COMLEX Official 2018 Comlex 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[ThrowAwayStepDO]

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[LasuniGobi]

I guess nobody cares about this exam.

 

[tunicaexterna]

Anyone else out there takin this? My date is 5/30

 

[DNC127]

Anyone else out there takin this? My date is 5/30

I am June 15th! Have you taken any comsaes?

 

[tunicaexterna]

I am June 15th! Have you taken any comsaes?

I took COMSAE D and I got a 570, and that was about 2 weeks ago. How about you?

I’m tentatively scheduled to take the USMLE right now as well but I need to do a little better on the NBME’s if I’m going to follow through with it.

 

[tunicaexterna]

Yup. End of June for me. Usmle looking less likely every day.

I feel ya dude. I got a 207 on NBME 15 last week and I’m going to give it one more shot this weekend. If I don’t make any meaningful improvements I think I’m going to throw in the towel on it. Our dedicated period is fairly short and my scheduled USMLE date is 2 weeks away right now.

I know people say how important the USMLE is for DO’s... and I probably would pass if I took it, but I’m just not sure I’d do well enough for it to help me.

 

[DNC127]

I took COMSAE D and I got a 570, and that was about 2 weeks ago. How about you?

I’m tentatively scheduled to take the USMLE right now as well but I need to do a little better on the NBME’s if I’m going to follow through with it.

Good work!! Sound like you will kill it! I took comsae A start of April and got a 639 and the took comsae E the 20th of april and got a 666. I have heard the comsaes aren't great predictors so I am not putting too much stock into it. Have you heard anything from classmates about how they correlate?

 

[tunicaexterna]

Good work!! Sound like you will kill it! I took comsae A start of April and got a 639 and the took comsae E the 20th of april and got a 666. I have heard the comsaes aren't great predictors so I am not putting too much stock into it. Have you heard anything from classmates about how they correlate?

Wow awesome scores!!!! Yeah I’ve heard they aren’t great predictors either - which makes me a little nervous. I think our school just wants us to score beyond a certain threshold so they can be sure we will pass.

I gotta say though, I felt horrible when I submitted Comsae D. I felt like I guessed on a lot of it. I have a terrible feeling that’s what the real thing will feel like....

 

[DNC127]

Wow awesome scores!!!! Yeah I’ve heard they aren’t great predictors either - which makes me a little nervous. I think our school just wants us to score beyond a certain threshold so they can be sure we will pass.

I gotta say though, I felt horrible when I submitted Comsae D. I felt like I guessed on a lot of it. I have a terrible feeling that’s what the real thing will feel like....

Ya I think comquest is good prep for that. I finished combank and it was decent but very strait forward. Comquest is even more vague than Uworld in my opinion so it preps well for going a whole block and being confident on like half of it lol

 

[DNC127]

So you like comquest more than combank?

I don't know that I necessarily like it more, I just think its better practice for the ambiguous questions ya know? Combank is much more strait forward which doesn't seem to be how comlex or usmle is based on what I have heard. Combank is definitely better for OMM though. There isnt much omm on comquest

 

[tunicaexterna]

@DNC127 @NecFasc92

Have either of you tried OMG OMT? I’ve heard good things about it but at this point I have limited time to use resources

 

[DNC127]

@DNC127 @NecFasc92

Have either of you tried OMG OMT? I’ve heard good things about it but at this point I have limited time to use resources

ya its great! its only like 6-8 hrs total and covers all the high yields. Also only like 40$.

 

[DNC127]

I follow. So your practice comsaes were more similar to comquest than combank? Taking form C in a couple of weeks.

I'm doing considerably above the national avg in combank but who knows how many DOs actually use it

No not at all haha. The comsaes I have taken are all 100% first order and very short prompts. The 3rd years at my school said comlex has a lot longer prompts and more vague questions on the real thing

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Exactly. I don't see how getting a 205 is gonna help my case. I've been severely frustrated by my schools lack of overlap with the usmle focus. People can say what they want but there is a 100% diff focus between what uworld/ nbmes are asking about and what I was tested on during my first two years at a DO school. I'd say atleast 30-40% of uworld my school never touched.

Sucks man..

