Low Scorers on USMLE World

[efex101]

---

Members do not see this ad.

It seems that most folks on here are scroring in the mid to high 50%'s and 60's...any of you scoring in the high 30's and 40s? or is it just me? I just started my prep and have not reviewed all of of 1st Aid but still, it is pretty discouraging to score so low on the questions. I am doing most timed and random, with a few blocks in tutor mode. Any suggestions? BTW I took the first NBME and did not do so hot....I have two weeks and I just want to pass. Suggestions welcome. Thanks.

 

[superoxide]

Hi, I'm in a similar situation as you. I've done 20% of UW and my cum. score is a whopping 43%.😳 I haven't done any reviewing either. I'm just going through all the answers and taking notes on all the explanations, learning from them and plugging on. I've heard from some folks on this forum that after reading Secrets, their score on UW went up quite a bit. You could try that. Good luck.

 

[efex101]

Thanks, yes, I do have Secrets and going through that as well as 1st Aid. I just freak out when I hear of all these folks doing so well...and here I am barely making it. Any more folks out there is this situation?

 

[jdig]

The question you have to ask yourself is:
Am I missing q's because my thought process is off, or have I never really been exposed to this information?
It's important to build a foundation, Uworld is a great learning tool but you should it as a supplement to solidify information from another primary source.

 

[efex101]

I agree, I am using a study source and I do recognize the diseases but it is the type of question they ask that many times throws me off. You know *exactly* what it is then they ask some off the wall detail about it and you go ????????

 

[jdig]

But thats the important thing, the little details.
If you score a 47% on Uworld, you will likely fail A 57%, you will likely pass.
Its that crucial 10% in the middle.. But its more than many think.
Look at it this way:

A monkey could get a 20% at random, and a "perfect" world score is 70%..
So instead of being a 100 point spread its actually right around 50 between being a monkey and perfect scorer.
This means that your 10% is actually twice as much, more like 20%.
So the difference in passing and failing right at "borderline" is bigger than many people realize, they think "whats one more question to get out of every 10"?
Its quite alot. The best thing you can do is know the material well enough to get past that pass/fail border. That one extar question out of 10, that little bit of extar knowledge every 10 q's, is what will get you a pass.

 

[efex101]

I agree with you 100%, there is also a HUGE different when I do like ALL questions versus just UNUSED questions (scoring much higher with ALL (which includes missed questions as well as correct questions)). How are you folks doing these blocks? I guess that is pertinent as well. I am assuming that most folks are doing mostly blocks of unused questions. Also, you talk about the percent so if you end up with 55% OVERALL regardless of the blocks being in tutor mode/timed/untimed is that still pretty good to pass? or must ALL blocks be timed/unused questions with a 55% overall? thanks.

 

[MeowMix]

hey efex

do not freak out! I was getting in the 40% range the week before my test, and even went down to 23% 😱 on one block. I felt like crap after the test too. And I still did better than on Step 1.

If I believed the horrible prediction on medfriends I would have never taken Step 2. I did do a few half-days focused study on areas where I was very weak (cardiology) and then did very well on those areas on the real thing.

UW is really pretty good, but my test had nothing like their super-specific EKG questions or their antibiotic questions; mine were a lot more straightforward.

good luck! you know we have been on parallel paths for 5 YEARS now, and I have total faith in you!

meow

 

[jdig]

really, when people are comparing uworld #'s its the average of the last block of 6 random timed unseen q's. to compare apples to apples.
i once got a 20/20 on "all" q's, it was a mix of luck and having seen several q's before. that # obviously cant be trusted.
meow is a RARE exception. to get a 40ish% and still pass is unheard of, and is the exception to the rule.
not to be a downer, just trying to be realistic. keep going with a good primary source (i used secrets) until you get the numbers past at least 50%.
case in point, i scored 1 160 my first attempt with 1 47% world avg..
the second time around (9 months later, so no remembered q's) i got up to upper 50's, i think it was a 57-58.. toward the end. i took 2 nbmes which put me borderline. i brushed up on a few areas in the last week and managed a 194.
i hope that helps, just please dont sit it til you are closer 🙂

 

[MeowMix]

meow is a RARE exception. to get a 40ish% and still pass is unheard of, and is the exception to the rule.

