BOTH Class of 2018 Board Study Group

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gobigorgohome22

gobigorgohome22

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Hey fellow Class of 2018ers!

I hope everyone is enjoying the last free summer of your lives!

As the start of 2nd yr gets closer, I have started thinking a little about the infamous STEP 1 exams for USMLE and COMLEX (I'm an Osteopathic student). I thought it might be a good idea to have kind of a study group here to help keep me in check and keep each other in check as studying starts and decided to create this.

I would like to open this up to both USMLE and COMLEX discussion.

So, how's everyone spending their summer? Started thinking any about the hell that is going to be coming up over the next year?
 
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Amba said:
Just took UWSA1. Block 1 = 88%, Block 2 = 88%, Block 3 = 83%, Block 4 = 90%. Estimated score of 252. I think I've accepted at this point that my score is going to be closer to 250 than 260, which is fine.
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Those scores are incredible!!! (Raw %) I wouldn't count on the new UWSA scale to be accurate.... you said it yourself, nobody knows yet what the correlation will be between UWSA and the real step. I'd treat it purely as a learning tool!

I tell you what, if you keep up hope for 260, I will too! 😉:happy:😛

gobigorgohome22 said:
Here we go folks. TWO (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) tests down! I took NBME 18 (morning session) and UWA 2 (afternoon session).

My thoughts on the exams:
- NBME 18: Yes, it is as hard as people make it out to be. I'd say I only felt confident on 1/5th of the questions. Another 2/5 were reasoned out guesses + 1/5 where the material seemed familiar but grasping at straws + 1/5 where I was questioning if I ever even started medical school. Again, timing was a problem! There were 5 questions each block were I was picking ans without reading the questions because <1min left. Didnt get to review any marked questions! I think I could have done a few points better if this wasn't a problem. I took 5min breaks between each sections. And 20min at the end of this test for lunch before sitting down for the 2nd half. I made myself not look at the results after this test ended. That was hard lol.
- UWA 2: I thought it was on par with other nbmes (closest to 16 id say). Nice mix of easy and hard questions. The main problem here was exhaustion. It was SOOOOO hard to make myself sit down for the last 3 blocks. I expected to be tired but not this tired. This worries me for the real thing. Timing was not as big of an issue due to 40q/60min set up but it was still a problem in the sense that I didnt get to review any of my marked on last 3 blocks. I was just in a mental fog during last 3 blocks and just wanted it to end! Took 10min breaks between each block.

And the scores are: NBME 18: 232 UWA2: 215 (69%, 70%, 64%, 67%)

Happy with the NBME 18 score. Its higher than expected and I think it could have been 3-5 pts higher without timing issues. Not that happy with UWA score but kinda expected based on just the mental exhaustion. In general though, UWA hasn't been that great of a predictor for me personally. I think it really underpredicted my performance on UWA1 as well.

So the running total is

  • NBME 18: 232 & UWA2: 215 (3 weeks)
  • NBME 12 (offline): 85% = 236 +/- 5 (4 weeks!)
  • NBME 16: 215 (5 weeks)
  • NBME 15: 225 (~7 weeks out)
  • UWA 1: 195 (~9 weeks out)
  • COMSE: 395
  • NBME 5 (offline): 187 (4 months out)

I think it was a good idea for me to do 2 tests together to get a better understanding of the real deal. Can't train for half-marathon and expect to finish full!
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Wow, incredible dedication!! Nice job with the NBME 18 results!! And keep in mind, NBME+UWSA = 360 questions (over 8 blocks) while the real thing will only be ~280 (over 7 blocks), so you're basically training for a marathon with a 33.6 mile run 😱😀

I think it could be a good way to build your stamina.... hopefully by the real test day you'll have no problem maintaining your energy level for the whole thing 🙂

-------

As for me, today's result for NBME 15 (my first) was 251. My weak point was behavioral. I'm not going to lie; I would like to be higher on the real deal.... I still have 2 weeks to study! I hope I can bring it up !!! :hungry::xf::luck:
 
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I feel like every NMBE thread says that particular NBME was hardest. Has anyone else noticed that theme with anyone who scored lower on that particular NBME?
 
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Burnt Almonds said:
I feel like every NMBE thread says that particular NBME was hardest. Has anyone else noticed that theme with anyone who scored lower on that particular NBME?
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I'm guessing it's because the NBME thread is posted when that particular test is new, the new ones tend to be the hardest. A few years down the line, NBME 22 will probably be the hardest and NBME 18 will be considered easy (lol) and 250 will be the average score.
 
