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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[colonelmustard]

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

Congrats on your 245! It's great to see hard work pay off!

A score ~205 is enough for me. I just don't want to fail. That's my biggest concern. Do you think the UWSA1 exam is a reliable predictor, such that I'm out of the danger zone for failing the exam? I will do UWSA2 and NBME 12 next week.

 

[jfgavina]

dont rely on uwsa!

 

[colonelmustard]

Ok. I'll do NBME #12 soon. I was just worried that it might shatter my confidence as I'm told it's the toughest of the NBME's. I noticed that you didn't post UWSA scores. Are you staying clear from them?

 

[jfgavina]

I did UWSA 2 earlier in my study I got 232 and NBME 6 close to that and got 214. I see UWSA as a learning tool

 

[colonelmustard]

I did UWSA 2 earlier in my study I got 232 and NBME 6 close to that and got 214. I see UWSA as a learning tool

Ok, I gotcha. Thanks for the input.

 

[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

someone please?!

 

[USMLE0423]

Hey!

That's an awesome score. First off, congrats on that score.

When are you taking your exam? If you have time, then may be you can take another NBME to see if you get a similar score around 245? Although, I dont know the how accurate the other NBMEs (other than 6,7,11,12) predict your score. Either way, I don't think you will go down from 231 if you keep studying until your test. If anything, you will only improve you score.

GL

 

[colonelmustard]

Hey!

That's an awesome score. First off, congrats on that score.

When are you taking your exam? If you have time, then may be you can take another NBME to see if you get a similar score around 245? Although, I dont know the how accurate the other NBMEs (other than 6,7,11,12) predict your score. Either way, I don't think you will go down from 231 if you keep studying until your test. If anything, you will only improve you score.

GL

Do you know how accurate is UWSA1 supposed to be?

 

[jfgavina]

Hey!

That's an awesome score. First off, congrats on that score.

When are you taking your exam? If you have time, then may be you can take another NBME to see if you get a similar score around 245? Although, I dont know the how accurate the other NBMEs (other than 6,7,11,12) predict your score. Either way, I don't think you will go down from 231 if you keep studying until your test. If anything, you will only improve you score.

GL

hi I'm taking it november 7th!

 

[je355804]

someone please?!

Hey JFG. Here's my opinion. NBME 11/12 were out of this world hard compared to 6/7.

I would say my scores of 220 may be on the low side, while my score of 242 may be on the high side.

It's probably going to fall somewhere in between.

 

[jfgavina]

I've heard that nbme 7 is highly predictive, so you can expect a good score. I'd say something in between but for sure above 230.

not so sure about my nbme 5 but I hope to have something in between my previous nbme 11, 12 and 7 and nbme 5

 

[je355804]

I've heard that nbme 7 is highly predictive, so you can expect a good score. I'd say something in between but for sure above 230.

not so sure about my nbme 5 but I hope to have something in between my previous nbme 11, 12 and 7 and nbme 5

Don't worry! Just keep studying hard!

 

[USMLE0423]

I think UWSA overpredicts by 10points for most people. From what I've read, NBMEs are the best predictors since they are +/- 5

 

[colonelmustard]

I think UWSA overpredicts by 10points for most people. From what I've read, NBMEs are the best predictors since they are +/- 5

I didn't realize the margin of error was so high for UWSA. My understanding is that NBME 11 is more accurate than NBME 12, because NBME 12 is supposedly too difficult.

 

[jfgavina]

if you read the experiences thread you'll see that it overpredicts 20 points for some, 10 to others, I think I saw it being accurate in one case, but the tendency is to over predict.

For what I've read nbme 11 and 12 tend to be accurate or underpredict and nbme 7 being the most accurate of them all

 

[colonelmustard]

if you read the experiences thread you'll see that it overpredicts 20 points for some, 10 to others, I think I saw it being accurate in one case, but the tendency is to over predict.

For what I've read nbme 11 and 12 tend to be accurate or underpredict and nbme 7 being the most accurate of them all

I gotcha, thanks.

 

[USMLE0423]

Hey,
So I took NBME 11 and definitely found it easier than NBME 12. Although I dont know how it is compared to the other NBMEs. My score was 5 points higher on NBME 11 than NBME 12, taken 5 days apart. Not a significant improvement but still an improvement so can't complain...

 

[jfgavina]

Just for fun and because I wanted to do more questions before my exam:

UWSA 1 : 256

done today. if it overestimates by 20 points I'm pretty cool with it, it means that I'll get a 235 on the real thing

 

[USMLE0423]

That's a great score!!! Congrats. I dont think that it overestimates by 20 points. I would say about 15 points at the most. So I think you are well above your target score
What have you been studying recently? What do you think has been helping you the most? My exam is coming up soon (2 weeks) as well. I'm hoping to improve around 15+ points. I still need to re-read first aid and finish uw. Not sure if it's possible to improve that much in such short amount of time, but am hopeful.