This exactly. I started Uworld and was getting 40/50% consistently but within the last week I started hitting high 50/mid 60s. Still have like 1600 questions left but ish like that have make me reconsider taking it. The lack of biochem and pharm that my school either left out or made it so dumbed down to the point it actually hurts makes me so scared to take the damn test.
I took a comsae yesterday and hit 560. Big improvement from my first one but still on the fence about Usmle. Will be taking either an nbme or Uworld practice test next Sunday and that will probably decide it for me.
Anyone have any advice on which one they would recommend taking first?

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

. Ya dude I hear ya. For us its biochem + pharm +pathopys. I'm pretty sure the biochem department used a manual from 1995 graduate phd programs because that was the most useless class I have taken in my life.

Which form did you take for the 560? Nice score .

I took C. The first one I took was E and definitely didn’t do that well on it. Still have 4 weeks before I take either test so hopefully I’ll feel more confident after I take a practice step.
Phys was also done very poorly at our school haha all of those classes are taught by phds who don’t give a damn if we do well on boards. It’s so frustrating

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Hey that's ok. You improved! That's what counts. How did you take E? I don't even have that one as an option to buy lmao. I'm gonna take C here in a week or so. Goal is 500 on it.

And then the docs are all teaching step 2 stuff. It's such a disconnect!

Our school supplied it to us to take before dedicated

 

[tunicaexterna]

Soooo how did you do form D? School administered I'm assuming? Was looking on my login and I only see forms A-C as options to purchase :/

Yeah form d can only be administered by schools. We had to go to our schools test center to take it. I should probably take another one but I’m not sure which one I should do....


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[DNC127]

This exactly. I started Uworld and was getting 40/50% consistently but within the last week I started hitting high 50/mid 60s. Still have like 1600 questions left but ish like that have make me reconsider taking it. The lack of biochem and pharm that my school either left out or made it so dumbed down to the point it actually hurts makes me so scared to take the damn test.
I took a comsae yesterday and hit 560. Big improvement from my first one but still on the fence about Usmle. Will be taking either an nbme or Uworld practice test next Sunday and that will probably decide it for me.
Anyone have any advice on which one they would recommend taking first?

If you want to know where you are at take Uworld SA 1 or 2. The NBMEs underpredict by a good margin it seems this year for a good chunk of people. For example, if you get a 69% on UWSA1 you will get low 230's. If you get 87-88% on most NBMEs you will get low 230s. That means a couple questions here or there on the NBMEs really swings your score. While they are predictive for some people, it seems UWSAs have been most predictive, in particular UWSA2

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

If you want to know where you are at take Uworld SA 1 or 2. The NBMEs underpredict by a good margin it seems this year for a good chunk of people. For example, if you get a 69% on UWSA1 you will get low 230's. If you get 87-88% on most NBMEs you will get low 230s. That means a couple questions here or there on the NBMEs really swings your score. While they are predictive for some people, it seems UWSAs have been most predictive, in particular UWSA2

Are they the same questions from the bank?

 

[DNC127]

Are they the same questions from the bank?

No completely different. And you cant review them! Which you cant do with the NBMEs except for the ones you missed but they only show you the right answer not the explaination

 

[DNC127]

Anybody see this and know what to make of it?

Score Release Dates — NBOME

Looks like they are re-scaling comlex and setting a new passing score using the May 21-June 15th Test takers.

Is it an advantage, disadvantage, or wash to be in this group?

 

[tunicaexterna]

Anybody see this and know what to make of it?

Score Release Dates — NBOME

Looks like they are re-scaling comlex and setting a new passing score using the May 21-June 15th Test takers.

Is it an advantage, disadvantage, or wash to be in this group?

What. Great.

 

[DNC127]

What. Why is this happening?

no clue. I take mine June 15 so I can't decide whether it is advantageous to take it then or move it back a couple days ya know?

 

[tunicaexterna]

no clue. I take mine June 15 so I can't decide whether it is advantageous to take it then or move it back a couple days ya know?

I have no idea. Is it like this every year?

RIPwaiting 6 weeks for my score

 

[DNC127]

Thoughts on the above @OMGOMT ?

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Anybody see this and know what to make of it?

Score Release Dates — NBOME

Looks like they are re-scaling comlex and setting a new passing score using the May 21-June 15th Test takers.

