2011 COMLEX Level I Experiences and Scores Thread

[bleeker10]

Haven't seen a thread like this for those of us taking the beast this year so I thought I'd make one. When's everyone taking it? I'm taking it May 24th so I now have just over 60 days until I take it.

What materials are being used? I'm using FA, Goljan, BRS Phys, and Savarese along w/ Kaplan COMLEX and USMLE Qbanks (provided by school), USMLEWorld, and COMBANK.

Anyone taking USMLE too? I'm undecided since I'm military. I'll see where I'm at in a month and I can schedule it then.

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[koojo]

Superior vertical strain you meant?

Second this If SBS is higher = superior vertical strain

 

[mitpatel0186]

some HIGH YIELD PAGES IN FA!!!!!!

in the last day or 2..what pages or topics do you guys recommend looking over??? Thanks..

 

[redswiss]

Hey, i was just wondering how the structure of the actual test is. Are there 8 blocks with 50 questions each? Also I know that each block is 1 hour long, so can one take a 10 minute break after each block?

 

[thevillageidiot]

for people that have taken it already, can you change your answer to the matching questions like you can on combank, or are you stuck with your first answer if you move on to the next matching question?

 

[koojo]

Hey, i was just wondering how the structure of the actual test is. Are there 8 blocks with 50 questions each? Also I know that each block is 1 hour long, so can one take a 10 minute break after each block?

You can only take a 10 min break after completing 2 blocks.

So do 2 blocks. Take 10 min break; Do the next 2 blocks; Take the required lunch. Then come back finish off the last 4 hours the same way (1 10min break after the first 2 blocks).

 

[koojo]

Nick, any tips on what we should look over to help with those OCP questions?

 

[nbd13]

Superior vertical strain you meant?

Great, that's what I put!

Thanks,

Nick

 

[nbd13]

Hey, i was just wondering how the structure of the actual test is. Are there 8 blocks with 50 questions each? Also I know that each block is 1 hour long, so can one take a 10 minute break after each block?

8 blocks 50 questions each. You have 4 hours to complete the morning session and 4 hours in the afternoon, plus a 40 minute lunch break. You can only take a 10 minute break after the 2nd block, so in between block 2 and 3 and then you get a 40 minute break in between 4 and 5. Then another break between 6 and 7 for 10 minutes.

The 10 minute break comes out of your time....so watch out for that! I did not know this beforehand so be very careful of this if you are strapped for time!!!!

I finished the morning blocks with 50ish minutes to spare! The afternoon block I only had 10 minutes left when I finished.

Does that make sense?

Nick

 

[nbd13]

for people that have taken it already, can you change your answer to the matching questions like you can on combank, or are you stuck with your first answer if you move on to the next matching question?

You can go back and change it, which is key sometimes! Even with the paired questions with 2-3 questions that are linked you can go back. Sometimes that helps because the 2nd or 3rd question gives you more info sometimes.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

Nick, any tips on what we should look over to help with those OCP questions?

Sure....For the OCPs, you do NOT need to know number of pills or dosing. In fact I had NO questions that asked me dosing on the whole test. Know the different progesterones and what they do. Like know what the depo shot is made of/what drug is injected every 3 months. Know that Leuopride (not sure if I'm spelling it right), the drug that is used as a GnRH antagonist for shrinking fibroids in females.

I had 3ish different choices of progesterone analogs and 1 estrogen analog then the leopride drug to choose from.

Hope that helps.

Nick

 

[koojo]

Sure....For the OCPs, you do NOT need to know number of pills or dosing. In fact I had NO questions that asked me dosing on the whole test. Know the different progesterones and what they do. Like know what the depo shot is made of/what drug is injected every 3 months. Know that Leuopride (not sure if I'm spelling it right), the drug that is used as a GnRH antagonist for shrinking fibroids in females.

I had 3ish different choices of progesterone analogs and 1 estrogen analog then the leopride drug to choose from.

Hope that helps.

