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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[noob1]

I don't know what to think! My scores this past week have been all over the place:

NBME 7 - 254
NBME 11 - 235
NBME 12 - 233
Free 150 - 257 (med friends - 90%)
UWSA 2 - 263 (82/93/70/86)

Hopefuly I can expect a score in mid/upper 240s but NBME 11/12 were such a downer compared to the others.

hopefully you'll be good. your nbme scores are pretty close to the 240 mark, and typically UWSA overestimates by no more than 10-15 points tops..keep at it!

 

[jfgavina]

Ok, I'm finally able to put here my first diagnostic test.

background: average to low 4th year (out of 6 years) medical student from an european medical school


What I've done:

1 read in:

CMMRS
BRS physio
RR path
RR bioch
HY mollecular 1999 edition
HY neuro

FA

one UW pass with 53% overall correct.


UWSA 1 : 480/214


exam date end of october, not yet appointed a date.

Currently doing medical school boards, after that 2 weeks of vacations (but with FA always by my side) and by the end of august I start 10 weeks of dedicated study time.

Do you think that from this background it will be possible to get around 230??

thanks in advance!!!

 

[MKMD86]

4 wks left uwsa 1 231
3 wks left uwsa2 261
2 wks left nbme 6 235

these scores seem pretty random to me, 2 weeks left 240+ possible?

 

[TupacalipseT96]

nbme before studying (don't know which) - 210
5 wks left uwsa 1 - 250
4 wks left nbme 11 - 257/650
3 wks left nbme 12 - 254/640

Cum. UW% = 73% with 5% left (used since day 1, timed random 46 blocks)

Felt like nbme 12 was significantly harder than nbme 11 and seemed to test all the things I haven't looked at in awhile. Will be taking UWSA 2 and the free 150 onsite test 1 week out from my test date as my final practice exams before the big day. Goal is 260 but I'm worried that I may have peaked... feel like my energy level and clear thinking on the test day will be more important than any studying I can do in these last 3 weeks.

 

[littlefred]

Frustrated!
School administered test - 65 (which is around 188)
NBME 11 - 219 (3wks before test)
NMBE 12 - 224 (2wks before test)
NBME 7- 219 (1 wk before test)

Got the test on the 9th, any tips or pointers to boost the score?

 

[jfgavina]

read FA + UW notes in 4 days

 

[1Life]

Frustrated!
School administered test - 65 (which is around 188)
NBME 11 - 219 (3wks before test)
NMBE 12 - 224 (2wks before test)
NBME 7- 219 (1 wk before test)

Got the test on the 9th, any tips or pointers to boost the score?

I also followed a sort of similar pattern. I'm taking mine on 12th. It depends on your weaknesses (knowledge gap in certain areas OR lack of test taking practice). Do lots of random timed unused questions and go over the explanations for the incorrect ones and the lucky guesses in UWorld. I realized that my mistake was misunderstanding the questions and going off on a tangent or dwelling on a question for too long. Now @ 70% UW complete my last 7-10 blocks have averaged 66% (started in low 50s)...cumulative 61%

-CBSE at the end of Yr 2. 180
-2/3 through first pass NBME 5 198
-after first pass NBME 11 200 (4hrs of sleep the night before)
-after 2/3rds of 2nd pass + 25% of UW completed NBME 12 214
NBME 7 - 207 (i dont know what happened)
NBME 6 - 221 (4 days before gameday)
____________________________
UPDATE:
Actual score --- 220/94 (can anyone tell me why the 94 seems high for a 220??)
__________________________________________
-This is my brief assessment. I studied laid back 2 weeks and hardcore 4 weeks (7-8 hrs/day) with a few days of vacation and weekends off.
-I used FA (1 full pass and minor selective review of mainly pharm and path intros)
-UW cumulative 61% all timed, random, unused (100% complete; high 60's low 70s last 15-20 blocks; 2nd pass of incorrects in path and pharm)
-Of course Goljan RR+audio (RR 1 pass+2nd pass of selective review of weak areas+2.5 passes of the audio)

EXAM DAY
I had 4 hours of sleep because of anxiety. Took off the afternoon the day before. The morning of the test I got a good breakfast but I needed an energy drink before I went in. But, I was not able to do that. I advice you to get enough sleep and rest the night before. Fix your sleep schedule a few days before as well.

