COMLEX scores...and some other questions

[Karine04]

For those of you who have taken the COMLEX relatively recently, how long was the wait before you got your scores? I took it a couple of days ago and am now busy studying for USMLE, but kind of nervous because I think I was ill prepared for COMLEX. I'm not trying to get a really high score on USMLE, just maybe something in the range of 85th-90th percentile, as I don't see myself applying to any uber competitive residencies (I just want to prove myself to the allopathic residency directors). I've been doing USMLERx all along (never did any COMLEX-style questions, save for the ones on NBOME's website and the ones in the back of the Savarese OMM review book), and just bought USMLE World and plan on doing at least 100-150 questions a day until the date of my test (June 5). Of course, the UW questions are difficult and my first block scores were 50%. Should I take USMLE in 9 days? I guess I'm the only one who can answer that, but if I raise my UW scores by about 15-20% over the next week, do I have a shot of maybe scoring in the 85th percentile on USMLE?

This is all complicated by the fact that we begin rotations on June 11 and I won't be able to study through all of June, as I'm doing a very intense ob/gyn rotation. July and August should be easier months as far as rotations go (psych and endocrine), so I might potentially be able to study a bit during those months. My USMLE scheduling permit is good through the end of August.

Thanks guys, sorry this is so vague and full of apprehension. I'd appreciate any feedback you guys might be able to provide.

PS: To those who haven't taken COMLEX yet, I really do advise that you do some COMLEX-style questions. Part of the reason I felt so crappy about the test was that I wasn't used to the format of their questions. The stems were SO short compared to what I was used to on USMLERx! The stupid cases at the end of each question block really killed me, though, because if you got part 1 of the case wrong, you'd inevitably get questions 2-3 wrong as well.

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[BATiger]

Bigdreamer, I had hardly any virology on my CRAPLEX (as Buckeye calls it), so memorizing that big intimidating chart in 1st Aid did jack squat for me. I'd concentrate on parasites and fungi though - a lot of that crap was asked. I had a trypanosoma question and a Leishmaniasis one too.

Trypanosoma? Cruzi? That stupid reduviid bug? Am I the only one who hates wasting valuble brain space on something I will NEVER encounter out here in the suburbs of middle america? I just want to be done already, my test is monday and I'm just doing tons of qbank... Am I kidding myself with the scores I'm getting on comlex qbank? I feel like it's giving me a false security... too easy?

 

[bigdreamer#1]

Bigdreamer, I had hardly any virology on my CRAPLEX (as Buckeye calls it), so memorizing that big intimidating chart in 1st Aid did jack squat for me. I'd concentrate on parasites and fungi though - a lot of that crap was asked. I had a trypanosoma question and a Leishmaniasis one too.

Thanks bbake87, that's a relief. I started trying to plow through that crap yesterday and after a while I started getting disgusted. The parasites, bacteria, and fungus should be manageble enough. It seems to me though that I really do like learning everything else except the subjects where you must memorize...like micro and pharm.

....and also, yeah BATiger, I've already had t. cruzi and reduviid bug with the patient symptoms on two practice questions sources? Wacky.

 

[NJWxMan]

Anyone know when we can expect the scores to be posted?

 

[paintingcolorbl]

I'm at the 2-day countdown, and I think I've reached that point of passive indifference where my head feels full and I'm more excited about being done with the COMLEX than the score itself.

Any suggestions for last minute high-yield cramming?

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I'm at the 2-day countdown, and I think I've reached that point of passive indifference where my head feels full and I'm more excited about being done with the COMLEX than the score itself.

Any suggestions for last minute high-yield cramming?

Im at this point as well. USMLE on Monday, CRAPLEX on Thur.

 

[evenflowcarter]

When you guys say NEURO.

do you mean NEUROANATOMY, NEUROPSYCH, NEUROLOGY?

Also with the female repro, does it include OB itself or just GYN

And overall I'm getting the impression to know: Neuro, Bugs, Drugs (know psyche drugs), Anatomy, Omm, Female Repro, and Endo -all of these things COLD.

things to screw or minimalize: Biochem, histo, embryo

Does this sound about right?

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Do you think the content of those practice questions is similar to the level of difficulty of the real test? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect since I was told on here those paper practice Qs aren't very representative.
Anyway, thanks for pointing this resource out. It's nice to at least know what the format looks like!

