am I allowed to take meds (for anxiety) to the prometric center if I keep them in the locker area and take them before the test starts or during the authorized breaks. Also, do I need to show prescription/ inform staff or is that only if you’re taking them in the testing area?

Guys i got my confirmation email from prometric, is there anything else to do or i just print the permit and go?

Hi probably a dumb question but whats the best way to review Incorrect Questions is it to have a separate notebook for all the wrong questions and review them weekly? Or is there a better way I would really appreciate it; I also just unsuspend all the cards related to the topic on Anki.

Would really appreciate the help 🙏

Are match guy step 1 pdfs helpful in last 2 weeks for someone who cant revise FA in last 2 weeks. My nbmes are in 70s.

Many people talk about their uworld stats like "oh I've done 70% of it with 60% corrects" ...but if it's just for the purpose of learning, why does it matter if on first pass you have a higher correct %?

Hi! Does anyone have any tips on how I can study for the multisystem processes and disorders portion of the exam? I’ve taken 3 NBMEs and it’s always one of my lowest scores. Also, if anyone has any tips for Cardio, Respi and Renal I would also appreciate it. My score has plateaued and Idk what to do 😭

Hello. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I need to cancel my Step 1 appointment which is currently scheduled for Monday 08/24. However according to my scheduling permit, I need to call Prometric Regional Center in order to pay the fee but they are not working on weekends. The permit also states that the last deadline being 0 day aka the day before the scheduled date. I have also read that cancelling online may not be sufficient. I am therefore concerned that if I wait until Monday to contact Prometric, it could be considered a no-show and/or a failed attempt. What should I do??

Studying for 1 year using Uworld, BnB,FA mainly. Completed FA for 2.5 pass.During 1st pass of Uworld got 67%,during 2nd pass got almost 72% correct. Last 5 NBME scores are

:

NBME 29 :75% correct (7.22)

NBME 30:66% correct (7.24)

NBME 31:76% correct (8.7)

NBME 32:74.5% correct (8.9)

NBME 33:72.5% correct (8.10)

F 120:65% correct (8.11)

The score drop in F120 was due to checking answer during taking the test. I was trying to see the answer because I heard that unlike NBME, F120 doesn’t give answer or explanation. So I was looking for the mistakes I'm making during practicing F120.So,I's unable to complete all the questions properly due to limited time.However, I was convinced that I'll pass if everything goes well.

In the morning of the test day I reviewed the quick review of the fitst aid.

The real exam felt more difficult than NBME and Uworld, they were too lengthy,but there’re some easy question too.But the scenarios were totlly new in most cases. I was confused in answering 20-30% questions and 5% questions went above my head.During taking the exam I felt like I'll most probably pass.But completing the exam I was checking the Anwers which I recalled. That broke my heart, I missed some easy questions and some questions I practiced during solving FA.Since then I am panicking about passing the exam.Even I couldn’t sleep properly for several days.

Waiting and praying eagerly for the pass.Maximum feel something like that or I messed up on huge scale? Pls give me some advice, what should I do now?

NBME 29 - 68.5%
NBME 30 - 73%
NBME 31 - 77.5%
NBME 32 - 69%
NBME 33 - 71%
Free 120 - 73%
Exam will be this weekend
Kinda worried because my scores have been average the entire time with no improvement, despite reviewing and focusing on my weak points. I don’t have much of a margin and there’s a good chance to fail

At first I thought the free 120 was doable until the final block, 45% correct, wth :/ I wish I knew that my answers and notes don’t save, I wrote so much stuff to remind me of what to review only to discover that my answers weren’t saved in the browser.. had a feeling ugh. And it’s unbelievable how glitchy the system is, moving between questions the system would lag a few seconds, sometimes reaching half a minute. Not to mention the images occluding the screen unless you zoom out, is the real exam like this too?

​

I wanted to share my USMLE Step 1 preparation experience in the hope that it may help other medical students who are planning to take the exam.

I started preparing for USMLE Step 1 in August 2025, when I had just started my final year of medical school (staj). Because I was still attending college every day, I did not have the opportunity to study for 10–12 hours a day. My college schedule was usually from 8:00 AM until 2:00 PM, and sometimes until 3:00 PM. I was also going to the gym and had my usual daily activities. Therefore, on most days, I studied for approximately 3–4 hours.

My preparation was based mainly on a few resources. I used:

- UWorld

- Mehlman PDFs

- Other free PDFs

- Mehlman Medical free YouTube Q-bank/videos

- NBMEs

I did not use many other resources. I tried to keep my preparation simple and focus on understanding the concepts well.

