u/Irfanoor

Hey everyone,
I recently passed Step 1 and I wanted to share my experience because I know how overwhelming this journey can feel. For me, it wasn’t just academics—I was dealing with constant self-doubt and even some personal battles alongside prep.
In the beginning, my scores weren’t great, but gradually they started improving. That’s something I want to emphasize: progress happens slowly, but it does happen.
On exam day, I went in with a racing heart. The first few minutes were honestly stressful, but I used some techniques to calm myself down, and after that, I settled in.
And I’ll say this very clearly: the exam is doable.
Please don’t let discouraging posts scare you. Almost all the concepts felt familiar—either from UWorld or NBME. There were maybe 1–2 questions in total where I had absolutely no idea, but everything else was something I had seen before in some form.
For context:
I completed about 80% of UWorld, but I focused heavily on understanding rather than rushing through it
I did not cram First Aid, only read it once properly
My NBME scores were solid (got 77% on NBME 33)
One important thing: I think what intimidates most people is not the content, but the question style. If you train your brain to think the right way while solving questions, the exam becomes much more manageable.
During the exam, I was able to finish my blocks early and used the remaining time to review flagged questions.
After finishing, I genuinely felt like I would pass—and thankfully, I did.
I really want to give back and help others going through this phase, especially those who feel lost or overwhelmed like I did. Feel free to ask for any help.

Step 1 Guide