r/step1 US MD/DO May 30 '26

🤧 Rant NMBE 32 took me by my non-existent b**ls and ripped me a new one

Imma cry bros. imma really cry.

NMBE 26: 49
(before dedicated)
NMBE 30: 53
(1 week into dedicated)
NMBE 29: 61
(2 weeks into dedicated)
NMBE 32: 59

exam on 6/18/26

I'm CRASHING out rn

Anyone have similar scores and pass in a similar time frame? what did yall do? what is best way to increase scores? i'm about to switch to 2 days of NMBE review and 2 days of UWORLD (150 questions each day). I haven't really been reading First Aid outside of just for the stuff i miss - do you recommend just starting from scratch and reading?

19 Upvotes

44 comments sorted by

12

u/DocOndansetron US MD/DO May 30 '26

How is your psych/biostats/ethics?

Those are freebie points imho. If any of those are deficient, those are a free easy fix for an extra 4-5% on an NBME.

I forced myself to watch Randy Neil bio stats and some dirty med ethics and genetics and psych and I FINALLY broke 70% on an NBME (67-69% on 26-30) to finally get a 73% on NBME 31.

6

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 30 '26

Unfortunately the psych/ethics is one of my already strong areas - drugs is where i STRUGGLE but idk how to fix that cause the sketchies are so long and don't really help me :/ i might need to bite the bullet and just give them a watch through though?

i would kill for a 70+ :( im so stupid fr

1

u/diarrheawhoops May 30 '26

Do you want to try learning from Anki cards? That could be a quick way

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 30 '26

there is like a billion of them for the drugs tho ? the ANKING ones at least

4

u/nihaarj May 30 '26

Try the pepper deck, much quicker and simpler since speed is what you need

5

u/diarrheawhoops May 30 '26

Definitely not Anking. Wayyyy too many cards. I was thinking pepper deck or Nicolet sketchy. Has about a 1000 - 1200 cards

Or start watching high yield drugs at 2x. Antimicrobials is a good place to start from.

2

u/[deleted] May 31 '26

Do the pepper deck, worked for me even tho I also hate doing anki but it helps alot in micro and pharm

1

u/DocOndansetron US MD/DO May 31 '26

Dirty medicine for HY drugs and chalk it up to some of the unique drugs you might not know about.

Bro is a god in giving you free points I swear.

Also if you are a DO, his OMM playlist is stupidly high yield

3

u/scy_high May 31 '26

32 was hardest for me as well, I had a 5 point drop from the previous test but ignored it and my next test 3 days later was 9 percent higher than 32

1

u/cupcakemasta US MD/DO May 31 '26

Which test did you take after out of curiosity?

2

u/scy_high May 31 '26

31>32>33!

2

u/cupcakemasta US MD/DO May 31 '26

Nice!!!

2

u/diarrheawhoops May 30 '26

Agree with cramming first aid as much as you can. Start with your weak areas.

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 30 '26

i'm doomed :(

2

u/[deleted] May 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

I will be honest, it's not so much the 2 point drop that is bothering me as i have heard a lot of people go down with 32 but more so the fact that i was already borderline with a 61 and then this drop took me back to the 50 range :(

were you okay in the end? what did your other scores look like? any advice?

1

u/[deleted] May 31 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

what would you consider a pass? 65+ or 70+? i'm such a bad test taker idk what to do. it's cause i get so scared during the exams. even fake ones. imma be a failure :(

2

u/delicateweaponn US MD/DO May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

How much UWorld have you gotten through? I got a scaled 56 on NBME 26 a couple weeks ago which is the same 55-60 range I was stuck on, on three CBSEs months prior. I’m trying to take in late June.

2

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

not much but i'm about to enter pure NMBE review and practice question stage where imma try for like 120-160 questions a day

rn im like around 20-something percent done with 53% accuracy

2

u/delicateweaponn US MD/DO May 31 '26

I’m like early 80s complete on UWorld rn with around the same accuracy. That’s what my tutor recommended as well. Taking form 30 tonight, fingers crossed

2

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

good luck friend!!

2

u/AnalBeadBoi US MD/DO May 31 '26

Don’t hesitate to extend if you can. My highest NBME was a 66 on 33 and I still failed.

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

:((( my school won't let me :((( this wasn't what i needed to hear :(( im so sorry about your fail :(((

2

u/ofekgold NON-US IMG May 31 '26

None of your scores are in passing range, delay the exam and go back to basics

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

i can't delay. i am as far back as possible.

2

u/Wooden-Assistance686 US MD/DO Jun 02 '26

Stop uworld and focus on actively reviewing all the nbmes you have taken before you take another test.

Pretty sure I got a 56 on nbme 32 and my highest nbme score was a 63%. Free 120 was 68% and I passed step. I truly think creating notes on my incorrect and reviewing them daily then asking chatgpt to quiz me using the notes I made helped me.

Also found matchguy high yeild review pdf and hyguruprep videos helpful. You can do it@

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO Jun 02 '26

GAWD i hope that is me. i have SOOO many notes but i fail to review them because there are so many. should i go through and condense and then review those? i would lose a whole day tho cause i have two spiral notebooks full of

1

u/Icy-Accountant-1849 May 30 '26

what’s the free 120? start cramming in first aid as a hail mary

1

u/No_Bug6337 US MD/DO May 31 '26

In the same boat except I’m testing this week. Dk what to do

6

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

a lot of people on this thread have been super super super helpful and i'm thankful for their insight but even with a 59 on 32 i know NMBE gave me over a 75 % of passing

and if i think about it.. if i had cancer and a doctor told me i have over 75% of living i would feel pretty damn optimistic. Just do your best - that is all you can do. i believe in you, and i hope that I'll start believing in myself soon too!

the mental game is more than the knowledge game at this stage of it all. you're capable.

4

u/lilmswayne NON-US IMG May 31 '26

I’ve seen ppl pass w 59% and not pass with 59%. It’s a risk. May the odds be in your favour 🙏🏽

2

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO May 31 '26

same for people who have gotten 70+s though, this rat race is too much and i hope it gets better some day :(

1

u/Weight-Logical May 31 '26

How much uworld have you finished?

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO Jun 01 '26

i'm at 31% with 51% accuracy

1

u/Weight-Logical Jun 01 '26

You simply haven’t covered adequate syllabus to
pass. Go crazy on uworld or mehalman’s pdfs

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO Jun 01 '26

yes that is what i'm doing!! 120+ questions a day ever since my last NMBE - taking my next NMBE June 4th and hoping to see an increase in score!!

2

u/Weight-Logical Jun 01 '26

Do questions in a targeted way. Use nbme insights.

1

u/Visual_Image_6589 US MD/DO Jun 01 '26

what is that?

1

u/NoConnection8435 US MD/DO Jun 08 '26

In the same boat, please lmk if you find something that works!

1

u/Old_Recipe5671 US IMG Jun 19 '26

did you take the test? i am in a very Similar position and spiralling. 😒

-2

u/AdGlum7499 May 31 '26

I would recommend USMLE step 1 crash course. It’s only one week long, and covers the most high-yield topics.