I beg to differ; a close friend of mine was in the same boat and did even better than me.

I do think it's relevant that both of us had respectable Step 1 scores (well above passing); if we had been marginal, it would have been a different story. Also, I took 2 of the NBME Step 2 practice tests and got 199 on one and 217 on the other. That gave me the confidence that I would probably at least pass Step 2.

If I were efex, I would postpone ONLY if my top-choice residency programs required that I pass CK on first attempt in order to rank me (which obviously they don't, since she's taking it now), or if someone in the future was actually going to care about my Step 2 score. Otherwise, there is no harm in going for it. It's easy to reschedule, although the $$ will be painful.

 

[jdig]

hmmm.
i still feel you are the rare exception.
passing with a 40%ish uworld score avg seems impossible.
anyone care to chime in?

 

[efex101]

I also took the first NBME and scored pretty low btw, below passing. This was before I had even went through 1st Aid or Secrets and had just done maybe 200 questions on USMLEW. I plan on taking the second NBME about 5 days before D-Day to see. The problem is I have heard of MANY folks taking NBME *not* doing well aka failing it and then passing step 2 CK with a difference btw NBME and the real step 2 of about 10-20 points.
Also, are you folks scoring in the 50% and UP doing UNUSED OR ALL questions? thanks to all!

Meowmix, yes, you and i have been at this together for some time now 🙂 thanks for taking the time to post.

 

[CernerDrone]

Listen guys, don't worry about your USMLE world score. Seriously.

The best way to use it would be to study everything, then take the questions. For instance you study cards, then do the cards questions. You study GI, then do the GI questions. That's more accurate and UW has a LOT of weird minutia that you wouldn't have known anyways. Just use the knowledge you gain from UW to your advantage - then restudy it or take notes down on things you didn't know!

I scored a 67% (77th percentile) on it (did all the questions) and did FA twice and read through Secrets once. I'll probably read Secrets once more and I'll let you know how it works out!

 

[efex101]

How much time are you taking to study? it seems that with the "two weeks" most medical schools give for this exam, you barely have time to cover 1st aid once and do questions....just wondering. Thanks.

 

[efex101]

Anyone else?

 

[Tone2002]

It is imperative to make sure you are at least passing the NBME practice test. I would make sure you are at least around a 400. While it isn't as predicitive as the Step I one, it it still very close.

 

[Joel Fleischman]

It is imperative to make sure you are at least passing the NBME practice test. I would make sure you are at least around a 400. While it isn't as predicitive as the Step I one, it it still very close.

ANY updates?

 

[efex101]

I took it and will see how it went....the scores on world did go up to mid-upper 50s and took an NBME and passed it....so we will see..

 

[GLout]

Hope this helps quell some fears.

usmleworld: 70% completed with 48% cumulative (most of last exams upper 50s low 60s)
NBME 1: 370 one week before test
step 2: 205/84

Studied less than 3 weeks with secrets only. Didnt really study hard. No extremely long hours put into it.

 

[Joel Fleischman]

Similar story here:
UW: 80% completed... 50% cum.
NBME 1: 388 1 week before test.
Did average on all of the shelfs.

Step 1: 222 / 90
Step 2: 195 /80

No specific time studying. Just fit it in around out pt rotation and interviews. UW was primary source. Looked up q's I didn't know in FA / B&W.

 

[acpg81]

did usmleworld for one month. average score of 66% after 100% of questions answered, all timed unused blocks. i was getting low 50s at first then my scores picked up to high 60s to low 70s with occasional 80s towards the end.

step 2 score: 256/99

 

[lankysudanese]

did usmleworld for one month. average score of 66% after 100% of questions answered, all timed unused blocks. i was getting low 50s at first then my scores picked up to high 60s to low 70s with occasional 80s towards the end.

step 2 score: 256/99

congratulations on the amazing score (especially considering ur initial difficulties with UW). if you don't mind me asking, how did you fare in Step 1?