Difficulty of Class Exams vs. Step 1?

[IonClaws]

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Hey everyone,

So I'm in my 4th week of medical school and have been getting increasingly worse scores on weekly not-for-credit practice quizzes (scores for first 3 were 86%, 77%, and 71%) despite studying the material more for the 3rd quiz. My classmates appear to be improving on the quizzes, however. The quizzes are supposed to be harder than the actual tests, but we haven't taken our first actual test yet, so I don't really know whether it will be harder for me.

So my question is this -

Did you find that the exams in your classes were tougher or easier than the Step 1 questions? I realize that the Step 1 covers much more material than any one class exam, but were the questions on the class exams harder or easier than Step 1 questions?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Kal EI]

Hey everyone,

So I'm in my 4th week of medical school and have been getting increasingly worse scores on weekly not-for-credit practice quizzes (scores for first 3 were 86%, 77%, and 71%) despite studying the material more for the 3rd quiz. My classmates appear to be improving on the quizzes, however. The quizzes are supposed to be harder than the actual tests, but we haven't taken our first actual test yet, so I don't really know whether it will be harder for me.

So my question is this -

Did you find that the exams in your classes were tougher or easier than the Step 1 questions? I realize that the Step 1 covers much more material than any one class exam, but were the questions on the class exams harder or easier than Step 1 questions?

Thanks for your help.

Advice: Stop focusing on the next step. You will always have a next step and stress yourself out. Instead, do today's task the best you can in a reasonable amount of time. Then set aside time to enjoy life also.

For some, class exams were harder - for some they were easier. Either way, it won't affect or change your situation in any way. If you want to obsess about something, do that for doing your best daily in the # of hrs you decide to work.

 

[IonClaws]

Advice: Stop focusing on the next step. You will always have a next step and stress yourself out. Instead, do today's task the best you can in a reasonable amount of time. Then set aside time to enjoy life also.

For some, class exams were harder - for some they were easier. Either way, it won't affect or change your situation in any way. If you want to obsess about something, do that for doing your best daily in the # of hrs you decide to work.

So in other words...one day at a time? Thanks.

 

[madchemist89]

Depending on the style of your in-class exams, they may be quite different from Step 1 and shelf exams. At my school, in-class exams have little to no bearing on whether you know or understand the material.

 

[redpanda]

Well, I would say the class exams are easier because there's syllabus which is the standard reference of material. Step 1 does not have a reasonable standard reference which covers all things and the questions consistently require 2 or more mental connections to be made. You appear to be an MS1 though, so do not think about Step 1 now, because it is futile. Learn what you are supposed to learn now and start thinking about Step 1 maybe 4 months beforehand.

 

[Southplains]

I'm a current first year as well, so I have no experience with Step 1, but I imagine the advice to focus on one day at a time is pretty good. No need to stress about the next hurdle, that will only make jumping this one more difficult. And you'll be surprised at how much you will "rise to the challenge" and what currently seems like an impossible Step 1 exam will be very doable, if not something you'll perform exceptionally well on. Just gotta loosen up but work hard and start rising.

 

[madchemist89]

Contrary to what other posters are telling you, I believe that you do need to be thinking about Step 1 right now. I'm not saying that you are doing much about it, but you need to keep it in the back of your mind. You need to be working through review books and other resources as your school covers each topic because it is likely that your school will not cover everything you need to know or will do a poor job at covering it. When it is time for dedicated studying, you will have worked through your review sources and be familiar with them already.

 

[honeyyygirl]

I heard that the USMLE is removing questions (or never had them to begin with?) with answers like

A) answer 1
B) answer 2
C) answer 3
D) A & C
E) All of the above


uggggh these are they types of questions we get at my school for some classes and let me tell you!! They are the wooooorst !