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Step 1--- 261



I just got my exam result today that is 261. My exam date was 26th September and here is my experience:
First of all, it’s long and though way that requires patience, ambition, hardwork and self-confident. You must study well and more important: YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN DO IT. Aim the top, work hard, get result and be happy. But you must also know that it’s not everything. Even if you failed the exam, you should know there are something else different than it and there are other ways. Briefly, keep living in each way.
I saw preparation time and periods in other experiences. Well, mine is a little bit confusing. I decided to take USMLE Step 1 on September 2015. I did my plans and planned to take it on July 2016. But things didn’t go as I want, so I postponed my plans to next year. Again, becuase of things that I don’t know even now, didn’t study well in fall 2016. I started my real devoted study period probably in end of May. (The date I chose my eligibilty period and did my reservation for exam.) You can see my hardcore preparation time is only 3.5 months. But before that, in past 2 years, I studied and promote my knowledge in basic science step by step. Things that learned in medical school also give you a lot of advantage.
What are the essential resources? (according to me of course) I think these are UWorld QBank, FA, Costanzo physiology, Goljan RRP.
Done all NBME’s and UWSA’s online and my scores were;
NBME 13: 215 (June 21)
NBME 15: 238 (Sep 15)
NBME 16: 255 (Sep 16)
NBME 17: 250 (Sep 17)
NBME 18: 255 (Sep 18)
NBME 19: 246 (Sep 19)
UWSA 1: 260 (Sep 13)
UWSA 2: 262 (Sep 14)
What about the exam? It’s the hardest exam that I take ever. It’s not because of questions, it’s about the length of the exam. Really tough and tiring. But questions; not so hard. While the time passing, you adapt the exam and focus. It’s DOABLE, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT FEAR THE EXAM IF YOU STUDY ENOUGH. Believe yourself and your study and try to stay calm.
The interface of the software and question format is EXACTLY THE SAME AS UWORLD. So maybe the most important source for exam is UWORLD QBANK. Do not underestimate its power. Do it and do rightly. Read all explanations carefully and adapt yourself the format. That’s the most useful tip for the real exam I think.
Good luck in advance.
PS: Thank you for your best regards and wishes.

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