USMLE Official 2018 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[Foot Fetish]

I've always wanted to start one of these...So here we go!

My stats:

M2
Test time: June 2018
Goal score: 270

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[pbrocks15]

Got my score back the other day and home from vacation now so here's my write up...

NBME15 (baseline 8ish weeks out)--237
Free 120 (3 weeks out)--88%
NBME 19 (one week out)--246

Real deal--263

I was honestly shocked to see my score. My goal was a 250 and I never dreamed of breaking into the 260s! I've already discussed my test day experience but to recap--felt just like an NBME, very similar to 19. I must have been very lucky in retrospect because there were no major surprises and I felt like I could reason through all the questions.

Resources used (in order of importance)

Uworld--nothing groundbreaking to say here. Did a first pass before dedicated which was helpful for me (69% first pass). About 1/2 was alongside of my organ system blocks, the other half I did random mode in the months leading up to dedicated. I did not take notes or anything the first pass. Second pass during dedicated I did 60-80 questions per day, mostly random tutor mode. Second pass was 84%. I took some notes which I compiled in Excel...but nothing too crazy because I forced myself to write them in my own words without looking at Uworld. This helped solidify things. I did not do any flashcards for Uworld. I did some of my incorrects during the week of my test, especially the hated topics of biochem and neuro.

Firecracker--I could do a really long, in depth discussion of this resource but I will keep it short here and just say that I feel this is hands down the best review resource out there. It is absolutely the most comprehensive without being too detailed. It is NOT simply first aid in flashcard format (I thought this until I actually used FA a little bit lol). There are really good explanations of topics not found anywhere else that helps you not have to memorize as much (understanding mechanism and the "why" behind stuff). I used it extensively alongside classes, and I did a lot of flashcards during dedicated. I also read through topics and used it like a review book which was helpful, but forced recall is undoubtedly the way to go if you can make the time for it. 1000% would do firecracker again, worth every penny.

Goljan--discovered this gem about 2/3 through my organ system curriculum. The beauty of this book is that Goljan explains the mechanism behind just about everything--there are so soooo many "ah hah" moments where you finally get to fully understand something you have tried to rote memorize in the past. For me, I think the key to my score was memorizing as little as possible, and trying to get as much information/mechanism as I could to stick long-term. Goljan was absolutely key for this!! (but doing questions is better/just as important...). I read through all the organ system chapters in Goljan 2-3x during dedicated, and the basic science stuff 1.5x. I was really kicking myself for not having started the basic science stuff earlier because there is some GOLD in there...overall this was a great resource for me and the most enjoyable to read/use.

All other resources were used sporadically/minimally:

Pathoma: watched on the treadmill, alongside classes and during dedicated. For dedicated I only watched chapters that I was weak on (like breast cancers, bone tumors, blood cancers, glomerulopathies, etc). I also did the foundational (first three chapters stuff) more in depth because I was very weak on this stuff and it kept coming up in NBMEs.

Rx Qbank: Did probably 80-90% alongside my classes. Honestly a very solid Qbank that helps drill in the most important concepts and facts. I did a few blocks in some of my weaker areas during dedicated (a good bit of neuro).

First Aid: Did not like the formatting/content of this book at all...Just was not working for me. I think I need more than just bullet points and phrases to engage my brain...That being said, I did one pass through the basic science section in the 3 days before my test, and having done a lot of questions at that point I was able to make more connections and engage my brain a little better. But it really freaked me out when I would come across random facts and stuff that I felt like I didn't know or had not seen before (FA has plenty of LOW YIELD crap that was never in Uworld, NBME, other resoruces, etc...). Moral of the story is YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE THIS BOOK IF YOU DONT LIKE IT!!!

Robbins Qbank and text: Used extensively alongside classes. Time would have been better spend with GOLJAN (although the questions were probably pretty helpful, but a lot are on random diseases and crap that never comes up again).


Overall, the most important things for me were understanding mechanisms behind stuff (without going too crazy here) so that I could memorize as little as possible. Most of this was done alongside my classes and just refreshed in dedicated. I also had a really, really positive attitude on test day and totally pumped myself up! (test day soundtrack--We Are The Champions, We Will Rock you, A Country Boy Can Survive, etc...)

