USMLE Official 2017 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[WeedForLunch]

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I know this is quite early but most American Students have finished giving the test for this year.
I am an IMG and have been prepping for the steps since quite some time and have seen Phloston, Transposony's and others' threads for their respective years and how helpful they have been.

I intend on giving step in Jan.. let's share timetables, plans and other stuff on how everyone intends on taking on this beast.

P.S. : I think it is not that early.. the 2015/2016 threads were started in September/October.. but in true SDN gunner style..i wanna start it in August.. 🙂

 

[Gorne]

For people saying sketchy micro isn't enough, do you mean that in that there are bugs not covered by sketchy micro or there is bug biology/clinical scenarios not covered by sketchy micro.

In using the Lange Flashcards, there's anywhere between 20-40 more organisms in the cards, most of which are random low yield fungi and parasites/worms. Maybe Lange cards cover these bugs?

For instance, there's definitely a species of mycobacterium (not avium complex) that causes UTIs, are they throwing that kind of **** at you?

 

[Womb Raider]

For people saying sketchy micro isn't enough, do you mean that in that there are bugs not covered by sketchy micro or there is bug biology/clinical scenarios not covered by sketchy micro.

In using the Lange Flashcards, there's anywhere between 20-40 more organisms in the cards, most of which are random low yield fungi and parasites/worms. Maybe Lange cards cover these bugs?

For instance, there's definitely a species of mycobacterium (not avium complex) that causes UTIs, are they throwing that kind of **** at you?

Don't you remember microbio from your lectures? There's a TON of information about every bug that isn't covered by sketchy... Sketchy is barely an outline of high yield facts.

http://www.mgc.ac.cn/cgi-bin/VFs/genus.cgi?Genus=Clostridium#Top

 

[meatie]

Well it's a good thing I saved all my lecture notes from M1/M2...

 

[ridethecliche]

For folks talking about the IL's etc, where are you looking things up? Does FA have a solid reference for that? I know it had some things in the immuno section, but I remember being frustrated because it was incomplete...

 

[Womb Raider]

For folks talking about the IL's etc, where are you looking things up? Does FA have a solid reference for that? I know it had some things in the immuno section, but I remember being frustrated because it was incomplete...

I just use FA and annotate in stuff from Pathoma, Rx and Uworld.

 

[yankees527]

For folks talking about the IL's etc, where are you looking things up? Does FA have a solid reference for that? I know it had some things in the immuno section, but I remember being frustrated because it was incomplete...

Yea pathoma adds some good stuff. especially when he says PGEEEEEEEEE2 is FEEEEEEEEEver. Love that one

 

[ridethecliche]

I've watched the first 2-3 pathoma chapters a few times already. I'm going to go back and reread it.

Boards and Beyond recently upped their game a ton for some of my weaknesses (repro and msk-plexus stuff). I'm just trying to figure out how to fit everything in lol. I feel like I just get lucky with pharm a bunch. I need to go through all the end of section pharm stuffs in FA a few times...

Hitting my target on a UWSA has made me even more nervous for my NBME lol.

Current mental state? Refer to avatar. Kthxbai.

 

[sss2g2]

How long does it take to get step 1 permit after school has verified. Got an email saying application is accepted, school verified and now waiting for permit.

 

[Foot Fetish]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the people who say that Sketchy + UFAP aren't enough simply didn't learn those resources as well as they could have...

The experience reports of people who destroy Step 1 (260+) consistently say that UFAP + Sketchy is enough. I think the key is to really memorize every last word. If you had a photographic memory of UFAP such that it was the equivalent of taking the exam open e-book with Ctrl+F , I highly doubt you would get below a 250.

 

[Osteoth]

I took uwsa1 today.

Scored a 237. Hoping it wasn't a fluke but the overall numbers aren't all that reassuring haha.

Numbers below are my percent correct, then the average in parentheses.

Block 1: 77 (62)

Block 2: 67 (62)

Block 3: 55 (58)

Block 4: 72 (65)

I had a bit of issues with pacing in the 2nd and 3rd block. I missed a question in the 3rd block. The as one question in the 3rd block I spent 6 minutes on because I couldn't figure it out and it was really bothering me. I know I need to get better at triaging these because im sure I missed a question or two because I rushed through half the block.