Good luck with the USMLE! Since I havent taken it yet I can't offer much advice but I definitely think UW's qs have taught me a lot so far.

I took this computer practice test as a 1st year and thought it was fairly easy, is that fairly representative of where someone should be for this exam? I thought that the computer COMLEX one was definitely easier than USMLE type questions imho. If you can do USMLE questions I think you'll be able to do COMLEX just fine, just know the bugs/drugs etc for sure.

 

[geneva16]

I took this computer practice test as a 1st year and thought it was fairly easy, is that fairly representative of where someone should be for this exam? I thought that the computer COMLEX one was definitely easier than USMLE type questions imho. If you can do USMLE questions I think you'll be able to do COMLEX just fine, just know the bugs/drugs etc for sure.

I thought that the 50 questions on the NBOME COMLEX tutorial were really easy also...I got 80% or so right, and I've been running between 60 and 65 on COMLEX Kaplan Qbank. Are the just representative in terms of brevity and question style or actually representative of the difficulty?

 

[vegangirl]

I thought that the 50 questions on the NBOME COMLEX tutorial were really easy also...I got 80% or so right, and I've been running between 60 and 65 on COMLEX Kaplan Qbank. Are the just representative in terms of brevity and question style or actually representative of the difficulty?

on the practice questions.

Here is what Kevbot had to say about the Kaplan Qbank
I just finished up with kaplan's comlex qbank. 1000 questions. They are definitely easier than the usmle qbank. The answers are much more obvious. I heard also that it isn't representative of the actual comlex, so I'm also doing other sources.

I've also heard from other people that some of the Kaplan COMLEX questions ended up on the real COMLEX. So I'm not really sure if they are a good representation

 

[beastmaster]

If you've taken the test -- can someone explain in detail how breaks work on the comlex? What happens with extra time when you finish a block early, etc

 

[BATiger]

I thought that the 50 questions on the NBOME COMLEX tutorial were really easy also...I got 80% or so right, and I've been running between 60 and 65 on COMLEX Kaplan Qbank. Are the just representative in terms of brevity and question style or actually representative of the difficulty?

I am also wondering the same thing... those NBOME questions are way too easy, aren't they? Can anyone compare them to the real thing for us?
Also, did anyone have any bugs/drugs on their test that weren't in FA?

 

[endAIDScom]

Scheduled to take the USMLE next Saturday -6 days.

Just did nbme self assesment 3 and got a 410/195 - about an 81. I'm going to pass comfortably, but there really isn't a chance now of me pulling in above the median.

Folks at my school have said that you shouldnt take the usmle unless you are certain of coming in above 85, and that a lower USMLE score can compromise a high COMLEX score (which I am assuming will be at least 10points higher), however these have been the same folks that were either afraid of passing at all, or anti-allopath.

I probably want to do IM/ID, but not entirely sure, and retaining the greatest number of options is the most important thing to me right now.

So question is should I still take it?

 

[Taus]

Scheduled to take the USMLE next Saturday -6 days.

Just did nbme self assesment 3 and got a 410/195 - about an 81. I'm going to pass comfortably, but there really isn't a chance now of me pulling in above the median.

Folks at my school have said that you shouldnt take the usmle unless you are certain of coming in above 85, and that a lower USMLE score can compromise a high COMLEX score (which I am assuming will be at least 10points higher), however these have been the same folks that were either afraid of passing at all, or anti-allopath.

I probably want to do IM/ID, but not entirely sure, and retaining the greatest number of options is the most important thing to me right now.

So question is should I still take it?

did you have any glaring weaknesses on your score report?...ie something you can fix and gain a bunch of points w/?

 

[BMW19]

I am around that as well. Is 60-65% on Kaplan Q's enough to pass the real thing? At times I think maybe Kaplan Q's are tougher on purpose but there are some gimmes. Sometimes Kaplan busts out with stuff I have never even heard of and other times its like "bulging eyes" in a 30 year old with palpitations!!!! Any insights?

BMW-

I am also wondering the same thing... those NBOME questions are way too easy, aren't they? Can anyone compare them to the real thing for us?
Also, did anyone have any bugs/drugs on their test that weren't in FA?

 

[endAIDScom]

Scheduled to take the USMLE next Saturday -6 days.

