VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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Hi all friends,
I took step 1 on 27 March 2004 and got my score on 27 April 2004. I am an IMG, and have graduated from Turkish med school in 2003 June.
I have been working as a research fellow since that time in US. I have prepared the exam while I am working. I have got help from usmle forums so it is time to pay back now.
1- Pathology : BRS
2- Biochem : Lippincott
3- Pharm : Lippincott
4- Micro/Immuno : Lange Jawets
5- Physio : Kaplan Lecture Notes 2002
6- Behavioral Sciences : BRS
7- Anatomy : Gross-HY only , Neuro-HY only, Histology-Compass notes, Embryology-HY old version(50 pages)
8- Other books: I have read Cell Biology and Genetics HY
9- FIRST AID is a must, everyone has a lot to learn from it.
PRACTICE SCORES
1- Kaplan q bank: %77 ( I had this score after I finished every question only once , I mean without doing same ones ) It increased after I did them second time.
2- NBME : That's the best site. It is closest to exam.I scored
590 in first one, and 690 in second one. I finished all 400 qs in 3 hours as I did not have time to give that.
These two are more than enough. I did 5 BSS books in 3 days
but I do not think that it is worth. I bought NMS. But after doing first block, I left it. I Think it doesn't add anything to your score. It adds unnecessary details to your brain.
My med school background was good. I graduated with A-. My good part is I am a fast test taker. I did not have any problems with time. I finished first block in 20 minutes in real exam. But then I slowed down as I was tired. But still my average completion time were 30 minutes. And during remaining time, I went through the tricky questions over and over. But for those, who have time problem, you should time yourself for every practice tests you make.
I could say that in each block 30-35 questions were straight forward. 10-15 very tricky. But there were no questions which I did not have any knowledge on. So at least I could have logical thinking.
My worst part came to be Behavioral Sciences, because it was the last subject which I studied and in Turkey the understanding is totally different in that subject.
Finally most important thing is reviewing frequently before the test. I was able to review all step1 subjects in one week, without opening books just before the exam. But I do not remember anything now. That's the sad reality of short term memory.
Let me know about any questions.
Best of luck to all of you
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VKT
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| mash
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 147
Posts: 1,326
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congrats! dats gr8.............
can u tell me something abt ur stydy schedule..........i mean how many hrs u used to study n stuff like dat?
thanx
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I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
--Confucius
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| Colombia
Forum Guru
Topics: 85
Posts: 438
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congratulations..........thanks for share your experience. enjoy your score.
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| mjl1717
Forum Hero
Topics: 959
Posts: 5,467
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you must be the bionic man if you can do 5 BSS books in 3 days!
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Smell the coffee! "Is That an Osler move??"
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| doctorjha
Forum Senior
Topics: 13
Posts: 100
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Hi VKT,
Would you plz share a few questions which will help me to determine the level of test? Did you find them similar to Kaplan's qbank or they were totally different?
Thanks
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| anne
Forum Elite
Topics: 41
Posts: 348
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congrats VKT for the great score.
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| meg
Forum Guru
Topics: 62
Posts: 806
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Congrats VKT! 
All the best for step 2.
Meg
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| VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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Mash: As I was working in the lab, I did not have any strict schedule. Some days I was coming back home very tired and directly going to bed, and in others I was able to study up to 4-5 hours before I go to sleep. But weekends were definitely more productive then weekdays. I think studying 3-4 hours for 3-4 months will make you have a similiar score.
Mjl1717: You are true. These days were one of few worst of my life.
Doctorjha: I can tell you that nbme is the one which is exactly same as boards. Check this: Even my performance profile looks exactly same in NMBE and the real score report.
Anne and Colombia: Thanks and best of luck to you in exams.
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VKT
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| VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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Thanks Meg, best of luck in step2.
VKT
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VKT
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| Alina T
Forum Elite
Topics: 17
Posts: 388
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hey VKT, congratulations on the great job!!!!!
u definitely make things sound easy in ur post, u did it pretty quick and good.
i have a q about your last days of prep; u said u reviewed all step1 material in one week. does it mean you read again all the books u mentioned in your list? or some hi-yield notes of yours? what was exactly that u read?
thanx a lot and good luck in your step 2 prep!!
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There are 3 types of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.
