NBME practice form 5

[7abiby]

Hey guys,

Looks like the form #5 of CBSSA practice exams (per an NBME rep) is going to be released next week. I'm curious how it will compare to #4. Anybody know anything about this new form?

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[DOCTORSAIB]

Hey guys,

Looks like the form #5 of CBSSA practice exams (per an NBME rep) is going to be released next week. I'm curious how it will compare to #4. Anybody know anything about this new form?

Nice! Now you guys will have 1,000 of the best questions you'll ever see.

And the NBME will make even more money. Bastards.

 

[ally1]

hello,

why are the nbme exams so great if you can't even see the answers? do they take very long to get through if you have to look things up on google?

would you suggest doing them even if you have not finished studyuing things?

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

hello,

why are the nbme exams so great if you can't even see the answers? do they take very long to get through if you have to look things up on google?

would you suggest doing them even if you have not finished studyuing things?

Hi,

The NBME exams are great for several reasons (no, they don't give you the answers. Just your score and score distribution by subject):

1) It has predictive value. Often times what you get on the NBME (esp 2-4) will be very close to what you will get on the actual exam.

2) Its a great way to gauge your progress during your prep. Ideally, you want to see an upward trend in your scores. (210, 225, 238, 244, etc)

3) And they're great as a learning tool. But how? They don't even give you the answers. Well my friend according to some people on SDN, the answers are floating around somewhere on the internet. Don't ask me for more info about this. Know what I'm sayin?

So you take each test in TUTOR mode (gives you 4 hours per block of 50 questions). You spend 1 hours doing the 50 questions. Then you go back to question #1 and you can spend upto 3 hours going over each question in great detail. Figure out what its asking. What's the CONCEPT. Figure out the correct answer (don't change your original answer at this point! You'll falsely elevate your score prediction). Then figure out why the wrong answer is wrong. If you see graphs make sure you understand them well. Often times you will see the SAME EXACT graph on the actual exam!

I promise you if you use this approach will learn a great deal. Remember these are ACTUAL Step 1 questions. Nothing compares (not even UW). Read peoples post-exam reviews. Most people agree that their exam was most similar to the NBMEs in content and difficulty.

G'luck!

 

[Time]

Hi,

The NBME exams are great for several reasons (no, they don't give you the answers. Just your score and score distribution by subject):

1) It has predictive value. Often times what you get on the NBME (esp 2-4) will be very close to what you will get on the actual exam.

2) Its a great way to gauge your progress during your prep. Ideally, you want to see an upward trend in your scores. (210, 225, 238, 244, etc)

3) And they're great as a learning tool. But how? They don't even give you the answers. Well my friend according to some people on SDN, the answers are floating around somewhere on the internet. Don't ask me for more info about this. Know what I'm sayin?

So you take each test in TUTOR mode (gives you 4 hours per block of 50 questions). You spend 1 hours doing the 50 questions. Then you go back to question #1 and you can spend upto 3 hours going over each question in great detail. Figure out what its asking. What's the CONCEPT. Figure out the correct answer (don't change your original answer at this point! You'll falsely elevate your score prediction). Then figure out why the wrong answer is wrong. If you see graphs make sure you understand them well. Often times you will see the SAME EXACT graph on the actual exam!

I promise you if you use this approach will learn a great deal. Remember these are ACTUAL Step 1 questions. Nothing compares (not even UW). Read peoples post-exam reviews. Most people agree that their exam was most similar to the NBMEs in content and difficulty.

G'luck!

What is the downside of doing it in tutor mode? do you lose anything? ie. whats offered in the timed or whatever mode that is not offered in tutor mode? if anyone knows and has time, can you tell more about these modes and your recommendations as to how to use/approach these exams for max. benefit. thanks.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

What is the downside of doing it in tutor mode? do you lose anything? ie. whats offered in the timed or whatever mode that is not offered in tutor mode? if anyone knows and has time, can you tell more about these modes and your recommendations as to how to use/approach these exams for max. benefit. thanks.

Good question although I'm not surprised in light of your screen name. (ha!)

TUTOR mode gives you 4 hours per block of 50 questions. You use 1 hour to do the questions and then you have 3 whole hours to go over them. When you're done reviewing question 1-50 (or the 4 hours is up) you advance to the next block of 50 questions. Take note: once you advance to the next block you CANNOT go back to the previous block (like the real exam).

