COMLEX Official 2018 Comlex 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[ThrowAwayStepDO]

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[Oreo#1]

I just took my COMLEX this past week and the question stems were about the same length that I experienced with combank. With that said, I did have to reread few of them multiple times just to figure out what I was actually being asked. I'm not too sure if it was fatigue or poor wording that caused this to happen, lol.

I'd guess fatigue. I need to take a break every 100 questions or so or I find myself rereading questions. I take my exam Tuesday so we'll see how it goes! Already feel like i've forgotten everything i've learned.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

I'd guess fatigue. I need to take a break every 100 questions or so or I find myself rereading questions. I take my exam Tuesday so we'll see how it goes! Already feel like i've forgotten everything i've learned.

goodluck on Tuesday! hope you kill it

 

[Oreo#1]

goodluck on Tuesday! hope you kill it

Thank you : )

 

[Dreamstoo]

Hey guys, for COMSAEs does anyone know what % is needed to get a 400+. I know for most NBMEs you need at least 70% right to pass (some lower and some higher).

I read to pass COMLEX is ~50% right, should I just assume 50% equals about a 400?

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Hey guys, for COMSAEs does anyone know what % is needed to get a 400+. I know for most NBMEs you need at least 70% right to pass (some lower and some higher).

I read to pass COMLEX is ~50% right, should I just assume 50% equals about a 400?

I would not assume that but I don’t know. A 77% on the combank assessment = 600. That’s the only one I’ve taken that’s given me a percent

 

[dushash]

Hey guys, for COMSAEs does anyone know what % is needed to get a 400+. I know for most NBMEs you need at least 70% right to pass (some lower and some higher).

I read to pass COMLEX is ~50% right, should I just assume 50% equals about a 400?

50% will give you about 420 or so (give or take). 30% is about 280, while 77 is about 600 (as PathoTurnUp1985 said). It's not perfectly linear, but still very predictable imho. This is all based on different people's scores they got. Don't aim at 400 tho, just because question stems in Comsae are shorter and also real exam is twice as long (fatigue, stress, etc). So hence why at least 450 on Comsae is preferred by schools so they can know you have a chance to pass.

 

[Dreamstoo]

50% will give you about 420 or so (give or take). 30% is about 280, while 77 is about 600 (as PathoTurnUp1985 said). It's not perfectly linear, but still very predictable imho. This is all based on different people's scores they got. Don't aim at 400 tho, just because question stems in Comsae are shorter and also real exam is twice as long (fatigue, stress, etc). So hence why at least 450 on Comsae is preferred by schools so they can know you have a chance to pass.

Not aiming for 400, was just curious. Thank you for the feedback.

 

[Jakeman3597]

Hey do people have a recommendation for which Comsae to take? A is the newest now but based on a very small number of posts I could find It looked like people did way worse on A than C? Any opinions?

 

[MagicDuck]

Hey do people have a recommendation for which Comsae to take? A is the newest now but based on a very small number of posts I could find It looked like people did way worse on A than C? Any opinions?

Honestly I would not spend $60 on a COMSAE... you don't get to see what questions you missed. UWSA are like $30 and you can see what you missed. Way better in my opinion.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Honestly I would not spend $60 on a COMSAE... you don't get to see what questions you missed. UWSA are like $30 and you can see what you missed. Way better in my opinion.

Hey do people have a recommendation for which Comsae to take? A is the newest now but based on a very small number of posts I could find It looked like people did way worse on A than C? Any opinions?

I’ll echo what the duck says. The combank assessment is the only comlex test I’d recommend since it’s full length. Prepares you for the fatigue. Nbmes and uwsas were way better for actual comlex. Don’t waste your money on comsaes. They’re terrible.
If you take an nbme/uwsa and get a 200-220 you’ll be within 450-600 most likely.

