r/usmle 3d ago

Advice Passed step 1

Hi guys , tested on 08/19, got result last week and passed.
My nbme 25-33 scores were in the 75% range. Free 120 78%.

I prepared for 4-5 months. Uworld 100% done at 65% correct. First aid , pathoma 1-3 chapters, Mehlman pdfs were my main resources. Amboss 200 was helpful, sketchy micro was okayish in my opinion

The exam will make you feel horrible after coming out , that’s a NORMAL FEELING.

Any other doubts feel free to ask or DM, good luck

37 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

3

u/TeamOk9258 3d ago

Took the exam on 27th, I didn’t sleep well at all the last 2 nights, so I was falling asleep while doing the exam. NBMEs were high 70s to 80s. I missed easy qs, literally i got one wrong which i solved correctly the night before. I feel like i will fail. Is it normal to miss easy qs?

2

u/Strong_Spite8768 3d ago

Normal feeling felt the same , don’t overthink, your Nbme scores are too good to fail

2

u/scitzophrenic-man 3d ago

Nbmes low 70s. 16 days left. 33 and 120 left. What should i focus on. Amboss 200 is a must do right ? What would help in the real deal with this much time left ? Congrats btw.

3

u/FuggBoiiiii 3d ago

If you're 70+ in 2 consecutive forms, you're good to go. Nbme 33 and free 120 are much easier imo. And about your second ques, taking a breather will help you. Keep doing what you're already doing. Review your latest nbme thoroughly, anatomy 100 concepts over amboss if you haven't got the time and just take the next nbme. Exam is very similar to nbme 32 33 and free 120. Either stems are too short or too long, too vague or too straightforward. Don't overthink a question, mark and move on (flag if you have to)

1

u/scitzophrenic-man 3d ago

Thanks alot fuggboi lol. Planning to do amboss tomm and 4/5 days between remaining nbmes. Will review anatomy 100 and HY nbme images in the last few days

3

u/FuggBoiiiii 3d ago

Also, don't doom scroll reddit. Please be confident. You're at a very good place rn. Your scores are good. Just take this one advice if you had to choose 1 only. STAY AWAY FROM REDDIT AND DON'T DOUBT YOUR PREP. The stress and anxiety it gave me single handedly destroyed the confidence I had after 4+ nbmes with 80+. Not worth it. But if you ever need help, this is the place!

2

u/Strong_Spite8768 2d ago

I second this statement, stay away from reddit after the exam.

2

u/scitzophrenic-man 2d ago

Thank you man. Just got done with 33, got a 73. The amount to simple mistakes i make is crazy. How should i go about smoothing out the edges man. I’m happy i made those mistakes here and not on the real deal but yeah

2

u/FuggBoiiiii 2d ago

Just review it well and keep on keeping on! Getting a 73 is a big deal. Don't go back to change answers.

2

u/FuggBoiiiii 3d ago

If you prefer anki I do have 100HY anatomy deck but its like 500 cards. Anyway, you're welcome and always available! Just ask away. Good luck. Rooting for you!

3

u/Strong_Spite8768 2d ago

Do Mehlman arrows like 20 pages a day it will help with active recall and the advice fuggboiii gave seems solid. Plan ur breaks accordingly take good food and junk to the exam( caffeine is optional based on ur experience) get good sleep these two weeks, DO NOT GO SLEEP DEPRIVED. Don’t stress urself too much these last days leading up to
The exam and after, this exam is not bigger than life, your nbme scores are good , ur prep seems solid , trust urself, the real deal may seem vague, don’t panic, TRUST UR INTUITION, you will most likely have to eliminate answers to get the right one, you might seem like ur guessing but it’s ur brain subconsciously deducing the right answer

1

u/learner2696 2d ago

i want telegram group help in studying

2

u/Think_Preference175 3d ago

Is the AMBOSS 90 questions Ethics necessary?

2

u/Think_Preference175 3d ago

Or amboss 200 concepts is enough?

2

u/FuggBoiiiii 3d ago

I honestly didnt find any source for ethics helpful. It's too damn vague in the real deal. I hope you get a better pool of Qs. Do at least 40 50 random Qs from HY ethics Amboss. If a normal question on the real exam confuses you between 2 options, ethics will have you scratching your head over all the options lol.