Just did nbme self assesment 3 and got a 410/195 - about an 81. I'm going to pass comfortably, but there really isn't a chance now of me pulling in above the median.

Folks at my school have said that you shouldnt take the usmle unless you are certain of coming in above 85, and that a lower USMLE score can compromise a high COMLEX score (which I am assuming will be at least 10points higher), however these have been the same folks that were either afraid of passing at all, or anti-allopath.

I probably want to do IM/ID, but not entirely sure, and retaining the greatest number of options is the most important thing to me right now.

So question is should I still take it?

Update to previous post I just completed form 2 and got a 490/216/85, so maybe I do still have a shot at being average.

My strength/weakness assesment was not consistent between the two tests - the only thing they agreed on was that i am strong in biochem and a little weak in cardio - unsure what to study for the remaining days.

 

[endAIDScom]

 

[BMW19]

Is it true that Kaplan COMLEX Q Bank questions are nothing like the actual exam? The official nbome practice test isn't very similar. (not expecting the usmle bank questions to be representative).

Also, how does the interface look? I found usmleword's to be the closest to usmle, but heard comlex is supposed to be different. Is it true that there are no highlight and strike-out options?

Oh and yeah my dean of academics said that statisticaly the longer you wait after finishing second year to take both exams, the worse you do. He said folks who fail do best if they study for 1 week and retake it, so I wouldnt try and take usmle on rotations.

Well what good is that? It takes 4-6 weeks to get your scores. If you take it one week after finding out you failed, that is probably still a month that you were on a rotation without studying anything!! Unless you absolutely knew you failed coming out.

I think a better strategy would be to schedule it a month or 2 down the line when you have an easier rotation.

B-

 

[marie337]

I'm wondering how detailed the neuro is on the COMLEX. I'm pretty decent at localizing to an area of the brain/spinal cord and figuring out main artery occlusions, but does the exam go beyond that? How tricky does it get? Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[BMW19]

I think that is the kind of stuff they hit on along with the demyelinating Dz's. But I haven't taken it yet so can't be sure.

How bout EKG's? I know there some on USMLE cause they are in 1st Aid but what bout COMLEX?

B-

I'm wondering how detailed the neuro is on the COMLEX. I'm pretty decent at localizing to an area of the brain/spinal cord and figuring out main artery occlusions, but does the exam go beyond that? How tricky does it get? Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Taus]

I think that is the kind of stuff they hit on along with the demyelinating Dz's. But I haven't taken it yet so can't be sure.

How bout EKG's? I know there some on USMLE cause they are in 1st Aid but what bout COMLEX?

B-

I've had classmates tell me they had 10-15 EKG's and some say they had 1 or none.....so basically that means anything is possible....

 

[NJWxMan]

From my experience with the COMLEX EKG's: know everything and anything. Honestly, on a whole, a handfull of questions seemed more reasonable for a step III exam.

 

[marie337]

From my experience with the COMLEX EKG's: know everything and anything. Honestly, on a whole, a handfull of questions seemed more reasonable for a step III exam.

Do they actually give you all 12 leads, or is it more about reading rhythms? In all the practice questions I've done, I've only seen one question that mentioned leads II, III, and AVF and expected you to interpret an inferior wall MI. But, it didn't give an image. All of the other cardiac questions have just been rhythm strips. So, can someone give me an idea how COMLEX asks an EKG question?

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I just took the CRAPLEX. It was wayyyyy different from the USMLE.

I also had two EKGs
No brain CTs
very little pharm
very little micro
no embryo
very little biochem (<4 questions)
very little renal
LOTS OF OMM

Two tests this week and I AM DONEZO!!!

 

[stretch210]

I just took the CRAPLEX. It was wayyyyy different from the USMLE.

I also had two EKGs
No brain CTs
very little pharm
very little micro
no embryo
very little biochem (<4 questions)
very little renal
LOTS OF OMM

Two tests this week and I AM DONEZO!!!

Buckeye-I want your exam in 3 weeks!

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

Buckeye-I want your exam in 3 weeks!

Dare I say, in comparison to the USMLE, this was actually a fun test to take.

I started at 730 and walked out at 1245.

 

[geneva16]

Buckeye-I want your exam in 3 weeks!

I want his exam in 2 days!

So would you call it fairly easy? How much did you prepare?

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I want his exam in 2 days!

So would you call it fairly easy? How much did you prepare?

