am i in trouble?

[ShaggyHair]

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i have about 5-6 weeks to go until the big day. my qbank scores for the past 6-7 blocks of 50 qs has been around 67%. i have gone through path, micro/immuno, and pharm so far. still need to study biochem, anatomy/embryo, behav sci, etc. also, i plan on re-reading brs path, brs phys, mmrs, and my pharm cards before the test. im hoping to get a 240. i know the best predictor of my preparation is the nbme, but i am going to take it in a few weeks after i finish up a few more subjects so its more accurate. im mainly worried about my qbank scores. apparently i need to be getting 75-80% on qbank to be confident about a 240. thoughts? comments?

 

[pleaseletmepass]

you are in big trouble. you should drop out of med school.

but seriously, you are doing awesome. and i think you are underestimating how long 5-6 weeks really is.

 

[ShaggyHair]

i hope you're right. i hate qbank. why cant i get 80s on the damn tests? after coming to sdn and reading about everyone getting such high scores, i feel dumb. i know im aiming high (240), but ive done well the past two years and im a pretty good test taker so i dont think its unreasonable. 🙁

 

[RockShox]

i hope you're right. i hate qbank. why cant i get 80s on the damn tests? after coming to sdn and reading about everyone getting such high scores, i feel dumb. i know im aiming high (240), but ive done well the past two years and im a pretty good test taker so i dont think its unreasonable. 🙁

Of course everyone has high scores on SDN that's the beaty of anonymous posting. Don't stress about qbank score. Take an NBME and it will tell you. Qbank is really not an accurate reflection of the actual test nor is there a correlation IMO. Quite frankly if works in most peoples favor to get questions wrong because that is often the only time they read the answer explanations that is really where you get the most out of it anyhow.

 

[pdz]

i have about 5-6 weeks to go until the big day. my qbank scores for the past 6-7 blocks of 50 qs has been around 67%. i have gone through path, micro/immuno, and pharm so far. still need to study biochem, anatomy/embryo, behav sci, etc. also, i plan on re-reading brs path, brs phys, mmrs, and my pharm cards before the test. im hoping to get a 240. i know the best predictor of my preparation is the nbme, but i am going to take it in a few weeks after i finish up a few more subjects so its more accurate. im mainly worried about my qbank scores. apparently i need to be getting 75-80% on qbank to be confident about a 240. thoughts? comments?

Are you getting those scores in qbank doing subject-based questions (after reviewing each subject) or doing random time unused questions?

 

[ShaggyHair]

random unused questions.

 

[LuckyBambooGirl]

You are doing awesome! I wish I was getting scores like that in Q-bank! By the way, I just did NMBE 2 and I think those questions are a lot easier than Q-bank!

 

[blz]

I usually judge my performance on a qbank session based off the 'kaplan users average'. i figure the average kaplan scorer is gonna get a 215 so what ever kaplan average they show I assume is a 215. if you're significantly over that average, you should be in good shape. im happy with a session if i'm +15% over the average - which is probably around 1-2 standard deviations over the mean. those people are also the same people that are gonna be taking the test with you, so it's a good way to judge. if you wanna hit a 240 (bout 1 s.d. over the mean), you might as well start by making it a goal to significantly beat that kaplan average (or USMLEWorld average).

 

[housemd]

did you say 5-6 weeks left? Thats forever! stop worrying

 

[SoCuteMD]

I wouldn't be stressing with 5-6 weeks left. Take an NBME, assess your weaknesses and get to work on those.

I only have 3.5 weeks left (started studying 8 days ago) and we have similar goals. I'm doing about 75% on QBank as it stands right now. While I may be overly optimistic for the sake of my own mental health, I think we both have a good shot.

 

[cubsrule4e]

i have about 5-6 weeks to go until the big day. my qbank scores for the past 6-7 blocks of 50 qs has been around 67%. i have gone through path, micro/immuno, and pharm so far. still need to study biochem, anatomy/embryo, behav sci, etc. also, i plan on re-reading brs path, brs phys, mmrs, and my pharm cards before the test. im hoping to get a 240. i know the best predictor of my preparation is the nbme, but i am going to take it in a few weeks after i finish up a few more subjects so its more accurate. im mainly worried about my qbank scores. apparently i need to be getting 75-80% on qbank to be confident about a 240. thoughts? comments?

