NBME and UWSA

[deleted122269]

So I've been studying for the summer. I truly hit my stride with studying properly around July. I was originally schedule to take CK on Aug 8th and then changed that to August 21st.

I took NBME 1 on June 23rd and got a 160. Felt horrible, but most of my studying before this had been crap and I barely touched UWorld.

I took NBME 2 on July 25th and got a 160, again. This time I had done a substantial amount of UWorld and had been reading MTB2.

I took UWSA 1 (there's only one right?) on Aug 13th and got a 199. This was after having completed UWorld and gone over MTB2 a few times.

I took NBME 4 today, August 18th and got a 183. I mostly just did questions between UWSA 1 and this one. I feel like this is probably a better assessment than UWSA, but I'm not sure which is more reliable.

I just changed my date again to Sep 13th. I figure that the score will come out around the same time anyways and the 117 dollar fee is nothing compared to the cost of taking the test again entirely.

Any recommendations on what I should do now. I feel like I have had most of my improvement in these past few weeks. I'm definitely going to continue UWorld and reading. Anything supplemental? I was thinking either Kaplan vids or DIT.

Also, what should I do if I want to assess my progress now? I hear NBME 3 is too detailed and not representative. Should I retake 4 (I'm not reviewing the questions) or take NBME 3?

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[deleted122269]

here are the feedbacks from each assessment

 

[PokerDoc]

see my thread regarding NBME3, as someone who feels like he deserved better , i say stay far far away from nbme 3.. it tested none of the stuff that DIT and step up said were high yield and i constantly was saying WTF at every question.

 

[deleted122269]

any advice on whether retaking an already taken nbme is worth it?

 

[ooitsamonkey]

any advice on whether retaking an already taken nbme is worth it?

I would not retake any of the nbme exams as it will not be an indication of your performance. Whether you know the answers or not you are going to be more familiar with them and as a result may have less time constraints compared to taking an exam the first time. Your best bet would be to thoroughly review Uworld questions and understand why you are getting ?s wrong as well as learn the algorithms provided in the explanations for working up patients with various conditions. Having scores low in mechanism of action and diagnosing as well as medicine indicate that you haven't spend enough time understanding why and how diseases occur. If you have time, then you also may want to invest in reading step up to medicine to build a foundation, because it appears that you may be lacking basic clinical knowledge to properly answer questions for medicine and seeing that it is a huge chunk of the ck, I would spend some time reviewing that .

 

[deleted122269]

thanks. yeah, it always seems to be the next step questions that has me between two answers and then picking the wrong one. algorithms and pathophys may need more focus.

 

[DOMAC786]

NBME 6 460
NBME 7 490
USMLE score 217


I think NBME 6 is the best predictor.

 

[Vanquish]

NBME 6 460


NBME 7 490


USMLE score 217








I think NBME 6 is the best predictor.

Dude there is NO NBME 6 for STEP 2!!

 

[NewYorkDoctors]

i took all 4 NBMEs and UWSA. They all projected me getting something in the 260s. however, the difficulty for UWSA is far increased over that for the NBME forms.

Not only longer vignettes, but multiple possible obscuring diagnoses, "word game synonyms," and straight up Step 1 material showed its face as well.

As expected, I got the most wrong on the UWSA, but their scoring curve was very lenient to me.

I just hope I can keep up this pace during the real test next week

 

[Transposony]

I would suggest doing Kaplan ( preferably Videos with LNs) to improve your score.
Since you have already exhausted NBME 2 & 4 there is no point in repeating them ( But it really helps to review the NBME questions).
The best way to assess your performance ( after you have done the Kaplan) will be to do "unused" six UW blocks in a row.
Hope this helps.