 

[Oreo#1]

I’ll echo what the duck says. The combank assessment is the only comlex test I’d recommend since it’s full length. Prepares you for the fatigue. Nbmes and uwsas were way better for actual comlex. Don’t waste your money on comsaes. They’re terrible.
If you take an nbme/uwsa and get a 200-220 you’ll be within 450-600 most likely.

My school ditches COMSAE this year as a way to benchmark you for taking the test and are using COMBANK.

 

[Jakeman3597]

My school ditches COMSAE this year as a way to benchmark you for taking the test and are using COMBANK.

Oh wow thats progressive!
Thanks yall.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Quick question, did you guys feel like sketchy micro and drugs was more than enough? Because there are some stuff that's not in sketchy

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Quick question, did you guys feel like sketchy micro and drugs was more than enough? Because there are some stuff that's not in sketchy

Those were the givemes. Seriously though the test is not as bad as people make it seem. Is it hard? Yes, but it’s not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Micro and pharm were the easiest parts on the test. I was worried about pharm going into it but when I was going through the test I hoped that the next question would either be pharm or micro because they were so straightforward. Almost all of them were first order

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Those were the givemes. Seriously though the test is not as bad as people make it seem. Is it hard? Yes, but it’s not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Micro and pharm were the easiest parts on the test. I was worried about pharm going into it but when I was going through the test I hoped that the next question would either be pharm or micro because they were so straightforward. Almost all of them were first order

Okay sweet thank you!

 

[hpaat95]

Those were the givemes. Seriously though the test is not as bad as people make it seem. Is it hard? Yes, but it’s not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Micro and pharm were the easiest parts on the test. I was worried about pharm going into it but when I was going through the test I hoped that the next question would either be pharm or micro because they were so straightforward. Almost all of them were first order

I have no idea what you are talking about. You must be the top 1% of your class. I agree with the guy/girl who earlier stated 30% of this test was written by a drunk monkey. More people would agree with me when I say this test is nothing like the resources we are given. it is extremely difficult. I found myself hoping I got 25 out of the 50 right on each block other than maybe 1. I got a 650 on the assessment. Got a 580 on form E comsae and I still think this. Realistically more people are going to side with me on this, I don't know how you don't think that test was hard, I also took it last Wednesday. That being said, I think there will be a huge curve because everyone I've talked to seems to think this was way harder than anything you could prepare for.

 

[reenbean11]

I have no idea what you are talking about. You must be the top 1% of your class. I agree with the guy/girl who earlier stated 30% of this test was written by a drunk monkey. More people would agree with me when I say this test is nothing like the resources we are given. it is extremely difficult. I found myself hoping I got 25 out of the 50 right on each block other than maybe 1. I got a 650 on the assessment. Got a 580 on form E comsae and I still think this. Realistically more people are going to side with me on this, I don't know how you don't think that test was hard, I also took it last Wednesday. That being said, I think there will be a huge curve because everyone I've talked to seems to think this was way harder than anything you could prepare for.

Took it on Wednesday too and I felt the EXACT SAME WAY! The only block that was easy was right after lunch. The rest I was hoping I got half right. Not sure if on Wednesday they just administered a harder exam or what... but everyone else I talked to had no idea what was going on during it!

 

[winston_smith]

I have no idea what you are talking about. You must be the top 1% of your class. I agree with the guy/girl who earlier stated 30% of this test was written by a drunk monkey. More people would agree with me when I say this test is nothing like the resources we are given. it is extremely difficult. I found myself hoping I got 25 out of the 50 right on each block other than maybe 1. I got a 650 on the assessment. Got a 580 on form E comsae and I still think this. Realistically more people are going to side with me on this, I don't know how you don't think that test was hard, I also took it last Wednesday. That being said, I think there will be a huge curve because everyone I've talked to seems to think this was way harder than anything you could prepare for.

glad to know I'm not the only one who feels like this. I've been really down since I took the test, felt like I was really prepared going in and feel completely defeated now

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

I have no idea what you are talking about. You must be the top 1% of your class. I agree with the guy/girl who earlier stated 30% of this test was written by a drunk monkey. More people would agree with me when I say this test is nothing like the resources we are given. it is extremely difficult. I found myself hoping I got 25 out of the 50 right on each block other than maybe 1. I got a 650 on the assessment. Got a 580 on form E comsae and I still think this. Realistically more people are going to side with me on this, I don't know how you don't think that test was hard, I also took it last Wednesday. That being said, I think there will be a huge curve because everyone I've talked to seems to think this was way harder than anything you could prepare for.

