Am I screwed?

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drLexus

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I took an NBME exam last week and got a 170!! I just finished MS2. It was used to see how I would do without officially starting my boards studying. I feel like my school taught me nothing! I now have 6 weeks to go before the real thing.

How much of an improvement can you make in 6 weeks?
Anyone with similar experiences? How much did you improve?
 
I got a 170 on NBME 7 and went up 35 or so points in 4 weeks without DIT. I did finish World during those 4 weeks though. I'm doing DIT now and take form 12 in three weeks. Depends on how hard you work. I'd suggest some sort of review course and at least finish world and go over missed questions
 
I took an NBME exam last week and got a 170!! I just finished MS2. It was used to see how I would do without officially starting my boards studying. I feel like my school taught me nothing! I now have 6 weeks to go before the real thing.

How much of an improvement can you make in 6 weeks?
Anyone with similar experiences? How much did you improve?

Depends on why you got the 170. If it's because you didn't get the foundations down, you're going to have a much more difficult time drastically improving your score in 6 weeks. If it's because you just have a really bad long term memory and you forgot all the tiny little details, you should expect to see a large jump in score once you start looking over FA.
 
I took an NBME exam last week and got a 170!! I just finished MS2. It was used to see how I would do without officially starting my boards studying. I feel like my school taught me nothing! I now have 6 weeks to go before the real thing.

How much of an improvement can you make in 6 weeks?
Anyone with similar experiences? How much did you improve?

I didn't take a test at the beginning for fear of getting something like a 170. But, if I had I probably would have. As long as your study hard, learn all those annoying facts you've forgotten or were never taught...you should be fine. 6 weeks is enough. I'm scoring in the 230's/240's now after 6 weeks.
 
I took an NBME exam last week and got a 170!! I just finished MS2. It was used to see how I would do without officially starting my boards studying. I feel like my school taught me nothing! I now have 6 weeks to go before the real thing.

How much of an improvement can you make in 6 weeks?
Anyone with similar experiences? How much did you improve?

Yes, you have hope.
Improvement will be dependent on how much work you put in. Will you meet SDN standards? No one knows. Before you do anything, please use that NBME to identify your weakness. Was it test taking problem or what not. Identify your weakness AND MAKE SURE TO HIT IT HARD EVERYDAY along with general review of the content. Don't sweep it under the rug to be dealt with later. NO NO NO. That will not help. Set up small goals and don't expect to jump to 230 from 170 right off the bat. It will take repetition of the material along with understanding. More you review better you'll be able to integrate.
 
Sounds very familiar to myself. The problem was our school kinda plopped it in between two of our larger "do or have to redo during step studying" exams so there was no real time to study for this one in fear of losing time later. The majority of our class hit between 160-180....

Think about it this way, do you remember all the behavioral sciences stuff (formulas, the definitions of different types of study, PPV v. NPV, etc.)? Did you read the question and remember- remembering the answer? Did you study as hard for that test as you do for other tests? Did you do 1000s+ questions in preparation for the test? Does your school "really" try to make their tests like the NMBE exams? Did you take it as SERIOUSLY as you would the real one (skip questions and go back, or just answer to get it over with)?

Basically the way I've figured it out is that's your score with zero studying, meaning it is a true measure of your basic knowledge...and guess what? You technically only missed passing by 5-6 points on the NMBE. Now is it the 240-250s you see on SDN? No, but those people studied for a long time before taking the big test. Plus, they had nothing else to worry about like making sure they pass the rest of second year on the first try (which is just as important in proving you're competent).

You have 6 weeks. Study like you would for any regular exam and the "freshness" of formulas, basic concepts, and the systems will surely move your grade up. It can go incredibly high if you work hard. You'll have nothing else to worry about and you'll be able to rest up the day before (unlike trudging along in class normally and then getting a "day off" to take a practice test). Don't doubt yourself, shoot for as high as you can.
 
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