Final Year Exams, STEP 1, STEP 2 & Research Internship done in 6 months✅
My Story:
I decided to embark USMLE journey last November, got ECFMG applied and started UW for Step 1 late December 2023. I continued Step 1 prep for 2 weeks and then took a break for my university exams. In the beginning of February, I got a bizzare idea of prepping for Step 2 thanks to reddit and Free 120 of STEP 2.
So, I took UW STEP 2 in Feb. Everyday for a month, I did 2 blocks of STEP 1 & 1 block of STEP 2 system-wise. I had to stop for a month in March due to university exams. I jumped back on STEP 1 & 2 immediately after exams, this time, doing 2 blocks of STEP 2 and 1 block of STEP 1.
For STEP 1, I relied only on UW and First Aid. No NBMEs. No other resources. For STEP 2, I used UW and Inner Circle notes. No anki even though Tzancki deck was instilled on the notes.
By end of April, I was done with 90% UW STEP 1 and 60% STEP 2 UW. I sat 15 days dedicated for STEP 1 and gave exam on May and got the PASS. Took a vacation for 2 weeks and then returned back to STEP 2 prep.
I did UW upto 95%, shifted to CMS forms, did 2 each for main subjects and started NBMES. NBMES were all in 250s range except for 13 and 14 which hit 260s. I used to work full time as a research intern during June and do 80-160 questions a day. I also did a review of Inner Circle notes once during the whole month.
Dedicated:
In the month of July, I sat 3 weeks dedicated where I did AMBOSS High Yield qbank and articles. In the final weeks, I went through NBMEs once again, and reviewed the notes.
I also did AMBOSS HY 2nd pass. Did ethics screening vaccination quality and biostats from Amboss.
As for DIP, I listened to high yield stuff but only reviewed the Antibiotics and Palliative podcast in the end.
Day before Test:
Went through all NBME diagrams, did AMBOSS Ethics and Quality, quickly read through ethics articles, did Free 120 two days before the exam.
Test Day:
I was quite relaxed and had my breakfast. The exam felt fairly straight. I took breaks after every 2-3 blocks. Drank water during each break and took a toilet break. Thats all. I finished most blocks with 10-15 minutes to spare and did a 2nd pass of all the questions.
ACTUAL SCORE: 269
Overall, after solving 12k questions, I am happy to complete my fourth year exams, STEP 1 and STEP 2 together in a span of 6 months while being a student and full time research intern.
I am happy to give back to this community and would love to support and finance my further journey with paid mentorships for STEP 1 and STEP 2. If interested, check out here: https://lnkd.in/gwMDWR_9
My Learning Resources: https://lnkd.in/grGsSQnt
My YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gMcGWiUe
My Newsletter: thinkabled.com/cerebrate
Take care.
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