NAVLE advice

[pirateslayme]

Hey guys,

I am scheduled to take the NAVLE 12/3 and I am kinda freaking out. I don't feel anywhere near prepared. I have been slowly trying to chip away at the material since around May but, with rotations and everything, it has just been that...slow. I am currently through around 55% vet prep but I feel like all I have had time to do is go through questions without actually going over the ones I get wrong in depth. Lately I have just been doing practice questions and tests and reading over the explanations and going over more stuff on the weekend. My practice test scores have not been great. I have been getting anywhere from 55-75% and I feel like on the days I do better its because I recognize the repeat questions.
My question right now is.. for those that have actually taken the test how would you advise I take advantage of this next month? I took the whole month of November off to do nothing but study. Any tips, tricks, study schedule advise is much appreciated.

Thanks!

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[pinkpuppy9]

Hey guys,

I am scheduled to take the NAVLE 12/3 and I am kinda freaking out. I don't feel anywhere near prepared. I have been slowly trying to chip away at the material since around May but, with rotations and everything, it has just been that...slow. I am currently through around 55% vet prep but I feel like all I have had time to do is go through questions without actually going over the ones I get wrong in depth. Lately I have just been doing practice questions and tests and reading over the explanations and going over more stuff on the weekend. My practice test scores have not been great. I have been getting anywhere from 55-75% and I feel like on the days I do better its because I recognize the repeat questions.
My question right now is.. for those that have actually taken the test how would you advise I take advantage of this next month? I took the whole month of November off to do nothing but study. Any tips, tricks, study schedule advise is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Just FYI, this is how like 99% of fourth years in the country feel right now (including myself)

ETA: I guess I could be more helpful, lol. Best advice I've gotten is to pay attention to your stats. As time starts running out, review the sections you do most poorly in. For me, it's swine and poultry..I know I need to focus on the big topics for those sections as the exam gets closer.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Pay for and take the full length practice test. That'll give you a good sense of how prepared/not prepared you are.

 

[Caia]

I think you need to identify the areas that you’re weak in based on your score reports and study those more in depth. Whether that is with vet prep material or class notes, etc.

I felt like I could have done questions and read explanations all day long on pig diarrhea but it wouldn’t stick in my brain until I sat down and made my own chart and studied that, for example.

 

[Minnerbelle]

ETA: I guess I could be more helpful, lol. Best advice I've gotten is to pay attention to your stats. As time starts running out, review the sections you do most poorly in. For me, it's swine and poultry..I know I need to focus on the big topics for those sections as the exam gets closer.

I say **** that. My best advice is to know that dogs, cats, horses and to a lesser extent, cows, are very important and will comprise a majority of the test and points you need to score. Focus your energy on things you can do well on and topics that will give you more points. It makes no sense to spend days studying guinea pigs. **** it. You don't need to get any guinea pig questions right to pass. I hate large animal toxicities and for the life of me just can't remember them. So I said **** it, I'll just get 80% of those wrong by choosing "C" every time, and didn't bother. Totally was worth taking up a big chunk of my working short term memory space and hours of my life I could have spent studying something more lucrative AND more relevant to my career. I pretty much eanie meanie miney moed most of pigs as well. Like "yes, I know diamond skin disease. Cha ching. I got a point! Damn green fetid diarrhea in weanling pigs... hmmm... maybe grind them up and spray onto mom's face." It turned out totally fine!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I say **** that. My best advice is to know that dogs, cats, horses and to a lesser extent, cows, are very important and will comprise a majority of the test and points you need to score. Focus your energy on things you can do well on and topics that will give you more points. It makes no sense to spend days studying guinea pigs. **** it. You don't need to get any guinea pig questions right to pass. I hate large animal toxicities and for the life of me just can't remember them. So I said **** it, I'll just get 80% of those wrong by choosing "C" every time, and didn't bother. Totally was worth taking up a big chunk of my working short term memory space and hours of my life I could have spent studying something more lucrative AND more relevant to my career. I pretty much eanie meanie miney moed most of pigs as well. Like "yes, I know diamond skin disease. Cha ching. I got a point! Damn green fetid diarrhea in weanling pigs... hmmm... maybe grind them up and spray onto mom's face." It turned out totally fine!

I've heard this advice as well, so it's really just a matter of opinion. Most will pass the exam either way.

 

[ukrainiandude]

I would not worry about exam with passing rate 95%

Seriously if you can walk and chew gum at the same time you will have no problem passing it at all.

 

[KCgophervet]

I would not worry about exam with passing rate 99%

Seriously if you can walk and chew gum at the same time you will have no problem passing it at all.

This is a really inconsiderate thing to state, especially when there are people around who didn't pass this test. It's not an "easy" test, its long, grueling, and full of random stuff that someone thought was important but maybe you didn't focus on it in your studying.

