2011 COMLEX Level I Experiences and Scores Thread

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bleeker10

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Haven't seen a thread like this for those of us taking the beast this year so I thought I'd make one. When's everyone taking it? I'm taking it May 24th so I now have just over 60 days until I take it.

What materials are being used? I'm using FA, Goljan, BRS Phys, and Savarese along w/ Kaplan COMLEX and USMLE Qbanks (provided by school), USMLEWorld, and COMBANK.

Anyone taking USMLE too? I'm undecided since I'm military. I'll see where I'm at in a month and I can schedule it then.
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Hey guys..so I failed it the first time and then got a 437..now my question is what are my options?

Good evaluations in all rotations so far...and doing well
am going to start studying slowing and questions for Comlex 2 soon...

FM? PM&R? what are all my options? thanks again..
 
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I just signed up for my COMLEX-I and was wondering if it actually took 9 hours?! If that's the case, I hope we get a lunch break or something...
 
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Pardon my ignorance but when people say they hit 65% on uworld and 75% on combank what are they referring to? Percentage correct first time through? I am about to start my board studying fun
 
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dAnthony1918 said:
Pardon my ignorance but when people say they hit 65% on uworld and 75% on combank what are they referring to? Percentage correct first time through? I am about to start my board studying fun
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Yea, you should do timed, random tests to best predict your performance.
 
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JasPat85 said:
Hey guys..so I failed it the first time and then got a 437..now my question is what are my options?

Good evaluations in all rotations so far...and doing well
am going to start studying slowing and questions for Comlex 2 soon...

FM? PM&R? what are all my options? thanks again..
Click to expand...

AOA FM, IM, Psych, Ob/gyn and, maybe, AOA EM. I'm not sure about PM&R
 
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I thought this was more of a appropriate place to ask...

I have been told by multiple people that UWorld is "too difficult" and not representative of comlex. I was wondering if there is any truth to this and whether combank alone would be sufficient? This seemed strange to me as UWorld seems to be the gold standard for both usmle and comlex.
 
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IMO you should really do UW as your main qbank to learn the material as best you can. Then do some COMBANK questions to get the feel of how COMLEX asks questions.

I think I did 500 questions on COMBANK total just to get the feel of the questions and ended with a 732. So, COMBANK, in my opinion is only good to get the feel of the questions and not to learn the material. UW makes you think more and gives you a deeper understanding of the material.
 
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Hey guys, only about 3 weeks left till my exam. I opened up FA with 30 days to test time.
I'm using DIT and each DIT DAY takes me 2 days to complete. I am currently through day 4 and on pace to finish my stuff the day before the exam.

So I watch the videos on one day takes forever. Then memorize and do questions on day two. Any free time I get aside from scheduled breaks, I try to read Savarese.

You guys think I could cut out the videos for Embryology and minimize those for biochem so that I can potentially save a day?

I wanted to do much better on my comlex but due to my laziness I am in this position of hoping that I pass.

Comsae B untimed after 1 day of videos: 494 UWORLD: Mid 50ish Combank: low 60ish

Any other suggestions ?
 
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Freaking out didn't pass first time around really fd my chances for ortho but still hoping my rotations and letters say otherwise ... Any advice for retaker.. Take it feb 1st
 
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mabinante said:
I agree . . It would be nice to know the COMLEX averages if not just for specialties, also averages for each rotation site. . .

So. . .here is a breakdown of my experience. I'll be brief since I posted previously in detail. I'm not posting for the reason to brag like many on here may be doing. I post in hopes that I can help some people that are borderline or people in the future that are not "top of the class".

I took the test on 6/3/11 and I got a 427/77.

I have been a pretty average student all along. I have a lot of other things including a wife and new child. So, I was not at the top of the class and was not looking to get a 699.

