Please forgive the length; I wanted this post it to be as useful to as many people as possible. I went to Saba University.

I scored a 234 / 98, and maybe this info will help others to do better, taking what's good and avoiding the mistakes:

Preparation:
1.) On the island: First let me say that I did not really do any Kaplan practice questions, despite our Assistant Dean of Clinical Medicine's excellent advice to do 100 questions per night during basic sciences. I did do all the Pathology questions in the Kaplan Q-book right before the Path shelf, then never looked at them again. I did do every single WebPath question and look at all the pictures there. I did every single question in the Robins Pathology review book before each path test. I did pay close attention to the Kaplan review course DVD's, took notes, and attended every lecture I could. Later I nearly panicked because I felt I forgot most of it, but it sticks with you subconsciously, thanks to the repetition. I probably would have scored higher if I had done more questions on the island, but I was too overwhelmed with class material to do questions and still score ok on block exams and keep from getting burned out. Probably not the best example, there. So I had to make up for it later on my own time off the island.

2.) Falcon Review Course: I attended the Falcon review course in Dallas, which runs 7 weeks. At the time, I felt that the structure of a review course was necessary to make sure that I didn't get too lazy and distracted by family, friends, and the comforts of being back in the U.S.A. I chose Falcon at first because I felt another Kaplan course would have been redundant. Falcon is a much less detailed and more broad in nature than Kaplan, but their books are excellent for organizing your study plan as a way to organize your own study. The lecturers, the accommodations, and food were very satisfactory at the Falcon review. It is expensive, at $5,000, and took two months, and it is not perfect. If you are very motivated and have no problem with coming up with your own comprehensive study plan it would be a waste of your time. I posted a more comprehensive review of Falcon at http://www.valuemd.com/saba-university-school-medicine/129141-falcon-review-brief-overview-those-considering.html if you want to know more about Falcon Review.

3.) Home study: Falcon recommends that after their review course, you take 4 weeks to study each subject again on your own, and start doing questions, so I did that. Falcon did not recommend doing questions during the review course, as they contend that doing questions without a firm grasp on the subject material is a poor use of time. Falcon only offers ExamMaster question bank free of charge, just like Saba University does. However, I ignored the ExamMaster questions entirely after doing about 100 questions. I felt that they were not clinically oriented enough, much too detailed, and did not force me to integrate the different subject areas like the step 1 forces students to do. So I went home, locked myself in my room, and read through all my Falcon notes again carefully, spending extra time on my weaker areas, Physio and Biochem. I used the Kaplan review books from Saba as a reference to look up details I could not recall, as the Falcon materials are broad, and not as detailed as Kaplan. I made certain that I integrated the material by cross-referencing everything. For example, if I read in Physio about the autonomic nervous system I would also read about it in Pharm and Anatomy and Neuro as well. This integration is the key to doing well on Step 1, more than anything else except maybe doing USMLEWorld questions. I wish we integrated things a little more on the island, as we do some in the clincal medicine course. Also, I can't stress enough how important it is to stick to one set of review books and only use others whenever you need quick reference to some detail. If you are jumping from one book series to another to another all the time you get confused. If you are going to use the BRS series, do that. If you are going to use Kaplan, do that, and stick with it unless you KNOW it is leaving something out and you need to look up a single detail somewhere else, and then quickly come back to your main source.

After I finished that, I did all the USMLEWorld.com questions online, and did most of them twice. You need to score above 55% on the USMLE World questions using timed, unused questions in order to be confident you will pass the step 1. If anyone wants to know about that it is explained at http://www.valuemd.com/usmle-step-1-forum/128044-about-usmle-world.html and http://www.valuemd.com/usmle-step-1-...tml#post602202
Unlike ExamMaster, USMLE World questions are very, very similiar to real USMLE questions. Kaplan questions, though better than ExamMaster and contain about the right amount of detail, are too short without long vignettes and do not integrate different subjects as well. After I did all the USMLE World questions I did the Kaplan Q-book questions on Biochem and Physio (again, what I saw as my weaker areas). I cannot say enough about USMLE World questions - they are by far the best and there were probably 4 of them on my test, nearly word for word.
I did not do any of the NBME tests available online, and though these diagnostic tests are reputed to be the best for gauging USMLE preparedness, I just didn't have time. I also felt it would hurt my confidence if I did poorly on the NBME tests, which do not tell you the answers to questions you miss.

