Thanks to the almighty, here is my score- 252

Thanks to the almighty, here is my score- 252
Aim was 245+
I am a third year undergraduate student from India.
Preparation time- 9 months
Main resources- UFAP i.e. Uworld (once), FA (different topics read different number of times, done along with Uworld, on average 2-3 times, 1 cover to cover read after finishing Uworld), pathoma- 1-2 times (videos+book), BnB in last month for hard topics
Other resources- Becker books and videos (it’s similar to Kaplan)- it helped me understand how USMLE knowledge differs from our university subjects, sketchy micro (couldn’t do all, but helped me remember some tough/detailed bugs), zanki (was not consistent at all, did 100 cards on an average daily in last 3-4 months), Google (Amboss website mostly, Wikipedia, Google images etc.), Goljan audios- use to hear while eating/bored. Didn’t find it very useful for the prep.
Initially my plan was to take the test in August. I started with Becker videos and books in mid January and finished till March end. I wanted to read FA once before starting Uworld, realised I was slow so did cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, GI and half of reproductive system only. This took me a month, in May I started Uworld. Was very slow initially, did 20-30 questions only for a month, then was stuck at 35 qs for a very long time. Started picking up somewhere in August but college exams came in my way. Had to break for 10 days. Then started again, took some time to catch speed and was finally doing 40-45 qs. I made sure no explanation was left unread. Finished uworld on 15th September. Did FA cover to cover read in next 10-12 days. (Skipped 2-3 systems I was confident about)
NBMEs-
17-49 mistakes (22/6)
13-39 mistakes (4/7)
22-225 (15/7)
23-213 (30/7)
24-228 (26/8)
20-236 (2/9)
21-240 (9/9)
18-248 (16/9)
UWSA 1-245 (with NBME 24+20)
UWSA 2-254 (18/9)
19- 17 mistakes (26/9)
Free 120- 82% (26/9)
Doing at least all the wrong and marked ones for NBMEs is important and I read all the explanations for UWSA.
My exam date was 23/9, had to postpone to 29/9 one day before due to ID card issues. A good thing that happened but at an expensive cost- it allowed me to finish my FA read, very useful.
Exam day- Slept for 6 hours. Reached prometric at 7.30. Test started at 8.15. Mumbai prometric centre is good and efficient. Rushed through tutorial in 3-4 minutes. There’s one page that is not there in free120. Breaks-
1st block- 3min (at table)
2nd block- 7min (pee break)
3rd block- 10min (snack break)
4th block- 18min (lunch break)
5th block- 8min
6th block- 10min
I practiced long sessions in NBMEs. NBME + 3 UW blocks to mimic 7 exam blocks. I did not feel any fatigue in the exam. I took French toast for lunch and dry fruits especially dates and banana for snacks. I also took coffee for postprandial drowsiness.
Things I could have done better-

  • Start Uworld earlier (it took almost 4 months to complete as I am a slow reader)
  • Around halfway uworld, I started watching a lot of YouTube and wasted too much time. I should have known my limits. My exam was postponed by almost 2 months due to multiple reasons :see_no_evil:
  • Do flashcards more regularly
    If you want the score, you have to work hard. There is no other way out. And if I can do it, you can too! You will have to make many sacrifices. But in the end it you will realise it’s all worth it! There will be not one or two but many days you will not feel like studying. My suggestion will be to take small breaks regularly throughout the preparation. Watch movies or go out and meet friends, but know your limits. In the end part of the preparation also there are days you feel tired, especially on NBME days. On such days I would go out for running in the evening. Gives you some headspace. Try not to stress yourself too much. USMLE step 1 is the most important and maybe the hardest exams yet but it is DOABLE. Anyone can get the score they want with grit and determination! In the end I would like to thank everyone in this group who patiently answered my doubts and others who shared their valuable experiences here.
    Questions are welcome.