I did better in all the blocks that I didn't have pacing issues in. I got stuck on the third block and think I shot myself in the foot by doing that... 6 mins on a question is damn insane. I feel like the first block was either dumb luck on a few guesses or it just completely played to my strengths. I'm taking an NBME and free 120 on saturday and taking UWSA on tues or weds next week. Test is next saturday.

My goal was to hit 230. UWSA tells me that's possible, the block breakdowns tell me that I definitely need to figure out how to pace myself so I don't end up rushing and making dumb mistakes. I can't rely on making one section compensate for the others.
I'm totally at a loss for what to study.

I'm probably going to do a run of BNB biochem since I suck at that, read some anatomy stuff, read some FA sections, do some neuro/psych/Heme onc anki cards, do another run through of sketchy micro and some drugs, and figure out anything else along the way.

Wait we're like the same person.

Took UWSA1 on Tuesday, got a 236 (70, 65, 65, 73).

How have your other NBMEs gone?

My test is in a few weeks.

 

[ridethecliche]

Wait we're like the same person.

Took UWSA1 on Tuesday, got a 236 (70, 65, 65, 73).

How have your other NBMEs gone?

My test is in a few weeks.

First CBSE back in feb was a 174, first NBME was a 185, second nbme was a 205, third NBME was a 211. I took the third NBME 3ish weeks ago. I just want to break 230 on my test :/

My blip in the 3rd block kinda got me a little nervous. I still need to review that 211 NBME. I hate reviewing NBME's because you have to hunt for the answers...

I'm reviewing the UWSA now while trying to figure out wtf to study lol.

 

[admisam33]

I took uwsa1 today.

Scored a 237. Hoping it wasn't a fluke but the overall numbers aren't all that reassuring haha.

Numbers below are my percent correct, then the average in parentheses.

Block 1: 77 (62)

Block 2: 67 (62)

Block 3: 55 (58)

Block 4: 72 (65)

I had a bit of issues with pacing in the 2nd and 3rd block. I missed a question in the 3rd block. The as one question in the 3rd block I spent 6 minutes on because I couldn't figure it out and it was really bothering me. I know I need to get better at triaging these because im sure I missed a question or two because I rushed through half the block.

I did better in all the blocks that I didn't have pacing issues in. I got stuck on the third block and think I shot myself in the foot by doing that... 6 mins on a question is damn insane. I feel like the first block was either dumb luck on a few guesses or it just completely played to my strengths. I'm taking an NBME and free 120 on saturday and taking UWSA on tues or weds next week. Test is next saturday.

My goal was to hit 230. UWSA tells me that's possible, the block breakdowns tell me that I definitely need to figure out how to pace myself so I don't end up rushing and making dumb mistakes. I can't rely on making one section compensate for the others.
I'm totally at a loss for what to study.

I'm probably going to do a run of BNB biochem since I suck at that, read some anatomy stuff, read some FA sections, do some neuro/psych/Heme onc anki cards, do another run through of sketchy micro and some drugs, and figure out anything else along the way.

Keep it up !!! Im giving UWSA 1 next weekend recently gave NBME 15 got a 203 which was a bummer. Kinda freaked out at the moment. Any new concepts tested or was it just like an average random block of uworld? Any advice to bump up my score.???

 

[bpperry]

Keep it up !!! Im giving UWSA 1 next weekend recently gave NBME 15 got a 203 which was a bummer. Kinda freaked out at the moment. Any new concepts tested or was it just like an average random block of uworld?

UWSA 1 felt harder than just random UWorld blocks that I had done... having said that, my performance was actually a few percent better than my cumulative Uworld score (74% on UWSA 1 versus 70% on UWorld.) That was 10 days out from test day. I think part of the feeling of difficulty came from me almost exclusively doing tutor mode in UWorld before attempting the SA1.

I took NBME 18 yesterday (5 days out) and got a 225 (80.5%) compared to the 245 UWSA1 says I'd get.

