hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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I took it today.. And it's by far the most vague exam i have ever taken. I mean this is the first time ever that I have no idea how good or bad I did.  When i took CS i knew I'd pass. When i took Step 1 , I knew what I'd get.. This time I am simply clueless..
It was a bit of a gamble though.. I felt really underprepared both before and during the exam.. Studied for just one month.. Had to take it asap to stand a good chance for 2009 match. All I could manage to do was about 80% of UW and half of FA  Most of the times I felt really unsure about the answers and i often had serious doubts about taking the exam so early.. The only reason i did take it anyway was that I was scoring fine..
UW - 73% cumulative
NBME2 (1 week before) - 570
USMLE cd - 42, 38, 41
This was probably because I took step 1 just a month back and most of that knowledge was still fresh in my mind. Now a bit about my exam..
I made sure that i sleep well last night..( Had trouble sleeping before step 1).. the exam was in the new format.. The questions were soooo long , and mostly filled with distractors.. Most questions were about 10 lines and some even more than a page  .. I could barely finish all the blocks in time with never more than 2 mins left to review the marked ones.. You need a very good pace if you want to spare some good time in the end for the marked questions.. The questions werent too difficult but most often had a twist.. Keep your eyes open! the question will look like the classical question you saw in all the Qbanks but it will have a minor difference that'll change the answer.. And if your prep time is short, try to know all the high yield stuff first..There's a reason they're called "high yield".. you wont find many big surprises in the exam.. You'd rarely get that feeling of "C'mon How can you ask me that!!  " 
All in all, I dont have any idea if i am going to get a decent score.. I am not sure if that's how CK is for everyone or is it just 'cos I was underprepared.. May be both
The good part is - 1. The questions were really interesting, it showed that a lot effort has been put in framing those and i loved answering them even when i had no clue what it was talking about 2. I'm done with it and am gonna take a trip somewhere soon.. and most importantly, 3. now I can apply and get invloved where the real action is 
Good Luck Everyone !!
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| skamran
Forum Senior
Topics: 9
Posts: 93
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congratulations !! u r done with all the exams !!
u ll score good for sure!!
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| skamran
Forum Senior
Topics: 9
Posts: 93
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i have 6 wks to prepare for ck .can u outline a rough plan for 6 wks .
thanx in advance
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| nightflight1945
banned
Topics: 32
Posts: 920
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hitesh wrote:I took it today.. And it's by far the most vague exam i have ever taken. I mean this is the first time ever that I have no idea how good or bad I did. When i took CS i knew I'd pass. When i took Step 1 , I knew what I'd get.. This time I am simply clueless.. It was a bit of a gamble though.. I felt really underprepared both before and during the exam.. Studied for just one month.. Had to take it asap to stand a good chance for 2009 match. All I could manage to do was about 80% of UW and half of FA Most of the times I felt really unsure about the answers and i often had serious doubts about taking the exam so early.. The only reason i did take it anyway was that I was scoring fine.. UW - 73% cumulative NBME2 (1 week before) - 570 USMLE cd - 42, 38, 41 This was probably because I took step 1 just a month back and most of that knowledge was still fresh in my mind. Now a bit about my exam.. I made sure that i sleep well last night..( Had trouble sleeping before step 1).. the exam was in the new format.. The questions were soooo long , and mostly filled with distractors.. Most questions were about 10 lines and some even more than a page .. I could barely finish all the blocks in time with never more than 2 mins left to review the marked ones.. You need a very good pace if you want to spare some good time in the end for the marked questions.. The questions werent too difficult but most often had a twist.. Keep your eyes open! the question will look like the classical question you saw in all the Qbanks but it will have a minor difference that'll change the answer.. And if your prep time is short, try to know all the high yield stuff first..There's a reason they're called "high yield".. you wont find many big surprises in the exam.. You'd rarely get that feeling of "C'mon How can you ask me that!! " All in all, I dont have any idea if i am going to get a decent score.. I am not sure if that's how CK is for everyone or is it just 'cos I was underprepared.. May be both The good part is - 1. The questions were really interesting, it showed that a lot effort has been put in framing those and i loved answering them even when i had no clue what it was talking about 2. I'm done with it and am gonna take a trip somewhere soon.. and most importantly, 3. now I can apply and get invloved where the real action is Good Luck Everyone !!
