First time poster, but I felt I should share my experience.
Took the whopper on July 7th and it was exhausting, frustrating, random at times, generally a poor written exam BUT.....that's exactly what I expected. Everyone who took it with me had similar complaints and concerns. Felt like I passed but to be honest, I really don't have any idea on how well I did. One does not simply feel good about their COMLEX experience. This is mainly due to the amount of guessing you will have to do. I marked on average about 10-14 questions per block. As I understand it, COMLEX is graded on a curve for same day test takers, so it really doesn't matter if you missed 75 questions or 175 questions....it's all about how you perform compared to others. Don't be too bummed if you feel the same way for your exam.
my study plan: 2 months. Used FA, DIT, Savareese, pathoma, UWORLD, COMBANK, COMQUEST, micro flash cards, pharm flashcards, anatomy flashcards (<-surprising how helpful these were.)
COMSAE A 4 weeks out: 515
COMSAE C 2 weeks out 550
(will be taking USMLE on July 21st)
My test break down:
Biochem-very surprised by the number of questions (10 ish?) Half were diseases but had some metabolism/insulin questions. And of course there were some heritage questions but they were pretty straight forward. Felt confident for this because I've been studying for USMLE as well. Don't forget this subject.
Immuno: 3-4...maybe. Not a big deal. I'm not including some of the micro questions that had some immuno flavor to them, but it's what you would expect.
Micro: lots, of course but actually was the easiest part of the exam for me. Not too many drugs (thank God) and straight forward. Expect repeaters (I answered at least 7 questions with the same bug.) Make sure you know bugs that have similar presentations and can differentiate them. The COMLEX seems to LOVE these types of Q's.
OMM: this pissed me off a little. I had like 6-8 questions on tender points....knew my SV, sym, para innervations and Chapmans...but not tender points. W.T.F. Everything else was easy for the most part as long as you know that green book.
Anatomy: sorry guys....you're going to have to review your anatomy. I did a few days before this exam and I do not regret it. MANY questions on lower extremity and some of them were pretty difficult/weird. I've been hearing extremity anatomy was a COMLEX favorite in the past, so I took the time for some light review. I'm not going to say I beasted it, but I definitely felt I had a little more knowledge to work through the Qs. Also, it's not a bad idea to review face anatomy. This includes the cranial nerves, where they exit, nerves/blood vessels of face, tongue, ears, eye, nose. I used Netter's anatomy flashcards which was perfect for some random, last minute review.
Histo: I'm including this because I had >10 histo images...all of which were terrible, half didn't even give you much of a clinical vignette. I don't know how anyone could prepare for this, but don't be too surprised if this happens.
Ethics/biostats: 6? I don't remember. They sucked for the most part, in my opinion.
Endo/cardio/resp/GI/MSK/psych/neuro: a wide range of mega easy to WTF. I'd go over each subject individually but it's what you expect and have probably read in past posts. Balanced out, but not as drug heavy as I expected. Embryo was mild and fair.
GENERAL: the exam in parts felt like COMSAE C on average but it definitely had easy, and I mean REALLY easy questions. I actually saw a couple of Qs from form C and A on my test. COMQUEST was probably the most helpful Q bank. I felt COMBANK was only good for ethics, biostats, OMM. COMQUEST was still my best bet. Also, don't forget to review poisonings. Got one question that burned me because I should have known it/reviewed it. Felt like there was plenty of time to take the test plus I took the optional 2 breaks. The highlighting and strikeout option was a little weird (you have to highlight the line and then click this upper R hand corner button) but I think it's helpful. I reviewed every single question and the saved highlighted areas helped me review quickly. If you're doing well with time in practice Q banks, I highly recommend doing this. I went back and found 5 Q's where I made a stupid mistake on easy questions. This can be exhausting, but I'm glad I did it.
SPECIAL STUDY TIP: for my last read-through of FA, I made a flashcard of every little topic that I kept forgetting or still struggled with. At the end of the evening, I made it a point to go over the flashcards I made. After reading my very large batch of FC nightly, I felt like I was reinforcing my weak points.
Last thoughts: All I'm hoping for is 550 or higher, and I'd even be comfortable with just above 500. Not sure if I hit my goal or not, but I feel comforted that there are many of us who felt the same way. It's heartbreaking to spend so much time studying and then to get bent over by an unfair exam, only to have scores graded on a curve (which I fail to understand how that reflects my medical knowledge if you're judging me on how much I know compared to doc A and doc B by whatever....) My best advice is to stay calm and don't worry if your test seems murky, picky, or random.
Good luck everybody!!
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..it shows a test does not have to determine your fate. Go for doing what you want to no matter what. Good luck.