During classes I always did reasonably well but was nowhere near the top (except on one or two blocks like micro). I usually got low A's on test or high Bs. I actually completely stopped listening to lectures during my last semester and would only read through the powerpoints maybe twice or three times...AFTER having read the textbooks. I spent a ton of time during classes reading books, doing flashcards (firecracker), and doing practice questions. I realized that doing the lecture deal took the longest and was the least helpful for me...so I prioritized accordingly.

My goal in med school has always been to just learn stuff well, and the fields I'm interested in do not require a high step score. This allowed me to break away from the UFAPs mantra and lectures, which was a major risk in my mind but absolutely paid off. Good luck to everyone studying for this beast!!!!

Huge congrats on your score man!!

How did you schedule your day?

 

[intubesteak]

Congrats!! Do you have an estimate for how many you know you got wrong?

No idea. I looked up maybe 15 things afterwards and missed 3-4 of those. But there were plenty of getting it down to two choices which can go either way.

 

[intubesteak]

Huge congrats on your score man!!

How did you schedule your day?

During dedicated or test day?

 

[pbrocks15]

During dedicated or test day?

Dedicated, please. I have mine coming up and just like to hear how everyone arranges theirs. Thanks!

 

[intubesteak]

Dedicated, please. I have mine coming up and just like to hear how everyone arranges theirs. Thanks!

I used pomodoro timers (25 min focus, 5 min break) throughout

8-9am pharmacology flashcards
9-12 reading Goljan/flashcards (alternating every hour or so to avoid boredom) for whatever topic I was on
12-1 lunch/relax
1-5 reading Goljan/flashcards/anything else I felt like
5-730 exercise (pathoma on treadmill if up for it), dinner, relax
730-1030 Uworld (60-80 questions random tutor)
1030-1130 relax, nightcap, chocolate or ice cream, Netflix with wife

Once a week or so I took a half day and went fishing/hunting and then date night with wife. After practice tests I took the rest of the day off and did the same. Some days I ran out of steam and did not stick exactly to the schedule.

 

[pbrocks15]

I used pomodoro timers (25 min focus, 5 min break) throughout

8-9am pharmacology flashcards
9-12 reading Goljan/flashcards (alternating every hour or so to avoid boredom) for whatever topic I was on
12-1 lunch/relax
1-5 reading Goljan/flashcards/anything else I felt like
5-730 exercise (pathoma on treadmill if up for it), dinner, relax
730-1030 Uworld (60-80 questions random tutor)
1030-1130 relax, nightcap, chocolate or ice cream, Netflix with wife

Once a week or so I took a half day and went fishing/hunting and then date night with wife. After practice tests I took the rest of the day off and did the same. Some days I ran out of steam and did not stick exactly to the schedule.

Thanks for the details! Just to be sure, when you say Goljan do you mean only the RR Pathology? or was there something else that you were using? Maybe the audio or the notes? I know there are some Goljan notes that are floating around that are similar to the audio/book.

Also, when you were on your second pass UWorld, how did you get through questions so quickly? I feel like I'm afraid that UWorld is going to suck too much time out of my day. It takes me like 4 hours to do and review a block of 40.

Lastly, sorry if you mentioned this but how long was your dedicated period?

Ps. coming into dedicated with a baseline of 237 is also really setting yourself of for success down the road, that's really amazing.

 

[theonlytycrane]

Got my score back the other day and home from vacation now so here's my write up...

...

My goal in med school has always been to just learn stuff well, and the fields I'm interested in do not require a high step score. This allowed me to break away from the UFAPs mantra and lectures, which was a major risk in my mind but absolutely paid off. Good luck to everyone studying for this beast!!!!

this post + the other reactions make me scared to solely UFAP

 

[LowYield]

UFAPs is more for dedicated. I used UWorld and reviewed FA during preclinicals, but I used much better resources than pathoma to learn. UFAPs is helpful in dedicated because you don't have time to do everything

Exactly. The idea of dedicated is that you are simply reviewing everything you've already learned (hopefully), so the materials you should be using should cover the high-yield points and jog your memory.

 

[SandP]

Any speculation as far as % right to get 240,50,60,70 respectively?