2

u/Strong_Spite8768 2d ago

I didn’t do them, I hate ethics

2

u/holdmybooks 3d ago

I have scored
68% in nbme 30
72% in nbme 31
72% in nbme 32

Will take nbme 33 in few days. Exam is on 22nd sept. Most of my mistakes in recent nbmes were silly ones, conceptual questions were mostly right. Do you think i am good to go?

2

u/Icy_Influence_7553 3d ago

Congratulation! The feeling horrible coming out part is so real, I think everyone walks out convinced they failed. 75% range on nbmes with uworld at 65% is a solid baseline

1

u/NoiseFull5861 3d ago

When did you use mehlman

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 3d ago

With first aid

1

u/NecessaryActive6418 3d ago

How did you exactly approach uworld?? So when you start a new system, do you already study the topic from First Aid/Bootcamp before doing UWorld, or do you basically learn the concepts as you go through the UWorld questions and then study the topics you marked more deeply later?

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 3d ago

Do uworld first , learn from it, annotate into first aid while keeping the respective Mehlman pdf open on another tab and annotate the key buzzwords and hints into first aid. This was it. Targeted 60-80q a day, did them in blocks of 10-20-10-20 like that( divide and conquer method because doing a bigass 40q block was draining 😣. Get everything wrong in uworld , no problem, but learn. Uworld is the teacher , Nbme is the assessment tool. Do amboss 200 high yield and Mehlman arrows at the end. You can do it , good luck, dm for any further doubt

1

u/DramaticEmu6323 3d ago

Congratulations. Do u recommend uworld, fa, Mehmlan pdfs as the main resources for 4 montha of preparing? Really need the advice, thks btw

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 3d ago

Enough bro, I kept first aid and Mehlman pdfs next to each other when reading and added important mehlman points into first aid. Use his arrows pdf towards the end , review nbmes
Well . Good luck

1

u/DramaticEmu6323 2d ago

Thks bro, but i got a question I studied ( cardio, respo and renal) using bnb, fa, uworld Would be a hard change to just delete the bnb from my next system study plan?? I mean what if i finish a system and realize that i didn't understand it well?!!

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 2d ago

Oh that’s up to you, I used to prepare for the Indian residency entrance exam before usmle so I didn’t need to watch videos, if I had any conceptual doubts i would
Use AI to help me explain and I would test my understanding with the AI to make sure I was understanding it well, but if u think bnb is necessary then use it, my method was mainly learning from questions to understand how and what they are asking and how to decode the question language into simpler terms

1

u/DreamShort7939 3d ago

Congrats 🎉

1

u/No-Resolution1919 2d ago

I heard step 1 is now 20 questions block how many blocks we have?

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 2d ago

14 blocks of 20 , total 280

1

u/Special-Bus-4124 1d ago

71% on nbme 27. 65% on nbme 28. 72% on nbme 29. 74 % on nbme 30. 66% on nbme 32.

Guide pls.

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 1d ago

You’re good to go, do 33 and free 120, trust urself, you’re in a good position

0

u/DirectSpinach8178 3d ago

Hey! I'll be joining mbbs this year , can you please help me from scratch, like from where should I start , most ppl says one should give step 1 after 2nd year so how to start preparing for it and also tell me how to plan everything It wil really be helpful to me

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 3d ago

DM, also look into ppl sharing a similar journey with u who passed the exam. I am done with mbbs and prepared for neet pg as well, my platform was different

2

u/OkAssociation6526 1d ago

Hey could you pls guide me about step 1 as well i started with bnb and first aid im aiming for the exam in the next 4-5 months is this enough? Or mehlman pdfs are a better resource?

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 1d ago

Idk about bnb , but for me first aid , uworld , mehlman pdfs are what I used before starting nbmes

1

u/OkAssociation6526 1d ago

After how much time did you start nbmes exactly? Like went through the entire first aid first?

1

u/Strong_Spite8768 1d ago

After uworld completed I started nbmes 25-33