I'd feel better if the two matched up a little more but I've heard a million things from a million people about the real test vs. NBME vs. UWorld...

 

[bpperry]

For the ~average people around here, my scores:

NBME 15: 209
NBME 16: 225
NBME 17: 223
NBME 18: 221
UWSA1: 249

Score: 233

Never thought in a million years I could achieve such a score, I was not the best student during basic sciences and I was praying for a 192 and I would be thrilled with a 200. This score is an absolute dream come true to me. Congratulations to EVERYONE!

Congrats! Our UWSA and NBME 18s are pretty much dead on, and I'd be perfectly happy with your score haha. Congrats again, must feel great to be done.

 

[ridethecliche]

I've taken 18, which was my 211. That was a few weeks ago. I'd be upset if I didn't go up atleast 15-20 pts from there.

Taking 17 next.

Honestly, half the battle is trying to figure out wtf they're actually asking. A few posters commented saying that when I expressed frustration about making stupid mistakes, so I've been trying to reword questions and simplify them. I wish we got scratch paper for these tests tbh.

Haha, dang. Blueforest's post has me wondering how much UWSA 1 overestimated ish for me.
Womp.

Hello neuroticism my old friend.

 

[Osteoth]

First CBSE back in feb was a 174, first NBME was a 185, second nbme was a 205, third NBME was a 211. I took the third NBME 3ish weeks ago. I just want to break 230 on my test :/

My blip in the 3rd block kinda got me a little nervous. I still need to review that 211 NBME. I hate reviewing NBME's because you have to hunt for the answers...

I'm reviewing the UWSA now while trying to figure out wtf to study lol.

Yeah our scores for the most part have been similar. Going through the UWSA has been encouraging to me, since a chunk of my mistakes were just dumb/not reading the question correctly, and most of the other ones were questions that you pretty much have to take a shot on anyway (experiments, odd factoids)

Keep it up !!! Im giving UWSA 1 next weekend recently gave NBME 15 got a 203 which was a bummer. Kinda freaked out at the moment. Any new concepts tested or was it just like an average random block of uworld? Any advice to bump up my score.???

I've gone through UW twice and I'd say that the UWSA was harder than random uworld blocks because there were more questions that introduced a concept you knew but put it in the frame of an experiment in which they changed variables.

For me these take time to unpackage, so seemed more difficult.

UWSA 1 felt harder than just random UWorld blocks that I had done... having said that, my performance was actually a few percent better than my cumulative Uworld score (74% on UWSA 1 versus 70% on UWorld.) That was 10 days out from test day. I think part of the feeling of difficulty came from me almost exclusively doing tutor mode in UWorld before attempting the SA1.

I took NBME 18 yesterday (5 days out) and got a 225 (80.5%) compared to the 245 UWSA1 says I'd get.

I'd feel better if the two matched up a little more but I've heard a million things from a million people about the real test vs. NBME vs. UWorld...

Taking NBME18 soon, from people I've talked to their scores were often between their highest NBME & lowest UWSA, but closer to the SA. I'm assuming +10 from NBME & -5 from UWSA. Hopefully that holds up.

 

[intheworkings]

Is this accurate?

 

[ridethecliche]

I actually thought that the UWSA1 was easier than random UWorld blocks. My running average on UWorld is like a 58% and has been in the low to mid 60's lately. I'm only about 50% through and honestly, I'm probably not going to do all that much more. I started getting question fatigue really bad. At this point I'll be happy if I can convince myself to do 1-2 blocks everyday whether it's timed or tutor mode.

Over the last year, I've done close to 3k questions between all the qbanks, NBME exams, and CBSSA's and UWSAs.

Everyone told me to just start UWorld earlier and I didn't listen. I probably should have. I'm not stressed about it though. I think it's been a good learning experience, but I kinda know what I have to focus on. Folks use timed random UWorld blocks to study and I don't find that efficient for me.

It is what it is.

Re: Chart above.
It shows a 218 as 50th percentile. Yeah... No.
It's probably a decade old. 50th percentile 230ish now.