No, im not going to call it easy - although it took much less brain power then the other test.


I prepared by studying for the USMLE. I went balls out on USMLEWorld and that was much more then sufficient for the COMLEX.


Keep in mind, I dont know my score, so I very well could be talking out of my ass all the way to a sub-400 score.

 

[marie337]

LOTS OF OMM

Was any OMM particularly emphasized? I perpetually struggle with the sacrum which I'm sure is all over COMLEX. But, I have a week to figure it out. It sounds like you had an awesome test. Micro and pharm are definitely my weak areas, so I'm sure I will get all of those questions on my exam.

Just a general question, is the micro generally more bacteria/virus based, or are parasites and fungi equally weighted? I've been focusing mostly on bacteria and viruses, so I hope that is the right way to go! Also, does anyone have a good method for tackling CNS drugs? I've heard those are emphasized a lot, but the names are sort of random and hard for me to keep straight.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I think there were two virus based questions, RSV was the answer to both I think.

OMM seemed to be more, do you know the tenderpoints/viscerosomatic locations etc.

 

[lizpro]

Hey Buckeye

Were there any anemia/heme questions? Our school basically spoonfeed us and now I'm afraid its my weakest system

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

No, not on my test. BUt thats pretty important, perhaps you should consider learning it for your own edification.

 

[WestcoastMedicine]

I took it monday, I honestly had 15-20 questions JUST on sympathetic innervations.....pt comes in with gastric ulcer, hypertonicity will be noted at T...... I had a TON of neuro pharm, ADRs, Mech of action, contraindications. I am not just talking about knowing no tyramine with MAOIs, I mean know the specifics for the major drugs within each class as well.

Honestly, if I added up all the neuro pharm I had, it easily made up an entire 50 question block, I am including psych pharm too. Speaking of pysch I had quite a bit of stuff on sleep cycles and disturbances of them.

Tons of micro, I had to read 5 gram stains, had to know the most common and 2nd most common for all the major infections. I had to read 6-7 Head CTs, I only had one EKG and it wasn't too bad, then I had to say how I would treat it, again not bad.

Biochem was minimal, maybe 3 questions on what enzymes were deficient in certain diseases, a few vitamin OD or deficiencies, nothing on classifying viruses by dna or rna or that.

The question about breaks:

When you start the exam the clock is at 4 hours, so if you finish section I early the time does carry over for the other morning blocks, you just get 4 hours for the whole morning. I was under the impression you had an hour per 50 question section. After the 2nd section you get a prompt that says you can take a 10 minute break and the clock is ticking the second the prompt comes up. The 4 hour clock in the top right corner is still also ticking during your ten minute breaks, if you take that ten minutes you essentially have 3 hours and 50 minutes for the morning sections.

You can take the break or just click next to skip it. The same thing after block 6. After block 4 you get a 40 minutes lunch which does not count against the 8 hours for the test. I took about 20 minutes and went back in to start again. You again get 4 hours for the 4 afternoon sections. I don't know of anyone there that had a problem with finishing in 8 hours that is including taking the breaks. Good Luck Everyone.

 

[marie337]

Wow, thanks for the post LHUEMT911. I was under the impression that if you took a break, you had to use the full amount of time. I really hope I don't get your test though! It sounds like you had all of my weak areas.

 

[Elmer]

do we have to erase our whiteboard after every block?

 

[beastmaster]

do we have to erase our whiteboard after every block?

no you don't



Took exam today. After 8 hours of reading the obscenely long stems of the USMLE, the straightforward 2-3 liners today were far less taxing. I wasn't nearly as fatigued after 400 questions, and could have probably done another 400 if the money was right.

As mentioned by everyone who has ever taken the COMLEX -- there's plenty of magic johnson, magic tricks, and magic potions (infectious disease, omm, pharm). Overall, most of the questions were very well written. The pictures were very good quality.

The "case clusters" were the most frightening. For the uninitiated, this is where you get a case (sometimes very very small one), and the next 3-4 questions hinge on you correctly answering the first one in the group. I think ~25% of the exam is in this format, and fortunately only 1 case gave me a hard time, so I had to deal with knowing that I either got all 4 right or all 4 wrong. The USMLE eliminated this format many years ago, though in their handbook they specifically describe a way to write these questions so that they do not rely on each other. The COMLEX, however, used question question dependence rather frequently -- and sometimes deliberately ("The mechanism of the drug from the previous question is: "). If I were to take issue with technicalities of question writing, it would only be from this group. The content was fair and appropriate though, so if you get screwed by the case clusters, you're receiving due punishment.