Definitely not top 1%. Lol I just got lucky I guess. I didn’t feel that way about usmle. So maybe I just had a test that was more stuff I felt comfortable with I dunno

 

[TTPpentad]

Took comlex yesterday and the only real advice I have is to know Sketchy very well (if you use it)! I had lots of micro and some obscure pharm. OMM was very simple. I didn’t use Savarese at all and felt just fine. The rest of the test was a crapshoot. They brought the same topics up again and again.

For those of you worried about timing, if you’re normally a fast test taker, you won’t have any issues. Although some question sets are long, most of the questions themselves are pretty simple (lots of first order).

I’ll find out in a over a month how it actually went! Haha

 

[dushash]

So I think what throws half of people during and after the test is the way question stems are written. But I think we can all agree that it has a good share of OMM, Micro, Pharm and Path. If most of OMM is not hard - that's already like 20% of test. Micro and Pharm seem to be straight recall questions, tho some drugs and bugs were rare. I understand that majority of folks who took exam will feel bad after it, but that is common trend, even on usmle. So I'm just saying we cant really complain, it could have been a lot worse imho.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Took comlex yesterday and the only real advice I have is to know Sketchy very well (if you use it)! I had lots of micro and some obscure pharm. OMM was very simple. I didn’t use Savarese at all and felt just fine. The rest of the test was a crapshoot. They brought the same topics up again and again.

For those of you worried about timing, if you’re normally a fast test taker, you won’t have any issues. Although some question sets are long, most of the questions themselves are pretty simple (lots of first order).

I’ll find out in a over a month how it actually went! Haha

Is it similar to combank because the way they explain the presentation is so dam vague...or more similar to uworld?

 

[TTPpentad]

Is it similar to combank because the way they explain the presentation is so dam vague...or more similar to uworld?

For my test, it was more like Uworld. Many questions gave you something clear enough that you could figure out the disease process they were going for. That said, there were definitely some vague questions, just not as many as combank.

 

[Staphylococcus Aureus]

Can anyone comment further on the difficulty when compared to combank, comquest, UW?

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Can anyone comment further on the difficulty when compared to combank, comquest, UW?

Somewhere in between all of those. For me felt like in between Uworld and combank. Did not do comquest

 

[Oreo#1]

For my test, it was more like Uworld. Many questions gave you something clear enough that you could figure out the disease process they were going for. That said, there were definitely some vague questions, just not as many as combank.

Ya idk what you guys are talking about. I took it today and it was a damn mess. I didnt realize i was sitting for my cardiology EKG boards / respiratory boards. Defenitely had some gimies but overall i thought it was not an accurate representation of how hard i atudied and what my practice scores were showing. At this point im hoping to just get above 500. Defenitlwy dont have enough time comsidering one of my sections had 6 15 second videos... and whats up with that highlighting tool? Fak

 

[TTPpentad]

Ya idk what you guys are talking about. I took it today and it was a damn mess. I didnt realize i was sitting for my cardiology EKG boards / respiratory boards. Defenitely had some gimies but overall i thought it was not an accurate representation of how hard i atudied and what my practice scores were showing. At this point im hoping to just get above 500. Defenitlwy dont have enough time comsidering one of my sections had 6 15 second videos... and whats up with that highlighting tool? Fak

Dang! I had two EKG’s my entire test and both were very simple. Hopefully the ones on yours were just experimental questions and they’ll get tossed out.

