Same score on NBME after 1 month of intense studying - HELP!

[woointent]

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Hey guys,
I've been studying pretty intensely for the past 2 months and I have 2 more months of intense prep left. After 1 month of studying, I took NBME form 1 and got a 178. I just took NBME form 3 (after 2 months of studying) and got the exact same score!
In the month in between taking form 1 and form 3, I read through First Aid, BRS Path, CMMRS, and Kaplan Immuno and Kaplan Biochem, listened to Goljan, and did 1,000 Kaplan Qbank questions and 500 UsmleRx questions.
It is very scary to see my score not go up. Fortunately, I do have 2 more months before my test so I can make necessary adjustments in my study methods. The problem is that I'm not sure what I need to change. Do you guys have any suggestions? Is it possible that Form 1 is just ridiculously easy and overestimated my score?

 

[scube]

are you getting plenty of sleep, eating right, taking a half day off every so often, working out. All these things can play into retention. My honest suggestion would be to take a day or two off and relax. you might find your brain just needed some rest to catch up to everything you have thrown at it. 2 months is a long time to have to study for the exam so a day or two to decompress a little wont hurt. You might realize what exactly it is that your missing

 

[woointent]

Thanks for the great advice scube. I have not been taking any days off and even stopped exercising. I guess I was just so overwhelmed and I didn't want to waste any time. How much time should I take off? Is a 1/2 day once a week sufficient?

Also, I've been doing tons of questions. I finished Kaplan QBank, 1/4 of UsmleRx, all of the questions from Goljan's book, and was planning on finishing with UWorld. I annotate into First Aid, but haven't reviewed any of my annotations. I was planning on getting the annotations done and then reviewing everything hardcore in the end. My strategy was to do an information-gathering/consolidation phase followed by a hardcore memorization stage. I figured I would at least gain some knowledge in the information/gathering phase, which is why I freaked out when my score did not go up after 1 month of studying. Do you think I need to stop doing so many questions and start memorizing now even though my test is still 2 months away?

 

[ENThopeful]

i havent taken the test yet, but do you feel like you understand the material you are reading? i think its pretty key to make connections and to actively understand what you read

also I feel memorizing may be over emphasized in some cases - maybe for micro, but for the organ systems, understanding reigns supreme... its how i am bringing up my qbank score

 

[scube]

Half day off a week and maybe a full one somewhere in that last month. remember to exercise,sleep and eat good food. THese things will make your study time more effective. I think your plan was probably good, i just started studying myself, so I don't have a whole lot of room to give advice in that regard. The exam and its prep period is very personal, so do what you think is right. what I do know is that you have to take care of your self emotionally, mentally and physically during this period. No one wins if you suffer. the first couple of chapters in Kaplan's Qbook has great advice on this and some question answering tips, if you want to read it at barnes and noble while enjoying a coffee on one of your half days off that you have earned. also look at why you missed questions. if you miss stuff you haven't memorized, forgive yourself. If you missed stuff in the question that made the best answer the best then practice paraphrasing the question. ect GOOD LUCK.

 

[PenguinHead]

If you've already done some consolidation but haven't seen your score improve, I'd definitely simplify. IMHO, focus on FA and memorize/understand everything in it. Also, go ahead and make the switch to Uworld.

I don't know how much "fuel" you have, but I'd consider having at least a day off per week until the last month. You don't want to burn out and peak too early.

 

[ENThopeful]

how are you doing on the qbank questions by the way? what is your percentage?

 

[woointent]

Thanks for the awesome suggestions guys. I finished Kaplan Qbank and ended up with a 49% overall. I started doing questions before I had even completed a first pass of the material. I'm getting high 50s right now on Rx. Do you guys think it's possible for me to still get a 250?

 

[HansHolbein]

Thanks for the awesome suggestions guys. I finished Kaplan Qbank and ended up with a 49% overall. I started doing questions before I had even completed a first pass of the material. I'm getting high 50s right now on Rx. Do you guys think it's possible for me to still get a 250?

Sure, why not. It all depends on which version lands in front of you.

 

[scube]

you have two months. Thats a ton of time to get some serious work done.

 

[GMDMD]

Do you guys think it's possible for me to still get a 250?

Sorry to be the jackass here, but ... no. If after a whole pass through the material you're still at that score, a 250 is probably not going to happen.

Work hard but set yourself with realistic expectations. Most people I know got their biggest score jumps within the first 4 weeks.

Are you understanding the material or are you just memorizing? Your score suggests you're missing the fundamentally big concepts.

Some people can pull of the 8000 question thing. Your time might be better spent trying to learn the material in depth for understanding and then bombarding yourself with questions at the end. You might be spreading yourself a little thin with too many resources.

And re: last poster... it has nothing to do with what version of the test falls in front of you. People who score 260 easily score >250 each time. They get >80% UW blocks each time. There's less luck involved than most people think. We put in the time so that luck factors out of the equation. People who get "unlucky" prepared poorly.

 

[ENThopeful]

the difference between the 220s and the 260s, in my opinion, isnt a total matter of intelligence.. sure there are the people who score 260s too easily but for the most part, the people i know who scored well had one thing in common: foresight. The days of the MCAT is over, your score isn't set in stone.

Take a look at your distribution, and see what you are missing and the places you are weakest in and hit it hard. You have 2 months, use it wisely! Dont forget, this test isnt all path, if you are doing really well in path, like me, and poorly on the other subjects, work on your weaknesses

 

[HansHolbein]

And re: last poster... it has nothing to do with what version of the test falls in front of you. People who score 260 easily score >250 each time. They get >80% UW blocks each time. There's less luck involved than most people think. We put in the time so that luck factors out of the equation. People who get "unlucky" prepared poorly.

It's interesting you say that b/c people I know who have taken it usually walk out happy b/c they saw mostly what they knew or were upset b/c a certain subject came up more often and it was something they were weak in.

How could that possibly not change your score? Especially when you get a bunch of questions you know versus ones you don't?

 

[silas2642]

Thanks for the awesome suggestions guys. I finished Kaplan Qbank and ended up with a 49% overall. I started doing questions before I had even completed a first pass of the material. I'm getting high 50s right now on Rx. Do you guys think it's possible for me to still get a 250?

At this point I wouldn't worry about getting a phenomenal score, I'd worry about getting that score above a 200-- if you've been studying for 2 months "hardcore" and you're not improving on your NBME's, then there's something wrong with your technique. How did you do in your first two years? When you're reviewing the material, is this actual review for you or is it like you're passing through it for the first time?

Honestly, I'd do what the other's suggest and break it down to the basic resources-- First Aid, Golgan path, and BRS physio. I think it might be best to start with your weakest subjects and then go from there. Supplement with other resources as needed and aim for understanding and comprehension. I'd also start using USMLEworld now because the general consensus is that it's an excellent resource (personally just started using it-- love it, although it's kicking my ass, explanations are awesome, high yield).

Take care of yourself and take a day off per week to get some rest. Make sure you get plenty of REM sleep to consolidate the information that goes into your brain. Good luck. But the caveat is, I don't really know what I'm talking about because I just started.

 

[DMac84]

Your schedule sounds very similar to mine. I started with Qbank a couple months ago, am doing UsmleRx now, and plan to do UWorld in a few weeks. I am a big fan of doing tons of questions. I've also taken 2 NBMEs and while I did see improvement between the two, it wasn't as much as I would have liked. I planned on finishing UsmleRx, but now I think I'm going to scale back and hit First Aid pretty hard. So I don't think it would be a bad idea to stop doing Rx and use the time that you would have been doing Rx to do another pass or 2 through First Aid.