I started DIT on 5/1 and wrapped up on 5/24. I read all of FA. I read all of Savarese (- the practice questions though). I did about 800 Uworld questions and was averaging about 40%. I did all of COMBANK and averaged about 52%.
COMSAE A - 5/8 - 314 (I was starting to worry. . .)
COMSAE B - 5/26 - 291 (I about had an MI as it appeared I got dumber)
COMSAE C - 6/1 - 365 - (felt a little better, then slammed Savarese and finished the last 200 pages of FA-first pass)
NBME school-proctored exam - 5/20 - 163
Uworld practice exam - 5/21 - 180
DIT exam - 5/24 - 179 (UMSLE score)
Uworld practice exam - 5/28 - 192

It feels good to look back and see my practice tests (mostly) improve. If you are reading this and haven't taken the test, it helps to do all the practice tests you can.

Interestingly, I scored 60 points higher on the real deal than I did on COMSAE C which I took only 2 days before COMLEX. Between those two days I read a TON of FA and read all of Savarese and did about 300 questions in COMBANK.

Good luck. I hope you all did well!
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Thank you for the average student view. I keep seeing stellar numbers and i know i can't be anywhere near that

I ended up failing my first time with a 370. I had a family member pass away 1 month before the COMLEX and was very depressed. As a result, I did not study at all. My school would not let me change the date so I just went in taking it without any preparation.



I have taken the last 8 mo off. I also had to take care of my family since my dad is out of the job and now just registered to take the exam on 4/15. I have no financial aid due to my time off and any money i made while working was given to take care of my family. I barely scraped by to pay for this exam.

I'm just starting to feel better now

I started studying about 3/5/12. I just couldn't get myself to read anything =(

I plan on doing all of DIT again (finishing by end of march) and plan on doing saverese+combank from 4/1-4/14. Honestly, that is all I will probably get done before the exam. I would have liked to take it at the end of May since I would be losing a year anyways, but school admins said that's a no-go.

My question is when I registered, 4/14 was the last date. Everything was blocked out until end of may

so does this mean I will be taking the same series that the 2011'ers took? or am I on the new cycle for 2012? Thank you.

Any suggestions would help and if anyone can remember any questions or what to focus on that has take it in the last few months would help too. Thank you so much
 
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I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no where near where i wanted to be but I passed and Ill make up for it on step 2
 
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soccerchicoc said:
I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no where near where i wanted to be but I passed and Ill make up for it on step 2
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Hey glad you passed. This thread is pretty dead, I was actually wondering whatever happened with your situation.

I am taking it in the june, any tips you learned the second time around? What changes did you make from the first time?

Thanks and good luck with step 2!
 
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WonderBoy said:
Hey glad you passed. This thread is pretty dead, I was actually wondering whatever happened with your situation.

I am taking it in the june, any tips you learned the second time around? What changes did you make from the first time?

Thanks and good luck with step 2!
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I studied more pharm and made charts for micro and drew out a table of some omm dx
other then that not much else.... I suggest doing as many questions as possible. I think this was my one of the reAsons i failed the 1st time.
 
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soccerchicoc said:
I studied more pharm and made charts for micro and drew out a table of some omm dx
other then that not much else.... I suggest doing as many questions as possible. I think this was my one of the reAsons i failed the 1st time.
Click to expand...

Thanks thats what I have been trying to focus on, going thru uworld and combank. Good luck to you.
 
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did anyone get any of the infant landmark questions, like how many cubes stacking at what age, etc?

I cannot memorize that for the life of me...there is no pattern I can see :oops:
 
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StressedMedStud said:
Is this the website to register for COMBANK? http://www.combankmed.com/comlex-vs-usmle

I saw my friend doing questions on it and it seemed WAYYYYY easier than first aid for example. I just want to verify that this is the correct qbank.
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yep..that's COMBANK....use to learn and figure out the style of comlex question...uworld is overkill unless you also want to take USMLE

from what i hear, USMLE is a easier test because it tests a little bit of everything. It's not as evenly spread in COMLEX, you can have 40% repro, or hardley any at all

USMLE questions are much more clear in what they are asking. 50% of the images are unnecessary, while you have to soley rely on images for some COMLEX questions and the iamges are crap...blurry, out of focus, etc
 
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Hey Guys I am taking comlex mid june. My plan is to read FA, do all of combank, and kaplan comlex qbank (1000 q's), and read savarese. Is this good enough to get a decent score on comlex? I'm not planning to take USMLE or do UWORLD.
 
