This is my experience of USMLE STEP 1. 
Hi guys, Namaste. I am Jyothiswaroop from Mamata Medical College, India. I recently got my step 1 score. This is a small and humble contribution to all the members, aspirants preparing for STEP 1. I would like to thank each and every one who contributed and made this forum a great platform for accessing study materials, discussions and experiences.
Total duration of Preparation- 4 and half months.
Exam date â21 Sep 2018.
Result Date- 21 Nov 2018.
Score- 257
Intro-
USMLE STEP 1 exam is a Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) based exam, so however strong you are in your undergrad exams you need to practice the art of solving MCQs in areas to be tested on STEP 1 and we should train ourselves in solving them in timed frame. First and foremost thing I did is to set a date for the exam which gives you real fear of days you actually have for your study and exam. Just as you read my experience I have read many experiences and gathered information from students who scored above 250. I figured that almost all suggested to have mastery over subject rather than months of preparation (too long with interruptions and too short is not advised) and revision is key for retention of core important stuff for getting good score.
I have read many telling that studying for 10-14 hrs a day will get you good score but what I found was how qualitatively you use your time in mastering the subject matters rather than spending too much time. Always think in terms of tasks you have rather than time. Never try to relax your schedule for too long, take breaks but try to catch up with your schedule. Atleast at bed time tell yourselves you have mastered a page of High yield stuff. Donât waste time in entertainment it will be hard for you to retain what you have studied. Try to focus on what is essential and prioritize accordingly. Do regular exercise, yoga, meditation during your prep as it will release endorphins and others which will create pleasant mindset and ease your body to cooperate during study time. Have sound sleep of 6-8hrs daily (REM sleep actually helps you to consolidate your short term memory into the long term, so donât try to curtail this time).
Resources-
First Aid 2018 â Bhagavad Gita for USMLE STEP 1. We should use it as an index book and add the stuff we get from multiple sources (UWORLD, KAPLAN notes, Pathoma etc.) into it. Do annotate yourselves which will be really helpful. Many emphasized to cram each and every word of FA as they are most likely to be tested. I found it to be really hard as it is not really my way of learning things. So, I used to do lots of questions and review the content in the FA and by the end of my prep I was able to recollect the contents without much effort.
I revised only FA in last month of prep. Donât forget the rapid review section at the back of the book.
Biochemistry- Dr.Sam Turco Kaplan lectures 2014 âvery high yield stuff. I really enjoyed listening his lectures. (âThis makes senseâ) He makes biochemistry concepts so easy with his witty conversation. I listened the lectures and annotated in Kaplan book and FA.
Physiology- BRS physiology (only Questions), Kaplan videos (2010) and notes, Anki flashcards.
Anatomy- BRS gross anatomy (only Questions), HY Neuroanatomy, HY embryology, Kaplan Neuroanatomy Videos (2010) FA, Anki cards. Do a lot of clinically oriented questions and images
Pathology- Pathoma videos and annotated in book. Took detailed outlines of the videos. Highlighted all the facts he emphasized as âhigh-yieldâ.
I listened Goljan audio lectures in my leisure time. It is real fun learning pathology. It is old but gold. I loved it. You will find some questions directly asked from Goljan.
.
Pharmacology â Kaplan notes and videos (Dr.Raymon).USMLE pharmacology and Treatment Flashcards Dr.Conrad fischer. I didnât find sketchy pharma to be useful as it was very complex for every drug.
Micro-FA, Anki Flashcards, Uworld, and Sketchy Micro was really fantastic. Covered most things. It is really amazing source and makes memorizing microbes stuff easy, made Micro cakewalk for me. Make sure you look at images of what the bugs look like under microscopy/staining etc
Immunology â Kaplan videos and notes, FA, UWorld, Anki cards.
Biostatistics, Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatry &Ethics: Kaplan notes with Kaplan Videos (Dr.Steven Daugherty) + FA + Uworld
100 cases of Medical Ethics by Conrad Fischer.
BRS Behavioral sciences 7th edition- Only Questions -Really Great material I found most of the questions were similar to Uworld Q.
For Psychiatry- FA, I found Memorable Psychiatry very helpful.
Here is the link-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhmpi3yLeGg&list=PLeZk8BXkxXt9Yr7ruQtOlnaNt6naDmz2T
For Biostats - I watched Randy Neil Biostatistics in youtube. It is really great and made biostats easy. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75pQPB1RF50
Anki- I despised ANKI and flashcards method of learning in the beginning because it was all about cramming and didnât really found useful but one thing changed my opinion about anki in the middle of my preparation and that credit goes towww.yousmle.com . I read most of the posts in that site and it convinced me how important it is for me to use anki and its spaced repetition. I used Yousmle anki deck and found out to be really useful with clear reasoning. Then I used Zanki and other Decks for my weaker areas.
Qbanks â Uworld, Usmle Rx, Kaplan, NBME The more Qbanks u do more exposure u get about the question patterns.