At the exam place, I went through the tutorial in 3 minutes and had more break time. I was feeling burnt out by the 3-4th block and marking questions like crazy. Time management was a major issue. I guessed on 4-5 questions because I ran out of time. Save your break time for the later blocks. I was shocked as how the exam looked just like UW but not as tricky. After I was done with the exam I had NO CLUE as to how I did. I thought I might have just failed it. I knew 1 pass of FA and RR was not enough.


Studying for this beast is a marathon (at least for me), so don't compromise on sleep/food/ or exercise.

I know i couldve done alot better, but given my effort and the circumstances. I'm exstatic!!!

 

[Gresh]

.

 

[littlefred]

Frustrated!
School administered test - 65 (which is around 188)
NBME 11 - 219 (3wks before test)
NMBE 12 - 224 (2wks before test)
NBME 7- 219 (1 wk before test)

Got the test on the 9th, any tips or pointers to boost the score?

Took the Free 150 today and got 89%, morale booster or is it just an easy test?

 

[coralis]

Took the Free 150 today and got 89%, morale booster or is it just an easy test?

unfortunately super easy test

 

[coralis]

OMG.... sooo super stocked did a Step 1 simulation today NBME 7 and 12 back to back.

NBME 7: 240
NBME 12: 245

I'm in shock and really trying to convince myself it was a fluke!!!!!! But super happy at the same time..... all the hard work... MIGHT pay out... exam in 7 days!!!!!!!!

 

[ClostridiumDiff]

So I have a question and sorry if this has already been discussed: I have heard that the NBME's are good predictors of your score, but then I have also heard that they have a tough scale. For example, I got 80% correct on NBME 12 and that was a 219, but I heard that if you get that % correct on the real deal your score will be higher. How can both be true? Is it just NBME progression is accurate, in that if you take one every so often then you can see how much your improving? What about someone like me who only took one just for the hell of it? I was getting about 70% on UWorld so 219 seems a little low to me. Anyway, hopefully someone has some insight into this.

 

[coralis]

So I have a question and sorry if this has already been discussed: I have heard that the NBME's are good predictors of your score, but then I have also heard that they have a tough scale. For example, I got 80% correct on NBME 12 and that was a 219, but I heard that if you get that % correct on the real deal your score will be higher. How can both be true? Is it just NBME progression is accurate, in that if you take one every so often then you can see how much your improving? What about someone like me who only took one just for the hell of it? I was getting about 70% on UWorld so 219 seems a little low to me. Anyway, hopefully someone has some insight into this.

My guess is, since the NBMEs are out to the public a lot of people do better on them bec/ I don't know, they maybe read the forum for NBME 11 before taking it, take it with an open book, self paced etc (some examples) so the curves are tougher. On the real thing, more often than not I believe people score around 50-60% just like on 1st run Uworld, hence the curves are more lenient.

The curve for NBME 12 is ridiculous my 245/600 was w/ 21 questions wrong that is 89.5% ..... seems way too low for such a score. And that was a hurrendous test!!!! Keep at it.... use NBMEs as a measure of your progression and building confidence! Good luck

 

[ThereHeIs]

Here's my progress:

UW First Pass - 79%
NBME CBSA (May 3) - 240-245
UWSA-1 (May 15) - 263
UWSA-2 (June 12) - 265
NBME 6 (June 19) - 257
NBME 7 (June 26) - 242
NBME 12 (July 2) - 257
NBME 11 (July 3) - 254

Personal goal is >240. Test is Monday the 11th.

 

[coralis]

Here's my progress:

UW First Pass - 79%
NBME CBSA (May 3) - 240-245
UWSA-1 (May 15) - 263
UWSA-2 (June 12) - 265
NBME 6 (June 19) - 257
NBME 7 (June 26) - 242
NBME 12 (July 2) - 257
NBME 11 (July 3) - 254

Personal goal is >240. Test is Monday the 11th.

Awesome scores!!! You're ready to rock this!!! >240 seems very doable, take the day before off, relax and a super good night sleep, have snacks with it... and you'll do awesome!

 

[surge23]

hey guys, id appreciate some advice. im an average student looking to do reasonably above average on this exam (>230).

I've done UWorld first pass with a 60% (random, timed, unused). My second pass with 30% currently complete is at 82%.