TIMED mode gives you 1 hour per block of 50 questions and THATS IT. When your 1 hour is up it automatically advances you to the next block of 50 questions (like the real exam). You will NOT have time to go back and mentally masturbate over each individual question.

So my suggestion to you is to do the NBMEs in TUTOR mode to give you sufficient time for the above activity.

Hope that helps!

 

[Time]

Good question although I'm not surprised in light of your screen name. (ha!)

TUTOR mode gives you 4 hours per block of 50 questions. You use 1 hour to do the questions and then you have 3 whole hours to go over them. When you're done reviewing question 1-50 (or the 4 hours is up) you advance to the next block of 50 questions. Take note: once you advance to the next block you CANNOT go back to the previous block (like the real exam).

TIMED mode gives you 1 hour per block of 50 questions and THATS IT. When your 1 hour is up it automatically advances you to the next block of 50 questions (like the real exam). You will NOT have time to go back and mentally masturbate over each individual question.

So my suggestion to you is to do the NBMEs in TUTOR mode to give you sufficient time for the above activity.

Hope that helps!

does it give the score and whatever review in either case and are they the same? thanks.

 

[7abiby]

Yep. What you get back is the same for both

 

[The Buff]

Good question although I'm not surprised in light of your screen name. (ha!)

TUTOR mode gives you 4 hours per block of 50 questions. You use 1 hour to do the questions and then you have 3 whole hours to go over them. When you're done reviewing question 1-50 (or the 4 hours is up) you advance to the next block of 50 questions. Take note: once you advance to the next block you CANNOT go back to the previous block (like the real exam).

TIMED mode gives you 1 hour per block of 50 questions and THATS IT. When your 1 hour is up it automatically advances you to the next block of 50 questions (like the real exam). You will NOT have time to go back and mentally masturbate over each individual question.

So my suggestion to you is to do the NBMEs in TUTOR mode to give you sufficient time for the above activity.

Hope that helps!

Of course the downside of this suggestion is it takes 16 hours..... But I agree it would be worth it if you can make it through. I think I remember you can save those things though, so maybe do it in smaller chunks

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Of course the downside of this suggestion is it takes 16 hours..... But I agree it would be worth it if you can make it through. I think I remember you can save those things though, so maybe do it in smaller chunks

Ok, maybe I didn't clarify this enough but it DEFINETLY should not take you 16 hours to go through a single NBME exam. Oh HELL no!

You have 4 hours per block. But it should take you 1 hour max to do a block of 50 questions and probably 1-1.5 hours to find answers to a block of 50 questions. That's ~ 2-2.5 hours per block total.

Which is totally doable if you start early and fit it into your schedule.

 

[blz]

waste of time imo. theres a lot of other threads that cover the reasons why.

 

[superoxide]

To the OP: Did the NBME Rep mention anything about a new 4th form for Step 2?

 

[7abiby]

No, sorry

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

waste of time imo. theres a lot of other threads that cover the reasons why.

Boss, I thought you agreed that since you only did one of the NBMEs that you may not be in a position to judge their utility?

Remember?:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=487578

 

[SuperMonkey]

The nbme just released both 5 and 6.

 

[Time]

The nbme just released both 5 and 6.

thanks. i am not sure i like it. not in my plan (the sixth one...)

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

The nbme just released both 5 and 6.

Man oh man. These NBME people are banking like you wouldn't believe. Talk about an EASY cash cow.

I'm all for doing these NBME practice tests. But honestly, they should reduce the price from $45 to $20 a pop. But that's probably never going to happen...

 

[osli]

Gonna have to re-evaluate my study schedule/plan. I allotted time for the first four, taken every other weekend with the last about two weeks before the exam. Now I have to figure out whether to start earlier or do one every weekend for a while.

 

[TTPHUS]

Man oh man. These NBME people are banking like you wouldn't believe. Talk about an EASY cash cow.

I'm all for doing these NBME practice tests. But honestly, they should reduce the price from $45 to $20 a pop. But that's probably never going to happen...

Do you think that is an ominous sign that they are making the usmle harder and changing the pattern due to the availability of better resources available to students ( improved q banks etd ) ... if thats the case then the exam is a crock and invalid . It would mean that those who scored higher in the last two years had an easier test ....I would suspect that the test should remain fairly constant in the sense that the paramaters of vailidity would dictate a 225 scored in 2005 is the same weight as a 225 in 2008 ..

