Discouraged: 205 on practice exam, 7 weeks out and not sure if 230ish is doable

[DrMcCoy]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I just took NBME 13 and got a 205. I've done Pathoma, though it feels like I've forgotten tons of it. Also, have done 8 chapters of FA and 8 to go, including some long ones unfortunately like micro and biochem. Was really hoping for a 230 but I'm feeling pretty crappy about everything at the moment. Going through FA took way longer than I thought it would and I could use some wisdom.

1) Is it normal to spend like 4 days per FA chapter? I'm trying to ramp things up and do the last 8 chapters in the next 3 weeks, but this is a scary prospect, considering how slow I've been going.

2) Possible to do 1/2 of FA in 3 weeks? Possible to do it well?

3) If I can make it through the rest of FA on-time, that'll give me a full 4 weeks to do all of Uworld (1st time) and hopefully a 2nd pass of FA. Does this sound like a reasonable (and achievable) plan?

Sorry for the nitpicky questions. I'm honestly just feeling so demoralized at the moment. I'd be happy with an internal med residency but a score that would allow me to achieve that feels so out of reach right now.

 

[BergXK]

if you're taking 4 days a section you are rather going really thorough which is good or you are wasting a lot of time. W/e the case you should probably take section based Uworld questions on the topic you covering to see if your actually learning anything. If after covering a section you hitting 70%+ on uworld for that section i would say keep doing what your doing. I wouldn't wait till having a dedicated Uworld time to find out you didnt learn anything. Your NBME doesnt mean much if you didnt even cover all the material yet.

Everyone has there own style and has there own starting point. But as long as your schedule gives u some review time in the end I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[seminoma]

Try to go through 8-10 pages of FA in an hour for your first pass. Don't focus on details, just get the main idea (e.g. don't worry about memorizing the CD markers for leukocyte chemotaxis. Instead just know selectins/sialyl lewis x for the first step, CAMs and integrins for the second part, and PECAM for the third part, then move on). Definitely read every word, but don't dwell on details. For your second and third pass you can spend more time on details (e.g. CD34, CD54, CD106, CD31) because by then you'll have the big picture and you'll mainly be reading FA for stuff you "missed" before. Imo your goal should be focusing only on the maximum amount of information you can learn in a single day (which is limited for all of us) instead of trying to learn everything everyday. Have a system so that your second and third reviews are focused on learning things you didn't try to learn the first time.

205 to 230+ is definitely possible in 7 weeks. Don't stress about it. Use the 205 as motivation.

 

[EmergDoc2B]

my first nbme was 13 and scored a 207, My last nbme was 237(15). you have more than enough time to get the score up> use the nbme to guide your study. I found i was weak in 3 areas and focused on those and jumped 20 points on mmy next nbme. Stay confident and keep grinding.

 

[bakermd101]

I studied for the exam entirely in 35 days and improved over 45 points in that time. My study schedule is posted on medstudy.guide 🙂

 

[hallowmann]

I had 4wks to study. My first NBME was less than yours at the beginning of dedicated study, and 2 weeks later, I was up by 23 points. It's absolutely doable. Just focus and spend that 10-12 hrs a day studying.

I'd recommend going faster too. It really shouldn't take more than 2 days to get through one FA chapter of that's what the bulk of your study is.

 

[bdth]

205 to 230 in 7 weeks is definitely doable. Like everyone else has said, don't dwell on the little details on your first pass. Solidifying the details is for qbanks and future passes. Doing qbanks will also help you figure out which FA details are actually high yield to know...a lot of stuff in FA doesn't actually show up on questions very often

 

[pd1112]

Start UW now. Don't wait for 4 weeks. It takes longer than you think.

 

[aspiringmd1015]

^when you have to annotate and your 3 blocks behind, youre going to want to kill yourself. Start it asap, too good of a tool.