Need urgent advice, How accurate is nbme 1/2/3? CK in 1 week, need advice please

[slapusilly21]

got a 390 (188 equivalent) in nbme 1 and a 420 (196) in nbme 2, got CK next week, how accurate are these? where am i holding? i cant postpone anymore otherwise i'll have no shot whatsoever at 2010 match......please advise, god bless

[IMG SURVIVOR]

got a 390 (188 equivalent) in nbme 1 and a 420 (196) in nbme 2, got CK next week, how accurate are these? where am i holding? i cant postpone anymore otherwise i'll have no shot whatsoever at 2010 match......please advise, god bless

When did you took NBME 2?
I have a friend that got 420 on NBME2 three days before the exam and score 218 on the real exam.
The magic number has lately been 450 to pass the exam. Is not that if you do not reach 450 you will absolutely will fail the exam, but you are on the safe side. People that score from 400-440 most people pass some fail.

NBME1 = easiest
NBME4 and 3 are the hardest
NBME 2 traditionally people have said is like the exam with very high accuracy , but some people lately say NBME 4 is the real deal.

Because of match issues take it.In worst case scenario you can try to take it again and be ready for the match in march.

This is what I have seen in the internet and my experience with people sending me pm and telling me what they score,etc.

Sorry to be so ______ but this is the time that you need to hear the truth and not unicorns, and know exactly the reality.
I hope this help

[RussianJoo]

try the other nbme's, everyone i spoke with said they're very accurate. either way if you take it in a week it will take at least 4 weeks for your results to get back (read the score reporting info on the usmle website) which will be like late october which is kind of late for the match anyway, and right now it seems like you'll barely pass at best so it won't really help you get a residency. or you can study more and do really well on it and either try to scamble with the help of your awesome step2 score or be ready to submit your application on sept1st next year. You do risk of failing step2 and then you'll have more problems than missing the 2010 match. so i say take your time and do well on step2 and either try to scramble or apply next year.

[slapusilly21]

took the 2nd one this morning, the exam is scheduled for this friday (3 days from now) , im ok with just passing and applying for 2010 match rather than wait for a better score and miss it. also...the new score reporting says if u take it anytime from aug 10 - late sep your score comes out oct 7th so thats early enough to still apply. same advice or change of though? and if i should take another nbme do u suggest 3 or 4? or should i not psych myself out and just go in with the 420?

3 days to test, help please

[brob311]

which will be like late october which is kind of late for the match anyway, .

Actually, I don't think that it is too late at all. There was a statement from the USMLE saying that most test-takers who sit for the exam between aug 10th - late Sept will all recieve their scores Oct 7th, so I am sure there is a lag in Step 2 scores and ERAS applications.

I am sure if this person passes next week, and has all of his stuff in, he could still easily match.

[RussianJoo]

Actually, I don't think that it is too late at all. There was a statement from the USMLE saying that most test-takers who sit for the exam between aug 10th - late Sept will all recieve their scores Oct 7th, so I am sure there is a lag in Step 2 scores and ERAS applications.

I am sure if this person passes next week, and has all of his stuff in, he could still easily match.

let me explain a little clearer. the USMLE website says it takes up to 6 weeks for scores to be reported. it personally took me 3 weeks to get my step1 score and 4 weeks to get my step2 score back. now the usmle came out with an announcement saying there will be a delay in score reporting if you took the exam after Aug10th your score will be reported on Oct.7th at the earliest, that means instead of taking the usually 3 to 4 weeks it will take about 7 weeks to get your score back. this delay is because they're changing the format of the exam. so if you took your test in mid to late Sept. you won't get your score back Oct. 7th, that's when you would get your back if there wasn't a delay in score reporting, those that took the exam a little bit after Aug 10th will get their score back on Oct. 7th, but the OP will probably get his score back in late Oct. about 5 or 6 weeks after he/she takes it.

Now OP if you look at IM forums on SDN you'll see that a bunch of people are already getting interviews, programs have limited amount of interviews and if all are handed out before you even apply then no matter how amazing your application is you won't get any interviews. Also there's a very good chance you'll get interviews if the only thing that's missing is your Step2 score, i.e. you have the step1, transcript, and LORs already submitted. So if you were planning on applying for the 2010 match I hope you at least already applied and submitted everything and you're just missing your step2 score, if you haven't even started your application then you should because it will take up to 4 weeks for ECFMG to scan your transcript and LOR once they receive them from your school.