I started studying 5 weeks before and with 2 weeks left im starting to feel comfortable with my knowledge base finally. If youve already done half your studying and still have that much time then theres no reason you should be worried at all.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

did you say 5-6 weeks left? Thats forever! stop worrying

yea, wow what i could do with that time...i'm in soooo much trouble

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

I usually judge my performance on a qbank session based off the 'kaplan users average'. i figure the average kaplan scorer is gonna get a 215 so what ever kaplan average they show I assume is a 215. if you're significantly over that average, you should be in good shape. im happy with a session if i'm +15% over the average - which is probably around 1-2 standard deviations over the mean. those people are also the same people that are gonna be taking the test with you, so it's a good way to judge. if you wanna hit a 240 (bout 1 s.d. over the mean), you might as well start by making it a goal to significantly beat that kaplan average (or USMLEWorld average).

The problem with this logic is that the average USMLE score is a 215, but the QBank users are people in all phases of studying; from people months out to a few days out. The USMLE scores are from people a few days out only, so the average QBank users USMLE equivalent would be lower.

Does that make sense? Even though people would get ~215 by the time they take the test, the average user hasn't studied to the 215 point yet, so their average might not even be passing. You definitely want to be above the mean, but depending on how far out from the test you are, 15% over might not cut it for the score you want.

 

[Krazykritter]

The problem with this logic is that the average USMLE score is a 215, but the QBank users are people in all phases of studying; from people months out to a few days out. The USMLE scores are from people a few days out only, so the average QBank users USMLE equivalent would be lower.

Does that make sense? Even though people would get ~215 by the time they take the test, the average user hasn't studied to the 215 point yet, so their average might not even be passing. You definitely want to be above the mean, but depending on how far out from the test you are, 15% over might not cut it for the score you want.

Over-analyze much?? I think we have a budding internist here...LOL.

 

[bjackrian]

The problem with this logic is that the average USMLE score is a 215, but the QBank users are people in all phases of studying; from people months out to a few days out. The USMLE scores are from people a few days out only, so the average QBank users USMLE equivalent would be lower.

Does that make sense? Even though people would get ~215 by the time they take the test, the average user hasn't studied to the 215 point yet, so their average might not even be passing. You definitely want to be above the mean, but depending on how far out from the test you are, 15% over might not cut it for the score you want.

While this might be true, it's just as possible that people who use QBank are more motivated than people who do not and so have a higher baseline score to begin with.

Take an NBME--it's the best way to figure out where you stand.

 

[SoCuteMD]

The problem with this logic is that the average USMLE score is a 215, but the QBank users are people in all phases of studying; from people months out to a few days out. The USMLE scores are from people a few days out only, so the average QBank users USMLE equivalent would be lower.

Does that make sense? Even though people would get ~215 by the time they take the test, the average user hasn't studied to the 215 point yet, so their average might not even be passing. You definitely want to be above the mean, but depending on how far out from the test you are, 15% over might not cut it for the score you want.

Well, some people do QBank with the book open, so those would be a false boost to the answers. Generally the avg on QBank is high 50s to low 60s, but if you use the medfriends Step 1 score predictor, 73% or so gives you 240 with a SD of 13. Much higher than average. Some people do the QBank questions right after they finish a topic - giving them a false boost on their QBank average that wouldn't apply if they did the questions randomly as well.

Over-analyze much?? I think we have a budding internist here...LOL.

😆

 

[blz]

The problem with this logic is that the average USMLE score is a 215, but the QBank users are people in all phases of studying; from people months out to a few days out. The USMLE scores are from people a few days out only, so the average QBank users USMLE equivalent would be lower.

Does that make sense? Even though people would get ~215 by the time they take the test, the average user hasn't studied to the 215 point yet, so their average might not even be passing. You definitely want to be above the mean, but depending on how far out from the test you are, 15% over might not cut it for the score you want.

it's just an estimate. also, i haven't studied to my potential either, so i use it as a measure of how im progressing relatively to everyone else as well.

of course, you could always choose the other option that most people around here do - see a low score in Qbank and come on this msg board and cry about it without putting it into any meaningful context.

 

[71263]

I also like the NBMEs better than Qbank. At least those dont jerk you around... 😡

I have 9 days btw... wish me luck!