shoudl i keep up with NBME

[twesting2173]

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[twintiger32]

i've got about 5 days to go and i dont know if i shoudl keep up with the NBME practice tests. i'm done with 1 and 2 (i did bad...about 200) and have 3 and 4 left to do. THEY TAKE forever to go though...trying to get the answers, etc. i keep telling myself i shoudl jsut review material and skip forms 3 and 4, but i just remember hearing all the peopel talk about how valuable tese practice tests are. does anyone who has taken the test have any suggestions? shoudl i plug though forms 3 and 4 or should i run though FA and do USMLE World q's or Robbin's revie Q's in these last days.

agagin, i remember so many people saying that they saw (nearly) the exact same q's on the real test...not sure what to do. thanks eveyone.

depends...how much more reviewing do you plan on doing? in my opinion the NBME forms were best used as a GAUGE and not as a teaching tool. i did not have any repeat questions on my exam.

If you've got stuff left to do, do that. if you feel like you've done all you can, do the NBME's.

My advice would be to look at what subjects/topics you are weak on and strengthen those areas.

 

[(nicedream)]

Agree. NBME's are predictors more than learning tools - they are extremely time-consuming and inefficient as study tools.

 

[nrosigh]

I think going through the NBME carefully is the best way to prepare for the exam, because the NBME's test the same subjects in the same way that the real exam does. I found that the actual test felt just like another form of the NBME. In the last couple of weeks, I focused my efforts on these 4 tests, researching answers, etc, and broke 270 on the real thing. Good luck!

 

[beastmaster]

QUESTION -- I'm not familiar with the release dates of the NBMEs, but is there any chance that new exam(s) will be released this year in addition to the four already available?

 

[AmoryBlaine]

i've got about 5 days to go and i dont know if i shoudl keep up with the NBME practice tests. i'm done with 1 and 2 (i did bad...about 200) and have 3 and 4 left to do. THEY TAKE forever to go though...trying to get the answers, etc. i keep telling myself i shoudl jsut review material and skip forms 3 and 4, but i just remember hearing all the peopel talk about how valuable tese practice tests are. does anyone who has taken the test have any suggestions? shoudl i plug though forms 3 and 4 or should i run though FA and do USMLE World q's or Robbin's revie Q's in these last days.

agagin, i remember so many people saying that they saw (nearly) the exact same q's on the real test...not sure what to do. thanks eveyone.

Good news for you though - you're almost certainly going to pass. I think NBMEs consistently underpredict performance on the real thing (just look through the results threads).

They are there so you can see how you'd do, not to study from. Just keep hitting up the subjects you know least about.

 

[Baditude]

I am confused with the NBME scoring! I see that some of the post responding to the OP say that the score of 200 is ok and they will pass for sure but I got a 300 on form 3 and was told that is not even a passing equivalent. Am I freaking out for nothing?

 

[superoxide]

I am confused with the NBME scoring! I see that some of the post responding to the OP say that the score of 200 is ok and they will pass for sure but I got a 300 on form 3 and was told that is not even a passing equivalent. Am I freaking out for nothing?

When you take the NBME you get a score out of 800. Then there is a correlation table to your Step 1 score. For example: if you get a 440/800 on NMBE that corresponds to 204 on Step 1 (a passing score) but a 300/800 corresponds to 163 on Step 1 (a failing score). When the OP says 200, he is referring to his Step 1 score, and not his NBME score.

 

[Baditude]

The OP stated that he had 5 days until the Step so how can 200 be his USMLE score? The 200 was the form 1 and 2 score unless I am reading it wrong.

 

[superoxide]

The OP stated that he had 5 days until the Step so how can 200 be his USMLE score? The 200 was the form 1 and 2 score unless I am reading it wrong.

yes, the 200 is the score on nbme 1 or 2 (whichever one he took). It is the PREDICTED score according to his NBME perfeormance, not his actual USMLE score.

 

[Baditude]

Ah Thank you for explaining that. I guess I better get my rear and gear and figure out where I am going wrong!!