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"Step 1, Or How I Used To Stop Worrying And Love The Boards" (My Step 1 Experience)




Score: 244
Status: 5th year of med school
Dedicated study period: 2 Months
Hi, I've been following this amazing group (step 1 preparation forum) for 2 years and I've learnt alot here. So I'd like to give something back.
If you're in 1/2/3 year of Med School and interested in steps, this post is for you.
Sources Used:
(From most important to least ones)
1. Uworld, First Aid, Pathoma (Really all you need)
2. Sketchy Micro and Pharm (Most Underrated source!!!)
3. Randy Neill MD on youtube for Biostat
4. Shelf Notes for Anatomy
5. 100 Cases for Ethics
6. Kaplan 2014 for all other subjects
(The Pathoma-like section of this post is over, here comes the Goljan like part )
I've been an average student all throughout my med school. I won't bore you with the details of what exactly went down, but here's the timeline:
1st/2nd Year:
I did Nothing. The only advice here for you is to do something  For now, you should just focus on making good concepts. Save your energies for the later years !!
3rd Year :
I started with Kaplan Pharma and Micro, felt overwhelmed and was about to quit. Thats when i stumbled upon Sketchy in this group.
BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME!!!. It taught me all the weird concepts without me ever feeling bored. Sketchy slowly became my Netflix. I did it 3 times total. This literally nailed the bugs and drugs into mind. I owe my at least 10 points to those guys. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
PRO TIP: Combine Sketchy Pharma and Micro with your med school tests. Start gathering sources and reading experiences. Follow this wonderful group . Its really helpful except the occasional F comments (Just kidding)
4th Year:
Not only my med school has Eye/ENT in the curriculum as seperate subjects, the curriculum is 180° to the Step 1 topics.
So I decided to do Eye/ENT rotations in the day and Step 1 in the night time. WORST DECISION EVER!!!
In no time, I started looking like an Alcoholic Zombie due to the burnout that this schedule caused. I'd HIGHLY RECOMMEND you not to do this.
PRO TIP: If you have Eye/ENT in 4th year, allocate seperate time windows to them. DONT MIX THEM UP WITH STEP 1 !!!
For example, give first 8 months to step 1 and last 4 months to EYE/ENT.
( This is the Most important thing you can learn from this post, or as Dr Sattar would call it: the take home point)
Also, dont underestimate the power of Pathoma. Dr. Sattar will save you in annuals as well as Step 1. you can ditch Robbins Pathology completely !!!
5th year:
I took Medicine Rotations first and that helped me with clinical stuff like murmurs and stroke etc.
In the summer vacations, I sat down for my dedicated period and started taking NBMEs.
Once I started getting 240+ in NBMEs, I booked the date.
PRO TIP: Get the triad as early in ur prep as possible! Once you have a set timeline, you will notice you're slacking off much lesser than before.
NBMEs:
NBME 13: 215 (~4 months before)
NBME 15: 238 (~2 months before)
NBME 16: 244 (~1 month before)
NBME 17: 252 (~3 weeks before)
NBME 18: 244 (~10 days before)
UWSA1: 260, UWSA2: 245
The Actual score was exactly the same as NBME 18.
EXAM DAY:
The exam was if NBME 18 and UWSA2 had a super annoying baby together 😜
But most of it was doable just by doing Uworld, First Aid and Pathoma. I constantly felt like the *weird* questions were overhyped and one can answer them if one keeps his nerves.
Anatomy was simple, B.S was tough, Genetics was super easy!!!
PRO TIP: Wear something with minimum pockets !!! If I had a second chance I'd get myself a pocketless rubber suit, to streamline the checking process 😜
POST EXAM:
Like every test taker, I started recalling stupid mistakes I made. Plus the recent mass hysteria of the change in scoring curve really freaked me out. So i'd advice you to keep calm and trust thy NBME averages !!!
Lastly, the most important thing: Step 1 is just a test and a test doesn't determine how good of a doctor you're gonna be.
Also, you don't need to become a White Walker-Zombie Hybrid to get good scores (except maybe in the last week ).
So take breaks, go out, watch tv shows (Scrubs> Grey's Anatomy), relax, exercise, get your heart broken 😁 Enjoy life!!!
If you have any queries, I'm happy to help 
EDIT:
Some FAQs
1. Should I skip Kaplan?
A big NO if your school course is as twisted as mine. Skip it only if u have full grasp of concepts
2. How much time required?
Depends on what u did in ur clg days. The nerdier you were, lesser time needed 😜
3. Any benefit of doing step 1 before graduation?
Well, for me the biggest benefit was having a purpose in life, or i'd have wasted these years pursuing useless things.
4. My senior is did this thing, should i follow him?
Dont follow anyone, design ur own path (This advice works in real life too )

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