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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[DarkHorizon]

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.

Right here with you, taking it June 23rd, along with the USMLE on June 18th. So far I am getting killed on Kaplan USMLE Qbank and doing awesome on Kaplan COMLEX Qbank. I will switch to UWorld next month.

 

[bleeker10]

Right here with you, taking it June 23rd, along with the USMLE on June 18th. So far I am getting killed on Kaplan USMLE Qbank and doing awesome on Kaplan COMLEX Qbank. I will switch to UWorld next month.

It's crazy how much easier the Kaplan COMLEX Qbank is compared to the Kaplan USMLE Qbank. Hopefully it's indicative how the real thing will be.

 

[Rollo]

I'm taking both.

I'm debating whether to get an actual COMLEX-specific Qbank or just do all 3 COMSAE (official COMLEX practice) exams. I have UWorld now.

Any thoughts?

 

[nbd13]

Figured I'd jump in....

I'm just taking COMLEX, for what I want to do there is no way I'm getting an M.D. residency.

I've mainly been using First Aid, Goljan book and audio, Savarese OMM Review and UWorld. I have like 400 question in UWorld left and then plan on repeating UWorld and doing COMBANK twice. I also plan on doing all COMSAE practice tests. We took a diagnostic NBME through our school a few weeks ago so I should be getting those results next week which will help.

I've heard COMLEX questions are written very different than UWorld type questions, so it may be beneficial to pickup a COMLEX style question bank....

How is everyone progressing? How many times have you been through First Aid? What types of scores are you getting on question banks or practice tests? What is everyone's goals for the COMLEX?

Nick

 

[Altruist]

I'm doubling up in May, USMLE on 27th, COMLEX on the 31st.

We get Kaplan through our school, and so far I'm just doing the USMLE Qbank. Does anyone know if there's a way to pick out just the OMM questions on Kaplan's COMLEX bank to be tested on them only? If there's a way to do it, I missed it. I tried just picking musculoskeletal and neuro questions, but even with those, not a lot of them were OMM-based.

After I get through the kaplan questions I plan on getting USMLE world for the last month or so. I got Gunner Training last summer, and it's helpful, though time consuming at times. Apart from the usual first aid, I have the Savarese OMM review plus "Recall: Osteopathic medicine" and I plan on going through those after the USMLE.

 

[nbd13]

Anyone have any idea about how much biochem and biostats will be on this test? I know there will be some of each, but the biochem can't be as in depth as it is for USMLE right? This seems to be one of my weaker subjects that's why I ask.

Some of the biostats questions on Uworld are pretty darn difficult as well.....

What are your thoughts on this?

Nick

 

[bleeker10]

I'm doubling up in May, USMLE on 27th, COMLEX on the 31st.

We get Kaplan through our school, and so far I'm just doing the USMLE Qbank. Does anyone know if there's a way to pick out just the OMM questions on Kaplan's COMLEX bank to be tested on them only? If there's a way to do it, I missed it. I tried just picking musculoskeletal and neuro questions, but even with those, not a lot of them were OMM-based.

I don't think there's a way through Kaplan. I know you can on COMBANK. I think the best way is to try pharm/therapeutics selection. Also, I had a lot of OMM questions when I selected general topics on phys. Not sure how OMM relates to phys but it was a lot of sacrum.

 

[bleeker10]

Figured I'd jump in....

I'm just taking COMLEX, for what I want to do there is no way I'm getting an M.D. residency.

I've mainly been using First Aid, Goljan book and audio, Savarese OMM Review and UWorld. I have like 400 question in UWorld left and then plan on repeating UWorld and doing COMBANK twice. I also plan on doing all COMSAE practice tests. We took a diagnostic NBME through our school a few weeks ago so I should be getting those results next week which will help.

I've heard COMLEX questions are written very different than UWorld type questions, so it may be beneficial to pickup a COMLEX style question bank....

How is everyone progressing? How many times have you been through First Aid? What types of scores are you getting on question banks or practice tests? What is everyone's goals for the COMLEX?

Nick

I've been through FA, Goljan and BRS Phys once. I condensed CMMRS into FA along w/ some stuff from RR Biochem. I don't think everyone needs to use RR Biochem but I needed a better explanation for topics that are just a figure in FA like glycolysis, ETC, urea cycle, etc.