Thats all I have to say for now. Please no PMs, I'm on hard-earned vacation time right now.

 

[BMW19]

Very little Pharm, Very little Micro? sounds like you had a different COMLEX than any student in the country!!!

BMW-

I just took the CRAPLEX. It was wayyyyy different from the USMLE.

I also had two EKGs
No brain CTs
very little pharm
very little micro
no embryo
very little biochem (<4 questions)
very little renal
LOTS OF OMM

Two tests this week and I AM DONEZO!!!

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

no you don't



Took exam today. After 8 hours of reading the obscenely long stems of the USMLE, the straightforward 2-3 liners today were far less taxing. I wasn't nearly as fatigued after 400 questions, and could have probably done another 400 if the money was right.

As mentioned by everyone who has ever taken the COMLEX -- there's plenty of magic johnson, magic tricks, and magic potions (infectious disease, omm, pharm). Overall, most of the questions were very well written. The pictures were very good quality.

The "case clusters" were the most frightening. For the uninitiated, this is where you get a case (sometimes very very small one), and the next 3-4 questions hinge on you correctly answering the first one in the group. I think ~25% of the exam is in this format, and fortunately only 1 case gave me a hard time, so I had to deal with knowing that I either got all 4 right or all 4 wrong. The USMLE eliminated this format many years ago, though in their handbook they specifically describe a way to write these questions so that they do not rely on each other. The COMLEX, however, used question question dependence rather frequently -- and sometimes deliberately ("The mechanism of the drug from the previous question is: "). If I were to take issue with technicalities of question writing, it would only be from this group. The content was fair and appropriate though, so if you get screwed by the case clusters, you're receiving due punishment.

Thats all I have to say for now. Please no PMs, I'm on hard-earned vacation time right now.

What I noticed was that the last half of each block seemed to be the case based questions. The majority of them on my test were two question clusters with a couple four question matching to make 47-50

 

[WestcoastMedicine]

Yeah that was similar to mine, the last 15-20 questions were cases with 2, sometimes 3 or 4 quetions attached to the case. I had no matching though like on KAPLAN COMLEX Qbank, thankfully.....

 

[JohnDO]

Anyone know roughly how long till we get scores back? I know the OP asked the same thing, but didn't see anyone answer.

Edit: Looks like last year they had to wait till September!

I called the NBOME office yesterday in Chicago and I asked
the secretary about when the computer COMLEX 1 scores will be released. She said that what the NBOME will do is take all the scores from the May, June,
and July 2006 CBT administration and do I guess their so called "bell curve" and stats analysis. What is comes down to is that because they have to redo their scoring system from scratch, all of us can expect our schools at the end of
September, early October.

And from the NBOME website:

In general, candidates can expect to receive test results 4 weeks after the test is taken. However, for the candidates who take the first several administrations of the computer-based COMLEX-USA examinations, test results will not be available until a reasonable national norm is achieved. Therefore, it may take 3-4 months to report the results for those first candidates.​

I hope they've got their "reasonable national norm" achieved, because I don't think I can wait 3-4 months.

 

[marie337]

I think I read somewhere on the NBOME website that you can register to view them online. That way you see them as soon as they are available. But, I haven't looked into that yet.

 

[marie337]

Will, I tackled the beast today. It was not fun. Staring at a white screen for that long is brutal. They need to pick a screen that is easier on the eyes!! So, I actually thought the test was fairly well balanced. I had several repeat questions about gestational diabetes, though. They were almost word for word identical. There were a couple of questions that were just off the wall and I had to spend time deciphering what was being asked. But, overall it wasn't too terrible.

My test seemed to have a lot of renal/fluid stuff, gyn, and neuro. There were also a lot of CNS drugs, so I was very glad that I spent time on those. I had lots of typical bug questions, but fortunately only a couple of abx questions. OMM was pretty straightforward. I had some sacral dx, viscerosomatics, etc. Nothing too surprising there. By far the worst thing about the test was the duration of time staring at the stupid white screen. I only finished about an hour early, though. So, maybe if you are a fast test taker it won't be so bad!