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Karimul Islam Rafi‎ (USMLE part 1: 255)




I have full respect for traditional preparation system but this post is for people who always do things differently. Some of u guys may know me as "Raf Sum". Aomine Daiki brother thank you for that support at last moment. I was freaked out 5 days before my exam as i got 261 in nbme 18. Dont get me wrong, i just read basic science portion of FA(except micro patho)& neuro+cardio from organ system.Basically 2/3 of FA pages i never opened. I actually dont care if you believe me or not, this guy told me- u'll be fine brother,trust your Score". Masum Rahman vai also told me i'll be fine,he was my mentor during whole prep. Then i took the test & got this. Now i realize why those who scored higher always said- This is not about how many times you revise FA.This is about you. How u see things,how u analyze thigs"

Let me introduce myself, I am a 5th year student From Armed Forces Medical College, Bangladesh. I'll simply write my resources & nbme scores & my opinion why i got this score. I started preparing by reading posts of people who got more than 260.My target was around that.Umm acording to SEM of the test i guess in best case scenario i made it 😝😝😝(249-261 ) I bought all books used by them & studied.

Time:
9 month, dedicated period- 6/7 month
Resources:
Kaplan videos(except micro,patho)
Uworld offline followed by online during last month( i did 10 block a day to build my stamina.Didnt bother to take notes anywhere from uworld. Just wrote the page number of offline uworld which i got wrong or didnt knew before & revised them during last month of prep. This was a lifesaver)

Pathoma(video 1 times+ book 3 times, this is an amazing book. If u're from subcontinent like me, Dr hussain sattar will make your life so much better. ♥Start prep with one & u'll have more confidence during rest of the prep)

First Aid- 1 time(Just basic science portion except micro patho, Neurology,cardiology)

Brs- physio,behavioral science,gross anatomy
High yield -cell biology,neuroanatomy,grossanatomy
Anatomy shelf note
Uw biostat review
100 cases of ethics
Cardiology notes made by a guy from group,i loved that note( he compiled uw+FA)

Qbank :

Uworld
Pastest Usmle
Usmle rx
Kaplan qbank

Most important resource : ANKIDROID ( BROSENCEPHALON DECK)

NBME score :
Nbme 1- 176( out 280,offline,December 22)
Nbme 12- 239 ( offline april 25)
Nbme 16-244 ( Online, may 25)
NBME 18 - 261 (Online, june 21)
other nbme'a were around 250,cant remember exactly

Real deal : 255.

Suggestion :
Always study in your own pace. I cant follow routine.Someday studied for 16/17 hours,someday 1/2 hours. But i made sure to study every single day.

Whenever u got a question during reading, first search in the group using a keyword. Remember, a lot of people passed this exam, they had same questions. You never know what amazing information u will find there.Keep digging until u're satisfied.

Don't rush, i think i got less than my NBME because of that,i still had 33 minutes break time when i left prometric  or maybe due to error of test.

Best of luck everyone. 
Q: .hey how did you study pharmac and anatomy? was studying nbmes in detail useful to you?
A:  for pharma i used flashcards mainly. For anatomy those books i mentioned. I didnt study nbme's thoroughly
Q: BROTHER on this amazing score..I am really as happy as you are to see you scoring this high .. We may have met only a few days before your exam but you really are a wonderful person.. Now do your step 2 quickly neurology is waiting for you..
And I am hunting you down  Don’t forget the 4 Idiots?
A: first i have to finish my final exam in medschool .Btw best of luck, beat down the beast( i believe u'll cross 260 in sha 
Q: which flashcard you used??
A: Brosencephalon
Q:my exam is 3 months away, would you recommend ankidroid? and how did you use it?
A: definitely. I used it whenevef i got time
Q: What do you mean by pastest and ankiroid?
A: pastest is a qbank, Ankidroid is for flashcards.
Q: Would you recommend doing all the qbanks? I'm doing pastest right now and it ask about stuff I have never even heard of. Do you think pastest is worth it. Did you do Bros from beginning of prep or last month in weak subjects?
A: Depends on you. Doing more questions is always better. I used it from very beginning.

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