Mydream
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Topics: 10
Posts: 331
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Hello friends,
i wanted to write my experience after my exam..but was not sure exactly how i did ..and when i got my score..i realised my guesses were wrong.But now i feel..even if the preparation was very haphazard..it might help some who are in similar situations.
I started my prep in july end this yr...took exam in 1st wk of december.i didnt study that well in first two months..which ws mostly due to lack of confidence in myself.though i knew if i study with my full potential i can get my dream score..yet, i procrastinated a lot..and at the end of october i realised,only a month is left.
i studied very hard in the last month..still was unable to complete many portions..and cud not revise full.
I went to the exam..trying to think..that i will be able to do..though deep down..i ws anxious..as i could not revise properly.
There are many nice exam experiences here..which are very very helpful..and i am writing yet another one..as these are the mistakes i committed..for which i didnt get the score i expected. So i want to emphasize that ..procrastination is the worst enemy in the path of achieveing success. we need to be tough with ourselves.
~ "When the going gets tough,the tough gets going"~
Now,about my prep ~
Materials i used :
-Kaplan Lecture Notes,
-BRS patho,
-BRS physio (just read the neurophysio chapter once from the pdf book),
-Goljan Audio (details below),
-HY for Anatomy,
-FA,
-Q book (did half),
-UW (the best tool according to me).
My aim was to complete first revision in 2.5 months, second read along with UW for 1 month,and the final revison in 2 wks.
BUT, i cudnt follow this target.People say, make a schedule and stick to it..no matter what. i wud also advice the same..try to do that as much as possible..coz,i didnt get the time at the end to make up for this wastage of time..and had to leave many things at last.
I took up UW after 1st read (many protions were left to cover even first time)..in mid october for 1 month. but since it took up a lot of time to go thru the explanations and taking notes..i literally cudnt go thru the books.so my second read also got haphazard.
My advice :
If the 1st read is done nicely..its better to go thru the materials 2nd time quikly before starting UW for 1 mnth.so that u can concentrate on UW mostly.
Otherwise, if the time is short..just after the first read..subscribe for UW for 2 mnths..so that there is enought time to do the qbank and read kaplan LN simultaneously, and also there will be time to revise UW at the end. time it in such a way..that u have UW till the date of ur exam.
I felt, UW is the best tool after kaplan LN..by doing qs,weak areas can be identified and worked upon.my overall score started with 68% and then decreased over a few blocks.
finally it was 64%. but i did it only once.after i finished the whole qbank..i revised the explanations mostly of the wrong qs from few blocks. didnt get time to revise all.
Its important to learn the concepts from the explanations..i know..when the scores do not increase..frustrations build up..but, really knowing the concepts is imp. coz..lots of qs are framed on the same concept.so if u get the concept right....scores are bound to increase gradually. and that boosts the confidence.
Anatomy- i did HY gross anatomy,HY neuroanatomy ( read it twice),embryology from FA (i had some qs in exam which were nt covered in FA and i missed those),Histo from FA (didnt hv time to read more).
i revised UL,LL,cerebral circulation from HY gross in the last few days and rest from FA only.
Biochem- did from kaplan. I revised genetics and Mol bio twice from kaplan.and revised metabolism from FA . i ws worried reg biochem..but got a star in this.
Physio-well i ws most scared of this..nt becoz it ws tough..bt becoz i did nt devote enough time on this..i thought i cud do it quikly and left it for last.ultimately due to shortage of time i cudnt practise the graphs and cudnt revise many portions.so lack of practise made me suffer in this subject..and i think..performance in physio made a big diff in my score.
advice- do physio very well..surely concepts are tested a lot..and practise the graphs. Kaplan is enough for this along with UW.
Patho-like others..my exam too had a lot of patho qs.i read from BRS patho and revised FA patho in the end.heard Goljan-only, CVS ,hemato and part of Renal lectures.cudnt manage to listen to all.
this ws another mistake.
advice- Gojan audio is a MUST !!
i did patho from UW very well and also revised few blocks.in score report patho ws in the higher performance area.
cts,mris..i looked into the pics for these in webpath and also some hemato slides. didnt look whole webpath.Uw has many good qs with cts and mris..had learnt from them well.
