Retired NBME questions

[Cristagali]

Are the retired NBME questions as good as the shelf exams? Thanks

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[Kosmo]

Please elaborate.
Retired NBME questions ARE the NBME Shelf exams.

 

[MedGeek42]

I think he means something else.

The shelf exams are exams given by many schools composed of retired NBME questions, which are questions previously but no longer used on the Step 1. They are given once to students and are collected afterward.

In the context of Step 1 prep, 'retired NBME questions' often refers to two sets of old questions which were released to the general public over a decade ago, and are out of print but still found on Ebay, etc.

 

[Cristagali]

Thanks for the follow-ups. At first I was only aware of the old, retired NBME questions that are no longer in print and in the old question format. However, I recently learned that many US schools give their students "NBME Shelf Exams" as part of their final grade. These tests are used both in the basic science and clinical rotations. These tests must be very closley related to the actual Step 1, so I would see an advantage of preparing with these exams. But I plan to take the online NBME practice test anyway, so I'll get a quick preview of what to expect on my Step 1. Most likely they are all the same. I was just curious..Good luck to all!