The charts, tables and
illustrations are excellent. But FA as a learning or memorization tool is overrated. IMO People often overestimate the contribution of Rereading FA repeatedly to their success in
USMLE. This is due to familiarity which projects #falsecomprehension.
Science regards Rereading as a low utility learning/memorisation technique. Active Contextual learning>>>Passive encounters. I mostly used FA as a reference while solving UW Qs.
Still, Reading CAN be made active and more efficient(feynman technique, etc). The process of annotating FA can also be an engaging task.
IMHO FA is more rightly described as a checklist of things that you should know.
Enough said. Watch Santiago AQ’s video on youtube on this topic for more.
5) Uworld is the #1 learning tool.✨🤓
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“Sometimes, the key to making progress is to recognize how to take that very first step. Then you start your journey. You hope for the best and you stick with it, day in, day out. Even if you’re tired, even if you want to walk away, you don’t. Because you are a pioneer. But nobody ever said it’d be easy.” – Christina Yang
Читать полностью…
I had a redbull , snickers , chocolates for the day , make sure you wear loose clothes without pockets and socks( wear a t shirt instead of a shirt , sandals instead of a pair of shoes)
I did 2 blocks in one sitting and took a break of 10 mins in between , didn’t utilize 25-30 mins of my break because i did not feel the need of taking it . i knew i was in the game , and i wanted to finish it early and on a high note i managed to finish the exam 50 – 55 mins before the stipulated 8 hours .
The key here is , this worked for me , it might not be applicable on you , but you have to know various ways of how people have tackled this monster of an exam in past to choose the best one for yourself .
Its a do-able exam , if i could do it , you could get a 265 (no kidding )
All the best , stop freaking out , start working !
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One day Before exam :
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I did Dirty medicines advise
Woke up early excersed, studied lightly till 4pm, I watched a movie and slept at 10 pm.
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Exam date : 1st August 2021
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woke up early 5 am, ate breakfast, took my permit plus passport.
I arrived 1 hour earlier and waited some time.
First block was a bit difficult for me with vague communication questions I marked around 10 or 12, continued to second block without taking break, the I took 10 mins break drunk my coffee, ate my chocolate bars, freshened up and stretched. After this I was finding the questions better well balanced. I was taking 10 mins before blocks so by the time I finished the last block I had with 13 minutes of rest remaining.
In addition I was finishing my blocks seven to ten minutes to revise what I marked.
After the exam I felt okay but I ended up looking at some silly mistakes I did which I advise against. And there is no way to know which questions are experimental except for few obviously weird ones. I guessed them and moved on.
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Last :
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This journey has helped me make a lot of good friends and bad enemies 🤣🤣🤣🤣 (forget the last part I haven't made any enemies).
My wife is laughing at me right now for writing such a long biography 😂😂😂😂
I am venting I guess, after all this sweat and toil.
Exam date was 9th august, I told myself i was not going to change any answers because of my test taking history
I took a 5 minutes breaks after each block except block 4 where I took 20 minutes to eat snacks and receive fresh air. I feel I got an easy exam, every block had at least 4 communication skills only one question on my exam felt experimental. On the final question on my exam after successfully fighting that voice to change answers, I changed the last one and after I checked it online and I failed it.
➖➖
Tips :
➖➖
The exam felt like the free 120, mostly straightforward and very few difficult questions, I heard if you get an easy form, the curve is harsher and vice versa
Due to my assessment scores I had a gut feeling, I was always going to underperform. I scored a 262. I'm willing to answer any questions
I can share my anki deck if anyone is interested.
NBME 20 - 254 (3 months out)
NBME 22 - 251 (3 months out)
NBME 23 - 259 (2.5 months out)
UWSA1 - 259 (2 months out)
NBME 21 - 260 (10 days out)
Exam: June 11
Result: Got the result in 2 weeks itself. 261, was overjoyed!
To conclude, “Sometimes, the key to making progress is to recognize how to take that very first step. Then you start your journey. You hope for the best and you stick with it, day in, day out. Even if you’re tired, even if you want to walk away, you don’t. Because you are a pioneer. But nobody ever said it’d be easy.” – Christina Yang
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I’m not refuting that if you are on the “smarter side” or “at the top of your class”, preparing for and taking the exam isn’t easier, because it probably is.
What I am saying is, this exam is a lot more like “a war of attrition” than it is an IQ test. It’s about how much you are willing to give it more than baseline intelligence/IQ.
I say this because you can study for 14-15 hours/day (which I did on most days) or you can study 7-8 hours/day or even anywhere in the middle. To any sane human being outside of medicine, all of those numbers are INSANE! Nobody in their right mind would think anything other than how hard-working you are for putting any of the above mentioned numbers on a daily basis for months!
