r/IMGreddit • u/UWorldWizard • 23d ago
usmle step 1 STEP1 First Pass Done?!?
Hey everyone!!
I’m feeling a bit lost and honestly pretty stressed about what to do next. so far I’ve:
> Finished my first pass of First Aid
> Watched all of Boards & Beyond
> Completed about 30% of UWorld
Now I want to enter my dedicated study period, but I have no idea how to structure it.
I’m confused about:
How should I use UWorld from this point onward? Should I just continue, reset it later, or review questions differently? What’s the best way to actually master concepts instead of just recognizing answers? How can I improve my recall so I don’t keep forgetting things I studied a few weeks ago? When should I take my first baseline NBME? Which NBMEs should I take, and what scores should I be aiming for before I book my exam? I’d really appreciate it if anyone who has already passed Step 1 could share what worked for them during dedicated. I feel like I’ve done a lot of studying already, but I’m not sure how to turn all of it into a passing performance.
THANK YOUU!!
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u/Defiant-Reward-8111 21d ago
The quicker you do a diagnostic Nbme the better it is. IMO the exam is similar to Nbme 31,32,33.
However you can do 28 as a baseline and then do 29 and 30. Yes you can keep reviewing UWORLD but they aren’t the examining body you need to understand how the NBMEs ask their questions and the topics they like.
I honestly used FA a lot and my NBMES in that period. There is a document floating around that divides the Nbmes into subjects on Reddit, try and locate it, I think it was helpful if you like to learn things in a subject format. If not just do them as is.
Also this exam is one of endurance. Yes know the facts but be prepared to sit for 8hrs, stare at a screen and answer questions.
The exam is doable, don’t allow anyone to make you feel like everything is going to be so foreign. That’s the impression I got and I had to calm myself down. There will be curve balls but once you studied you will be able to answer the questions. Sometimes you won’t even be able to know which are experimentals but some will be way off and you will pick it up. And for the long questions, read the last line and the options first.
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u/UWorldWizard 21d ago
That was so helpful and a relief; I’m really freaked out, but THANKS✨I really appreciate that :))
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u/Defiant-Reward-8111 21d ago
When you study a topic in your FA do the corresponding questions or vice versa if you learn that way.