Scores were released yesterday (11/15) for the 10/15 exam. This was my 2nd attempt so let me describe both exams and my prep.
FIRST ATTEMPT:
Started studying after the conclusion of 2nd year. This gave me about 6 weeks to prepare for the COMLEX in late June.
COMSAE A: 288 (~6 weeks out before I started studying)-uh-oh... I was not expecting such a low baseline.
COMSAE B: 342 (~2 weeks out)
Review: I started with Pathoma and got through about 7 chapters before realizing I didn't have enough time to finish it while also getting through DIT. I completed DIT in about 3 weeks. In all I got through First Aid 3 times before my exam. I also read through all of the green book over the course of a week. I did 200 Combank questions before switching to comquest and doing around 350 qs. My averages were typically in the mid 50s.
Score: 368
Thoughts about the exam. It was as I expected in regards to the amount of omm (easy pts), micro, and neuro, but I wasn't expecting how much musculoskeletal I got. It was unbelievably difficult and I was freaking out at just the sheer number of questions. A lot of stuff that wasn't in FA (tendon attachments lol). Micro also surprised me in that I had drilled the hell out of micro flashcards the last 2 weeks before the exam, but I just had a lot of trouble deciphering what the exam writers were describing and getting at. I was disappointed that I got maybe 5 questions of cardio and pulm (easily my strongest subjects in 1st and second year).
Time to refocus.
SECOND ATTEMPT
I gave my self a 10 week study block and rescheduled my exam for 10/15. This time I decided to do all of pathoma (given that i didn't have any time constraints). I did a chapter a day and felt just not being under such pressure and stress helped immensely in absorbing the material. I also purchased USMLE ROAD MAP: GROSS ANATOMY just in case they tried to jack me up with MSK again. I read through that once.
I purchased the Kaplan high-yield lectures series. I did maybe 4 lectures and never looked at them again. Biggest waste of money!! It's literally a med student reading off of FA. At least DIT is a bit engaging. lol I did get access to the COMLEX qbank. I did 300 questions and averaged a 57%.
1 month out I purchased COMQUEST and started to heavily hitting it to make sure I got through every question this time around. I did Questions in the morning/afternoon and reading through the explanations making sure I understood what was being tested....whenever I finished that I would then read FA for the rest of the day. I went through FA 2 times in the month before my exam. I did all of the COMQUEST qs and finished with a 62% average.
COMSAE A: 428 (beg. of Sept)
COMSAE B: 448 (beg. of Oct)
Score: 435
My thoughts on the exam. Much more balanced. OMM, Micro and Neuro were still there in force, but I could actually recall several cardio/pulm questions! lol MSK was very FA friendly (more along the lines of ulnar/median/radial nerve injuries, lumbar nerve root lesions, etc.... which are more straightforward). I also felt a bit better about micro. Overall, having gone through all of COMQUEST and reading/studying the explanations allowed me to be better versed in some of the high yield info. I think it def was a huge help. This time around, however, I did find OMM to be a bit trickier than my last time. In all, I felt much more relaxed taking the exam as well.
So there it is. It's definitely been a roller-coaster of emotions these past few months. I'm just so happy that this step of the game is over and now I can start my rotations. If there's anything I learned it's that you gotta start board studying early because sometimes your baseline isn't what you think it is!
Let me know if you have any questions. Best of luck in studying everyone!!!