Two days before the test, I read through First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (2005 edition). I did wish I had the current edition. The night before the exam I memorized all the equations in the back of the First Aid book (all epidemiology equations, the biostats equations we learned in Microbiology, all cardio, renal, and respiratory equations from physiology.)

I did all the questions on the USMLE practice CD sent to me by mail. I scored 32, 46, and 40 on the 3 blocks on the CD and knew I was ready. I ended up scoring around 72% on random timed USMLEWorld tests consistently right before the test. I scored a 63 on the Kaplan Diagnostic test I took at Saba at the end of basic sciences, if I remember correctly. Ok, now to the good stuff:

Test Day:
1. Logistical stuff: Showed up for my test and signed in at the Prometric center. They gave me a tiny 1 cubic foot locker to put my stuff in. I was not allowed to have anything on my person, not even my analog watch. Every time you enter or leave the testing room, you have to show your photo I.D. and sign out. If you have to take off your sweatshirt, you have to leave the room and sign out to do so during a break, or they will record the action as a testing irregularity. So however much time you think you will have for breaks, subtract 2-4 minutes for every sign in/sign out procedure. Not fun at all. During my breaks I wolfed down a banana or an apple every couple of hours, which was good for keeping up my energy and keeping hunger away. Lunch was very short (about 10 minutes) because the test proctor took forever to sign me out for lunch as he was helping another person sign in. Also be ready for the fact that the test proctor will walk in and out of the room every 10 minutes and stand over your shoulder. Be aware that other people in the room will be taking typing tests, massage therapy tests, and so on. You are provided with a pair of soundproof earphones and a few sheets of laminated paper to write on with a dry erase marker. With 100 questions to go, I gulped down a strong cup of coffee. This was effective in boosting my energy and saw me through the last two hours.
As soon as I sat down at the testing computer, before I even logged in, I wrote down all those equations I had memorized the night before, which was very useful. I took all the time in the world doing this, as the clock doesn't start until you log in.

A little bit of everything was on the test. Though respiratory and embryo were probably lowest yield for me, I feel like they could have asked any of it randomly. I could probably sit here for another few hours and keep telling you what they asked - and I am sure I forgot many of the more ridiculously hard items. If I could do it again I would spend more time looking at path pictures, as well as MRI's. To be truthful, I felt like I was guessing between two good choices about 2/3 of the time on the step 1. After the test, I felt like I failed, as most people seem to feel afterwards. Many times I know I answered a question correctly because of some interesting remark or by-the-way comment made by professors in class on Saba during a lecture.

Confidence has a huge role in how well one performs on this test, I think. You have to believe you are right even if you are guessing when answering questions. You just have to trust yourself and believe that all the repetition of the material is embedded somewhere in your brain and will come back to you at the right time, and it will if you worked hard.

If you have any questions about anything that I may or may not have seen, or about anything else I have neglected to mention, I will be happy to answer as best I can (except to give the actual question word for word, of course). Just send me a PM.


Sincerely,
~W

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Saba University School of Medicine

• Step I (234/98) [x]
• Internal Med [x]
• Infectious Disease [x]
• Ob/Gyn [x]
• Family Med [x]
• Pediatrics [ x]
• Cardiology[x]
• Surgery [ ]

wow thanks for putting so much detail for us. Your exam seems really really hard, but surely you were prepared very well for it. And congratulation on such a good score. Best wishes for future.

Congrats on your score, and thanks for sharing.

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Moderator: USMLE Step 1 Forums, USMLE Step 2 Forums,USMLE Step 3 Forums.

Wow! that's an excellent score. Congratulations.

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"I got my period while lactating." - My classmate in physio class.

Thanks for sharing, And again congrats!

congrats to you wolfvgang - you deserve it!

thanks for sharing your experiences.
Its really good to hear and for knowledge.
congratulations for good score and good luck for the future.

what happen to all subject wise description he gave.. vanished!!! i thought i will read after sometime and when i log in again i can not see . ... what happen?

Congrats!
This will be really helpful soon

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Something that bothers you, just flush it off and wipe the remaining patiently. RS-Stanislas

I removed it after receiving several PMs from concerned students who didn't want to see me get in trouble for posting specific test info. However, if you will PM me your email address I will be happy to correspond with you about the types of things that are commonly tested.

__________________
Saba University School of Medicine

• Step I (234/98) [x]
• Internal Med [x]
• Infectious Disease [x]
• Ob/Gyn [x]
• Family Med [x]
• Pediatrics [ x]
• Cardiology[x]
• Surgery [ ]