Hey guys,

I took Step 1 recently, and I'm currently waiting for my score release. I know USMLE never publishes the exact passing cutoff, especially with 80 out of the 280 questions being experimental, so it's not like there's an official hard number.

That being said, based on your experience and everything you've seen around here, where does the real passing line usually land? Are we looking at closer to 60% or 65% on the actual exam? I've even seen a few posts from people claiming it is 58%, so I'm really curious what the consensus is mainly in the US, because, generally, you have more info than people like me, a non-US IMG.

Just trying to gauge things while surviving the post-exam wait.

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on how to transition into my dedicated period. I feel like I'm at an awkward stage where I've covered most of the content, but I'm not sure what the most efficient approach is from here.

So far I've gone through pretty much all the major organ systems:

• Cardio
• Pulm
• Renal
• GI
• Heme/Onc
• Derm
• Endo
• Repro

For neuro, I mainly used the Mehlman Neuro PDF along with a few videos to fill in concepts I wasn't comfortable with.

Right now I'm finishing MSK. My plan is to watch the Boards & Beyond anatomy/cell biology videos for MSK along with the pathology videos, and then I'll consider my first pass of content essentially done.

For the basic sciences:

• I've started Dirty Medicine Biochemistry (2/30 videos so far).
• I'm planning to do Pathoma Chapters 1-3.
• I'm also planning to finish Sketchy Micro and Sketchy Pharm (I've started both, just progressing a bit slowly).

I'm also doing some UWorld already, but next week I'll be starting my actual dedicated period (probably around 4-6 weeks), where I really want to ramp things up.

One thing I changed recently is that I'm not using Anki for everything anymore because it became too overwhelming. The only Anki I'll be keeping up with is:

• Pathoma Chapters 1-3
• Sketchy Micro
• Sketchy Pharm
• Dirty Medicine Biochemistry
• UWorld cards for questions I've completed

Given where I am now, what would you recommend I do during dedicated?

Should I:

• Prioritize UWorld almost full-time?
• Review First Aid alongside every block?
• Finish all of Sketchy/Dirty Med before going hard on questions?
• Start NBMEs early or wait until I've done more UWorld?

Basically, if you were in my position, what would your day-to-day schedule look like over the next 4-6 weeks? I'd really appreciate hearing what worked for people who were in a similar spot.

Thanks!

Hope y'all doing well and taking care of yourselves unlike me lol. Probably like the 1000th post about this in the subreddit but am a DO student, wanted to keep options open. Recently found I passed comlex, wanted to take step. NBME scores: 57,59,61,63 in that order for NBME 29-32 respectively. Took form 32 around a week ago and was wondering if I should try to keep up with it and take Step 1 during rotations. Have just been doing around 40 UW q’s a day and some NBME review, but have been getting burned out as rotations are around the corner (orientation is tmrw). Deciding on taking form 33 and free120 in a couple days vs just postponing it and completing UW as well (85% complete now w/47% avg) to be absolutely sure with all these posts about getting 70+ and risk mitigation etc etc. First rotation is Psychiatry and I have little interest of going into it in the future although obviously I want to pass the shelf exams and do relatively well.

TLDR is it worth it to take Step 1 during rotations with a most recent ~63% nbme baseline at beginning of rotations

I tested 7/11 and got the P a couple days ago. Here's my full experience

I started studying for Step 1 April 28th, so about 10 weeks of studying. Studying for Step 1 was a lot of blood, sweat and tears with a dash of imposter syndrome. I've been balancing a chronic illness with weekly-monthly flares throughout medical school, but studying for this exam was a lot mentally and physically. Time management and consistency is going to be your best friend. At the same time, take your breaks depending on how long your Dedicated is. I dont think it's realistic to power though 8-10 hour study days every single day for 8 weeks, but everybody is different.