 

[admisam33]

Keep it up !!! Im giving UWSA 1 next weekend recently gave NBME 15 got a 203 which was a bummer. Kinda freaked out at the moment. Any new concepts tested or was it just like an average random block of uworld?

Yeah our scores for the most part have been similar. Going through the UWSA has been encouraging to me, since a chunk of my mistakes were just dumb/not reading the question correctly, and most of the other ones were questions that you pretty much have to take a shot on anyway (experiments, odd factoids)



I've gone through UW twice and I'd say that the UWSA was harder than random uworld blocks because there were more questions that introduced a concept you knew but put it in the frame of an experiment in which they changed variables.

For me these take time to unpackage, so seemed more difficult.



Taking NBME18 soon, from people I've talked to their scores were often between their highest NBME & lowest UWSA, but closer to the SA. I'm assuming +10 from NBME & -5 from UWSA. Hopefully that holds up.

There seems to be a consensus that stupid mistakes ruin scores lol... I made around 20 in my previous NBME and after I reviewed them I told myself how the fish did I even make these dumb errors. How can we reduce this? Any tips from anyone lol?

 

[bpperry]

I actually thought that the UWSA1 was easier than random UWorld blocks. My running average on UWorld is like a 58% and has been in the low to mid 60's lately. I'm only about 50% through and honestly, I'm probably not going to do all that much more. I started getting question fatigue really bad. At this point I'll be happy if I can convince myself to do 1-2 blocks everyday whether it's timed or tutor mode.

Over the last year, I've done close to 3k questions between all the qbanks, NBME exams, and CBSSA's and UWSAs.

Everyone told me to just start UWorld earlier and I didn't listen. I probably should have. I'm not stressed about it though. I think it's been a good learning experience, but I kinda know what I have to focus on. Folks use timed random UWorld blocks to study and I don't find that efficient for me.

It is what it is.

Re: Chart above.
It shows a 218 as 50th percentile. Yeah... No.
It's probably a decade old. 50th percentile 230ish now.

^^^ Haha you could almost hear the unclenching of sphincters... I was gonna say those numbers are lowwwww.

 

[ridethecliche]

There seems to be a consensus that stupid mistakes ruin scores lol... I made around 20 in my previous NBME and after I reviewed them I told myself how the fish did I even make these dumb errors. How can we reduce this? Any tips from anyone lol?

When I asked the same question earlier, I was told to read the question and then rephrase it in my own words to make sure I understood what it was asking if I was getting confused. That helps a lot. If I really can't even figure out what the question asks, I just try to make an educated guess and move on. If I really have no clue, it doesn't make sense to waste time figuring out what the question is even trying to go for. They can have that point.

 

[bpperry]

There seems to be a consensus that stupid mistakes ruin scores lol... I made around 20 in my previous NBME and after I reviewed them I told myself how the fish did I even make these dumb errors. How can we reduce this? Any tips from anyone lol?

I've found that UWorld really wants to you "read into" the stem sometimes and make some assumptions. On NBME 18, I found that I was WAY overthinking some of the questions.... i.e. a stem that sounds like Meckel's diverticulum and looks like Meckel's, but I overthink it based on one thing they put in the presentation that makes me second guess myself.

I changed quite a few right answers to wrong ones simply because I overthought.

On UWorld, I think they do a good job of giving you good answer choices that make some easy to rule out and narrow down your choice... compared to NBME, where it feels a lot more like straight-up memorizing something. That's just my opinion, though.

 

[intheworkings]

How many questions do people roughly miss for a ~210-220 score?

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Ugh NBME 17 and 19 curves are not generous, that's for sure. 1 more week left for me, then FREEDOM. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread!

 

[intheworkings]

Ugh NBME 17 and 19 curves are not generous, that's for sure. 1 more week left for me, then FREEDOM. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread!

Yea, I agree. NBME 18 seems fair or maybe a little too generous ( I hope not) b/c a 64% (or missing 72 questions!) = a pass!

 

[sss2g2]

would you guys even bother taking NBME 19. This is such a controversial test. Deciding whether to save my money or not.

