u/tectum-rectum

Hi everyone! I recently passed USMLE Step 1 and am currently working as a physician while preparing for Step 2 CK. I'm offering affordable, personalized one-on-one tutoring for USMLE Step 1.

My approach is focused on helping you actually understand and connect concepts rather than simply memorizing isolated facts. Sessions can be tailored to your individual weaknesses and where you are in your preparation.

I can help with:

• Difficult or confusing Step 1 concepts
• High-yield topic review
• Connecting concepts across subjects and systems
• Approaching and interpreting Step 1-style questions
• Identifying patterns in your weak areas
• Discussing questions or topics that you bring to our sessions
• Study strategy and planning based on your individual needs

Format: 1-on-1 online sessions via Zoom or Google Meet
Rate: $10/hour
Scheduling: Flexible and can be arranged around different time zones
Availability: I am currently taking on only one student

Because I work in a hospital, I intentionally keep my tutoring availability limited so I can give my student focused and personalized attention.

If you're interested, feel free to send me a DM with a little about where you are in your Step 1 preparation and what you're currently struggling with. I can offer a 15-20 minute demo. We can discuss whether I would be a good fit for what you need.

Hi everyone! I recently passed USMLE Step 1 and am currently working as a physician while preparing for Step 2 CK. I'm offering affordable, personalized one-on-one tutoring for USMLE Step 1.

My approach is focused on helping you actually understand and connect concepts rather than simply memorizing isolated facts. Sessions can be tailored to your individual weaknesses and where you are in your preparation.

I can help with:

• Difficult or confusing Step 1 concepts
• High-yield topic review
• Connecting concepts across subjects and systems
• Approaching and interpreting Step 1-style questions
• Identifying patterns in your weak areas
• Discussing questions or topics that you bring to our sessions
• Study strategy and planning based on your individual needs

Format: 1-on-1 online sessions via Zoom or Google Meet
Rate: $10/hour
Scheduling: Flexible and can be arranged around different time zones
Availability: I am currently taking on only one student

Because I work in a hospital, I intentionally keep my tutoring availability limited so I can give my student focused and personalized attention.

If you're interested, feel free to send me a DM with a little about where you are in your Step 1 preparation and what you're currently struggling with. I can offer a 15-20 minute demo. We can discuss whether I would be a good fit for what you need.

Hey,

I made an X (Twitter) account around 2024. I used it for a while, and I was also using a VPN at the time. One day, X asked me to verify my account with my phone number. I entered it without thinking, and shortly after that, my account was suspended.

I think it may have been because the phone number didn't match the VPN location, but that's only my guess. X never told me the actual reason.

I've been appealing the suspension for about 1–1.5 years, but they've never restored the account.

Now I'm filling out my DS-160. Should I just list the handle normally, or should I mention somewhere that the account is suspended? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is it going to have any effect? Asking bcs we're supposed to put accounts on public and mine is in a limbo, lol.

Thanks!

People who apply 8-10 months in advance, to get an interview date and have no observership letter at hand, what do you guys mention in the address sections?

SORRY my previous post had a mistake.

Need advice from IMGs

Hi everyone,

I'm a Pakistani IMG and I'd really appreciate some honest advice from people who've been through this.

Here's my timeline:

\- Graduated: June 2023 (I had a supplementary exam in my final year, so my graduation was delayed from December 2022 to June 2023.)

\- Completed my house job.

\- Worked as a Medical Officer.

\- Passed USMLE Step 1 this year (Alhamdulillah).

\- Currently preparing for Step 2 CK.

My original plan was to apply for the 2028 Match, which would mean fitting all of the following into about a year:

\- OET

\- ECFMG Pathway

\- Step 2 CK

\- ECFMG Certification

\- B1/B2 visa

\- U.S. clinical experience

\- Step 3

\- ERAS application

The problem is finances. It would be very difficult to pay for everything within that timeline.

Because of that, I'm seriously considering delaying and applying for the 2029 Match instead. The extra year would allow me to save money, complete everything without rushing, and hopefully have a stronger application overall.

My concern is that I graduated in June 2023, so by the time I apply in September 2028 for the 2029 match, I'll be a little over 5 years from graduation.

I'm aiming for Pediatrics.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone here applied more than 5 years after graduation and still matched into Pediatrics?

2. How much did the year-of-graduation filter actually affect your interview invitations?

3. If you were in my position, would you push hard for the 2028 Match despite the financial strain, or would you choose the 2029 Match and build a stronger application?

