98 on step 1!!!!

[smu79]

wow, it was more than i expected...

I want to share this with current and prospective students. SMU will give you the tools to succeed.

[MDTOB]

Congratulations on not only passing, but a very impressive score!

Good luck in clinicals.

[mdhope]

congratulations on a great score!

[sajidgidda]

Top work! Bragging rights come with a great score

[Banker794]

great job! That is a very impressive score- congratulations !

[spyyder]

thats awesome! congrats.:-smiley7

p.s curious what 3-digit score earns a 98?

[smu79]

thats awesome! congrats.:-smiley7

p.s curious what 3-digit score earns a 98?


Thanks for the congrats-

in my case, a 235/98. a friend of mind had a 230/99. I had no idea how they determne the 3 digit score.

[2cr8tive]

do you mind sharing your exam experience and how you prepared for it.....I'm going to start my third semester, any advise?

[regnart]

Fantastic! Tell us how you studied!!

[smu79]

do you mind sharing your exam experience and how you prepared for it.....I'm going to start my third semester, any advise?

As far as how I prepared during basic science- I made sure I knew my classes well. I did not study USMLE material during basic science; I just study for my classes using BRS, first aid, class notes, etc. After 4th semester, I took my first NMBE and passed, so it helped with my self esteem. I just followed Kaplan, QBANK, and World, taking the other 3 NBME’s at a specific point in time.

The only thing that you should remember is that you need to know the material well so that when Kaplan comes around, you spend your time reviewing and studying rather than learning. I took 3 weeks after Kaplan to review before I tool step 1.

My exam was just hard. I really only remember 3 questions from it. 30% was doable, 30% was hard, and 30% was off the wall and the rest experimental.

Good luck and study hard.

[MD777]

there is NO imagic in any field that i have seen in my life...and, i have gone thru many decades already...

pls share w/ us your previous backgrounds in DETAILS prior to joining SMU, such as ALL courses that you have taken, when you started your natural sci training jr. high. i have not seen one person telling me that he/she NEVER had any single background before SOM and hit 95-99% percentile in the step 1.

all things take TIME to become mastered! again, there is NO magic in life for any field...

of course, you deserve it for your hard work, regardless when you started.. i am a firm believer that any hard work and preparation will be rewarded. however, it is IMPORTANT to tell the WHOLE picture in details...

i know you personally that you have those MAGIC, shocking, US medical student style's subj shelf scores while you were in SMU. again, your score is not a magic by just studying slides only. i have known many of you right in your class. most of them have very STRONG or less strong BACKGROUNDS, and they just passed it...again, there is NO MAGIC to any success...all things TAKE time.

again, congratulations....

As far as how I prepared during basic science- I made sure I knew my classes well. I did not study USMLE material during basic science; I just study for my classes using BRS, first aid, class notes, etc. After 4th semester, I took my first NMBE and passed, so it helped with my self esteem. I just followed Kaplan, QBANK, and World, taking the other 3 NBME’s at a specific point in time.

The only thing that you should remember is that you need to know the material well so that when Kaplan comes around, you spend your time reviewing and studying rather than learning. I took 3 weeks after Kaplan to review before I tool step 1.

My exam was just hard. I really only remember 3 questions from it. 30% was doable, 30% was hard, and 30% was off the wall and the rest experimental.

Good luck and study hard.

[MDTOB]

there is NO magic in any field that i have seen in my life...and, i have gone thru many decades already...

pls share w/ us your previous backgrounds in DETAILS prior to joining SMU, such as ALL courses that you have taken, when you started your natural sci training jr. high. i have not seen one person telling me that he/she NEVER had any single background before SOM and hit 95-99% percentile in the step 1.

all things take TIME to become mastered! again, there is NO magic in life for any field...

of course, you deserve it for your hard work, regardless when you started.. i am a firm believer that any hard work and preparation will be rewarded. however, it is IMPORTANT to tell the WHOLE picture in details...

i know you personally that you have those MAGIC, shocking, US medical student style's subj shelf scores while you were in SMU. again, your score is not a magic by just studying slides only. i have known many of you right in your class. most of them have very STRONG or less strong BACKGROUNDS, and they just passed it...again, there is NO MAGIC to any success...all things TAKE time.

again, congratulations....

