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Suneet Patel---Step 1 Score 251. V.imp





Exam date : 20th Feb 2019
Result date : 13th Mar 2019
Score : 251 
Prep time : 9 months (dedicated 6 months) after final year of med school.
I’ll try to be as concise & to-the-point as possible.
Resources used : Kaplan videos except patho (once) + lecture notes (once; except Biochem + Physio + Anatomy twice )
Pathoma (2-3 times)
FA (3 times)
UW (once) 
Ethics – 30 cases video by DirtyUSMLE on youtube. Kaplan is good. 100 cases by Conrad Fisher (didn’t help much though).
Biostats – Felt Kaplan + FA is good enough. Do ‘UW biostats review’ if you have time.
Prep :
Started with Kaplan videos and lecture notes, and Pathoma. Kept doing that for couple of months. Annotated from videos into lecture notes. Bought FA, and UW subscription late (a mistake !!). 
Used to read subject-wise. Starting with Kaplan/ Pathoma, then moving on to FA, and lastly UW in timed mode. Used to solve UW at the end, only to boost my confidence, and also since by then most topics/concepts would have been covered in Kap/FA/Pathoma; so less number of new concepts to learn from UW. Annotated important/new stuff from UW into notebook or FA. Marked imp. concepts and tough questions to review later. 
I was very slow with UW in the beginning, managing to review only 20 questions a day. But gradually picked up pace, to about one block per day. Also, used my own Anki flashcards irregularly.
Started taking NBMEs and UWSAs in the last 2 months of prep.
UWSA1 – 266 (1.5 months before exam) 
NBME 17 – 248 (online. 1 month out)
NBME 19 – 252 (online. 16 days out)
NBME 18 – 252 (online. 9 days out)
UWSA2 – 262 (4 days out)
Day before the exam: 
Was a bit stressed out. Kept studying until 10 in the night. Couldn’t sleep well. Probably slept for 1.5 – 2 hrs.
Exam day: 
Kept calm during the exam. Used all breaks. Initially 5 min. breaks, then 10 min. at the end, and one 15 min. Ate something in every break (light food like protein bar/ sandwich/ chocolates/ banana/ limewater).
Advice:
1) Solve UW online only. Buy it as soon as you start your prep !! Do it in timed mode. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether you do it subject-wise or system-wise. Do what you’re comfortable with. I did subject-wise.
2) Start reading FA from the beginning, along with Kap/Pathoma, and annotate in it. But, do NOT annotate everything into FA; only stuff that is very high-yield. And you will get a hang of what’s high-yield by doing UW blocks. 
3) Revision is the key. Review UW twice. FA at least thrice. 
4) Stick to limited resources, and review them well.
5) If your basic concepts are weak, use Kaplan to build them. If they’re strong, still do Kaplan once quickly. 
6) Listen to heart sounds on youtube, etc. I got 4 questions on heart sounds.
7) Take 2-3 NBMEs online if possible. Review NBMEs and UWSAs once. Don’t schedule your exam until you get your target score in NBMEs.
7) Use flashcards for volatile topics if possible. 
8.) Having an equally dedicated study partner definitely helps keep things on track. But, don’t worry if you don’t have one. 
9) I know it’s tempting to review as much as possible a day before the exam, but DON’T. Relaxing and getting a good night’s sleep is much more important. So, get in the habit of sleeping early a week before the exam, so that you get at least 6 - 8 hrs. of good sleep.
All the best! May the scores be with you! 

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