Exactly that's true .
The questions are really well-designed with really unique and interesting format ,and most if not all of them are fair and expected .Very few odd or rare materials are tested and you need very few if any to memorize .
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| kris09_us
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 51
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Don't worry, you will get good score.
Can you please let us know how much percentage is from Internal Medicine, surgery, Gyn and psy. What material you will rate most beneficial - UW? Have you revised first aid and/or Qbanks - are these necessary.
Final question - Please educate me where would i find all High Yield stuff -- it seems a good idea to zstudy those first.
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| manam1
Forum Newbie
Topics: 6
Posts: 44
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congrats on taking the exam! sure you'll nail the score. best of luck in match!
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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nightflight1945: Yes.. Although, i did feel a bit unprepared, but i have to admit that it was nevertheless, a pleasurable experience.. Some clinical scenarios were so perfectly built up that you got a smug feeling ( Ha! i knew you'd go there! )
skamran: Thank you! I'm not sure if i'm the right person to help you with the prep (considering I havent got my score yet).. But, I'd say, make sure you do UW and if possible revise it.. Rest, depending on the time you have, do as much of kaplan as you can.. Good luck!
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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kris09_us wrote:
Don't worry, you will get good score.
Can you please let us know how much percentage is from Internal Medicine, surgery, Gyn and psy. What material you will rate most beneficial - UW? Have you revised first aid and/or Qbanks - are these necessary.
Final question - Please educate me where would i find all High Yield stuff -- it seems a good idea to zstudy those first.
Thank you! I honestly have no clue how many questions were from each subject.. I can never tell.. Couldnt for step 1 either.. From what most ppl say, i can tell you that IM is the most heavily tested
UW is by far the single best source for CK prep. I didnt find FA as helpful as it was for step 1. Just read half of it, quit in the middle and never returned to it
I did only UW. so i cant comment on other resources.. I know a lot of people read crush and secrets.. Some also read FA.
Good Luck!
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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manam1 : Thank you! and Good Luck to you too!
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| kris09_us
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 51
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Thanks for the reply Hitesh - Good luck!
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| cherryho
Forum Guru
Topics: 30
Posts: 584
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Best luck on your score!!
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99/99/Pass; Certified; 2003; US PhD; 2M US clerkships; GC; Chance favors only the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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Thank you cherryho !
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| ultradocmansu
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 128
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good luck for the score hitesh! very fast u gave step2 , i think u gave step1 after me right?
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Forumaholic
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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ultradocmansu wrote:
good luck for the score hitesh! very fast u gave step2 , i think u gave step1 after me right?
Thank you! I took step 1 on 29th of July.
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| wasedf
Forum Junior
Topics: 5
Posts: 74
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Wish you an excellent score hitesh, thanks for sharing your experience.
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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Thank you!
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| ultradocmansu
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 128
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i gave mine on 10 th july.. did u do cs? if yes, when?
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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ultradocmansu wrote:
i gave mine on 10 th july.. did u do cs? if yes, when?
Yes, I took CS on 28th Apr
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| akm
Forum Elite
Topics: 17
Posts: 234
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Congrats hitesh!
I'm taking the exam on Oct 7th and using a similar method (mainly UW)....you're UW score is really good and your NBME should provide you some relief.....i think you'll get an awesome score,...and more importantly you'll get it at the perfect time for the match ! (i'm going to get mine end of october so i'll be running a bit late)
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| hitesh
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Topics: 64
Posts: 1,089
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Thank you akm ! Wish you all the best !
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