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You guys are making me antsy! I'm shooting for taking my first NBME Sunday or Monday, hopefully it'll show that I'm at least somewhat on track. @everyone who took a UWSA recently, I feel like NBMEs have always been the best predictor of your final grade from what I've seen on this forum, don't let the new grading scheme psych you out!
 
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Entadus said:
I tell you what, if you keep up hope for 260, I will too! 😉:happy:😛
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That's a deal haha. I'm saving NBME 17 for last in hopes that it will give me a shot of confidence going into the exam.

Entadus said:
As for me, today's result for NBME 15 (my first) was 251. My weak point was behavioral. I'm not going to lie; I would like to be higher on the real deal.... I still have 2 weeks to study! I hope I can bring it up !!! :hungry::xf::luck:
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Dude that's great for your first NBME. IIRC the grading scale on 15 was pretty tough too. Plenty of time left for you to hit any weaknesses :luck:

Ibn Alnafis MD said:
@Amba and @Entadus, you guys are on your way to get 260+ on the real thing. For the rest of us, mortals, we can only hope for 240+ :luck:
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Hope you're right, man. Also your question earlier re: NBME 16 vs. 18, I thought 18 was much more difficult. But the grading scale is more generous (i.e. I had 22 wrong which was a 251, while 20 wrong on earlier NBMEs was more like mid-240s from what I've heard).

CyberMaxx said:
You guys are making me antsy! I'm shooting for taking my first NBME Sunday or Monday, hopefully it'll show that I'm at least somewhat on track. @everyone who took a UWSA recently, I feel like NBMEs have always been the best predictor of your final grade from what I've seen on this forum, don't let the new grading scheme psych you out!
Click to expand...

Good luck dude, which one are you going to take?
 
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Amba said:
Just took UWSA1. Block 1 = 88%, Block 2 = 88%, Block 3 = 83%, Block 4 = 90%. Estimated score of 252. I think I've accepted at this point that my score is going to be closer to 250 than 260, which is fine.
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Wow, they really overhauled the prediction system. My UWSA1 last year was 80, 76, 87, and 83 with an estimated score of 261. So they went from an overall of 81.5% = 261 to 87.25% = 252.
 
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dfib slim said:
Wow, they really overhauled the prediction system. My UWSA1 last year was 80, 76, 87, and 83 with an estimated score of 261. So they went from an overall of 81.5% = 261 to 87.25% = 252.
Click to expand...

Yep, I don't know what to make of it. I thought maybe they got rid of the most difficult questions when transitioning from 44 --> 40 questions, but the overall average was still 61.5%.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
If you don't mind sharing, how many wrong answers you had on NBME 18 that resulted in scoring 232? Also, was it much harder than NBME 16?

Thank you,
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I got 38 wrong on NBME 18. The curve was definitely more lenient according to the difficulty.

I think 18 was actually a pretty well written test like someone else mentioned. It was very analytical in combination with some low yield info tested. I thought 16 didn't necessary require as much thinking. It was more you know it or you dont kinda deal.
 
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ortnakas said:
What are everyone's thoughts on NBME 12? That's the only one I've done so far, but I'm planning on NBME 15 this week.

DO peeps: I've taken COMSAE D and got ~540. Is it worth taking another one?
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I will do 12 on Thursday. However, my friend did 16 and got 235 and 4 days later did 12 and got 249, so it seems like it's an "easier" test?

I did COMSAE E last week and got nearly an identical score to yours. Looks like we are in good shape for COMLEX :xf::luck::xf::luck:
 
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gobigorgohome22 said:
I got 38 wrong on NBME 18. The curve was definitely more lenient according to the difficulty.

I think 18 was actually a pretty well written test like someone else mentioned. It was very analytical in combination with some low yield info tested. I thought 16 didn't necessary require as much thinking. It was more you know it or you dont kinda deal.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response. Yeah it looks like the curve is very generous which compels me to believe that the test must be very difficult. At least you got an above average score and you still got 3 weeks to go. Let's shoot for 240+!!!
 
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finished my first pass of UWorld finally - ended up at a 68% overall so I'm pleased with that. Started out low several months ago and gradually went up over time as I reviewed First Aid and such. Now to work on my incorrects... less than 2 weeks left!
 
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If you have to skip an NBME, which one(s) would you skip?