 

[jfgavina]

I have been relying heavily almost entirely on UW, FA and Goljan audio for a few weeks. before that I did DIT (this was when my score took a big jump because I was not taking the greatest advantage of FA) and 60% of kaplan qbank early in the second part of my study. I check my hy neuro here and then as well as RR goljan. But I almost entirely focused on FA and UW because there are many people out there saying that it is enough for 230 which is my target score. May not suffice at first glance for an IMG but I trust myself and I'm sure I will impress the hospitals where I will do my clinical rotations during my 6th year. I'm planning to do 3/4 months of rotations in the us.

and in terms of questions I did more than 7000 2x UW, 60% kaplan, 2 UW self assessments and 5 nbmes, DIT predictive, kaplan diagnostic

 

[USMLE0423]

Thanks! I'm sure you are going to do well on the exam and in rotations. GL with everything

 

[USMLE0423]

Hey,

I was wondering if anyone knows how high yield ECGs are on the test. Also, how much in depth do you need to know them?
Also, how did you guys study for radiographs and heart sounds?
Lastly, are developmental milestones absolutely necessary to know? I can't seem to keep them straight.

Any help is appreciated!!

 

[jfgavina]

developmental milestones, all heart sounds, the classic radio (tension pneumothorax for example) for sure

EEG I honestly doubt

 

[USMLE0423]

Thanks!

 

[HeyThereJude]

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[MedicalDestiny]

I went from a 214 on NBME 12 (6 days ago) to 205 on NBME 5 (today). SO DEPRESSING. I scheduled my exam for this weekend, and hoped I would at least get a 220-something on my NBME today so I could hope for a 230 or so on my real exam. Sigh.

 

[gravitywave]

Hey,

I was wondering if anyone knows how high yield ECGs are on the test. Also, how much in depth do you need to know them?
Also, how did you guys study for radiographs and heart sounds?
Lastly, are developmental milestones absolutely necessary to know? I can't seem to keep them straight.

Any help is appreciated!!

developmental milestones, all heart sounds, the classic radio (tension pneumothorax for example) for sure

EEG I honestly doubt

EEG, no. ECG, yes. i would know STEMI and where the infarct is, the heart blocks, atrial vs ventricular tachycardias, a. fib/flutter, WPW, hypoK vs hyperK... think integration so drug toxicities and clinical correlates: diffuse ST elevation suggests effusion, electrical alternans for tamponade etc. those are the basics i think; no one expects us to have ACLS certification hah

 

[SuperAverage]

I just baselined with NBME 12 and got 430 (205). How bad is this? I have about 5 weeks to get that to 240+ is this reasonable?

 

[sylvanthus]

You have plenty of time. I had a 205ish on one of em and freaked out and still ended with a 250 after about a month.

 

[SuperAverage]

You have plenty of time. I had a 205ish on one of em and freaked out and still ended with a 250 after about a month.

Thank you, this is what I scored without officially starting crunch month and taking a few weeks off to study for a ridiculously hard class as our last class (poor move school, poor move). So I guess I'm pretty happy I at least passed the baseline without preparing for it.

 

[s88]

Anyone knows a useful site to help with reviewing wrong answers on NBME? I just did form 7. I think someone posted something but I can't seem to find it anymore.

Thanks

 

[shelterdoc]

About 5 weeks out, 192. Just wanted to hear from people who had a low initial score before starting a real study period, and improved. I hear over and over that 4-6 weeks is enough but I'm starting to think that applies to people who are coming out of school scoring 220+ as a baseline. Thoughts?

 

[Stingarov]

Did Lippincott's Q&A anatomy, Roadmap neuroscience, all of the robbins review questions in their review book, UWorld more than once, Mixed in some kaplan and USMLERx and did great on exams throughout the first 2 years of class but still feel rabidly nervous about this exam.

Pre-studying NBME 7 (I think, or 6 or whatever it is): 235 in early April.
NBME 11: 252, 5 weeks ago
NBME 12: 256? It was either 256 or 258 whatever. 3 weeks ago
UWSA1: 259
NBME 13: Did offline, was distracted by the highlighting of someone's jpgs naturally so...
NBME 15: Purchased (like everything else I did), 268. Thought it was the easiest by far. Thought the H. pylori cancer question was bogus, it's protective against GERD. Had a cancer doc and GI doc go head to head on that in class during a lecture actually.
UWSA2: 261
Week of: NBME 7, 249. Not happy that I moved back, but I can live with it.
And somehow I still expect to get 240 only come game day, due to reading that experiences thread, lol. Didn't do as much Pathoma (slammed the module book not the lectures) as others, take the exam next Saturday. Main resources: FA + UWorld + writing a Step 1 workbook.doc that consolidated Pathoma, Uworld, and FA stuff into it for the last 4-5 days (200 pages total) to hammer down.

