r/Step1Exam

Best song to remember Maple syrup urine disease thought ill share :)

Gave my step 1 on June 4 and passed as an IMG . I got a tons of help and recommendations from this community and I would love to provide the same for someone like me rn . My resources - UWORLD , FIRSTAID , BnB selected topics , BOOTCAMP - Immuno and Biostats , Mehlman HY pdfs for Neuro anat and arrows , Dirty medicine and Dr.RandyNeil biostats … I don’t use anki decks or sketchy micro or pharm and I was comfortable with that … last 2 months were dedicated to NBME and free 120 ..
completed 96% u world and did marked and incorrect in last month along with nbme
NBME 26 - 68%
27- 65.5%
28- 68.5%
30- 62 %
31-69%
32-78%
33-79%
I gave Free 120 3 days before exam and got 80 %

Hi! I’m a Pakistani female looking for a dedicated Step 1 study partner. I’ve finished my first pass of First Aid and UWorld, and I’m planning a rapid First Aid review from now until 30th August, with my exam booked for 8th September. I already have a study schedule and units planned, so I’m looking for someone who can review with me daily for about 3 hours (6–9 PM PKT). If you’re at a similar stage in your prep and are serious about staying consistent, feel free to message me!

I just wanted to share my experience since I gave the test on that date, I had similar questions that NBMEs have and some others I had no idea, there were a lot of long cases in the same block , a lot of pathoma, pharmacology, renal/ gastrointestinal system, ethics only 1 per block of 20 questions. I FAILED the test by the way. I’m trying to lift myself and step forward to do it again, I really studied and I thought I was ready to take it, but unfortunately the night before my test I was panic and I did only sleep for 1 hour, and then cried due to I can’t sleep at the time, it was horrible and traumatic for me, next day hours before the test besides I didn’t sleep I had a panic attack I didn’t recognize myself I had to walked out earlier in the morning and try to calm down It was awful 😞. I shows up to the test with those initial factors.

My scores were not well but I felt confident to take it.

NBMEs offline
Self assessment AMBOSS 88%
NBME 25—-60.5%
NBME 26–62%
NBME 27- 68%
NBME 28- 55%
NBME 29-56%
NBME 30-53%
NBME 31-55%
NBME 32-50%
NBME 33-56%
Old free120 -61%
New free120 50%

Uworld 50%-60s%

How I Passed Step 1: A Non-UWorld Journey

I am sharing my journey for those who might be feeling overwhelmed or looking for alternative approaches to USMLE Step 1 preparation.

Background and Initial Struggle
My preparation journey was non-traditional. During my housejob in 2025, I only completed about 17% of UWorld before pausing my studies entirely to focus on my job. When the need to take Step 1 arose, I jumped back in, but I found the process of reading *First Aid* from February to March 25 to be incredibly dry and boring.

After finishing the book, I took an Amboss self-assessment and scored 55%. It shattered my confidence, especially since I had felt quite prepared after reading *First Aid*. My subsequent initial NBME attempts reflected this struggle:

NBME 25: 56%
NBME 26: Still in the 50s

I struggled to find the energy to start UWorld from scratch, as I couldn't concentrate properly using that method.

The Turning Point

Thanks to insights from Reddit, I discovered the value of Pathoma (Dr. Sattar).
I watched the chapters 1–3 videos and utilized UWorld specifically for general pathology questions. However, my score remained in the 50s on NBME 28.
I decided to pivot my strategy entirely:
Dirty Medicine: I watched all the videos and created detailed notes.
Pathoma: I watched all chapters.(i think 3times all videos )Dr sattar is absolute genius I can’t stress that enough.
Micro(sketchy):
For micro please watch the videos , not read from flashcards there’s lot of info that imp and not in cards also watching takes less time than reading.

Result: Following this, I took NBME 30 and scored 70%.

Refining the Strategy
For my final preparation phase, I focused on high-yield targeting:
Mehlman Qbank:
I used this specifically for my weak topics (e.g., if I got questions wrong from fungi ,I would complete 60–70% of the fungus questions ). I covered about 50% of the total qbank this way in the last month.