I hope to god that nbme 5 and 6 is not because the exam is changing for the worse ( getting harder ) ...what do you guys think ???

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Do you think that is an ominous sign that they are making the usmle harder and changing the pattern due to the availability of better resources available to students ( improved q banks etd ) ... if thats the case then the exam is a crock and invalid . It would mean that those who scored higher in the last two years had an easier test ....I would suspect that the test should remain fairly constant in the sense that the paramaters of vailidity would dictate a 225 scored in 2005 is the same weight as a 225 in 2008 ..

I hope to god that nbme 5 and 6 is not because the exam is changing for the worse ( getting harder ) ...what do you guys think ???

Sir, I'm not following your reasoning here.

It's probably much more related to making $$$ than anything else if you ask me.

 

[Pascal8]

Sir, I'm not following your reasoning here.

It's probably much more related to making $$$ than anything else if you ask me.

I think what he is trying to say is that with the advent of UW etc , maybe the test questions are being written in a more difficult manner ? The new forms 5 and 6 will maybe reflect this increased difficulty ?

Of course that would mean the test is not standardized since kids that took it last year got easier tests ? dunno if it makes sense , but thats what I gathered from his posts . I too was and am worried that the test will be harder since UW is now available .

Something to think about : Kaplan Q bank USED to be the gold standard for the step . Now students are saying that it is not really representative of the test . Maybe the question writers change their questions based on available qbanks . If thats the case its grossly UNFAIR and makes the test like TTP HUS was theorizing ..plain Invalid ..

I hope we are wrong

 

[g6pddfishnc]

.

 

[Pascal8]

Do you think they are making it harder for us ??? Of course that would mean the exam taken two years ago is not the same weight as the exam this year .

 

[7abiby]

There's no option for "self pace" with forms 5 and 6. Interesting

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Do you think they are making it harder for us ??? Of course that would mean the exam taken two years ago is not the same weight as the exam this year .

They want the USMLE test to have viability compared to previous years. They're not just going to ramp up the difficulty because there are more question banks out there today.

Probably, they're just trying to cash in since Step 1 as we know it is going the way of the dodo in four years or so, and they want to get as much out of their questions as they can.

 

[SuperMonkey]

Has anyone taken the new tests? How was the score relative to the other forms?

 

[ADoc]

So I just finished taking form 5. I've taken all 4 previous ones and I thought it was within reasonable variance of the other exams. There were more "newier" and "sexier" facts on this one like stuff about purposeful HLA mistyping for BMT's in leukemia. In generall def like the others.

 

[SuperMonkey]

So I just finished taking form 5. I've taken all 4 previous ones and I thought it was within reasonable variance of the other exams. There were more "newier" and "sexier" facts on this one like stuff about purposeful HLA mistyping for BMT's in leukemia. In generall def like the others.

Thanks for the reply. What is reasonable? 10-15 pts? Was it higher or lower than your other ones? If you don't want to disclose the actual scores, that's fine. I'd just like to know how much higher or lower the new forms are relative to the old ones and how much time you had in between the actual tests.

I am going to post my scores after I take the exams. It should be in a few days.

 

[ADoc]

My converted step one exam score was ten points higher on the this one than on my last one.

 

[nayef2000]

I tried to buy nbme 5 and could,t buy it because they dont allow credit card for this. How di guys get it ?

 

[ISABELLE22]

I just took Form 2 and got a 200 with 11 days left to study. I am thinking of postponing the exam if my score does not improve with the next practice test. When I took Form 2, I felt that I knew the material and was surprised to see that I only scored 200. I am wondering if it is worth it to repurchase Form 2 in tutor mode and slowly review the questions and figure out which ones I got wrong.

Is this worth the time?

Thanks

 

[ADoc]

So I'm actually not sure if you can buy Form 5 quite yet. They are still test driving it I think. My school got me a voucher to take the exam. I don't it'll be fully available for a couple more weeks.

Of note, I'm pretty sure there was an exact duplicate from a question from form 5 as on my real Step 1 that I took on Friday. Creepy!

 

[Anaphylactic]

Hi,

So you take each test in TUTOR mode (gives you 4 hours per block of 50 questions). You spend 1 hours doing the 50 questions. Then you go back to question #1 and you can spend upto 3 hours going over each question in great detail. Figure out what its asking. What's the CONCEPT. Figure out the correct answer (don't change your original answer at this point! You'll falsely elevate your score prediction). Then figure out why the wrong answer is wrong. If you see graphs make sure you understand them well. Often times you will see the SAME EXACT graph on the actual exam!

