Hi. I came on here for a little help..

Can anyone give me any information on what I can do regarding my situation? Your help is greatly appreciated..

- I have failed Step 1 three times from a foreign medical school
- Because of this, I have been withdrawn from the school
- My score in my last attempt was in the 70s, falling short of the 75-pass mark

I know I can and will pass this exam if I am given another attempt. I had greatly increased my score on each attempt, but feel my weakness was that I had to work while studying to pay my loans, and tried to save money on high priced courses. I have family support now that I didnt have before, and they are able to provide me any resources necessary to get past this bump in the road if I am given another opportunity. Thus, I can study full-time and pass this exam.

So my questions are...
- What can I do to get a final attempt to pass Step 1?
- Is there any schools willing to sponsor me to take the exam?
- I want to be able to keep all my credits and just take the Step 1, as I am already enduring a rigorous Step 1 study schedule with a target to take the exam in January if anyone lets me.
- Do you know anyone else who has had this situation, and do you know if they were able to get thru this problem?

Please help me out, thanks so much..

hi...i am sorry to hear to hear that they dismissedd you from school. I am actually in the same boat as you as far as attempt at this exam. I am glad that you have a positive outlook on this matter. dont give up. my advice to you is to look at the carribean schools listed on this site and see what they have to offer...also give them a call and ask them would they be willing to take on a student with your situation. i would try the newer school. look into st.james and windsor...but the best thing to do is call the school and see if they are willing to take you. then i would come back to this site and start a thread or post and ask the members what they know or have heard about the school. the members on this site are extremely helpful. i hope i helped you. take care and dont give up!

Thanks so much, I appreciate your advice on this...every bit helps to see what I can do. I have a positive outlook because I have the confidence and know I would pass this the next time around. I wish you the best also. If anyone else has information of their own they would like to share, its very welcome here.

student 16 don't worry man now that you know where you're being attacked, it's easy to figure out a solution. First of all regardless of what you hear on these forums basic science is basic science, it's the clinicals that makes all the difference. Look into the schools in the Philippines where you want have such problems regarding finances and you will be able to focus. I attened medical school in the phils and i can tell you 24 out of the 32 are cali approved and no problem in any state with lic. The kaplan centers here are the same as usa. In fact i studied from year 1 with kaplan and the prep books i bought from the usa went to class everyday, made ok grades but i didn't have the stress on me that most of the students had because i was more usmle focused... the test i failed i just retook them, as i say it was only basic sciences, not the end of the world.... didn't get kicked out studied at my own pace..... hit 235 on the USMLE..... DID I WORRY ABOUT WHETHER ARE NOT I WAS AN IMG ARE NOT..... NOT AT ALL, WHEN STEP ONE TIME CAME I WAS READY....IF I HAD TO DO IT AGAIN I WOULD DO IT THE SAME WAY...... TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT FOR MED SCHOOL.... GET THIS.....10,OOOUSD FOR ALL 4YRS.... I'M TAKING A BREAK NOW.... MY CHOICE ONLY. MAN GO FOR IT... IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE AN MD SHUT OUT EVERY HINDERING THING IN YOUR LIFE including people for that matter AND Make ADJUSTMENTS.... THAT WAS CRAZY TRYING TO MAKE IT THROUGH MED.SCHOOL AND WORK... AND STUDY FOR THE BOARDS? stop digging the same hole hospitals look at that as not being focused, regardless of what people say about multiple attempts, most directors don't even want to talk to you in the good hospitals. hope this help...... do medicine where you don't have economical hardships, a lot of students never dreamed of such, i was in your shoes at one time, you know what i did ? i did it for myself and faded out all else and hit the books.... it payed off....the solution is do what passers do.... they study, that's the common, nothing else..... if anyone gives you another remedy trash it....study man.. go where you can focus for 2yrs even if it's Mars board passing will get you in any clinical.... just my 2 cents...it works.....a non board passer have no advice at allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!

hi! thanks for your response. actually, the money became a problem only this past year because my dad is 60+ and he was ill, so because of that he was not working..so i had to pitch in at home ..and that was the worst time for my loans to go thru repayment. he has been well now a couple months and started working again, so there is less burden on me to have to work other than my own loans...so my parents said if these couple of months of full-time studying do me good to pass the exam..then they can deal with it because once i pass, im back in fulltime status and i can defer my loans til i graduate. so right now i can have any resource i want and im only a few points away from passing this thing, all i need is to be sponsored to take it one last time. i wanted to get the exam done here and start my rotations in the US since im done with basic sciences already, so philippines seems a bit distant...but ur encouragement and motivation was a nice story to hear...and im glad to run into helpful people like u on this board!

I realize this thread is over a year old now, but if anyone still looks at it, please reply. Student 16, I am in the exact same boat as you. What did you end up doing? This isn't the end of my medical career is it?