I'm gonna start my second pass next week. I've done about 2000 questions with 1300 through Kaplan USMLE and 700 through Kaplan COMLEX. My average on COMLEX is 71% and USMLE is 63%. I started out with a diagnostic of 48% and my scores have been steadily going up with my last 1000 questions on USMLE at 66%. I'm not too concerned with percentages now. I'm more focused on learning the material, improving my scores and not getting something wrong more than once. I annotate my missed questions into FA if I see a pattern of my mistakes or if its a topic being asked frequently thats not in FA. If it's some obscure disease that I miss, I'm not gonna really worry about it too much. Also, if I get something wrong that only 10% of other students have gotten right I am just chalking it up to a poor question and not worrying about it. I want to get through these two Qbanks by next week and then I will start doing questions from USMLEWorld and COMBANK. I would like to take a practice test to see what I need to focus my next pass on but I don't want to use any of the COMSAE's now. I'd do an NBME but I'm taking one through my school in a couple weeks so I'll probably hold off on that.

 

[nbd13]

Anyone know how the practice COMSAE's compare to the real test? You know like NMBE 6 and 7 are good for the USMLE.

What about for the COMLEX?

Thanks,

Nick

 

[Eilat87]

whats the logic behind taking the usmle before the comlex?

is it because you want to be able to do better on the usmle and so you dont want to get burned out with the comlex first?

 

[nbd13]

whats the logic behind taking the usmle before the comlex?

is it because you want to be able to do better on the usmle and so you dont want to get burned out with the comlex first?

My understanding is you take USMLE then like 7-10 days later take COMLEX and use that 7-10 days to study OMM. At least that's how it was explained to me.

Nick

 

[bleeker10]

whats the logic behind taking the usmle before the comlex?

is it because you want to be able to do better on the usmle and so you dont want to get burned out with the comlex first?

The idea is if you study for the USMLE, then you should do well on the COMLEX material. All you would have to do the couple days in between is study OMM and Savarese can easily be read in a couple days.

After talking to third years, the philosophy of studying for USMLE to take the COMLEX is hit or miss. I know people who did well on the USMLE and crappy on the COMLEX by doing this plan. I know people who did very well on COMLEX by doing UWorld questions instead of COMLEX questions. I know people who took the COMLEX first and then the USMLE and did well on both. Everyone has a different method that worked for them and its up to you to do the same. I'm only taking the COMLEX and am doing both UWorld and COMBANK questions.

 

[biosynthetic78]

What do you guys think is the best qbank for specifically comlex step 1 questions? I already have USMLEWorld, but am looking for a good comlex qbank. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[sylvanthus]

Combank is supposed to be the most like the Comlex.

 

[nbd13]

What do you guys think is the best qbank for specifically comlex step 1 questions? I already have USMLEWorld, but am looking for a good comlex qbank. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Agreed COMBANK.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

Anyone take any of the COMSAE's or plan on taking them?

I am only taking the COMLEX so I am wondering when I should take one?

Are school made us take a NBME...why a MD test I have no clue, but whatever I got a 195 on that, with no studying. I have been studying these last few weeks so I am wondering when I should take a COMLEX style practice?

My goal is 600....do you think it's possible? I'm almost done with UWorld, getting 63% right now. I planned on doing UWorld then COMBANK twice....

What are your thoughts.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[luti84]

Anyone know how the practice COMSAE's compare to the real test? You know like NMBE 6 and 7 are good for the USMLE.

What about for the COMLEX?

Thanks,

Nick

Last year I took COMSAE A before starting studying and felt it was the least like the COMLEX. I took B 2 weeks out and it underpredicted my score by about 30. Took C with 5 days to go and it overpredicted by 7, and on the whole, I felt like both B&C were very similar to COMLEX.

 

[bleeker10]

Does anyone know a correlation between the NBME CBSE and COMLEX? I took it at my school on Friday and scored a 75 which correlates to ~213 on the USMLE. I was just curious to see where I am at now for the COMLEX since I don't want to take a COMSAE just yet.

 

[DrRoast]

Anyone know how to interpret COMBANK % into a likely actual COMLEX score? Tried searching, nothing really helpful.