UWSA 1: 226 (~5 weeks ago)
UWSA 2: 240 (~4 weeks ago)
NBME 11: 233 (June 16)
NBME 6: 221 (July 9) - ouch

with d-day in approximately 3 weeks, NBME 6 got me thinking I may need to revamp my study plan. should i stick with my second pass at uworld, or would zipping through a new qbank be more beneficial? i'm having a hard time determining the benefit of going through uworld a second time as it is, but seeing as it's so widely recommended, i'm also reluctant to discontinue it...

i should mention that my study time is somewhat limited by my school's intro to clinical medicine class currently taking place.

thanks!

 

[liberaldoc238]

hey guys, id appreciate some advice. im an average student looking to do reasonably above average on this exam (>230).

I've done UWorld first pass with a 60% (random, timed, unused). My second pass with 30% currently complete is at 82%.

UWSA 1: 226 (~5 weeks ago)
UWSA 2: 240 (~4 weeks ago)
NBME 11: 233 (June 16)
NBME 6: 221 (July 9) - ouch

with d-day in approximately 3 weeks, NBME 6 got me thinking I may need to revamp my study plan. should i stick with my second pass at uworld, or would zipping through a new qbank be more beneficial? i'm having a hard time determining the benefit of going through uworld a second time as it is, but seeing as it's so widely recommended, i'm also reluctant to discontinue it...

i should mention that my study time is somewhat limited by my school's intro to clinical medicine class currently taking place.

thanks!

I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago (thinking about doing uworld again). My first nbme 7 (a month ago was 217). During the time between the two exams I read through about half of uworld questions for the second time...annoted the answers in first aid then read first aid again/ finished up goljian pathology. Then I took nbme 11 and got a 237. I was pretty happy. I continued to just read the uworld explainations and annotate first aid. Yesterday I took NBME 12 and got a 610/247. My exam is in 5 days and I don't think i am taking anymore practice tests (because my score will just go down, lol). I am just going to read first aid, a few more blocks of uworld, then go in and take it.

Your scores are great (especially that 240 on uworld). I bet if you took nbme 12 you would do better than 6. I would just read the questions/explainations on uworld and annotate info in first aid. Then do another practice test in a week or so.

 

[surge23]

I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago (thinking about doing uworld again). My first nbme 7 (a month ago was 217). During the time between the two exams I read through about half of uworld questions for the second time...annoted the answers in first aid then read first aid again/ finished up goljian pathology. Then I took nbme 11 and got a 237. I was pretty happy. I continued to just read the uworld explainations and annotate first aid. Yesterday I took NBME 12 and got a 610/247. My exam is in 5 days and I don't think i am taking anymore practice tests (because my score will just go down, lol). I am just going to read first aid, a few more blocks of uworld, then go in and take it.

Your scores are great (especially that 240 on uworld). I bet if you took nbme 12 you would do better than 6. I would just read the questions/explainations on uworld and annotate info in first aid. Then do another practice test in a week or so.

that's an enviable progression you have going there! i think youve got a sound plan...you want to be heading in there knowing you're at your peak.

thanks for the advice. im really hoping nbme 6 is an anomaly, though ill need to address the weaknesses it emphasized.

 

[waterlilly]

I take the test in two days....

I've only taken NBME 5 (193) at the beginning of studying and Free150 at Pometric (85%) followed by NBME 7 (231) 3 weeks in.

I've done World 11/2 times and am now just finishing Pathoma, Firstaid, and BRS physio. Anyways...here's to hoping for a 230-250....and for little pharm on my test.

 

[BlondDoctor]

OMG I have no NBME progression...how do I know what I'm doing wrong?
My exam is on saturday, and it just feels like my NBMEs aren't really going anywhere. What I can I do last minute to shake up this "plateau phase"?

 

[DarkKnight11087]

Hey guys,

SO i have taken two nbmes so far, i took NBME 6 1 week back and scored a 219, i studied hard on my weaknesses for a week and took NBME 7 today and scored a 235, i have my exam in 12 days, Is the 16 point increase a fluke or can i hold some weight in that? Also what does everyone recoommend for the last 12 days.

My Usmle world percentage was 63 percent first time through,
2nd time through i am at 76 percent.

Thanks!

