miserable right now, please help

[Lolo08]

I have a week before my test date (6/16) and I haven't been improving recently. I'm a mediocre/below average student, unlike the rest of the superstars here but I'd really appreciate any help you can give.

My scores were:

NBME 1 (6 weeks out, before studying): 181
NBME 2 (3 weeks out): 201
NBME 6 (1 week out) : 204

My average on UWorld is 60%. My goal had been to get around 230 but I don't think that's going to happen. I would be satisfied if I got 215. I'm aiming for a noncompetitive specialty..but still, the fact that I haven't gone up after NBME 2 is disappointing. I'm also going on vacation right after 6/16 and then rotations begin immediately so if I did delay the test, I wouldn't be able to take it until rotations start.

So the question is, what should I do now?
a) Take the test on 6/16 because NBME 6 might have underestimated the score
b) Delay the test and study during clerkships/elective time (I have 4 weeks in the fall)
c) Delay the test until after MS3
d) Take a year off and study for this thing

Thanks for all the help!!

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[laxman310]

You gotta do an analysis of what you are doing right/wrong.

What I do is 10 questions tests, and at the end of each test I put the subjects I got wrong into an excel spreadsheet. That way I can tell what questions I am getting wrong the most.

You can get all fancy and do moving averages, your score vs. the average test takers, etc.

 

[Anaphylactic]

I would choose option B. I know people who took the test early and regretted it. Step 1 is worse than marriage (there is no divorce or redo for that matter)!

 

[mudphudwannabe]

When is the last possible date you can take the exam before 3rd year starts? Can you delay/cancel your vacation? My main concern is that if you go on vacation, then start 3rd year you are going to lose a lot of ground. Even if you have 4 weeks to study in the fall, your brain will be filled with practical 3rd year knowledge and you will have forgotten a lot of the 2nd year pathophys detail that is so important for boards. Just getting back up to where you are now will take some time, and I'm not sure 4 weeks will be long enough.

 

[45408]

I think you should take it now. FA says that people who move their date back don't usually improve with the extra time. I think that positive thoughts and a good attitude are your best options right now. 60% in UW is actually pretty good.

 

[mudphudwannabe]

I think you should take it now. FA says that people who move their date back don't usually improve with the extra time. I think that positive thoughts and a good attitude are your best options right now. 60% in UW is actually pretty good.

Yes, this is what I'm thinking. Although not quite as high as you had hoped, your NBME scores at least show that you shouldn't be in danger of failing. Probably better to give the last push your best effort and get it over with. If you can manage to delay a couple of weeks you might feel more secure, but I think taking it now is a much better option than taking it during or after 3rd year, or taking a year off to study, which might actually leave you worse off.

 

[laxman310]

I think you have to do what is right for you.
If you HAVE to get a certain score, and you haven't scored that on an NBME, your probably better off not taking it and finding 4+ weeks as soon as feasibly possible to get back to it.

If you already know what you want to do, and its not competitive, by all means take the exam, pass it, and move on.

I personally am pretty sure I want to do something that might be competitive, and if I find out during 3rd year that I actually don't want to, then no biggie and I can take the exam then.

Im scheduled to take the test on tuesday, and I'm going to take an NBME tommorow to see where I stand.

I think most people who give you the advice to go ahead and take it are people who decided to take it and knew they would no longer have to recall that information. I would like to hear from someone who actually postponed taking the exam for 3+ months w/o studying, crammed again for 4+ weeks, and regretted doing that.

 

[laxman310]

Yes, this is what I'm thinking. Although not quite as high as you had hoped, your NBME scores at least show that you shouldn't be in danger of failing. Probably better to give the last push your best effort and get it over with. If you can manage to delay a couple of weeks you might feel more secure, but I think taking it now is a much better option than taking it during or after 3rd year, or taking a year off to study, which might actually leave you worse off.

Given the same level of focus, and a full year's time, how could you possibly do worse? (but a year is also WAY more than you need to actually study for this, unless you know NOTHING, but then you wouldn't be a 3rd year student, would you..)

 

[jbuck824]

I have a week before my test date (6/16) and I haven't been improving recently. I'm a mediocre/below average student, unlike the rest of the superstars here but I'd really appreciate any help you can give.

My scores were:

NBME 1 (6 weeks out, before studying): 181
NBME 2 (3 weeks out): 201
NBME 6 (1 week out) : 204

My average on UWorld is 60%. My goal had been to get around 230 but I don't think that's going to happen. I would be satisfied if I got 215. I'm aiming for a noncompetitive specialty..but still, the fact that I haven't gone up after NBME 2 is disappointing. I'm also going on vacation right after 6/16 and then rotations begin immediately so if I did delay the test, I wouldn't be able to take it until rotations start.

