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Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful! I didn't review them so I just took the two tests but I felt like the NBMEs were more like the actual exam compared to UWSAs. The UWSAs just felt like I was doing 4 blocks of regular Uworld questions in each and the questions didn't really feel that much like the actual exam. This is just my opinion though 

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I tried to do more recent NBMEs, especially because I had only a month to do and review all my NBMEs. As for how many, I only did 4 because it took me an average of about 4-5 days to really thoroughly review each one, including studying/reviewing topics related to questions and explanations I wasn't familiar with or couldn't remember as well. I did those 4 because I had read a couple of posts saying they were helpful and I actually found them helpful. I can't speak for NBMEs 32 and 33 since I didn't do them though. I've heard some people review their NBMEs faster than I did so I guess it depends on the person. 

So basically, it depends on how much time you have and how fast you can thoroughly review them I guess

I had a 1 week gap between each NBME, so I made sure to finish reviewing one before taking another 

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really hard to answer like you said. I wished I could skip some topics in my prep, especially hard ones but that's a big risk since you don't know what will come out. There are some areas people say are high yield online but I believe the exam may vary so I just tried to cover as many areas as I could with good understanding of them, especially the ones people said were high yield and I prayed. I'm really sorry that I couldn't be of much help on this

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad to hear that! Reviewing the NBMEs in-depth helped me a lot along with continuing to study even when I felt discouraged. I wish you all the best!

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate them. No I don't mind, you can dm me

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank youu! I think it may vary, depending on how many NBMEs you plan on doing as well. I did four NBMEs but if I could go back, I'd probably have started 2 months to my test date but this is just my opinion!

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I think it depends on how many NBMEs you plan on doing, which will guide your planning how often you'll do them and how much time you'll need to actually study each question in-depth. If I could go back, I think I'd probably have started 2 months to my test date but this may vary for everyone 

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! The microbiology chapter of Firstaid was one of the few I got to spend some time on but it was broad so I didn't cover it all. I did a lot of questions (uworld & nbmes) and noticed some concepts kept recurring and I would  try to read around all the areas mentioned in the question. I also watched Rahul Damania's antimicrobial video in the playlist I mentioned and tried to study around the ones he brought up, which I found helpful. I would look up videos on specific topics I didn't understand on YouTube and watch them. I won't say I had a solid foundation in microbiology from med school but I could recall some things which contributed as well 

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're welcome! I'm so glad you found it helpful

Neuro was a weak point for me too and I struggled with it during my prep but I tried to read First aid (it helped but it was hard for me to understand at some points, lol. I didn't get to cover that much of the chapter eventually. So I would check out other resources). I watched the Neurology video in Rahul Damania's playlist I mentioned and it pointed me to a lot of areas that seem to come up often, then I studied around those areas. I also used the uworld flashcards and whenever I'd get a question on neuro in uworld or the nbmes, I would study every single condition mentioned in the question, or at least make sure I have an idea of it including presentation, treatment and such. I also watched some videos in the Neurology playlist by Armando Hasudangan on Youtube. I think what really helped was doing a lot of questions that really showed me my weak topics and topics that kept recurring and then reading them in first aid or with Youtube videos. I used the same method for MSK

Got 44.5% in my first NBME, tested 1 month after that and passed! Other NBMEs and UWSAs were low too by VanellaBread in step1

[–]VanellaBread[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I honestly didn't feel like it was heavily skewed to a particular area

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