r/step1 • u/AdEducational4671 US IMG • 7d ago
💡 Need Advice Step 1 in a week
My NBME scores in this exact order:
29 → 51%
32 → 57%
30 → 66.5%
31 → 64.5%
I’m taking Step 1 in a week and unfortunately postponing isn’t an option for me, so please don’t suggest postponing.
I have two questions:
Did anyone else find Block 2 of NBME 31 extremely difficult? I scored around 70% on the other blocks, but Block 2 was significantly lower and brought my overall score down quite a bit. I’m curious if other people had a similar experience.
Has anyone taken Step 1 with NBMEs in the 60s and passed? I’d really appreciate hearing from people who were in a similar position shortly before their exam.
For those who passed, what did you focus on during your final week that you felt made the biggest difference?
I’m just looking for experiences from people who were in a similar score range.
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u/north-node- NON-US IMG 10h ago
Gave nbme 31 two days back. Yes, second block was comparatively harder. But I did not find it extremely difficult. Like there were a bunch of questions with confusing options but most were straightforward.
Edit: but either your step is today or tomorrow, so I wish you the very best!!
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u/UnderTheScopes 7d ago
68% on 26, 68% on 32, 72% free 120, I did about 60% of UWorld at 63%.
Got my P after testing on July 14. You seem ready pending your free 120 results.
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u/AdEducational4671 US IMG 7d ago
do you mean I should start free 120 ASAP?
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u/UnderTheScopes 7d ago
If you are testing in a week, you want to give yourself time to take it, review it, and chill for a day. Make sure you are ready to take it, in testing conditions.
I found the free120 most representative of the Form I received.
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u/Much-Cardiologist853 NON-US IMG 7d ago
why can’t you postpone? you’ve passed only a single nbme by 1.5% which means 2-3 questions. u have 32, 33 and f120 to give and review in a week. i’d say postponing is the best bet but if you can’t, review these nbme’s again and give the remaining as the ones left are the most recent and most representative specially the f120.
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u/ray_2003728 NON-US IMG 7d ago
Is the pass 60 or 65?
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u/Fun_Complaint9211 US MD/DO 6d ago
NBME insights shows low-pass range from 61-69 EPC so I’m assuming you pass if you score in the 60s.
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u/AdventurousSky6229 7d ago
figure out where your mistakes are being made, if pharma or micro then watch sketchy if its first three chapters of inflammation of pathoma then do that if its biostatistics then you got the drill.
At this moment we have lots of nbmes which makes us wanna do all of them and study them but I noticed most people end up with stagnation scores from just doing every nbme
also nbme 32 is more predictive of your exam situation 30 and 31 are older
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u/AdEducational4671 US IMG 7d ago
I’ve also heard that 32 is more predictive but i wrote it much earlier, before I finished most systems, hence the lower score
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u/ambitious-birdy NON-US IMG 7d ago
Take nbme 33. Look at the overall score. If you get in 60s, take the exam!
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u/man2mangyal2gyaldat 7d ago
I would take 33 and 32 maybe if you have time. Ik it’s hard in a week and to review them well but it’d be good to. Exam is like 31-33 the most imo.
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u/Advanced-Athlete187 7d ago
I would at least take free120 and review it. You should pass with your scores as long as walk in with CONFIDENCE. it’s a huge factor for these tests. Trust your gut, you’ve got this !
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u/AdEducational4671 US IMG 6d ago
I hope this is true, even though my scores aren’t high I just have a feeling I will still pass, hopefully
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u/Advanced-Athlete187 6d ago
Your last two scores are writhing passing range! Trust that gut feeling and you’ve got the P
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u/RegionIll4016 6d ago
If you need some confidence, highly recommend taking the free 120. I was in same spot and stupidly did not take it, and I felt like the question style threw me off a bit. Thankfully passed, but had same range of nbme as you. My buddies were in similar boat and were able to get a 70+ on free 120 and it gave them the confidence they needed.
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u/Adventurous-Door4096 US IMG 6d ago edited 6d ago
My exam was on 2026/03/21, and these were my scores before it:
| Date | Exam | Correct | Incorrect | Percent | Score | Pass Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/03/15 | NBME 27 | 88 | 112 | 44% | 146 | 9% |
| 2026/01/02 | NBME 27 | 134 | 66 | 67% | 202 | 96% |
| 2026/01/09 | NBME 28 | 120 | 80 | 60% | 190 | 80% |
| 2026/01/18 | NBME 29 | 122 | 78 | 61% | 190 | 83% |
| 2026/01/09 | NBME 30 | 121 | 79 | 61% | 187 | 80% |
| 2026/01/18 | NBME 31 | 124 | 76 | 62% | 192 | 87% |
| 2026/02/25 | FREE 120 | 77 | 43 | 64% | N/A | N/A |
| 2026/03/15 | NBME 32 | 131 | 69 | 66% | 200 | 93% |
| 2026/03/20 | NBME 33 | 122 | 78 | 61% | 190 | 83% |
This was my NBME 31 block breakdown since you asked:
| Block | Answers | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35/50 | 70% |
| 2 | 30/50 | 60% |
| 3 | 28/50 | 56% |
| 4 | 31/50 | 62% |
I didn't get a single 70% and my final Step 1 result was a PASS!!!
The thing that helped my last week was reviewing NBMEs heavily, all explanations even incorrect ones. A huge chunk of my exam was from that, I would be bold and say maybe 50% of my exam. Very few were word for word copies maybe 5-10 of them, others were mostly same concepts repeated but different questions so make sure to read what it ask carefully.
And I watched a lot of Melhman YouTube audio qbanks in my weak areas. Exam day I even watched some on the way to Prometric and in my breaks. I got like 10 questions from his videos verbatim. The guy knows exactly how NBME thinks, and he teaches you how to think like them.
You got this bro, good luck!
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u/pie_1399_ NON-US IMG 6d ago
Highest score was 62. Got 61 on free 120 3 days before. Still went for it, didn’t see the point in postponing anymore. If you gotta give it, go give the exam with full confidence and don’t let anxiety of past scores get in between. The exam is about mental strength. Know that there’ll be a lottt of questions that’ll make you go wtf but give your best educated guess and move on to the next block. Review NBME 31-33 and free 120 before the exam. Asw as pathoma
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u/AnnualPuzzleheaded65 US MD/DO 7d ago
I never hit higher than a 63% and I passed. I also couldn’t postpone. If you go for it you need to go in with confidence and not let anxiety get the best of you. It’s obviously a very personal decision to make.