I'm so confused.

[BlueElmo]

Hey guys, so I just took NBME 7 an UWSA 1 back to back. My scores were 180 for NBME and 211 for UWSA. I don't know what's going on. I get owned on NBMEs but do decent on my World questions. Not only today, but on my previous tests and questions too.
It's confusing because the general consensus seems here is that World is slightly harder than the real test which is harder than NBMEs.
Is there anyone out there getting such wide discrepancies?
My test is in 2.5 weeks, but I can push the date back 3 weeks. I don't know what to do, someone please give me some advice. Thanks!

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[HelpPleaseMD]

are your areas of weakness consistent between the tests you took? Why are you getting the questions wrong? Test taking ability or lack of knowledge

 

[Eilat87]

Maybe you're overthinking your answer choices. NBME questions are pretty straightforward.

 

[DroptheBop]

NBME is a generally regarded as a better predictor based on the 2012 Step I experiences thread. The curve on UWorld is pretty generous since Uworld tends to provide more questions integration on top of memorization (two or three step questions). NBMEs have these, but they have a lot more rote memorization one step questions as well. Have you looked at the % you got correct on each? My guess would be that your NBME test is at a slightly higher %, but since the curve is much more strict than the UWorld curve is, you're at a much lower score. (Getting a 70% on an NBME is generally in the low 200s compared to on the UWSA's where that's in the 240s) Consider why you're getting questions wrong. Do you miss questions based on pure fact recall (IL-4 vs IL-5)? If so, consider spending more time with FA. If you're having trouble with processes and pathophysiology or integrating knowledge, consider watching Pathoma/reading BRS phys/doing lots of questions and reading explanations.

 

[Kaputt]

NBMEs predict scores more accurately than UWSAs. So your NBME is more likely accurate, with your UWSA over-predicting.

If you are doing poorly on NBMEs, it's a content issue typically. You need to work through the material more.

How long have you been studying? What have your previous practice tests been? How is your UW cumulative %? What has been your study method?