 

[afib123]

They might be similar levels of difficulty, people just experience things differently. Things that are commom sense to you, might be incredibly difficult for someone else, and that influences how people feel about the test. Some tests may be hard because they happen to test things you didn't know, not because the questions were hard. And so on

Yeah that exists too. I am not talking about though. Some of my friends, all with similar intelligence levels and practice test scores, got easy tests (their test was like the nbme) and others got hard tests (their test was much harder than uworld). Of course the scores level out with the curve but I think it's stupid that they charge you this much and test some people with low yield, esoteric stuff and rely on the curve to predict scores.

 

[LowYield]

They might be similar levels of difficulty, people just experience things differently. Things that are commom sense to you, might be incredibly difficult for someone else, and that influences how people feel about the test. Some tests may be hard because they happen to test things you didn't know, not because the questions were hard. And so on

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's human nature for us to tend to fixate on our bad experiences (in this case, the hard questions), so that is what most people will recall most vividly. As opposed to the easy questions they breezed through.

 

[LowYield]

Any speculation as far as % right to get 240,50,60,70 respectively?

There was a figure floating around somewhere on these forums. I think it'll come up if you google "usmle step 1 percent correct"

 

[intubesteak]

Thanks for the details! Just to be sure, when you say Goljan do you mean only the RR Pathology? or was there something else that you were using? Maybe the audio or the notes? I know there are some Goljan notes that are floating around that are similar to the audio/book.

Also, when you were on your second pass UWorld, how did you get through questions so quickly? I feel like I'm afraid that UWorld is going to suck too much time out of my day. It takes me like 4 hours to do and review a block of 40.

Lastly, sorry if you mentioned this but how long was your dedicated period?

Ps. coming into dedicated with a baseline of 237 is also really setting yourself of for success down the road, that's really amazing.

Yep rapid review pathology. It was my main source along with firecracker. I did the audio during classes when walking to school, but I don't think its worthwhile other than to fill in empty space like that.

I think I was able to get through stuff relatively quickly because I had a strong foundation, so there wasn't a ton of stuff I was unfamiliar with. My first pass was probably slower. Also I went through them quickly/rushed a little bit because I knew I needed to get through that many each day to stay on track. It forced me to be very focused and power through them and not waste any time. Partly I did this because I wanted to use Goljan and Firecracker in dedicated which takes up more time than first aid, so I had a little less time for Uworld...but on the flip side those resources compliment Uworld very well so there was a ton of overlap between the three of them.

Dedicated was 8 weeks for me. Too long honestly. I was burned out and felt pretty unproductive the last week.

Thanks! I owe this to doing a lot of questions alongside classes and getting a strong foundation.

 

[intubesteak]

this post + the other reactions make me scared to solely UFAP

I think my study methods and stuff were pretty atypical...UFAP does great for most! But if you are using those and not getting much out of it...don't be afraid to branch out.

 

[doctorjayyy]

Did you switch to FC “high yield” and/or “dedicated” mode at all? Or did you just keep up with the normal setting? Also about how many FC cards were you doing per day the couple of months before dedicated and then how many per day during dedicated? Thanks!

Yep rapid review pathology. It was my main source along with firecracker. I did the audio during classes when walking to school, but I don't think its worthwhile other than to fill in empty space like that.

I think I was able to get through stuff relatively quickly because I had a strong foundation, so there wasn't a ton of stuff I was unfamiliar with. My first pass was probably slower. Also I went through them quickly/rushed a little bit because I knew I needed to get through that many each day to stay on track. It forced me to be very focused and power through them and not waste any time. Partly I did this because I wanted to use Goljan and Firecracker in dedicated which takes up more time than first aid, so I had a little less time for Uworld...but on the flip side those resources compliment Uworld very well so there was a ton of overlap between the three of them.

Dedicated was 8 weeks for me. Too long honestly. I was burned out and felt pretty unproductive the last week.

Thanks! I owe this to doing a lot of questions alongside classes and getting a strong foundation.

 

[intubesteak]

Did you switch to FC “high yield” and/or “dedicated” mode at all? Or did you just keep up with the normal setting? Also about how many FC cards were you doing per day the couple of months before dedicated and then how many per day during dedicated? Thanks!

Before dedicated I was focused on mastering whatever block we were in. I used to do around 300 per day, but later on I slowed down to about 175 but I hit snooze until I got the card correct.

During dedicated I did not switch to high yield and did maybe 300-500 or so per day. It varied greatly. I also read through a good number of sections either before or after doing cards. Lots of repetition was key, but learning things well during the block was probably the most important.

