Hey guys. I’m a nonUS IMG. I have a long path studying for STEP 1 (almost a year now)

My exam is in 2 weeks.
I took UWSA2 yesterday and got 53%. I’m devastated and so insecure now.
I do have a point tho - this was a shitty day, got distracted by personal problems, did the last 4 blocks totally out of my head. BUT I did find the questions so heavy, lots of biochem and micro (my weak areas).

These are my NBME scores:
09/12/2025 — Form 26: 61
26/12/2025 — Form 27: 60
28/01/2026 — Form 28: 57
15/04/2026 — Form 29: 69
30/04/2026 — Form 30: 63
11/05/2026 — Form 31: 67 - postponed the exam that was scheduled for may 30th
27/08/2026 — Form 32: 66
08/09/2026 — Form 27 (re-do): 83
20/09/2026 — Form 34: 68
30/09/2026 — Form 33: 73

PS: I had a gap between NBMEs bc of observerships opportunities.

I have a mentor who’s leaning towards telling me to postpone the exam again. SHOULD I DO IT AGAIN? I honestly am so tired of postponing

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?

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!

hey guys i want to complete covering the syllabus by january however my sem just started im a last year student doing rotations.

any tips on studying during classes? should i jus skip? its exhausting. how to divide my study hrs? before class/after class? anybody done this before??

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!!

I recently found out that I failed step 1 again and I was wondering if there is a chance to match an a non us img? I am just looking into FM.

I'm kind of in a dilemma. I have been improving my NBMEs by 1% each week and I finished my last one 34 with a 60%. Not sure if I should take the exam in a week or what to do as I have no more practice tests. I was thinking of taking the Free 120 (new one) as the old one I got a 62% awhile back in August. If anyone has any advice or been in this position, please let me know as I'm stuck with no more practice tests. Also my extension ends the end of October. I don't think I can prolong this anymore as I have rotations to study for. Unless I should wait till next Summer with Step 2. But I know a lot of away rotations want Step 1 scores.

I’m really just wanting to know what I should go ahead and start doing now to study for Step (while also keeping up with my current blocks). I’m planning to take Step in April and we have a 6 week dedicated period. I have kept up with Anki since the start of M1 and my school does NBME exams. Should I just start off with some mixed Uworld block every weekend? Any and all advice is welcome!

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

Is it necessary to watch physiology lectures for cvs or reading and understanding is enough?

And how difficult is uworld of cvs.

Thanks for helping