NBME form 4

[sleepymed]

yikes, this test is FULL of biochemistry and molecular genetics... it was quite painful and difficult. i take the exam in about 10 days and i got a 236 on form 4. i know form 4 is the newest one out, but does anyone know if biochem is as heavily tested on the real exam, and if this test has a reasonable correlation with the actual exam. 236 is a good score and i would be very happy if i got that score on the actual exam, but i have exam anxiety so i need to perform better on the practice exams so that even after my spaz attack it won't drop too low.

i suppose the actual question that should be gleaned from the mess of the above paragraph is: 1. is form 4 a good predictor of performance, 2. if i only have about 8 days of studying left, is it worth blowing one of them reading the high yield cell biology book? 3. is anyone else feeling a sense of impending doom and dissatisfaction as the date of their exams are rapidly approaching?

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[mattorama]

Yeah, that test sucked. I took Form 1 first and thought it was pretty easy. After a week of studying I took Form 4 and just about freaked out. I felt like my week of studying was worthless since I had yet to get to biochem/molecular/immuno which was a lot of that test. I ended with the same score as I did on Form 1 (which I would be happy enough with), but the realization that I could have completly demolished the test if I knew some molecular bio was a big motivation to study that stuff. Molecular bio/biochem is pretty worthless as far as actual medicine goes, but I get the feeling knowledge of it might be what seperates the good scores from the really, really good scores. Best of luck...I have 2 weeks left, but I think my brain as already checked out.

 

[woowoo]

i took form 1 after a week of studying and was fairly pleased with 3 1/2 weeks of studying left. took form 4 a week later and actually went down a few points. i thought form 4 was very tough, with all of the cell/molecular bio. it gave me a swift kick in the rear, and motivated me to actually learn that crap. now i see what big frank was talking about with the cell/molecular bio.

 

[Pox in a box]

Is there 4 forms now? Are you talking about the NBME's CBSSA exams? I thought there were 2 forms.

 

[myt]

yes, they came out with 4 forms (2 more added to the previous 2)

What is the consensus on difficulty and predictive power of forms 2 and 3?

 

[Flobber]

Wait, so are all of you guys dropping $45 per exam? Or is there a more cost-effective way to get these exams that I'm missing out on? I keep hearing people talking about a practice CD that comes with registration... I received no such CD. I don't know if I want to blow $180 just to hear that I'm ******ed 4 times in a row. I already know that.

 

[exmike]

Wait, so are all of you guys dropping $45 per exam? Or is there a more cost-effective way to get these exams that I'm missing out on? I keep hearing people talking about a practice CD that comes with registration... I received no such CD. I don't know if I want to blow $180 just to hear that I'm ******ed 4 times in a row. I already know that.

You can download the practice questions from the NBME site

 

[sleepymed]

The practice exams and the NBME exams that you buy are completely different, in the sense that the NBME exams are supposed to gauge how you'll do on the exams, it helps you know where you stand. The 150 questions that come with the registration are supposed to be examples of questions that will be on the usmle.

you don't need to take all four exams, you could just do one or none, although most people do reccomend taking them.

 

[OmahaMX80]

Did anyon do worse on Step 1 than on he NBME practice exams? My school made us take the basic science shelf, which went okay considering it was early and I hadn't studied much. I took Form 2 on Wednesday and I had improved, although not significantly (7-8 points). I'm, for the most part, okay with the score... my main worry is that I'll do worse on the real thing than I did on the basic science shelf and NBME test... just curious how common/uncommon that is.

 

[freddydpt]

Can someone please post a link to where I can dload form 1 2 3 and 4. For some reason I'm hearing about these today for the first time. I'm taking the test on the 26th.
Thanks!
Fred

 

[mackaikai]

just took Form 4 and my real exam is on monday...

i took Form 2 couple days ago and these 2 forms are like from 2 different planets....

i did alright and i should be feeling confident, but i don't... these exams are so unpredictable and who knows what's going to show up on the real exam...

gosh, are these NBME practice tests even predictable at all?! i have a strong feeling that my real score is going to drop

 

[viper]

Can someone please post a link to where I can dload form 1 2 3 and 4. For some reason I'm hearing about these today for the first time. I'm taking the test on the 26th.
Thanks!
Fred

look at the guide on gotmedbooks.com, it has links directly to exams.

 

[ndspider]

look at the guide on gotmedbooks.com, it has links directly to exams.

Your website SUCKS. Give it up..

 

[Spazz]

Can anyone who's already taken the real test say how it compared to Form 3 or 4 if you also did those, since Forms 1 and 2 seem less useful?

 

[Paws]

I am thinking that form 4 is the most closely aligned to what we will actually be seeing. Aren't these released in chronny form, most recent last? So far, what people are saying here is also what people are saying who have just taken the exam. Cell bio/biochem/straight ugrad facts.

I might just save my $ and do forms 3 and 4. No need to spend 90. to do the easier forms. I am going straight for the guts!

 

[hale-bopp]

I am thinking that form 4 is the most closely aligned to what we will actually be seeing. Aren't these released in chronny form, most recent last? So far, what people are saying here is also what people are saying who have just taken the exam. Cell bio/biochem/straight ugrad facts.

I might just save my $ and do forms 3 and 4. No need to spend 90. to do the easier forms. I am going straight for the guts!

I actually thought that 4 was easier than 2, in that the questions were more straightforward... but maybe that's because I studied so much cell and molecular preparing for it after taking 3. 2 had some patient presentations that were very vague... I thought my actual test was sort of a mixture of the biochem and immuno type questions from 3 and 4, but definitely some of the more difficult other kinds of questions from 2. (I sort of got obsessed with these when I was studying, but I thought they were the best questions I could find anywhere. I liked doing them about one million times more than Qbank and I think that the practice in thinking through them probably helped me on the test.)

 

[Paws]

$180? I am so broke now I am just going to make my credit cards weep. 🙁

I suppose I will do all four. Whenever I think: ok! now I know what's going on, someone on these boards says something that makes me think that I really have no idea what's going on. Good to hear other people's feedback. 👍

 

[hale-bopp]

$180? I am so broke now I am just going to make my credit cards weep. 🙁

I suppose I will do all four. Whenever I think: ok! now I know what's going on, someone on these boards says something that makes me think that I really have no idea what's going on. Good to hear other people's feedback. 👍

haha, sorry.

you can probably skip 1, if you're going to not do one. it's supposed to be the easiest. I have no idea, I took it at the beginning of my studying, so it seemed hard enough to me/was my worst, but even in taking it then, I had the sense that with a little review, the questions would be something I could answer.

Also, 3 and 4 are similar. so if you just want to get a sense for what the test questions are like, you could probably take either. I personally got sort of obsessed with the NBME tests towards the end of my studying because I taking the tests and then looking up what the actual answer was (if I could figure it out, which I usually, but not always could, even with internet access and multiple review books) made them by far the my favorite questions anywhere. They justmade me THINK in a way qbank never did.