How's your NBME progression coming? scores and trends

[FrancisvsGoljan]

So I was thinking it would be a great idea to track how NBMEs are going and what question bank people are using. It gives us a good way to figure out how we're doing individually. I know it's not based on just sdn and there are a ton of people. But it's better than nothing. Also how long you've been studying. I guess I'll start!

After 1 week of studying
USMLEWorld: used 15% and overall correct is 48%
NBME 1: 172.5

I know this is not great but hopefully a good starting point. I spent 2 days on biochem and one on behavioral science and the other times just doing questions. my overall goal is a 230. we'll see how it goes....

comment are highly appreciated. thanks! I'll keep this post updated. I hope others do too.

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[laxman310]

I know I saw it somewhere, but does anyone have any idea where to find an image of an NBME 800 score? I recently got a 560, and want to see how narrow the bars on the right get once they have stars next to them.

 

[BlazerMed]

Form 3 on May 9th, before studying: 410/195
Form 4 on June 12th: 580/236
Free 150 questions a couple days ago: 80%/239 (per medfriends.org)
UWorld Self-Assessment that same day: 232
Mostly 70%+ on the recent unused/random UWorld questions

Test is Tuesday, the 17th. I'd be ecstatic with a score in the 230s.

 

[alliekat71]

Test is in exactly a week (cannot believe it)- have been studying for a dedicated 4 weeks so far (and did some cursory reading/FA annotating per Taus plan the last month or so of second year)-

Scores to date-
UW- 60% complete, 69% average (started at the beginning of dedicated studying- used Kaplan before but not even worth mentioning in comparison)
Free 150 Qs - 4 weeks ago ("pre-study")- 75% correct
NBME 2 (after 1 week of studying)- 242
NBME 6 (after 3 weeks of studying)- 253

These scores really came as quite a surprise and far exceeded my expectations - problem is that I don't "feel" I'm at that level yet- question is- take NBME 3 tomorrow as planned (perhaps a confidence booster for next week) or not (to avoid possible score drop and freakout)-- thoughts?

 

[BusterDO]

Test is in exactly a week (cannot believe it)- have been studying for a dedicated 4 weeks so far (and did some cursory reading/FA annotating per Taus plan the last month or so of second year)-

Scores to date-
UW- 60% complete, 69% average (started at the beginning of dedicated studying- used Kaplan before but not even worth mentioning in comparison)
Free 150 Qs - 4 weeks ago ("pre-study")- 75% correct
NBME 2 (after 1 week of studying)- 242
NBME 6 (after 3 weeks of studying)- 253

These scores really came as quite a surprise and far exceeded my expectations - problem is that I don't "feel" I'm at that level yet- question is- take NBME 3 tomorrow as planned (perhaps a confidence booster for next week) or not (to avoid possible score drop and freakout)-- thoughts?

the question is, what benefit is there in taking the exam? You either do well on it, as you've done, and keep studying till your exam, OR you don't do well on it, freak out a little and keep studying till your exam. If you feel like burning the cash for no reason, go for it. If i were you, just keep studying till your exam

 

[VPDcurt]

I know I saw it somewhere, but does anyone have any idea where to find an image of an NBME 800 score? I recently got a 560, and want to see how narrow the bars on the right get once they have stars next to them.

I definitely did not get an 800, but the bars usually disappear when there are stars. I guess they go off the charts or whatever.

 

[It'sElectric]

Test is in exactly a week (cannot believe it)- have been studying for a dedicated 4 weeks so far (and did some cursory reading/FA annotating per Taus plan the last month or so of second year)-

Scores to date-
UW- 60% complete, 69% average (started at the beginning of dedicated studying- used Kaplan before but not even worth mentioning in comparison)
Free 150 Qs - 4 weeks ago ("pre-study")- 75% correct
NBME 2 (after 1 week of studying)- 242
NBME 6 (after 3 weeks of studying)- 253

These scores really came as quite a surprise and far exceeded my expectations - problem is that I don't "feel" I'm at that level yet- question is- take NBME 3 tomorrow as planned (perhaps a confidence booster for next week) or not (to avoid possible score drop and freakout)-- thoughts?

Definitely do NOT take another NBME? Would you be satisifed with a 253 on Step 1? If the answer is yes, then why take another NBME that has a higher likelihood of going down or staying right around 250 than actually improving. Push through the next week like the rest of us, and you'll be in amazing shape.