The videos were stupid but straightforward at least. I didn’t feel like they zapped that much time...

 

[Oreo#1]

Dang! I had two EKG’s my entire test and both were very simple. Hopefully the ones on yours were just experimental questions and they’ll get tossed out.

The videos were stupid but straightforward at least. I didn’t feel like they zapped that much time...

To be fair from what I’ve seen everyone has taken completely different exams (with questions that were likely written by completely different writers). Some of my friends had a test that was close to 20% neuro questions, I had less than 10 neuro qs total. Some of my friends had a bunch of ME for OMM, I had nonstop counterstrain details.

I think a lot of this is luck of the draw. My test was mostly coherent but some people’s weren’t.


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I could go on about how I want to swear at you because my omm section had 15 cranial questions alone not to mention the non stop “where is this contrived neuro lesion that you should probably have 3 minutes to process the question because we’re drunk but you only have 45 seconds in realty” ... or that all my cardio REQUIRED an EKG or you couldn’t answer ..... but I just don’t care anymore. I scored 650 on combank practice assessment and 600 ok COMSAE .... I’ll be lucky if I get the average and that’s what I’m hoping for

Oh. And apparently there are new bugs I never learned in school or sketchy ... but this is COMLEX - we’re better than everyone

 

[tunicaexterna]

I could go on about how I want to swear at you because my omm section had 15 cranial questions alone not to mention the non stop “where is this contrived neuro lesion that you should probably have 3 minutes to process the question because we’re drunk but you only have 45 seconds in realty” ... or that all my cardio REQUIRED an EKG or you couldn’t answer ..... but I just don’t care anymore. I scored 650 on combank practice assessment and 600 ok COMSAE .... I’ll be lucky if I get the average and that’s what I’m hoping for

Oh. And apparently there are new bugs I never learned in school or sketchy ... but this is COMLEX - we’re better than everyone

Nah man I feel ya. Some of the OMM on mine was really Wtf hard but hey what can you do. I got a few bugs and details that weren’t in sketchy too.


I hope it went well for us.... 6 weeks is a long time to wait for the results.


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[PathoTurnUp1865]

I could go on about how I want to swear at you because my omm section had 15 cranial questions alone not to mention the non stop “where is this contrived neuro lesion that you should probably have 3 minutes to process the question because we’re drunk but you only have 45 seconds in realty” ... or that all my cardio REQUIRED an EKG or you couldn’t answer ..... but I just don’t care anymore. I scored 650 on combank practice assessment and 600 ok COMSAE .... I’ll be lucky if I get the average and that’s what I’m hoping for

Oh. And apparently there are new bugs I never learned in school or sketchy ... but this is COMLEX - we’re better than everyone

I had a lot of cranial but I’ll reiterate what I said before about dirty usmle. The stroke video was sufficient to answer almost every lesion problem I had. Those reading this that have not taken their test yet go watch that video. Comlex is notorious for Neuro so watch that video.

 

[cryhavoc]

Those were the givemes. Seriously though the test is not as bad as people make it seem. Is it hard? Yes, but it’s not nearly as bad as people make it seem. Micro and pharm were the easiest parts on the test. I was worried about pharm going into it but when I was going through the test I hoped that the next question would either be pharm or micro because they were so straightforward. Almost all of them were first order

I really hope you are like the only person with this point of view. I need that curve real bad.

I'm already trying to convince myself that family med wouldn't so bad if I failed and had to take it again.

 

[dushash]

I really hope you are like the only person with this point of view. I need that curve real bad.

I'm already trying to convince myself that family med wouldn't so bad if I failed and had to take it again.