 

[bananafish94]

Congrats to everybody on the incredible scores!

I really need to work on not making stupid mistakes between now and the actual test. In going over my incorrects on the last NBME, I found that a lot of the weird questions with a lot of logic and thinking that I spent a lot of time on I actually mostly got correct. But I missed a question that literally gave the most obvious description of hemochromatosis there is and just asked "what disease is this?" And a couple more like that. It's not that I don't know it, maybe it's fatigue?

 

[Foramenlacerum]

I agree with some of the posts saying that everyone experiences things differently etc. and that the tests may be similar difficulty. However, I was always scoring in the top 30-15% of my medical school class and in speaking with someone who was scoring in the bottom 50%, they seemed to think their test was much easier and direct quote "would not have wanted" my exam. I made some really stupid mistakes that I should not have made. I definitely had some very easy questions and some of those were ones I missed that I should not have. But I would say that generally speaking my exam was a hot mess.

In regards to the UFAP fear, these sources are enough. But that comes with a caveat. These sources are enough if you are not just memorizing facts. If you are reading through FA and UW and just memorizing that Wegener's is a focal necrotizing vasculitis, but you have no idea what that means, you will be in trouble. There will be questions you do not know on this exam. The point isn't to know all of the questions. The point is to know the 80% you can know and make educated guesses on the other 20%. You can spend all day/month/year reading every source out there, but you will not have the time to do that for every topic in UFAP and you will not remember it a year later. You're not going to get 20 vasculitis questions. I think I had 1. So it would be a grand waste of time to read 50 sources. That is why everyone says UFAP is enough. Because if you really understand the basics and fundamentals presented in the those sources, you can figure out almost any question. Now you may have to consult Goljan or Robbins or whatever to get to that point. But I read Goljan and Robbins throughout MS1/MS2 and I do not think it helped me at all. 90% of the questions I know I missed were facts I just forgot from First Aid or things I was never going to get right and would have been a waste of time to study.

I may have totally tanked (probably pretty likely), but that is not a result of not doing everything I should have. I was prepared for that exam. I had spent 2 years preparing for that exam. My course grades, UW average, NBMEs all show that I was prepared to take that exam. If I tanked it would be because I freaked the heck out. But I can't see how they would expect anything different. Here you are having taken practice exams, worked on timing with the tools they have given you, you think you have it down to an art and suddenly you are playing a WHOLE different game. If you are running out of time on UW or NBME blocks you need to figure out a way to finish with 15-20 minutes left. That was my biggest thing. I had always been finishing with 20+ minutes remaining. On test day, I ran out of time 2x and on others I was only finishing with 11 minutes left.

Honestly the best thing you can do is get off student doctor network, know UFAP inside and out and just take a deep breath. It is NOT a fair test. I don't care what anyone says. There are some schools that have students taking the exam after MS3 while other students are taking it after 1.5 yrs. How is that fair? The people who have finished MS3 have already done 2x the Qbanks, have had real life experience and have an entire extra year under their belts. You want to compare that with someone who has not even had one clinical experience? That is comparing apples to oranges. Maybe they account for this because they do ask if you have had any clinical experiences in a survey at the end. But I highly doubt it. I also honestly think we should have to take 2 versions of the exam. That would eliminate some of the just "got lucky" with the exam aspect.

The best thing you can go is just get off of here, study as much as you can and breathe. 90% of people pass. 50% of people score better than a 229. To put it into perspective, according to a report from 2014 (yes, I know averages, etc have changed,) Ortho matched 50% of applicants that scored between a 221-230.

You already know what you need to do. What worked or didn't work for some of us may or may not work for you. Stick to the fundamentals and know that YOU GOT THIS. Everyone is in the same boat.

 

[Foramenlacerum]

Took the test today, wanted to share my experience (It's a novel FYI). Thank you @Ttubule for your experience, I lived vicariously through you for a few weeks.

Contrary to other reports, my test was basically exactly like the NBME's, not at all like Uworld (unfortunately, as you'll see later). I would say the majority of the questions were "Gimmie's", some required a bit more thinking, and around 2% were complete WTF. I mean, there is literally no way I could have prepared for those questions (not in UFAPs, Robbins, Boron & Baelpaep, or wikipedia) and I still can't find the answer to a few of them after searching. Honestly though, those were only one per 100 questions.

