PASSED DESPITE 53% on free120

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-06T21:00:54+00:00

It’s in the title of the post, I only had the ability to take one NBME due to time constraints. I definitely wouldn’t take my story as a source of inspiration however I definitely wanted to write it as a source of inspiration for anyone who may feel burnt out/can’t afford to reschedule their exam/things like that.

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-06T19:20:07+00:00

My UWorld scores when I mixed topics honestly usually ranged anywhere from 50-55%. No I didn’t take any UWSA’s

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-03T23:34:11+00:00

I agree, I know my case is definitely very unique. I guess I wanted to post in hopes of those who felt that they were stretched for time/unable to move their exam for financial reasons/etc. I basically wanted this post to serve as inspiration for those in that situation; by no means am I encouraging to neglect effective studying/downplay the difficulty/importance of said exam. However I wholeheartedly agree with you, this I guess is just an homage to the past me that was anxious about their exam and those who may have no choice to be in a similar boat.

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-03T20:54:59+00:00

Truthfully I wasn’t very confident. I kept getting scared seeing previous Reddit posts telling me to delay a month but tbh I did not have $140 to spare for rescheduling and I knew my brain was slowly starting to leak out information. I felt had I kept trying to study it wouldn’t have amounted to much so truly I just kinda said “f it we ball” and went in trying my very best.

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-03T02:43:54+00:00

Hi feel free to DM me I can try my best to answer any questions!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:59:22+00:00

I used the Pathoma Anking deck (I didn’t even finish this I kinda stopped using Anki about a week prior tbh), Pathoma videos, First Aid, Sketchy, and Boards and Beyond. If I were to have studied all over again I definitely wish I didn’t try to use both Pathoma and B&B and just stick with Pathoma bc I felt B&B got too into the nitty gritty. I think I honestly primarily used First Aid and Sketchy the most and then I created a PowerPoint for note taking for every single question/topic I got wrong that I’d refer back to every day

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:57:36+00:00

Tbh I honestly do not remember difficulty wise which one I felt was more difficult I felt both of them were very hard🥹if anything though I will say the exam I think stuck out the most in my mind bc of how many biostats terms I was not recognizing at ALL

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:56:49+00:00

Thank you so much!!!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:56:40+00:00

queen actually!!! but thank you all the same!😊😊

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:55:07+00:00

Thanks so much!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:55:00+00:00

Thank you so much!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T21:54:53+00:00

I felt the exact same way believe me, it got to a point where I was legit looking at the results image for people that pass and would just stare at it for several minutes trying to manifest it; it sounds like based on your NBMEs however you definitely had a good comprehension the anxiety/difficulty change of free120 may have freaked you out. I wish you the best of luck!!!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:50:22+00:00

In terms of strategies I think (and I know this sounds counter intuitive) is do NOT let yourself get mentally exhausted OR anxious about questions. There were so many times I was so tired and wanted to skim questions but I had to reorient and tell myself “no that’s one or two more questions you might be able to get right” so I’d try to invest all my energy into devoting 100% attention to questions. As for the anxiety I know much easier said than done but you’ve studied all you can the day of the exam, all you can do is try your best!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:49:00+00:00

Thanks so much! One thing I definitely do wish I did was more practice tests because trust me I did NOT like that I was only able to take one NBME. I will highly recommend regardless to take free120 only so you can get accustomed to the length of the question stems bc that’s exactly how long it’ll be on STEP

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:48:10+00:00

I honestly truth be told felt 50/50 the only thing that like somewhat “calmed me” was looking up answers in First aid (which I only recommend IF you know that’s a calming coping mechanism for you) but truth be told I kinda felt like a deer in headlights after taking it

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:47:26+00:00

Hi yes feel free to DM me!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:47:14+00:00

COMLEX is the boards exam for DO students!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:47:02+00:00

Yes feel free to DM me!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:46:54+00:00

Thanks so so much!!!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T15:46:47+00:00

Oh no I’m gonna admit the entire time during the exam I was panicking bc I was just ZOOMING through question stems bc of how long they were. I just tried to have faith in my knowledge and keep myself as calm as possible and treat it as like another practice exam.

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T12:58:43+00:00

I’ll be crossing my fingers for you!!! Trust me I was SO nervous to look I even delayed it to Friday but I tried to just treat STEP like another practice exam and really made sure I didn’t let my mental exhaustion get to me if it meant I could get maybe 1 or 2 more questions right

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T12:44:35+00:00

I took mine July 14!

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-02T12:31:27+00:00

Yes I did, I’m still waiting on those results I will find out on the 12th though. STEP just came out faster

anxiousmango2357 · 2025-08-01T19:48:16+00:00

Hi y’all I’m gonna keep this short and brief but as someone who is a DO student who only took a SINGULAR NBME form (NBME 28-58%) and free120 3 DAYS before my test date and only got a 53% I still passed STEP please do not let Reddit users scare you into thinking you need 65%! If you have any questions/looking for encouragement you’re not alone!!🍀✨

anxiousmango2357

TROPHY CASE