 

[intheworkings]

would you guys even bother taking NBME 19. This is such a controversial test. Deciding whether to save my money or not.

Curious if anyones test was similar to 19, b/c mine sure was not

 

[Ace Khalifa]

would you guys even bother taking NBME 19. This is such a controversial test. Deciding whether to save my money or not.

I thought it was good practice regardless of score. My last week of studying will be mostly doing practice questions anyway, so why not?

 

[intheworkings]

Agree I guess it won't hurt to do it

 

[Osteoth]

I've found that UWorld really wants to you "read into" the stem sometimes and make some assumptions. On NBME 18, I found that I was WAY overthinking some of the questions.... i.e. a stem that sounds like Meckel's diverticulum and looks like Meckel's, but I overthink it based on one thing they put in the presentation that makes me second guess myself.

I changed quite a few right answers to wrong ones simply because I overthought.

On UWorld, I think they do a good job of giving you good answer choices that make some easy to rule out and narrow down your choice... compared to NBME, where it feels a lot more like straight-up memorizing something. That's just my opinion, though.

Begs the question, since alot of people have said there's a mix of NBME & UW questions on the real thing, how do we differentiate?

would you guys even bother taking NBME 19. This is such a controversial test. Deciding whether to save my money or not.

Yeah, if you read up on one concept that you were maybe weak in and get a question or two right on the real thing it will definitely have been worth it. At least IMO.

 

[Penguino92]

Hey guys. I'm 6 days away from my test and of course, like we pretty much all have at one point, I am panicking.

I have finished all of Uworld (today...thank god) and have hit most of pathoma (skipped the inflammation chapters because I have a strong base in immunology from prior education) and FA. I won't have time to go through all of my misses in Uworld.

So my question is basically what to do for damage control up to test day (over the course of 4 days)? I'm doing nothing the day before my exam.

I pretty much am terrible at metabolism, neuro drugs, ovarian tumors, and general pharmacology. I hope to get better at these the next few days.

For reference:
5 weeks out: NBME 15: 236
4 weeks out: NBME 17: 215 (I had a really bad confidence day)
3 weeks out NBME 18: 234
2 weeks out: UWSA 1: 266 (I think I had just a good batch of questions for me...not sure how likely this will happen on test day).

My goal is just a 230. I'm hoping to do med-peds.

 

[dempty]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the people who say that Sketchy + UFAP aren't enough simply didn't learn those resources as well as they could have...

The experience reports of people who destroy Step 1 (260+) consistently say that UFAP + Sketchy is enough. I think the key is to really memorize every last word. If you had a photographic memory of UFAP such that it was the equivalent of taking the exam open e-book with Ctrl+F , I highly doubt you would get below a 250.

I was discussing this with someone earlier, and we somewhat agree with your first part (although I don't equate "learning" with "memorizing" as it seems you're doing a bit). From my test and all the practice material I used, the "things not in sketchy" or whatever, were just presented without the classic give away but some other evidence that makes it hard to pick another anything, or the question described buzz words very oddly instead of using the buzz words. People get nervous when they don't see buzzwords they're expecting. I know a few people who are really good at memorizing but if you switch the game up a little bit, they seem to miss everything, despite knowing the actual knowledge to get the question. I suspect the test questions might be using less buzzwords while employing odd phrasings and descriptions, but I don't think this stuff is really beyond UFAP. I didn't use First Aid, but I did reference it after my test for a bug I never saw in class or sketchy and might've forgotten from CMMRS, but sure enough it was in FA. I'm sure if I read First Aid that would still occur because the book is basically a long list of facts.
This brings me to my disagreement with your second point that anyone who memorizes it word for word will get at least 250 for the simple fact that you have yet to see how bizarre or "incomplete" the answer choices can be worded for really simple things. It can throw people for a loop because it's not only something they've likely never seen, but it's also presented in a way they probably haven't even contemplated.

There seems to be a consensus that stupid mistakes ruin scores lol... I made around 20 in my previous NBME and after I reviewed them I told myself how the fish did I even make these dumb errors. How can we reduce this? Any tips from anyone lol?