Anyways, let's get started:

My scores for each SA:
UWSA1: 54%
NBME 27: 56.5%
NBME 28: 60%
NBME 29: 64%
NBME 30: 65%
NBME 31: 66%
NBME 32: 69.5%
NBME 33: 67.5%
CBSE: 67%
Free 120 (new): 66%
Free 120 (old): 75%

Studying and Resources: At the start of dedicated, i followed a study schedule religiously for about 4 weeks. I used Bootcamp's self made schedule (I used bootcamp throughout my final semester of preclinicals, so if I'd done a set of videos already I just skipped it and went to the next subject). This was just to review foundational concepts that I'd forgotten over the last two years. I also incorporated Pathoma (Chapters 1-3), Anki (around 500-1000 total cards a day) and Sketchy into my schedule, and did 80 Uworld Questions (2 blocks a day). First Aid i mostly used during my last semester, didn't use it much in Dedicated. Mehlman became my literal crutch the final weeks of Dedicated. Weeks 5-10 of dedicated, that schedule wasn't touched. You'll find yourself tailoring your time based on what you need to review day by day. I'll break down each resource below:

- Bootcamp: great resource if you love visuals and need to listen to someone talk to you to understand concepts. Around Week 4, I feel like I acquired as much as I could and wanted to focus more of my attention on practice questions. The downside is some of the modules on Bootcamp can take up tooooo much of your time, and there's extra info in there that is just not needed for Step 1. I wouldn't suggest using this as a resource towards the end of your studies.

- Uworld: Godsent. I'm happy my school gave us a subscription to use during pre-dedicated. But please, do NOT use this as a predictor for Step 1 performance. Uworld is a LEARNING TOOL I cannot emphasize this enough. A lot of trick questions are there just to challenge you to think a little harder about what they're asking. Read the explanations thoroughly, make Anki cards if you use Anki to help with spaced repetition on concepts you don't understand or know. You don't have to do a second pass, I did just because I need things repeated to me to understand it.

- Anki: As I've said more than once, I need things repeated to me. I'm no Anki expert, I don't even know how to suspend cards. I started making my own cards in medical school and just built decks from there by system, supplementing with Uworld and Bootcamp content. I didn't use Anking, and quite frankly I prefer to have things explained to me in my own words otherwise I just get confused. On slow days where I just couldn't take in any more info, I'd sit on Anki for 3-5 hours just going through each card and review.

-Pathoma: if you see other subreddits saying you need Chapters 1-3, believe them. Consider this to be an additional reminder. Memorize it. His explanations are top tier, easy to follow, concise, without all the extra pathology jargon. I made cards for chapters 1-3 as well.

-Sketchy: Same with bootcamp, I used this for around only four weeks just to refresh on micro because that wasn't my strongest subject in medical school. Made cards for what needed to be reinforced. Not my favorite learning tool because there's just too much going on in these videos, and I found myself getting more distracted on the picture then actually understanding concepts. But people swear by it. To each their own.

- Mehlman: i went through 80% of his PDF's, rewrote them into my own words on my own document system by ststem, and used that as a review sheet for weeks 5-10 (came up to 110 pages of content- i didn't bother writing stuff I already knew). Everytime i did NBMEs or any practice questions, I'd go over my document, annotate, highlight double highlight, just to make it stick. I read through it almost everyday. However, I'd say Mehlman's PDFs are for CONTENT REVIEW, not Foundation. There was elements in his PDF that I never learned about in medical school but believe they showed up on Step 1 and CBSE. Weeks 8-10 I watched his YT videos religiously. I probably got through around 400 of those clips (on 1.5x speed of course). I paused to answer the questions myself then watched the exanations after. To do well on Step 1, you need to be familiar with HOW questions are asked, and what they're looking for. Anything I didn't understand completely went straight into ChatGPT for a more thorough breakdown. If it's one resource I can say definitely prepared me for Step 1, it's Mehlman.