 

[Rollo]

Hey guys,

SO i have taken two nbmes so far, i took NBME 6 1 week back and scored a 219, i studied hard on my weaknesses for a week and took NBME 7 today and scored a 235, i have my exam in 12 days, Is the 16 point increase a fluke or can i hold some weight in that? Also what does everyone recoommend for the last 12 days.

My Usmle world percentage was 63 percent first time through,
2nd time through i am at 76 percent.

Thanks!

Keep going over your weaknesses, especially since you have multiple NBMEs now that you can evaluate which area you have been consistently weak in.

Best thing I did in the last 2 weeks was memorize every single detail found in FA. I know that sounds annoying but trust me, it WILL pay off.

 

[NdFrSpd]

Hey guys,

I'm not even sure if I should care because in the end, what I get on test day is what matters but my Qbank performance and nbme performance are a world apart and i'm not sure what to make of it, so here goes:

nbme 6: 210 (450)
nbme 11: 224 (510)
(lot of studying here in the middle)
uwsa 1: 257
uwsa 2: 251
nbme 12: 224 (510) <---- don't know what the heck happened

UWorld qbank: 71% (1st run) last 20 blocks average to about 75%
Kaplan qbank: (about 1/2 done): 73% with score quickly trending upward.

So my question is, whats the deal with these NBME exams? I have read over and over again that the uwsas overpredict and that the nbmes were right on target for most people but has anyone else had similar disparity in numbers? My qbank %s also indicate that I should be doing better than 220's but these nbme's are brutal. Looking back at my most recent nbme I made many stupid mistakes and saw 4 Q's where I decided to change my answer to an incorrect one with no support or reason. But I digress...

In any case, My goal is 245 or above and my exam is in 1 week. Doable or no? Where do you guys think I actually stand?

and I'm planning on taking nbme 7 in a few days after I finish my second run of FA so maybe that will shed some more light.

thanks!

 

[DarkKnight11087]

Hey guys,

I'm not even sure if I should care because in the end, what I get on test day is what matters but my Qbank performance and nbme performance are a world apart and i'm not sure what to make of it, so here goes:

nbme 6: 210 (450)
nbme 11: 224 (510)
(lot of studying here in the middle)
uwsa 1: 257
uwsa 2: 251
nbme 12: 224 (510) <---- don't know what the heck happened

UWorld qbank: 71% (1st run) last 20 blocks average to about 75%
Kaplan qbank: (about 1/2 done): 73% with score quickly trending upward.

So my question is, whats the deal with these NBME exams? I have read over and over again that the uwsas overpredict and that the nbmes were right on target for most people but has anyone else had similar disparity in numbers? My qbank %s also indicate that I should be doing better than 220's but these nbme's are brutal. Looking back at my exam most recent nbme I can many stupid mistakes and 4 Q's where I decided to change my answer to an incorrect one with no support or reason. But I digress...

In any case, My goal is 245 or above and my exam is in 1 week. Doable or no? Where do you guys think I actually stand?

and I'm planning on taking nbme 7 in a few days after I finish my second run of FA so maybe that will shed some more light.

thanks!

Hey, id say keep your head down and keep working on your weaknesses, i have personally found that just a few more questions right or wrong can make a world of difference in your NBME score. for example i took nbme 6, i got 160/200 and scored a 217, i studied for a week and then took NBME 7 and got 172/200 and scored a 235, 12 more questions right- 18 points, so id say you are probably about 6-8 questions away from getting your 240ish score. just work on your weaknesses and realize every question matters once ur scores start breaking away from the mean.


On a side note i need some advice, my test is in 12 days im currently reviewing first aid and going through USMLe world, i was planning on taking 2 more NBME's before the exam, When would everyone advise me taking those two exams? i was planning another NBME 7 days before my exam and then one 3 days before my exam. However i was reading that taking a NBME so close to the actual exam can be a bad idea, since a bad score could kill my confidence. what does everyone recommend?

 

[NdFrSpd]

Hey guys,

I'm not even sure if I should care because in the end, what I get on test day is what matters but my Qbank performance and nbme performance are a world apart and i'm not sure what to make of it, so here goes:

nbme 6: 210 (450)
nbme 11: 224 (510)
(lot of studying here in the middle)
uwsa 1: 257
uwsa 2: 251
nbme 12: 224 (510) <---- don't know what the heck happened

UWorld qbank: 71% (1st run) last 20 blocks average to about 75%
Kaplan qbank: (about 1/2 done): 73% with score quickly trending upward.