 

[DwyaneWade]

I know I saw it somewhere, but does anyone have any idea where to find an image of an NBME 800 score? I recently got a 560, and want to see how narrow the bars on the right get once they have stars next to them.

If you tell me how to save the picture off the score page, I can post it.

 

[BlazerMed]

If you tell me how to save the picture off the score page, I can post it.

Should be (for Windows): Open the score report, hit print screen, open MS Paint, paste the image there, save it, then upload it, either to the message board or to a hosting website (e.g. imageshack.us).

 

[BusterDO]

Should be (for Windows): Open the score report, hit print screen, open MS Paint, paste the image there, save it, then upload it, either to the message board or to a hosting website (e.g. imageshack.us).

i think it's shift+print screen

 

[maria219]

i have a week to go....just wondering should i take another nbme?

i took one a few weeks ago and it just depressed me (afraid of that happening again with so little time left)...but at the same time, i can see that it might be helpful to see what my weaknesses are and focus on them during this week.

if i do take one, planning on taking 3. thoughts?

 

[DwyaneWade]

EDIT: There's a post from last year...

 

[BusterDO]

scores an 800 while watching YouTube...stud

 

[alpha06]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

DW, you causin' trouble again? So that's what an 800 on the NBME looks like.

Did you get your 280+ official score yet?

 

[cyclohexanol]

Pff, how can any portion of the respiratory bar be in "borderline performance" with an 800?? That seems like a bunk assessment. I was expecting to see all *s

 

[DwyaneWade]

Pff, how can any portion of the respiratory bar be in "borderline performance" with an 800?? That seems like a bunk assessment. I was expecting to see all *s

I wondered about that too:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=6699002#post6699002

scores an 800 while watching YouTube...stud

Actually takes a screenshot while watching YouTube

 

[osli]

DW, well... I can see that you're going to be another one of those super-genius doctors with no personality and horrible bedside manner. Repeated mediocre performances in behavioral sciences? Figures. Smart people are always the same.









Good to see that behavioral seems to be a pain for everyone... easy enough that it's hard to differentiate yourself, and tough enough that it's hard to score perfectly.

Lots of *'s there... nice job!

 

[butaloh666]

Ok let's see here, I gave myself about 10 weeks because I need to make a solid score. My test is scheduled for the very end of July.

Started working on 5/26

NBME1 at beginning of prep: 570/234
NMBE2 ~ 3wk in: 630/245
USMLE Rx (43% done): 71%
Kaplan Qbank (10% done): 74%
USMLE World (9% done): 68%

About 6.5 weeks to go.

I don't really know how to feel about all this. Obviously I'm happy to score well on the NBME exams at this stage, but I just can't gauge it beyond that. I constantly feel like I'm behind the milestones I had set for material review, and that I'm doing a good deal of guessing on most of these assessments. Sort of like I know 4/5 of what many questions require, but have to guess on that last little detail. Does anyone else feel like this while prepping for this god awful exam? Is it normal to feel so devoid of confidence even though the question bank and NBME scores are relatively good? I'm just having trouble shaking this feeling of impending doom, feeling that running into the wrong version of the test will be like walking into a buzz saw.

Commiseration is more than welcome.

 

[GynGuy1983]

Thank you for the countless nights of lost sleep I will have thinking about this.

 

[DwyaneWade]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

DW, you causin' trouble again? So that's what an 800 on the NBME looks like.

Did you get your 280+ official score yet?

You know me too well

No I haven't, and I hope I get it tomorrow, although next week is looking more likely (and by then I will be in the hospital)

 

[DwyaneWade]

Thank you for the countless nights of lost sleep I will have thinking about this.

No harm was intended . I was just answering a question.

Anyways if it makes you feel any better I most likely did worse than this on my actual exam.

DW, well... I can see that you're going to be another one of those super-genius doctors with no personality and horrible bedside manner. Repeated mediocre performances in behavioral sciences? Figures. Smart people are always the same.

Who are you calling mediocre






But seriously I would take those on my real score, asterisks in behavioral?

 

[SurferBoyMD]

Thought I update before I go into the test this Friday.

