Step 1 harder than NBME Forms 1/2???

[Beam22]

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I just took Step 1 the other day and came out of there feeling like I failed it. I had taken the NBME Form 1 a few weeks before Step 1 and got a 560. I felt like the questions on Form 1 were much easier than the ones I saw on the actual test.
Did anyone else feel the same way?

 

[dividedsky]

Wow. this is crazy. I got a 560 on NBME form 1 as well. Took my step May 13th, and just found out that I passed (oasis trick, no score for 2 more days)

and yes, I felt that NBME was easier and less complex than step 1. But others on this forum felt that NBME was the same difficulty level as step 1. not me though, I'm with you - much harder. There are different versions of step 1 I assume, and the 2 of us probably had a more difficult version.

anyway, PM me in a few days or sooner and I'll tell you my score...since we both had the same NBME score...

 

[jojo14]

Hi Guys, I also received a 560 on form 1 and I take the exam on Sat. You are freaking me out! Do you think some of the experimental questions might have accounted for some more difficult q's? How would you have studied differently? Not like there is much I can do now...but for the other 560ers out there...

 

[Idiopathic]

I think that both tests are hard (I actually thought form 1 was harder than form 2 and the USMLE). I think the real-life testing situation makes it seem more difficult, personally.

 

[viper]

Can you say a bit more about the type of questions on the real vs. NBME form 1. I felt that form 1 questions were purely memorization and were NOT really in clinical vignette form. Q bank questions are much more different than the form 1 - so what is the real test like? Please tell us.

Thanks

 

[dividedsky]

Well, I thought that all questions would be clinical, long passages, etc. And it was not so. There were definitely many 2 line questions that asked a very basic memorization question. Not difficult, takes less than 15 seconds to answer. You either know it or not. Like Qbank. I didn't think there would be any of those. I thought it would be similar in length to Qbank behavioral.

And yes, Jojo, I hope the harder ones were the experimental ones, can't know for sure, but they were quite ridiculous. 8-9 lines long, no clue, and they all seemed to be in the 1st 2 blocks. Specifically, it took me 55min for block 1 and 2 each and less than 40min for blocks 3-4 each.

My test got easier as it went along. Very well distributed, although very heavy in pharm, micro, and endocrine (up and down arrows).

don't freak out. A friend of mine who thought it was "easy" and didn't think it was near as difficult as I did just got his score back and it was ~200. My other friend thought it was much harder and got a 220. Impossible to interpret. I'm just praying that the NBME 560 holds true. But even if it doesn't, a pass is a pass. anyway, 2 more days