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.