Come on now, there's plenty of examples when people matched to lots of different specialties with failed step 1. This is a common myth that sdn likes to exaggerate. This is common for pre-med forums lol, they like to tell scary stories how a pre-med with 40 on mcat and 4.0gpa didn't get into any school lol. We should know better that if you apply broadly - you'll get into specialties even with 2nd step 1 successful attempt. Unless you have specific location in mind - then yes, it may not work out.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Come on now, there's plenty of examples when people matched to lots of different specialties with failed step 1. This is a common myth that sdn likes to exaggerate. This is common for pre-med forums lol, they like to tell scary stories how a pre-med with 40 on mcat and 4.0gpa didn't get into any school lol. We should know better that if you apply broadly - you'll get into specialties even with 2nd step 1 successful attempt. Unless you have specific location in mind - then yes, it may not work out.

Comes back one month later... “I don’t know how I did it but scored only a 789”

 

[Staphylococcus Aureus]

Getting 70% on comquest, how worried should I be?

 

[QueenJames]

COMSAEs are absolute garbage.

My bf scored 435 4 days before his COMLEX.

Real score on Comlex was 580+.

LOL

I pray they get rid of this ******* exam.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Getting 70% on comquest, how worried should I be?

Like I said in a previous post a 77% got me a 600 on a practice test... so not worried? Test will be hard but I’m hoping for success like previous years that posted on here

 

[hpgryffn]

Anyone know how well combank assessment 2 correlates with comlex? just got a 581-583 and 1 week out from comlex [next wed] im scared. honestly just want above a 600

 

[890389]

Like I said in a previous post a 77% got me a 600 on a practice test... so not worried? Test will be hard but I’m hoping for success like previous years that posted on here

Hey PathoTurnUp, I went through this thread, and your posts were super helpful. I'm taking the test Friday, anything else you can recommend? I'm a borderline student and am just trying to pass this f*cking test. I've gone through Sketchy micro once, Uworld, and OMT/OMG. I've dabbled some in Sketchy Pharm and done a few COMBANK questions, but time is ticking. Any recommendations would be helpful.

 

[DNC127]

Anyone know how well combank assessment 2 correlates with comlex? just got a 581-583 and 1 week out from comlex [next wed] im scared. honestly just want above a 600

You do realize a 600 is the 82nd percentile right? Like its not exactly an easy feat. For reference, the 82nd percentile is around a 250 on USMLE. However, a 250 would be much harder to get than a 600 but still, a 600 is not some lowly score.

You shouldn't be scared with those scores, but getting above a 600 for you will probably depend on getting a test that fits your strengths.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

You do realize a 600 is the 82nd percentile right? Like its not exactly an easy feat. For reference, the 82nd percentile is around a 250 on USMLE. However, a 250 would be much harder to get than a 600 but still, a 600 is not some lowly score.

You shouldn't be scared with those scores, but getting above a 600 for you will probably depend on getting a test that fits your strengths.

Especially since average is usually around 510-520. Last year was not normal for comlex lol probably won’t be this year either

Anyone know how well combank assessment 2 correlates with comlex? just got a 581-583 and 1 week out from comlex [next wed] im scared. honestly just want above a 600

But your score is high enough you’ll probably feel like you’re getting 50-60% right on the real thing. That’s how I felt 80% of the time. When you’re taking the test just don’t let the stress get to you. Maybe practice mindfulness before so you can train yourself to not get overwhelmed. When I took my breaks I really focused on cooling my mind down. Walked around the building, told myself every little things gonna be alright and went back to get the rub down

 

[hpgryffn]

You do realize a 600 is the 82nd percentile right? Like its not exactly an easy feat. For reference, the 82nd percentile is around a 250 on USMLE. However, a 250 would be much harder to get than a 600 but still, a 600 is not some lowly score.

