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Ali Shehbaz Baloch Step 1--- 243


From 230 in Nbme 18 to 243 in the real deal.
Study materials:
Pathoma for pathology.
Shelf notes for anatomy.
Sketchy for micro/pharma.
Kaplan for pharma, BS, biochem, physiology.
FA only for the rest.
Started studying in 4th year mbbs. Got uw in june 2017. Could do only pathology that year with 30% uw.
This year i had completed my uw by april with 70% in first pass. Studied FA one month.
Gave first nbme 11 on 7 june.
NBME 11 OFFLINE : 207
Read FA for one month again. Gave uwsa 1 on 15 july.
UWSA 1 : 226
Did UW 2nd pass. Read FA again. Gave nbme 13 on 28 august.
NBME 13 OFFLINE : 235
After that i got my triad for oct nov dec. May goal was 240 so i thought i will be able to hit 240 in a month. Target was to give exam in mid october. (I would have never gone for it if i knew what was coming up.)
Did targeted FA again. My BS was a weak area so did BnB for biostat. Worked on other weak areas and gave nbme 15 online on 25 sept.
NBME 15 : 232
I had made some silly mistakes in this nbme. So i thought i would be safe if i get exam date. So i took 8 november as my exam date. I studied FA again for 20 days and gave nbme 17 offline one month out.
NBME 17 OFFLINE : 34 mistakes.
At this point, i started to panic. Within a couple of days i went into anxiety. I was unsure whether i would be able to hit my score in desired time. I stuck with FA, worked on my weak areas. Did UW biostat. 15 days out, i gave nbme 19 offline since i heard it has a harsh curve.
NBME 19 offline : 28 mistakes.
But my anxiety didn't relieve coz i knew i m not safe unless i score near 240 in an online test. I used to panic a lot while doing online test and made silly mistakes. So i worked with FA for 8 9 days and 4 days out my exam i gave nbme 16.
NBME 16 ONLINE 4 DAYS OUT : 223
It ended in a disaster. I never thought things would get even worse. I laid on my bed that night thinking i should quit and may be its just not meant to be. But then some friends told me that i should get my exam delayed for 3 weeks and i might get enough time to improve. But i knew i had reached my threshold and i can't study more. Also i had my final prof in one month so 3 weeks delay was too risky. I took one day break. Thought about whether to delay for 3 weeks or put it to next year. I knew i had prepared well and it was just my anxiety and panic bothering me so all i had to do was overcome the monster inside me and have faith in myself. Next day i woke up and i could feel the energy i wanted to have. Because this time it was me against me.
I got the exam delayed for SIX DAYS. I studied only the stuff that had bothered me all along. biostat. Respiratory. ANS. And gave nbme 18 3 days out the new date.
NBME 18 ONLINE 3 DAYS OUT: 230
By now I had accepted my fate. I had this feeling that I will perform on the final day. Did UWSA 2 half heartedly. While doing uwsa 2, i couldnt even remember the simplest of things. I was tense but i had made peace with myself.
UWSA 2 1 DAY OUT : 241
After doing uwsa, i immediately revised as much units of FA as i can. I did 4 5 units in one day.
On the last day i was calm. I woke up early. Did leisure reading of FA. Went to beach in the evening and enjoyed the sunset. Got some foodies for the big day. Came back. And slept early. God works in strange ways. I had the best sleep in months the night before exam.
I woke up early. Packed my stuff. And went to prometric. I knew it will be over today so i had to give my best that day. I went inside like a cornered tiger and stayed at peace throughout my test. I told myself i know most of the stuff and nbmes mean nothing. Its a new day and i have to give all i have.
I left prometric with my head high. I knew I had given the best that I could have. And Alhamdulillah, the rest is history.

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