USMLE STEP 1 Experience:
Score - 235 ; Exam date - 21st December 2017
Prep time - 5 months of dedicated preparation between August-December 2017
Yes, its not one of those fancy 250s and 260s scores but I am content with it after a horrific exam day experience which left me feeling as if even 220 was a distant dream. But hopefully my experience will help someone.
Prep details :
~FA - 5 times cover to cover and countless reads of a few topics that I struggled with.
~UW - 2.5 times. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to complete UW thrice. This is one of the things I would change about my preparation.
~Kaplan Videos 2014 and lecture notes for Pharmacology, Microbiology, Physiology, Neurology and Biochemistry.
~Goljan path - During my internship days and revisited first few chapters during my dedicated prep time. Do i recommend this? Not really.
~Pathoma - Finished pathoma in one week with PDF and Videos in adjacent windows with simultaneous annotations in FA. Revisited videos for nephrology in the last month.
~Conrad 100 cases - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. You don’t need any other resource for ethics.
~Anatomy shelf notes - Waste of time. Very basic stuff.
~DIT videos - Very good for the topics you find difficult.
~UW Biostats - Didn’t really do much for me.
~ Youtube videos from various channels - Extremely helpful!
Other than UWSA2, I didn’t give any other assessment sincerely which was rather foolish.
NBME 18 - 236 1 month before exam
UWSA 2 - 244 10 days before exam
NBME 16,17 scores were in 220s and 230s and I took them around 2 months before the exam.
~Free 120 - 90% correct, Day before the exam.
Pointers from my experience:
= Preparation:
~ Don’t dive into too many resources. Stick to the standard ones. Look into DIT for things you struggle with.
~ Do UW thrice - Its a great confidence booster when you see yourself getting 95% questions right on an average. I started my third round about one week from the exam which was a little too late and did about 1000 questions.
~ Do the old NBMEs, not for assessment but for practicing questions. Don’t bother with the 1.35 or 1.39 conversion rate. Keep your eyes on how many questions you get wrong. They are a very underrated practice source.
~ DO NOT DO NBME 19 online within 30 days of your exam. It has a very harsh curve and will only demoralize you at a critical time. Definitely do it offline though.
=Exam day:
~ I had a horrible exam day (Hyderabad, India) where I was given the wrong exam code. Cost me some time in block 1.
~ Use the noise cancellation headphones ( Orange ones ). I didn’t know they existed until I was prompted in the post exam survey. I was sitting among people giving GRE and TOEFL who were bashing their keyboards. Had to plug my ears shut during the first 2 blocks. I distinctly remember the silly mistakes I made during these two blocks and to no surprise, the same reflected on my score report. This is what cost me a good 10-15 marks (Yes, I was gunning for 240-250 and was fairly confident based on my prep).
~ Carry a caffeinated drink and foods rich in sugar. You get enough time for a quick snack and bathroom break after every block.
~ Try not to open FA or your notes during the breaks to check on mistakes from previous blocks, no matter how tempting it may seem. This will haunt you for the rest of the exam.
This group is a really good tool for your exam preps. It has some really selfless people who will help you with your doubts and share their experiences and they make you feel like you aren’t in this alone.
On the flip-side, there are also some really toxic people whose only purpose in life is to bring others down. Don’t let them get to you. They are the reason why PDs conduct interviews before the match. No one needs these critters.
Stay positive and good luck 
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments down below.
P.S: A special shout-out to Mansi and Huzaifa, my study partners who helped me with my doubts and helped me stay focused.