How much can you expect score to improve in a week?

[freckles87]

My step 1 is in 9 days, and I'm wondering how much I can expect to improve my score by reviewing FA and doing random blocks in UWorld?
Right now I'm at about hovering about ten points above passing according to the UWorld average calculation.
I was originally hoping for a 220, but more than anything, I just don't want to fail.
And if you're going to tell me to push my test date back - it isn't an option.

Also, does anyone else feel like they're guessing more often than not on questions and just getting lucky? It's so frustrating, because sometimes I don't know if my UWorld average is only in the passing range because I'm lucky. I don't want to depend on too much luck on test day...

Thanks in advance for the advice! 🙂

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[namethatsmell]

Also, does anyone else feel like they're guessing more often than not on questions and just getting lucky?

Right there with ya...and it can be a pretty spooky feeling. What I've come to realize (or at least how I rationalize it heh) is that I'm really just narrowing down answer choices to the most reasonable one--but yeah at times it really feels like "process of elimination" thinking is blurring the line with blind guessing...better to be lucky than good??

Use the next week and a half to cram FA into your head again and do as much UW as possible as time allows. Good luck, my gut says you'll do a-ok.

 

[CANEhummer]

my scores on my practice test raised like 11 points in week...just try and understand the question see what they are asking...half of my problem was i was rushing through the question and would get it wrong cause i didnt read it completely, I slowed down after seeing all my careless mistakes

about the guessing thing. I posed this question to a friend of mine who got a 252 last year and he made a good point. You don't realize how much inadvertently goes into guessing

 

[freckles87]

Thanks guys.
I guess you're both right with the guessing. Maybe I'm not actually guessing, because I'm narrowing down and ruling things out... it just feels like it when I'm not positive about an answer.
I find that I can pick up on the diagnosis based on the clinical picture the majority of the time, but I can't remember the one detail it's asking... I guess some more cramming FA will help with that.
Thanks again, your posts really helped calm me down a bit - I was having a freak out moment. Good luck to you both too if you still have to take it!

 

[SlaveOfTCMC]

Well I've just finished all the NBMEs and my weakest links are respiratory system (i know for a fact is respiratory physiology) and clinical behavioral science questions.

In suppose in the remaining week I have left, I will cram High Yield Physio and Kaplan Physio on the respiratory chapters again. Get use to all those charts and graphs and get the terminology down.

As for behavioral science questions, I may have to just ask the practicing doctors on my school's faculty.

But if I were to get these all improved, then I could expect about 5-10 extra points or so.