Just try a bit to trust yourself
Hello everyone!
I wanted to share my experience here on this great subreddit .
I am non-us IMG who graduated and did step 1 in 2023, waites around a year to get a research position and also studied around a year and half to take the exam.
I started with uworld (which is still a gold standard for exam) and finished it within 9 months (around November 2025) when I did my first assessment and scored 253(UWSA 1) I did it untimed and system wise.
After I finished it I reset it and did it timed randomly and also finished it within two months but still I felt shaky not able to book the exam so after that:
-I did CMS forms which are very important in understanding nbme language and also its ambiguity.
-Don’t listen too much on this subreddit if an exam is too hard or too tricky (I always tried to shut reddit off before my assessments).
-Always try to do your assessment in a testing environment (Calm place, wear earmuffs or plugs if you’re ok with it, prepare your test day food).
-whenever you reach your desired score book the exam (this tip might not work well for US MDs and DOs which is super fine).
-Don’t ever be fuckin afraid from solving new questions (I did 40% of amboss while I wasn’t able to take the exam or finish my assessments due to some work related issues) when you finish a Qbank you are great enough to solve anything.
-the only two things that mattered for me I believe are solving more questions and taking my assessments in a test simulation environment.
-Test simulation environment not only gonna test the timed, nor if you’re fast or slow, it’s gonna test how to use your break, how u eat and what to take on D-Day.
-Don’t ever change your answer unless there’s something u missed while u reread the question.
One last thing shoutout to my friends and family and good people who surrounded me during this journey no matter the distance between us .
Below my assessments and its dates:
NBME 10:245 (feb2026), NBME 11:266(march2026),NBME12:248(April2026),NBME13:263(16 may) NBME14:260(23 may),NBME15:258(1 june),NBME16:256(5 june), free120:84%(8 june).
Amboss predictor:251-267
Real deal:268
Felt like shit after exam maybe because I wasn’t sure of so many questions or maybe I wasn’t very comfortable with its ambiguity but thank goodness it turned out well.
Best wishes for everyone!