4. Are there any pitfalls or consequences of delaying by one year that I'm not thinking about?

5. I have been funding myself so far and can fund myself for step2, visa, oet, pathway fee, step 3 fee, Alhamdolillah. the real constraint is money for sitting the match, and travel expenses that I'll have to show for visa for which my parents have offered to help, but I do want to contribute to that as well, so I thought delaying a year would help bcs I would take up a job again.

I'd especially love to hear from IMGs who were in a similar situation and successfully matched.

Thank you!

SORRY CORRECTION, I MEANT MATCH 2028 OR 2029.

Need advice from IMGs

Hi everyone,

I'm a Pakistani IMG and I'd really appreciate some honest advice from people who've been through this.

Here's my timeline:

- Graduated: June 2023 (I had a supplementary exam in my final year, so my graduation was delayed from December 2022 to June 2023.)

- Completed my house job.

- Worked as a Medical Officer.

- Passed USMLE Step 1 this year (Alhamdulillah).

- Currently preparing for Step 2 CK.

My original plan was to apply for the 2028 Match, which would mean fitting all of the following into about a year:

- OET

- ECFMG Pathway

- Step 2 CK

- ECFMG Certification

- B1/B2 visa

- U.S. clinical experience

- Step 3

- ERAS application

The problem is finances. It would be very difficult to pay for everything within that timeline.

Because of that, I'm seriously considering delaying and applying for the 2029 Match instead. The extra year would allow me to save money, complete everything without rushing, and hopefully have a stronger application overall.

My concern is that I graduated in June 2023, so by the time I apply in September 2028, I'll be a little over 5 years from graduation.

I'm aiming for Pediatrics.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone here applied more than 5 years after graduation and still matched into Pediatrics?

2. How much did the year-of-graduation filter actually affect your interview invitations?

3. If you were in my position, would you push hard for the 2028 Match despite the financial strain, or would you choose the 2029 Match and build a stronger application?

4. Are there any pitfalls or consequences of delaying by one year that I'm not thinking about?

5. I have been funding myself so far and can fund myself for step2, visa, oet, pathway fee, step 3 fee, Alhamdolillah. the real constraint is money for sitting the match, and travel expenses that I'll have to show for visa for which my parents have offered to help, but I do want to contribute to that as well, so I thought delaying a year would help bcs I would take up a job again.

I'd especially love to hear from IMGs who were in a similar situation and successfully matched.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I'm a Pakistani IMG planning for the 2027 Match and trying to plan the visa process early.

My confusion is specifically about the DS-160.

I know B1/B2 interview appointments can take a while, so I'd like to start early if possible. However, I don't have an observership/invitation letter yet.

My concern is this:

- If I submit the DS-160 now, what would I list as my purpose of travel if I don't yet have an observership?

- If I later secure an observership, can I update or submit a new DS-160 before my interview, or is that a bad idea?

- Or is it generally recommended to wait until you have an observership letter before starting the DS-160?

I'm trying to avoid creating inconsistencies between my DS-160, my interview, and my supporting documents. I'd really appreciate hearing what others—especially Pakistani IMGs—have done and what you'd recommend.

Thank you!

​

Hi everyone,

I'm a Pakistani IMG planning for the 2027 Match and trying to plan the visa process early.

My confusion is specifically about the DS-160.

I know B1/B2 interview appointments can take a while, so I'd like to start early if possible. However, I don't have an observership/invitation letter yet.

My concern is this:

- If I submit the DS-160 now, what would I list as my purpose of travel if I don't yet have an observership?

- If I later secure an observership, can I update or submit a new DS-160 before my interview, or is that a bad idea?

- Or is it generally recommended to wait until you have an observership letter before starting the DS-160?

I'm trying to avoid creating inconsistencies between my DS-160, my interview, and my supporting documents. I'd really appreciate hearing what others—especially Pakistani IMGs—have done and what you'd recommend.

Thank you!

​

Hi everyone,

I am writing to ask ab the visa process, I am sorry if this isn't the right sub for it, I thought people prepping for step 2 mostly do the visa thing side by side so didn't know where else to ask. I would appreciate any guidance.

I've seen people mention that B1/B2 interview appointments can take months, so I'm wondering whether I should start the process now or wait until I have everything else in place.

The part that's confusing me is the observership letter.

