Point of NBMEs

[zero0]

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Well, it's 2 weeks until game day.

I've been plugging along, doing well in Uworld, ~70% first pass, ~85% 2nd pass at 20% in. Took my 1st UWSA and got a 245. Taking the second in about 4 days.

I was planning on doing at least 1 NBME before the USMLE, but I'm wondering how much there is to really learn from them without explanations. I am not paying extra, they're expensive enough and I am buh-roke until next semester's loans come out.

I guess my question is can I get whatever I'm supposed to get out of NBMEs by just taking one, or do I need to take more? It's not like it would affect my decision on whether or not to take USMLE or postpone. I'm pushing through regardless. Goal is 225+, feel ok about it with 2 weeks of dedicated left to go.

Shout out to all my peeps who are tackling this monster over the summer! #worstsummerever

 

[LChristmas]

My thinking behind the NBMEs was that I wanted to see as many questions as possible before test day. I also wanted to get a feel for the style of question writers on step. Did it help on test day? Who knows, but it kept me calm and focused in the week or two before the exam. Without the explanations, I had to go hunting for why I was wrong, so I think that might have helped things stick a little better.

 

[Darth Doc]

I did a lot of NBMEs and all of UWorld and felt that the week of the exam I really got a much better feel for the question style. My Step 2 jumped 24 points. I don't think it was just due to the NBMEs, but I really think they helped.

 

[zero0]

The NBME question styles are very different than UWorld style. That alone makes the NBMEs worth doing. I also had one question on my Step that was the exact question I had on an old NBME (it was on one of the offline NBME 10-12). I never would've gotten that question if I hadn't seen it before

Well, I do like getting questions right... My class actually has a google drive with every NBME question screenshotted and posted with answers at the end. I'll spend some time going over that. Unfortunately, there's no way to calculate scores and I have no idea how to go about doing that myself. I assume it's different for every NBME, but if it's just a matter of getting familiar with the questions and not predicting scores like it is for me, it might be a good use of time.

 

[zero0]

Re: not having explanations, my study buddies and I did the same NBME each week and would meet up to discuss the questions. Nice break from the monotony of studying by myself, forced us to teach & reinforce our knowledge on the stuff we got right, and get explanations for the stuff we get wrong.

Yeah we're all just kinda doing our own thing. The old study group has dissolved rip... I don't even think half of them are in town anymore

 

[bananafish94]

I think it's important to do the NBMEs because as great as UWorld is, the single best way to get inside the mind of the exam writers and see where you stand is to do the NBMEs. They give you virtually no new knowledge or anything like that but gives you a good idea of whether or not you're on-pace to get the score you want.

 

[Black Coffee 24/7]

Well, it's 2 weeks until game day.

I've been plugging along, doing well in Uworld, ~70% first pass, ~85% 2nd pass at 20% in. Took my 1st UWSA and got a 245. Taking the second in about 4 days.

I was planning on doing at least 1 NBME before the USMLE, but I'm wondering how much there is to really learn from them without explanations. I am not paying extra, they're expensive enough and I am buh-roke until next semester's loans come out.

I guess my question is can I get whatever I'm supposed to get out of NBMEs by just taking one, or do I need to take more? It's not like it would affect my decision on whether or not to take USMLE or postpone. I'm pushing through regardless. Goal is 225+, feel ok about it with 2 weeks of dedicated left to go.

Shout out to all my peeps who are tackling this monster over the summer! #worstsummerever

If you have time, I would do at least 2 NBMEs and UWSA 2 3 days before the exam. My exam feels like 60-70% UW and 20-30% NBME. The other 10% will be straight up stuff that you learn in school somewhere. I didn’t do any NBME and I kind of regret it. UWSA1 doesn’t mean crap.

Basically, you need to do at least the free 120 quests and UWSA2 before the exam. If you have time, you should do NBME 18-19 offline.

I only did UWSA2 near the end of my second pass of UW. I scored 84% on my UW second pass and 234 on UWSA2.

I miss some gimmes on the real thing but that happens to everyone. Best of luck to you dude. Just put in the work now and leave that testing site without regrets.

 

[Goro]

Well, it's 2 weeks until game day.

I've been plugging along, doing well in Uworld, ~70% first pass, ~85% 2nd pass at 20% in. Took my 1st UWSA and got a 245. Taking the second in about 4 days.

I was planning on doing at least 1 NBME before the USMLE, but I'm wondering how much there is to really learn from them without explanations. I am not paying extra, they're expensive enough and I am buh-roke until next semester's loans come out.

I guess my question is can I get whatever I'm supposed to get out of NBMEs by just taking one, or do I need to take more? It's not like it would affect my decision on whether or not to take USMLE or postpone. I'm pushing through regardless. Goal is 225+, feel ok about it with 2 weeks of dedicated left to go.

Shout out to all my peeps who are tackling this monster over the summer! #worstsummerever

They're diagonstics

 

[zero0]

If you have time, I would do at least 2 NBMEs and UWSA 2 3 days before the exam. My exam feels like 60-70% UW and 20-30% NBME. The other 10% will be straight up stuff that you learn in school somewhere. I didn’t do any NBME and I kind of regret it. UWSA1 doesn’t mean crap.

Basically, you need to do at least the free 120 quests and UWSA2 before the exam. If you have time, you should do NBME 18-19 offline.

I only did UWSA2 near the end of my second pass of UW. I scored 84% on my UW second pass and 234 on UWSA2.

I miss some gimmes on the real thing but that happens to everyone. Best of luck to you dude. Just put in the work now and leave that testing site without regrets.

Yeah I'll shell out the money for at least 1 NBME, but otherwise will probably just go over the questions on the google drive. What's the deal with UWSA1 anyway? Some people say it overpredicts, then other people are saying they fixed it to be more accurate. I basically still have no idea where I am, other than being confident I can break 220.