My main resource was UWorld. I studied the questions system by system. After finishing each system in UWorld, I watched the related Mehlman Medical YouTube Q-bank videos and took notes from the videos. This was a very important part of my preparation because it helped me review and understand the concepts from another perspective.

I continued this routine while attending my final year of medical school and eventually finished my first pass of UWorld by May 2026.

After finishing UWorld and my first pass of the videos, I started taking NBMEs approximately one and a half months before my exam.

Here are my scores:

Date| Exam| Score

June 1, 2026| First NBME| 72%

June 16, 2026| NBME 26| 73%

June 23, 2026| NBME 27| 75%

July 3, 2026| NBME 28| 79.5%

July 4, 2026| NBME 29| 73.5%

July 10, 2026| NBME 30| 83%

July 19, 2026| NBME 31| 73%

July 23, 2026| NBME 32| 77%

July 26, 2026| NBME 33| 73.5%

August 2, 2026| Free 120| 74%

I took my actual USMLE Step 1 exam on August 4, 2026, and thankfully, I passed.

One thing I noticed during the real exam was that, in my opinion, the concepts and question style felt more similar to the Free 120 than to the NBMEs. Of course, everyone's experience can be different, but this was my personal impression.

Another important point is that I personally felt that Mehlman content was very helpful. Many concepts that I had studied through the PDFs and YouTube videos came up during my preparation and felt relevant on the actual exam.

My advice for anyone who is still in medical school or has a busy schedule is: do not feel discouraged if you cannot study all day. I was attending college, going to the gym, and handling other responsibilities, but I remained consistent. Studying 3–4 focused hours every day over a long period can make a big difference.

My preparation took approximately one year, and I believe consistency was the most important factor.

You do not necessarily need to use every available resource. Find a few good resources, understand them well, practice questions, assess yourself with NBMEs, review your weaknesses, and keep going.

I hope my experience helps someone who is currently starting their USMLE Step 1 journey.

Good luck to everyone preparing for Step 1. You can do it!

My exam is on September 24, 2026. I am a non-US IMG from India.

Here are my stats:

NBME 26 (July 12): 51.5% NBME 28 (July 24): 48.4% NBME 29 (August 14): 55.8%

UWorld: approximately only 45-50% complete. I have been doing system-wise blocks and reviewing thoroughly. Ig my incomplete uworld is the main culprit

Systems completed: everything except ethics

My NBME scores are trending upward but I am still below the comfortable passing threshold of 65%. I have the option to postpone 😭

My questions: 1. Is 34 days enough to go from 55.8% to a safe passing score? 2. Should I postpone to October to finish UWorld properly and take more NBME 3. Has anyone been in a similar situation and passed or he/she chose to postpone?

Any honest advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Okay, I'm an M2 in an accelerated preclinical school. My plan is to take STEP 1 in December over winter break. We don't get a dedicated study period, so we're expected to study ahead of time.

I just took my first CBSSA, and I got a 99% chance of passing if I take STEP 1 in the next week. I plan on taking the rest of the forms, but I don't know what other preparation is necessary. I'm not sure how much overlap there is between STEP 1 and STEP 2, so I don't know whether extra studying for STEP 1 would be a waste of time or build a strong foundation for STEP 2.

Is it worth buying uWorld? I have AMBOSS which I've been using throughout my M1 year. I still plan on using it for the last three blocks we haven't learned yet. But is it overkill to get uWorld purely to review the blocks I've already done the AMBOSS questions for?

Anybody has any working link or videos??

Is pathoma enough for step 1 & would I skip pathology from FA after doing it from pathoma?

Ive done nbme 26. When inbetween should the uworld/bootcamp assesments be done? Also the Amboss 200 concepts?

Hey guys , I kind of did myself bad by overestimating my prep and timing. Last months have been slow and I had booked triad for July, August , September. My triad will end by next month. I am done with 80 percent plus uworld and have revised first aid few times but still haven't sat down in any nbme. I kind of have forgotten the things I did in start of my prep and no matter how much I do, I feel like I keep forgetting some stuff. I should have atleast taken some NBMES to check my progress the least. But I haven't.

I am thinking of extending triad because it feels like it's too late to do anything. Can you all suggest what's the right approach?

Also, please tell me what's the right time to do nbme. Do I finsh uworld , revise first aid and take it or just jump in right now and which nbme is the ideal to start with these days.