I'm not saying people should spend sleepless nights worrying about it, but like, don't blow it off as though it's going to be the easiest thing in the world...

 

[supershorty]

I would not worry about exam with passing rate 99%

Seriously if you can walk and chew gum at the same time you will have no problem passing it at all.

Have you taken the NAVLE?

 

[DVMDream]

Have you taken the NAVLE?

No. He's just a random person who keeps posting random junk that only partially relates to the issues being discussed. I'm not even convinced he's in vet med.

 

[ukrainiandude]

Have you taken the NAVLE?

Yes I have.
It is a long exam, but questions are entry level difficulty.
If exams are difficult pass rates usually 50% and less
95% pass can’t be difficult

Board exams are difficult.
For instance dermatology board exam is extremely difficult in 2017 only one person out of 14 passed.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

exam with passing rate 99%

Actually, the national pass rate is 95%. Still pretty high though. I remember when I took it, I kept repeating to myself when I was taking the test that past classes (of my vet school) had a 98% pass rate, so I'd be fine. Repeated to myself again and again.

 

[ukrainiandude]

Actually, the national pass rate is 95%. Still pretty high though.

Thanks man.
I have it edited.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I would not worry about exam with passing rate 95%

Seriously if you can walk and chew gum at the same time you will have no problem passing it at all.

I mean you should worry about it. It's your livelihood if you don't pass. You want to ensure that you're studying enough to pass. The pass rate is high, but it doesn't mean you don't need to study. Most people pass because they study appropriately for it. Cause dear lord, I would not pass it now if I took it. And I have a pretty good memory.

 

[DVMDream]

Hey guys,

I am scheduled to take the NAVLE 12/3 and I am kinda freaking out. I don't feel anywhere near prepared. I have been slowly trying to chip away at the material since around May but, with rotations and everything, it has just been that...slow. I am currently through around 55% vet prep but I feel like all I have had time to do is go through questions without actually going over the ones I get wrong in depth. Lately I have just been doing practice questions and tests and reading over the explanations and going over more stuff on the weekend. My practice test scores have not been great. I have been getting anywhere from 55-75% and I feel like on the days I do better its because I recognize the repeat questions.
My question right now is.. for those that have actually taken the test how would you advise I take advantage of this next month? I took the whole month of November off to do nothing but study. Any tips, tricks, study schedule advise is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Know the common things as Minnerbelle suggested, well. Dogs, cats, cattle, horses are the most common, possibly followed by pigs, chickens (birds in general), sheep, goats....then all the rest you can basically miss those and not make any difference.

If you feel there is a broad topic that is weak for you, then go study it... example... pig diarrhea and chicken viruses were just things I couldn't retain. However, I didn't study them just yet. I literally went over these topics in the week- two weeks before the exam so that they would be in my head and then I could punt them away immediately after the test was over.

Make sure to take adequate time for a break, seriously, you can not study 12 hours a day. You will not retain things. Study for maybe 6 hours or so each day. Give your mind time to rest and actually retain the information. As difficult as that is to do because I know the first thing you do when you stop studying is panic about studying, but your brain needs a break to retain that information. Just like your biceps need a break after arm day at the gym.

Pay for and take the online, full length practice tests- seriously the best thing I ever did was to take these. Take one maybe a month prior, keep a mental note of things you aren't recognizing... like "pig respiratory diseases" or "dog toxicities", whatever it is, so that you can go study those after. Take one more maybe two week prior.

The 2 days before the exam, don't study. You can read over a few items, but don't hardcore study, it won't do anything. I took the entire 36 hours before the exam off.

Remember the questions on NAVLE are so random. During the exam, I felt like I was failing. I honestly didn't recognize a single question. So many people had told me "don't worry, you will start to recognize things, you will see, you will know answers and feel better during the exam".... and that did NOT happen for me. There wasn't a single question I was confident about, I left there with a migraine and feeling so incredibly defeated, yet, I still passed.

Don't let anxiety build up and get the better of you. I know a couple insanely intelligent classmates, much more intelligent than I, that didn't pass because they let anxiety get the better of them. Allow your brain to rest some and as best as you can, try to not constantly worry over it.

 

[Trilt]

The 2 days before the exam, don't study. You can read over a few items, but don't hardcore study, it won't do anything. I took the entire 36 hours before the exam off.

Alternatively, do half your completed zuku questions the evening/morning of the exam, don't sleep, and slam through the test with no breaks and then be GLORIOUSLY DONE with it on the first day the test is offered. Then sleep a lot. And drink beer.

Different strokes, different folks haha.

