my wife will not approve of this unfortunately.
*Jots down notes*
This is so accurate it’s not even funny. Actually it’s kind of funny because those WTF questions even made me LOL during the test. Especially the ones that felt like you just had to guess which answer they wanted because you didn’t know what they wanted you to focus on.
if you feel this way about Uworld you are going to flip a lid at the real thing. UW is way more straightforward than the real thing. Just look at starlites post. That’s reality man. I had probably 10-15 questions that were just like the hair and nails scenario she gave.
This is the scariest thing I've read all day. Let me know how you end up doing. I'm taking mine in a few weeks, scoring ~250s on NBMEs. Breaking 260 on NBMEs seems next to impossible now. I got a 94% on 17 and it was a 255, and I felt as though I really got lucky with a few questions. The more I hear from people, the more I think this thing is a massive toss up. I've talked to people who never broke 230 on NBMEs who cracked 250 on the real thing and I've talked to people who got 250+ on every NBME and ended up in the upper 230s or lower 240s. After hearing all this, I'd honestly like an actual statistical breakdown from NBME on how they score the test and come up with forms. It's already crazy enough that some people take this after 1.5 years and others take it after a full year of clinicals, but with so much variance in forms and what appears to be almost random questions... you'd think they'd have a statistician over there setting them straight.
The news from the people I know personally that have taken it is grim. Everyone, including some of the smartest people I know says a good portion was random nonsense. Then again, that's apparently how everyone feels coming out of it.
Post-exam, I counted at least 12 I knew I missed and maybe 6-8 more that I likely missed. I felt cautiously optimistic but not super confident either.
So when I took the MCAT it was one of the last dates they had for the "old" version and there were no locations in my college town - hence, I had to go to random testing center in the middle of nowhere. Then when I got back I had to cram for an exam I had the next day, so I never really got a proper celebration. In a twist of fate, there were no locations where I currently live for the date I want, but there was one in my college town. So after this nightmare is over I'm partying like it's 2014.
I can add some more data points for the thread... I did nothing but practice questions (UWorld, Kaplan) and Anki/Zanki cards for 7 weeks. Reading textbooks does nothing for me. I also made flashcards for every single missed UWorld question and some flashcards for ones that had info I didn't know on the first pass. I have no real good explanation for the huge jump from baseline to NBME 13 though. I did well in M1/M2 classes, so maybe most of that info came back
CBSE (baseline; promptly freaked out) = 196
UWSA 1st Pass percent correct = 79%
NBME 13 (4 wks out) = 252
NBME 15 (3 wks out) = 252
NBME 19 (2 wks out) = 248
NBME 17 (1 wk out) = 261
UWSA1 (1 wk out) = 269
NBME 18 (5 days) = 252
UWSA 2 (2 days) = 260
Free 120 (2 days) = 89%
Real Deal = 257
Isn't that the whole point of bonnaroo?
These reports from people who just took the real thing are scaring the bejesus out of me lol
What's frustrating is that they seem to be going laterally rather than deeper into these subjects. They could tell me flat out, "half your test is gonna be acid-base, cardio, and renal physiology," and still write a test that would twist my mind into a knot 10 times over, even when I know exactly what to study. That would be awful, but at least there would be some validity to it. These tests, from what people say, seem to be more along the lines of, "hey what's this thing?" or, "have you studied this obscure bug?" Honestly, if that's really what's happening, it's lazy. There are 1000s of ways to test UFAP material in difficult ways that challenge your understanding. There's already no possible way to truly understand all the material they've given us. If step 1 was essay questions instead of multiple choice, even the best of us would struggle to know the answer to 40% of UWorld questions. Why encourage us to be even more like useless human encyclopedias? Doctors are already notorious as a profession for memorizing without deep critical thinking, and having spent some real time immersed in it now, it's not too far off from the truth.
Agree 100%
Well I certainly hope that's not the case. I don't really see the merit in making the test harder because more people are doing well...if more people are doing well then that should just be the end of it. That being said, I definitely think that part of their M.O. is trying to confuse you and make you think on your feet to a certain extent. They also put weird experimental questions into the test so that they can judge their efficacy for future tests. At the end of the day, nobody can read their mind. If you do your due diligence and memorize the review books and do UWorld, I really don't think there's anything else you can do. The rest of it will come down to natural intelligence, luck, and exam-taking ability. I'm hoping that on the big day cortisol and epinephrine will unlock all sorts of pathways in my brain that allow me to reason through some of the more insane things they throw at me.
For me the test had wayyy more thinking involved than any of the practice materials did (UW, Kaplan, Rx), it felt like the MCAT all over again with some stuff, which I liked actually vs. regurgitating things.
Interesting... I'm all for thinking questions as long as it's over material that we've been exposed to. I would love to see Step 1 focus more on conceptual understanding rather than majority factoid memorization.
Did you any other resources, such as pathoma, sketchy or boards and beyond?I can add some more data points for the thread... I did nothing but practice questions (UWorld, Kaplan) and Anki/Zanki cards for 7 weeks. Reading textbooks does nothing for me. I also made flashcards for every single missed UWorld question and some flashcards for ones that had info I didn't know on the first pass. I have no real good explanation for the huge jump from baseline to NBME 13 though. I did well in M1/M2 classes, so maybe most of that info came back
CBSE (baseline; promptly freaked out) = 196
UWSA 1st Pass percent correct = 79%
NBME 13 (4 wks out) = 252
NBME 15 (3 wks out) = 252
NBME 19 (2 wks out) = 248
NBME 17 (1 wk out) = 261
UWSA1 (1 wk out) = 269
NBME 18 (5 days) = 252
UWSA 2 (2 days) = 260
Free 120 (2 days) = 89%
Real Deal = 257
Don't let this scare you. You are already performing WAY better than I was on the NBMEs. From what I have seen people scoring in the 250-260 range on NBMEs tend to end up high 240s-260s. It is the middle of the pack where I have seen the most variability in scores, which applies to the majority of people. I have yet to see someone who was scoring 250s-260s get a 220 on the real deal, with the exception of the person who was studying quizlet decks made from the NBMEs right before taking them. Obviously that doesn't count. I feel like the most variability I have seen is in the 230-240 range. This is where it can go either way. I would not worry so much about breaking scores on the NBMEs. a 94% on form 17 means you are prepared. I was consistently in the 89%-92% range on NBMEs and that was never high enough to break 250. If you are getting a 94% on the real deal, you're going to be one of the highest scores. On one of the first forms I took I only missed 20 questions and that didn't even break 240. You want to talk about terrifying. I mean come on, there is NO WAY a 90% on the real thing is a 238. There's just absolutely no way. The way I look at it, you will probably end up where you have ended up relative to your medical school class so far. There are some people who really break through, but I think for the majority, if you were scoring above average in your class, you will probably score above average on Step 1
I took nbme 13 a week into dedicated, it was my first exam. So I guess I did a little studying before it, but I'm taking it as my baseline.
No way I'll have time lol
Not worth it anyway. I would spend as much time with UW. The NBMEs are not representative at all. I wish someone would have told me that. I gained literally zero points from doing the NBMEs. They just tell you if you are prepared and a range +/- 10 points that you can expect if you are consistent. I actually think that spending as much time as I did on the NBMEs hurt me big time.
See, I keep hearing this... wth. aren't they old questions? Now idk what to do again for the next 2 weeks.