Nick

Thanks man, appreciate your help! Leuprolide is the one that's can be given for a bunch of reasons (infertility, fibroids, prostate). I think the key is knowing whether it's pulsatile release or continuous. For fibroids it should be continuous I'm pretty sure

 

[nbd13]

Thanks man, appreciate your help! Leuprolide is the one that's can be given for a bunch of reasons (infertility, fibroids, prostate). I think the key is knowing whether it's pulsatile release or continuous. For fibroids it should be continuous I'm pretty sure

Yep, but for the test I did not need to know pulsatil vs. continuous....just that it was a GnRH antagonist.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

One more question guys....what cranial bone would you treat for an ear problem? The temporal or parietal?

Thanks,

Nick

 

[CKG85]

Hey guys, so as I try and stay calm and continue to study/do questions, I was wondering how important the Special Tests chapter is in Savarse?

 

[DMC]

A question for everyone that has taken it.....

Since I've taken it I keep thinking about all the answers I put that were wrong.

How many questions do you think you can miss and still get a 600? There's got to be like 20ish questions that I keep thinking about that I missed. So, I know there are probably some more I can't remember that I missed.

I am really hoping to pull this off, but the more I think about it, the more I am questioning myself. These next few weeks are going to suck. Hopefully rotations, which start Monday will help keep my mind occupied. It just sucks wait a few weeks to figure out if I can attain my give specialty of ortho....

Thanks,

Nick

Nick I wouldn't worry man. If you only missed 20ish plus a couple more, that should definitely get you over 600.

 

[DarkHorizon]

Nick I wouldn't worry man. If you only missed 20ish plus a couple more, that should definitely get you over 600.

20ish questions missed will be well over 700

 

[smooch01]

Nick, you would treat the temporal bone for an ear problem. Don't worry! Try to relax because it sounds like you did well and you can't keep doing this to yourself for the next 6 weeks!

 

[BAM502]

Yeah Nick, if you missed 20ish I’d say you absolutely rocked it. I did ok oncomsae A and well on comsae B and thought the test we took was real tough! Ithink we had the same one anyway. A friend of mine took it the same day I did and thought it was pretty tough too. I thought a lot of the questions were vague,but I guess I should have expected that. I’m a slow test taker and I was definitelycaught by the 10 minutes that comes out of your time.


For people wondering about lunch, I ate tuna salad with light ranch dressing.Pretty much I have learned that if I eat nothing with carbs for lunch I willstay away from drowsy land.

 

[nbd13]

Thanks everyone! I am sure I missed more than 20 that's just how many I keep thinking of. A lot of questions I could narrow it down to 2 answers and then had to choose. I am just hoping to get 600. So hopefully I can pull that off.

Anyway if anyone else has questions let me know. I start rotations Monday so until then I have some free time. After that I'm sure I will be pretty busy as I start with surgery.

Good luck to everyone taking it this coming week!

Nick

 

[koojo]

Thanks everyone! I am sure I missed more than 20 that's just how many I keep thinking of. A lot of questions I could narrow it down to 2 answers and then had to choose. I am just hoping to get 600. So hopefully I can pull that off.

Anyway if anyone else has questions let me know. I start rotations Monday so until then I have some free time. After that I'm sure I will be pretty busy as I start with surgery.

Good luck to everyone taking it this coming week!

Nick

I know someone that went to meeting on COMLEX grading and I guess each question is weighed differently. Some of the more easier things that every student should know is worth more than a question on some new drug that came out not too long ago and hasn't been taught by every school. So I bet many of the WTF questions either don't count at all and/or have low weight compared to the other questions. I hope this gives us a better understanding of how they grade.

 

[thevillageidiot]

thanks for answering, nick! what do you mean the 10 min comes out of your time? does it take away from your actual test time?

 

[mabinante]

The NBOME says that tests before apr 12 are now available . . .Is that right? Does that mean I'm going to have to wait over 2 months for my results???

 

[linkDO]

One more question guys....what cranial bone would you treat for an ear problem? The temporal or parietal?