Content Review:Before taking NBME 31, I revised my Dirty Medicine notes (supplemented with *First Aid*) and re-watched major systems from Pathoma.
Score Progression:
NBME 31: 77%
NBME 32: 76%
NBME 33 (7 days out):74% (a slight drop due to lack of revision).
In the final days, I focused on ethics (Amboss), biostatistics (Mehlman), and high-yield topics like neuroanatomy, ophthalmology, and genetics pedigrees using Mehlman PDFs.

Test Day Experience
I went for the exam on May 20, 2026, feeling confident. The real exam felt much easier than NBME 33. The question stems were organized and clean, which saved me time. I was completing 20 questions in about 20 minutes as with new blocks . By the 10th block, I had over an hour of time remaining, allowing me to take long breaks and pace myself.
Coming out of the exam hall, I knew I had made it. To those still studying: don't let the environment around you make you feel like this is undoable; it is absolutely possible.
From low 50s to high 70s i made it
I waited the whole 7weeks to post my journey
I am pretty sure if it’s a score based report i scored above 97th percentile.

Tested 27/5 and promised myself I’d make a write-up because reading other people’s experiences on Reddit helped me so much during my preparation.

First, all glory to God. 🙏 I’m a non-US IMG, 2 years post-grad, and I prepared while working full-time as a doctor. It definitely wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.

Practice scores:

Form 25- 70.4
Form 26- 75.8
Form 27- 75.0
Form 28- 77.6
Form 29- 77.8

Done 1 month prior
Form 30- 76.8
Form 31- 80.2
Form 32- 78.8
Form 33- 84.5

Free 120 2024- 85% ( 2 week out)
Free 120 2022- 87.5% (1 week out)
Free 120 2021- 90% (3 days out)

Preparation:

Started active prep in November with about 3 months of dedicated study. Studied 6 hours/ day.
2 Uworld blocks minimum/ day.
Completed 100% UWorld

Resources: First Aid (obviously), Anki( an absolute delight), Boards & Beyond (very very helpful for systems), Sketchy (Micro), Pixorize (Biochem)

Had a study group of 6; we met 4 times a week to review UWorld questions. That was a huge help.

Spent the last month revising and doing questions rather than learning new content.

Exam day:
The exam is long, and despite my practice scores, I was still nervous.
Pace yourself, take your breaks, and trust your preparation. The exam was a little similar to free 120 and form 33. Emphasis on a little. Some questions were repeated. Not word for word, but the concepts and the pictures used were similar.

Biggest lesson:
After the exam, I could recall nearly 30 questions I thought I’d missed, and I was convinced I’d failed. Looking back, many of those mistakes came from overthinking. More often than not, my first instinct was correct.

If you’re preparing for Step 1, trust the process and don’t let post-exam anxiety convince you that you’ve failed.

Congratulations to everyone who’s crossed this hurdle. On to Step 2! If you’re planning to take Step 2 this year, feel free to connect—I’d love to prepare together.

So for some context i’ve just finished 2nd year of medicine in the UK and im starting my Step 1 studying, but my foundations are very very weak. A part of the reason I want to do step 1 is because I feel like UK medical schools don’t push you, I comfortably pass all my knowledge exams with 10-25% margins and I am by far not a smart student. It takes me maybe 4 weeks of lock-in to study for a semesters worth of content.

So I’m sitting the step 1 to force myself to learn medicine properly and I feel like my foundations are shaky. I’ve heard pathoma is a must at least Chapter 1-3, I plan on doing all of BNB but i’ve been told that it’s not the best idea to do all of pathology before physiology and maybe do Chapter 1-3 of pathoma, then do each system BNB first then pathoma? I’m a bit lost so would love some advice!

Hey, I’m a 3rd year MBBS student going to take finals in a month, I’m willing to start my usmle prep after my exams and give step 1 within the first 6-8 months of 4th.
Will it be okay to give it in 4th year?
Is it going to be difficult to manage usmle prep with 7 subjects.
Has anyone done this before?

i’m a 3rd year mbbs student from pakistan, planning to give step 1 early in 2027.
i’m looking for a dedicated study partner who can start with me from scratch.
anybody who is interested, please reach out.

wondering if my scores are okay to sit for the exam. it’s in 2 days.

nbme 30: 57
nbme 29:60
nbme 31 offline: 65
nbme 32: 69

new free 120 2 days before exam: 63.5%

Any advice would help! Scared 🙃

Looking for someone to review first aid 2 hours a day in the afternoon.