 

[Egyhockey]

Hi All,

I'm a 2nd year DO student, currently scheduled to take both USMLE and COMLEX Step 1. I'm not 100% sure what I want to do or where, so I want to keep my options open. COMLEX Q banks seem to be significantly easier than USMLE. Is that the case for the actual exam? Do DO students generally do better on the COMLEX than USMLE? And if that's the case, would it hurt (granted you pass both), to have that USMLE score, if the COMLEX score is better?

Thanks!

 

[bleeker10]

Has anyone taken a COMSAE yet? I'm gonna take COMSAE A tomorrow since it's 4 weeks out from my test, then COMSAE B two weeks out and COMSAE C one week out. I'll post my experiences with the test and which qbank is closest to the practice test.

 

[Rollo]

Has anyone taken a COMSAE yet? I'm gonna take COMSAE A tomorrow since it's 4 weeks out from my test, then COMSAE B two weeks out and COMSAE C one week out. I'll post my experiences with the test and which qbank is closest to the practice test.

Please tell us what you think of COMSAE A. From talking to upperclassmen, A is the least similar to the actual exam. I'm thinking about sticking with just B and C (since I plan on taking NBMEs and both of UWSAs).

 

[engineeredout]

Please tell us what you think of COMSAE A. From talking to upperclassmen, A is the least similar to the actual exam. I'm thinking about sticking with just B and C (since I plan on taking NBMEs and both of UWSAs).

Least similar how? As in too hard or too easy?

 

[Spooner13]

Hey everyone,

It's been hard for me to study while taking classes. In fact, I've basically done nothing (a very little bit here and there). I'm taking COMLEX I on July 18. I'll have 8 weeks to fully devote to boards studying. Do you think that'll be enough time? I know that most people on here haven't taken the test yet, but I was curious if you've heard anything from students above you. Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[nbd13]

Hey everyone,

I just took form A....it wasn't too bad. Some very weird questions, some very very easy ones, like first order obvious. There was some that I had no clue on, but that's to be expected.

So, bottom line here...I got a 450. I take the COMLEX June 9th, and finish with school finals May 16th. I plan on taking Form B May 16th and starting DIT May 17th.

Do you think I can get a 550 on the test? I mean is it possible? I plan on doing what little board studying I can do between now and when I start DIT. I should be through my 2nd pass of first aid by the time I start DIT.

What do you think realistic or not?

Thanks,

Nick

 

[nbd13]

Also, anyone know if there are cardiac sounds on the COMLEX like on the USMLE?

Thanks,

Nick

 

[FutureInternist]

I'm taking both.

I'm debating whether to get an actual COMLEX-specific Qbank or just do all 3 COMSAE (official COMLEX practice) exams. I have UWorld now.

Any thoughts?

Step 1 has a lot more overlap b/w USMLE & COMLEX and my recommendation would be to just use UW.
You may try COMBANK (if they have it for Step 1) but that's only after you're done with all of UW

Anyone have any idea about how much biochem and biostats will be on this test? I know there will be some of each, but the biochem can't be as in depth as it is for USMLE right? This seems to be one of my weaker subjects that's why I ask.

Some of the biostats questions on Uworld are pretty darn difficult as well.....

What are your thoughts on this?

Nick

Very basic stuff. Definitely not as in depth as USMLE. 1-2 reads of the Biostats is FA should be enough

My understanding is you take USMLE then like 7-10 days later take COMLEX and use that 7-10 days to study OMM. At least that's how it was explained to me.

Nick

10 days for OMM ??? More like 2-3. All you need is to go through the Savarese 1-2 times. 10 days may be too much and --> burnout
USMLE --> rest day --> 2 days of OMM --> COMLEX --> Get drunk

 

[bleeker10]

What's everyone doing for behavioral sciences? Just FA? I suck big time at the studies and equations. I'm debating about getting a source to help me with that section since it's by far my lowest. I have my exam in less than 3 weeks so I don't want to spend a lot of time on it but if its a high yield area than I will look at it more in depth.

 

[Bacchus]

What's everyone doing for behavioral sciences? Just FA? I suck big time at the studies and equations. I'm debating about getting a source to help me with that section since it's by far my lowest. I have my exam in less than 3 weeks so I don't want to spend a lot of time on it but if its a high yield area than I will look at it more in depth.

I'm just going to memorize those few pages in FA. Our prep course (provided by PCOM) doesn't address it at all. COMBANK has good explanations for their questions. We had an ethics/epidemiology course but to be honest it hasn't done anything for us.

