I am an IMG with YOG 2003. I did not pass my first attempt at USMLE after about 9 months of study. I did Goljan, BRS and High Yield Series , FA and UW. I am specialist in my country and had never done exam like this before. Working full time and studying is not easy at all. I think my biggest mistake was to attempt exam even though I knew I wasn't fully ready. I panicked in exam and wasted alot of time trying to figure out questions that were probably experimental. When I found out I failed by 5 points, I was very upset - devastated. But then I decided if I had come so close, I will try again.
I took about a month off and changed up my study plan. I focused on FA and UW mainly. I noted all topics I did weakest on and did those topics first in FA, then with timed tutor in UW. Then I did other topics and did mixed timed in UW. About 3 weeks before exam did an NMBE 12 (ONLY one I did) and didn't pass. I was surprised but decided to look at weak points and review. Decided to push exam back by 3 weeks . I read FA 4 times and kept doing UW.
Did exam day before Thanksgiving. It was tough but doable. I took breaks between every block. I had lunch after about 3 blocks (15 mins) - sandwich and pepsi By last block I was really tired but kept telling myself you have to keep going because it will soon be done.
I got my results yesterday and I passed!!! It was low score (202) but glad I'm done. For me, it's good Christmas gift. I have never posted before but just wanted to encourage other "older" IMG that it is possible. Also to encourage those who failed that you can still succeed. There's alot of emphasis on high scores but scores is not all. I have friends that matched with low scores so it's not impossible. I now have more experience and will be pushing to do better on step 2.

congratulations truthful!!!! for finally getting done with the beast...u have nailed t my friend

Congratulations...and thank's for your positive vibes,i'm also an IMG yog 2009 and i'm specialist in my country.i 'm planning to start My revisions but it's too hard because of all my studies were in french...how can you advise me ??? Good luck for step2

Thank you Senorita666. All the best to you for your exams!

Thank you Gargoulette. Yes, it may be difficult to study now in English but it's not impossible. You just have to work really hard. I didn't use Kaplan because I didn't like the style for me but many people recommend it for older IMG to refresh the memory. So maybe you can start there. If you don't like Kaplan then you can try BRS High Yield Series which are pretty good. Start at basics and then work your way up. KNOW and STUDY FA . You MUST do UW because you will learn so much. Maybe you can get a study partner so you can encourage each other. I didn't like fact that NBME doesn't give answers but many people swear it helps them improve. Don't get too caught up in UW % because you will improve with time. I wish you all the best with your studies.

Congrats on your result as I know many people who match with barely matching scores. I have my exam next week and I have been studying for about 2 months straight and about 2 years on and off. What would you recommend the week before the exam.

Many people tell me just re-read First Aid as many times before 75-100 pages a day.
Others say do questions and some say don't do questions(USMLE world).
What would you recommend as many people seem to agree that First Aid is missing a lot of info that is on the actual exam.

Thank you. It's hard to say definitely because I think everyone is different and it probably depends on you. The week before the exam I kept doing Uworld questions just to keep "fresh", reviewed ONLY my WEAK AREAS in FA and rereading my Uworld notes/Study cards. 2 days before exam, I stopped doing UWorld questions and just read weak areas in my UWorld notes, FA and study cards. It paid off because in performance profile, I did better on all my previously weak areas except for immunology (which I didn't like so no surprises there ). I found that there were some things on exam that are not in FA but you can still answer based on principles. If not, make your best guess.
Good luck!!

Wonderful Christmas Present!! Congratulations!! Thanks for the support!! This is a wonderful present for me!! Getting discouraged, but won't let it control my study time!! Thanks again and all the best in the future, doctor!

THanks for the advice do you mind also saying what your uworld notes consisted of and also how Uworld questions were compared to the actual test. thank you

My UWorld notes consisted of mostly diagrams because after a while you get tired of reading - seems endless . The diagrams are like summaries and help better. I thought actual test was similar to Uworld but question stems were longer sometimes in the test.

Congratulations !!!!!

Sorry I didn't comment on your post before. Thank you very much. I wish you success in your exams!!!! Don't give up!!

Thanks alot!!! All the best to you too!