So my question is, whats the deal with these NBME exams? I have read over and over again that the uwsas overpredict and that the nbmes were right on target for most people but has anyone else had similar disparity in numbers? My qbank %s also indicate that I should be doing better than 220's but these nbme's are brutal. Looking back at my most recent nbme I made many stupid mistakes and saw 4 Q's where I decided to change my answer to an incorrect one with no support or reason. But I digress...

In any case, My goal is 245 or above and my exam is in 1 week. Doable or no? Where do you guys think I actually stand?

and I'm planning on taking nbme 7 in a few days after I finish my second run of FA so maybe that will shed some more light.

thanks!

Just took nbme7 yesterday and got 242 (590) is this one supposed to be a lot easier? After nbme12 it actually felt like a joke, anyone who took their step care to shed light on what it was like compared to nbme7? With that said I still managed to get the last 4 questions of the last block wrong cause of running out of time and looking back I could have gotten at least 2/4 of them (yes that's what I tell myself haha )

Anyways, to those of you who may be doing much better on uworld and kaplan Q banks than your nbme may suggest, try not to over think the nbme questions. Try to be as critical as possible on your first read of the question, pick your gut feeling and move on. I saw that getting used to the more difficult question styles on some qbanks let me to think that every question has a trick up it's sleeve. With all that said I still made many "overthinking" errors so I have a long way to go. I know I cant be the only one who had this kind of disparity between qbanks and nbme, so to those of us who this applies to, try it out.

And the real exam has 46 questions right? I've become so accustomed to 46 that I almost always feel tight for time with 50 questions (I know we get more time to do 50 on the nbme).

 

[ThereHeIs]

here's my progress:

Uw first pass - 79%
nbme cbsa (may 3) - 240-245
uwsa-1 (may 15) - 263
uwsa-2 (june 12) - 265
nbme 6 (june 19) - 257
nbme 7 (june 26) - 242
nbme 12 (july 2) - 257
nbme 11 (july 3) - 254

personal goal is >240. Test is monday the 11th.

248/99!

 

[docdoc1987]

NBME 11--- 520/226 (today)
UWSA1-----630/245(yesterday)
NBME6------490/219(7/6)
NBME3------520/226(6/28)

exam is after 20days and my goal is >240...pls help..hw shud i go ahead...dont mind postponing my exam by 10-15 days...

 

[NdFrSpd]

school assessment "comp" : 195 (hahah)
nbme 6: 210 (450)
nbme 11: 224 (510)
(lot of studying here in the middle)
uwsa 1: 257
uwsa 2: 251
nbme 12: 224 (510) <---- don't know what the heck happened
Free 150: 90% (day before)

UWorld qbank: 71% (1st run) last 20 blocks average to about 75%
Kaplan qbank: (about 1/2 done): 73% with score quickly trending upward.

realistic goal: 240+
secret goal: 255+

Real thing: 258/99!!!

So as you can see the best predictor was uwsa 1. Don't get fooled by the ridiculously hard curves on the practice nbme exams. I used them as a guide for what concepts to particularly focus on as they get repeated often in one form or another and tried to also use them to get an idea of style of questions to expect. This exam is as much knowledge as it is test taking ability. Do all you can to not just focus on your knowledge, but also on assessing what types of questions you are missing and why (lack of knowledge? misunderstanding the point? over-thinking? under-thinking? etc.

bottom line: nbmes were horrible predictors for me!!!

 

[getgaponmetro]

I did uswa 1 last week and got 236. then today did nbme 11 and got 211! dont know what happend, my test is in 10 days. any recommendations on what to do the last days? anyone with the same drop in nbme 11?

 

[septoplasty]

I did uswa 1 last week and got 236. then today did nbme 11 and got 211! dont know what happend, my test is in 10 days. any recommendations on what to do the last days? anyone with the same drop in nbme 11?

I think everyone sees a drastic drop in grades when it comes to Forms 11 and 12. So I guess concensus might be they underpredict?

Try giving Form 7 if you can which is pretty darn good according to others.

I recently took form 7 and it was pretty good (500), I wont even think about giving forms 11 and 12 since my exam is less than a week away.

