Took the test June 16th.

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

Man what a test. I had 10 questions on cystic fibrosis so I'm glad I knew that stuff cold. I feel alright about the test, and I could say I knew about 75% of the stuff on the test, but I marked about 7-8 questions per 48 question block that I knew I'd probably get wrong. Give or take 2 per block, that's about 10 per block I could have gotten wrong, so perhaps 80% per block, that's what I'm hoping for.

I was scoring around 230's on the NBME's before taking the test, so I hope my score is in that range, but at this point I'd be happy taking a 220 and just passing. 240 and I'd jump through the roof!

[RussianJoo]

congrats on being done. I wouldn't be too surprised if you got above 230. when I left the test i felt like i got maybe 70% correct and i ended up with a 227. enjoy your time off.

[windsorMD]

what sources did you use ?

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

I used the Kaplan 7 book series, RR Path by Goljan, UW and FA. I didn't use the Kaplan path, anatomy (exept for neuro), and behavioral, but everything else I read 2x, including Goljan. I was hoping to get through those blue margin notes in RR Path the day before, but I was strictly memorizing bugs and drugs and other minutiae and didn't have time for it.

I spent 8 weeks prepping after 4 months in a Kaplan semester by SMU. I had the option of doing Kaplan in Miami or chillin in Cayman and working on my own, so I decided to stay and work on my own pace.

I dunno, the more I think about it, I feel like I went through that test kinda fast. There was one block that I had 15 minutes left in, but for the most part I had about 5-7 minutes at the end of each block to go over those questions I marked.

I certainly feel like test could have been a lot harder, but they do say that if it's a tough test you'll walk out a lot happier with your score than an easier test thinking you did well on. :( I just dunno.

[miasma]

congrats on finishing the exam FutureMD. if you don't mind me asking, what was your overall average on uw? i'm just wondering because i just finished all the questions, and i'm not sure where i stand. thanks!

[drinmotoracer]

Hey did you encounter any of those new "Audio Visual" questions? If so could you describe them in detail (format and what not)...
thx,
:D

[stephew]

Do NOT describe any questions. It is against the USMLE agreement you signed, illegal and can get you into massive trouble. And yes the USMLE folks do read this forum.

[windsorMD]

SDN is full of examples of AV questions
check them out

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

congrats on finishing the exam FutureMD. if you don't mind me asking, what was your overall average on uw? i'm just wondering because i just finished all the questions, and i'm not sure where i stand. thanks!

I finished with a 61% for the unused tutor mode. Please note that I did not need the timed mode because I am a pretty fast test taker. As noted earlier, I finished with about 5-7 minutes for each block, and I know that timing was not an issue for me, so I used the tutor mode to save time during my studying for the exam. But I have read that random timed questions are the BEST way to prepare. Just know what's good for you and you will figure out what works best.

Good luck!

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

Do NOT describe any questions. It is against the USMLE agreement you signed, illegal and can get you into massive trouble. And yes the USMLE folks do read this forum.

Trust me, I do NOT want to risk anything now that I'm done. I already made enough stupid mistakes during the exam, one more isn't needed here. ;)

[miasma]

haha thanks FutureMD, much appreciated. yeah, i finished uw with 67% overall timed, random, unused. i too, find that i rip through exams waaaay too quickly...i usually have around 20 minutes left after each block haha. anyways, i'm sure u did awesome on the test, have fun relaxing!

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

haha thanks FutureMD, much appreciated. yeah, i finished uw with 67% overall timed, random, unused. i too, find that i rip through exams waaaay too quickly...i usually have around 20 minutes left after each block haha. anyways, i'm sure u did awesome on the test, have fun relaxing!

Excellent average! Have you taken any NBME's? They are far better in predicting scores than UW avgs. I have noticed that people with my UW scores tend to score lower on NBME's (like more in the 220 range), so perhaps there is a slight disconnect in terms of UW % and the real deal. At least this is what I'm hoping.