I've already done 12, and I'm going to do 15 later today. I also am definitely doing 16 through my school's summer study program, as well as a "NBME Customized Exam" they're having us do, and COMSAE-C. That leaves 13, 17 and 18, and I think I'm only going to have time for two of those (I'd like to do the UWSAs as well, mostly because I've already paid for them).
 
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CyberMaxx said:
I'm thinking 16, I'm probably only going to do 3 so I figure I'll do 16 -> 18 -> 17.
Click to expand...

I think that's a good order and very similar to how I approached it 👍

ortnakas said:
If you have to skip an NBME, which one(s) would you skip?

I've already done 12, and I'm going to do 15 later today. I also am definitely doing 16 through my school's summer study program, as well as a "NBME Customized Exam" they're having us do, and COMSAE-C. That leaves 13, 17 and 18, and I think I'm only going to have time for two of those (I'd like to do the UWSAs as well, mostly because I've already paid for them).
Click to expand...

I would skip 13 if I had to choose two of the three. 17 and 18 are supposed to be more similar to the actual exam.
 
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gobigorgohome22 said:
Anyone planning on taking the prometric practice test (Free 150 i think)?

I think I might just go ahead and do it. NBME has cleared out my bank account 🙁
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I don't know if I'm willing to part with $75 just for that. :| There are probably bigger things to worry about than what the testing environment looks like.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
What is this "Free 150"? Is this the same as the online 130ish USMLE sample questions?
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Yep the same. NBME lets you take that test @ prometric. It basically lets you be familiar with testing environment.

TheShaker said:
I don't know if I'm willing to part with $75 just for that. :| There are probably bigger things to worry about than what the testing environment looks like.
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Very true. but I have one week where I haven't scheduled a practice test yet. If I end up not doing the one at prometric, I'd buy an NBME which would cost me $60 anyways. And if being more familiar with the testing center eases some of the anxiety and lets me score even 1 pt higher then $75 would be totally worth it. In fact I'd be willing to pay NBME $75 per pt if it was possible to buy the points lol.
 
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ortnakas said:
If you have to skip an NBME, which one(s) would you skip?

I've already done 12, and I'm going to do 15 later today. I also am definitely doing 16 through my school's summer study program, as well as a "NBME Customized Exam" they're having us do, and COMSAE-C. That leaves 13, 17 and 18, and I think I'm only going to have time for two of those (I'd like to do the UWSAs as well, mostly because I've already paid for them).
Click to expand...

Agree with @Amba. Skip 13 if you dont have time. I'd say take 18 before 17 though.

Amba said:
I think that's a good order and very similar to how I approached it 👍



I would skip 13 if I had to choose two of the three. 17 and 18 are supposed to be more similar to the actual exam.
Click to expand...
 
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What's the mechanism behind fibrates increasing the risk for myopathy with concomitant statin use?
 
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ortnakas said:
NBME 12 May 2: 185
COMSAE D May 5: 544
NBME 15 May 24: 215 (seventeen days out)

All hope is not lost! (I don't have the lofty goals of most of you, clearly, but I'm okay with that). Just happy to have improvement.
Click to expand...
What's helped with your improvement..?
 
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ortnakas said:
NBME 12 May 2: 185
COMSAE D May 5: 544
NBME 15 May 24: 215 (seventeen days out)

All hope is not lost! (I don't have the lofty goals of most of you, clearly, but I'm okay with that). Just happy to have improvement.
Click to expand...

You should be proud that you increased your score by 30 points in 3 weeks! Not to mention, NBME 15 is harder than 12. You still have plenty of time left to bring up your score to 230+. Not sure about you, but I'd be very content with 230.
 
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Pushtothestars said:
What's helped with your improvement..?
Click to expand...
"Multivariate" haha.
Finally being done with classes.
Finishing DIT. DIT helped me a ton-- if you're the kind of student who's gunning for a 260 it's likely not necessary, but if you're "normal" and below, it's a huge help. I like the mnemonics, and I like having all the high yield points explained to me at least once. Like the detractors say it is largely just First Aid being read to you, but I've found it and the workbook very useful. I'm glad I did it.
Listening to Goljan quite a bit (did all of Pathoma once or twice depending on the chapter during the year not for board prep).
Memorang flashcards on my weak points.
Other than that, the normal standbys of UWorld, First Aid, and Combank for COMLEX (I'll go Combank and Green Bible heavy between the two exams).