Is it an advantage, disadvantage, or wash to be in this group?

I feel like they’re going to try to model it more like step and it’s just going to make everything 10 x more hella confusing

 

[HoodBank]

First post time posting!! 3 weeks left until COMLEX.

Cold diagnostic COMSAE A (3/21): 508
Dedicated started (4/15).
COMBANK 1st pass (4/19): 75% avg. all random blocks
COMSAE E: (4/20): 519
COMQUEST, 1st pass 50% complete (5/3): 74%avg. all random blocks
COMSAE B: (5/4): 574
COMQUEST 1st pass complete (5/14): 77%avg. all random blocks

COMSAE D is schedule through my school for (5/21)
Current 2nd pass through COMQUEST (25% complete; random): 90% avg.

Taking USMLE in July; starting Uworld after my COMLEX.

I didnt start studying OMM or pharm effectively early on and i think that showed on the first 2 Comsaes. COMSAE B score was exactly equal to my COMQUEST progress to that point (according to NBOMEs 2016-17 data). Im hoping to keep seeing jumps in the practice tests scores, regardless if they are good predictors or not.

Has anyone taken Comsae C, or heard more realistic correlations to actual performance on COMLEX vs COMSAEs & COMQUEST?
Ive heard from many that COMQUEST is more predictive than anything else.

 

[tunicaexterna]

First post time posting!! 3 weeks left until COMLEX.

Cold diagnostic COMSAE A (3/21): 508
Dedicated started (4/15).
COMBANK 1st pass (4/19): 75% avg. all random blocks
COMSAE E: (4/20): 519
COMQUEST, 1st pass 50% complete (5/3): 74%avg. all random blocks
COMSAE B: (5/4): 574
COMQUEST 1st pass complete (5/14): 77%avg. all random blocks

COMSAE D is schedule through my school for (5/21)
Current 2nd pass through COMQUEST (25% complete; random): 90% avg.

Taking USMLE in July; starting Uworld after my COMLEX.

I didnt start studying OMM or pharm effectively early on and i think that showed on the first 2 Comsaes. COMSAE B score was exactly equal to my COMQUEST progress to that point (according to NBOMEs 2016-17 data). Im hoping to keep seeing jumps in the practice tests scores, regardless if they are good predictors or not.

Has anyone taken Comsae C, or heard more realistic correlations to actual performance on COMLEX vs COMSAEs & COMQUEST?
Ive heard from many that COMQUEST is more predictive than anything else.

I’m gonna take COMSAE C this weekend/early next week. My comlex is the 30th and I’ve only done COMSAE D so far. I’ll let you know how it compares.

I’m not sure if there’s any solid predictive measure for performance on the comlex. From what I’ve seen the COMSAE’s are more of a measure if you’d pass or not. I also haven’t done comquest, I’ve done part of combank.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

First post time posting!! 3 weeks left until COMLEX.

Cold diagnostic COMSAE A (3/21): 508
Dedicated started (4/15).
COMBANK 1st pass (4/19): 75% avg. all random blocks
COMSAE E: (4/20): 519
COMQUEST, 1st pass 50% complete (5/3): 74%avg. all random blocks
COMSAE B: (5/4): 574
COMQUEST 1st pass complete (5/14): 77%avg. all random blocks

COMSAE D is schedule through my school for (5/21)
Current 2nd pass through COMQUEST (25% complete; random): 90% avg.

Taking USMLE in July; starting Uworld after my COMLEX.

I didnt start studying OMM or pharm effectively early on and i think that showed on the first 2 Comsaes. COMSAE B score was exactly equal to my COMQUEST progress to that point (according to NBOMEs 2016-17 data). Im hoping to keep seeing jumps in the practice tests scores, regardless if they are good predictors or not.

Has anyone taken Comsae C, or heard more realistic correlations to actual performance on COMLEX vs COMSAEs & COMQUEST?
Ive heard from many that COMQUEST is more predictive than anything else.