Pharma- Kaplan LN and UW.revised it from FA..few portions like ANS, anti-microbials, CNS drugs twice.though i ws worried reg few graphs in exam..probably i got them right.i got a star here.
Micro-kaplan LN is very good.immunology portion is also very nicely given in kaplan.revised from FA. i got a star here also.
Behav Sc.- this ws a mystery..i ws quite confident in this subject..did well in UW .and thought i did very well in exam too..bt the performance shows it ws borderline !! anyway..i read this from kaplan. do give stress on doctor-patient relationship qs.i had plenty of them.Stats ws easy for me.i feel kaplan biostat and UW covers well.
UW- i took 1 mnth subscription..bt felt 2 mnth is needed if 2 nd read is to be done along with it. Learn from the mistakes..and read explanations of all choices.
The qs in actual exam were mostly UW style..though few were st fwd qs in 1-2 lines.Difficulty level varied..some were very easy ..some very tough..bt mostly do-able.i too got few weird qs..bt dont remember now.
NBME- No online test.
took NBME 1 offline..40/42/39/38
a few friends told that wud come to >95..bt as the saying goes..its like one-day cricket.everything depends on that day's performance !!
Advice- do all the NBMEs (for practise of qs)..atleast the downloaded forms.
USMLE CD-40/44 (didnt do the last blk)
Kaplan Q bk- did half..and in the last week..i got around 80-82%
Advice- can be done after finishing each subject and before UW.
My score in exam- 92/222
I want to say..u wont get a chance to increase ur score anymore..so do everything that u want to study within time. i could have worked a lot harder..so tried to point out the mistakes i made.
THANK YOU.. my friends in this wonderful forum..who has helped in every possible way..and have supported me when i ws having hard times.i do not want take any name..bt u know who u are.i wish u ALL THE BEST and may u achieve ur dream score .
i also maintained a prep journal here which helped me.
I want to Thank GOD....for being with me and blessing me. AND my Parents,who are the pillars for me always and My Best Friend,who inspite of being a non-medico,helped me with all the downloads, resources,and above everything..for being my emotional strength.
USMLE is a long journey....i wish all of us become successful at the end of it.
I pray to God..that i may learn from my mistakes and do justice to myself from step 2 onwards..and above all,in life.
Wish u Good Luck.
Mydream. 
Edited by Mydream on 01/21/08 - 07:50 AM
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"your results in life are always directly proportional to the amount of effort and hard-work that you put in"
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| keepgoing
Forum Fanatic
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thank you very much MD i agree procrastination is biggest enemy,we need to be tough with ourselves.very well said! congrats once again,wish u all the best for step 2 and get ur dream score in it!
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God,be my strength.
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| Mydream
Forum Elite
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Hi KG ..thank u so much. i just posted in ur journal and then saw this post..
GL to u too.
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"your results in life are always directly proportional to the amount of effort and hard-work that you put in"
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| Ujk
Forum Guru
Topics: 41
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Congratulations
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“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.”
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| Aashi
Forum Moderator
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Congrats "mydream" ..thanks for narrating abt ur prep and your experience
GL with all your future steps!
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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your EYES off your goal."
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| Mydream
Forum Elite
Topics: 10
Posts: 331
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Thanks Ujk and Aashi..
Aashi..thats a beautiful signature !! GL to u as well.
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"your results in life are always directly proportional to the amount of effort and hard-work that you put in"
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| bhanusupriya
Forum Elite
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thank you very much mydream for your wonderful input.found it very useful as i'm just done with CK and starting step 1 prep.
good luck and i wish u get your dream score in next steps....
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papa kehte hain bada naam karegaa...
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| usmlesavvy
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CONGRATULATIONS..........Good job!Thanks for sharing your experience....!
That UW would take 2months along with the 2nd read of KLN is scary...but practical...so the pressure is on!
Good luck For Step2.....
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How can you hesitate?Risk!Risk anything!care no more for the opinion of others,for those voices.Do the hardest thing on earth for you.Act for yourself.Face the truth.....
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| milee99
Forum Guru
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Posts: 1,282
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HI
that is a very nice , detailed and helpful experience
it will help us to avoid the mistakes and learn from your strengths also ..
wish you all the best for all future steps
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If you really want something, you will find a way. If you don't, you will find an excuse.
