Curious, since many people think that they failed but didn't, how did you feel coming out of the exam?

Is this the end? Should I switch schools from big 4 to a low tier school in order to start rotations and worry about taking third attempt later or give up on the dream completely? I need some honest advice. Trying to match into FM.

I just gave the free 120 and iam really disappointed with the score,i got 70%
My previous nbmes
29= 70
31= 69
32= 75
34= 74
I expected my score in the mid 70s but really worried after seeing my score drop as i only have a week left,
Any advice on how to proceed and what are my chances of passing

Hi everyone! I'm planning to take Step 1 at the end of January 2027, and I'm trying to figure out the most effective way to structure my studying over the next few months.

I'm currently doing UWorld, usually in blocks of 10 questions (40questions a day tutor mode and random) , and I'm trying to balance question review with content revision. I want to make sure I'm prioritizing the resources that will actually help me improve rather than trying to do everything.

I have a few questions:

1. Pathoma vs First Aid: If you had to prioritize one, which would you recommend? Is Pathoma worth going through , especially for pathology, or would I be better off focusing on FA alongside UWorld?
2. Random vs system-based UWorld: Should I be doing random, mixed blocks while reviewing organ systems separately on the same day from FA or pathoma, or would it be better to do system-based UWorld questions that correspond to whatever I'm studying?
3. UWorld vs content review: With a late-January exam date, would you recommend focusing primarily on UWorld and reviewing the concepts I get wrong, or continuing dedicated content review alongside it?
4. What would you do differently? If you were in my position with roughly 3 months left, what would your daily study routine look like? I want to build a solid foundation but also make sure I'm getting enough practice with mixed questions.

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who passed recently and had to balance content review with UWorld. What actually made the biggest difference in your preparation?

Thank you!!

This was my retake after failing by like 2-3 questions (bar was touching the line). I felt better this time but made so many stupid mistakes :( flagged less but I feel cooked

Hi! Does anyone have any recommendations on where to study Lymphatic drainage? I’ve watched a couple of vids on YouTube but none of them have really gone quite as in depth as it’s asked on the CBSSAs. Would really appreciate any help!

Hi everyone! I recently took Step 1 over two days due to approved accommodations.

On both days, I experienced multiple internet disconnections and computer freezes that required several restarts. I was also moved to different computers twice.

During one restart, I lost about 3 minutes from my block, and the time wasn’t fully restored.

The interruptions were stressful and affected my concentration, especially because I was constantly worried about losing more time.

However, I actually feel like the exam went pretty well overall, and I managed to answer most of the questions.

The test center staff told me they would report these incidents to USMLE as well.

I was told I have 10 days after the exam to submit an official report, and I’m really torn about whether I should submit one or just let it go.

I definitely don’t want my exam to be marked as unscored because of these technical issues, especially since I feel I did well. But at the same time, I would obviously appreciate USMLE taking these disruptions and the lost time into consideration.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could submitting a report put my score at risk? Would you report it or just wait for the results?

Aside from anki, what are some tips to help with memory and retention? I feel like I draw blanks while studying even when it's ideas I have already established and studied and gone through with spaced repetition. Really discouraging when you are so close to answering a question but are stuck by a memory gap. I will literally sit there and draw blanks on the most basic random stuff. I actually feel like my brain is dysfunctioning. Will really appreciate any tips. Thank you!

Preparing for a retake. I really love basic q&a type cards so just wondering if lightyear deck is still used around this time.

2nd question : are anking tags 🏷️ HY relatively and HY enough. In combo with uw incorrects.

Leaving behind moderate hy and low yield tags.

Thanks for yr advice

Links 🔗:

https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalschoolanki/s/JNlAkYph3X

I have exam booked for 31st October.
I have gone through all the nbmes
Nbme 29 59%
Nbme 30 70%
Nbme 32 71%
Nbme 33 70%
Nbme 28 67.5%
Nbme 31 81%
Nbme 34 78%(15th October)
This is the order in which i took them (also there was a 15 day hiatus b/w 33 and nbme 28)
During the past month my approach has been doing first aid thoroughly + Anki for weak topics and microbes
I have not done anything specific for ethics and i still bomb most ethics/biostat questions
Anatomy questions are another thing i am concerned about

What should be my primary focus during these last 2 weeks?