My first 2 blocks were cake... I marked 4 questions between the two and felt confident in my answers. Then I got wrecked, marked 25 in block 2, ~15 in blocks 3 and 4. Went for a run during lunch which helped clear my head, but the last few blocks had ~ 6 "what answer are you looking for" type of questions. Overall, it really wasn't so bad, but I do wish they would be more clear in what they are asking (like Uworld or Kaplan).

This is a perfect example of the poop storm that is the Step 1 exam. My exam was NOTHING like the NBMEs and my first two blocks wrecked me whereas your's were cake.

 

[LowYield]

This is a perfect example of the poop storm that is the Step 1 exam. My exam was NOTHING like the NBMEs and my first two blocks wrecked me whereas your's were cake.

I believe this is the point of USMLE having many different forms of the test. While the questions and difficulty may vary among test forms, the curves should (theoretically) adjust accordingly. From what I've read (caveat: on the internet), the "more difficult" exams are just as difficult for the next person, and the curve is more forgiving. But what do we know - no one actually knows how these things are graded lolol.

 

[idkididk]

Welp, score on NBME 15 today was the exact score I got on 13 last week, 232. Shooting for 250 with 4 weeks left, you guys think it's realistic?

I plan on finishing all the NBMEs/UWSAs. Currently on my 2nd pass of UWorld and mostly watching B&B videos for topics I'm weak on. Going through a ton of Anki cards as well..

 

[QueenJames]

hmm all these high scores but no proof.

I'm calling bull bruh.

Can people start posting pics of their actual score reports?

Not calling y'all liars... but med students are a bunch of liars, especially on SDN. lol

 

[831929]

Everyone who has recently posted about having a rough test, I think you guys probably did just fine! It may have been a tougher exam than you expected but that is probably the case for everyone else as well! The tougher questions will have a different curve so don't stress out. I'm sure you all did well!

 

[831929]

Also, question.

If you take a test on the same day as someone else, it doesn't mean you got the same exact test right? You can have some of the same questions but everyone's exam is different. It's not based on the day you take it right?

 

[LowYield]

Also, question.

If you take a test on the same day as someone else, it doesn't mean you got the same exact test right? You can have some of the same questions but everyone's exam is different. It's not based on the day you take it right?

According to wikipedia, "each exam is dynamically generated for each test taker"

 

[LowYield]

I agree about the MS3 thing and I wish it was taken into consideration in some way. I had 5-10 questions that I luckily guessed correctly, but were not really preclinical. Like knowing which medical device to use, what is the next step in treatment, and asking what someone receiving a procedure was most at risk for.

For these types of questions, were you at least able to reason to your final answer? Or are these kinds of topics so far out of the realm of pre-clinical that an MS2 has to rely on luck?

 

[Lannister]

Are trisomies more commonly caused by nondisjunction in meiosis I or II? A few weeks ago I had a question that told me meiosis I was more common, and now I just got a question that said nondisjunction in meiosis I is rarer.

 

[ERDOC555]

I think I just realized something crazy. The NBME practice exams give a different question order within each block to each different user.

Can anyone confirm this?

 

[bananafish94]

Are trisomies more commonly caused by nondisjunction in meiosis I or II? A few weeks ago I had a question that told me meiosis I was more common, and now I just got a question that said nondisjunction in meiosis I is rarer.

For Trisomy 21 the majority is caused by nondisjunction in Meiosis I. I don't know if that applies to all trisomies, though.

 

[Lannister]

For Trisomy 21 the majority is caused by nondisjunction in Meiosis I. I don't know if that applies to all trisomies, though.

Meiosis I would make more sense to me, because you create two gametes with trisomy, vs meiosis II where you just get one with trisomy. But yeah I didn't consider that maybe it varies between trisomies because the original question I got was about trisomy 21 while the most recent one that said meiosis I nondisjunction is rare was about Patau.

 

[idkididk]

Mind if I ask what % you got one each of those nbmes? You're in a much better position than me right now (haven't taken 13 or 15 yet but was going to soon). Thanks friend

27 wrong on 13 and 28 wrong on 15, so 86.5% and 86% respectively

 

[Foramenlacerum]

According to wikipedia, "each exam is dynamically generated for each test taker"

If this is true then for my test n=1 and we all get perfect scores! lol jk wishful thinking!

