I am an IMG and English is not my first language. I work in a lab so I can only spend 2~3 hrs a day. I prepare step 1 for over a year now. Took the test yesterday and didn’t feel well.
Books: Kaplan notes (read only once) + first aid 2006 (read four times) + Goljan audio (listened once) +webpath slides
Mock tests: Kaplan qBank finish 70%, ~65~70% correct overall
Kaplan IV qBank finish 100%, ~70~75% correct
Kaplan qBook finish 100%, ~75% correct (many questions are redundant with qBank)
USMLE World finish 30%, ~60% correct
NBME 1-4, two weeks before the test, finish 100%, ~80% correct
USMLE CD, 1 weeks before the test, ~85% correct

My experience with the test:
Time is an issue (maybe due to my English). For NBME mock tests, I usually have ten minutes left in each block so that I can have time to review those marked questions. For the real exam, I only have 2~5 minutes. But I have more marked questions (~10/each block). Not that I can guarantee that I can make other questions right, but other questions seem to be understandable.
I didn’t get many questions regarding important diseases or so-called Board favorites. Didn’t get many micro or patho-related questions. I seem to get awful a lot of physio-related questions that asked about multiple changes in a certain condition. And they asked about five parameters sometimes! If you are not sure about just one of them, you are screwed.

Some questions that I didn’t make correctly: \
my experience in preparation after the test:
first aid should be memorized word to word. Kaplan is somewhat helpful for understanding the materials. Goljan audio is wonderful. I regret not reading his notes and questions. U world is better than kaplan qbook and I should have finished it. IV qbank probably is not important at all.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing.

I am sure you passed the exam.

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have anything to do with probenecid?

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Good luck and thanks for sharing.

Hi, as I was reading your message, I felt totally identified with you since I took my test the 17 january and I still don't know my results, but overal it was just as you described. I felt very bad after the test and I completely agree with you on the difficulty of the test. I was told that the real test was really simple compared to other test, specially U wold or Qbank but I found it to be 10 times more difficult on the real test. I couldn't belive when I saw more than 5 items in physio questions and it was so hard!
Thank you for sharing too.

Quick question about the actual exam: Is it fairly easy to highlight sentences in the question as it is in Usmle World?......I've been getting into the habit of doing that and if its not as smooth as in the exam i'll stop getting into the habit of highlighting......thanks for the input

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Hi! I would like to tell you that I received my score today, and I'm pretty surprised about it, which was 99! So, don't lose hope, cause as well as I did this grade, you'll surely got the same!!

Took exam yesterday, I hope I get a nice score, I think it was rather easy because I got questions I didn't expect (rouleaux and ask the disease or no substantia nigra and ask disease), really easy, it took me about 50 minutes per block.

I think what alot of people who take this test forget, is that this test is suppose to be very difficult and challanging...

Because in ALL honestly Not everyone is cut out for being a doctor! I mean thats just the truth!

Now with that said, I wish everyone the best when taking the test, and I def. appreciate yours and others experiences!

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"Enjoy The Ride"

4th generation M.D

I hope all the people that take this test can see this:
Our records indicate that you have already passed this Step or Step Component or the equivalent NBME® Part. USMLE policy on reexamination generally does not allow applicants to retake a Step or Step Component if they have already passed that Step or Step Component or the equivalent NBME Part

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Some day I will be the next Goljan/Daugherty/fysher for IMG's all over the world.