G'luck!

Hi DOCTORSAIB,

So does this mean that when you do it in TUTOR mode, and let's assume that you pick the wrong answer, does it tell you the right answer or does it only indicate that you got the wrong answer? How about if you pick the right answer? Thanks.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Hi DOCTORSAIB,

So does this mean that when you do it in TUTOR mode, and let's assume that you pick the wrong answer, does it tell you the right answer or does it only indicate that you got the wrong answer? How about if you pick the right answer? Thanks.

No it doesn't tell you whether you have the correct answer or not. The only way to find out is to look it up somewhere (texts, review books, online, phone a friend, etc).

Again, when you go back to "review" the questions/your answers and you realize you made a dumb mistake, DO NOT change your answer! Resist the temptation. Leave it as is. This is the only way you'll get the most accurate predicted score at the end. Otherwise you'll end up with an INFLATED prediction that may give you false hope. Not good.

 

[zedx]

For my 2 cents, after taking Form 5 this morning, it seemed a whole lot easier than Form 4. So I'm not sure what to expect as far as how accurate an indicator it is as far as Step I prep is concerned.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

For my 2 cents, after taking Form 5 this morning, it seemed a whole lot easier than Form 4. So I'm not sure what to expect as far as how accurate an indicator it is as far as Step I prep is concerned.

Good to know. Thanks for the update.

Remember guys, don't hang your hat on just one NBME score. Take AT LEAST 2-3 of these bad boys to see where you stand.

If your scores are consistent then one outlier shouldn't freak you out (nor give you a reason to throw a huge party b/c you busted a 270 on NBME 5 when all your other scores are in the 230's).

 

[lankysudanese]

nor give you a reason to throw a huge party b/c you busted a 270 on NBME 5 when all your other scores are in the 230's).

too bad the max score on the NBMEs (800) is equivalent to 265. but i absolutely agree, you have to take at least 3 tests to get a good indication of where you stand.

 

[zedx]

So anyone else take Form 5 recently? Im curious to see what other people thought about it.

 

[crys20]

do you guys think, if i was going to take 4 nbme's only, that 2,4,5,6 would be the way to go? from what i've gathered on the forums, it seems like 1 is a little easy, 3 is a little hard, which is why i was thinking those 4.

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

Hey all, how did you get the vouchers from your school? My school (and I even called another nearby med school) said they've never heard anything about these vouchers. I printed out the form for the registrar and they're being pretty difficult. Any advice on how to make this process quicker?

 

[zedx]

My school purchased vouchers for 2 two of the exams for everyone in the class. As far as form 5 is concerned, it seems like only certain schools have gotten vouchers for them.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

You guys get VOUCHERS to take the practice NBMEs? As in your school actually pays for them?

Wow. That's freakin awesome.

 

[zedx]

well, yea for 2 of em. I guess its there way to make up for the fact that they're charging us 40K to give us a book list of things we need to learn each year.

 

[MadameLULU]

So the NBME emailed all the medical schools giving out vouchers to take the new #4 and $5 test on a first come first serve basis. Schools can only give the vouchers to students who have enrolled to take the test by April 1. The vouchers have to be used by this Friday.

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

do you know if new vouchers can be requested? i've emailed the nbme people...but haven't heard back from anyone yet. thanks for your help!

 

[MadameLULU]

Your school has to get them for you. Medical students cannot get them on their own.

 

[geekOCD]

I just took form 5 and got a 209...my exam's in a week, so I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to delay for a month and just start over or hit the books HARD for the next week. thoughts? (I'd like to get the mean on the exam, or higher, ideally)

 

[zedx]

Any particular thing you did poorly on? Also, have you take any of the other forms (and if so were the scores radically different)?

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Also, for people who take it in May-June-July, the score reporting is delayed to be released on a designated date in mid-July, apparently due to the high volume of exams taken during that time. But I think I also remember reading (also on the exam website?) that readjustments to the pool are also made then, but I could be wrong about this.

Do you have a source for this, I just went through the website and USMLE bulletin and it says nothing like that at all regarding a single date of release for scores in mid-july for those taking it in May.

 

[RonBurgundy]

I thought 5 was easier than 3 which was easier than 4 (and I have not taken them in that order)

any news on how 6 is?