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| Mydream
Forum Elite
Topics: 10
Posts: 331
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Thanks bhanusupriya, usmlesavvy and milee..i need all ur prayers !!
usmlesavvy, dont be scared pls. my intention ws to point out my feeling....but if u devote enough time in first read or do a quik second read b4 starting UW.. u can complete in one month , definitely. and then 2/3 wks for final review.
Happy Studying.
Edited by Mydream on 01/21/08 - 11:14 AM
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"your results in life are always directly proportional to the amount of effort and hard-work that you put in"
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| SOS
Forum Guru
Topics: 17
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hi MD
thanks for the detailed experience... very well written.and congratulations for the score.
GL for future.
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| docdoc9
Forum Guru
Topics: 63
Posts: 513
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Congrats.Very well written experience."procrastination is the worst enemy"very truly said.
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| sarah99
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 27
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many congrats mydream ....all the best for step 2
which edition of kaplan lecture notes did u use and an experience very nicely put...did u use any of the big books like robbins,ganong or katzung...i am asking u bcoz after going thru so many posts here its a concept we new beginners are getting that kaplan is not enough...can u shed some light on this and also w hen did u graduate .....accordingly how much time on an average shud one put into
thanks alot and gl for step 2
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| doc499
Forum Senior
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MYdream congrats n thanks a lot for posting ur exam experience..procastination is what i'm doin too but no more...good luck for step 2
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| darkmansaad
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 1
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Hey just wanted some quick input....taking the test on Thurs in poughkeepsie NY....
UW - cumulative 70%
NBME 1 - 216 4 weeks out
NBME 2 - 232 3 weeks out
NBME 3 - 224 2 weeks out
and am doing the 150 usmle question set 2morrow.....think its unrealistic to shoot for a 99? i know i dropped a little in nbme 3 cuz of the molec bio so i didnt take 4....just wanted y'alls input and didnt wanna start a new thread til i took the exam
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| Mydream
Forum Elite
Topics: 10
Posts: 331
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Thank u so much SOS,docdoc9,sarah 99,doc499 and darkmansaad..
I am happy that it helped u .
sarah, i used 2004 kaplan LN and 2005 FA. i didnt use robbins and ganong while prep for step 1 but read them while in college. but u can definitely refer to robbins along with Goljan. i too wished but ultimately cudnt manage to read from big bks. kaplan is enough for the exam purpose..i mean they are oriented towards usmle steps. but big books are for reference and understanding concepts. they will always be there.
and avg time..well..i feel 6 mnths is necessary for a solid prep..but if studying full time..u can manage in a shorter period.that is really very subjective. others might differ in opinion.
i graduated in 2006.
darkmansaad..ur highest in NBME 2 is less than what u r aiming for.but its not unrealistic. if u have improved on ur weak areas in 2 wks aftr ur nbme 3..its definitely possible. but they are good scores.so be confident !!
Wish u all Good Luck !!
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"your results in life are always directly proportional to the amount of effort and hard-work that you put in"
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| acintya
FOCUS on your Goal!
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Heyy MyDream! It is so good to finally see your experience and you DID GREAT!!
I sent you a pm, but I guess you haven't got it.....anyways, thanks for the detailed experience....certainly necessary for me to remember not to procrastinate
Good luck with Step 2
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Life is a Mind Game! Remember, obstacles aren't meant to prevent your success; they only slow you down and show you where you must work harder.
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| Mydream
Forum Elite
Topics: 10
Posts: 331
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Heyy AC...thanks ...soo nice to see you.....miss u..
PM ??.. ..wait..did u send 2 days back ?? i posted a msg reg this in Forum management forum in KG's thread !! was it yours ?? pls resend it .. i didnt get it.
Hope everything is well at ur end. will write u details after some days.
Pls pls take stp 1 quikly. and take care. GL..
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"your results in life are always directly proportional to the amount of effort and hard-work that you put in"
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| seem.bh
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hey my dream..congrats for score n thank u for the valuable advice....
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| pflora
Forum Newbie
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Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to write your experience.
It's very important for people like me,who are at the beginning of studying ,to get a sense of what's ahead and how to manage the exam.
Congratulations and good luck.
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