Should I bump my date up?

[DwyaneWade]

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Hey everyone,

I am studying using Taus' boards plan. Basically, what I have done so far is do a quick run through my resources (listed below) and annotate first aid while reading and listening to Goljan. The plan called for 3 total run-throughs of First Aid and Goljan, with an NBME test at the end of each run.

I took my first NBME (number 4) and just got a 730/800 (259!). I am absolutely shocked.... Is NBME 4 representative?

Should I bump my test date up? I am scheduled to take it in a month (May 30) and am considering moving it up to May 17th. Also should I still do USMLE World as I was planning or would it not help much?

Thanks for your input,
Dwyane

 

[lankysudanese]

Hey everyone,

I am studying using Taus' boards plan. Basically, what I have done so far is do a quick run through my resources (listed below) and annotate first aid while reading and listening to Goljan. The plan called for 3 total run-throughs of First Aid and Goljan, with an NBME test at the end of each run.

I took my first NBME (number 4) and just got a 730/800 (259!). I am absolutely shocked.... Is NBME 4 representative?

Should I bump my test date up? I am scheduled to take it in a month (May 30) and am considering moving it up to May 17th. Also should I still do USMLE World as I was planning or would it not help much?

Thanks for your input,
Dwyane

730 is an awesome score. I was in the exact same situation - 720 in NBME4 4wks before test date. I chose to also take NBME 1 and 2. got 640 on NBME 1 (3wks out) and 640 on NBME 2 (2wks out). i then did a copy of NBME 3 (off of the internet i.e. not scored) and was confident that I got >95% correct (this was 1wk out). Ended up taking the test as scheduled, and got 265.
what I'm trying to say is, take the test when you are hitting your peak performance. 259 is a great score, but your peak performance might be higher than that. Do the other NBMEs (whichever you choose) and if you consistenly score in that range, and you're comfortable with this score (which most people would be), then go ahead and take the test within 1wk. Otherwise, keep working hard until you peak out.
If you feel like UW has helped you a lot so far, I don't see why you shouldn't finish the qbank.
Good Luck (sounds like you're gonna kill it)

 

[DwyaneWade]

730 is an awesome score. I was in the exact same situation - 720 in NBME4 4wks before test date. I chose to also take NBME 1 and 2. got 640 on NBME 1 (3wks out) and 640 on NBME 2 (2wks out). i then did a copy of NBME 3 (off of the internet i.e. not scored) and was confident that I got >95% correct (this was 1wk out). Ended up taking the test as scheduled, and got 265.
what I'm trying to say is, take the test when you are hitting your peak performance. 259 is a great score, but your peak performance might be higher than that. Do the other NBMEs (whichever you choose) and if you consistenly score in that range, and you're comfortable with this score (which most people would be), then go ahead and take the test within 1wk. Otherwise, keep working hard until you peak out.
If you feel like UW has helped you a lot so far, I don't see why you shouldn't finish the qbank.
Good Luck (sounds like you're gonna kill it)

Yeah now that you say it, I really do not think I peaked. There is still a ton of pharm and micro I really have no clue about, and other subjects where there are holes. I am probably going to spend another week, take another test, and see where I am at.

BTW I mentioned UW because I haven't purchased it yet and was planning to; now I am not sure but I do feel like I need to be doing questions leading up to the boards, and my other sources are exhausted (Qbook, Robbins Review).

 

[DwyaneWade]

So I studied a bit this week but mostly I just got really frustrated with UWorld. Mostly because I felt that was getting worse (which I wasn't really) because of variability between blocks.

I just took NBME 6. I am speechless. I am definitely moving my date up by a couple of weeks.

BTW, there were at least ten questions in NBME 6 that I saw on USMLE World (not verbatim, but the exact same presentation and material).

 

[lankysudanese]

So I studied a bit this week but mostly I just got really frustrated with UWorld. Mostly because I felt that was getting worse (which I wasn't really) because of variability between blocks.

I just took NBME 6. I am speechless. I am definitely moving my date up by a couple of weeks.

BTW, there were at least ten questions in NBME 6 that I saw on USMLE World (not verbatim, but the exact same presentation and material).

Even if they are not going to influence your decision to take the test earlier, I still think that you should take the other NBMEs. One reason is that you will see several questions being repeated in your test (verbatim). Another reason is that each NBME focuses on a different set of subjects (for e.g. 1 and 2 are heavier on nutrition) and this way you might identify any remaining "not-so-strong" areas before your test, and quickly rectify matters before the big day. For a stellar score, you almost have to have no weaknesses.

Regardless of what you decide to do, it sounds like you're in great shape. Good Luck on the test