Temporal. There is a COMBANK question on this somewhere.

 

[koojo]

Hey Nick,

What's the detail of the questions on cancer drugs? Did you have to know which drugs block G1, G2, etc or was it mainly MOA & adverse effects?

Also, did you get anything on the branchial clefts & pouches? What a PITA those are

 

[lion2013]

I'm taking my COMLEX this coming Friday. Gone through all of UW (60% avg) and my combank avg is just a 65%. I'm a little concerned. I did horrible on COMSAE B last week (worried I might fail the COMLEX), but got a 220 on the last NBME i took (4 weeks ago). I'm taking my USMLE 2 weeks after the comlex, so I've just kinda been focused on the COMLEX and didn't bother going through UW twice. Should I try going through COMBANK a 2nd time or take more COMSAEs? I was thinking about doing combank again b/c I can't really learn from the COMSAE. Also, for those that did DIT, did you find the manual high yield for the COMLEX and what was it really good for on test day? From what I've read and seen on COMBANK/COMSAE questions tend to be 1st or 2nd order aka either you know it or you dont. Then again to anticipate hardcore micro Qs, I figured maybe I should do all the micro UW Qs again. What do you guys think? Also, My school went really hardcore for the reproductive system and I used Blueprints OB/GYN...so I was thinking maybe I should run through that book. Thanks!

 

[koojo]

I'm taking my COMLEX this coming Friday. Gone through all of UW (60% avg) and my combank avg is just a 65%. I'm a little concerned. I did horrible on COMSAE B last week (worried I might fail the COMLEX), but got a 220 on the last NBME i took (4 weeks ago). I'm taking my USMLE 2 weeks after the comlex, so I've just kinda been focused on the COMLEX and didn't bother going through UW twice. Should I try going through COMBANK a 2nd time or take more COMSAEs? I was thinking about doing combank again b/c I can't really learn from the COMSAE. Also, for those that did DIT, did you find the manual high yield for the COMLEX and what was it really good for on test day? From what I've read and seen on COMBANK/COMSAE questions tend to be 1st or 2nd order aka either you know it or you dont. Then again to anticipate hardcore micro Qs, I figured maybe I should do all the micro UW Qs again. What do you guys think? Also, My school went really hardcore for the reproductive system and I used Blueprints OB/GYN...so I was thinking maybe I should run through that book. Thanks!

When you say you did bad on the COMSAE, which areas did you do worst on on the score sheet they give you at the end? Probably best to concentrate on those areas. Doing more COMSAE's doesn't help you learn anything. It will either freak you out or put you somewhat more at ease...but you will have to study either way.

Did you do DIT?

 

[lion2013]

yeah i did DIT. i didn't review OMT and kinda blew off the comsae b/c I felt like the Qs were ridiculously simplistic. I got really arrogant.

 

[americanpie]

yeah i did DIT. i didn't review OMT and kinda blew off the comsae b/c I felt like the Qs were ridiculously simplistic. I got really arrogant.

Overall, they are still 2 different exams. 280 on USMLE means nothing to DO schools. Focus on your weaknesses and put your arrogance away

 

[CKG85]

Hola amigos. So I'm still only scoring the upper 50, low 60'on COMBANK, which is a worry. But anyways, my questions....
I always have a plan as to what to study next, but it always takes me longer to study something than I anticipated, so if you had to pick between Endocrinie vs. Respiratory (as far as HY goes for COMLEX), is there one greater than the other?
Also, for Renal, I was just going to review the Nephrotic, Nephritic and drugs...I hope that'll be good (I think I'm ok in the other areas).

T-3d....

 

[DubVille]

Hola amigos. So I'm still only scoring the upper 50, low 60'on COMBANK, which is a worry. But anyways, my questions....
I always have a plan as to what to study next, but it always takes me longer to study something than I anticipated, so if you had to pick between Endocrinie vs. Respiratory (as far as HY goes for COMLEX), is there one greater than the other?
Also, for Renal, I was just going to review the Nephrotic, Nephritic and drugs...I hope that'll be good (I think I'm ok in the other areas).