Try to determine why you made those mistakes. For me, it was either that the content wasn't fresh and I waffled between two, changing it to the incorrect at the last minute, or that I some how read too far into the question and changed my initial answer from the correct choice.

I've found that UWorld really wants to you "read into" the stem sometimes and make some assumptions. On NBME 18, I found that I was WAY overthinking some of the questions.... i.e. a stem that sounds like Meckel's diverticulum and looks like Meckel's, but I overthink it based on one thing they put in the presentation that makes me second guess myself.

I changed quite a few right answers to wrong ones simply because I overthought.

On UWorld, I think they do a good job of giving you good answer choices that make some easy to rule out and narrow down your choice... compared to NBME, where it feels a lot more like straight-up memorizing something. That's just my opinion, though.

We seem to have had a similar experience in some respects. Reading too far into questions or hanging on one word after picking an initial answer almost always got me into trouble, or so it appeared. When I just read for the big picture and thought through the question, I did a lot better.

 

[mymembernames]

How many questions do people roughly miss for a ~210-220 score?

Not sure anyone can answer that since there are too many variables... I think I remember seeing someone score 230+ and said they had at least made 35+ mistakes...

 

[wallaby524]

Anyone else punting most of these parasites in FA

 

[pocillopora]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the people who say that Sketchy + UFAP aren't enough simply didn't learn those resources as well as they could have...

The experience reports of people who destroy Step 1 (260+) consistently say that UFAP + Sketchy is enough. I think the key is to really memorize every last word. If you had a photographic memory of UFAP such that it was the equivalent of taking the exam open e-book with Ctrl+F , I highly doubt you would get below a 250.

I was merely trying to say that you're gonna have ish on your exam that you haven't seen before or are not comfortable with at all. That is a fact. This is coming from a guy who matured >75% of Brosencephalon's Anatomy/Embryo/Physio and Path decks, reviewed the relevant Sketchy and Pathoma lectures 3x before each lecture test, all while mainly studying off of my school's lectures. I could argue with my Bros usage that I had "memorized" portions of FA, but there was still a question or two on step on material that I hadn't seen before. Like dempty was saying, Step is gonna be describing classic presentations and buzzwords but they will be changed in a way that makes them not completely obvious (like you will see on many a practice question or Uworld question). Howev

I know its hard to swallow for a lot of med students, but UFAP isn't entirely comprehensive. UFAP (+ Sketchy) is amazing and will absolutely get you a pass and if you did have a "photographic memory" of UFAP, you would do well on step (~240). But like what I've read every thread I've seen on Step 1 studying, understanding the subtle nuances of the core preclinical subjects is what lets you destroy Step, not just UFAPing REALLY hard.

 

[chromuffin]

For all those people out there, UFAP+Sketchy was enough for my exam. Only exception was anatomy. I used Boards & Beyond and found it to essentially be FA in detail. Perfect for anyone that has forgotten some material. I personally believe this is all you need. If you want to be thorough.. check out BRS Anatomy or some other anatomy book. This is more than enough for 250+

 

[mymembernames]

It also depends on the form / questions you get. An overall easier test will have a harder curve and a more challenging test will have an easier curve...
Just compare the curve for 18 vs 13,15

 

[Clopidogrhelin]

For people saying sketchy micro isn't enough, do you mean that in that there are bugs not covered by sketchy micro or there is bug biology/clinical scenarios not covered by sketchy micro.

In using the Lange Flashcards, there's anywhere between 20-40 more organisms in the cards, most of which are random low yield fungi and parasites/worms. Maybe Lange cards cover these bugs?

For instance, there's definitely a species of mycobacterium (not avium complex) that causes UTIs, are they throwing that kind of **** at you?

Nope, no new bugs. Just know your micro VERY WELL. I found myself getting confused on the simplest things cuz of testing anxiety and just not knowing my micro as well as I should've.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the people who say that Sketchy + UFAP aren't enough simply didn't learn those resources as well as they could have...