Ibn Alnafis MD said:
You should be proud that you increased your score by 30 points in 3 weeks! Not to mention, NBME 15 is harder than 12. You still have plenty of time left to bring up your score to 230+. Not sure about you, but I'd be very content with 230.
Click to expand...

Content? I'd be thrilled.
 
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so frustrated - can't improve my test scores 🙁 Taking it June 6th so 10 more study days left

UWSA1 5/7 - 214
UWSA2 5/13 - 234
NBME 15 5/18 - 217
NBME 13 5/21- 228
NBME 16 5/25 - 226
 
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Gah! Killed by a block of UWorld!! I can't believe I'll be done in 2 weeks..... I am so ready to be done!

Desperate for the motivation to persevere for this last stretch. Step 1 is crazy and I feel for every M2 who has ever gone through this madness. Stay strong peeps! 😕😵:scared:🙈
 
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Well with UWSA updating the scoring scale today, UWSA1 is now a 269 for me. Just took UWSA2 and went block 1 = 83%, block 2 = 95%, block 3 = 88%, block 4 = 90%, for a 262 overall. No idea how accurate this third new scale is. Nice to be around my goal though.
 
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Entadus said:
Gah! Killed by a block of UWorld!! I can't believe I'll be done in 2 weeks..... I am so ready to be done!

Desperate for the motivation to persevere for this last stretch. Step 1 is crazy and I feel for every M2 who has ever gone through this madness. Stay strong peeps! 😕😵:scared:🙈
Click to expand...

Two weeks. Just two more weeks and I'll finally be done. Oh god, it's in two weeks and I know nothing. But I'll be done! But I know nothing. Two weeks...
 
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Amba said:
Well with UWSA updating the scoring scale today, UWSA1 is now a 269 for me. Just took UWSA2 and went block 1 = 83%, block 2 = 95%, block 3 = 88%, block 4 = 90%, for a 262 overall. No idea how accurate this third new scale is. Nice to be around my goal though.
Click to expand...
My UWSA2 from 1 week ago is now showing as a 251! So my UWSA1, UWSA2, and NBME 15 have all been within 1 point of each other! I'm glad for the precision(reliability) but I really want the next NBME to show some improvement! I'll be taking NBME 18, 16, and 17 next week (in that order)
 
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If UWorld was going to mess with their scoring scale, I feel like they should have done it in October or something since most M2's take Step between December and August. I'm trying to decide if they are messing with us or someone over there just hit a wrong keystroke by accident. +pissed+

Edit: I have decided this (+pissed+) is my official smiley for dedicated and will henceforth try to incorporate it into as many posts as possible.

PS. congrats @Amba and @Entadus for the favorable (and much more realistic) update to your scores!
 
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Entadus said:
My UWSA2 from 1 week ago is now showing as a 251! So my UWSA1, UWSA2, and NBME 15 have all been within 1 point of each other! I'm glad for the precision(reliability) but I really want the next NBME to show some improvement! I'll be taking NBME 18, 16, and 17 next week (in that order)
Click to expand...

Congrats! I was definitely thrilled to see that bump in the score when I logged in. Good luck with the NBMEs! That's a good order to take them. In exactly 1 week, I will be just finishing up the real exam...
 
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So my exam is in 2 weeks and I'm hoping to score around 240. Ive been studying for about 5 weeks. Took a practice test once a week.

NBME 12 (diagnostic before studying)- 183
Uworld Form 1- 220
NBME 16- 226
Uworld form 2- 239
NBME 17-243

Ive been doing as much Uworld as possible and starting to feel burnt out. Any advice for the last 2 weeks? Im thinking of taking NBME 18 this weekend so I'm not discouraged to close to the real deal.
 
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ortnakas said:
NBME 12 May 2: 185
COMSAE D May 5: 544
NBME 15 May 24: 215 (seventeen days out)

All hope is not lost! (I don't have the lofty goals of most of you, clearly, but I'm okay with that). Just happy to have improvement.
Click to expand...

That's one heck of a COMSAE score though! Good job on the improvement.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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dorster said:
So my exam is in 2 weeks and I'm hoping to score around 240. Ive been studying for about 5 weeks. Took a practice test once a week.