T-3d....

For me respiratory was a bigger portion of the exam. You could read resp really fast, the first few pages are phys heavy and the equations are not likely to show up. I would really try to get through endo and at least path in resp. Good luck!

 

[CKG85]

For me respiratory was a bigger portion of the exam. You could read resp really fast, the first few pages are phys heavy and the equations are not likely to show up. I would really try to get through endo and at least path in resp. Good luck!

Ok cool, thank you!

 

[nbd13]

Hey Nick,

What's the detail of the questions on cancer drugs? Did you have to know which drugs block G1, G2, etc or was it mainly MOA & adverse effects?

Also, did you get anything on the branchial clefts & pouches? What a PITA those are

I actually do not think I got any cancer drugs....maybe 1, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

I did not get any brachial clefts or pouches either. I had a Mekel's and that's it for embryo besides 2-3 questions on drugs that are teratogens and 1 on what cocaine does to the fetus. Also one of fetal etoh syndrome.

Hope that helps.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

thanks for answering, nick! what do you mean the 10 min comes out of your time? does it take away from your actual test time?

Yes it takes away from your actually test time. Just the 10 minutes. The 40 minute lunch does not come out of your time.

Nick

 

[Hokie06]

anyone know the difficulty level of COMBANK to the actual exam? whats considered a good percentage? Thanks!

 

[detroitdo]

I'm trying to access the NBOME website right now to take a COMSAE and I can't get it to come up. It doesn't load and it tells me that there is an error w/ internet explorer (just like the one you get when you're not connected to the internet)...anyway I was wondering if anyone else is able to access it right now, or if you know what to do?

thanks everyone!

3 days left for me

 

[koojo]

I'm trying to access the NBOME website right now to take a COMSAE and I can't get it to come up. It doesn't load and it tells me that there is an error w/ internet explorer (just like the one you get when you're not connected to the internet)...anyway I was wondering if anyone else is able to access it right now, or if you know what to do?

thanks everyone!

3 days left for me

It's a known problem. Actually a bunch of my friends had the test crash mid-way. Don't worry though it saves your spot. Hopefully you'll get it to load soon.

 

[detroitdo]

Thanks...
I hope it starts working soon because thats what I had planned for the rest of my day...what to do now?...

 

[CKG85]

Hey guys, just to see if someone can verify...so the COMLEX questions are weighted differently? So in theory, the COMBANK is a straight % score of right vs. wrong, but not necessarily what our score on COMLEX will be? I'm not sure how to feel about that. I mean, I can see how this can be advantageous to us, but I can also see the other spectrum...

 

[lion2013]

Hey guys, just to see if someone can verify...so the COMLEX questions are weighted differently? So in theory, the COMBANK is a straight % score of right vs. wrong, but not necessarily what our score on COMLEX will be? I'm not sure how to feel about that. I mean, I can see how this can be advantageous to us, but I can also see the other spectrum...

Not sure. I assumed it would just be number of raw points adjusted against the curve of that particular exam. Are you saying that, for example, 1 OMT is worth 2 points, while 1 path Q is worth 2?

 

[koojo]

1 OMT is worth 2 points, while 1 path Q is worth 2?

I heard that this is the way it's done, weird I know

 

[nbd13]

anyone know the difficulty level of COMBANK to the actual exam? whats considered a good percentage? Thanks!

I found some questions very similar to COMBANK. Some were more challenging that's for sure. There were NO questions on COMLEX that were easier than COMBANK.

I know that's vague, sorry. It's hard to say for sure. Like I said I did find some questions very similar to COMBANK in terms of difficulty, it's just some questions were harder in my opinion.

Hope that helps.

Nick

 

[koojo]

I've only taken COMSAE C before as well as finished the COMBANK last week and the questions are pretty similar in terms of length and difficulty. COMSAE just had poorer pictures and also had some odd matching questions.

 

[americanpie]

How COMLEX and USMLE are graded always a mystery which noone can tell. Oh well, all I need is a letter P and a number above 400. That's matter.

