commit
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Hi simon73,
Feeling a little guilty here. I was under a lot of pressure last week. So over the weekend, I spoiled myself and visited a few friends. Did not spend any serious time on studying at all. For a moment, I was thinking, oh man, maybe I should let this go, just let it go. It felt so good not to worry about studying at all. It has been a hard journey. Whenever I was getting some sort of momentum, something came up and it took a long while to get back into rhythem.
But I don't want to disappoint myself when I am old and look back. I don't want to regret that I did not fight until the end. I don't want to be a quitter, especially considering how much time I have spent to convince myself this is the way to go. So I am going to study, be it a success or a failure. I am going to do what I have to do.
Simon73, you have been a great friend along the prep and I am very grateful for all your cheering and encouragement. Let's hope we won't disappoint ourselves. Let's fight.
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| simon73
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Thank you commit. Believe me, i completely understand the emotions going through your mind while having good time with family and friends, as i had that several times and still do occasionally. But as you said, i just want to put in my effort in the best way i could with all the distractions/happenings around me. Let's fight and move forward.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 240
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Yeah, simon73, that's the exact emotions I am talking about.
Back to the study, will try to finish a quick review in the next 3 weeks and take NBME 1 or 2 at that time.
Wed and Thur, will try to finish Respiratory and Reproduction pathology. It's a lot to cover. But I'll try my best. Will take 2 more blocks of UW to see how bad things are I have forgotten a lot of Micro and Pharm these days. Anyways, it's time to move forward. No more perfection, just do my best and hopefully it will be enough.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 240
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Scored poorly on UW at 50%, which is a new second low, got a 48% a while back. It is all right. I made a few lucky guesses and some mistakes as well. It is a fair test. Just need another 4 or 5 tests to get the feel back. Darn, it is not easy. Keep trying, harder and harder.
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| simon73
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Keep it going commit. Dont be discouraged by the scores. A lot of my scores are in that range and someone in the journal stated that it is better to make mistakes here and learn more than in the real exam. So, i am taking it with a positive spirit and moving forward.
Happy reading.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Hi simon73, thanks for the kind words. You are right. It is better to make mistakes now than later. 
Good a lucky break today, scored 72%, the highest so far! One thing I may be doing right this time is that I don't spend too much time on things I have no clue at all. Instead, I put more efforts on getting some "logic" or "educated guess" into the ones I know a little bit but not enough to give a definite answer. I know this is a very awkward sentence, but I think you know what I am saying. But I know, by no means, the score reflects a jump in my knowledge. There are only about 10-15 Qs that I know for sure, the other 20 some Qs are just lucky. It is simply a combination of luck and some technique. Additionally, I am more relaxed this time answering questions.
Keep reading hard and work on details, we will prevail.
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| match2010
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 364
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hey commit .....how is the prep going so far? i see your are improving on UW ...keep working hard and yeah i reallly liked the post where u said tht u are not a quitter and u want to fight till the end .....im almost in the same boat as you are and trying to fight and struggle for the exam  ....we all will make it there buddy ....goood luck studying ...i will be dropping by here often now.
___________________
Action is the foundational key to all success
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
I agree with the answering technique. It is no point in wasting time on questions which we have no clue, rather it is wise spent on where we need to make some educated guess.
Hope you are having a good weekend study.
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| veteran
Forum Newbie
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Hi Commit, when I started, I was first daunted by the mammoth task of USMLE prep.
Several times, especially when preparing for step one, I was so tempted to just not bother. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I persevered. It is sweet to be a doctor in the US. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep working!
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| doctor123
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 343
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Keep it going commit
Read Revise Read Revise
DR.123
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ALLAH; guide me to the Path of Success.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 240
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Thank you, match2010, simon73, veteran, doctor123. I will keep it going, hard and strong
I am working pretty hard for the last couple of days. Hopefully, I will keep my momentum this time around. Goljan's audio is unbelievable. I learned so much from it.
I finished another UW block and scored 66%. I got a couple of breaks again. But I really started to appreciate the UW Qbank. The explanation stuff is really good.
I need to work on my technique more to finish the block faster. Veteran mentioned his technique to save time on the relevant Qs. I think it is pretty good. I will start practicing that. Hopefully, I will finish the block 5-15 min early. That will make me feel more comfortable and confident.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 240
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Currently, the goal is to take the NBME on July 5th. I will try to take July 6th off then, apparently depending on the score.
I have reviewed Pharmacology for the last two days. I felt I was getting better at it. Just took a UW block. Ironically, I scored pretty bad on pharmacology. I guess just glancing through things will not get the job done. I will need to go a little deeper and thorougher. Generally, I did OK on the block, get a 66% again. It seems I can have a better understanding at the Qs now. But there are always some stupid mistakes. One day, I should really organize and process the wrong Qs to improve a little bit on that. I have kept saying this for ages. Definitely will do it next week.
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| study499
Forum Elite
Topics: 3
Posts: 521
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Hi Commit,
You are doing a very good job...I am inspired by your improvements on UW scores...I have done only a couple of blocks of UW questions so far and my scores are not promising...all the time I 've been advising people not to be worried abt the scores...but now i am frustrated by my scores as I am really close to the exam...or at at least like to take my exam soon...in 6 weeks if I improve on my uw scores and get a good score in the NBME...