School Practice Board Exam (prior studying) - 186
NBME Test 2 (2 weeks studying) - 238
NBME Test 3 (3 weeks studying) - 216*
NBME Test 6 (4 weeks studying) - 240
NBME Test 4 (today - 4.5wks?) - 242

Kaplan Q Bank 71% done 64% avg
Last 5 random 50 Questions - 60, 60, 78, 74, 70

*So when i took 3 i felt I was doing decently well through the test, but was kind of thrown off when i saw the score. The next week I took 6 and realized i kept pressing DOWN to go on to the next question (like how it works in Q bank). Well I figured out pressing down on the key board doesnt go on to the next question, but it does change your answer! I do remember pressing down a few times here and there throughout test 3 without catching my mistake. That may have botched my score, but who knows... O well cheers, and wish me luck, hopefully I'll stay around my range.

 

[osli]

Who are you calling mediocre



But seriously I would take those on my real score, asterisks in behavioral?

Well, when the rest of your areas have just a score, I guess above average no longer looks very impressive. BTW, I hope your do manage to set a new record... I like seeing people achieve the impossible, such as Tiger continuing to amaze.

 

[alpha06]

No I haven't, and I hope I get it tomorrow, although next week is looking more likely (and by then I will be in the hospital)

Thats not because all the drinkin' you'll be doing after you get your result, is it?


Haha. I told my cousin I wanted to go to the hospital after I take my exam...just not to work. I want to be in some hospital bed with a banana bag hanging over me.

 

[DwyaneWade]

Thats not because all the drinkin' you'll be doing after you get your result, is it?


Haha. I told my cousin I wanted to go to the hospital after I take my exam...just not to work. I want to be in some hospital bed with a banana bag hanging over me.

Me?

I would NEVER do that.

 

[DwyaneWade]

Well, when the rest of your areas have just a score, I guess above average no longer looks very impressive. BTW, I hope your do manage to set a new record... I like seeing people achieve the impossible, such as Tiger continuing to amaze.

I'm no Tiger Woods

Though I wish I was married to that wife of his

BTW, Osli when are you taking your exam (or have you already taken it)? You are quite the stud yourself.

 

[78222]

Ridiculously high NBME

dude, if you don't post your score when it comes out, I am pretty sure a lynch mob may form.

 

[It'sElectric]

dude, If You Don't Post Your Score When It Comes Out, I Am Pretty Sure A Lynch Mob May Form.

+1

 

[osli]

I'm no Tiger Woods

Though I wish I was married to that wife of his

lol!

BTW, Osli when are you taking your exam (or have you already taken it)? You are quite the stud yourself.

In about two weeks... I'm not expecting any magic... 230 is my passing, 240+ I'm ecstatic.

 

[alpha06]

dude, if you don't post your score when it comes out, I am pretty sure a lynch mob may form.

+2

 

[snumie]

5/18 NBME 6 - 470/211 (baseline)
6/1 NBME 5 - 460/209 (w/2 weeks of studying)
6/11 NBME 2- 550/230
6/16 NBME 3- 520/224
6/18 free 150 USMLE 86% (251 medfriends?)

qbank (2 wk ave up to 6/14) 67%
UWorld (2 wk ave up to 6/14) 57.5%

 

[DwyaneWade]

lol!

In about two weeks... I'm not expecting any magic... 230 is my passing, 240+ I'm ecstatic.

I'm going to put on my "blz" hat and call a 252.

 

[osli]

I'd cut off my left nut and have it gold plated and mounted to present to the NBME for that score (left, because according to my studies that's the one that seems so prone to have problems anyway...).

 

[boarditis]

does anyone know of the biggest drop they have heard of..i heard of a supposed 30 pt drop today..is that possible if you take these things under real conditions?

 

[BusterDO]

I'd cut off my left nut and have it gold plated and mounted to present to the NBME for that score (left, because according to my studies that's the one that seems so prone to have problems anyway...).

JD: you do realize you'll be having girl babies the rest of your life if they took the boy one out

both:

Turk: you do realize that's not how it works

JD: i'm not really sure

not really related, but i can't miss an opportunity to pull out a scrubs quote.

 

[DwyaneWade]

+2

I'll make you guys a deal, you keep me sane and well-adjusted going into clinicals and I'll post my score

(like that is going to happen...)

 

[cyclohexanol]

Took the test today (6/19), felt pretty good about it.

