Hello everyone,
As I promised before I’m here to share my score and express my gratitude to all those people who helped along the way.
First off, a big thank you to all you wonderful strangers who wished me luck. Sending it right back to all of you. I never thought this day would arrive. I’m so glad I’m finally here after the ‘n’ no of struggles. I did not achieve my goal score, nevertheless, my score is decent enough for the branch I’m hoping for. It opens enough arenas and i took some time to look for my options. To be honest I was a little disappointed initially, but after looking at some reddit experiences of today’s score release and NRMP match data, I’m grateful for this score.
Now if you are looking for a stellar score and prep tips, stop right here.I do not want to waste your time. If you are struggling, and are looking for some hope, read along. Since I did not achieve my desired score, I think it is better off to share my mistakes rather than what I did.
Goal- 240
Real deal- 234
Predictor had me at 240
UWSA1, UWSA2 - 239 (UWSA2- 4 days before the test)
All nbmes- in 210-220s ( never crossed 230 on any NBME)
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start NBME’s early, no matter how scared you are, start early, solve them, make a list of weak areas specifically and work on them. I saved them for the end and it didn’t give me enough time to do them well.
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Annotate UWORLD with QIDs and make appropriate flash cards, do not rush through 1st round.
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Try to complete 2nd round of Uworld as well, I didn’t and it shows.
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Do not prolong the prep phase and end up taking the test when you are burnt out. I had a rather prolonged phase of prep and had a zillion distractions of moving countries, close family deaths and what not during the prep, on top of my tardiness.Decide on a timeline and work on it no matter what.
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Those who are struggling to maintain a pace, get a study partner. Trust me it helps. I got good SPs rather late in my prep, but it was definitely beneficial.
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ANATOMY- this was a total bitch in my test. I bet all of them were wrong and did affect my score. Do it early on and do it multiple times, look up all the images possible on google, and radiopedia. If your test turns out to be anat loaded like mine, it will be beneficial.
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I was so scared of biostat, and that shit had higher performance
, wish I had focussed a little more on Anat instead of Biostat so much. -
NBME’s underpredict, PERIOD. Do not let that shit weigh you down. Use it to pinpoint the areas that you are weak at and work on it.
The prep phase is harrowing, you might have all kinds of feelings during it, do not give up. The whole world could tell you, you can’t do it but keep going, all that matters is your faith in yourself. Also be kind to each other, a fake identity is not a license to be mean or rude to each other. You never know what the other person must be going through. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
Thank you once again to all you wonderful strangers for taking your time to answer my queries, putting in a word of encouragement when I needed it the most. May all of you achieve, what you wish for. All the very best to all of you. Onwards and Upwards!