How long did it take you to complete comquest? I’m about halfway through Uworld and will probably try to do as much as combank/comquest as I can before my comlex

 

[HoodBank]

How long did it take you to complete comquest? I’m about halfway through Uworld and will probably try to do as much as combank/comquest as I can before my comlex

It took me about 3.5 weeks do to comquest start to finish, about 130-150 questions a day. These last 3 weeks though my goal is 4500 questions which will be 2nd full pass through each of comquest and combank.

I’m gonna take COMSAE C this weekend/early next week. My comlex is the 30th and I’ve only done COMSAE D so far. I’ll let you know how it compares.

I’m not sure if there’s any solid predictive measure for performance on the comlex. From what I’ve seen the COMSAE’s are more of a measure if you’d pass or not. I also haven’t done comquest, I’ve done part of combank.

Yes please post how it went and what if felt like!!!

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

It took me about 3.5 weeks do to comquest start to finish, about 130-150 questions a day. These last 3 weeks though my goal is 4500 questions which will be 2nd full pass through each of comquest and combank.



Yes please post how it went and what if felt like!!!

Dang. I almost feel like it’d be more worth it for me to go through Uworld a second time

 

[DNC127]

Ok, can't do savarese anymore. It's like watching paint dry. May give OMG OMT a shot... why the hell not?

worth the $$$

 

[HoodBank]

Hey hoodie how do you like comquest compared to combank? Also taking form C here soon.

Also, damn, starting uworld middle of june?? Ballsy.

I think Comquest is MUCH better. Its more vague, longer stems, and makes you bridge a 3rd order. Combank just doesnt feel... right. hahaha its somewhat flashcardy and questions are either WAY to simple or so ridiculous that there is honestly no point in having them.. eg. questions about specific supreme court cases!!

Every friend in classes above mine have said comquest is lightyears better than combank as far as feeling the same as the real deal and betting a better percentile predictor.

Yeah, unfortunately the way things worked out for me left me with a big gap between the two tests. Ive finished USMLE-Rx and im looking forward to starting Uworld.

Dang. I almost feel like it’d be more worth it for me to go through Uworld a second time

Might as well!! My opinion is do as many as i possibly can before the real deal!!

 

[HoodBank]

worth the $$$

Highly second this.

 

[Blunt Dissection]

This exactly. I started Uworld and was getting 40/50% consistently but within the last week I started hitting high 50/mid 60s. Still have like 1600 questions left but ish like that have make me reconsider taking it. The lack of biochem and pharm that my school either left out or made it so dumbed down to the point it actually hurts makes me so scared to take the damn test.
I took a comsae yesterday and hit 560. Big improvement from my first one but still on the fence about Usmle. Will be taking either an nbme or Uworld practice test next Sunday and that will probably decide it for me.
Anyone have any advice on which one they would recommend taking first?

If you're only going to take 1 assessment as your deciding factor on USMLE, I'd say take UWSA 2 or NBME 15/16. The USMLE is a completely different animal from the COMLEX in terms of difficulty. I will be the first person to admit that when it comes to OMM, I have yet to ever actually look at it and will probably spend a week looking at OMGOMT/Savarese after my Step 1. I went into 2nd year studying for the Step and used USMLE-Rx, Kaplan, and UWorld and only did COMBANK when it was assigned by our school.

COMSAE E (1/2) - 539
COMBANK (~800questions) - 80%
COMBANK Sim 1 (4/1) - 610
UWorld - 66.2% overall, started with low-mid 60s, ended with mid 70s-80s
UWSA 1 - 251
UWSA 2 - 232

We have COMSAE D coming up soon so we'll see how it goes, but comparing the resources between comlex and usmle, I find the comlex prep material is nowhere near as well made. With UWorld/UWSA, I would end blocks with at most probably 3-4 minutes left. With the comsae/combanks, I would finish blocks of 40 with over 20 minutes left on each block. There's not a whole lot of depth required from the comlex prep material so it is really something to consider if you've only been using comlex prep material and plan to take the usmle.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

If you're only going to take 1 assessment as your deciding factor on USMLE, I'd say take UWSA 2 or NBME 15/16. The USMLE is a completely different animal from the COMLEX in terms of difficulty. I will be the first person to admit that when it comes to OMM, I have yet to ever actually look at it and will probably spend a week looking at OMGOMT/Savarese after my Step 1. I went into 2nd year studying for the Step and used USMLE-Rx, Kaplan, and UWorld and only did COMBANK when it was assigned by our school.