First world problems but I hate getting questions wrong still on Uworld. Been through them all....

 

[metukah]

Found this post from a while ago...any feedback would be appreciated on expected scores based on my practice tests. My exam is at the end of the month (2+ weeks)...so far:
UWSA1: 228
NBME 7: 221
NBME 6: 226
NBME 11: 234
I plan to take UWSA2 and one more NBME I think (#12)...

Thanks in advance!

 

[futuredoc1000]

Hey guys, can someone enlighten me as to what the 'FA x 9 method' I keep hearing about is? Have a few weeks left until my exam...

Thanks much!

 

[lilek22]

About 5 weeks out, 192. Just wanted to hear from people who had a low initial score before starting a real study period, and improved. I hear over and over that 4-6 weeks is enough but I'm starting to think that applies to people who are coming out of school scoring 220+ as a baseline. Thoughts?

Just took the exam today, have no idea how I did. I studied for a total of 8 weeks with a baseline score of ~160 (that school administered CBBSA). 2.5 weeks in I got 188, week after that a 200, two weeks after that a 202 (so this was 5.5 weeks), did UWorld questions all day everyday for a week and got up to a 217 a week later, and my last NBME was a 222 three days before the exam.

 

[gp04]

NBME 16: 207
NBME 15: 212 (offline so hopefully I scored this right)
NBME 13: 226, purchased

Exams coming up...nervous cuz my scores aren't awesome. Aiming for mid 230-240 at this point.

Any pointers on what to definitely review beforehand that helped others?

 

[ManBroDude]

Just took the exam today, have no idea how I did. I studied for a total of 8 weeks with a baseline score of ~160 (that school administered CBBSA). 2.5 weeks in I got 188, week after that a 200, two weeks after that a 202 (so this was 5.5 weeks), did UWorld questions all day everyday for a week and got up to a 217 a week later, and my last NBME was a 222 three days before the exam.

@shelterdoc I took the NBME school administered basic science shelf right after spring break and got a 192. I had 5 weeks of dedicated study prep time (all of June) and after 3 weeks of DIT and Uworld I took NBME 13 and scored a 224. A couple more weeks of going through it all again and I took UWSA 2, which I scored a 252 on.

I looked around and common opinion on SDN is that UWSA 2 is far too easy and over predicts your score by ~20 pts, so I was actually at a ~232 a few days before the real thing. I'll get my scores back in a month, but it goes to show that it's possible to improve about 10 points in 2 weeks.

 

[kushr88]

School NBME -> 235 (10 weeks out)
Uworld assesement 1 -> 257 (7 weeks out)
NBME 11 -> 251 (6 weeks out)
NBME 7 -> 254 (5 weeks out)
NBME 12 -> 254 (3 and half weeks out)
NBME 15 -> 258 (3 weeks out)
Kaplan Simulated 1: 80% (3 weeks out)
NBME 16 -> 258 (2 weeks out)
Kaplan Simulated 2: 83% ( 1 week out)
NBME 13 -> 254 ( 1 week out) (Took this today)

Taking the test in one week, gonna read through first aid one last time this week and do Uworld 2 the weekend before the test. Kind of disappointed that I dropped to a 254 on 13 today but I felt it was the hardest one so far. Trying to break 260 on the real deal.

 

[neurowizard22]

I just took NBME 16 today and got 222. I took UWSA1 when I started studying and I got 201. So I've only done two practice tests so far. My test is in 12 days and I'm freaking out. My UWorld QBank cumulative average is 64% and has been steady at that for a while. I wish I could have started studying earlier, but I had some extenuating circumstances and just decided a few weeks ago that instead of taking a year off, I'll take Step 1. I still have three chapters in FA that I haven't studied or done the questions for, so that should raise my score a bit.

My goal is a 240. Can anyone offer some perspective of where I stand and how much I can expect to raise my score by? My test is on July 18.

 

[nrimbbs]

Hey you guys. Any thoughts on how I can improve my score?

-NBME 7 (baseline, August 11): 190
(Did USMLERX and some DIT)
-Usmlerx exam: 216
-NBME 4 (offline, Oct 11): 211
-Kaplan diagnostic (Oct 12): 59%
(Tried to use the Kaplan Qbank but gave up after almost 2 weeks of technical difficulties).
-UWSA 1 (Oct 19): 228
-NBME 11 (Oct 28): 222

Before my exam I plan to go through UWorld once. Will go through FA x2.

I know that looking at my scores (compared to everyone else on this forum), I'm not doing as well...but I am honestly hoping for a 240+. I feel really frustrated that I could only do 30% of the Kaplan Qbank! I wanted that "do a million questions = 240+" equation to work for me. I have to start UWorld now, though.
Exam's in first week of December.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[Gdl88]

Hi guy,i was wondering what is the first nbme exam to take in order to assess my preparation? I read that 6/7 are the most accurate,is it true?