My nbme scores are ranging from 64%-66%. I am exhausted from studying.
I work full time and study as well and that hasn’t been an easy task
Please, I need advice on What should I do differently?

Pathoma videos seem less than Bootcamp and i've seen people recommend it on here. But is it enough since bootcamp videos are so detailed?

i have never been held back due to my speech impediment, but the as you guys USMLE requires huge financial investment. A perspective needed, will it reduces my chances for the match

Guys im 15 days out and these are my scores so far

Nbme 29: 61%
Nbme 30: 63%
Name 31: 64%
Nbme 32: 70%

33 34 and free 120 left. Should I book for 1st Nov

Exam is in 9 days. Any advice would be appreciated. Last 5 NBMEs & F120 are in the high 70s Alhamdulillah (except 33: 71%). How did you all prepare in the last week?

I’ve just started step 1 prep, and for now I’ve just been doing U world questions, and making my own anki decks for my incorrect questions (mostly whatever’s written in the educational objectives section)

If I consistently do this for the whole question bank, would it be enough to pass step 1? I know there are other resources/pre-made anki decks out there but I don’t really want to overwhelm myself with resources.

Hi all, got my results recently and devastated is probably an understatement

Had two NBMEs over 65% (forms 30 and 33) in what I thought were simulated test conditions. Not ideal, I wish I had three over 70%, but I had to meet the school's deadline to continue.

Not to scare anyone, though; obviously, on Reddit there are plenty that have these and do fine. Lots happened, and I have a history of fluctuating scores with testing anxiety + health problems, so if you're like me, definitely try to give yourself more cushion room. I 100% would've if I had more time.

Definitely wish I redid Free 120 2026 more recently, as it felt the most reflective of the real exam. Also obviously going to do NBME 34 now, and NBME 31 and 32 since it's been awhile.

I did Mehlman Arrows, but I'll look into his other PDFs. I'm thinking of going over the Pathoma chapter anki cards by each section + doing associated UWorld Qs to get a better foundation for next time (path and phys were weaker), with some mixed questions. Pixorize cards + UWorld to solidify my lower nutrition section (did DirtyMedicine biochem). Then giving myself a month of just doing mixed questions with a few NBMEs consistently in the 70s hopefully. Does this sound ok?

But any other advice on ways to address my weak points and move forward?

Please be nice! Obviously hindsight is 20/20, and I'm already really sad, so any words of encouragement would be nice, thank you. (Also just asking how close to comfort myself a bit, the beating myself up is pretty strong, thanks!)

Got the P

It was a crazy ride but I'm glad it paid off.

Started with 45% on NBME 25 ended with 74% in NBME 34.

Halfway through my nbmes (30) I got 65% , I felt i could only go higher ... but I was wrong I declined till I got 61% in NBME 33 a month to my exam.

What did I do differently?.

I stopped Uworld and FA

I started strictly melhmen Pdfs and daily revision ( i didn't use Anki) I made my own pdf of things I felt were important and things I kept forgetting,

I also had a written jotter.

Did that for 3wks and Next NBME (32) was 70%

3 days to my exams free 120 68%.

The Exam felt like my free 120 but a few levels above.

The questions were more vague than straight forward .. ultimately eliminating method was what I stuck by.

I used BnB, Uworld (100% with 55% correct then did wrong answers till 67% correct), FA , I read almost all melhmen pdfs , and did 47% melhmen Qbanks with 68% correct( almost 9months prep)

What would i have done differently?

Incorporating AnKi into my study

Knowing tested concepts recognition patterns instead of just accumulation of knowledge( melhmen pdfs helped with this )

Picking a date for exams ( this would unlock potential you didn't know you had and won't allow you prolong your exam)

Also us Ai whenever you can , they can break down things to the most basic forms.

Hey everyone! Ive been a long-time lurker in this sub for many months even before I started preparing for step 1. Now I’m happy to share that I passed it, and I wanted to make my own write up of my preparation experience in case it helps anyone currently studying for the exam.

Total preparation time: Approx 7 months
Dedicated period: Almost 3 months

I used a combination of video resources, question banks, and First Aid throughout my preparation. During dedicated, I focused on consolidating concepts, revising weaker subjects, and practicing questions.