COMSAE E (1/2) - 539
COMBANK (~800questions) - 80%
COMBANK Sim 1 (4/1) - 610
UWorld - 66.2% overall, started with low-mid 60s, ended with mid 70s-80s
UWSA 1 - 251
UWSA 2 - 232

We have COMSAE D coming up soon so we'll see how it goes, but comparing the resources between comlex and usmle, I find the comlex prep material is nowhere near as well made. With UWorld/UWSA, I would end blocks with at most probably 3-4 minutes left. With the comsae/combanks, I would finish blocks of 40 with over 20 minutes left on each block. There's not a whole lot of depth required from the comlex prep material so it is really something to consider if you've only been using comlex prep material and plan to take the usmle.

Yeah I think I’m going to do at least 4 practice test before the real thing. I’m wanting somewhere between a 225-240.
I started out 30s-40s, then was 40s-50s, now I’m high 50s-mid 60s. Still have 3.5 weeks left so hopefully I continue to see this upward gain as I do a second pass of pathoma and physeo. Been recognizing my weakness and correcting as I go along and that seems to work

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Highly second this.

3rd scored high on omm because of it. It goes really fast if you figure out how to 2xs it. Watched it 3 times through in 3 days! Savarese goes more in depth though so maybe do at least one pass.

 

[HoodBank]

So, what % on combank/ comquest is considered "pretty good"? I know they have averages but who knows how many second year DO students use it, ya know. My goal is a 600 and I'm getting mid to high 70s on combank. But, no idea if I'm in good shape or what.

I'm trying to pump myself up in case the usmle falls through haha.

I think youre likely in good shape. I reached out to comquest to see if they had any data to support student performance to a 3 digit score. They have a "passing line" in the dashboard and essentially what that means is they have found that students that consistently score above that line have a 95.5% chance of scoring above average on the real thing. That line on comquest is a 59% average in the Q-bank, meaning the closer you are to it, the higher likelihood someone will score near average and the further above it = further right on the curve.

 

[Blunt Dissection]

Just sat COMSAE D today - 617. Some of the questions on these comsaes are just so poorly written that it's really hard to believe that they're the official practice of the NBOME

 

[tunicaexterna]

Just sat COMSAE D today - 617. Some of the questions on these comsaes are just so poorly written that it's really hard to believe that they're the official practice of the NBOME

Yep hahhaah

 

[DNC127]

Just sat COMSAE D today - 617. Some of the questions on these comsaes are just so poorly written that it's really hard to believe that they're the official practice of the NBOME

how does that compare to your others or was this your first?

 

[Mikeyyd34]

Thought I'd post up in here since I have really seen any true good feedback. I took USMLE yesterday and taking Comlex on Monday. Hoping to make up some ground after yesterday because it was nothing I would have ever imagined or anticipated. COMSAE D score was a 755 taken a few weeks go so hoping for a repeat performance there. Ill post up my impression of the exam following Monday

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Thought I'd post up in here since I have really seen any true good feedback. I took USMLE yesterday and taking Comlex on Monday. Hoping to make up some ground after yesterday because it was nothing I would have ever imagined or anticipated. COMSAE D score was a 755 taken a few weeks go so hoping for a repeat performance there. Ill post up my impression of the exam following Monday

How’d you prepare for step?

 

[HoodBank]

Thought I'd post up in here since I have really seen any true good feedback. I took USMLE yesterday and taking Comlex on Monday. Hoping to make up some ground after yesterday because it was nothing I would have ever imagined or anticipated. COMSAE D score was a 755 taken a few weeks go so hoping for a repeat performance there. Ill post up my impression of the exam following Monday

How was is it like nothing you ever anticipated??

Thats a great COMSAE score! was that the only one you took?

 

[Mikeyyd34]

How’d you prepare for step?

U world 1x pass 84%. I started doing my incorrects but would literally just remember the question so stopped. A little bit of Pathoma and B&B, but mostly FA and Anki. Referenced Sketchy from time to time but a lot of that was already brunt into my head. Took all NBMEs 13-19 and both Uworld Assessments.

How was is it like nothing you ever anticipated??