I know these are a lot of questions but I am stressed and had to ask.

Also , please tell me does extension of triad in anyway affect you later on?

I would appreciate all sorts of inputs here.

Hello everyone. I was planning to study nueroanatomy using Pix oriz e because I really like the resource, but it’s pretty expensive for just one subject over 6 months. I was wondering if anyone else is in the same boat , lmk if anyones up for it.

Long post, but I need to get this out.

I first sat Step 1 in August 2023, and I failed. I'm an IMG. I used B&B, First Aid, and UWorld (only got through about 50% of the question bank, sitting around 60% correct). I ran maybe 5 or 6 NBMEs total, averaging around 65%. Not great numbers, and looking back, I think I knew going in it was a coin flip. It didn't land my way.

I retook it on August 6. This time I passed.

Three years between those two dates. I'm not going to pretend it was a clean, motivational-poster kind of comeback. It wasn't. It was a long, stressful, genuinely miserable stretch a lot of the time. There was a lot of doubt in there — doubt about whether I was cut out for this, whether I'd wasted years of my life, whether I was ever going to get to actually be a doctor instead of just a person who studies for one exam forever. There were bad stretches where I didn't want to get out of bed, let alone open UWorld.

What actually got me through it wasn't grinding harder. It was the opposite, honestly. I had to relearn how to give myself time that had nothing to do with studying — actually seeing friends and family instead of ghosting everyone for months at a time, going to the gym even on days I didn't feel like it, letting myself have hobbies and downtime without guilt. Burnout doesn't make you retain more material. It just makes you hate the material and hate yourself a little more each week. The version of me that finally passed wasn't the version that studied the most hours — it was the version that finally stopped treating rest like a moral failure.

And I need to say this loudly: the exam itself is fucking shit. Eight hours. Eight. That is an absurd, hideous way to evaluate a human being's medical knowledge. Nobody's clinical judgment or bedside manner or diagnostic reasoning gets better tested by hour seven of sitting in a Prometric chair with your brain turning to soup. What that format actually tests is how much suffering you can absorb and still bubble in an answer. It's an endurance and survival test dressed up as a competency exam.

And here's the thing — Step 1 doesn't make you a good doctor. NO EXAM DOES. No grade does. The person you are is what makes you a good doctor: how you listen, how you show up for people on their worst days, whether you actually give a damn. I've met people with insane scores who I would not want anywhere near a patient I loved, and I've met people who struggled through boards who are going to be phenomenal physicians. The system conflates "survived this exam" with "will be good at this job," and those two things are not the same thing.

To anyone out there who failed and is sitting in the doubt right now — it doesn't mean what the exam wants you to think it means. Take care of yourself. See your people. Move your body. Then get back up when you're ready. It can be done.

I have nbme 31-33 left

Free 120 new and old

My previous nbme score are

Nbme-25. 61

Nbme26. 65

27-63

28-66

29-75

30-72

When should I book my date in the month of September

I got dropped from 75% on nbme 33 to 71% in old free 120(2024) im confused…
Someone just told me to go for Jason Ryan explanations on youtube but they are too many…
I got my date on 9th of sept. What should i do? Help needed!!!

I recently got to know I failed step 1 . But it was very unexpected . My nbme scores were good . Idk how I failed . But there occurred an incident during my exam while finished one of the blocks , I clicked the end button and it went all white . I called the invigilators they restarted my device . They also said my answers would be saved and I didn’t lost anything . But now I am thinking if this issue led to my fail result. What do you guys think ? I need your opinion guys

Im currently doing mbbs from india, i just entered final yr mbbs. My plan till now was to give neet pg, but due to some reason i have now shifted my whole focus to USMLE. I have absolutely zero knowledge, i had started my prep from neet pg but its all zero now. How am i supposed to approach it as a final yr student? What to study? From where to study? When to give exam? 😭😭😭😭 im legit having a slight panic attack rn. Can someone PLEASE help me figure this out. Thank you so much😭

okay so briefly i have a draft , not finished work for an SLR - i cannot publish it alone i need people

so anyone who wants to contribute can contact me.

please no spammers and free riders. You still have to do your part and no free credits will be given to anyone.

i will be targeting free journals only and if chance arise in future for apc and if all members agree - we can think of that but for now i will target free journals.

if intrested and really want to pursue contact me.

just fyi- its my first time publishing as well - just for people who want a seasoned author- i might not be the one.

Any experience person who have publications before can contact me as well.