 

[Bacchus]

I'm intending to do the COMSAE tomorrow morning. After buying it I understand you have 90 days to take it untimed. But, can you take it multiple times or do you finish it, get results, and that's it?

I know there aren't answer explanations, but will I be able to go through the entire thing question by question?

 

[bleeker10]

I'm intending to do the COMSAE tomorrow morning. After buying it I understand you have 90 days to take it untimed. But, can you take it multiple times or do you finish it, get results, and that's it?

I know there aren't answer explanations, but will I be able to go through the entire thing question by question?

Since you can take it untimed you could fill out the test and then look up answers before submitting. I'm pretty sure theres no way to take a screen shot of it, otherwise the tests would be floating around on the internet in no time.

 

[bleeker10]

I'm just going to memorize those few pages in FA. Our prep course (provided by PCOM) doesn't address it at all. COMBANK has good explanations for their questions. We had an ethics/epidemiology course but to be honest it hasn't done anything for us.

I haven't encountered a lot of biostats since doing COMBANK and Kaplan COMLEX Qbank but I have done crappy on the ones I have answered. They are pretty easy points so I'd hate to blow it off and have it cost me on the real deal.

 

[Bacchus]

I haven't encountered a lot of biostats since doing COMBANK and Kaplan COMLEX Qbank but I have done crappy on the ones I have answered. They are pretty easy points so I'd hate to blow it off and have it cost me on the real deal.

I hope the results aren't anywhere near my actual score. Sigh.

 

[bleeker10]

I hope the results aren't anywhere near my actual score. Sigh.

How was the COMSAE? How does it compare to COMBANK?

 

[Bacchus]

I thought it was harder. It seemed more vague. I'm annoyed you don't get to review the exam.

 

[DrRoast]

How was the COMSAE? How does it compare to COMBANK?

Comsae is much harder than COMBANK. The Combank questions are very short and usually make sense even if the answer choices don't. On Comsae, their were several times I had no idea wtf was going on. Supposedly that's what the test is like.

 

[squad41]

We just finished classes and I took COMSAE C about 3 weeks ago just for giggles and to give me a baseline. I have no idea how much salt they have in terms of reliability or validity; however, I can say that the questions were a good bit harder than COMBANK. Agree with above posters that there were a few times I had no idea what the hell was going on. I'm an above average student (not great) but above average.

 

[bleeker10]

Ok well I will do a COMSAE tomorrow and see how it goes. I actually hope the COMLEX is tougher than COMBANK because its a joke. I have a Kaplan practice COMLEX test so I may take that too.

 

[bleeker10]

Just took COMSAE B. It was tougher than COMBANK but not as tough as I thought it would be. Most of it was pretty straight forward but there were a few questions where I took quite a bit of time to figure out. I thought some of the x-rays were tough to figure out because they didn't always have the best picture quality. When you are trying to figure out if there is a break in a bone, you don't want a fuzzy picture. I did about the same as my school administered mock exam two weeks ago so this gives me a lot of confidence going into the real deal in 2 weeks. I wish I could move it up a week actually.

If you want more specifics, just ask and I'll try to answer them.

 

[nbd13]

Just took COMSAE B. It was tougher than COMBANK but not as tough as I thought it would be. Most of it was pretty straight forward but there were a few questions where I took quite a bit of time to figure out. I thought some of the x-rays were tough to figure out because they didn't always have the best picture quality. When you are trying to figure out if there is a break in a bone, you don't want a fuzzy picture. I did about the same as my school administered mock exam two weeks ago so this gives me a lot of confidence going into the real deal in 2 weeks. I wish I could move it up a week actually.

If you want more specifics, just ask and I'll try to answer them.

What have you used to study? What's your COMBANK % if you don't mind sharing?

Thanks,

Nick

 

[engineeredout]

What's everyone doing for behavioral sciences? Just FA? I suck big time at the studies and equations. I'm debating about getting a source to help me with that section since it's by far my lowest. I have my exam in less than 3 weeks so I don't want to spend a lot of time on it but if its a high yield area than I will look at it more in depth.

The Kaplan behavioral science videos aren't bad. Unfortunately there is about 24 hours of videos so there's no watching them all, but maybe just watching them for the biostats stuff could be helpful.