So the question is, what should I do now?
a) Take the test on 6/16 because NBME 6 might have underestimated the score
b) Delay the test and study during clerkships/elective time (I have 4 weeks in the fall)
c) Delay the test until after MS3
d) Take a year off and study for this thing

Thanks for all the help!!

i think you should take it now...there will be stuff to study for during 3rd year and you have to work long hours as well...just take the test and go on vacation...i dont think i could go on vacation and get into 3rd yr and then regain the focus that i have right now...try to figure out what ur weakest points are and just study hard for a week and go with it...

 

[Strength&Speed]

if it was me: i'd cancel my vacation and kick it into gear and give yourself another week. once 3rd year starts, you want to concentrate on 3rd year. but obviously, your call.

personally i moved my test date back a week, and I did better than i would have otherwise, im convinced. I'd only do this if you have gas left in the tank though. no point in taking a week if you are drained right now.

 

[45408]

Given the same level of focus, and a full year's time, how could you possibly do worse? (but a year is also WAY more than you need to actually study for this, unless you know NOTHING, but then you wouldn't be a 3rd year student, would you..)

Be honest, do you really think you could maintain that level of focus for a year? I'm coming up on four weeks (not including the 3 weeks of frenzied studying for finals), and I'm starting to lose focus. If you can't learn it in a month, I don't think you'll learn it in six months.

 

[Lolo08]

Thanks for all the replies. I talked to my school admin and they said I can't start 3rd year without having taken Step 1. So that narrows down the options to

a) take it next week
b) delay and take it early June, before clerkship begins. I'll have a week to study after I get back from vacation

Maybe this is wishful thinking but I think I can study a few hours/day on vacation and hopefully maintain what I have. After I get back I still have a week to add onto what I have. I called up the test centers in the state to see if they had any openings and they don't have any until at least July so I'm thinking I might as well take the vacation, get re-charged, and then add onto what I currently have. What do you think?

I've been getting around 50% now doing cumulative questions on World.. My problem is forgetting key enzymes/drugs/names of things because I tried to cram it all in and they aren't sticking, and I don't have time for repetition. Another problem is knowing how to answer the obscure questions that the test throws at you, which I guess can't really be helped with time. Do you think that giving it a few more weeks would help things "stick" or would I lose more? Anyone gone through it before?

 

[2cr8tive]

id say dont go on the vacation. it's a once in a life time exam. if ur burned out then take a day off. just my 2c

 

[laxman310]

I would NOT go on vacation. A better option would be take a day or two off, then study.

I dont think I could maintain this motivation for a year, but...

I might put mine off for 3 months or so, depending on how my NBME goes.

 

[mudphudwannabe]

Of course it's ultimately your choice to make, but I would want to have the exam done (one way or another) before going on vacation. Chances are, you will go on vacation and make very little progress - at best you might maintain where you are now, at worst you might lose some ground and get out of "study mode." You will probably end up in about the same position when you get back as you are now, and it'll take a few days to get back into studying when you get home. If you're going to delay the exam, it only makes sense if you are also going to delay your vacation and you will have a couple of good weeks to study.

If it were me, I would take the test as scheduled, then go on your vacation knowing you can really relax.

 

[laxman310]

Hey guys,

So I took an NBME today, and got a 232 (I started around a 190 before I started studying), but even up until the day before the test I was still having those eureka moments as if things were making more and more sense.

So anyway, I'm putting off the test until after my first rotation. I really want to be over the 240 mark going into the test.

I know a lot of people think this is the wrong move to make, but given another 4 weeks, I think I could accomplish that.

 

[hsans23]

wow that is an interesting move...what is ur 1st rotation? your school allows you to start third year w/o step 1? which nbme did you take? and finally, what field are you gunning for?

sorry i have many questions

 

[laxman310]

wow that is an interesting move...what is ur 1st rotation? your school allows you to start third year w/o step 1? which nbme did you take? and finally, what field are you gunning for?

sorry i have many questions

LOL. Sure.

My first rotation is medicine, so its gonna be about 90 days, then i have about another 60 days of other rotations before I can postpone a rotation to fourth year. (So about 5 months until I can start studying again.) That will give me the 4 weeks of that rotation in addition to the 2 weeks of X-mas break to reup for this beast.

I took NBME 2, and got a 560/232. I know people say its an easier one, but I think I'd be fine with another 6 weeks.

I have some interest in Derm, which unfortunately I didnt really discover until midway through second year, which I realize now I should have been working on from day 1. I'm planning on taking a year off between 3rd year and 4th anyway to do research, as long as my board score doesn't cause any significant problems.

 

[hsans23]

ahh derm is a bi*** isnt it. it sounds like you will make it happen though. i admire your determination!! good luck

 

[Lolo08]

Hi everyone! I've decided to suck it up and take the test on Monday as planned. I have been doing better on practice tests recently after going through a 2nd review of FA, and I think that reinforcement definitely helps. I also hit a wall this weekend and I just want to get this over with before my eyes pop out of their sockets from studying. And before I become a behavior science clinical vignette, like someone was saying.

Thanks for all the advice. Hang in there everyone. It'll feel grrrreat once it's overrrr!