David Copperfield in the hizzhouse!!!! Probably the most number of times I've seen the word "magic" so creatively used... Congrats MD777, lol!

[smu79]

there is NO imagic in any field that i have seen in my life...and, i have gone thru many decades already...

pls share w/ us your previous backgrounds in DETAILS prior to joining SMU, such as ALL courses that you have taken, when you started your natural sci training jr. high. i have not seen one person telling me that he/she NEVER had any single background before SOM and hit 95-99% percentile in the step 1.

all things take TIME to become mastered! again, there is NO magic in life for any field...

of course, you deserve it for your hard work, regardless when you started.. i am a firm believer that any hard work and preparation will be rewarded. however, it is IMPORTANT to tell the WHOLE picture in details...

i know you personally that you have those MAGIC, shocking, US medical student style's subj shelf scores while you were in SMU. again, your score is not a magic by just studying slides only. i have known many of you right in your class. most of them have very STRONG or less strong BACKGROUNDS, and they just passed it...again, there is NO MAGIC to any success...all things TAKE time.

again, congratulations....

MD777- My only science background is my degree in undergraduate. What I want prospective and current students to know is that, like me, a regular guy from the rural south, can achieve great things with time and commitment. No magic. You can too.

[DRJJ1]

MD777- My only science background is my degree in undergraduate. What I want prospective and current students to know is that, like me, a regular guy from the rural south, can achieve great things with time and commitment. No magic. You can too.


OK GIVE THE GUY A HI 5,,,,,GOOD GOING CHEERS FOR REPRESENTING SMU AND THE STUDENTS BEFORE DURING AND AFTER SCHOOL CAUSE THAT IS A MAJOR SCORE TO GET LEMME TELL YOU,,,AND WHO SAID CARIB STUDENTS ARE WEAK,,WHO WHO:bored:

[MD777]

we all know you took it in mid march. did you pass or not? congrats or not to you? lol! thanks for the response & comments...


David Copperfield in the hizzhouse!!!! Probably the most number of times I've seen the word "magic" so creatively used... Congrats MD777, lol!

[p_in_da_wind]

we all know you took it in mid march. did you pass or not? congrats or not to you? lol! thanks for the response & comments...

Talk like this when you take your step and pass it... until then you should watch what you say because it mite come bite you in the ....

[MD777]

what if i never have to take the steps?

i just came to learn the medicine to protect ourselves from becoming a malpracticed patient/victim when my family and myself age. also, i can teach my children to get 98 on steps.

[p_in_da_wind]

WOW! i always wondered who you were. INALLY be gone... but now you are coming back next semester for path 2...

But anyway...

i specifically remember when i did not pass physio and i was retaking it... you

[Jonari]

Wow Congratulations! When I saw 98 by itself, I was thinking why is he happy? Don't you want to get above a 200? I guess 98 correlates with percentile? Either way congratulations. Just wondering, but with the 235, what type of residencies can you match up in?

Is it possible to get matched into general surgery?

[drjohnwebb]

230 is the cut off for a lot of programs, like surgery. So, surgery shouldn't be out of the question. The average US student makes a 215 on step one. That should give you a mark of how this person did. To give you some other stats... anything over 250 is almost unheard of. I saw that one SABA student scored a 262 last year...but I have also seen US schools brag about ONE student getting a 260. SO.... 235 to 250 doesn't seem like much, but it is.. just like 235 over a 215 is above the average a good bit.

Remember... I think people do well if they even pass the dang test. Most Carib schools want to brag that their students are passing..not knocking the test out the park.. Good for you!, Good for US, good for our school!!

[AmericanIMG]

230 is the cut off for a lot of programs, like surgery.

it all kind of depends on the program...some surg residents i know only hit at 210-220.

[M.E the MD]

I was wondering how did you usually do on your SHELF exams.

[regnart]

SMU79, Thanks for sharing how you did this! Truly impressive. Best of luck for the future - do you know what residency you'd like?

