first test suckerpunch.

[CremasterFlash]

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So I'm starting med school in the Fall (not sure exactly where yet) at 38 years old...

I've noticed that many, many people here have mentioned that their first test in med-school just absolutely smoked them. I'm curious how this works. Clearly all these people are very smart. They've studied hard. On average, they've met and mastered the tests of the past. Med school tests are (usually?) multiple choice.

So... is it that there's so much information that you go into the test not knowing everything that's been covered because there's just so much that it's impossible to have it all dialed? Or do you go into the test knowing everything only to find out that your definition of everything turned out to be a subset of everything - that is, they test on stuff outside the material on your syllabus/slides?

If your first test taught you what it meant to be alone, is there anything you would have done differently if you were an autumnal MS1 again to avoid the slaughter?

 

[Re3iRtH]

So I'm starting med school in the Fall (not sure exactly where yet) at 38 years old...

I've noticed that many, many people here have mentioned that their first test in med-school just absolutely smoked them. I'm curious how this works. Clearly all these people are very smart. They've studied hard. On average, they've met and mastered the tests of the past. Med school tests are (usually?) multiple choice.

So... is it that there's so much information that you go into the test not knowing everything that's been covered because there's just so much that it's impossible to have it all dialed? Or do you go into the test knowing everything only to find out that your definition of everything turned out to be a subset of everything - that is, they test on stuff outside the material on your syllabus/slides?

If your first test taught you what it meant to be alone, is there anything you would have done differently if you were an autumnal MS1 again to avoid the slaughter?

I think the reason some 1st years do poorly on their first exam is likely
because they didn't figure out the right study strategy the first time
around. You will almost certainly have to study differently than you
did in college, not necessarily just more, but different. I think some
people just get lucky and their study strategy worked the first time.
Get what I'm saying?

 

[CremasterFlash]

i appreciate the reply, but i'm still unclear about whether it's a question of people not knowing everything that was assigned or whether what was assigned did not include everything that was tested.

 

[silas2642]

i appreciate the reply, but i'm still unclear about whether it's a question of people not knowing everything that was assigned or whether what was assigned did not include everything that was tested.

I think that most people get a pretty good clue as to what is going to be on an exam because a lot of schools have syllabi-- you pretty much memorize that. As for getting your butt kicked on the first exam, I think a lot of first years go into their first exam thinking that they're still in college. This is kind of a new ballgame-- you have to keep up with the material because if you don't you get buried very quickly. You can't cram in med school the way you do in college. You can't study an entire exam's worth of material in 1 or 2 night's.

 

[InspireMe]

well it really depends on the class, lecturer, etc when it comes to whether they test on what they lectured. Believe me there were quite a few times where a doctor would talk about one topic, for example side effects of cholinergics, for almost the entire lecture (hence the poor students would focus on that), and come test time ask minutia questions about mechanisms and kinetics...😕

To avoid the slaughter just have the right mentality when approaching your studies which is to approach it as the "professional" you are. Oh and lastly study hard and play hard just don't mix the two.

 

[WellWornLad]

I've noticed that many, many people here have mentioned that their first test in med-school just absolutely smoked them.

I don't think there's any such phenomenon. As I recall, the average on our first test was about what it usually is. The lowest averages seem to come up at the end of the semester, when people aren't as enthusiastic about school and when a sizable portion of the class realizes that they will probably pass, yet probably not make honors.

 

[skubdubdu]

1) So... is it that there's so much information that you go into the test not knowing everything that's been covered because there's just so much that it's impossible to have it all dialed?

2) Is there anything you would have done differently if you were an autumnal MS1 again to avoid the slaughter?

1) Yes. Too much info. Also, it used to be that questions had one good answer. Often my questions look like they have several good answers, so there is no bluffing or going with something you have partial recall of--they know the tricks and plan questions accordingly. Further, questions often require multi-step knowledge, i.e. you need to deduce facts from information in the question stem in order to correctly answer the question.

2) Nope. I overprepared and actually did well on my first test. Best advice...find a study strategy that works for you and stick to it.

 

[Rutgers06]

So I'm starting med school in the Fall (not sure exactly where yet) at 38 years old...

I've noticed that many, many people here have mentioned that their first test in med-school just absolutely smoked them. I'm curious how this works. Clearly all these people are very smart. They've studied hard. On average, they've met and mastered the tests of the past. Med school tests are (usually?) multiple choice.

So... is it that there's so much information that you go into the test not knowing everything that's been covered because there's just so much that it's impossible to have it all dialed? Or do you go into the test knowing everything only to find out that your definition of everything turned out to be a subset of everything - that is, they test on stuff outside the material on your syllabus/slides?

If your first test taught you what it meant to be alone, is there anything you would have done differently if you were an autumnal MS1 again to avoid the slaughter?

I can only speak from my experience, but it seemed like for us, people got slammed on the first test because they hadn't figured out how best to study and what types of questions to expect on the test (ie how much detail was needed). We have block scheduling and our first block was anatomy, so the low scores really came out of the 1st practical exam (class avg in the high 50s/low 60s), not the written portion. After that 1st exam people started spending much more time in the lab to prepare for the practical, which made a difference.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

"Smoked" is relative. You are talking about whiny ex-premeds here, many of whom started doubting whether or not they could be a good doctor because they didn't get an A on the first test.

IIRC, the average on our first test was something like an 84% <gasp> a _B_! There was widespread freaking out. The reason why most people got "smoked" was because they didn't realize that in order to guarantee that you get an oh-so-coveted A on Medical School exams, you need to memorize EVERYTHING in the syllabus. EVERYTHING. Instead they would ask things like, "Do we really need to know this...," etc. Since this is almost impossible, doing well on a medical school exam requires 3 things:

1. Lots of work to memorize everything that you can
2. Good test-taking ability
3. Luck

As far as level of detail: It's all there in the syllabus, but there have been some questions that essentially test your ability to parse a single word/number in the syllabus. This single word/number may not have been mentioned in lecture, or even been important. It's just fodder for (a) test question(s).

 

[phospho]

very cool thread, thank you🙂