Therefore, I believe you have to chose for yourself what number is feasible for you keeping in mind your mental health. As I mentioned, this is a WAR OF ATTRITION! You either wear the test out or the test wears you out! This is why it’s important to draw a line for yourself based on your goals and mental health!
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I hope this is useful for folks preparing for this exam! I know the pain and the struggle and I truly hope everyone can get their goal score! But if you don’t hit your goal, don’t despair, I’ve had mentors that I consider to be the most amazing physicians who are insanely smart and accomplished and they’ve had average scores on this exam. I chose to not let this test define me for this reason. When I got my score, I wasn’t as happy as I could have been had I let this test define me or my intelligence. And I will take this trade-off any and every day. Just my 2 cents. Good luck to everyone!
d of a 250-260 + in the real deal and vice versa so Don’t be too hard on yourself if your scores are lower than your goal.
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6️⃣. The exam itself is grueling task (8 hours) it tests your endurance and stamina to the max, so pack enough food and stay hydrated.
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7️⃣. It may seem like there was a lot to do but I still had a life throughout all of it, I exercised regularly, went out with my friends, wasted time on social media and Netflix…etc.
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8️⃣. It is pretty normal to feel depressed, down, angry, or whatever at times believe me it is part of the process, take a break for a day or two even during dedicated, your physical and mental health is a PRIORITY.
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9️⃣. All in all, You need to work hard, believe in yourself and never let this exam define you as person, at the end of the day it is only an exam that you unfortunately have to take to reach your ultimate goals, it is hopefully the step 1 to all the great opportunities waiting for you in the future.
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I want to thank my family and friends who kept me sane & motivated me throughout this whole period and wish everyone reading this the best of luck in their exams, I hope you all get higher scores than you ever dreamed of.
I would be happy to answer any questions you have
الحمدلله دائما و ابداً
In February 2020 I went to the US for my away rotations, by the 4th week of my first rotation I received an e-mail from the institute informing me that the last 4 days of my current rotation are cancelled due to COVID and my 2nd rotation was also cancelled, and I got stuck in the US until MAY.
I came back to Jordan and underwent a quarantine for a WHOLE MONTH then did my final exams.
I did not study a single world throughout this period. So, by now I had this HUGE gap from February till July, I have already forgotten about 80% of what I’ve studied, not a single note I wrote on the book made sense to me, I was really considering giving up at that time.
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𝙿𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎 3:
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(August 2020 – March 24th, 2021)
I felt really down when I restarted my prep, I regained my composure and did two back-to-back reads, completed my UW first pass by the end of November.
***By that time UWORLD added a lot of questions I think they added about 600-700 questions during my gap period which led to extending my prep time even more
Then I did 2 NBMEs one week apart to see where I stand and calculate how much more time I needed.
NBME 16 (3 months out): 230
NBME 15 (3 months out): 223
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🏋🏻♂️𝙳𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚍:
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(MOST IMPORTANT PHASE OF PREPERATION):
CONSISTENCY IS KEY DURING THIS PERIOD, I did one NBME every Saturday, 4 reads throughout this period, 2nd round of UW (Random, timed, 91.5 % correct), AMBOSS question bank for Ethics and communication skills and Anatomy shelf notes in the last 2 months
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🎬𝙰𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 :
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NBMEs in chronological order:
NBME 17: 249 (9 weeks out)
NBME 20: 243 (8 weeks out)
NBME 22: 258 (7 weeks out)
NBME 21: 256 (6 weeks out)
NBME 23: 258 (5 weeks out)
NBME24: 259 (4 weeks out)
UWSA 1: 269 (3 weeks out)
NBME 18: 269 (easiest one in my opinion) (2 weeks out)
UWSA 2: 264 (1 week out)
Reddit score predictor: 263 +/- 8
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⏳𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚖 :
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I followed Dirty medicine video recommendation (HY), reviewed some hard and volatile info until 2 PM then enjoyed the rest of the day off ( VERY IMPORTANT TO DO SO )
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👻𝙴𝚡𝚊𝚖 𝚍𝚊𝚢 :
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woke up at 4 am slept for 6 hours had my breakfast arrived at the prometric center 7am started my exam at 7:30
I took my breaks in this order
1st block – 5 mins – 2nd block – 5mins – 3rd block - 10 mins – 4th block – 10 mins – 5th block – 15 mins – 6th block – 15 mins – 7th block
During each break I drank water, coffee, ate a protein bar and went to the restroom even if I didn’t feel like going.