[smu79]

SMU79, Thanks for sharing how you did this! Truly impressive. Best of luck for the future - do you know what residency you'd like?

Thank you for your congrats!

I dont know what residency I want as of yet, however, family practice is still in top of my list. My score doesnt change my direction, it will only change at where I train at.

To the other post, my farm shelf was in the 500's-580's; about the same score with my path scores.

Thank you all for all the great words. This should only serve as a motivation to future test takers....if I was able to tackle this, so can you.

[SillyDoc]

hmmm.....if an anonymous poster about whom we know nothing can do it, so can anyone. why not? seems logical.

[Banker794]

Thank you for your congrats!

I dont know what residency I want as of yet, however, family practice is still in top of my list. My score doesnt change my direction, it will only change at where I train at.

To the other post, my farm shelf was in the 500's-580's; about the same score with my path scores.

Thank you all for all the great words. This should only serve as a motivation to future test takers....if I was able to tackle this, so can you.

Good luck in the future. Your off to a great start...

[silverfish]

it all kind of depends on the program...some surg residents i know only hit at 210-220.


Which programs are those?

[AmericanIMG]

Which programs are those?

midwestern, southern, rural areas. do some legwork. contact residency programs for a profile on their residents on staff.

[Junito]

I spoke to an attending who teaches the surgical residents/ medical students at the hospital that I am currently in, and he stated that he has seen a decline in the number of general surgery applicants. Seems like not many people want to go into surgery as in the past. I don't think this is the general rule, but this is coming from an attending from a program that is in the top 10 in the nation.

[iaustudent06]

Thank you for your congrats!

I dont know what residency I want as of yet, however, family practice is still in top of my list. My score doesnt change my direction, it will only change at where I train at.

To the other post, my farm shelf was in the 500's-580's; about the same score with my path scores.

Thank you all for all the great words. This should only serve as a motivation to future test takers....if I was able to tackle this, so can you.

Did the school give out shelf exam scores? If not how do you obtain them?

[smu79]

Did the school give out shelf exam scores? If not how do you obtain them?

yes, they did. SMU gives students their shelf report card.

[smu79]

I spoke to an attending who teaches the surgical residents/ medical students at the hospital that I am currently in, and he stated that he has seen a decline in the number of general surgery applicants. Seems like not many people want to go into surgery as in the past. I don't think this is the general rule, but this is coming from an attending from a program that is in the top 10 in the nation.

I think this is program dependant. Surgery has been a tuff mach the last 2 yearrs….For this year, there was only 1 residency spot that went unmatch out of 1050.

The very best programs may receive less applications while the middle of the road and less desirable programs may receive more. Obviously, I believe the attending, but based on the prior match statistics, general surgery has been tougher than orthopedics- again, based on un matched spots.

2006
general surgery 99.9 match rate
Ortho-surgery 97.4 Match rate

[IMG SURVIVOR]

I spoke to an attending who teaches the surgical residents/ medical students at the hospital that I am currently in, and he stated that he has seen a decline in the number of general surgery applicants. Seems like not many people want to go into surgery as in the past. I don't think this is the general rule, but this is coming from an attending from a program that is in the top 10 in the nation.

Lets see, less work and less stress and still have a good salary or more work and stress :rolleyes:.

Besides does residency are tough really tough.:evil:

Urology and Family medicine has been for the last 10 years the specialties that people say is the way to go for the future, and they started that 10 years ago, I just want to know when the future will be here?

Also FM have try to do colonoscopy and endoscopy, but the GI asoc. have said no way jose.
my 2 cents

[awdc]

Wow Congratulations! When I saw 98 by itself, I was thinking why is he happy? Don't you want to get above a 200? I guess 98 correlates with percentile? Either way congratulations. Just wondering, but with the 235, what type of residencies can you match up in?

Is it possible to get matched into general surgery?

The two digit score isn't a percentile. It's still a mystery on how it correlates with the three-digit score. I'm a little fuzzy about this but apparently the two-digit score was/is used for certain states because of either the old boards that FMG's had to take or the predecessor to the current USMLE.

By the way, congratulations to the OP for the great score!