The experience reports of people who destroy Step 1 (260+) consistently say that UFAP + Sketchy is enough. I think the key is to really memorize every last word. If you had a photographic memory of UFAP such that it was the equivalent of taking the exam open e-book with Ctrl+F , I highly doubt you would get below a 250.

I think UFAP + Sketchy is enough. For me, it was simply that it had been a while since I had micro (took 6 months off after M2 for a family emergency) and I ended up using sketchy to relearn micro and barely glanced at the FA section once. On my test there were a few pictures that you needed to recognize, or they asked the bug in a way that isn't easy for someone who based their knowledge off sketchy. For me, sketchy micro and, especially, sketchy pharm were awesome. That plus UFAP are perfect. If you really wanna make things interesting, it was a nice switch for me to just spend the last few days listening to the Goljan audio. Its a review plus pretty easy to listen to.

 

[mymembernames]

I mean if everybody is using UFAPS won't they just toss out questions most get wrong or will the curve just work itself out?


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[FindMeOnTheLinks]

I mean if everybody is using UFAPS won't they just toss out questions most get wrong or will the curve just work itself out?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

haha no that's definitely not how it works. Was talking with a buddy and we have a pretty good theory of how the test is scored. Busy at the moment but will post about it a bit later

 

[ridethecliche]

My peers who scores quite well (250+) commented that there were answer choices in micro for things they never recognized. It seems as if they're distractors to make you second guess the right answer and pick something you don't know because you feel like you're missing something and pick the unknown over the one you have a gut feeling about.

 

[chromuffin]

My peers who scores quite well (250+) commented that there were answer choices in micro for things they never recognized. It seems as if they're distractors to make you second guess the right answer and pick something you don't know because you feel like you're missing something and pick the unknown over the one you have a gut feeling about.

I believe this to be true. I only had one distractor but it was simply there to distract.

 

[Gorne]

I don't know if this has been mentioned on here but it's food for thought. NBME writes the questions so that a panel of experts can all come to the answer without looking at the answer choices. There is always at least 1 word in the stem that makes one of the answers clearly correct and the others clearly wrong. I'm not sure if this applies to u-world or old nbme exams.

 

[Womb Raider]

I don't know if this has been mentioned on here but it's food for thought. NBME writes the questions so that a panel of experts can all come to the answer without looking at the answer choices. There is always at least 1 word in the stem that makes one of the answers clearly correct and the others clearly wrong. I'm not sure if this applies to u-world or old nbme exams.

Haha yeah... this clearly isn't right for the ethics questions but I digress.

 

[Gorne]

Haha yeah... this clearly isn't right for the ethics questions but I digress.

You had some convoluted ethics questions on your exam?

 

[ridethecliche]

Also, data > verbiage.

 

[Womb Raider]

You had some convoluted ethics questions on your exam?

No no, I'm just pointing out the irony of saying that it's possible for ethics questions to be "clearly correct" and others to be "clearly wrong."

 

[trs88]

I mean if everybody is using UFAPS won't they just toss out questions most get wrong or will the curve just work itself out?


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Not everyone is using UFAPS tho 🙁 I had to beg and plead to so many of my classmates that UW is the gold standard for a reason and that the other question banks just don't compare. I was able to convert a few over into using it and they were pleased but too many just said "nah".

Side note, yes DO school. But these were students who were also studying for usmle.

 

[Wallistersin]

Is it normal to get a lot of repeated questions on UWorld?

I mean in the sense that I make 1 exam of 40 questions and complete it. Then make another exam 5 minutes after a get like 4 or 5 of the same questions.

This is my 2nd pass so I can't just check "UNUSED" because there aren't any. I just feel my scores are getting higher more to repetition that actual knowledge.

Anyone else have this "issue"?

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Not everyone is using UFAPS tho 🙁 I had to beg and plead to so many of my classmates that UW is the gold standard for a reason and that the other question banks just don't compare. I was able to convert a few over into using it and they were pleased but too many just said "nah".

Side note, yes DO school. But these were students who were also studying for usmle.

everyone has different paths to the same beast , my friend is using combank and first aid as his only source and he is taking both -_-. wont even do a nbme or anything