\- Do I need to have an observership/invitation letter before submitting the DS-160?

\- If I don't have one yet, is it still okay to start the visa process, or should I wait?

\- If you don't have an observership confirmed yet, what do you normally mention as the purpose of travel on the DS-160?

\- At what stage is the observership letter actually expected—when filling out the DS-160, at the visa interview, or only later?

\- For those of you who have already gone through this (especially Pakistani IMGs), what documents did you have ready before you applied, and what did you arrange afterwards?

If you've been through this yourself, I'd really appreciate any advice or even a brief outline of the timeline you followed. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

My question is about the visa process, I am sorry if it sounds silly, I am really stressed ab this.

I've seen people mention that B1/B2 interview appointments can take months, so I'm wondering whether I should start the process now or wait until I have everything else in place.

The part that's confusing me is the observership letter.

- Do I need to have an observership/invitation letter before submitting the DS-160?

- If I don't have one yet, is it still okay to start the visa process, or should I wait?

- If you don't have an observership confirmed yet, what do you normally mention as the purpose of travel on the DS-160?

- At what stage is the observership letter actually expected—when filling out the DS-160, at the visa interview, or only later?

- For those of you who have already gone through this (especially Pakistani IMGs), what documents did you have ready before you applied, and what did you arrange afterwards?

If you've been through this yourself, I'd really appreciate any advice or even a brief outline of the timeline you followed. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

This may be a silly question, but I'm asking because I want to avoid doing anything that could put my future at risk, God forbid.

I'm considering using IMD for Step 2 CK mainly because Uworld is expensive. My question isn't whether it's a good resource—it's whether there are any known exam, ECFMG, or future credentialing risks associated with using iMD.

I'm trying to prepare ethically, and I'd rather avoid a resource altogether than find out later that it could cause problems. Like you know that one scandal that led to cancellation of scores for so many. But that was an entirely different kind of misconduct. I know, I just wanted to be safe about whether I should get IMD or not.

If anyone has factual information or personal experience, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

This may be a naive question, but I'm asking because I want to avoid doing anything that could put my future at risk.

I'm considering using IMD for Step 2 CK mainly because of financial constraints. My question isn't whether it's a good resource—it's whether there are any known exam, ECFMG, or future credentialing risks associated with using it.

I'm trying to prepare ethically, and I'd rather avoid a resource altogether than find out later that it could cause problems. Like you know that one scandal led to cancellation of scores for so many. But that was an entirely different kind of misconduct. I still just wanted to be safe about whether I should buy IMD or no

If anyone has factual information or personal experience, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

How do we know imd is up-to-date and has all of the content authentically included

Is it a good decision if someone only buys imd and not Uworld if they want to score really well, or there's going to be some disadvantage?

Hi everyone!

I recently passed Step 1 and I'm about to start preparing for Step 2 CK. I have a few questions, especially for those who scored 260+ (or even 270+). I'd really appreciate any advice.

1. If you could start Step 2 over again, what resources would you use from Day 1?

2. Is there a single resource you trusted the way many people trust First Aid for Step 1? (I loved using FA and I'm hoping there's something similar for Step 2.)

3. Has anyone here used Inner Circle/IMD as their main notes and still scored 260–280? If yes, how did you use them alongside UWorld?

4. Besides UWorld, which resources gave you the highest return on your time? (AMBOSS, CMS forms, NBMEs, Divine Intervention, Mehlman, etc.)

5. When did you start taking NBMEs, and how did you space them out?

6. Looking back, what was the biggest mistake you made during Step 2 prep that you'd tell others to avoid?

7. If your goal was 270+, what would your study plan look like from Day 1?

Thanks in advance! I'd love to hear what actually worked for high scorers rather than just the standard advice.

Hi please tell whatever necessary stuff I should know about the Prometric itself and how/ what to focus on the last 10 days. Any and every advice help would be appreciated please. Thanks

PLEASE, PLEASE. Can someone please tell me where to access NBMEs 31-33? I cannot afford the actual forms, please. I would be extremely grateful. Usmle fighter is not good bcs they only let you access the first 100 questions. And that thing in the drive (nbme 33) looks sus, and the keys are wrong for nbme 33.

Hi I took nbme 33 offline, can someone please confirm if it is the real form or not?

hi guys, ill be testing soon, i was wondering what are some of the topics that fit into the pareto principle criteria for this exam according to people who have tested recently? i would be grateful for any helpful input, thank you.