[drinmotoracer]

Do NOT describe any questions. It is against the USMLE agreement you signed, illegal and can get you into massive trouble. And yes the USMLE folks do read this forum.
Doh,
Thx for the headsup! I guess I will be deleting that other thread I made then :D

[drinmotoracer]

SDN is full of examples of AV questions
check them out
Um... I can't find them on SDN could you PM me a link?
Thx,
:D

[drinmotoracer]

Excellent average! Have you taken any NBME's? They are far better in predicting scores than UW avgs. I have noticed that people with my UW scores tend to score lower on NBME's (like more in the 220 range), so perhaps there is a slight disconnect in terms of UW % and the real deal. At least this is what I'm hoping.
I also think there is a disconnect as well between NBME and UW... I'm 83% of the way through UW and my overall average is mid 70's. My NBME scores have not been stellar ( above average but not breaching 230 yet). Might also be because I didn't study Biochem, Behavioral, anatomy, embryo yet too... :D

[miasma]

yeah, my nbme's haven't been stellar either. 230's. oh well.

[Unaccomplished]

i just took the step yesterday and I personally dont think the NBME's are anything like the step, I think its more comparable to UW

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

i just took the step yesterday and I personally dont think the NBME's are anything like the step, I think its more comparable to UW

Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Although the stems were at times quite a bit longer than UW, I felt pretty comfortable during the test because I was so used to the question style and layout of the interface. I thought some of the NBME's were quite vague and the answer choices were way out there, but the actual test's answer choices were all in the line of thought I was in as I was reading the question stems. But from a predictive perspective, it seems as though the NBME's cannot be beat.

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

I also think there is a disconnect as well between NBME and UW... I'm 83% of the way through UW and my overall average is mid 70's. My NBME scores have not been stellar ( above average but not breaching 230 yet). Might also be because I didn't study Biochem, Behavioral, anatomy, embryo yet too... :D

If you don't mind me asking, are you doing q's in a subject-based manner or all random? Perhaps this is the reason for the disconnect as mid 70's should easily land you 240's on the NBME's.

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

yeah, my nbme's haven't been stellar either. 230's. oh well.

It's greater than the mean :). It's hard to break 1 SD above the mean of 217, that's why only about 16% of people do it.

[2cr8tive]

i have about six more weeks to go -a bit less--ive done maybe 20% of usmle world and my avg is low 60's. ive gotten blocks which i scored 80 and 77 and blocks which i scored 45 but id say mostly mid 60s. it's very very frustrating to see such huge fluctuations though. i did nbme 1 last week and got a 221 which i wasnt happy about since this is the easiest nbme of all. but i still have a few more weeks and have just started RR with 100 usmle world per day and FA. im quiet week in drugs cant seem to be able to memorize or retain much. any advise?

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

i have about six more weeks to go -a bit less--ive done maybe 20% of usmle world and my avg is low 60's. ive gotten blocks which i scored 80 and 77 and blocks which i scored 45 but id say mostly mid 60s. it's very very frustrating to see such huge fluctuations though. i did nbme 1 last week and got a 221 which i wasnt happy about since this is the easiest nbme of all. but i still have a few more weeks and have just started RR with 100 usmle world per day and FA. im quiet week in drugs cant seem to be able to memorize or retain much. any advise?

Don't worry about a certain NBME being easier or harder, they're all scaled accordingly so their predictive value remains the same for each form.

As for drugs, I had the same problem. I just reviewed bugs and drugs for 2 hrs each night at the end of studying, sometimes every other night (like bugs one night and drugs the other night). I did that for about 2 weeks before my exam and you'll surprise yourself with how much you can remember. It sucked starting because there was so much to learn, but the next time I saw the same drugs, I could remember things and build upon that. Keep on truckin' man, I know you're smart and you'll do fine.

[2cr8tive]

that is actually good advise. i'll do that for sure. tell me, did u see such big fluctuations in ur usmle world percentages?

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

that is actually good advise. i'll do that for sure. tell me, did u see such big fluctuations in ur usmle world percentages?

I absolutely did see fluctuations that you speak of. One day I scored my highest percentage ever on UW (76), the next day I scored my lowest ever (42). It went on for some time like that, 70-something for a couple days then BAM!, got smacked with a 50-something to shatter my confidence. It's seriously nothing. Learn from your mistakes so that when you go through all the incorrect questions at the end of your studying you are pulling 90's. UW does have a tendency to throw some really out-there questions at you, but that's the point of a qbank source, to learn and see how questions can possibly be asked.

Good luck!

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

Thought I'd update with a score, because none of this really matters without a score. I woke up this morning and accessed OASIS only to find my score report showed this:

Pass

Good luck to all of you! It just shows that it can be done and us Carib students CAN make it happen. Keep at it you guys!

[2cr8tive]

wow many congrads

[rajaneep]

Wish you good luck on your future endeavours.