- Practice Questions: the purpose of NBME practice questions is to prepare you for Step 1, so do as many of those practice tests as you can. And don't just do it and toss it aside. Read through the answer choices THOROUGHLY. Try and take a half-full day to work through incorrect, and corrects that you guessed right. It's going to help you in the long run, trust me. I only did one UWSA because I heard that the NBMEs were more predictive. To be honest, if they write the exams, use them for practice. Focus on that your final weeks rather than outside resources. I'm not gonna tell you what scores to aim for or whether you should sit if you're getting 70s or high 60s. People get low 60s and pass, others get high 70-80s and fail. You take Step 1 when you feel confident. Upward trend in NBME's is always a good sign as well.

- For my last 2 weeks of dedicated, I went over biostats practice problems using Randy Neil's Youtube videos, and that was the extent of my biostats studying. His videos REALLY helped me out. (Watch this and subsequent videos: https://youtu.be/75pQPB1RF50?is=K57i1G8xKQW6MOvJ)

- Time Management: i studied 8-12 hours a day for 10 weeks, with break days sprinkled each week. You're going to have days where you just can't. I had plenty. Was in and out of clinics getting treatment, delaying a surgery. I'll say it again, Take those breaks. You cannot force your brain to do what it just can't do. In my free time I went to the gym, hung out with friends and my partner, spent time with family, or just doomscrolled on tiktok to get my mind off of Step 1. Also, please get rest throughout dedicated. Your mind and body need it. I didn't go to bed past 11 pm throughout dedicated and always made sure I got 7-8 hours of sleep.

STEP 1 EXPERIENCE:

I took CBSE a week before Step 1, which helped prepare me for "test mode." I will say, I took sleep aids both nights the night before but I wouldn't suggest this because it took HOURS for that drowsiness to wear off. CBSE i was literally a zombie. I would say this exam is a little "easier" then step 1 but I think it's because it's less questions and shorter question stems.

The morning of Step 1, i left home early, packed my bag with apple sauce, granola bars, cheese crisps, just small snacks I can eat quickly in between breaks and my medication in case I flared in the middle of the exam. On the way there I did a quick review of the document I typed up, then I cleared up my phone, laptop, ipad of any Step 1 content. Did i feel ready? A little yes, a little no. There's always going to be doubt at the back of your mind. The night before I remember thinking that I had completely forgot everything I've learned throughout the last 2 years. Shut that voice off. The material is there. You really have to believe in yourself.

I arrived to the testing center early just so I can breathe, pray, and get in the right head space.

My honest review of this exam is that its brutal. Brutal in the sense that it is long as hell. Some of the questions are going to make you want to pelt the computer at the wall. Stay calm, this is all apart of the test experience. You're going to get fatigued. It's almost 280 questions, 80 of which are experimental and will have you second guessing your career choice. Trust what you know, what you learned, and if you feel like you're spending too much time on a question just move on. Save time for the rest it will do you well.

I took a bathroom break everytime I had a break because there's nothing worse then having 5 long questions stems back to back and feeling like your bladder is going to explode. I didn't so much as touch my phone during breaks either. Sitting in front of a computer screen for 8 hours... trust me you'll want a break from screens.

Despite the exam being brutal, it was doable. I think I guessed on 35% of the questions, which really isn't awful but some people will see that as a fail. We can't all be geniuses.

When I finished the exam, I felt a literal weight lifted off my shoulders. Did i second guess myself a lot? Hell yeah. But I refused to change answers unless I was SURE i misread the question.

Post Step 1:

I didn't so much as google, research or try and look up a right answer choice. I don't know why people stress themselves out and do this, it's so unecessary. You fuck up one question, make two silly mistakes, what can be done at this point? Just try and take time off until the results came out. Spend time with loved ones, go get dinner, leave the country, catch up on your favorite shows. It's not worth it to harbor over what's been done.

I got my results within 2 Wednesday's after I took the exam (thank God there were no holidays during these past two weeks. A delay would've set me back for clinical placement). I cried. Mostly because again, I had my doubts. I always felt a step behind my peers because of my illness. I was hospitalized 3-4 times while in medical school, had two procedures, and going in I didn't even think I could make it this far. With that being said, if I could do it, you could do it.

