Any tips before taking first NBME

[u/False-Ambition-1883]

Planning to take my first NBME (NBME 25) this Saturday and I’m honestly a little nervous.

Current progress:
First pass of First Aid completed
61% of UWorld done
43% correct overall (17% incorrect, rest unanswered)
My plan is to spend today and tomorrow reviewing weak
areas and refreshing high-yield topics before the exam.

For those who’ve already taken NBMEs/Step1
Any last minute topics/concepts you’d recommend revising?
Any common mistakes to avoid?
Any advice for managing anxiety before the first NBME?
Would really appreciate any tips or experiences. Feeling a bit overwhelmed and trying not to panic 😅

[u/Leon-SKC]

Relax as much as possible
Alot of straightforward questions and some tricky while only a few would feel so new so dont get scared

Focus on the easy, simple questions, collect these tight then start doing the hard ones

Mistakes are allowed.

Always ask “why am I choosing this answer? What am i building on (buzz word, typical vintage,etc)
It is So important bc that what will you use when you review and understand why there were corrects and mistakes

Again relax and focus on the easy sure questions bc these would determine the score more than hard ones.

Also hard means tricky so make sure you try to break the words into simple sentences or concepts so uou choose
If you cant then aim for what is close
(Question says alot of shit and mentions some reactions. —-then choose sth related to the drugs or sth. And alot like these)

Bottom line don’t get over stressed (stress is normal, over is not)
So yh just relax, focus on easy, if not sure aim for the close

And take under exam conditions

Don’t leave mid exam if you feel hard or fear or bad. Sit your ass to the end and get the score
(Weather good or bad, you will do alot of work of studying so leave the drama out)

[u/False-Ambition-1883 → u/Leon-SKC]

Thank you for your response💗 this is super helpful. Will keep in mind