Gauging My Progress

[cdql]

---

Members don't see this ad.

In truth, I'm not really sure what I'm aiming at in terms of a target score. I guess 240 would be nice. But I wouldn't say no to a 250 either. 😀 And if we're going to add a low end to that scale, I wouldn't be terribly upset with a 230 either

I do realize that Qbank and UW aren't the best ways to gauge my predicted score but since I have 19 days left to study, I didn't want to waste an NBME exam yet

(still have a lot of subjects that are completely untouched)

So is this a good sign thus far?

Averages
Qbank = 67%
IV Qbank = 76%
UW = 67% - I would have thought this would be higher than Qbank but I guess I make more errors than I thought

 

[blz]

In truth, I'm not really sure what I'm aiming at in terms of a target score. I guess 240 would be nice. But I wouldn't say no to a 250 either. 😀 And if we're going to add a low end to that scale, I wouldn't be terribly upset with a 230 either

I do realize that Qbank and UW aren't the best ways to gauge my predicted score but since I have 19 days left to study, I didn't want to waste an NBME exam yet

(still have a lot of subjects that are completely untouched)

So is this a good sign thus far?

Averages
Qbank = 67%
IV Qbank = 76%
UW = 67% - I would have thought this would be higher than Qbank but I guess I make more errors than I thought

depends on what topics you haven't touched. id say you're on your way to your goal score if you haven't done some core subjects yet.

 

[hyperorchidism]

In truth, I'm not really sure what I'm aiming at in terms of a target score. I guess 240 would be nice. But I wouldn't say no to a 250 either. 😀 And if we're going to add a low end to that scale, I wouldn't be terribly upset with a 230 either

I do realize that Qbank and UW aren't the best ways to gauge my predicted score but since I have 19 days left to study, I didn't want to waste an NBME exam yet

(still have a lot of subjects that are completely untouched)

So is this a good sign thus far?

Averages
Qbank = 67%
IV Qbank = 76%
UW = 67% - I would have thought this would be higher than Qbank but I guess I make more errors than I thought

my UW averages are much lower and i just got a 240 on an NBME about a week ago. i also don't really pay attention to my answers sometimes 🙂 so who knows.

 

[cdql]

depends on what topics you haven't touched. id say you're on your way to your goal score if you haven't done some core subjects yet.

Uh oh. I've got some of the "crammable" type subjects coming up: immunology, biochemistry, anatomy, histology, and neuro.

I was planning on hitting physiology and pathology again in the final week (along with those vaunted NBME exams) as I'm performing disturbingly poorly in those two

My school does a good job of teaching microbiology and pharmacology together so I pretty much breezed through those topics in my first week of studying. Again, this could prove to be problematic later as those two are topics that tend to be easily forgotten!

 

[cdql]

my UW averages are much lower and i just got a 240 on an NBME about a week ago. i also don't really pay attention to my answers sometimes 🙂 so who knows.

1) That's good to hear!!

2) I'm the same way regarding answer analysis. Oddly enough, I like to pay attention to the ones I got right (but wasn't too sure on). The ones I know for sure I skip. And when I do get items wrong, I tend to have a frustration bar that rises and makes me skip through the explanation fairly quickly and move on to a new question. 😛

 

[abhishek1003]

hey cdql,

i have about the same time left before my exam too. i've finished all of qbank and half of UW and I feel like i'm doing ok in them (62-63%) but, like you, i wanna do really well.

i have question books i haven't touched yet, so i'm thinking FA and an assault on questions i missed on the qbanks and other sources?

what do you think?

 

[cdql]

hey cdql,

i have about the same time left before my exam too. i've finished all of qbank and half of UW and I feel like i'm doing ok in them (62-63%) but, like you, i wanna do really well.

i have question books i haven't touched yet, so i'm thinking FA and an assault on questions i missed on the qbanks and other sources?

what do you think?

I think that sounds good. I plan on finishing the topics I indicated above, hitting FA of course, and then trying my hand at some NBME exams. I don't foresee any extra time to go back and redo old questions from Qbank/UW but if you do have that luxury, I say it's a great idea!

Finally, I plan on going back to the areas in which I'm weak in. I'm assuming the same areas where I show weakness in UW/Qbank will manifest themselves on the NBME assessments which would be physio/path (never a good sign ). I'm also doing quite poorly in the subjects I haven't studied yet (obviously 🙂 ) but I hope that won't be an issue once I get to that final week.