I def crammed pig diarrhea in my brain off a powerpoint the morning of the test. ...quite possibly while sitting in my car before my test time, now that I'm thinking of it. Still passed. Still sucked at the cow section lol.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Yes I have.
It is a long exam, but questions are entry level difficulty.
If exams are difficult pass rates usually 50% and less
95% pass can’t be difficult

Board exams are difficult.
For instance dermatology board exam is extremely difficult in 2017 only one person out of 14 passed.

Specialty boarding exams are also different types of exams...not really comparable to the NAVLE.

Even if the NAVLE was as easy as you say, I paid $700 to take it so I'm not going to casually stroll into the testing center without having prepared.

The passing rate is as high as it is because a very high majority of students diligently prepare themselves for it.

ETA: Not that a student who fails didn't prep. Didn't mean to imply anything like that.

 

[Angelo84]

I found that time management made a big difference for me. Most of the questions have a long set up but the actual question is the last sentence and you can just read that,answer, and move on. If you are not sure can read the whole set up for clues to jog your memory. Take at least one of your breaks to use the bathroom and grab a snack. Otherwise if you have no clue do your best to narrow it down and then guess. And trust that "little voice" in the back of your head-- it is usually right. Finally don't change your answers.

 

[Cyndia]

I second taking the icva paid practice tests! I did that every 2-3 weeks leading up to track my progress (and to motivate me to study more because I had a hard time focusing in the beginning and seeing myself fail the first two paid tests really managed to scare me into it). The score I got on the one I took a week before the NAVLE was actually very close to my test score. Though taking the last one so close to the exam didn’t do a whole lot for me studying wise, it was just to calm my nerves and show myself I was getting decent scores. I also sneakily screenshotted every question on every test I did and pasted into a word doc (I did the untimed version to give myself enough time to screenshot, but tried to stick as close as possible to actual test timing for the exam). Then I went back through and looked up/studied the topics brought up that I was weak on. A group of my friends did this for the last two so we were able to talk through a lot of the topics which was super helpful. Also totally scrapped looking at pig/chicken stuff until the week of when I just read through some of the Zuku top 20 lists of diseases for them. Agree with Angelo - DEFINITELY don’t change answers, because you’ll be surprised what random tidbits of info you subconsciously pick up from all your vetprep questions. Navle sucks and you’ll feel like crap during it, but I promise you know more than you think you do!

 

[WeimMama]

Hey guys,

I am scheduled to take the NAVLE 12/3 and I am kinda freaking out. I don't feel anywhere near prepared. I have been slowly trying to chip away at the material since around May but, with rotations and everything, it has just been that...slow. I am currently through around 55% vet prep but I feel like all I have had time to do is go through questions without actually going over the ones I get wrong in depth. Lately I have just been doing practice questions and tests and reading over the explanations and going over more stuff on the weekend. My practice test scores have not been great. I have been getting anywhere from 55-75% and I feel like on the days I do better its because I recognize the repeat questions.
My question right now is.. for those that have actually taken the test how would you advise I take advantage of this next month? I took the whole month of November off to do nothing but study. Any tips, tricks, study schedule advise is much appreciated.

Thanks!

I would take a paid practice test NOW so you know where you are. The range that I was given on both the practice tests I took were fairly accurate to the score I got on the actual NAVLE. By taking it now you still have over a month to adjust your studying if you are falling short.

I know it is super easy to let yourself fall into the trap of recognizing the repeat questions, but try to stop yourself! If you feel like you're recognizing the question don't just blindly pick an answer, reason it out to yourself and then that way even if you get it right because you remembered the question you can still check and make sure your REASONING was correct. You can then challenge yourself by not just answering the question but asking yourself what 'next steps' would you take in the case. For example if the question is asking what disease it is, answer that and then consider what treatment you would use, what prognosis, etc. The major difference I found between VetPrep and the NAVLE was that many VP questions are short one liners or require you to answer only one question without deeper thought, while the NAVLE would give you a ton of information within the question (i.e. diagnostic, diagnosis, and treatment) and then you would have to answer something even FURTHER in depth into the scenario such as side effects, long term issues with the disease, additional treatments to try if this one doesn't work, or prognosis. I would also recommend when you take practice tests on VetPrep do at least 50 questions that way you get a larger variety of questions and you get tired and irritated just like you will during the real thing.

I also found it helped to set a daily goal and stick to it. I started doing 1% of VP daily in August and 3% on weekend days when I had more free time. This got me to 100% on VetPrep well ahead of the NAVLE which gave me a sense of relief, even though getting to 100% doesn't mean you will definitely pass the NAVLE.

 

[GiaDVM]

Know the common things as Minnerbelle suggested, well. Dogs, cats, cattle, horses are the most common, possibly followed by pigs, chickens (birds in general), sheep, goats....then all the rest you can basically miss those and not make any difference.

