Board Stimulator Series? Are they for real?

[Acro Yali]

Oh my, I just looked over the BSS question books. They are freaking HARD! There was even a question that asked to name four different co-factors used in the three irreversible steps of glycolysis! I was wondering if anyone knows how the scores on this compares to the real thing? I am finding it close to impossible to hit above a 65%.

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[njbmd]

Hi there,
BSS questions are pretty difficult (much harder than the actual USMLE exam) and that is the utility of this series. Instead of looking at your score look at your progression and focus on the thought process behind the questions. BSS is very difficult to use if you have less than 6 months to the exam. It is very difficult to correlate a specific score on BSS with a specific score on the USMLE Step I. BSS is very different from the actual test. If you are feeling beaten by looking at your 55% or 60% score, then the utility of BSS is lost on you. On the other hand, using a system like NMS where you can easily score 90% could lull you into a false sense of security and you could fail your exam.

I used BSS during first and second year. I set aside about 2 hours each week to study for USMLE Step I during those years. I used Kaplan's Q-Bank for final preparation and spent the three weeks before my actual test doing questions only. BSS provided cues for me as to approach of subject matter in my regular classes.

BSS also provided a good guage of my weaknesses so again, it was useful. Find one good system and stay with it but use your scores more as an indicatior of your progression as opposed to what you might make on the actual exam.

 

[Acro Yali]

Hi, Thanks for replying. But what you said made me wonder, how would one know whether one is ready for the real thing or not? I mean, I am studying for it but there just seem to be so many and so much detail. I can spend the whole time just studying one subject and still not feel "ready". Does anyone feel ready when they step into the test?

 

[dcdo]

I would say that if you can consistently score in the 60s% on BSS you will do very well.

 

[njbmd]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Acro Yali:
•Hi, Thanks for replying. But what you said made me wonder, how would one know whether one is ready for the real thing or not? I mean, I am studying for it but there just seem to be so many and so much detail. I can spend the whole time just studying one subject and still not feel "ready". Does anyone feel ready when they step into the test?•••••Hi there,

I felt as "ready" as I would ever be. I really felt like I had peaked a couple of weeks before I took the test. The last two weeks, I was just refining and becoming increasingly bored with doing questions.

When I came out of the exam, I could't call it one way or the other. There were some questions that I knew were correct and plenty that I guessed my best. I was very happy with my score and happier that I didn't have to take that "danged" test again.

Good luck and keep reviewing.