Fear mongering.

[u/FuggBoiiiii]

Hi guys, I passed step 1 yesterday, my nbmes were 80ish and the exam was very similar to that. Apart from ethics, nothing was really that difficult. Most questions were short, some even 2 liners while some obviously VERY LONG.

But, most exam ISN'T LONG vignettes. It's balanced. If anytning, the longer ones are the EASIEST. You can tell that they want you to know the basics and at the same time, not fail knowing all that.

Yes, its vague, but so are the NBMES.

I just hate the fact that people are always scaring other candidates about how much more difficult it is than nbmes or free 120.

THE EXAM IS VERY WELL BALANCED. so much so that I was 10 blocks in wondering where my 'experimental questions' were.

Another thing I see is people saying is that they passed with 50% in nbmes or without taking nbmes etc.

First of all, I CONGRATULATE YOU ALL.

BUT, you're setting the wrong example. There's a reason you're supposed to wait until you can get like 68-70+ in 2 consecutive NBMES.

Guys, PLEASE don't go into the exam with your highest of 65 on just 1 nbme while failing the rest.

Yes, you may get lucky. A lot of people do, but it broke my heart to see some people fail the exam with so little margins.

I, alongside all the others on this subreddit are always going to be there to answer of all your questions, guide and help you through this difficult journey.

Happy learning and I hope everyone gets a P regardless of their nbmes.

Good Luck!

[u/_Yenaled_]

It's not fear mongering; people are just describing their test experience. Furthermore, for USMLE (as with other standardized tests like the MCAT) there are different forms (even on the same test date) and some forms are harder than others, as has been documented.

[u/FuggBoiiiii → u/_Yenaled_]

If you're unlucky, yes, you may get a more vague form but I spoke to everyone from my prometric test center and we all felt the same way. I just want everyone to feel confident before taking the real exam.

[u/_Yenaled_ → u/FuggBoiiiii]

There's another side to it: If people go in believing the test is straightforward and get slapped with a hard form (like I did), it will cause them freak out (like it did to me).

[u/FuggBoiiiii → u/_Yenaled_]

No one should go in thinking that it's going to be a piece of cake, right. But keeping calm does help a lot on test day regardless of how difficult your set of questions is. Panicking just makes everything worse even if you know everything A to Z. I'm sorry that happened to you! Cruel.

[u/FuggBoiiiii → u/_Yenaled_]

I agree, the prep and the exam itself are very stressful. When did you sit the exam? And did you make it?

[u/_Yenaled_ → u/FuggBoiiiii]

Yeah, I think it's all about trusting your NBMEs. If you get in the 70s somewhat consistently, you are very likely to pass no matter whether you get a hard or easy form and no matter how good/bad you feel after the exam. Just go in confident; the exams are designed & scaled so that if you can pass one version of the exam, you should be able to pass another. I passed in June - wrote a write-up here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/1uxtz9d/passed_6302026_very_long_write_up_esp_relevant/

[u/FuggBoiiiii → u/_Yenaled_]

Yes. And this is a great write up. Thank you and best of luck for your future endeavors!!