If you feel there is a broad topic that is weak for you, then go study it... example... pig diarrhea and chicken viruses were just things I couldn't retain. However, I didn't study them just yet. I literally went over these topics in the week- two weeks before the exam so that they would be in my head and then I could punt them away immediately after the test was over.

Make sure to take adequate time for a break, seriously, you can not study 12 hours a day. You will not retain things. Study for maybe 6 hours or so each day. Give your mind time to rest and actually retain the information. As difficult as that is to do because I know the first thing you do when you stop studying is panic about studying, but your brain needs a break to retain that information. Just like your biceps need a break after arm day at the gym.

Pay for and take the online, full length practice tests- seriously the best thing I ever did was to take these. Take one maybe a month prior, keep a mental note of things you aren't recognizing... like "pig respiratory diseases" or "dog toxicities", whatever it is, so that you can go study those after. Take one more maybe two week prior.

The 2 days before the exam, don't study. You can read over a few items, but don't hardcore study, it won't do anything. I took the entire 36 hours before the exam off.

Remember the questions on NAVLE are so random. During the exam, I felt like I was failing. I honestly didn't recognize a single question. So many people had told me "don't worry, you will start to recognize things, you will see, you will know answers and feel better during the exam".... and that did NOT happen for me. There wasn't a single question I was confident about, I left there with a migraine and feeling so incredibly defeated, yet, I still passed.

Don't let anxiety build up and get the better of you. I know a couple insanely intelligent classmates, much more intelligent than I, that didn't pass because they let anxiety get the better of them. Allow your brain to rest some and as best as you can, try to not constantly worry over it.

May I ask, how accurate are the predicted ranges you get from the practice test? I’ve taken one and have a passing score but my range was awfully low. Any insight?

 

[DVMDream]

May I ask, how accurate are the predicted ranges you get from the practice test? I’ve taken one and have a passing score but my range was awfully low. Any insight?

I don't recall. That's been 4 years ago now, I don't recall my predicted scores nor my NAVLE score. I think it was close from what I recall back then but can't say how close for sure. For me, the biggest benefit of those practice exams was that they were much closer in the types of questions actually on the NAVLE so I could prepare myself.

 

[awesomenessity]

May I ask, how accurate are the predicted ranges you get from the practice test? I’ve taken one and have a passing score but my range was awfully low. Any insight?

I spoke with one of our profs who helped develop the NAVLE and he said the predicted scores are based on studies comparing actual NAVLE performance, so they should be fairly accurate. Most people I know say they were extremely accurate for them!

 

[alivet123]

I think you want to get the overall knowledge of the veterinary field to pass Navle. You need to study and work very hard to pass the exams. Most import you need to prepare yourself mentally for the exams.

 

[supershorty]

Wow, life-changing, brilliant insight right there. I bet no one knew that they needed to study and work hard

 

[DVMDream]

Wow, life-changing, brilliant insight right there. I bet no one knew that they needed to study and work hard

I thought I could just put the books under my pillow at night and learn via diffusion.

 

[cdo96]

here's the most important question regarding navle taking:

how many snacks should I bring for the breaks? like... all of the snacks? some of the snacks? none of the snacks? energy drinks? coffee? water (lol.. drinking water...)

what are the best snacks for breaks that I can unhinge my jaw like a snake, swallow whole, and then go back in to the testing room and continue on? pinkie mice?

I'm worried about the duration of the exam- I've done 2 of the ICVA practice exams, but they're only 200 questions vs the navle which is almost twice that (360 Q) and I'm concerned I'm going to lose steam and brain cells as the test progresses

 

[Lupin21]

here's the most important question regarding navle taking:

how many snacks should I bring for the breaks? like... all of the snacks? some of the snacks? none of the snacks? energy drinks? coffee? water (lol.. drinking water...)

what are the best snacks for breaks that I can unhinge my jaw like a snake, swallow whole, and then go back in to the testing room and continue on? pinkie mice?

I'm worried about the duration of the exam- I've done 2 of the ICVA practice exams, but they're only 200 questions vs the navle which is almost twice that (360 Q) and I'm concerned I'm going to lose steam and brain cells as the test progresses

I've touted taking your breaks as I only took one. I think I took it after the 4th section, and I should have taken it sooner. I can't remember now though... Snacks- I brought cookies and had both Gatorade and soda to sip to get electrolytes/ caffeine. Really, it's just what comforts you I think for that. haha

 

[awesomenessity]

I've touted taking your breaks as I only took one. I think I took it after the 4th section, and I should have taken it sooner. I can't remember now though... Snacks- I brought cookies and had both Gatorade and soda to sip to get electrolytes/ caffeine. Really, it's just what comforts you I think for that. haha

I also only took one break, after the 2nd section. Don't recommend, in hindsight