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| VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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Alina T: When I read the books for the first time. I underlined the impotant parts by pencil. And in reviews I only concentrated on the underlined part. But I did not create notes or other things. I reviewed from the books I listed over and over. Yes, in my last week too, I reviewed all subjects from books, but I was pretty solid that I was not opening the books. I was reviewing it from the mind. Only at times which I was not able to remember, I was opening the books.
VKT
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VKT
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| kalsam
Forum Elite
Topics: 31
Posts: 361
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Congratts VKT for the great score!!
Guess you are a fast reader..with a great grasping power..as you said you were able to finish the block within 20 mins..
Any useful tips..???
All the best for your next exam..
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"Read Repeat Recall Remember Recognise & Reproduce"
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| VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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drkalsam: Only tip is the magic three: NBME + Kaplan q bank + First Aid. But you should never stick these as the first line study materials but after you are done with whatever books you read, stick to these three. They will get you familiar with the real USMLE style. I strongly think, that move could increase your score by 5-10 in two digit.
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VKT
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| kalsam
Forum Elite
Topics: 31
Posts: 361
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Thankyou so much for the advice... yes I totally agree with you
Thanks again : )
All the best!!!
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"Read Repeat Recall Remember Recognise & Reproduce"
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| ELM
Forum Guru
Topics: 28
Posts: 936
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Hi! Congrats for the great score! Seems i could only dream about something like that right now :cry: Seems when I more read, then more I don't know.
Thanks for your post and good luck for the next one!
Would you tell me this?
........[I strongly think, that move could increase your score by 5-10 in two digit] ...by this what do you mean? Move???... what move are we talking about here? I just don't get it! Please clarify this for us? And also did you try to save those MNBE Qs or you just finished it without making anything? I am planing to buy MBNE soon and was wondering how did most poeple do these Qs. I mean you just answer them onse and get you score right away and that's all or what do you do?
Thanks again for you support!
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ELM
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| ELM
Forum Guru
Topics: 28
Posts: 936
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:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:
Uups i am sorry i got it now, as i was reading after my first post. Ignore my Q about the ...THAT MOVE! Yes that shift is the best thing to do! But plaese answar my Q about MBNE! Thanks!
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ELM
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| VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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ELM: My exam was on 27th of April. But unfortunately I have heard about NBME just 10 days before my exam. I thought a lot to do it or not to do it. And at the end I decided to buy it, because I knew that it was going to be very close to the real exam. So I bought it on 19th of April Friday. Believe it or not, I finished all 400 qs in 3 hours on this Friday night. I took notes on questions which I found interesting. I did not see it again until the real exam. But here is the most important part: Even my performance profile has come to be exactly same in both NBME and USMLE score report. That's the best one to practice and see how ready you are to the real exam. My suggestion to you is, do it when the time is close to the exam, you do not have to do it straight like me, but at least time yourself and take down very quick notes about interesting questions. Make a correlation with my results considering standart error means. Best of luck to you.
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VKT
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| ANAIR2004
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 23
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hi congratulations for ur great score!.i will be taking step 1 first week of june.i just finished my first review only.i am not feeling confident at all.i have bss books with me.u mentioned they are not that worth. can u please explain further or is any subject in that that u feel good.i dont have enough time .i will be starting qbank soon with second review. is kaplan qbank good enough for pharmacology and physiology .i saw many graphs in bss.what do u think .please help me
congratulations and thankyou
anju
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| ANAIR2004
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 23
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hi congratulations for ur great score!.i will be taking step 1 first week of june.i just finished my first review only.i am not feeling confident at all.i have bss books with me.u mentioned they are not that worth. can u please explain further or is any subject in that that u feel good.i dont have enough time .i will be starting qbank soon with second review. is kaplan qbank good enough for pharmacology and physiology .i saw many graphs in bss.what do u think .please help me
congratulations and thankyou
anju
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| VKT
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 27
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ELM: By the way, never distrust yourself. I had a friend who was not a very bright student in the med school. But she studied hard and at the end, she got 97 in step1. Everybody were suprised. But that tells us the real story. If you have a goal and concentration, everything is doable. I still do think that everybody has a max that she/he can do. But important thing is to show stamina, and try to come as close as possible to your max point.
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VKT
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