Thats a great COMSAE score! was that the only one you took?

Thank you! Too bad it only matters what you get on the real deal haha. It was nothing like I ever anticipated from that stand point, over the course of the last 3 months, Ive taken all NBMES 13-19, both Uworld assessments, and our school made us take all core science NBME shelf exams (biochem, physiology, pharm, path, micro/immuno) So I felt pretty comfortable with questions and formats. The majority of the assessments I took, I felt pretty decent about. I knew what was being asked of me and the questions felt fair and well represented across multiple disciplines. I'd say less than half my exam was "okay I know what youre asking BOOM theres the answer you're looking for." The rest was either "what the heck. This is in no review material or anything Ive come across, but Ill take a stab at it." or okay I know what you're talking about and then you go to the answer choices and they aren't in any context of any question or review material you've encountered. So you can reason your answer as being correct, but you're aren't in the least bit sure because you can't even look it up if you wanted to

 

[HoodBank]

U world 1x pass 84%. I started doing my incorrects but would literally just remember the question so stopped. A little bit of Pathoma and B&B, but mostly FA and Anki. Referenced Sketchy from time to time but a lot of that was already brunt into my head. Took all NBMEs 13-19 and both Uworld Assessments.

Thank you! Too bad it only matters what you get on the real deal haha. It was nothing like I ever anticipated from that stand point, over the course of the last 3 months, Ive taken all NBMES 13-19, both Uworld assessments, and our school made us take all core science NBME shelf exams (biochem, physiology, pharm, path, micro/immuno) So I felt pretty comfortable with questions and formats. The majority of the assessments I took, I felt pretty decent about. I knew what was being asked of me and the questions felt fair and well represented across multiple disciplines. I'd say less than half my exam was "okay I know what youre asking BOOM theres the answer you're looking for." The rest was either "what the heck. This is in no review material or anything Ive come across, but Ill take a stab at it." or okay I know what you're talking about and then you go to the answer choices and they aren't in any context of any question or review material you've encountered. So you can reason your answer as being correct, but you're aren't in the least bit sure because you can't even look it up if you wanted to

Wow, im eager to hear about your COMLEX experience after you take it. It sounds like whatever school you go to actually knows how to prepare students for boards though; im a little jealous!!

 

[Blunt Dissection]

how does that compare to your others or was this your first?

The only other COMSAE I took was the E form that they made us take in January. I got a 539 on that one so it goes in line to at least show that I've definitely learned more since then. I was comparing outcome results with a friend of mine who got a 710 and the difference between our performance was almost entirely related to omm which if I recall right there's somewhere between 6-10 pure omm questions on the D form.

 

[tunicaexterna]

I’m starting to get nervous about this exam Also, much biochemistry do we think is gonna be on this thing. On my COMSAE it told me my biochem was a strength which hilarious since I’m terrible at it (it’s also hilarious since I don’t recall any biochem on the comsae but w/e).....In the time I have left my gut is telling me to review things like cardio/MSK/Neuro/OMM and not mess around with biochem, but I’m nervous that I am wrong about this.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

I’m starting to get nervous about this exam Also, much biochemistry do we think is gonna be on this thing. On my COMSAE it told me my biochem was a strength which hilarious since I’m terrible at it (it’s also hilarious since I don’t recall any biochem on the comsae but w/e).....In the time I have left my gut is telling me to review things like cardio/MSK/Neuro/OMM and not mess around with biochem, but I’m nervous that I am wrong about this.

No clue lol not sure if they’re about to try to change the whole test up or what haha if it’s like anything in years past comlex will have almost no biochem/basic biochem. Hoping for none lol

 

[Mikeyyd34]

I’m starting to get nervous about this exam Also, much biochemistry do we think is gonna be on this thing. On my COMSAE it told me my biochem was a strength which hilarious since I’m terrible at it (it’s also hilarious since I don’t recall any biochem on the comsae but w/e).....In the time I have left my gut is telling me to review things like cardio/MSK/Neuro/OMM and not mess around with biochem, but I’m nervous that I am wrong about this.

Based on COMBANK and Comsae, they only ever hit the hit yield stuff and none of the crazy minutia or hypothetical-experimental questions USMLE likes.