 

[CKG85]

So I studied upper extremity dermatomes and innervations, and lower extremity innervation. I didn't do lower extremity dermatomes...has anyone seen this on COMBANK or the actual COMLEX? I haven't run into it on COMBANK for LE, but you never know I guess...

T-2d

 

[matriculateme]

is it enough to study OMM by doing all of the COMBANK OMM Qs a second time around and using the savarese book to clarify anything that i got wrong? i'm not really doing any extensive reading on anything that isn't a question... my OPP "performance analysis" on COMBANK was a 73% (without any OMM studying beforehand). thanks for any advice!

 

[Ebola Virus]

Hi guys. Just wanted to share what my experience on COMLEX has been. This forum has been tremendously helpful to me and I would like to reciprocate to help out future test takers.

Overall, today's exam was not as bad as I had thought it would have been, but nonetheless, it is still long and draining. So thankful it's over for now.

CV - no heart sounds (audio). Some pathology, but not that heavy overall.

Neuro - CT, brain cancer, neuropathy Q's, and a smattering of q's on lesions. Definitely helpful to have studied the anatomy and lesion beyond FA.

Repro - so much prostate issues! Should have looked more carefully at the male part than just the female stuff.

Embryo - none, I don't remember any...might have had 1 Q.

Micro - very heavy. Lots of bugs and some helminths and fungus.

Path - There were about 4-6 path images. The descriptions were helpful in eliminating maybe 2 choices, but you really had to recognize it to get it correct.

OMM/Musculoskeletal- It was about 25-30% which is a God-send. Some seemed really straightforward and very similar to the COMBANK and COMSAE questions.

Endo- this was pretty heavy too. Lots of questions regarding Cushings, Hashimoto, primary hyperparathyroidism, etc and drugs associated with endocrine disorders.

Pharm - not that heavy, a few of the "what is the mechanism" but usually it's "what would you prescribe if..."

Biostats - easy points. Some ethics, law questions. No stats or any NNT, Sensitivity/Specificity q's.

A lot of the stuff were like super-duper easy that I had to read again just to make sure it wasn't a joke, but was much appreciated esp at the end of the exam. And some Q that was just absurd that I just had to click and move on since no matter how much I sat and stare at it, the only thing turning was not my brain but the clock. I didn't feel that time was the issue. I took a 5 minute break...a 20 min lunch...and skipped the last break. I didn't want to take too much breaks in b/t blocks since it counts against my time, and I didn't want to feel rushed through at the end. Anyway, glad that it's over. Best of luck to future test takers!!!

 

[nbd13]

So I studied upper extremity dermatomes and innervations, and lower extremity innervation. I didn't do lower extremity dermatomes...has anyone seen this on COMBANK or the actual COMLEX? I haven't run into it on COMBANK for LE, but you never know I guess...

T-2d

Read my review on page 5....yes I had questions on dermatomes of the LE.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

is it enough to study OMM by doing all of the COMBANK OMM Qs a second time around and using the savarese book to clarify anything that i got wrong? i'm not really doing any extensive reading on anything that isn't a question... my OPP "performance analysis" on COMBANK was a 73% (without any OMM studying beforehand). thanks for any advice!

Unless your school really prepared you....you need to read savarese. There are things not in COMBANK that came up on my test. COMBANK OMM is stupid simple. COMLEX OMM is much more difficult. Read savarase it doesn't take long and is any easy read.

Nick

 

[bleeker10]

Also make sure when you are reading Savarese that you do the practice tests in the back of the book. They will prepare you well for the OMM. I had questions on the COMLEX that I would not have been able to answer if I didn't do those tests.

 

[bleeker10]

Wednesday will be 3 weeks since my test so I'm hoping we start to hear some results next week. The wait is driving me crazy. I'm on IM now and I think about it from time to time each day. I like IM but I really wanna do ortho so having a good score will help me have less anxiety about which specialty I'll be competitive for. Anyone else going nuts waiting?