2011 COMLEX Level I Experiences and Scores Thread

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bleeker10

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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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are doing comlex qbanks necessary if your doing uworld and kaplan qbank ?

if so Which is best ? and how much of it should I go through?

also which and how many comsae's should I take?


any advice is appreciated


It's a good idea to do one COMLEX related qbank so you can get used to the style of questions. COMBANK is good for that and you can get a 30 day subscription for a good price.

I did COMSAE B and C and I thought B was better in terms of predicting my score and as a practice for the real exam.
 
I have less than 90 days to prepare, and I am essentially beginning my prep now. I have lined up the material to study. FA(first run thru with DIT so I can understand it)/Uworld/Pathoma with the Green Book(Savarese), COMBANK (just ordered it today) and i bought Langes Pharm cards and Lippincotts Microcards and also using BRS Physio. I also have Goljans RR and Audio handy in case. I just need a kick in the behind to get jump started and was lookin for a lil bit of advice/moral support from the vets on SDN. Thanks guys and good luck!!

My test day is June 22, 2012 and I am only taking the COMLEX.
 
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Questions are by far the most important thing to do!! Review savarese a few days before. I liked fa for step 1.
 
I just need a kick in the behind to get jump started and was lookin for a lil bit of advice/moral support from the vets on SDN. Thanks guys and good luck!!

My test day is June 22, 2012 and I am only taking the COMLEX.

If you want a kick in the behind, take a COMSAE to get a baseline where you are at before you get into studying.
 
Our school is making is take COMSAE, we need to score over 450 to get clearance from the school to be able to take COMLEX.

Anyone else have to deal with similar requirement? If so how much do you need to get?
 
Our school is making is take COMSAE, we need to score over 450 to get clearance from the school to be able to take COMLEX.

Anyone else have to deal with similar requirement? If so how much do you need to get?

Nothing like that at LECOM. We take a couple mock boards and NBME shelfs as part of a pre-clinical review class so I guess failing that class would preclude you from taking COMLEX (just like failing any other class during pre-clinical years).
 
Reading through everyones past experiences there is talk about COMSAE A, B and C, and from the sound of it A is the least like the real test. When I go onto NBOME these are the only options I have for COMSAE tests...

COMSAE - Phase 1, Form A $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 1, Form B $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 2, Form A $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 2, Form B $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 3 $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015

Anyone have any idea why we dont have a 3rd option for phase 1 anymore? Did they drop the one formerly known as A?

I couldnt find anything on the website about it and was wondering if Im just missing something.
 
Reading through everyones past experiences there is talk about COMSAE A, B and C, and from the sound of it A is the least like the real test. When I go onto NBOME these are the only options I have for COMSAE tests...

COMSAE - Phase 1, Form A $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 1, Form B $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 2, Form A $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 2, Form B $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015
COMSAE - Phase 3 $50.00 01/02/2010 - 02/02/2015

Anyone have any idea why we dont have a 3rd option for phase 1 anymore? Did they drop the one formerly known as A?

I couldnt find anything on the website about it and was wondering if Im just missing something.

We were told that NBOME pulled Form C from the site to be reserved for schools to purchase as a group.
 
Our school is making is take COMSAE, we need to score over 450 to get clearance from the school to be able to take COMLEX.

Anyone else have to deal with similar requirement? If so how much do you need to get?

Here at CCOM we have the same requirement, whatever passing is is what we need to get signed off.

Why do you ask? It doesn't seem to be a big deal, I would of taken one anyways and they got the bill. Or at least its not coming directly out of my pocket.
 
Just got this email from NBOME.

I think it's garbage that they did this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Student Doctor,

Please note that COMSAE Form C for both Phase 1 and 2 have been reserved for schools and will not be available for purchase through the online system.

Sincerely,

Mirela
Client Services Representative
866-479-6828
 
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The COMSAEs really are not that predictive anyhow, so I wouldn't worry about only having the two to do.

