USMLE step 1 experience by dr. Neeraj Makheja - score 260

Step 1 Experience :

Score : 260

Exam date : 30th jan 2019

Result : 20th Feb 2019

YOG :2016

Prep time : little over 2 years with many breaks in btw(yes it took longer than what i had expected from reading many experiences and also delayed exam couple of times )

Assessments : In sequence 

UW 82% 1st time

Nbmes 1-5 (Mistakes in 20s ) during initial stages

Nbme 15 >> 248 1st online just after completing uw (6 months before exam )

NBME 6 ,7 ,11(offline)>>14 mistakes each 5 months before exam

USWA 1 >> 269 4 months before exam

NBME 12 ,13(offline)> 10 mistakes 3-4 months out

NBME 17(online) > 265 10 weeks before

NBME 16(online)>246 8 weeks before

NBME 19(offline)>10 mistakes 4 weeks before

USWA 2 > 264 3 weeks before

NBME 18(online)>267 9 days before

FREE 120 > 90% 4 days before

Real deal : 260

Resources :

Kaplan initially but the core material is Uw , Fa ,pathoma (UFAP)

Only after doing so i had to reinforce some subjects with other sources like anatomy shelf notes ,100 cases for ethics , Bs subject review , anki(uw cards)

q banks > UW , RX(around 1200) , medbullets (1000 ques) , kaplan(genetics and behav portion)

INITIAL PHASE: 

This phase was the most difficult one with so many questions on what ,how ,when and which sources to use as there are many of them , so read many previous experiences and found that starting point was kaplan but you have to choose what works best for you as everyone is unique , so do it in your own unique way and having study partner from start is very helpful

>Started with Kaplan plus lectures for most of subjects except for Micro and Patho (kept Fa along with it )

Physio > kaplan plus Brs for cardio , pulmo , nephro.

Biochem and genetics > Kaplan high yeild for this one.

NeuroAnatomy > kaplan initially( later on high yield )

Immuno > Fa is not enough ,kaplan is high yield for this one.

Micro >sketchy plus Fa 

Pharm > 2010 kaplan lectures

Biostats >kaplan initially (its not your usual subject , gave me nightmares initially so its okay to feel that way dont get frustrated at this stage, trust me you be fine at the end . UW , UW for biostat , NBMEs , doing lots of ques and you will figure out how these ques work, so it will take time )

Behav >> Most difficult one for me and one of the most important for exam but still dont know which resource is best for this one . i tried kaplan ,brs some chapters , step2 uw

Pathoma >>Gold standard for patho.

After finishing these started Fa thoroughly but its very difficult to retain info at this stage and takes time to get use to it from subjects to systems and if you are visual learner like me and need some kind of lectures than would suggest doing with 

boards and beyond (Highly under-rated but its more high yield than any other source for fa )if you have enough time for it.

At this stage did 1-5 offline nbmes not predictable but used as a learning tool and what areas i weak in like biostats , behav , skin etc so that i would focus on these more as i moved forward

MOST IMPORTANT PHASE : UWORLD PLUS FA 

>HIGHEST YIELD SOURCE

>how you do it 1st time is very crucial so would suggest doing it online and annotating it on fa at the same time.

>doesnt matter how long you take it to complete it while thoroughly understanding it , use your maximum time of prep doing uw

>subscribed for 6 months

>I am a slow reader so use to do 20q hardly per day completed 1st read in 5 months and 1 month of incorrect/marked .

as soon as i finished it , did 1st online assessment to know what areas to work on and again biostats , behav , skin , repro , genetics were among weak areas so did more ques for these from rx plus read Fa along with annotations

NBMES and USWA:

>one mistake of mine was doing assessments late in prep , will save you alot of time if u start taking these earlier.

>i had booked the date before i had begun these assessments (16,17,18,19)(mistake) so had to delay it because it felt like i was rushing through.

>would suggest doing offline ones with uw and online at regular intervals after completing uw

>makes you orient towards more high yield things later in prep

>Correctly tells you your weak areas cuz i had same problem again and again in each initial nbme

> so worked on those areas by doing many ques as possible from RX and MEdbullets q bank

>Revision is the key , use to review highly forgettable things before every nbme

>Did step 2 ck uw ques for some portions skin , micro , biostat, behav 

>revising fa plus some BNB lectures for rough topics in btw nbmes

LAST WEEK:( these were highly helpful in exam )

>High Yield pages of fa which i had marked during prep

>ECGS

>XRAY CT scans google

>Googling histo pics those that were present in fa

>Youtube high yield images

>Biostat sub reveiw

>Milestones

>FA rapid review

> Some Uw notes

Night before exam :

Sleep is highly important (duh ! no kidding :p ) but wasnt able to sleep for hours , though not recommended but took minimum amount of alprazolam just enough to make me drowsy , thankfully slept for good 4 hours and felt fresh in morning.

EXAM DAY :

>Felt kind of nervous but confident .

>reached around 8.15 

>exam starts around 9 am sharp 

>skipped tutorial part (check headphone before skipping)

>right after few questions your adrenal gland kick in :D and your mind goes into autopilot mode 

>Questions more like uw and uwsa and stem length in btw uw and nbme

>60- % straight high yield concepts of uw and nbme but presented in a twisted manner to distract you.

>30% hard , multistep questions where they want you to integrate ecg , histo , graphs

>10% wtf some of them never even heard of them

>had 5 mins at the end of each block but could review only 2 ques at max

>took 10 mins break after every block

>last block had all the ecgs , audio and behav ques and lack of sleep effect was starting to show so sleep schedule 2 weeks before exam is important

After exam felt kind of good more like relieved as if aim of my life has been completed :p until i started remembering silly mistakes i made and as days went by more and more nervous , i know its normal for people to experience this but still could not resist it .

Mistakes i made :

1 >Breaks from weeks to months

2>Not starting uw earlier

3>Delayed solving nbmes 

4>Not having a proper schedule and targets at regular 

intervals 

5>Didnt have study partner until later in prep

This step 1 journey makes you feel /suffer every human emotion possible and its okay to go through these phases but just keep going , you are not alone :)

ALL THE BEST , GOD BLESS YOU ALL :)