NBME 12 (diagnostic before studying)- 183
Uworld Form 1- 220
NBME 16- 226
Uworld form 2- 239
NBME 17-243

Ive been doing as much Uworld as possible and starting to feel burnt out. Any advice for the last 2 weeks? Im thinking of taking NBME 18 this weekend so I'm not discouraged to close to the real deal.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good plan; let me know how NBME18 goes for you. I'm thinking I'll take it on Monday
(hitting UWorld hard until then)
 
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Exam in a day and i'm freaking out. I just want to break into the low 230s and I was able to do that on NBME 17 and 18 in the past week....but I open first aid and there are so many things that I have absolutely no clue on. There's nothing I feel truly comfortable with and even when I glance at sections there are so many details that I don't remember seeing. I feel like my content base is so weak that a test that is heavy towards my weaknesses could result in me literally barely breaking 200. Is this normal? What should I do for my last day?

Also, anyone have an idea how the curve on the real deal relates on the curve on the NBMEs? 18 had a somewhat lenient curve but 17's was brutal, I got way more questions right and my score was nearly identical to 18. Are the % correct to 3-digit score conversions relatively accurate on NBMEs or is the actual exam a little more lenient?
 
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dorster said:
So my exam is in 2 weeks and I'm hoping to score around 240. Ive been studying for about 5 weeks. Took a practice test once a week.

NBME 12 (diagnostic before studying)- 183
Uworld Form 1- 220
NBME 16- 226
Uworld form 2- 239
NBME 17-243

Ive been doing as much Uworld as possible and starting to feel burnt out. Any advice for the last 2 weeks? Im thinking of taking NBME 18 this weekend so I'm not discouraged to close to the real deal.
Click to expand...
That is a heck of an improvement in 5 weeks... Good job!
 
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GVSULakers9456 said:
Exam in a day and i'm freaking out. I just want to break into the low 230s and I was able to do that on NBME 17 and 18 in the past week....but I open first aid and there are so many things that I have absolutely no clue on. There's nothing I feel truly comfortable with and even when I glance at sections there are so many details that I don't remember seeing. I feel like my content base is so weak that a test that is heavy towards my weaknesses could result in me literally barely breaking 200. Is this normal? What should I do for my last day?

Also, anyone have an idea how the curve on the real deal relates on the curve on the NBMEs? 18 had a somewhat lenient curve but 17's was brutal, I got way more questions right and my score was nearly identical to 18. Are the % correct to 3-digit score conversions relatively accurate on NBMEs or is the actual exam a little more lenient?
Click to expand...
I just want to break into the low 230s and I was able to do that on NBME 17 and 18 in the past week....
Click to expand...

I just want to break into the low 230s and I was able to do that on NBME 17 and 18 in the past week....
Click to expand...

Breathe :highfive:
 
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GVSULakers9456 said:
Exam in a day and i'm freaking out. I just want to break into the low 230s and I was able to do that on NBME 17 and 18 in the past week....but I open first aid and there are so many things that I have absolutely no clue on. There's nothing I feel truly comfortable with and even when I glance at sections there are so many details that I don't remember seeing. I feel like my content base is so weak that a test that is heavy towards my weaknesses could result in me literally barely breaking 200. Is this normal? What should I do for my last day?

Also, anyone have an idea how the curve on the real deal relates on the curve on the NBMEs? 18 had a somewhat lenient curve but 17's was brutal, I got way more questions right and my score was nearly identical to 18. Are the % correct to 3-digit score conversions relatively accurate on NBMEs or is the actual exam a little more lenient?
Click to expand...

This is how everyone feels. You're in a great position by having achieved your target score on the last two NBMEs!
 
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Entadus said:
Sounds like a good plan; let me know how NBME18 goes for you. I'm thinking I'll take it on Monday
(hitting UWorld hard until then)
Click to expand...
GVSULakers9456 said:
Exam in a day and i'm freaking out. I just want to break into the low 230s and I was able to do that on NBME 17 and 18 in the past week....but I open first aid and there are so many things that I have absolutely no clue on. There's nothing I feel truly comfortable with and even when I glance at sections there are so many details that I don't remember seeing. I feel like my content base is so weak that a test that is heavy towards my weaknesses could result in me literally barely breaking 200. Is this normal? What should I do for my last day?

Also, anyone have an idea how the curve on the real deal relates on the curve on the NBMEs? 18 had a somewhat lenient curve but 17's was brutal, I got way more questions right and my score was nearly identical to 18. Are the % correct to 3-digit score conversions relatively accurate on NBMEs or is the actual exam a little more lenient?
Click to expand...

If you're hitting your target scores definitely trust that!! I feel that way all the time when i flip a page in FA and have no idea what half the info is. You'll do great!
 
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