For me, B predicted my score within 2 points. C was about 50 points lower than my actual score. I found the tests good to simulate taking a half exam since it had the breaks built into it, but that's about all the way good for. Oh and there were a couple questions on the real test off of the COMSAEs I took.

The really shi*ty part is you can't review the exam once you are finished
 
Is FA enough for the micro section on comlex, does anyone recommend getting cmmrs or some type of micro flash cards?

I have about 2 months of studying left
 
Is FA enough for the micro section on comlex, does anyone recommend getting cmmrs or some type of micro flash cards?

I have about 2 months of studying left

I didn't think it was enough so I used Bug Cards. I annotated heavily onto them. Plus I didn't like how FA micro is organized so I thought flash cards would work better for me. Just make sure you add any info from a question you missed into that section. I also used CMMRS at the beginning to pull info into FA
 
Can you describe the experience? What sucked and was good about it?

I am taking it in 2 months and more worried about it than USLME

well..it sucked in the sense that about 50% of the questions I knew for certain...the other 25% was answering by process of elimination..while another 25% i didn't recognize at all from anywhere.


it sucked in the sense that they use alternate terminology for a lot of the stuff throwing you off....for example, knowing alternate terms for spondylothesis...not just the "step-off" sign

Also for example they will give you a sympathetic innervation level question where none of the levels match..for example, something with the respiratory system, which is t2-t7...but none of the choices had anything that fit in there...they had t1 and t8....so which one do you choose?

I didn't think it was enough so I used Bug Cards. I annotated heavily onto them. Plus I didn't like how FA micro is organized so I thought flash cards would work better for me. Just make sure you add any info from a question you missed into that section. I also used CMMRS at the beginning to pull info into FA

I thought FA was pretty sufficient for microbio...at least 90% of the micro questions i got correct due to FA....but it was very microbioheavy
 
well..it sucked in the sense that about 50% of the questions I knew for certain...the other 25% was answering by process of elimination..while another 25% i didn't recognize at all from anywhere.


it sucked in the sense that they use alternate terminology for a lot of the stuff throwing you off....for example, knowing alternate terms for spondylothesis...not just the "step-off" sign

Yea this is common place for boards. I'm encountering tons of questions like this on my Level 2 studying. It's a way to use buzzwords without using the buzz word. So knowing how to describe each buzzword is important.
 
Yea this is common place for boards. I'm encountering tons of questions like this on my Level 2 studying. It's a way to use buzzwords without using the buzz word. So knowing how to describe each buzzword is important.

What best way to learn these buzzwords? Would Combank be enough for learning? I was planning on using saverese and Combank only for comlex omm part.

DOMan79 good luck the results, keep us posted.
 
What best way to learn these buzzwords? Would Combank be enough for learning? I was planning on using saverese and Combank only for comlex omm part.

DOMan79 good luck the results, keep us posted.

COMBANK is getting better at having descriptions of the buzzwords. If you see a buzzword, just make sure you understand what it means. That is really big for path and micro.
 
What best way to learn these buzzwords? Would Combank be enough for learning? I was planning on using saverese and Combank only for comlex omm part.

DOMan79 good luck the results, keep us posted.

thanks!

the key is to not learn the buzzwords since they don't use them....for example..they don't use "fried egg appearance" for seminomas...rather the actual histological term

it helps knowing the buzzwords..but you also have to know it in histological terms..like perinuclear cytoplasmic clearing rather than fried egg
 
Also for example they will give you a sympathetic innervation level question where none of the levels match..for example, something with the respiratory system, which is t2-t7...but none of the choices had anything that fit in there...they had t1 and t8....so which one do you choose?

What was the question? What were the other choices?



I thought FA was pretty sufficient for microbio...at least 90% of the micro questions i got correct due to FA....but it was very microbioheavy

Well that's good to hear. For me, I needed a better way to test myself on the micro section rather than just reading it. So I used the flashcards instead, plus I could do a set amount everyday.
 
What best way to learn these buzzwords? Would Combank be enough for learning? I was planning on using saverese and Combank only for comlex omm part.

