Should I take NBME 17?

[JJArms22]

About 1 week out from my exam. Almost done with my second pass of UW, and started my last pass of FA a couple days ago. I took NBME 18 last week because I knew it was harder than 17. Got a 256 (very surprised) and now I'm wondering if I should spend the time and money on NBME 17. I am still weak at biostats so I was thinking of using time to solidify that instead but i'm not sure skipping 17 is a good idea since my last nbme will have been about 2 weeks from my exam (June 10).

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[Adjet]

If you've already taken 18, I don't think there's a pressing need for you to take 17, since there's a greater chance that it decreases your confidence than it does increase (assuming you hit your target on 18) + there's not too much educational value. But obviously if you'd like another data point and another opportunity to simulate testing, have at it.

 

[malin]

You could do it for the endurance factor. Taking NBME 17 and then taking 100 more questions from UWorld will simulate the real exam's length (roughly). That experience in endurance can give you an edge on the real exam.

My actual exam score was 7 points higher than my NBME 17, interestingly enough (252 vs 245). So don't lose confidence if you don't do well on it.

I also took pretty much every NBME exam I could and used it as an educational experience, meaning I screenshotted every question, found what I got wrong, looked up right answers on message boards, etc. Some of those NBME questions pop up on the actual Step 1 (5 did on mine--two if which I got wrong on the NBME, but right on Step 1).

 

[JJArms22]

You could do it for the endurance factor. Taking NBME 17 and then taking 100 more questions from UWorld will simulate the real exam's length (roughly). That experience in endurance can give you an edge on the real exam.

My actual exam score was 7 points higher than my NBME 17, interestingly enough (252 vs 245). So don't lose confidence if you don't do well on it.

I also took pretty much every NBME exam I could and used it as an educational experience, meaning I screenshotted every question, found what I got wrong, looked up right answers on message boards, etc. Some of those NBME questions pop up on the actual Step 1 (5 did on mine--two if which I got wrong on the NBME, but right on Step 1).

Thanks for the help. I'm leaning on taking it, but I just hope I don't drop much from 18. Did you also complete the free 150? I've heard they sometimes repeat questions from there on the real deal. I'm a bit pressed for time now seeing as my exam is in a week and I have a lot of FA to go through before then. Would you say spending the majority of my time on FA is best?

 

[JJArms22]

If you've already taken 18, I don't think there's a pressing need for you to take 17, since there's a greater chance that it decreases your confidence than it does increase (assuming you hit your target on 18) + there's not too much educational value. But obviously if you'd like another data point and another opportunity to simulate testing, have at it.

Thanks for the help. I felt like 18 was pretty tough compared to the other nbmes. I wouldn't mind taking 17 but I'd hate to drop also.