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What do you consider a decent score? What are you aiming for? If you wanna pass, sure. But if you are going for >550-600 you will need at least a good path book.

Focus on bugs, drugs, OMM and repro.
 
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StressedMedStud said:
Hey Guys I am taking comlex mid june. My plan is to read FA, do all of combank, and kaplan comlex qbank (1000 q's), and read savarese. Is this good enough to get a decent score on comlex? I'm not planning to take USMLE or do UWORLD.
Click to expand...

id suggest DIT for FA. Yea he reads to you, but it tends to stick in my mind more when someone explains it.

He also doesn't follow it from front-->back, which is ideal since he pieces it all together

For example, he'll talk about a disease, then it's treatment instead of reading about all the diseases at once, and going over all the treatments at once at the end of each section
 
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bleeker10 said:
What do you consider a decent score? What are you aiming for? If you wanna pass, sure. But if you are going for >550-600 you will need at least a good path book.

Focus on bugs, drugs, OMM and repro.
Click to expand...

I want to aim for >550. We have great path professor and i've been reading BRS path while I study for the organ system exams. I hope that is good enough. I dont plan to read BRS again but just read FA path stuff.

Do you guys think doing about 2700 questions thoroughly is enough to get > 550 on comlex?

I will also be taking comsae exams as well.
 
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if you are only taking the comlex if many of us are, would combank be sufficient? I am taking the exam in about two months, and was wondering if buying the kaplan qbank or uworld was important. I have read that several people think combank is too easy, is this true or does it reflect the exam decently?

Also, many people have told me that bugs, drugs, path, omm is the most important stuff on comlex. How about biochem, embryo, neuro, and certain topics like biostats? I am surprised that not a lot of people say physio either.
 
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SMC123 said:
if you are only taking the comlex if many of us are, would combank be sufficient? I am taking the exam in about two months, and was wondering if buying the kaplan qbank or uworld was important. I have read that several people think combank is too easy, is this true or does it reflect the exam decently?

Also, many people have told me that bugs, drugs, path, omm is the most important stuff on comlex. How about biochem, embryo, neuro, and certain topics like biostats? I am surprised that not a lot of people say physio either.
Click to expand...


Use Uworld for sure. Combank is too easy and too superficial.
 
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I have heard that the uworld is too complex for the comlex since it provides 3rd based questions.. but now people are saying the combank is too easy.. what have people in the past used? Would combank be enough to learn ideas and how questions are asked on the comlex? Meaning would it be more simlar to the comlex than uworld or kaplan?
 
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SMC123 said:
I have heard that the uworld is too complex for the comlex since it provides 3rd based questions.. but now people are saying the combank is too easy.. what have people in the past used? Would combank be enough to learn ideas and how questions are asked on the comlex? Meaning would it be more simlar to the comlex than uworld or kaplan?
Click to expand...


Yes it will teach you how comlex asks questions, but you will not learn 1/2 as much as you would from studying off of UWorld. So basically, do UWorld to learn the material, Combank to learn how they ask questions. Better to overprepare on this thing.
 
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SMC123 said:
If taking the comlex, I would you compare kaplan q bank to uworld for that extra bank?
Click to expand...

I used Kaplan COMLEX Qbank on top of COMBANK and I thought it was a very educational qbank. COMBANK has a more realistic interface but I learned more from Kaplan. I also did the Kaplan USMLE questions and about 40-50% of UW. As has been previously stated, COMBANK gives you an idea of COMLEX questions but you need another qbank to learn from. I did 8-10,000 questions to prepare. Repetition is the key to mastery

Also, don't underestimate the value of the practice tests in Savarese
 
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StressedMedStud said:
I want to aim for >550. We have great path professor and i've been reading BRS path while I study for the organ system exams. I hope that is good enough. I dont plan to read BRS again but just read FA path stuff.