I have read Veteran's techniques and will apply them next round but do you have any advice in this regard...I do the questions in one system or one subject..ie. biochem...and timed mode...
Many thanks and all the best !
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| simon73
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Hi Commit,
You are doing well, keep up the good work.
I have the same frustration as study499. I am scoring low with UW blocks and isnt helping much with boosting my confidence or prep. May be i need to reevaluate my prep. Any advise would help us.
Thanks.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 240
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Hi study499 and simon73,
I can definitely understand your (or our) frustration. I think for me, the Goljan audio definitely helped me to understand pathology and pathophysiology a whole lot more. Before doing that, I had reviewed pathology briefly twice. But it was basically glancing through, I did not know what's important and the concepts were mostly understood but not retained. After reading his audio notes and listening to his lessons, it makes me a lot more confident on patho. I feel like I am getting about 2 to 4 more Qs right after listening to the audio.
So far, I have finished almost half of UW. I scored relatively well only for the last three blocks. I don't know whether it's just a fluke. As for techniques, as I said, I tried not to spend too much time on the ones that I don't have much chance. Secondly, I have used Qbooks to practice finding and highlighting the key words in the question stems. So when I am spending more time to analyze the questions, I am trying to focus on those keywords. Sometimes, by doing this, it simplifies the thinking process.
Finally, I have to say that I can only have definite answers for about 15 Qs. The other 17 Qs I answered right, some are well-educated guess and some are just lucky. I don't know if that makes any difference. But I don't really feel I have improved much. Let's do it.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 240
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Hi study499 and simon73,
I forgot to mention that all my blocks were timed, unused, mixed. I think biochem, immuno, for me and anatomy are pretty difficult in UW. I have pretty good background in biochem and immuno. But my scores in those two subjects are just OK.
Also highlighting keywords in the stem is also a training of fast understanding of Qs. It teaches me to look for those "words" while reading. Originally, I am just reading and get a feeling and then answer questions. Now I will stare at those "keywords" and try to make connections.
Guys, let's try hard and repetition is the key. Try to revise as often as we can and do as many Qs as we can handle. Success wil come to us. Good luck to us all.
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| study499
Forum Elite
Topics: 3
Posts: 521
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Thank you so much Commit for your detailed reply
I will read the Qbook tonight to see what you mean by those keywords,
Also will try to cover Dr. Goljan's audio notes before doing questions...
Thanks again and yes, lets do this.
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| simon73
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 412
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Thank you commit for your thoughts and pointers. Handling the questions will be a key strategy i need to work on. I am also planning to take the NBME either on July 5th or 6th. I need to start reviewing for that. I checked Q book, they talk about 'Paraphrasing' the questions, i am going to try that.
Best of luck for all of us.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 240
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Hi study499 and simon73, we will make it and let's start now to make the best use of every day and every hour. At the end, it's about effort and perseverance.
One thing I learned doing UW is that sometime the FA or even Kaplan books are not enough. But I think it is OK. No material can cover all the topics on the exam. But I think UW focuses a lot on connections, some newer stuff, and many mechanisms. According to my understanding, the real test is easier than UW. So scores in UW may not reflect our real scores on the test. Let's work for the ultimate goal, and work for the NBME. Don't let a few blocks of UW give a false sense of failure or success.
I have worked on pharmacology and microbiology for the last three days. I found that I haven't forgotten all of them. It is definitely more familiar than the first time I saw them a few months ago. But really, quite some stuff in UW are not covered by FA. I feel the need to go over the kaplan quickly. But it is not practical at all and too much time for too little gain. Let's focus on the big picture here and the goal is to take NBME on July 5th.
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| study499
Forum Elite
Topics: 3
Posts: 521
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Hi commit,
I admire your positive spirit, thank you for all your encouraging words. By reading your posts, I want to study more. Pls keep it stay like this...
All the very best with your hard work!
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 240
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Hi guys,
Did more Qbook over the weekend, got much better at pathology this time around than before Goljan audio days. But still not good enough, around 70%. There are problems that I did not read the questions carefully enough and some pretty HY stuff I have forgot. It's a long long way to go.
Two weeks from today will be the time to take NBME. No time to slack off.
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| veteran
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 73
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Hi Commit, seems like both you and Simon are taking NBME on July 5th!
Wish you a great score on the NBME and all the very best!
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| solo1122
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 2
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Hey DOC's !
I am in NJ aria and looking for a prep body for USMLE 1 .Will be nice to find a someone who can keep me going.Ready to shear what I have . Elena.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 240
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Hi veteran, thanks for stopping by. Yeah, I will try to keep my words this time and do it on July 5th. It won't be pretty for sure. But it will give me a new start point and a solid assessment. I will keep you guys updated.
I worked on the Qbook a bit more over the weekend. I will finish review the finished UW blocks over a period of five days. I will work on Anatomy at the same time. It is abosolutely my weakest subject. I have a lot to learn. Hopefully, I will improve somewhat in the five day period.
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| veteran
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Commit, when I took NBME 1st module, I was a nervous wreck. I had not been able to complete any of my revisions and wanted to see if I would get a passing score and if the USMLE was a dream worth pursuing. I did get a better score than I hoped for and went full steam ahead in my preparation.
I am sure you would do well. Even if you fall short of your expectation, you will know what your strong and weak areas are and will work towards your new goal with new plans! 
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