While technically you won't be late because application deadlines aren't till late Dec. those that are not competitive (which it seems you're not) should apply on Sept. 1st or within a few weeks to have the best chance at getting interviews. Simply because once a program gives out all it's interview dates they won't give out more interviews no matter how good your application is, unless someone else cancels their interview.

OP your best scenario the way i see it is. you take step2 in 3 days i.e. the 19th, you pass with like a 200 and get your results back in at least 4 or 5 weeks (remember it normally takes at least 3 weeks to get your scores back, but USMLE reports a delay in score reporting so it could easily be longer than 5 weeks) so that will put you at mid to late Oct. by then your application should have been complete and your LORs and transcript uploaded (which means right after you take the exam you have to start filling out your application and submitting your transcript and LORs, cause it takes about 4 weeks for them to be uploeaded) you then submit your application as soon as you get your score and it will take 1 or 2 days for USMLE to upload your step scores ( it took me 2 days). So your application will go out by mid/late october at the earliest. By mid october i can guarantee you that programs will already have given out a few dozen interviews and received at least a few hundred applications your application will go to the bottom of their list because you submitted it 1.5 months late and if you're lucky you'll get a few interviews. If you wait to start your application process after you find out that you passed then add another 4 weeks to this process and your application won't be submitted till mid Nov, by then you'll definitely be too late.

Worst case scenario is you start your application process so that you're ready to submit as soon as you get your score and you find out that you didn't pass, then you not only wasted money on starting your application but also can't apply because you failed and worse yet your chances of matching will be much lower because you failed step2 the first time. that's why i say play it safe ( your test can go either way, because you're scoring so low on the nbme's) study more for the step and guarantee yourself a passing score the first time around. and apply on sept. 1st for 2011.

Or you should have just applied on sept. 1st without your step2 score, if you barely pass step2 i don't see how it will really help that much. Usually people take step2 early to boost their step1 score. Plenty of people apply without their step2 or without having all their LORs uploaded and still get interivews, i personally think that applying early is key.

good luck to you whatever you decide on.

[RussianJoo]

took the 2nd one this morning, the exam is scheduled for this friday (3 days from now) , im ok with just passing and applying for 2010 match rather than wait for a better score and miss it. also...the new score reporting says if u take it anytime from aug 10 - late sep your score comes out oct 7th so thats early enough to still apply. same advice or change of though? and if i should take another nbme do u suggest 3 or 4? or should i not psych myself out and just go in with the 420?

3 days to test, help please

it shouldn't matter which nbme you take 3 or 4, 4 is more recent than 3. if you consistently pass the nbme exams then that's a good sign that you'll pass the real thing so if anything taking and passing more nbme's should boost your confidence. If you take them and fail miserably then maybe you should reconsider taking the exam.

[brob311]

This is taken off directly off the website. I see your logic, but I did not interpret the same as you from reading their statement. If there is something I missed, please let me know.

"The target date for reporting Step 2 CK scores for most examinees testing from August 10 through late September will be Wednesday, October 7, 2009."

I just know last year for Step 1, there were many of my peers who had a similar situation where if you took the exam from this date to that date, everyone received their scores on the same day. And it actually happened that way, and they were delayed b/c they were changing the format on the exam.

[slapusilly21]

i actually already have all the ERAS stuff (LOR's, PS, etc) everything done and uploaded on ECFMG, i just have to choose programs and apply. but am i wasting my time assplying with a 78 (190) step 1 first time passing score , a first time CS passing score and a first time failed CK attempt.
If i wait to take CK a second time, pass, then apply, i will not make 2010 match so its either apply now (today asap) to some IM and FP programs all across the board and hope that applying early gets me an interview and hope also that they overlook the first CK failed attempt as well as no 2nd CK YET.
all the ERAS stuff is in and ready to go, but do i apply?? help please
im looking for ANY IM program in any state hopefully.....possibly FP as backup.

[RussianJoo]

ohh you already failed ck once before? so this is your second attempt... I really don't know what to say, I would probably wait till i got that pass before applying, I don't think anyone will even bother interviewing you knowing that you failed the CK once before and haven't retaken it yet, they might think that since you failed once before you might fail again, especially since your step1 score was so barely passing as well. I think they will want to see passing scores before interviewing you because there's no way you can start a residency if you don't pass step2ck so what would be the point of them interviewing you if you can't start. that's what i think the PDs would say. but i really don't know.

if you haven't failed CK the first time and this was your first time taking it i would tell you that you should have applied 2 weeks ago, and not having your ck isn't that big of a deal.

you should post here ERAS and the NRMP Match | Student Doctor Network

aProgDirector on there is a program director for either IM or FM residency and he's on there a lot to answer people's q's.