Anonymous
09-22-2004, 11:45 PM
Hi guys!
I got my result today: 92 (226). I am happy! Thanks God I did it. I want to thank this forum and everyone here. Reading other people experiences was crucial for me and now its my turn. Special thanks to two people whose exam experience was a roadmap for me: Tigran and LOOSER95. I can post their summaries if you want me to.
Here is my profile:
Scores on Q bank- average 73. BSS- from 62 to 70ies, but I didn’t finish it due to lack of time. USMLE CD- 37, 41, 40. NBME form 1- 640.
subjectwise:
1. **- I used Kaplan +Fadem. ==Actually nothing helps when it comes to ** on real exam. Borderline performance on this subject. Of course, try your best: know all calculations, dont gamble with statistics this will give you solid score points versus those patient-physician questions where only God knows what they want to hear.
2. Anatomy- HY is enough with FA by heart.
3. Biochem- Lippincott mainly, some Kaplan and even some NMS. Mol bio- did Kaplan only. Genetics-Kaplan. For all these three the overall understanding is very very critical. Besides mastering specific enzymes etc. (ideally you should remember those too) you absolutely must to have a big picture of how those pathways are interconnected and regulated. Big picture does help a lot in figuring out the questions when you are not damn sure about specifics.
4. Micro- MRS and FA, nothing else. Questions were rather straight forward.
5. Pharma- most of the answers were in FA. Know it cold. Kaplan is good too if you have time.
6. Physio- BRS main one. Plus some chapters in Kaplan.
7. Finally, biggest one-Patho. Patho definitely rules and affects your score tremendously. I used Goljan (500p), Kaplan and Goljan notes. Goljan book is long still I believe it worth it. Kaplan patho I used for review. Webpath from Utah was huge help too.
For all subjects FA- its golden! Like everyone says. know it inside out. It feels awfully stupid to miss things that you know precisely where its written and remember even page but cannot remember exact thing.
Last point: I found its totally useless trying to estimate the proportion of subjects you get on real thing– don’t waste your time. It was nothing close to what I expected. The distribution can be anything, and you should be ready for that. It’s a very broad exam. The only thing that remains true I think patho is the biggest one.
THE most important thing is- you can do it!
good luck!
I got my result today: 92 (226). I am happy! Thanks God I did it. I want to thank this forum and everyone here. Reading other people experiences was crucial for me and now its my turn. Special thanks to two people whose exam experience was a roadmap for me: Tigran and LOOSER95. I can post their summaries if you want me to.
Here is my profile:
Scores on Q bank- average 73. BSS- from 62 to 70ies, but I didn’t finish it due to lack of time. USMLE CD- 37, 41, 40. NBME form 1- 640.
subjectwise:
1. **- I used Kaplan +Fadem. ==Actually nothing helps when it comes to ** on real exam. Borderline performance on this subject. Of course, try your best: know all calculations, dont gamble with statistics this will give you solid score points versus those patient-physician questions where only God knows what they want to hear.
2. Anatomy- HY is enough with FA by heart.
3. Biochem- Lippincott mainly, some Kaplan and even some NMS. Mol bio- did Kaplan only. Genetics-Kaplan. For all these three the overall understanding is very very critical. Besides mastering specific enzymes etc. (ideally you should remember those too) you absolutely must to have a big picture of how those pathways are interconnected and regulated. Big picture does help a lot in figuring out the questions when you are not damn sure about specifics.
4. Micro- MRS and FA, nothing else. Questions were rather straight forward.
5. Pharma- most of the answers were in FA. Know it cold. Kaplan is good too if you have time.
6. Physio- BRS main one. Plus some chapters in Kaplan.
7. Finally, biggest one-Patho. Patho definitely rules and affects your score tremendously. I used Goljan (500p), Kaplan and Goljan notes. Goljan book is long still I believe it worth it. Kaplan patho I used for review. Webpath from Utah was huge help too.
For all subjects FA- its golden! Like everyone says. know it inside out. It feels awfully stupid to miss things that you know precisely where its written and remember even page but cannot remember exact thing.
Last point: I found its totally useless trying to estimate the proportion of subjects you get on real thing– don’t waste your time. It was nothing close to what I expected. The distribution can be anything, and you should be ready for that. It’s a very broad exam. The only thing that remains true I think patho is the biggest one.
THE most important thing is- you can do it!
good luck!