 

[indsha008]

I think everyone sees a drastic drop in grades when it comes to Forms 11 and 12. So I guess concensus might be they underpredict?

Try giving Form 7 if you can which is pretty darn good according to others.

I recently took form 7 and it was pretty good (500), I wont even think about giving forms 11 and 12 since my exam is less than a week away.

Septoplasty, rethink about taking NBME 11 and 12. Just give for the sake of knowing testable areas. It was really helpful for me on my test. You will learn a lot from those forms. Concentrate on concepts presented in these forms and you will be gold for the test. Make sure to revise FA esp in areas u were weak in these forms. Best of luck.

 

[getgaponmetro]

So you felt like you got a lot out of going through the questions? its pretty time consuming figuring out the answers..I ended up going through all of it afterwards and realized that there was lots of stupid mistakes! I still have 600 q left from uworld, should i try and finish it, and then do another nbme (maybe 12?) in a couple of days? I have the prometics 150q test in 6 days, maybe ill try and squeeze in nbme in 3 days. thanks for the replys

 

[indsha008]

So you felt like you got a lot out of going through the questions? its pretty time consuming figuring out the answers..I ended up going through all of it afterwards and realized that there was lots of stupid mistakes! I still have 600 q left from uworld, should i try and finish it, and then do another nbme (maybe 12?) in a couple of days? I have the prometics 150q test in 6 days, maybe ill try and squeeze in nbme in 3 days. thanks for the replys

I took extended feedback on both NBME 11 and 12. So, it didnt consume much time to go through only the wrong ones. What I would do if I were you is to do NBME 11 and 12 on consecutive days and review it that day itself and add to FA stuff you learnt new. In this way, in 2 days you will know the new trends and likely format of the test. The SDN threads on NBME 11 and 12 discussion are quite good.

And yeah, you should finish UW first (like in 3-4 days max) and then do NBME. When is your step 1 ?

 

[getgaponmetro]

thanks for your reply. It's in 9 days!

edit: Just took free 150 at prometics and got 223. test is in 3 days. any chance of hitting 230?

 

[jfgavina]

Not that I'm scoring consistently over 60% in kaplan qbank I want to know where I stand from 8 weeks till examination. What NBME do you recommend for first approach? I want to spare the most accurate for a few weeks from now, I just want to have an idea. Also I want the easiest one of course

thanks in advance

 

[naseeha]

Not that I'm scoring consistently over 60% in kaplan qbank I want to know where I stand from 8 weeks till examination. What NBME do you recommend for first approach? I want to spare the most accurate for a few weeks from now, I just want to have an idea. Also I want the easiest one of course

thanks in advance

For the past few years nbme 7 has been the most predictive. I'm not really sure what the trend with 11 and 12 are but from reading this years experiences I think they are as predictive as 7 and with some people they actually under predicated their score.

Depending on how much money you have and how often you are going to write the nbmes, I think you can do either 5 or 6 to see where you stand right now.

 

[Valko]

School paid for NBME test at end of classes (no study): 500/200
UWorld test 1 (after 3 weeks of study): 610/242
NBME 11 (4 weeks of study): 570/238
UWorld test 2 (3 days left): 670/252

I'm hoping to get a 240. Think there is any utility in taking NBME 7 or 12 just for more practice and maybe some extra confidence? I wish UWorld didn't seem to over estimate scores quite so much. I know I'm probably being neurotic, but I can't help but thinking that I'm going to get unlucky and score poorly. Every time I review a section in FA it seems like there are more things I don't know than stuff I remember. How could I possibly score well if on any given page I am learning new stuff.

I forgot to come back to update this before, but better late than never I guess. I got my real score back on July 13th and it was a 254 so needless to say I'm very happy. Uworld ended up being the most predictive for me and from everything I had heard about over estimation I was not expecting that.

 

[jfgavina]

Hi! I did UW in april/ may and now I started to do it for the second time. I'm getting high scores. How much should I discount in this? 10%? 5%? 15%?

 

[godchaser1016]

hi guys,

i am getting about 65% to 70% on kaplan Q bank lately. (I started out with less than 50%) i know they have this score predictor, but i have a hard time trusting it. My current average is 58% i have about three weeks left and my last NBME score was 190 from one month ago.

