Do you guys know when scores will be released? I expected to get my results today, but no email so far. It seems they released scores on Thursday around noon in the past.
-Rona
-Rona
March 18th NBME Score
- Thread starter rs17
- Start date
- Joined
- May 9, 2006
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 0
From what I hear, tomorrow. Heard this test was rough. Good luck to you guys waiting on your scores
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2013
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 12
Still waiting for score reports... Tough test
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
- Messages
- 51
- Reaction score
- 5
Still waiting
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2016
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 0
Scores are out
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2016
- Messages
- 230
- Reaction score
- 366
Can people post their scores and study strategies?
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
I got a 78 and am super pumped. My school is very clinic heavy and was pretty weak with didactics and biomedical stuff. The trick to this test is learning the information at a deep enough level (and it's hard to know when to dig deeper and when to stop on a certain topic). I primarily used UW questions and supplemented that with FA. Completed about 90% of the q bank with an average of 55% correct. Anytime I got a question wrong I would read the explanations and go digging through first aid for more info. I also spent a lot of time on medbullets. Between those 3 resources (UW, FA, and Medbullets) I would decide on which key facts I thought were most important about each topic/pathology/principle/drug. I made flashcards for many of these (about 750 in the end) and would review the flashcards periodically and add more information as I got questions wrong on topics I had already supposedly "learned".
I took the first UW self assessment about a month out and got a 59. Took the other UW self assessment 2 weeks out and got a 64. I took the NBME self assessment 19 about 4 days out and got a 72. The last week before my exam was spring break so I was able to put in 12 hour days. Honestly, this dedicated study time was INVALUABLE. I had already gone through most of UW so I purchased Kaplan's q bank (for only $99) and got through as many of those questions as I could that week. Ended up being about 1,000. Do whatever you can to have a week or two of dedicated study time before the actual test to just freakin' cram like crazy. Do tons of questions. Start early. If you put in the work the score will come, guaranteed.
I took the first UW self assessment about a month out and got a 59. Took the other UW self assessment 2 weeks out and got a 64. I took the NBME self assessment 19 about 4 days out and got a 72. The last week before my exam was spring break so I was able to put in 12 hour days. Honestly, this dedicated study time was INVALUABLE. I had already gone through most of UW so I purchased Kaplan's q bank (for only $99) and got through as many of those questions as I could that week. Ended up being about 1,000. Do whatever you can to have a week or two of dedicated study time before the actual test to just freakin' cram like crazy. Do tons of questions. Start early. If you put in the work the score will come, guaranteed.
Quick question. How did you start? Did you just use all three together or start going through UW then go back into FA whenever you got something wrong and look up that subject?
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
I started by selecting topics in UW that I either enjoyed or thought I knew a little about (CV, GI, Heme, etc.). I selected a topic and made a quiz of 40 questions. Every time I got one wrong I would research the topic in FA and Medbullets. Then I would decide what I thought was most high yield, and make a flashcard on the topic (not everything got its own flashcard, only big pathologies or drugs). All in all I made somewhere around 700 or 800 flashcards (I have always used flashcards for studying, HANDWRITTEN, not online). I wouldn't recommend making too many, because it becomes a chore reviewing them and making sure you know what's on them. The key is using a couple different resources to identify the most high yield info, and not trying to learn EVERYTHING.
If you have any other questions, please ask!
If you have any other questions, please ask!
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
By the way, stats just came out from the March 18th test:
The corresponding statistics for the OMS applicants who took the examination on March 18th is a mean of 55.4, range of 32 to 86, and a standard deviation of 10.6
The corresponding statistics for the OMS applicants who took the examination on March 18th is a mean of 55.4, range of 32 to 86, and a standard deviation of 10.6
The range doesn't mean much, and doesn't correlate with the difficulty of the exam. It only takes one person with a 99 to boost the higher end.
The mean and SD is much more indicative to gauge the exam difficulty and seems to be right in line with every other test sitting so far, don't see much of a deviation from the norm here.
At the beginning did you get most questions wrong? So much of this seems foreign to me which is why I'm starting by trying to go through FA first
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
When I did random blocks of 40 questions? Heck yea I bombed those. When I studied by topic I was averaging in the 45% range in the beginning. But make sure every time you miss something you study that topic. After a few blocks of 40 on a certain topic you will start to get a better handle on the info. It really just takes time. Don't get discouraged, seriously. Start with topics that you know the most about. If FA is working for you then do it. For me it just felt like too much info, and was a little overwhelming.
Did you first do a run through of first aid before starting UW or did you start clean with UW? Did you have a good enough base with biosciences from D school that it helped?
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
There are sections of FA that I went through for sure, but there is some pretty dense material in there. So much of it is new material that you could read 1 page and feel like you are drowning (I definitely felt that way). My dental school biomed courses were weak in my opinion. But there were certain ones that were taught well, for instance CV. My undergrad major was nutrition so I knew more than most about GI stuff. So these are the topics I started with: CV and GI. Topics that I sucked at like repro and neuro, I stayed away from until I couldn't avoid it any longer. But to answer your original question, I pretty much just jumped right in with UW. If I missed a question on EKG stuff, I would go and review/learn it in FA. If I missed a question on CV embryo, I would go review/learn it. This kept my study sessions interesting for me.
How many Uworld blocks were you getting through in a day before the last push?
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
Between 1 and 2 blocks a day worked well for me. I think it depends on how deep you dive into missed questions, and how much time you can dedicate per day outside of your clinical hours. Find whatever works for you. But I will say this, UW points you in the direction of the highest yield info you will find. So don't get in the habit of missing questions and moving on without understanding the why behind everything in the question stem. The more time you put in, the higher your score will be. It's up to you.
I think I'm starting to understand how/why you did so well.
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2013
- Messages
- 1,135
- Reaction score
- 249
just curious with your study method. Is studying in blocks really that effective? wouldn't random be better? I feel like per block you can already eliminate answers that are not related to the section you are studying
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 37
Yes, studying by topic is that effective. Remember, I used UW as a learning tool, not a gauge of where I am or a practice run for the real thing. My scores were probably a little higher for the reasons you mentioned, but that was irrelevant to me. By doing random blocks, you are essentially trying to study every topic during each study session. You will get a psych question, followed by a biochem question, followed by a women health question, etc. I chose to focus an entire study session (or even a couple days at a time) on one subject, then move on to the next subject. This was less overwhelming for me. Of course I had to go back and review regularly, but going through some flashcards and notes to solidify old topics was manageable for me.
In the end, you have to find what works for you.