 

[abhishek1003]

hey,

I think that's a fair approach. My weakest areas seem to be gross/biochem. I can't get the darn brachial plexus right in my head! I'm also doing pretty awfully at the obscure microbiological organisms that qbank seems to throw at me. It's nice to have some time to prioritize things and ready myself for my weak areas.

Goljan is a godsend for path.

 

[bth7]

I'm also doing pretty awfully at the obscure microbiological organisms that qbank seems to throw at me.

Obscure micro bugs and their stupid f-ing virulence factors . . . WHY?????? 👎

 

[cdql]

Goljan is a godsend for path.

I may have to try that. Are you referring to his tapes or his books?

 

[abhishek1003]

I may have to try that. Are you referring to his tapes or his books?

his big blue new book.

 

[surprisedgirl]

my UW averages are much lower and i just got a 240 on an NBME about a week ago. i also don't really pay attention to my answers sometimes 🙂 so who knows.

just curious.....which nbme did you take? thanks!!!!!

 

[cdql]

I've also had older students tell me consistent averages of high 80's on Qbank/UW are needed for a 240+ on the real thing.

Please tell me they're just yanking my chain! I'm concerned as I've heard it from more than one student. Unless it's all part of an elaborate joke that I'm unaware of 😉

 

[joe6102]

I've also had older students tell me consistent averages of high 80's on Qbank/UW are needed for a 240+ on the real thing.

Please tell me they're just yanking my chain! I'm concerned as I've heard it from more than one student. Unless it's all part of an elaborate joke that I'm unaware of 😉

Not true. I've ditched qbank completely, because I've never scored above 68% on a block, yet my last 2 NBME's are above 240. High 80's is insanely high, and I think you'd be looking at 255+ with that kind of percentage.

 

[blz]

qbank is only a hard bank to score high on because it tends to test obscure facts (once you know the fact though the question is easy). so to consistently hit high 80s means you know too much minutiae. i could believe someone who is bound for a 260+ to consistently hit mid to high 80s in usmleworld though. usmleworld has more reasonable questions and test less obscure facts than qbank - usmleworld just makes sure you REALLY understand whats going on though.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I've also had older students tell me consistent averages of high 80's on Qbank/UW are needed for a 240+ on the real thing.

Please tell me they're just yanking my chain! I'm concerned as I've heard it from more than one student. Unless it's all part of an elaborate joke that I'm unaware of 😉

BS

I surpassed 260 and my QBank average on my last 350 questions (2 days prior to exam) was 79%

 

[cdql]

Update:

I've been making slow climbs in Kaplan QBank. Up to 72% now

For some reason, my UW seems to hover around the same plane though. 66% (With one disgusting dropoff to 58% today as well...but I'd like to attribute that score to fatigue as opposed to my sheer stupidity 😛 )

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I definitely feel UW's questions are more integrative and require more thinking and the explanations are certainly excellent but for some reason, I just don't enjoy the same level of success with them as with the Kaplan Qbank.

A reason for concern? Or am I looking too much into this?

 

[hyperorchidism]

Update:

I've been making slow climbs in Kaplan QBank. Up to 72% now

For some reason, my UW seems to hover around the same plane though. 66% (With one disgusting dropoff to 58% today as well...but I'd like to attribute that score to fatigue as opposed to my sheer stupidity 😛 )

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I definitely feel UW's questions are more integrative and require more thinking and the explanations are certainly excellent but for some reason, I just don't enjoy the same level of success with them as with the Kaplan Qbank.

A reason for concern? Or am I looking too much into this?

I've had a 54 and an 80 today. I think a lot of luck is involved, and fatigue is probably a factor too.

 

[abhishek1003]

hyper,

i'm getting the same results. UW is especially kicking my ass with the highs and the lows. I'm done with qbank and so much so that i feel time would be wasted going over the answers i missed.

what do you do to keep inspired? i'm getting exhausted and unproductive and i have two weeks left . . . .yikes!!!!!!

i'm having a hard time looking at my FA over and over again with all the writings, the highlightings, the notes and the sheer depth of it all!!

ahh!

 

[Miami_med]

Obscure micro bugs and their stupid f-ing virulence factors . . . WHY?????? 👎

I can tell you after taking Step 1 today that it is possible to study all of this stuff and never actually have to know it.