 

[Black Coffee 24/7]

Yeah I'll shell out the money for at least 1 NBME, but otherwise will probably just go over the questions on the google drive. What's the deal with UWSA1 anyway? Some people say it overpredicts, then other people are saying they fixed it to be more accurate. I basically still have no idea where I am, other than being confident I can break 220.

UWSA1 was designed to wage your progress after you have done 1,000-1,400 UW questions on your first pass. Therefore, it has a lenient curve. UWSA2 is the one with the harsher curve. According to a recent poll on reedit, UWSA2 has become the most predictive assessment with people real scores within 5-10 pts of UWSA2 prediction.



As you can see, NBME 18-19 will underpredict your score by about 10 pts while UWSA1 doesn't mean jack.

 

[ciestar]

UWSA1 was designed to wage your progress after you have done 1,000-1,400 UW questions on your first pass. Therefore, it has a lenient curve. UWSA2 is the one with the harsher curve. According to a recent poll on reedit, UWSA2 has become the most predictive assessment with people real scores within 5-10 pts of UWSA2 prediction.



As you can see, NBME 18-19 will underpredict your score by about 10 pts while UWSA1 doesn't mean jack.

Id be thrilled by this. Considering my 215 on NBME 18 and 230 on UWSA2

 

[zero0]

UWSA1 was designed to wage your progress after you have done 1,000-1,400 UW questions on your first pass. Therefore, it has a lenient curve. UWSA2 is the one with the harsher curve. According to a recent poll on reedit, UWSA2 has become the most predictive assessment with people real scores within 5-10 pts of UWSA2 prediction.



As you can see, NBME 18-19 will underpredict your score by about 10 pts while UWSA1 doesn't mean jack.

Nice find. Still looks like no one who scored above 245 on UWSA1 scored below 220 on the real deal so I like my odds

 

[zero0]

Wanted to update, been about a week since UWSA1. Did one extra pass through FA, BRS physio, and sketchy. Took UWSA2, another 245 on the dot. Not sure if this means they fixed UWSA or if one extra pass of FA makes up for the difference in difficulty... Planning on doing one more pass of FA and pathoma before the big day.

 

[Kgizzle]

Well, I do like getting questions right... My class actually has a google drive with every NBME question screenshotted and posted with answers at the end. I'll spend some time going over that. Unfortunately, there's no way to calculate scores and I have no idea how to go about doing that myself. I assume it's different for every NBME, but if it's just a matter of getting familiar with the questions and not predicting scores like it is for me, it might be a good use of time.

Gotta love medical school

 

[751866]

Gotta love medical school

Isn’t it ironic that professionalism, integrity, and honesty go out the window when it comes to stealing study materials? Often, the schools seem to turn a blind eye to this practice.

 

[751866]

UWSA1 was designed to wage your progress after you have done 1,000-1,400 UW questions on your first pass. Therefore, it has a lenient curve. UWSA2 is the one with the harsher curve. According to a recent poll on reedit, UWSA2 has become the most predictive assessment with people real scores within 5-10 pts of UWSA2 prediction.



As you can see, NBME 18-19 will underpredict your score by about 10 pts while UWSA1 doesn't mean jack.

I wouldn’t take this guy’s handiwork too seriously. He doesn’t seem to understand a lot about the statistical methods he’s using.

 

[UnoMas]

The recent change to the NBMEs added a new graph to the score report page. Looks like 2/3 of the time your real Step 1 score will be +/- 13 of your score on the practice test. So if you scored 235 on a practice test, 2/3 of the time you would land somewhere between 222 to 248 on the real thing. I mean in terms of score prediction, I don't think anything can beat the NBME who has internal data of test takers of the real thing. They do recommend that you take multiple NBMEs and use the average for this calculation to improve accuracy though.
So I guess, take a few NBMEs, use the average to predict, as long as the bottom number is a few points close to your goal, take the real thing.

They also state that the real Step 1 is harder than the practice NBMEs and the total percent correct cannot be used to extrapolate anything.

Kudos to the NBME for making students' life a tiny bit easier

 

[ciestar]

The recent change to the NBMEs added a new graph to the score report page. Looks like 2/3 of the time your real Step 1 score will be +/- 13 of your score on the practice test. So if you scored 235 on a practice test, 2/3 of the time you would land somewhere between 222 to 248 on the real thing. I mean in terms of score prediction, I don't think anything can beat the NBME who has internal data of test takers of the real thing. They do recommend that you take multiple NBMEs and use the average for this calculation to improve accuracy though.
So I guess, take a few NBMEs, use the average to predict, as long as the bottom number is a few points close to your goal, take the real thing.

They also state that the real Step 1 is harder than the practice NBMEs and the total percent correct cannot be used to extrapolate anything.

Kudos to the NBME for making students' life a tiny bit easier

My big problem was my first NBME was BEFORE dedicated. So i sincerely hope that 198 i got on it isn’t predictive lol

 

[UnoMas]

My big problem was my first NBME was BEFORE dedicated. So i sincerely hope that 198 i got on it isn’t predictive lol

Nah I would do the few most recent ones


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[ciestar]

Nah I would do the few most recent ones


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I only did one other, both UWSA, and the free 120.

 

[UnoMas]

I only did one other, both UWSA, and the free 120.

202-228 is a good range, at least you'll pass comfortably

 

[zero0]

Isn’t it ironic that professionalism, integrity, and honesty go out the window when it comes to stealing study materials? Often, the schools seem to turn a blind eye to this practice.

For the record, I have 0 remorse about pirating NBME material. And that's coming from someone who paid for both pathoma and sketchy despite both being on aforementioned google drive (in a less organized format). The NBME doesn't need more money though and frankly they can suck an egg.