Is it possible to feel good about this thing?

[butaloh666]

I posted the following a couple days ago on the NBME thread, but I figured I'd just make a thread here because it's really F-ing my head up (and I think I was being ignored on the other thread ). Does anyone else feel like there's just no way to feel good about this test, or am I just flipping out over nothing?

Ok let's see here, I gave myself about 10 weeks because I really need to make a solid score. My test is scheduled for the very end of July.

Started working on 5/26

NBME1 at beginning of prep: 570/234
NMBE2 ~ 3wk in: 630/245
USMLE Rx (43% done): 71%
Kaplan Qbank (10% done): 74%
USMLE World (9% done): 68%

About 6.5 weeks to go.

I don't really know how to feel about all this. Obviously I'm happy to score well on the NBME exams at this stage, but I just can't gauge it beyond that. I constantly feel like I'm behind the milestones I had set for material review, and that I'm doing a good deal of guessing on most of these assessments. Sort of like I know 4/5 of what many questions require, but have to guess on that last little detail. Is it normal to feel so devoid of confidence even though the question bank and NBME scores are relatively good? I'm just having trouble shaking this feeling of impending doom, feeling that running into the wrong version of the test will be like walking into a buzz saw.

Commiseration is more than welcome. Thanx.

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[The Angriest Bird]

If you ask me, your satisfaction with your Step I score is much more about your goal than the actual number.

Some people wish they could get 220 and be totally thrilled. When they do, they call all friends and have a huge party.

Some people get 250 and are totally pissed, go into depression and take tricyclics.

Your current status is way better than many who have studied several months. Whether you should feel happy or not, again, is completely dependent the level of your self-actualization.

 

[Anaphylactic]

Why not do 3, 4, 5 and 6? If you score consistently well on these, then your apotheosis is complete.

 

[butaloh666]

If you ask me, your satisfaction with your Step I score is much more about your goal than the actual number.

Some people wish they could get 220 and be totally thrilled. When they do, they call all friends and have a huge party.

Some people get 250 and are totally pissed, go into depression and take tricyclics.

Your current status is way better than many who have studied several months. Whether you should feel happy or not, again, is completely dependent the level of your self-actualization.

Not really asking about feeling satisfied with a certain score, but more about feeling confident during prep and going into the exam. I'm just talking about the fact that I seem to be doing well on question banks and NBME's but still feel like I'm walking on thin ice. Not like going into an exam back in basic sciences where you felt more or less ready for whatever they might throw at you. I just hate feeling like having a bad guessing day will drop my score by 20 points.

 

[butaloh666]

Why not do 3, 4, 5 and 6? If you score consistently well on these, then your apotheosis is complete.

I'm actually planning on taking one every two weeks until I get to my exam date.