 

[wxl31]

hyper,

i'm getting the same results. UW is especially kicking my ass with the highs and the lows. I'm done with qbank and so much so that i feel time would be wasted going over the answers i missed.

what do you do to keep inspired? i'm getting exhausted and unproductive and i have two weeks left . . . .yikes!!!!!!

i'm having a hard time looking at my FA over and over again with all the writings, the highlightings, the notes and the sheer depth of it all!!

ahh!

feeling the exact same way with 1.5 wks left....no motivation 🙁

the highs and lows are mind boggling. 48% and 84% in 2 back to back blocks...

 

[cdql]

Jumped right back up to 78%

That's a 20 pt swing in less than 24 hours!! 😀

 

[smalley]

hyper,

i'm getting the same results. UW is especially kicking my ass with the highs and the lows. I'm done with qbank and so much so that i feel time would be wasted going over the answers i missed.

what do you do to keep inspired? i'm getting exhausted and unproductive and i have two weeks left . . . .yikes!!!!!!

i'm having a hard time looking at my FA over and over again with all the writings, the highlightings, the notes and the sheer depth of it all!!

ahh!

am also in the same boat..
how many questions per day are you doing...?

 

[pdz]

feeling the exact same way with 1.5 wks left....no motivation 🙁

the highs and lows are mind boggling. 48% and 84% in 2 back to back blocks...

What do you guys think would reflect more knowledge, jumping from 40s to 80s between blocks or consistently doing 60s (never below 60) with 1 out 10 blocks hitting the 70s?

Just curious to know your thoughts.

 

[blz]

you guys are all getting a little rediculous about this...

just use the average of the last 300 as a somewhat decent measure of how you're progressing.

 

[abhishek1003]

hey,

i'm doing about 200 questions a day and i'm fluctuating all over the place. my averages are about 10-11% better than the average for that particular 50 question set in UW but they're still pretty low at times from what i've been reading by all the high achievers on this message board.

i'm still confused as to how reflective UW scores are to the real thing.

one more question: does the NBME exams you buy online look like the free 150 questions they give you or is it like an internet based thing?

thanks guys. hang in there.

 

[Taus]

hey,

i'm doing about 200 questions a day and i'm fluctuating all over the place. my averages are about 10-11% better than the average for that particular 50 question set in UW but they're still pretty low at times from what i've been reading by all the high achievers on this message board.

i'm still confused as to how reflective UW scores are to the real thing.

one more question: does the NBME exams you buy online look like the free 150 questions they give you or is it like an internet based thing?

thanks guys. hang in there.

best way to guage where you stand = nbme exams (#3 is supposed to have a pretty strong correlation to the real deal)

they're online/internet based, but they are w/ the old (non-fred) software...so not the same interface as the real thing

I'm relatively all over the place w/ my UW scores as well.....like +/- 8%

 

[Amino Acid]

I've had a 54 and an 80 today. I think a lot of luck is involved, and fatigue is probably a factor too.

I've had similar results. Qbank: generally averaging high 70s; and then on UW I can fluctuate between high 80s and as low as a 58. I know when i'm overly tired and just burnt out but I don't have a lot of time to take the breaks i know i need. 🙁

 

[blackberry13]

hey guys,

im new to this website, but im only doing path, pathophys and phys questions and im getting around 50-60% on them, doing blocks of 25 questions on qbank. i am takin my exam end of july so i wanted to know, do you think i am in a decent position to move that up so that i can get a 220+ on the real test? im not interested in doing really well and will be more than happy with a 220+. anything more would be a bonus. i dont know any pharm or biochem or micro at all right now and am going to start learning it soon....ne ideas where i stand and ne tips of what i should do at this moment? thanks!

 

[cdql]

hey guys,

im new to this website, but im only doing path, pathophys and phys questions and im getting around 50-60% on them, doing blocks of 25 questions on qbank. i am takin my exam end of july so i wanted to know, do you think i am in a decent position to move that up so that i can get a 220+ on the real test? im not interested in doing really well and will be more than happy with a 220+. anything more would be a bonus. i dont know any pharm or biochem or micro at all right now and am going to start learning it soon....ne ideas where i stand and ne tips of what i should do at this moment? thanks!

It seems the general consensus around here is that UW and Qbank should be used as learning tools as opposed to "score trackers". The NBME exams are probably better predictors.

That being said, I'm with you in that I'm a bit worried. I've pulled my averages to lower-mid 70's now (if we had to add the word consistently in there, I'd go with lower 70's more often than not 😳 ) and that average seems to be lower than what most of the superstars here (who have gotten 230, 240+) have averaged on their Qbanks.