DOMan79 good luck the results, keep us posted.

what i would do is to know the buzzword, and google the histological term with it as well...a lot of review books don't have the histological term

I thought DIT did a good job of describing the buzzwords..so it helped me tons
 
What was the question? What were the other choices?





respiratory sympathetic response is t2-27

Well that's good to hear. For me, I needed a better way to test myself on the micro section rather than just reading it. So I used the flashcards instead, plus I could do a set amount everyday.

dont remember exactly now since it is all a blur, but it was something with asthma...the other choices were t9, s1, c1, etc...nothing really fit except for t1 and t8,

i went with t8....though i was torn between that and T1..

yep..everyone has their diff ways to learn...what I did was went through the entire DIT program, which went through FA, and made my own notes out of it...ended up being 650 pages long..and reviewed that 2-3x before the exam...my notes are in the question, answer format
 
dont remember exactly now since it is all a blur, but it was something with asthma...the other choices were t9, s1, c1, etc...nothing really fit except for t1 and t8,

i went with t8....though i was torn between that and T1..

yep..everyone has their diff ways to learn...what I did was went through the entire DIT program, which went through FA, and made my own notes out of it...ended up being 650 pages long..and reviewed that 2-3x before the exam...my notes are in the question, answer format

My guess is this answer is C1 because you need to treat the vagus nerve to relax the parasympathetic tone to the bronchial tree. But without seeing the question I can't say for sure.
 
Yea who knows. I've heard up to 20% of the questions on the exam can be experimental

yep..heard that too and it's complete BS if its true...we waste our times wondering how we didn't cover that topic..and even if we do get it right, it doesn't count towards your score
 
yep..heard that too and it's complete BS if its true...we waste our times wondering how we didn't cover that topic..and even if we do get it right, it doesn't count towards your score

Just remember that if there is a question you think is way out of left field and shouldn't be tested, most other people will feel the same and probably get it wrong. So it shouldn't affect your score too much.
 
Just remember that if there is a question you think is way out of left field and shouldn't be tested, most other people will feel the same and probably get it wrong. So it shouldn't affect your score too much.

yep that's true..we all usually use pretty much the same review materials...so if something is out of left field..chances are it will be for most...

do you know how the curve works on the comlex? is there even a curve?
 
i also had another stupid question which stated which E coli can cause bloody diahrea and both EIEC and EHEC were listed...no mention of hamburger meat

so which one do you go with?!?
 
i also had another stupid question which stated which E coli can cause bloody diahrea and both EIEC and EHEC were listed...no mention of hamburger meat

so which one do you go with?!?

Always go with the most common on the COMLEX even if it doesn't ask for it and there is limited information.
 
Always go with the most common on the COMLEX even if it doesn't ask for it and there is limited information.

what would you have put? now tthat i think back, all 4 e colis were listed..if i remmeber correctly it has something with mucous too, so i went with EIEC
 
what would you have put? now tthat i think back, all 4 e colis were listed..if i remmeber correctly it has something with mucous too, so i went with EIEC

I probably would've gone with EHEC but without knowing the question it is hard to say
 
did anyone ever figure out what percentage correct we need to get a passing score of 400? thanks
 
Nothing like that at LECOM. We take a couple mock boards and NBME shelfs as part of a pre-clinical review class so I guess failing that class would preclude you from taking COMLEX (just like failing any other class during pre-clinical years).

Same thing at NYCOM except we do not get any mock exams or any school-related prep except a few optional courses which are 2-3 hours long on each subject. I never attended so I wouldnt know their effectiveness.

But what COMSAE would you reccomend for that 'kick start', keeping in mind I havent started studying and I want to know where to start. I have till June 22 so I guess that is less than 60 days now.
 
Same thing at NYCOM except we do not get any mock exams or any school-related prep except a few optional courses which are 2-3 hours long on each subject. I never attended so I wouldnt know their effectiveness.

But what COMSAE would you reccomend for that 'kick start', keeping in mind I havent started studying and I want to know where to start. I have till June 22 so I guess that is less than 60 days now.