Caution- Try to complete all your Qbanks and other Study material stuff 1 month before your real exam. Last month of your prep must be just for revision, reviewing incorrect mcqs and for assessment exams.
Uworld âAs everyone emphasizes the importance of the question bank I find to be the main tool (diamond) for cracking USMLE. It is to be used most effectively to get benefited from it. It is precious period.
I did a block per day for 2 months. Took 5-8 hrs per day. From the beginning I always did RANDOM and TIMED MODE rather than SUBJECT WISE and TUTOR MODE. In my view untimed and tutor mode may create bias while solving questions which may not be effective. After completing a random timed mode block I used to read through explanations thoroughly (both correct and incorrect responses) and I found that explanations for questions is really great and one will tend to note it in first aid as a summary near the topic. To be honest it is the most time taking task. I recommend you to be as succinct as possible as it will save your time.
I donât recommend tutor mode because it doesnât simulate testing conditions well at all. This is very important. Donât be afraid that uworld blocks will reflect your score. I too had low score for each block in the beginning but as time passed my score improved. I did UWORLD only once and reviewed the wrong ones.
I found these links about UWORLD helpful- check out
https://www.dailyrounds.org/blog/usmle-world/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWyvzibDt00
USMLE Rx(I registered for free trial which is for 7 days and completed around 1800 Questions by taking simulation of 7 blocks ). Thank god they made access to every content for free for 7 days which allowed me to do simulation mode and most of its questions. I only reviewed the wrong ones along with express video. It is basically FA made into MCQs so by doing it we essentially going to revise FA. I used this mainly for my weak areas that I identified in my practice tests (psych, behavioural science & biostats). Didnât get too much additional information from it, UWorld definitely was a lot better.
Kaplan Q bank book (only my weak areas)
My practice testâs scores-
NBME 1-15 (Offline) â I solved them once to know what sort of question patterns are asked. Be careful about the answer key available as there are lots of errors, then I realized the importance of online tests.
NBME 16(15 days out)-242
NBME 17(13 days out)-248
UWSA 1 (11 days out) - 266 and NBME 18 -242(2 tests back
to back)
UWSA 2 (9 days out)-262 and NBME 19 â 248 (2 tests back
to back)
Free 120 practice test (5 days out) â 89%.
Real Deal- 257
Give your Assessment exams once you feel that you are ready for the exam. Donât waste them.
I have postponed my exam once to 2 weeks later. (Feel free to do so when you are not confident. At the end of the day what you are striving for is to get good score in your real test).
Test Day- Game day. Excitement and nervousness. I woke up early at 5 AM. Looked after some important HY pages that I have noted down. Packed snacks and lunch.
Once you login with your credentials the total time will be 8 hrs (including break time- 45 mins)
Test â I would describe the exam to be moderately difficult with a mixture of NBME & UWorld style questions. There was a mixture of easy, difficult and crazy questions. Expect some experimental questions in every block. I couldnât figure out any sort of logic in which it could fit in. (donât lose hope for the next blocks)
Timeline- Skipped Tutorial (saved 15 min) -Block1- Block 2 â Break (10 min) - Block 3- Block 4- Lunch break (30 min) - Block 5- Break (10 min) - Block 6 â Break (10 min)- Block 7 â DONE!!!
Posttest thoughts- I was completely dejected and lost hope of getting good score. I didnât give my best because during last 2 blocks as I was totally exhausted. I made many silly mistakes which I regret a lot. Please try to avoid this by practicing long hour practice sessions similar to real exam. Your performance really decreases towards the last blocks.
Waiting period â Usually result will be out by 3 â 4 weeks but in my case it got prolonged to 8 weeks because of verification of credentials. This phase of waiting for the score is worst part. I had flashbacks and nightmares of getting low score and I had some sort of frustration and regret of not giving my best. I tried constantly of not thinking about my result but my efforts were in vain. I used to google about post step1 and everyone used to give me hope and solace that you should trust your practice scores they somehow are going to appear on your real test score. Now I realize that those comforting words to be true.
Normally scores will be released on Wednesday. So I used to refresh my email inbox if I had any every day. I have called many times to Ecfmg for enquiring about the delay of my score.
Finally after 8 weeks of waiting, on a fine (great) Wednesday email was sent that my score is available. Suddenly I had adrenaline rush. After opening the link when I checked out my score I was really jubilant and was delighted that I crossed 255.
Final words:
I think the most important thing is to find a study strategy that works well for you and add things you can accommodate. Take input from many sources and channelize them in your style. Never ever compare yourselves with others and donât undermine yourselves. It is your journey and your story, so stay focused on your path.
Ultimately, preparation for this exam is not an easy feat. Itâs a marathon and patience during preparation, perseverance and persistence is key.
There will be times where you canât even think straight during your preparation. I experienced those moments and thatâs okay. Take a break and come back with greater passion and energy to make your dream come true.
Hope you found something useful. Forgive me if there are any errors.
I would like to thank everyone for the support.
All the best for your future endeavors and excel in every effort you make.
Thank you very much