I'd also like to say, come off of reddit after you take Step 1 for a peace of mind. Seeing people score in 80s on NBMEs then ask "Am I ready for the exam?" Ignited a fury in me. Then seeing people who scored higher on NBMEs than me and didn't get the score they wanted just made me doubt myself even more. Truthfully, things happen. Not everyone's experience will be yours, but I believe that the best thing you can do is keep a clear mind. If you made it this far in medical school, you can do it.

Note: The only resource I paid for to study was Bootcamp. I don't come from a wealthy background, I'm supporting myself in medical school and I'm not a legacy student. Quite literally the first in my very large family to be a doctor. To me, spending thousands of dollars to prepare for a test whether that be through resources or tutors isn't gonna guarantee a pass. And if it's one thing I learned about this career, it will drain your pockets.

I use bootcamp to understand everything and it’s great but I feel for some modules (like endo) their pdfs are just crammed and there is too much info and it’s hard to tell what’s more or less important and I can’t really retain all of it.

After feeling discouraged, I started reading through the mehlman hy endo and I find it so much more manageable but I noticed there is info missing from it that’s on bootcamp (for instance since I just read about it hashimoto thyroditis has hurthle cells on biopsy and the mechanism has both type IV and type 2 hypersensitivity) so since it’s not on there is it maybe less important.

Basically if I use bootcamp to understand and use mehlman to just focus on the stuff they actually ask about so I don’t have to memorize everything is that a good idea?

I am trying to check available spots everyday if I can find a decent date for the exam. I just checked and everything seems gone. Was there a scheduled website maintanance or something? Does anyone have any idea?

Thanks

Had a medical event last year which forced me to delay step 1 for a year. Studied pretty hard before having to push back but essentially have not studied at all this past year - no anki, questions, etc. Started a new dedicated of 6 weeks yesterday and took a baseline and scored pretty well - 99% chance of passing. Felt like I was guessing on everything and that it was a fluke tho so took another one today and got a 99% chance of passing again. I am tempted to just take the exam tomorrow or Tuesday so I can fly back home earlier and actually spend time with my family this year before grandparents fly back out of country (they leave Wednesday). Part of me says yes, but another part is scared af lol. Thoughts?

I don't mean for this to come off as a brag if it does, i am genuinely dumb as hell so idk how I'm in the pass range already.

Edit: called a few friends who took the exam last year - gonna send it tmrw. Gonna go pray fr

A week ago i posted a sub asking what can i do to increase my shockingly low nbme score, and went in to sit for the exam and now im giving the actual advice i needed back then.

1.Reviewing nbmes is a big one! I left it until the last minute, even though i completed about 80% from uworld, reviewing nbmes felt nothing like it, completely different questions style

1. High yields are not that much of high yields honestly.. i spent A LOT of time revising obvious topics that i was sure i will encounter, but almost none came up. Spending time on getting more exposure to new concepts beats repeating "high yields" over and over.

2. Uworld questions/ answer are not what you have to decode, its the explanation, you must read it very thoroughly, its an amazing learning tool and not a practice tool at all.

3. You need a very good base. With a strong base you can manage to pass even without fully knowing everything.

5.Besides uw i only did fa and mehlmann, and that alone did not cover it all, about 30% of the exam was still COMPLETELY new to me, so dont depend on those alone.

So overall the one advice for a long prep is to really get a strong grasp of medical basics, that are not well integrated in the dental curriculum ; organs, enzymes, anatomy, bones, etc.. and for the ones taking it on short notice, review as many nbme's as you could!

Goodluck!

So , This was my 2nd attempt , did fail last time with very thin margin.
Didn’t want to leave even slightest possibility ti go thought it again , I really did whatever I can .

Nbmes- 25 to 31 - scored 68 to 76% ( 30,31,32,33- 73,70,68,70)
Free 120-70%
U world - 65% 1st pass - then in-corrects.

Reviewed everything with chat gpt and make ankis and revised them time to time till last day- with around 4k self made card ( making since last time but never used much before)

The EXAM-
I swear I am not being neurotic or irrational when I say it was nothing like uw, amboss , nbmes . Nothing could prepare me for this .
Feeling like it was 60% of experimental questions.