Also, there are two videos as a part of it called 20 Ethics rules for USMLE or something to that effect. It spot on nailed a lot of the ethics questions that I've seen in practice thus far. Highly recommended.

 

[nbd13]

Also, have you taken COMSAE A? If so how did it compare to that?

Nick

 

[bleeker10]

What have you used to study? What's your COMBANK % if you don't mind sharing?

Thanks,

Nick

I have used FA, Goljan, BRS phys religiously. I annotated CMMRS into FA and then annotated onto my Bug Cards to quiz myself everyday. I read through BRS neuroanatomy at a quicker pace to cover some areas I was weak in. I have made it through FA/Goljan/BRS phys 3 times since the middle of January. I started my two week final pass today and hope to get through FA and Goljan again. I don't think I will go through BRS phys again unless I need to clarify some things. For biochem, I made flashcards of the diseases in FA and that's all I'm gonna focus on until my test. I'm gonna make sure I hit pharm and micro hard these last two weeks. I went through Savarese on Saturday and will go through it once this upcoming weekend and then one last time a couple days before my test.

I have used Kaplan USMLE and COMLEX Qbanks, COMBANK, and UWorld. My average on COMBANK is 76% with my last 700-800 questions in the high 70's-low 80's. If you wanna know my score on the COMSAE, just pm me. I remember how much of a pain it was to try to figure out a correlation between COMBANK and the COMLEX so I can pass along my information if asked.

After I take the COMLEX, I will post a more comprehensive review of the sources and my thoughts on the exam.

 

[nbd13]

I have used FA, Goljan, BRS phys religiously. I annotated CMMRS into FA and then annotated onto my Bug Cards to quiz myself everyday. I read through BRS neuroanatomy at a quicker pace to cover some areas I was weak in. I have made it through FA/Goljan/BRS phys 3 times since the middle of January. I started my two week final pass today and hope to get through FA and Goljan again. I don't think I will go through BRS phys again unless I need to clarify some things. For biochem, I made flashcards of the diseases in FA and that's all I'm gonna focus on until my test. I'm gonna make sure I hit pharm and micro hard these last two weeks. I went through Savarese on Saturday and will go through it once this upcoming weekend and then one last time a couple days before my test.

I have used Kaplan USMLE and COMLEX Qbanks, COMBANK, and UWorld. My average on COMBANK is 76% with my last 700-800 questions in the high 70's-low 80's. If you wanna know my score on the COMSAE, just pm me. I remember how much of a pain it was to try to figure out a correlation between COMBANK and the COMLEX so I can pass along my information if asked.

After I take the COMLEX, I will post a more comprehensive review of the sources and my thoughts on the exam.

Thanks! If you could post after you take it in 2 weeks that would be great. Especially how it compared to the COMBANK and COMSAE tests. I take it June 9th and I'm finally done with school this coming Monday.

Thanks again,

Nick

 

[bleeker10]

Thanks! If you could post after you take it in 2 weeks that would be great. Especially how it compared to the COMBANK and COMSAE tests. I take it June 9th and I'm finally done with school this coming Monday.

Thanks again,

Nick

I will definitely post something after I take my test. It was very helpful to see how people studied and how it worked with the COMLEX. I think the key to doing well is to do as many practice questions as you can which is why I have done so many Qbanks. There are only so many ways they can ask the material so you get a lot of repeats or see similar material.

 

[nbd13]

I will definitely post something after I take my test. It was very helpful to see how people studied and how it worked with the COMLEX. I think the key to doing well is to do as many practice questions as you can which is why I have done so many Qbanks. There are only so many ways they can ask the material so you get a lot of repeats or see similar material.

I agree. I have been through UWorld once and half way done with COMBANK. I am hoping to get through COMBANK again and maybe some of UWorld again.

Good luck on your test.

Nick

 

[mitpatel0186]

Does anyone know if we can get the explanations for the COMSAE exams? Like the correct answer and why? Thanks.

 

[sideways]

Does anyone know if we can get the explanations for the COMSAE exams? Like the correct answer and why? Thanks.

My guess is the NBOME doesn't even know the correct answers and why.

 

[bleeker10]

Does anyone know if we can get the explanations for the COMSAE exams? Like the correct answer and why? Thanks.

I don't know of anyway to get the answers. When I bought my COMSAE there wasn't an option to add a review of it for extra money like you can do with the NBME exams.