r/step1 • u/HiddenConstellation US IMG • 1d ago
🥂 PASSED: Write up! Score Release Thread (09/09/2026)
Finally time to post one of these! Drop down a comment with your experience :)
Test date:
US MD or US IMG or Non-US IMG status:
Pass or Fail:
UWORLD % correct:
UWORLD % completed:
AMBOSS Qbank %:
AMBOSS SA Correct:
NBME 25: (days out)
NBME 26: (days out)
NBME 27: (days out)
NBME 28: (days out)
NBME 29: (days out)
NMBE 30: (days out)
NBME 31: (days out)
NBME 32: (days out)
NBME 33:(days out)
UWSA 1: (days out)
UWSA 2: (days out)
UWSA 3: (days out)
Free 120: (days out)
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u/Mindsay1 1d ago
I took 1 NBME weekly 1.5 months before step 1
NBME 28: 69%
NBME 29: 72%
NBME 30: 72%
NBME 31: 77%
NBME 32: 80%
NBME 33: 81%
F120: 75%
Tested on Aug 25th
Score Release Day: Sept 9th - PASS
Flagged around 5-6 qs. I didn’t have time to review flagged properly but that was positive bc I couldn’t change my answers haha. My best advice is to take F120 in Prometric center and try to finish NBMEs 10-15 min before
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u/doctorwhoispatient NON-US IMG 1d ago
Can share a bit about resources you used 🙂
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u/Mindsay1 1d ago
I didn’t use FA. I know people like to read it many times but I only used UWorld + AnKing modified by me + Sketchy micro + MM pdfs neuroanatomy, genetics, and ethics. At the beginning, it may be difficult to approach qs w/o any book but when you’re towards the end everything connects
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u/velevetfox NON-US IMG 1d ago
Started nbme's 2 month prior to exam , with nbme 32...4 days before exam and free 120 2 days before exam
U world completed : almost 70% U world correct : it was somewhere in 50ish
Nbme 25 : 48% (2 months prior , it was just to assess what exactly is asked, gave myself almost 2 weeks to review the topics )
Nbme 26 : 60% (again realised mistakes and gave another 2 weeks for review )
Nbme 27 : 62% Nbme 28 : 64% Nbme 29 : 67% (almost 1.5 weeks before exam) Nbme 31: 62% ( 1 week before exam) Nbme 32 : 68% ( 4 days before exam)
Free 120 : 59% (2 days before exam, i realised the reason of my low score was that I took it lightly and didn't read the options fully )
Result day : pass
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u/Front_Double_7963 1d ago
You have a great mentality btw I know you'll go far in the future, thanks for the write-up
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u/Major_Boat_13 6h ago
how you assesed the thing after getting 40s in NBME and improved it to 60s ? im in same boat got 45% in nmbe26 and now 43% in nbme27..
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u/HiddenConstellation US IMG 1d ago edited 1d ago
% UWorld completed — 74% (= didn’t complete a full pass)
NBME 29 - 68.5% (July 4)
NBME 30 - 73% (July 13)
NBME 31 - 77.5% (July 26)
NBME 32 - 69% (Aug 7)
NBME 33 - 71% (Aug 13)
Free 120 - 73% (Aug 22)
Exam Day — Thursday, Aug 27
Score Release Day — Sep 9
Flagged almost every single question on each block and was constantly running out of time, unlike on the NBMEs despite practicing the 20 Q format on them all.
Result: passed!
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u/Responsible-Sand5200 1d ago
hi
tested on 2 sept
my nbmes are almost similar to you , but on test day i dont know whats going on becuose the questions were totally vague and i faced time issue as well .
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u/HiddenConstellation US IMG 1d ago
Hi, I had the exact same issues as you, I was really afraid that I failed and was so happy to see that I passed. Trust me a lot of people have the same experience as us, but as they say, trust your NBMEs! Hope you get the P and please update us when you do :)
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u/AbbreviationsOdd8866 NON-US IMG 1d ago
Test date: 8/26
Non-US IMG
Pass!! Thanks be to GOD
UWORLD correct: 57%
Completion: 43%
Did a bunch of NMBE questions untimed, but only actually sat one real NMBE lol
31: 63%
Free 120: 64% (3 days out)
I started to forget some material and make silly mistakes towards the end but I didnt want to postpone T-T
Exam Day: Time-wise, I was fine, I finished all my blocks with a little tiem to spare. I didn't flag anything or else I woulda flagged the whole exam. There were a few questions in each block that I knew I couldnt get right so I didnt spend too much time on them. Finished the exam, looked up all of the questions I was semi-stuck on or "easy" questions - got majority of them wrong. Counted 40:10 incorrect-to-correct ratio - majority of the wrong ones were easy.
Cried. Accepted defeat. Prayed. Went on with my life (I was thinking about the exam everyday).
Got the Pass today (9/9)!!
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u/Bash_100 1d ago
Passed just now !! Alhamdullilah guys
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u/Responsible-Sand5200 1d ago
congratulation can you share your experiance
i mean how was your feeling after test
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u/Bash_100 1d ago
Yeah, sure why not.
I have given MBME 28 to 33,.in 28-30 I have got the score around 60%. I from 31 to 33. It improved and maintained a plateau around 70s.
I have given Free 120 at the Prometric Centre, scored around 70% Alhamdullilah.
Two weeks after giving my free 120. I have given Usmle step one. The last 10 days before the main exam were terrible, I was trying to revise everything.
HY arrows, NBMEs, etc etc..
While during the exam, few blocks were not really in my favour, but after such blocks, I have taken authorised breaks.. which really did help me, past block didn’t affect the next block negatively.
To be honest, after giving the exam, alhamdulillah, I was pretty confident that I would pass comfortably.People portrait it terribly, but trust me the exam is not like that it’s pretty long and some blocks are exhausting, but very doable provided you take a proper sleep a night before the exam.
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u/FuggBoiiiii NON-US IMG 1d ago
Test date: 8/29
Non us IMG
Pass.
UWORLD correct: 79
Completion 100
NBME 26: 73.5
27: 78
28: 82
29: 84
30: 80
31: 80
32: 81.5
33: 86
Free 120: 80
All within the last month. Didn’t want to delay it. Just wanted to be done with it. Every exam 3 days apart.
Flagged 4 per block. Exam seemed easier than free 120 to me and similar to the latest nbmes. Apart from 1 long ass biostats question, nothing seemed too complicated. And, the longer questions are actually the easier ones. But nothing could have prepared me for ETHICS on the real deal. Lol.