You shouldn't be scared with those scores, but getting above a 600 for you will probably depend on getting a test that fits your strengths.

im sorry, didn't mean to offend by saying "just want above a 600". i understand it takes hard work to get there. ive just been feeling defeated lately and my combank score today was another blow for me because my goal still seems to be so out of reach

Especially since average is usually around 510-520. Last year was not normal for comlex lol probably won’t be this year either

But your score is high enough you’ll probably feel like you’re getting 50-60% right on the real thing. That’s how I felt 80% of the time. When you’re taking the test just don’t let the stress get to you. Maybe practice mindfulness before so you can train yourself to not get overwhelmed. When I took my breaks I really focused on cooling my mind down. Walked around the building, told myself every little things gonna be alright and went back to get the rub down

thanks! will definitely try this to keep it together during the exam lol

 

[dushash]

COMSAEs are absolute garbage.

My bf scored 435 4 days before his COMLEX.

Real score on Comlex was 580+.

LOL

I pray they get rid of this ******* exam.

That brings hope to my drained soul - if Comsae is underestimating - that's a good news if you ask me. That's a positive symptom shucks. negative would be when you get 580+ on Comsae and score 435 on comlex

 

[jlnguye3]

I had a lot of cranial but I’ll reiterate what I said before about dirty usmle. The stroke video was sufficient to answer almost every lesion problem I had. Those reading this that have not taken their test yet go watch that video. Comlex is notorious for Neuro so watch that video.

Do you think the comlex questions were similar to combank/comquest? Or was it just in a league of its own?

 

[Jakeman3597]

There aren't any threads or solutions online for COMSAEs right (in particular for D)?

Took one recently and wanted to check answers.

I'm almost positive there aren't. I think Comsae D is newer actually also so any old info that might be floating around for answers isn't accurate I was told.

 

[QueenJames]

Just finished taking it.

SO much micro and neuro.

Left feeling less-screwed than I did during STEP 1.

We shall see what happens.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Just finished taking it.

SO much micro and neuro.

Left feeling less-screwed than I did during STEP 1.

We shall see what happens.

Congrats man!

Dear god....did you do sketchy for micro? or was it some weird ass bugs. Any last minute advice?

Much appreciated!

 

[Ioannes Paulus]

Hey Guys.
Need some honest help.
I was planning on taking both Step 1 and Level 1 but, due to various reasons that I don't want to discuss here, have postponed my Step 1 by 3 weeks but will still be taking Level 1 in 6 days. Feel really, really unsure. Have only gone through half of UWorld (cumulative score of 65%) but really don't know where I stand on Comlex AT ALL. How bad is the COMLEX pathology/pathophysiology when compared to UWorld? I know Micro and Pharm are HY but don't know how much effort to put into First Aid and UWorld this last week before my exam. I'm freaking out! Really want to do well on Level 1 as it seems my Step 1 will be average at best. Thanks for the help ya'll.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Hey Guys.
Need some honest help.
I was planning on taking both Step 1 and Level 1 but, due to various reasons that I don't want to discuss here, have postponed my Step 1 by 3 weeks but will still be taking Level 1 in 6 days. Feel really, really unsure. Have only gone through half of UWorld (cumulative score of 65%) but really don't know where I stand on Comlex AT ALL. How bad is the COMLEX pathology/pathophysiology when compared to UWorld? I know Micro and Pharm are HY but don't know how much effort to put into First Aid and UWorld this last week before my exam. I'm freaking out! Really want to do well on Level 1 as it seems my Step 1 will be average at best. Thanks for the help ya'll.

Maybe try doing a COMBANK or COMSAE self assessment to see where you at. Prob gonna be +/-100 of the score.

 

[sicemxoxo]

Took it today and all I can say is lol. My exam was basically all repro, endo, renal, and micro.

Don’t underestimate the difficulty of this year’s COMLEX. Not exactly a piece of cake. Definitely doable but you won’t walk out of it feeling good about how you did.


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[dushash]

Took it today and all I can say is lol. My exam was basically all repro, endo, renal, and micro.

Don’t underestimate the difficulty of this year’s COMLEX. Not exactly a piece of cake. Definitely doable but you won’t walk out of it feeling good about how you did.


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How was questions stems - long or short like comsae?