I struggled to pass all my classes during my first two years of medical school. Approaching the boards (COMLEX), I had no idea how I was going to pass. Making time for my fiance as well as spending enough time studying was difficult. I knew the week before the exam (Late June) that I was not ready (50% on questions) but, after taking the COMSAE (pretest) and getting a passing score (426), I figured that perhaps it was all going to work out alright! I took the boards... got married a week later! and then had a great honeymoon! Only half way through my first clinical rotation I found out that I had failed the boards (355). I buckled down and studied for two more months... got a week before my exam and backed out... My new COMSAE score (457) wasn't significantly higher than my first... I started doing a lot more questions... (4000) and took the exam more than 4 months after my original date. This past week I got the results. A solid 515. Something I can feel proud about. I'm behind my class... I have a lot to make up... but I passed our most difficult test. If I can do it, you can do it as well.
Before first test (355) [10-12h per day]:
DIT slowly for one month
60% of First Aid (which I didn't understand)
1000+ Questions
3 months before second test (515):
First Aid ~4 times or more (I was understanding most of it... I totally ditched biochem)
Pathoma ~3 times or more
5-6 weeks before second test
4,000 questions from COMBANK (64% 1st time) and COMQUEST (68% 1st time)
1-2 weeks before second test
DIT in a week (12hrs of video per day)
DIT OMM (last day before exam)
Honestly- I had been planning on studying longer (End of November). My scores were not improving and I figured it was now or never (mid October). I was sick of studying... I was beginning to drown so I jumped for a COMLEX date maybe a week and a half before the test. I made the last week count and felt good about it.
Was there anything I could have done differently? Nope. Not a thing. I worked really hard the entire time.
You can see the progression (or lack of) I made with my scores on COMBANK and COMQUEST. I'm not saying that doing the questions wasn't important... but my scores were rising slowly until the last week and then started going down and thats when I jumped for the test. I think I had gotten to the end of my rope... at least at that point.
COMBANK (2500 questions) - This was the first bank I used (on the second test)
COMQUEST -
-The short black line represents questions 1-~500
-The medium sized black line represents questions 1-~1,000
-The longest black line represents all (or almost all COMQUEST questions...) as you can see I was going down... and thats when I decided I was starting to go down hill and I took the exam
Before first test (355) [10-12h per day]:
DIT slowly for one month
60% of First Aid (which I didn't understand)
1000+ Questions
3 months before second test (515):
First Aid ~4 times or more (I was understanding most of it... I totally ditched biochem)
Pathoma ~3 times or more
5-6 weeks before second test
4,000 questions from COMBANK (64% 1st time) and COMQUEST (68% 1st time)
1-2 weeks before second test
DIT in a week (12hrs of video per day)
DIT OMM (last day before exam)
Honestly- I had been planning on studying longer (End of November). My scores were not improving and I figured it was now or never (mid October). I was sick of studying... I was beginning to drown so I jumped for a COMLEX date maybe a week and a half before the test. I made the last week count and felt good about it.
Was there anything I could have done differently? Nope. Not a thing. I worked really hard the entire time.
You can see the progression (or lack of) I made with my scores on COMBANK and COMQUEST. I'm not saying that doing the questions wasn't important... but my scores were rising slowly until the last week and then started going down and thats when I jumped for the test. I think I had gotten to the end of my rope... at least at that point.
COMBANK (2500 questions) - This was the first bank I used (on the second test)
COMQUEST -
-The short black line represents questions 1-~500
-The medium sized black line represents questions 1-~1,000
-The longest black line represents all (or almost all COMQUEST questions...) as you can see I was going down... and thats when I decided I was starting to go down hill and I took the exam
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You deserve everything good coming your way! 
