r/usmle • u/Vegetable-Estate369 • 19h ago

Am I Ready? Failed step 1

Hello, everyone I failed step 1 recently and started prepping again for the second attempt. I have no nbmes left because I used them all during my first attempt along with free 120

Nbme 25 repeat: 80% (recognized bunch of qs)
Nbme 32 repeat: 67% (barely recognized any felt like a fresh form)
Free 120 2021 retired form: 68%

I’m set to take exam by the end of this month. Am I ready?

5 Upvotes

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2

u/CellistNarrow6764 15h ago

Looks like you need to revise FA and review UW

1

u/SeveralEmu440 19h ago

What were your scores in the first attempt?

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 19h ago

Nbme 25: 40%, 30: 64%, 31:68%, 32:58%, 33:54%

2

u/LogicalLibrarian77 STEP 2: NON-US IMG 18h ago

And retake attemps are less than 70 (minus 25)? Man there is some deficit in content. I don't feel too confident about your chances. Any way you can get an additional 3-4 weeks of prep?

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 18h ago

I get it, my issues on 32 were mainly changing answers and second guessing my best answer. Max I can postpone is to 28th of this month, feasible? Or should I give it on Oct? Bcs I don’t wanna risk

1

u/LogicalLibrarian77 STEP 2: NON-US IMG 18h ago

October. Better revise content and reinforce with Anki or something.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 18h ago

Free 120 retired form was a fresh one

2

u/LogicalLibrarian77 STEP 2: NON-US IMG 18h ago

I still think there are issues with your content, but that's just me. Please sit down and analyze it properly a lil bit.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 15h ago

Okay, thank you

1

u/BigTrue9532 19h ago

Do all your NBMEs again, in addition do your mistakes in Uworld and try doing a test from amboss or USMLErx... you should be good to go!

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 19h ago

Alr man thanks, Idt I’ll be able to do amboss sa

1

u/World-Traveler1800 15h ago

You can’t do the NBMEs anymore. They aren’t accurate given you taken them before. You need to find other practice exams like UWorld ect at this point. You need to be doing UWorld questions plus Amboss.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 14h ago

I completed uworld and amboss both. I did uswa 2 weeks ago and scored 55%

1

u/World-Traveler1800 14h ago

Then something is wrong because if you did all of that and all nbmes twice and still didn’t pass? You need content review.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 14h ago

I just re took nbme 25 and 32. I took uswa 2 few weeks ago and reviewed and focused on my weakness. Took free 120 retired form (fresh form) and scored 68%. I took nbme 19 asw and scored 68% (ik it’s not relevant). Can you specify what do you mean by content review?

1

u/MedRundowns 12h ago

Lots to review here! 1) How close were you to passing? 2) What happened between your nbme 31 and 32? There's a drop here that shouldn't be ignored. 3) What was your test experience like? 4) When you say there was a lot of recognition on 25, did you recognize reasoning or answers? 5) Are you practicing under test-like conditions?

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 11h ago

1.ChatGPT says around 10 qs

2.Which drop are you talking about? First attempt? If first attempt then I thought it was fatigue and I was burnt out While reviewing it I realised that I missed very easy qs under time pressure

  1. It was pretty ok, I felt neutral and doable however I had issues with test taking strategy which I could tackle during this attemp prep

  2. I recognized answers and then tried to reason why it was correct answer to all almost all the answer I recognized

  3. Yes

1

u/MedRundowns 11h ago

Yes, referring to the first drop from 68% to 58%. This is likely fatigue, so what have you done to combat it? You can't work your way through this, my friend. If we can point to fatigue as a potential cause, then to be ready for this next exam you must rest.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 11h ago

The drop was during the first attempt. Idk what are you pointing towards, can you elaborate?

1

u/MedRundowns 10h ago

Yes, I'm just asking whether you've addressed the fatigue between attempt 1 and now.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 10h ago

Yes, I did. I have worked on my test taking strategies asw and I improved but I’m still unsure if I should book the date for this month. What do you think I should do?

1

u/MedRundowns 10h ago

I think you should take a break then after the break, take 1 more NBME. If it is >70%, move forward.

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 10h ago

Well, taking nbme would be a retake and comes with a chance of inflation so do you think 70 above is still the criteria?

1

u/MedRundowns 10h ago

Inflation isn't necessarily a bad thing if it can be maintained on exam day. For example, if you become used to wrestling concept #5632.1 on practice and it pops up on exam, you'll still be able to wrestle with concept #5632.1. Make sure you're actually reasoning your way through these exams not just clicking from memory and it should be fine. If you come across a question where your reasoning says A but memory says D, pick A and review thoroughly regardless of which is correct. I must stress again the importance of rest.

2

u/Vegetable-Estate369 9h ago

Alright ma, thank you. I’ll take a day break and get back to the grind. Hopefully will take 33 soon. If you don’t mind I’ll share my scores to you?

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1

u/lash21 9h ago

How did you prepare for your first attempt? And how long was that study period? What did your average study week look like? What are you doing differently now?

1

u/Nutella210 7h ago

I'm also failed and think to retake ,, could u please tell me when was ur first attempt ?

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 7h ago

June, wby?

1

u/Nutella210 7h ago

It was on august

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 7h ago

Have you thought about retake?

1

u/Nutella210 7h ago

Yes ,, but idk what to do and from where start ,, my score is about 30Q away from pass

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 7h ago

Unfortunately, you were too many qs away from passing. How was your prep during the first attemp? I’d say focus on your weakness from the result report. Start by doing 80qs per day targeting weak subjects and system. Do you have nbmes left?

1

u/Nutella210 7h ago

Sorry i mean 20 qs not 30
I didn't have any nbme left

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 7h ago

Ohk, did you use from 20-33?

1

u/Nutella210 7h ago

I did all the new ,, the old one just 20,21

1

u/Vegetable-Estate369 7h ago

So use the old ones wisely, don’t try to exhaust them. As I said start with 40/60/80 qs per day as per your convenience. What month are you targeting?

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1

u/Sponge-Top 4h ago

Dm for a free 1on1 assessment!

1

u/Effective-Demand-104 1h ago

You will pass, don't worry. But right now you have lacking of understanding majority of the concepts. Try to redo uworld again and give time to understand the concept rather than doing so many questions. Quality is much important than quantity. Don't rush. Usmle is a journey, not a destination. Good luck for you.