Score hasn't changed in 3 weeks... have I hit my peak?

[dbeast]

Hey guys, I'll try and make it quick: Got a 240 on NBME 12 3 weeks ago, studied my balls off, then got 240 again on NBME 15 last week, studied my balls off some more, then got a 242 on NBME 13 yesterday. Clearly I had a good knowledge base 3 weeks ago. Is it possible that I've just hit the maximum capacity that my brain can hold? Any recommendations on how to crack into that higher level of scores? I feel like getting a 240 is no problem and getting a 250 is damn near impossible. What do you guys think?

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[survivordo]

Keep hitting the books hard. It is great to have a consistent score on practice tests (especially a 240!) but as you well know you can drop significantly from this on test day. My suggestions would be to continue to do practice questions and really try to get into the nuance of why each one is right or wrong. you are at the stage where details matter. Passing is not an issue for you but being able to pick up on the subtleties of what separates two answer choices is going to be what propels you to the next level.

Survivor DO

 

[DaisyBuchanan]

You're doomed.

 

[Daodejing]

o lawd. 240 is the new 220 it seems. when's your exam? have you looked at the subject areas which encompass the q's you miss? you may find a trend and be able to go from there. tailoring your studying to your weak areas > "studying your balls off"

 

[dbeast]

You're doomed.

I got an email from Pons too... should've remembered that I know people from here in real life before I posted my score. Dammit.

I'm secretly hoping somebody is just gonna say "You might as well move your test day up since you aren't improving anyway" and then I'd have an excuse to get this thing over with and add a week or two to my vacation.

 

[dodobird1]

The NBME always reports the SEM as +/- 6, so for most cases it's assumed that you have a 12 point swing based on your subject distribution. I personally feel that it can be more like +/- 12 once you hit the 240 range. That's because some tests might pound you on biochemistry or pharmacology even though say you mastered anatomy & embryology (laugh), so you peak at <240-245.

Chances are your NBME reports show that you mastered some subjects and have near borderline performance on others rather than having every subject being above average. Make sure you go over those subjects it says you're lacking. Just make sure you don't forget what you already mastered, simply flipping through the FA pages once you've mastered a subject should be enough so you don't forget the minor details.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I got an email from Pons too... should've remembered that I know people from here in real life before I posted my score. Dammit.

I'm secretly hoping somebody is just gonna say "You might as well move your test day up since you aren't improving anyway" and then I'd have an excuse to get this thing over with and add a week or two to my vacation.

You should definitely be embarrassed that someone who knows you IRL knows that you just might have to suck it up and score a two freaking forty on Step 1 and truly embarrass yourself. Only on SDN can one feel self-conscious about doing something ONLY a standard deviation or two better than the highly-selected, over achieving average.

If you're going to be embarrassed, it should be about that study/Stanley Cup beard.

And yes, you should move your test up to the 7th so we can rage Friday night.

 

[Suncrusher]

I think the beard is hot. But I'm all for him being embarrassed about the first post

 

[dbeast]

Ah, I miss you guys.