I guess there are only two available now, while the third is only available for schools to purchase. I'm not sure which forms qualify. If you are going to do 2, just pick one of them now and do the other later. I took my COMSAEs 4 and 2 weeks out from my exam, on the same day I was taking it. I started it at 8 am and simulated it like the real thing.
 
I guess there are only two available now, while the third is only available for schools to purchase. I'm not sure which forms qualify. If you are going to do 2, just pick one of them now and do the other later. I took my COMSAEs 4 and 2 weeks out from my exam, on the same day I was taking it. I started it at 8 am and simulated it like the real thing.

do you recommend comsae for anything other than simulation? do you learn from it? does it give you a chance to go over what you got wrong? thanks
 
man...NBOME is slacking!!!

the latest scores they have are from march 16, which, today makes the 7 week mark...

their usual is 4-6 week, those who took it on the following monday, march 19, should have had it by this monday that passed
 
man...NBOME is slacking!!!

the latest scores they have are from march 16, which, today makes the 7 week mark...

their usual is 4-6 week, those who took it on the following monday, march 19, should have had it by this monday that passed

The NBOME has a tendency to release a bunch of dates at once. When I got mine back, I was at week 7. They released scores for people that were 3-7 weeks out at once. For the PE, they are releasing a whole month's worth of scores at once, at the end of the following month. So everything from March was just released at the end of April. Since I took mine April 9th, I'm sure I'll get mine at the end of May.

I would expect you to get your score in the next week or so.
 
do you recommend comsae for anything other than simulation? do you learn from it? does it give you a chance to go over what you got wrong? thanks

Well I had some questions on my COMLEX that were directly from the COMSAE. It's best as simulation. You can't review any answers once you submit each section. If you want to learn, do a qbank. If you want to see how you do on a simulated exam, take the COMSAE.
 
I've noticed a trend that the comlex gets progressively more difficult (more obscure wtf questions) during the testing period of may-august, with test takers in july having a more obscure test compared to those in may or june (obscure meaning they got tested on things that were low-yield and not representative of what most studied). My questions are:
1) Do the comlex test-makers have a reason to make the exam harder in these latter months?
2) Do test-makers have a reason to make the exam somewhat more difficult because you choose to take it so late (compared to most students who take it during may or june) and are therefore penalized in this way if you choose to do so?
2) Are the exams scaled differently, or are all comlex exams of equal overall difficulty (which does not seem the case based on july test takers)?
3) Some people who took the exam in july complained of spelling and grammatical mistakes in the question stems. Is this evidence that earlier exams have better-made questions, and as the year goes on they sort of "run out of the good questions", and therefore you get more obscure, grammatically-incorrect-and-difficult-wtf type of questions?

It would be nice to hear input from the july and august test-takers. Thanks so much.
 
I've noticed a trend that the comlex gets progressively more difficult (more obscure wtf questions) during the testing period of may-august, with test takers in july having a more obscure test compared to those in may or june (obscure meaning they got tested on things that were low-yield and not representative of what most studied). My questions are:
1) Do the comlex test-makers have a reason to make the exam harder in these latter months?
2) Do test-makers have a reason to make the exam somewhat more difficult because you choose to take it so late (compared to most students who take it during may or june) and are therefore penalized in this way if you choose to do so?
2) Are the exams scaled differently, or are all comlex exams of equal overall difficulty (which does not seem the case based on july test takers)?
3) Some people who took the exam in july complained of spelling and grammatical mistakes in the question stems. Is this evidence that earlier exams have better-made questions, and as the year goes on they sort of "run out of the good questions", and therefore you get more obscure, grammatically-incorrect-and-difficult-wtf type of questions?

It would be nice to hear input from the july and august test-takers. Thanks so much.

good questions...id like to know as well
 
Can anyone tell me how much Biochem is on the Comlex and also Neuro in regards to images? Thanks.

hardley any..just the stuff that is related to clinical conditions like PKU

Got my score back!! passed!! took them a while though..about 5 weeks
 
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