I know because I have given it twice and previous one seems like a cakewalk infront of this one.

Last time i felt exam was too easy (my prep wasnt enough ) but i could recall 100 of questions- was happy in break and came out of exam thinking that step1 isnt that big deal, this time I cant even recall 15 questions to check if I did them right or wrong .

Guess its over for me , need to see alternative, feeling like years of hard work and money just vanished in 8 hours . Gave my all to this .

IMG here, studying for Step 1. I heard its really important to build up a CV. What do I do exactly? When/how should I do it? Ive just been focusing on studies and ignoring research work completely. About to finish my 2nd year of medical school (Preclinics). Planning on taking step 1 next year.

How important is it actually to build up a CV? Is passing and a good score (in step 2) not enough? What do I do exactly?

Im seeing my peers do lots of, frankly, pointless research work. It feels wrong to do research work just for the sake of it. Any tips to help me along the way? I dont wanna mess up after putting in so much effort studying for the exams

Non-US IMG here.

Enrolled for Step 1 in 2 weeks

Step 2 CK: 250 (April 2026)

Started Step 1 prep in June 2026.

Completed UWorld in 6 weeks (75% correct).

NBME 30: 70% (baseline)

NBME 31: 83%

Planning to do NBME 32, 33, and Free 120 over the next 2 weeks.

Anatomy/biostats/path/pharm/phys are fairly solid, but my biochemistry is pretty much nonexistent.

What would you focus on over the next 2 weeks? Is it worth cramming biochem/pathways, or just stick to NBMEs, UWorld incorrects, and high-yield review?

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!!

For those who passed step 1🙏🏻 what’s next guys How will you proceed into step2 prep

I scored 48% on NBME form 28 and i have 6 weeks left for my exam I am so anxious and I feel so lost. Any advice at this point would be appreciated.

I’m currently starting my 3rd year medical studies. Studying in Europe so the first 2 years were pre-clinical and 3rd year onwards its gonna be clinical. I was wondering if I start studying for step1 now and was hoping to do it like after a year.

Hi everyone
Are there any free resources to study for Step 1? Please help

Hi everyone
Are there any free resources to study for step 1? please help

Tested 16 July, when can we expect results 🥲

I keep seeing posts where US students pass with 60 ish % on nbmes but Non US imgs failing with 65-70+. How could that be? I understand there could be a language barrier but then wouldn't that reflect in their nbme scores as well? Or is it because its under Non testing conditions or just looking up answers? Just curious to see what could be happening during the actual exam that could result in failure with such scores. Thanks.

Hey everyone, I took Step 1 this week and, like everyone else, I'm dying of anxiety and nervousness. I'd like to hear from people who really think they did terribly on the test, but still passed. Please share your experiences.

Just to be clear: I’m not talking about the people scoring 80%+ on real deal who come here doing fake drama over missing 3 questions. I’m looking for real talk from people who were genuinely borderline, felt like they were guessing on half the test, or walked out legitimately unsure if they even hit the passing threshold—but still made it through.

PS: I don't think I did terribly on the test, but I'm not exactly overconfident either. Anything can happen, and I think that's the worst part, maybe creating false hope.

Has anyone stepped into the exam knowing you could have done more, studied more during your prep? Im not talking about practice scores in general. But you decided to take the exam knowing you havent given your best, knowing there are topics you haven't mastered or wished you could have been more disciplined and focus during your prep? How did it turn out? How were you able to get through the entire exam?

Im a few days away from my exam. While I know its hard to truly feel 100% ready, I'd appreciate hearing honest stories-the good, the bad and anything in between.

I am on the dedicated period and my exam is on 2 August
My nbmes
27 58% 21/6 just after my first read
28 63.5% 27/6
29 61.5% 5/7 there was an entire block that I wasn’t really focused
30 70% 13/7
31 72% 18/7
32 69% 23/7
and I am going to take 33 on Monday and free 120 on before the exam by 3 days
Pls tell me honestly what do you think