CBSA - 4/18 (basically pre-study) - 67 (190)
[unorthodox NBME schedule below]
NBME 3 - 6/14 (5 days out) - 540 (228)
NBME 4 - 6/15 (4 days out) - 590 (238)
NBME 6 - 6/16 (3 days out) - 580 (236)

UWorld 65% complete 70% average overall.

Studied for about 4.5 weeks straight, with a 2 day break last week to take the god-forsaken COMLEX.
Read FA all the way through 3 3/4 times w/annotations from UWorld explanations.
Used Roadmap for neuro, pharm, and histo then HY embryo, and BRS behavioral.

Hopefully my actual score will be hovering around the score for forms 4 and 6 I know I made more careless errors on form 3. My goal was >235, so here's hoping.

Good luck to everyone!

EDIT: actual score 240/99 (7/16)

 

[jbone]

Took the test today (6/19), felt pretty good about it.

CBSA - 4/18 (basically pre-study) - 67 (190)
[unorthodox NBME schedule below]
NBME 3 - 6/14 (5 days out) - 540 (228)
NBME 4 - 6/15 (4 days out) - 590 (238)
NBME 6 - 6/16 (3 days out) - 580 (236)

UWorld 65% complete 70% average overall.

Studied for about 4.5 weeks straight, with a 2 day break last week to take the god-forsaken COMLEX.
Read FA all the way through 3 3/4 times w/annotations from UWorld explanations.
Used Roadmap for neuro, pharm, and histo then HY embryo, and BRS behavioral.

Hopefully my actual score will be hovering around the score for forms 4 and 6 I know I made more careless errors on form 3. My goal was >235, so here's hoping.

Good luck to everyone!

Nice. Enjoy your summer. I'm still waiting for my pain....COMLEX on the 30th and USMLE on the 3rd. Kill me now.

BTW, love your input on pg. 68 in FA middle of the page. We know your not mean.

 

[cyclohexanol]

Nice. Enjoy your summer. I'm still waiting for my pain....COMLEX on the 30th and USMLE on the 3rd. Kill me now.

BTW, love your input on pg. 68 in FA middle of the page. We know your not mean.

I pity the fool who don't remember that Mr. T is mean.

Good luck on COMLEX and USMLE, you're almost there.

 

[MSKalltheway]

Three days ago, I took NBME 4 and did 8pts less than NBME 3 (10 days ago). Just finished NBME 6 and got 7 pts higher than 4...basically its a 15pt swing from 3 days ago, but how do I look at that My exam is tomorrow, so a repeat performance would look real good...

 

[medstu2006]

Free 150 questions (3 weeks ago) - 72% - 215 (form wiki conversion table)
NBME -4 today - 420/198.

Goal 220+. I still have 10 days left to study. I feel pretty dejected esp since I've been working my ass off for the past 2 months and still haven't made avg yet. I dont know what else to do.

 

[Acire]

Urgh! I took Kaplan's full length simulated exam today. I got a little lost as to how many block's I'd completed while taking it and thought I had used up all of my break time. I ended up finishing it an hour early.... only to find that all they do is give you a percentage. I really wanted some sort of guestimated score so I could know how I was doing (in comparison to last week).

I'm happy to say that my score in each section was constant - so I didn't fatigue too much. Thats good to know.

But next week I have another full length exam that may end up just giving me a percentage.... its not through NBME, its through my school, and I'm required to take it. The week after (and a week before my exam) I'll be taking NBME 3 - but I'd like to have an idea how I'm doing before then..... but I really don't want to take ANOTHER exam.

Urgh....

I think that I am in the same boat as you were!?! Do you remember what your Q bank full percentage was LilNoelle? Thanks!

 

[Hassler]

Free 150 questions (3 weeks ago) - 72% - 215 (form wiki conversion table)
NBME -4 today - 420/198.

Goal 220+. I still have 10 days left to study. I feel pretty dejected esp since I've been working my ass off for the past 2 months and still haven't made avg yet. I dont know what else to do.

I would stay away from any more NBME's if you are set on taking it in 10 days. Experience tells me that they deflate me more than boost my confidence. And I would recommend going through first aid as many times as possible before the exam (maybe stay away from qbanks because they are not a good use of time if you don't have the material down yet). Alternatively, you can consider pushing your exam date back but if you feel like you've tried your best the past 2 months, then you should take it and see what happens.