I want to see if anybody is doing Kaplan Qbank and getting a similar score as I am. What are your NBME scors like? I am going to do another NBME this thursday... but I am so scared that I am going to get another 190. hahaha

 

[sylvanthus]

Switch to UW if you have time, kaplan is ridiculously ******ed. I was sucking on that qbank also, switched to UW, and ended up doing great. Kaplan is too nitpicky and doesn't teach you to think and reason through the questions. It relies on detail memorization.

 

[godchaser1016]

Switch to UW if you have time, kaplan is ridiculously ******ed. I was sucking on that qbank also, switched to UW, and ended up doing great. Kaplan is too nitpicky and doesn't teach you to think and reason through the questions. It relies on detail memorization.

Thanks for the reply. I am done with UW finished it about two weeks ago. I did some problems more than once, others just once. I think I ended up with 69% on my semi-second try.

I am almost done with Kaplan. I have 300 more questions, and will be done with those in two days. Though I agree that some questions are nit picky, I find that you can still reason through those nit-picky questions by process of elimination. I wanted to freak myself out earlier with weird questions, so Kaplan does its job.

I am gonna do NBME 11 this thursday. We will see how much I have improved from 190 on NBME 6

 

[jfgavina]

Hi, I'm doing also doing kaplan and averaging 58% and in my last blocks I'm gettting from 65-70. pretty similar situations here when I do my NBME I'll let you know how much I got, but for now I can tell you that I'm getting 77-80% in UW averaging 78%. It's my second time though, I did it in may (4 months ago) so I don't know how much my score is inflated, I don't remember any questions though. but you're doing well, I doubt that you're going to get another 190..


and regarding kaplan, it is better to be prepared for everything in the exam day. you never know the questions that might appear.. kaplan has some weired questions but they put it there for some reason

 

[USMLE0423]

Hey,

I am taking my exam in 2.5 weeks and am wondering what I should do to improve my score. I'm 95% done with uworld with a cum score of 70% so far. I took an NBME last week and scored a 226 and am going to take another one tomorrow and hoping to break 235 (wishful). I'm aiming for a 240+ on the real deal though. Do you guys think it's possible to improve that much in this amount of time? Also, I read a lot of posts by people on this forum whose scores improved by 10+ a week. What are you guys doing to improve so drastically?

Any help is appreciated!!!

 

[jfgavina]

I improved 15 points in a week but my last 2 nbmes have the same score so Im 3 weeks without improving

 

[USMLE0423]

Hey,

That's awesome!-- that part that you improved 15points in 1 week. I guess it's just a matter of plugging away at it. I'm hoping to improve at least 15 points by my test. lol. I'm not really shooting for a 260 or anything.

On a side note, what did you do in that one week?

My biggest concern is that I have a fairly decent uw average (70% first time) so I'm not sure why that didn't translate into the corresponding NBME score.

 

[USMLE0423]

18 points in 10 days is a huge jump. I'm sure you will improve way more in the next 3 weeks!

 

[colonelmustard]

Hey guys, my exam is coming up, and I would really like advice on how to get my score up.

My stats:

NBME #11: 185 (9/15)
UWSA1: 206 (10/29)
NBME #12: Taking it in 1 week
Exam in 2 1/2 weeks

Low 60s in UWorld (only half way done, all mixed time blocks)
Did 2 readings of First Aid
Finished DIT

What's the best way to maximize these next two weeks? Also, how good of an indicator is UWSA1? I've heard it overestimates.

I feel as though I'm too borderline and don't have enough time to solely learn from UWorld. What's a good schedule? I have no problem studying 10-12 hours a day for 2 weeks. By the way, the two areas where my score dipped far into left in UWSA1 were Biochem/Genetics and General Principles of Health & Disease.

 

[colonelmustard]

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[jfgavina]

what's your aimed score? what do you want? if a 210 is enough then go on, if you want a 230 just postpone your exam, take some serious uw notes and read FA and the all over again

 

[jfgavina]

last update:

nbme 6 sep 27: 214

nbme 11 oct 10: 231

nbme 12 oct 21: 231

nbme 7 oct 27: 231

nbme 5 today, november the 1st: 245!!!

finally I get a score I can be proud of and represents my hard work. although I like to see some input from experienced users on how this is inflated because the examination changed eventually or I can expect a score above the 231 on the real exam. thanks