propanalol wrote:
i guess i'll go ahead n' tell u what it's like but i constantly feel it doesn't matter coz no one wants to read a non-99er's experience for some reason (except me, I value everybody's)...

well, i think most of u know i got sleep problems, tried antihistamines, melatonin n' all...well, i stopped using them (& finished them) two, three days before the exam to make sure i don't feel sleepy during the exam or basically feel any other side effect. well, all that hard work went down the drain coz of course... i had to stay up till midnight waitin to go the bathroom. Though I exercised earlier the evening to make myself tired, well, in the end I got maybe one hour's sleep. N' i'll tell that if any of u have a sleep problem it won't effect u during the exam bcoz I was buzzed when I was awake!! I had my coffee's (instant, then starbucks venti) n' I didn't feel at all sleepy. The sheer knowledge that you will take the exam will push u the whole day!! It wasn't anxiety or nervouseness, it was excitement! In fact, the day before I packed to goto the prometric as if I was travelling to go somewhere to meet an old friend. I might as well have taken a toothbrush & suitcase. I kept my whole kaplan set in the back of my car; that's just one of the minor details of my packing esccapade.

Well, taking the break in a timely manner is not a problem as long as you're literate. At the end of each block, a box comes up telling you how much break time left. There was one lady in there taking step 2ck who really messed herself up. I don't know what she was doing!! She was writing some number every time she went in, she went out n' got herself so confused that in the end she had to do two blocks in 1 hr & 10 minutes. I just hope she did well. Anywayz, everyone has their own way of taking breaks...I took 5 mins after every block n' maybe a 25 min lunch (u really don't end up feeling like eating anywayz coz u end up being buzzed) n' for block 3 & 4, no break. There was a guy taking step 3 n' the whole day he didn't take a break except once. So everyone to themselves on that.

Now as for timing each block itself!!! Master it & I mean if you're taking the whole hour you get for USMLE world then u're in big trouble. I WANNA WRITE THIS OUT IN BLOCK LETTERS COZ THIS WAS A SERIOUS PROB. I always had 15 mins leftover whenever I did MLE world but during the exam u end up not having enough time. There was an AMG taking Step 1 as well who always had 20 mins leftover during MLE world n' even he had huge trouble finishing each block. The stems were very long. Though I consider myself a fast reader (but not as fast as ron) n' I can end up reading a question twice n' still be left w/ 15 mins in each block during practice sessions, this was not the case. In fact block 2 or 3, I was left w/ 10 mintes n' I only had done 30 questions. I went ahead marked every answer till question number 50 w/o reading & then when back to question 31 to quickly read thru each ques & properly answer. I did this in case I ran out of time n' at least I would have marked something instead of not putting any answer at all, which is considered incorrect anyway.

Now every one says that they can feel which block was difficult n' which wasn't. Well, though I did think some were a bit harder than another I thought the questions were equally distributed. As in, in one block itself, question one was hard, question two easy. Question three easy, question four hard. Etc. I can't exactly say which block was hard or not coz I didn't have any time to even analyze that. I only feel that the blocks I found hard would be the ones I needed more time n' not because the questions were hard only because there wasn't enough time.

As for questions themselves, I think some were so easy u're thinking, "this has got to be a trick question!" but really they weren't n' some were so hard, as in they talk about something u've never seen in the whole of ure medical school training....and subject wise distribution, well seemed very normal to me. Maybe just a few questions less in physiology than I thought would appear. Of course this is a duh! but all questions are integrated w/ patho the main subject.

While my husband wrote them all out, I was able to give my him maybe 150 questions just by flipping thru FA. N" it ended up that questions were evenly distributed. I want to actually tell u some of questions even a few examples but I'm kinda scared...what if i get barred? But I can tell you this, don't go out of bounderies by studying outside of kaplan, FA n' USworld (n' maybe even kaplan q bank),...I think it'll be a huge waste of time n' also for the reason that, it will not help u get those difficult questions. The difficult questions are all thinking types n' not based on facts that are in books. I personally think that by doin kapla, FA n' USworld alone u'll be able to get that 99, the key is repitition n' memorization. Only after memorization, can you think questions out. So questions,...some of the were direct n' alot u think out. Majority of questions are all in those books: kaplan, FA, review books like brs, etc....so don't overburden ureself by doing kaplan & everything else, no use, I think.

What I had a difficult time w/ was that I always had time to think out a question n' even review during practice tests but during the exam it wasn't so. U end up hitting the answer that first comes to ure head. N" some of times it's not the first answer that hits you that is correct, it's only when u "THINK" it out can you get the correct one but there was no time for THINKING, honest. The guy who took step 1 w/ me was repeating the same thing to me at the end of the day. U have no time to THINK, only time to hit the first answer that hits u. U kind of even get numb at the end of the day.

Oh n' another thing! I didn't have any problem w/ temperature of the testing room but I've heard feedback frm others that alot of the prometric testing centers are really cold. So take a sweatshirt.

Oh n' I always have to write out when it comes to calculations (there were very few), for some reason I can't think mathematics in my head (even simple ones) n' w/ a time restraint I go blank w/ numbers. But not to worry, the prometric site gives u 3 laminated papers where u can scribble whatever u like w/ a marker. if u wana doodle u can...

well, i wrote alot (now that the exam's over w/ no more worrying about where i waste my time) so i hope this helps. i'm gona start studying for step 1 again tomroww just in case I fail. There's no harm in learning more either. In fact though I often swear at this exam n' curse it....I enjoy learning frm it n' I think most of us would enjoy it if we weren't scored on it or had a time restraint. It's like what goljan said, minus the stress factor n' time ....n' we all have the capability of acing this exam.

paheli wrote:
ohhhhh ok, i finally got it, shwe!! you meant that i write and describe things very well?? ok, now i can say 'thanks', without doing that!!!

and, oh yeah, how can harry write like me now? coz he pinched my wand!!!