Kaplan Full Length Just Gave Me A Panic Attack

[Trajan]

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Eight days before the real thing, 95% of Q bank done, and I decide to try Kaplan's Full Length Exam on the CD. With a 73% cumulative score on Q bank (including repeats), my heart sank when I just got 60% on the first 50 question block. What makes it worse is that I may have gotten some lucky guesses, since the test seemed really hard.

Does anyone have any experience with these questions? What does 60% on this thing predict on step 1? This is my first panic attack after five weeks of study, but all of that suppressed angst is surfacing! Help!

Thanks,
Trajan

 

[deringer]

Dude,

Finish the test and then worry. There is a high degree of variation on those 50 question blocks...

 

[Ramoray]

Eight days before the real thing, 95% of Q bank done, and I decide to try Kaplan's Full Length Exam on the CD. With a 73% cumulative score on Q bank (including repeats), my heart sank when I just got 60% on the first 50 question block. What makes it worse is that I may have gotten some lucky guesses, since the test seemed really hard.

Does anyone have any experience with these questions? What does 60% on this thing predict on step 1? This is my first panic attack after five weeks of study, but all of that suppressed angst is surfacing! Help!

Thanks,
Trajan

no offense but tis yoru own fault. your dumb for taking a full lenght test that close to your exam date. esp if you finsihed qbank. What did you expect to learn out of that. If you finsiehd qbank you obviously konw what questions to expect, you have timing down, and you have learned what you are going to learn up to this point. Doing a full lenght is your own fault im sorry peace

 

[Trajan]

no offense but tis yoru own fault. your dumb for taking a full lenght test that close to your exam date. esp if you finsihed qbank. What did you expect to learn out of that. If you finsiehd qbank you obviously konw what questions to expect, you have timing down, and you have learned what you are going to learn up to this point. Doing a full lenght is your own fault im sorry peace

To Ramoray: You're a semi-literate prick.

To everyone else: just reviewed that block and found six stupid mistakes on some of the easiest questions. That's what I get for doing a block of fifty questions at 9 PM on a Saturday. I feel better.

 

[bulletproof]

To Ramoray: You're an semi-literate prick.

To everyone else: just reviewed that block and found six stupid mistakes on some of the easiest questions. That's what I get for doing a block of fifty questions at 9 PM on a Saturday. I feel better.

Granted, six stupid mistakes is the kind of thing that would piss anyone off. However at least you are nine days out, and can probabyl attribute this to nerves. You have put in the study time and done a large portion of Qbank. In terms of a knowledge base you sound like you are set. I would advise that you try to work on the non-knowledge base side of the test....relaxation and reasoning your way through stuff. We had a lecture on this stuff and I have found it really effective...just breathing in for a couple of seconds, and employing an ockhams razor type approach...ie what concept is this question asking and what is the simplest most rational answer. If you have not already you might also consider doing the NBME $45 dollar tests ( either A or B). As others have commented, these are probably the best indicator of performance on the actual exam. Don't let any negative comments put you off your game. Good luck to you.

 

[blujay1]

OK, so I've never written anything on here, but I can relate to your situation, so I'm hoping this will help you, Trajan. I took Step 1 on May 31. I used Kaplan and had done little bits here and there during the last 2-3 months of school. Our school was pretty much over the first week of May; however, I still felt behind where I wanted to be as my test date approached.

So the point is that my usual Q-bank score was 73-74%. Now, I know this is not the way it should be done, but I took my full length four days before my real test. I know I should have done it earlier, but I honestly felt that I hadn't covered everything that I wanted to in order to feel that the practice test would actually accurately show me how test-ready I was. I got a 72% on the practice test with some dumb mistakes, but probably at least as many lucky guesses. I was a little worried because certain professors had mentioned you need 60-70% correct to pass the boards (don't know how accurate that is), and here I was, four days out, just barely above that.

Anyway, I went over most everything one more time the last three days and did as many questions as I could fit in. I ended up getting a 254. I didn't feel like I did great when I left the center and I know I shouldn't have waited so long, but that's just the way it happened. I hope that helps ease your mind a little. I don't want you to ease up or anything just because I said this, but I'm sure everything will be OK and you'll do great.

 

[Joel Fleischman]

hey all ---
fielded this question at the kaplan website. Through I would see if I could get any more advice.
Exam in two weeks. Getting 58% on Q back, but basicly its Micro and Pharm that are killing me. (like lows in the 30% on either)
-- I am about 75% done with path.
My question I could drop the rest of path, and do nothing but questions in pharm and micro (Q bank et al) until the exam day... leaving pretty much no review...
Or I could put it off for a week.
Take the exam in the next state. And do a cumulative review.
Throughts?

 

[dynx]

hey all ---
fielded this question at the kaplan website. Through I would see if I could get any more advice.
Exam in two weeks. Getting 58% on Q back, but basicly its Micro and Pharm that are killing me. (like lows in the 30% on either)
-- I am about 75% done with path.
My question I could drop the rest of path, and do nothing but questions in pharm and micro (Q bank et al) until the exam day... leaving pretty much no review...
Or I could put it off for a week.
Take the exam in the next state. And do a cumulative review.
Throughts?

Tough question without more info. But I think most people agree that Pharm is HEAVY and micro is not light in thier test. I would do what you need to do to know Pharm and Path cold. If it takes an extra week it will be worth it. If you feel you can do it with the time left and you aren't going for a very high score then don't push it back. Good luck.

 

[Joel Fleischman]

Tough question without more info. But I think most people agree that Pharm is HEAVY and micro is not light in thier test. I would do what you need to do to know Pharm and Path cold. If it takes an extra week it will be worth it. If you feel you can do it with the time left and you aren't going for a very high score then don't push it back. Good luck.

thanks.

already pushed it back. Thankfully an opening came up at the testing center near me.

 

[scottbphillips]

Eight days before the real thing, 95% of Q bank done, and I decide to try Kaplan's Full Length Exam on the CD. With a 73% cumulative score on Q bank (including repeats), my heart sank when I just got 60% on the first 50 question block. What makes it worse is that I may have gotten some lucky guesses, since the test seemed really hard.

Does anyone have any experience with these questions? What does 60% on this thing predict on step 1? This is my first panic attack after five weeks of study, but all of that suppressed angst is surfacing! Help!

Thanks,
Trajan

A good thing to try while doing practice tests is to COVER YOU SCORE and just move on to the next 50 questions.

Remember, on game day you will get absolutely NO FEEDBACK. Get used to it and get used to pressing foward!

 

[bigfrank]

no offense but tis yoru own fault. your dumb for taking a full lenght test that close to your exam date. esp if you finsihed qbank. What did you expect to learn out of that. If you finsiehd qbank you obviously konw what questions to expect, you have timing down, and you have learned what you are going to learn up to this point. Doing a full lenght is your own fault im sorry peace

WOW.

Rammie, try spell-check before you condemn others; it makes you more credible; at this point, credibility is something you could use.

But, your annoying "your dumb" comments will still be missed by spellchecker. Come on man, it's "you're dumb" if you're going to be bashing someone else's intelligence. 😉