Good luck. This exam is stressing me out too.

 

[tfom08]

CBSE (end of class before studying - 7 weeks out): 70/200

UW Self Assessment (5/26 - 4 weeks out): 650/248

NBME 6 (6/11 - 12 days out): 750/261

Final 7 blocks of UW : 79, 77, 87, 79, 81, 79, 79 (stopped 4 days before step 1. Completed 62% of the bank, just kind of ran out of time and felt like I needed to work on a few areas of my knowledge instead of doing more q's. Hopefully I made the right choice.)

Free 150 (2 days out): 139/150 (med friends = 260ish, wikitest = 240ish, who knows?)

I am nervous and feel like I don't remember anything, but the free 150 was good for a confidence boost. I'm going to try to memorize a few more things and just go over the really high yield stuff (unless I get nervous and end up studying all day) tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks to all the people on here who posted strategies, helped with questions, etc. Step 1 studying would be an even lonelier place without SDN. And most of all, good luck to everyone else taking the test soon.

 

[R_C_Hutchinson]

Not NBME persay, but I was excited to see that my last UWorld blocks have been about 5% higher than my average.

It sort of took the wind out of my sails when I saw that those tests also had the highest "other students" percentages of any I've taken thus far. Hey, if I can't settle for getting smarter I'll go for UWorld getting easier...

 

[2cr8tive]

ok i took form 2 and got a 520 (224), one week after i did form one and got a 510 (221). i was expecting a much better score with all the studying but wutever. the thing is i actually found this form to be harder than one. but ive heard that form 2 is very easy. so wut does everyone think? i have four more weeks and so much to do.

 

[Blesbok]

ok i took form 2 and got a 520 (224), one week after i did form one and got a 510 (221). i was expecting a much better score with all the studying but wutever. the thing is i actually found this form to be harder than one. but ive heard that form 2 is very easy. so wut does everyone think? i have four more weeks and so much to do.

Form 2 is relatively easy compared to 3 and 4, but form 1 is the easiest of all of them

 

[BillyRubinstein]

NBME 1(about 8 wks out) - 219
NBME 2 (about 6 wks out) - 226
NBME 6 (about 5 weeks out) - 206 ???
NBME 5 (about 3 wks out) - 228

After taking 1, 2, and 5, (I was in a fog for 6), I definitely agree with everyone's assessment about the difficulty level of 5 as compared to 1 and 2. In my opinion, there's not much of a comparison. Pretty happy with the progress considering these questions on 5 blew away most 1 and 2. Still got 3 weeks left to bump this up to a 240.

 

[2cr8tive]

so i have 4 weeks left to my exam. i have done form 1 (510, 221) and form 2 (520, 224). im going to do another form in one week to see if i shoud change the date of my exam or not. the reason is that i want to get a 230+. so which form do u guys recommend that i do in a week to see where i stand with regards to my goals ... 3,4,5, or 6? which one gives me a better representation and estimate. and btw, i feel like im guessing on so many of the questions and wut i really know is less than my grade, is that natural?

 

[osli]

I think both 3 and 4 are pretty good. People say 1 is "easy" and 2 "still sort of easy" but to be honest the NBME probably uses a unique scaling formula for each, so they all should have some predictive power. I look around and notice that people are not just commonly scoring 10-20 points higher on forms 1 and 2 than on the rest, so I think they all have some predictive power. The bigger issue is that you may be relatively weak in an area that a particular form stresses more than others. So it's hard to give a blanket statement that any one form is more representative or more predictive or whatever.

Aside from that, I'd say take 3, and then 4 if you want later. You're in pretty good shape to break 230 with a month of study left, unless you've already been hitting it hard for two or three months.

And at least for me personally, I always feel like I'm "guessing" on about half of the questions. Different people probably have different perceptions of this... I'm sure some feel like unless they don't have a clue about the question then they aren't guessing.

 

[2cr8tive]

ok that sounds reasonable i'll take 3. dont know why im so scared of that form probably bc of wut people say about it. ive been studying for about a month but not hard core really, about 5 hours a day. i still have a lot i havent covered so im hoping to improve. ive only done maybe 30% of usmle world and even that i havent really reviewed. but time is short and im getting nervous. so i will studying really hard from now on and see wut i can do next week with form 3.