Do you guys think doing about 2700 questions thoroughly is enough to get > 550 on comlex?

I will also be taking comsae exams as well.
Click to expand...

If you want >550, you need some more supplemental materials. Whether that be another qbank on top of the 2700 or another book, I'd say you may have a hard time breaking 550 unless you have retained a lot from classes. Have you started doing practice questions and if so, what are your percentages?

I don't think micro is represented well in FA. Either annotate things into FA or add some flash cards. I used Bug Cards and added info onto these.
 
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bleeker10 said:
If you want >550, you need some more supplemental materials. Whether that be another qbank on top of the 2700 or another book, I'd say you may have a hard time breaking 550 unless you have retained a lot from classes. Have you started doing practice questions and if so, what are your percentages?

I don't think micro is represented well in FA. Either annotate things into FA or add some flash cards. I used Bug Cards and added info onto these.
Click to expand...

I am currently starting with COMBANK for content and writing stuff down that I dont know. I do about 30 questions a day then highlight the combank questions in FA.

I dont think i will be able to do 8,000. I would love to but i just dont know how ill do it with classes still going on and oMM practicals and osces. I basically just started studying and my exam is early july.
 
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StressedMedStud said:
I am currently starting with COMBANK for content and writing stuff down that I dont know. I do about 30 questions a day then highlight the combank questions in FA.

I dont think i will be able to do 8,000. I would love to but i just dont know how ill do it with classes still going on and oMM practicals and osces. I basically just started studying and my exam is early july.
Click to expand...

Well take any post on here with a grain of salt. Just because I needed 8,000 questions and lots of resources doesn't mean everyone does. I know I learn best by practice questions so I did as many as possible. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. I know people who can read through something slowly and know everything they need. I need multiple passes through material before I have it down cold.

If you can take a COMSAE or a mock shelf at your school, it will help you know where you are. My school had two mock full length exams which predicted my score within two points and I took them weeks before my exam.
 
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Bleeker, how much time did you study for your steps? In other words, how long did it take you to do 8000 questions?
 
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SMC123 said:
Bleeker, how much time did you study for your steps? In other words, how long did it take you to do 8000 questions?
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Well I started in January and took it May 24th. But I'm also including the two COMSAEs I did as well as two full length mock exams at my school. So that's 1200 there. I did 50 questions a day until the end of March when I made it through my first pass. Then I did 100-150 questions a day from April until my exam.
 
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Would you recommend using DIT? I feel like going through combank and uworld in 2 months may be too short of a time period.. also going through FA, pathoma a few times.. and omm book of course
 
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Also, i dont know if anybody in the past has tried. But when it comes to switching a comlex exam date, are they easy to find ? Let's say I want to push my exam back, will I be able to find one at the same location easily few weeks back or are they usually filled? I wish I could see the calendar of open ones before making a switch, but I don't think you can? Correct me if I'm wrong, thank you!
 
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SMC123 said:
Also, i dont know if anybody in the past has tried. But when it comes to switching a comlex exam date, are they easy to find ? Let's say I want to push my exam back, will I be able to find one at the same location easily few weeks back or are they usually filled? I wish I could see the calendar of open ones before making a switch, but I don't think you can? Correct me if I'm wrong, thank you!
Click to expand...

Yeah you can. If you go on prometric there is an option to see available test dates...if you find something there is another option to change the date. You need your original confirmation # to do so.
 
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SMC123 said:
Also, i dont know if anybody in the past has tried. But when it comes to switching a comlex exam date, are they easy to find ? Let's say I want to push my exam back, will I be able to find one at the same location easily few weeks back or are they usually filled? I wish I could see the calendar of open ones before making a switch, but I don't think you can? Correct me if I'm wrong, thank you!
Click to expand...

some schools require you notify your dean of students...I know my school is that way, so just double check to avoid getting in trouble.
 
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are doing comlex qbanks necessary if your doing uworld and kaplan qbank ?

if so Which is best ? and how much of it should I go through?

also which and how many comsae's should I take?


any advice is appreciated
 
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