 

[Barry'sAneurysm]

I keep counting questions I got incorrect. I am at like 14-15 now. Ugh. I do remember like 150 correct answers though. But that's all I remember. These couple weeks can't go fast enough.

 

[Rahas]

Anyone doing old NBMEs? Theres an NBME 5 question about a 75 year old woman who falls and hits the back of her head, and you have to pick between epidural and subdural hematomas. Online answers seem to be split between the two, with supporting evidence for both. I was wondering if anyone here had a definitive answer.

@sahell

 

[DubbiDoctor]

I keep counting questions I got incorrect. I am at like 14-15 now. Ugh. I do remember like 150 correct answers though. But that's all I remember. These couple weeks can't go fast enough.

Is the exam 180 questions?

 

[Barry'sAneurysm]

Is the exam 180 questions?

It is 280 questions, I just can't remember them all. Wish I could! Lol

 

[Barry'sAneurysm]

Anyone doing old NBMEs? Theres an NBME 5 question about a 75 year old woman who falls and hits the back of her head, and you have to pick between epidural and subdural hematomas. Online answers seem to be split between the two, with supporting evidence for both. I was wondering if anyone here had a definitive answer.

@sahell

Subdural for sure. She is old (encephalomalacia- small brain= easy tear of bridging veins), and epidural is classically the middle meningeal artery which is below the pterion, and thus would be from a blow to the side of the head, not the back of the head. 100% subdural

 

[sahell]

Anyone doing old NBMEs? Theres an NBME 5 question about a 75 year old woman who falls and hits the back of her head, and you have to pick between epidural and subdural hematomas. Online answers seem to be split between the two, with supporting evidence for both. I was wondering if anyone here had a definitive answer.

@sahell

This one was frustrating for me too. It's definitely not the clearest vignette.
Age and CT point to SDH. I'm still not exactly sure what a diffuse extra axial H'ge is but the online consensus said SDH.
EDH is also possible - but the mechanism of injury is not classic for EDH, neither do we have the classic lucid interval.
I have always associated herniation with EDH. It's an arterial bleed whereas SDH tends to be a slower venous bleed. I initially chose EDH for this reason.
Unfortunately this was before expanded feedback so your guess is as good as mine, but I'm split 70/30 favoring SDH after reading the online discussions.

 

[LowYield]

Well, tomorrow's the big day - any sage words of wisdom to remain calm and composed during the exam?

 

[mistafab]

You got this bruh

Well, tomorrow's the big day - any sage words of wisdom to remain calm and composed during the exam?

 

[mistafab]

Step 1 this Friday.

6 weeks out - CBSE 230
3 weeks out - Form 17 238
2 weeks out - UWorld sim 1 247
1.5 weeks out form 15 - 232
EDIT: 2 days out - UWorld sim 2 254

UWorld %correct (cold, full random 40's) 62%

Goal score: 230+
Reach score 240
Happy with anything above 230 but a 235 would be tight and 240 would be sick

Wish me luck brevs

 

[Foramenlacerum]

Well, tomorrow's the big day - any sage words of wisdom to remain calm and composed during the exam?

Just take a deep breath and know that you might have a few WTH blocks. Just power through, it is not a reflection of your preparedness or intelligence. It happened to all of us. Just keep swimming

 

[sovereign0]

Step 1 this Friday.

6 weeks out - CBSE 230
3 weeks out - Form 17 238
2 weeks out - UWorld sim 1 247
1.5 weeks out form 15 - 232

UWorld %correct (cold, full random 40's) 62%

Goal score: 230+
Reach score 240
Happy with anything above 230 but a 235 would be tight and 240 would be sick

Wish me luck brevs

240 seems pretty realistic for you tbh. Would be surprised if you scored under a 235 considering your NBME scores.

 

[bananafish94]

My SO's and my score both went up on today's NBME. 230 today, still have 2.5 weeks to refine, so I think I'm in a good place. My motto today was "don't do anything stupid" and it seemed to have worked decently well.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Is there a realistic way to hit 260s consistently on NBMEs or after a certain point is it a matter of luck? I feel like at that level a few questions wrong or right makes a huge distance. All my practice tests have been 250s and one in 260, 2 weeks left

Not to sound snarky, but the only way to consistently score in the 260+ range is by expanding your knowledge to such an extent and developing your test-taking skills so that you never get more questions wrong than the number that corresponds to a 260 score on any given test.

