Skip to main content

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! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMPLETE HISTOLOGY POINTS (FROM FINAL GUIDE SERIES)

-You need to do all the Histology past-paper questions (2009-2016) and these points only along with the diagrams from your practical copy and you are done. . -These points are extremely important to cover the 6-7 mcqs from the histology portion that you normally skip . - CHAPTERS FROM LAIQ HUSSAIN INCLUDED : CHAPTER = 12,16,18,19,20,21,22,23. (MOST IMPORTANT 18,19,20,21). Do read or memorize these important points assembled chapter wise. (ENOUGH FOR ATTEMTPING THE PROFF UHS EXAM). CHAPTER 12 : .Old type of cortex is known as ‘’allocortex’’ .New cortex is called ‘’neocortex’’ .In the internal pyramidal layer of primary motor area giant pyramidal cells, called Betz cells are found. . There are six layers of cerebral cortex : 1) Molecular layer 2) External Granular layer 3) External pyramidal layer 4) Internal Granular area 5) Internal Pyrimidal layer 6) Multiform layer .The cerebellum consists of two hemispheres and a central vermis. .Cerebellar ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Anis Al Kateb Step 2 CK: 261

The total duration of the preparation was around 12 months (with a full-time job) -Study materials: *Kaplan Q bank (once) overall performance 77% *UW step 2 CK (once). Overall performance 78%. Did not get time to do a second round. Only did the wrong questions in Peads, OBGYN and psychiatry. *UW biostatistics subject review *Uptodate; occasionally to clarify some concepts *Did only the new CMS forms in peads, OBGYN and psychiatry -Assessments: *UWSA1 = 276 (one week before the exam) *NBME8= 247 (4 days before the exam) *UWSA2= 254 (the day before the exam) *step1 score= 241 *Real deal= 261 -Exam day: *Very long day and mentally exhausting. The most important thing is good night sleep the night before and plan your breaks beforehand *Did block 1 and 2 back to back without a break. After the second block until the end of the exam I took a short break about 5-7 minutes after each block. The lunch break after block 4 was a bit longer 15 minutes. On each ...
2 comments
Read more

Step 1- 255

Hello everyone, I didn’t get an extraordinary score or break any records, but I did relatively well in very little time. So, I am doing this write up because most people spend 9+ months prepping getting their 260+, have fully matured Anki decks or have a high baseline. To most of you out there without a year of planning ahead, trust me, it can be done. 70% of STEP1 is properly reading and reasoning with a few basic points of HIGH YIELD™ knowledge. It’s all about mindset. I used a minimalistic and barebones approach and basically crammed for my step 1 exam in 4 weeks. I DID “0”, ZERO memorizing. Use this guide as an idea of what can be done in very little time, if you have more time to play with then all the more power to you! Firstly, I’m an average to below average student. Crammed couple days before 90% of my school exams. Never used First Aid. My Pre-dedicated Baseline: Our school makes us take a CBSE, my correlated step 1 score was 200ish. Like 100 questions MAX complet...
Post a Comment
Read more