Board Pass Rates

[MedStudentWanna]

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I just read that first-time Step 1 pass rate for UNECOM for the class of 2010 was 96% and that was third in the country. Anyone have pass rates for other schools? I'm most interested in

LECOM-B
PCOM
KCUMB
VCOM
NYCOM

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Are you worried about failing the boards?

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I don't think it's an unreasonable question. I'm curious.

 

[beckhunter116]

I would take whatever information you get about this with a grain of salt, because not every DO student takes Step-1. The majority who do are mostly taking it becuase they are applying to allopathic residencies and they want something the PD can direct scale versus an MD--this is what I have heard, so who knows. Also, I know there was a thread on here about some schools that require the students to be scoring a certain score on pre-test (whatever they are called) before they can officially sit for the test--this was for COMLEX. So that may be inflating the pass rate.

This wasn't to rain on you parade, because this is a question I am interested in, but I think the major response will be to study for yourself as you will be your best teacher in med school.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I wasn't talking about the USMLE necessarily. I meant the boards, COMLEX and/or USMLE. COMLEX has a step one too -- COMLEX 1.

 

[beckhunter116]

oops, I was thinking about USLME when you said step 1.

I hope that someone can provide the link to the other thread I was talking about--it was a few months ago--I know they were talking about COMLEX 1 and pass rates.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

It might be in an excel sheet floating around in the forums. I don't know where you would find this info though. I don't think schools report pass percentage on their websites.

 

[ShyRem]

schools don't generally post their percentages, but I do recall seeing the information somewhere. UNE class of 2010 has the COMLEX step 1 96% pass rate. EVERY student MUST take (and pass) COMLEX step 1 before going on rotations. If you don't take your step 1 or if you fail, you stay back a year or have to delay your rotations so that it is impossible to graduate on time.

there are schools that don't allow students to take step 1 until the dean says they're ready to. UNECOM is not one of those schools. Everyone takes step 1 end of second year. Everyone. There is no formal review course provided for you.

 

[scpod]

I just read that first-time Step 1 pass rate for UNECOM for the class of 2010 was 96% and that was third in the country. Anyone have pass rates for other schools? I'm most interested in

LECOM-B
PCOM
KCUMB
VCOM
NYCOM

Lecom-Bs 2010 class was 98%. We were projected to be either first or second, but I'm honestly not sure about the final outcome. The class of 2009 was at 97% and came in second to TCOM, but TCOMs 2010 class was said to have more failures than the year before-- so I know they aren't first this time.

Nobody can tell you USMLE scores because they aren't reported to the schools.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Just wondering, do students normally take review courses for the comlex and usmle?

 

[spicedmanna]

Just wondering, do students normally take review courses for the comlex and usmle?

Well, as far as I know, there isn't a review course specifically for the COMLEX. Kaplan has a review course that is supposed to address the COMLEX, but really it is just a USMLE review with a 1 one day OMT review tacked on and the option to buy the COMLEX qbank. I think more than half of my class took the Kaplan intensive review course. Some students from UMKC (allopathic program) also attended the review.

Frankly, I'm disappointed at the lack of relevant review material for the COMLEX, but I guess that's the way it goes. I wish there were a one-stop source for COMLEX review, but there isn't. I prepared using primarily USMLE material and my experience was that it wasn't completely optimal, as the COMLEX that I took was definitely different than what I expected. Question style was also significantly different than the USMLE qbanks (questions had a greater clinical focus and were more of the "either you know it, or you don't" variety). In general, the test that I took had a greater focus on neuro, anatomy, musculoskeletal, OMT, and clinical elements (a lot of GI, endo, repro, renal, and cardio/heme-onc) than I anticipated. Some questions were looking like Step 2, in terms of asking for the next step.

 

[ShyRem]

boardsbootcamp is just for comlex I believe. They also do a USMLE for DOs prep course.

 

[spicedmanna]

boardsbootcamp is just for comlex I believe. They also do a USMLE for DOs prep course.

Ah, I stand corrected. That's good to know. I didn't know that was an option when I was preparing.

 

[scpod]

Just wondering, do students normally take review courses for the comlex and usmle?

Might depend upon the school. My schools strats board review after exams end in April. They used to just have Kaplan come in and do it, but they stopped that. Now, they picked the best Kaplan instructor and use some faculty folks as well. After two weeks of that they have a "mandatory" week or two for students with grades of 75 or less. They buy us some review books, buy us access to Q-bank and Kaplan videos. Honestly, I don't know how anyone would really need more than that. Still, some folks do.

As for the OMM part of it, every test we ever took over two years was cumulative. We had big exams at the end of each year too. I never reviewed OMM because we were reviewing it constantly for two years.

 

[spicedmanna]

Might depend upon the school. My schools strats board review after exams end in April. They used to just have Kaplan come in and do it, but they stopped that. Now, they picked the best Kaplan instructor and use some faculty folks as well. After two weeks of that they have a "mandatory" week or two for students with grades of 75 or less. They buy us some review books, buy us access to Q-bank and Kaplan videos. Honestly, I don't know how anyone would really need more than that. Still, some folks do.

Wow. Your school is really committed to assisting you through boards. 👍 I was essentially on my own in terms of preparation. My school did very little to help me and Kaplan, which I bought on my own, did not benefit me as much as I would have liked. I think it depends on learning style, though.

As for the OMM part of it, every test we ever took over two years was cumulative. We had big exams at the end of each year too. I never reviewed OMM because we were reviewing it constantly for two years.

Nice. That's what I've heard from many; having a good OMT program makes a huge difference. Of course, so does practicing OMT on your own for two years. Don't take it for granted, folks. Practice.

 

[gocatgo]

Might depend upon the school. My schools strats board review after exams end in April. They used to just have Kaplan come in and do it, but they stopped that. Now, they picked the best Kaplan instructor and use some faculty folks as well. After two weeks of that they have a "mandatory" week or two for students with grades of 75 or less. They buy us some review books, buy us access to Q-bank and Kaplan videos. Honestly, I don't know how anyone would really need more than that. Still, some folks do.

As for the OMM part of it, every test we ever took over two years was cumulative. We had big exams at the end of each year too. I never reviewed OMM because we were reviewing it constantly for two years.

Scpod, thanks for posting this info about LECOM-B. I applied to a lot of schools but this was very helpful (LECOM-B is one of my top choices) 👍