Hello. I Need some honest opinions on whether I’m ready for Step 1.

Timeline:
~6–7 months ago
NBME 20–24: 50–60%
NBME 25–29: mid/high 60s
NBME 30: 66
NBME 31: 63
NBME 32: 66
NBME 33: 65

CBSE: 62 (86% chance of passing)

After that, I realized First Aid was the only major resource I hadn’t fully gone through, so I completed it.

~4 months ago
NBME 19: 78
NBME 18: 75

~2 months ago
CBSE EPC: 69 (72% correct, 96% chance of passing)

~1.5 months ago
Free 120 (2026): 62%
I wasn’t under proper testing conditions for this one—I had been awake for almost 20 hours. I reviewed every incorrect question afterward and didn’t find any major knowledge gaps, but the score made me nervous, so I postponed my exam.

Since then, I’ve completed the entire Mehlman Q-bank with a 78% overall average.

~2 weeks ago
UWSA1: 228

The only practice exams I have left are UWSA2 and the 2021 , 2022, and 2024 Free 120s. I had already used most of the NBMEs during CBSE prep because my school requires passing the CBSE before sitting for Step 1.

I’m currently scheduled to take Step 1 on July 27.

At this point, would you sit for the exam? what scores on UWSA2 or the remaining Free 120s would make you feel comfortable testing?

Any advice for these last few weeks would be appreciated.

I’m looking for a female study partner for Step 1 to help keep each other accountable and work through approximately 40 UWorld questions each day.
I just started UWorld. As an IMG, I have many foundational concepts to study from the ground up, so I’ve dedicated most of my time to self-learning.
I’m planning to take Step 1 in October/November and am located in Illinois (Central Time).
If anyone has a similar study routine and would like to study together, feel free to reach out

has anyone used IMD app for step 1 ; tgey claim all ques of uworld, amboss

should i go for IMD or stick to the traditional uworld

My final year will just start in August and I'm confused what resources people use of prep apart from first aid uworld I mean is it required to read standard textbooks and stuff like that .

And how can I make sure that simultaneously I'm well prepared for my neet pg prep as plan B .

Plz help don't just look at post but make efforts to reply . I'm in lot of confusion right now .

Has anyone passed step 1 using uworld from the iMD app? I have the app and so far, the questions appear to be legit (i am crosschecking with first aid). uworld is crazy expensive but i dont want to regret my choice either so any advice on this would be appreciated!!

I did the NBME 31 today and got a 7 point drop
(66) from my last NBME (30, 72.5%)
I'm freaking out right now and don't know if I can do it in two weeks as I was aiming for July16!

The NBMEs I took until now are as follows:
NBME 26 (55)
NBME 27 (63.5)
NBME 30 (72.5)
NBME 31 (66) - today

I was planning to:
- watch Dirty medicine Biochemistry videos (haven't done biochemistry yet)
- Go over pharmacology (FA) and Dirty medicine videos
- review my last NBME
- do one more round of FA
I put my plan before doing the last NBME. Now I'm kinda confused if I should stick with it or just do sth else.

I've done 94% of my Qbank with a 64% right.
Should I do another round or sth?!

I hate biostatistics on the USMLE. It was very difficult concept because of all the statistics and calculations. I can memorize biochemical pathways and physiology and other disease process. But it was not easy to keep track of all the formulas for biostats. So I created this worksheet that simplified everything. it was the best thing ever. if you struggle with biostats, you can just use this one page cheat sheet and memorize it for the test. Good luck

smashusmlereviews.com

Currently preparing for step 1, done with 70% of uw. The concepts tested on uw, are enough for the real exam?

Hiya I'm a 3rd year MBBS student and I am planning on studying for the USMLE step 1, I want to sit the exam ideally in the next 6-12 months. I would generally say my current knowledge is a bit weak but I have passed all exams so far in medical school. My main issue at the moment is where do I start, what resources should I use (I know the age old question) but I'm a very big video / anki / chatgpt learner so was thinking Pathos / BnB / Anking / Sketchy. But what order do I start in do I do pathophysiology simultaneous with pharmacology and questions banks system by system or do I do one resource at a time one chapter at a time then do sketchy then do BNB, how do I approach this? How many anki cards should I do a day etc. Can someone who was in my position of having shaky foundation advise me on how to tackle this?