 

[Terence McKenna]

Is there a realistic way to hit 260s consistently on NBMEs or after a certain point is it a matter of luck? I feel like at that level a few questions wrong or right makes a huge distance. All my practice tests have been 250s and one in 260, 2 weeks left

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, start, select. (Right before starting the tutorial of course)

 

[mistafab]

My friend who consistently scores that high never makes “knowledge errors” - he only makes stupid mistakes.

So if you truly know everything very well from first and second year, yes you can make 260+ if you don’t make stupid mistakes. Take a look at your past forms and look at the incorrects. Were they “knowledge errors,” “logic errors,” or stupid mistakes? If all you make is stupid mistakes then yes you can really knock the test out the park by paying attention to what each question is asking and not glazing over stems completely. I noticed on my forms that I make zero stupid mistakes. All my mistakes are knowledge errors typically, with the occasional logic error (incorrect application, or question asked for the opposite, or question asked for something upstream of pathway etc etc).

Knowledge errors are probably more prone to variance day to day (depending on test content), while stupid mistakes can be very well taken care of by just paying attention.

Is there a realistic way to hit 260s consistently on NBMEs or after a certain point is it a matter of luck? I feel like at that level a few questions wrong or right makes a huge distance. All my practice tests have been 250s and one in 260, 2 weeks left

 

[sovereign0]

Is there a realistic way to hit 260s consistently on NBMEs or after a certain point is it a matter of luck? I feel like at that level a few questions wrong or right makes a huge distance. All my practice tests have been 250s and one in 260, 2 weeks left

The differences in any score over a 255+, and especially 260+ is really just chance. You're always going to misread or misinterpret a few questions at the least. The wording and distribution of these questions is what makes the difference. I think that the only non-chance factor that contributes at scoring in this range is innate test-taking ability. Once you're scoring in the 250s, I'd say you're getting close to hitting the ceiling of what pure knowledge and memorization can get you.

 

[sahell]

Is there a realistic way to hit 260s consistently on NBMEs or after a certain point is it a matter of luck? I feel like at that level a few questions wrong or right makes a huge distance. All my practice tests have been 250s and one in 260, 2 weeks left

Depends on what's holding you back. For me it was the esoteric minutiae. I have scored consistently above 260s except for my first one btw.

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, start, select. (Right before starting the tutorial of course)

I thought that only worked to catch Pokemon. Damn!!

My friend who consistently scores that high never makes “knowledge errors” - he only makes stupid mistakes.

So if you truly know everything very well from first and second year, yes you can make 260+ if you don’t make stupid mistakes. Take a look at your past forms and look at the incorrects. Were they “knowledge errors,” “logic errors,” or stupid mistakes? If all you make is stupid mistakes then yes you can really knock the test out the park by paying attention to what each question is asking and not glazing over stems completely. I noticed on my forms that I make zero stupid mistakes. All my mistakes are knowledge errors typically, with the occasional logic error (incorrect application, or question asked for the opposite, or question asked for something upstream of pathway etc etc).

Knowledge errors are probably more prone to variance day to day (depending on test content), while stupid mistakes can be very well taken care of by just paying attention.

I only had a couple of stupid mistakes on my first NBME. Your friend must have studied a lot to know all the minutiae. I'm very jealous.

The differences in any score over a 255+, and especially 260+ is really just chance. You're always going to misread or misinterpret a few questions at the least. The wording and distribution of these questions is what makes the difference. I think that the only non-chance factor that contributes at scoring in this range is innate test-taking ability. Once you're scoring in the 250s, I'd say you're getting close to hitting the ceiling of what pure knowledge and memorization can get you.

I humbly disagree. You may misread or misinterpret questions the first time, that's why I reread the stem when something seems off. I would say anything past 270 is getting the minutiae right - requiring hard work and luck, the ratio of the 2 depends on your form. Up till that point I would say know the high and medium yield stuff cold and learn to dissect a question.

 

[Lannister]

I just met with my school's step advisor to hash out a schedule for our multisystems block and dedicated. Apparently I am "very behind" and should be several hundred questions into UWorld by now (test is on June 7th). That was so depressing, I thought I was doing well by almost being done with Rx and also having done some of Kaplan.