Resources I used

1. UWorld
UWorld was one of my primary resources. I completed 55% of the question bank, with 68% correct.
I mostly did questions in tutor mode and untimed, and I went through the material I had completed twice. Hence why the % had increased. I mainly focused on understanding the explanations and learning from my mistakes rather than rushing through questions just to increase my completion percentage.
I didn't finish the entire question bank, so don't feel discouraged if your completion percentage isn't anywhere near 100% either. Try to make the most of the questions you do attempt.

2. First Aid
First Aid was the CORE resource. I used it to consolidate and revise high-yield concepts and as a reference while reviewing topics. It was basically a book for me to annotate anything and everything I learnt from my main video resource (no. 3 in list) as well as essential NBME concepts.

3. HyGuru ( Main )
I noticed that HyGuru doesn't seem to be as commonly mentioned as some of the other resources in Step 1 write-ups, but I personally found it extremely useful and wanted to highlight it. What I particularly liked was that the instructor didn't just focus on explaining complex topics, but also worked through numerous NBME-style questions and discussed the different ways a concept could be tested. I found this approach helpful because it encouraged me to think beyond simply memorizing facts and focus more on applying concepts to questions. I can attribute my score increases to his course easily.

4. Dirty Medicine
Used it for immunology, biochemistry and ethics. I found it useful for reviewing concepts and reinforcing topics that needed additional attention. His mnemonics were absolutely clutch.

5. Randy Neil
Used his videos (esp the YT shorts) for biostatistics and psych. These helped me work through concepts and question types alongside FA.

6. Sketchy
Used it primarily for microbiology. The beauty of sketchy is probably the fact that once you start to learn simpler microbes (staph, strep), you somehow would subconsciously want to keep learning additional microbes just by watching more of those fascinating visuals.

NBME scores and self-assessments

I took the assessments in the following order:

NBME 28 (Baseline): 55% — 10 weeks out (offline)

NBME 29: 63.5% — 8 weeks out (offline)

NBME 30: 63.5% — 7 weeks out (offline)

Old Free 120: 61% — 6 weeks out

NBME 31: 65.5% — 5 weeks out (offline)

NBME 32: 59% EPC — 4 weeks out

NBME 33: 67% EPC — 2 weeks out

New Free 120: 80% — 1 week out

NBME 34: 70% EPC — 4 days out

Exam date: October 2 — Pass

A quick note on my scores:

My scores weren't perfectly linear since I had a big dip on NBME 32 before moving onto the later assessments. This gave a major hit to my confidence levels which is why I took 16 days to carefully reset and revise through every incorrects and associated topics and do timed uworld blocks on strictly those topics.

Post-exam experience

Honestly, after the exam, I felt more anxious than disappointed. The exam had longer stems and were more vague than the NBMEs. But it wasn’t a super tough exam by any means. There were many flagged questions that left me second-guessing myself, and those thoughts kept coming back throughout the week while I waited for my result. I flagged like 8-10 qs in every block.

It did bother me initially, and I won't pretend that the waiting period was easy. But eventually, I decided to let those thoughts pass. I reminded myself that I had done my very best to prepare for and tackle this exam, and there was nothing more I could change once it was over.

Something I kept reminding myself was that having the courage to show up and attempt an exam like this makes you a champ more than you probably realize. The preparation, the uncertainty, the difficult days, and the decision to keep going despite all of it count for something.

If you're going through the post-exam anxiety, please know that these feelings are normal. Second-guessing answers and replaying questions in your head doesn't necessarily mean you did badly. At some point, I had to accept that the exam was behind me and trust the work I had put in.

Always be proud of yourself for making it this far. Regardless of how anxious you feel after walking out of that exam, give yourself some grace. You've worked hard to get here, and that deserves recognition too.

Final thoughts

My biggest takeaway is that everyone's preparation journey is different. Don't get too caught up comparing your progress with someone else's or assuming that you need to follow every resource to the letter.

Find a routine that works for you, be consistent, and keep going even when progress feels slow/stunted. My write-up is simply a reference and nothing else.

Wishing everyone the very best of luck.

Feel free to ask any questions about my prep, study approach etc.

Just read an experience of someone who failed and people told him it’s maybe because he didn’t use any mehlman files, can that be a reason someone fails? My exam was one week ago and I didn’t use any mehlman, reading that made me super anxious, (my nbmes were safe)

is it normal to not remember half the exam ? i pretty much blacked out in the last 4 or so blocks ,
felt like i was guessing through half the exam

every question looked familiar but also couldn’t figure out the options

what are the chances of passing if i flagged half the questions in each block? 😭😭