Terrible UW#1 score, how to proceed?

[gman33]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I just finished taking the UW#1 assessment.
I ended up with a 175.
This is after 3 weeks of prep. During this time I was mainly doing Goljan RR along with the audio, FA for the related drugs and BRS Physio to nail down other concepts. I also went through RR Biochem.

I didn't really use FA all that much.

Now, I have 3 1/2 weeks left before my exam.
I set up my schedule for 3rd year so that I can take another 4 weeks if I need it.

My goals: I'm not looking for a 250 or anything like that.
I would just like to do average. Obviously the higher the better, but I'm not sure what is realistic. I just want to do the best I can.

I'm thinking about something like DIT. I need to start nailing down details that I guess I've been ignoring. I'm good at recoginizing diseases and stuff like that, but it's the little details that are killing me.

If I'm going to do something like DIT, I'd need to start it ASAP if I don't want to extend my time. I have no problem doing that though if needed.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks.

Oh also, I've been doing UW questions. 48 timed. Been getting around 50%.

 

[MilkmanAl]

What kinds of things, specifically, are you missing. Like, can you identify a disease but not its treatment? Are you blanking on drug side effects? Is it one particular subject that you keep bombing (which would be the best-case scenario, in my opinion)? Are you running out of time to take the test and thus rushing through questions (i.e., making careless errors)? Figure out what's going wrong, and nail it down.

If you're just all over the place, maybe DIT would be good for you. I understand it highlights important points very well. If DIT isn't in the cards, consider a subscription to USMLERx. I find it very helpful for extracting key points from FA. It's also a lot cheaper than DIT.


I know it's not much consolation, but your score means that you're fairly likely to at least pass Step 1. You'll never have to see this crap again.

 

[jeesapeesa]

So I just finished taking the UW#1 assessment.
I ended up with a 175.
This is after 3 weeks of prep. During this time I was mainly doing Goljan RR along with the audio, FA for the related drugs and BRS Physio to nail down other concepts. I also went through RR Biochem.

I didn't really use FA all that much.

Now, I have 3 1/2 weeks left before my exam.
I set up my schedule for 3rd year so that I can take another 4 weeks if I need it.

My goals: I'm not looking for a 250 or anything like that.
I would just like to do average. Obviously the higher the better, but I'm not sure what is realistic. I just want to do the best I can.

I'm thinking about something like DIT. I need to start nailing down details that I guess I've been ignoring. I'm good at recoginizing diseases and stuff like that, but it's the little details that are killing me.

If I'm going to do something like DIT, I'd need to start it ASAP if I don't want to extend my time. I have no problem doing that though if needed.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks.

Oh also, I've been doing UW questions. 48 timed. Been getting around 50%.

i'm no expert or anything, but i would count on taking that 4 weeks off. this test is way too important and the closer you get to exam time, the stress will mount and wishing you would've taken the 4 weeks off. since you really didn't look at First Aid that much, I would start with that; go through it once by yourself or DIT. anyways, best of luck.

 

[Perrotfish]

I just had basically the same thing happen. My score has actualy gone DOWN with the last two weeks of prep, which was DOWN again from 2 weeks before that. After 4 weeks of intensive prep I just failed my first practice test. WTF?

I honestly dont even know what to do here. I've taken a month of vacation for prep, so I still have a little over 6 weeks until the exam, but I'm honestly not sure that will do it and I have no more vacation to take. How can I fix this?

 

[MilkmanAl]

My score has actualy gone DOWN with the last two weeks of prep, which was DOWN again from 2 weeks before that.

That's just weird. Noticed any patterns involving the questions you got wrong?

 

[Perrotfish]

That's just weird. Noticed any patterns involving the questions you got wrong?

The patterns for the questions I got wrong made perfect sense: my relative percentage correct for the stuff I have reviewed heavily has gone up compared to the stuff I haven't gotten to yet. It's only the total score that went down.

Anyway the % of my daily 48 UWorld questions that I've gotten right has been climbing steadily (beginning in the low 40s, now in the low 50s), so am doing my very best to convince myself that the last two practice tests were both flukes (the last one was the CBSE and today I had a truely terrible night's sleep). I'm going to do NMBE form 4 in a week, if I bomb that too THEN I'll start to panic.

 

[DrVanNostran]

So I just finished taking the UW#1 assessment.
I ended up with a 175.
This is after 3 weeks of prep. During this time I was mainly doing Goljan RR along with the audio, FA for the related drugs and BRS Physio to nail down other concepts. I also went through RR Biochem.

I didn't really use FA all that much.

Now, I have 3 1/2 weeks left before my exam.
I set up my schedule for 3rd year so that I can take another 4 weeks if I need it.

My goals: I'm not looking for a 250 or anything like that.
I would just like to do average. Obviously the higher the better, but I'm not sure what is realistic. I just want to do the best I can.

I'm thinking about something like DIT. I need to start nailing down details that I guess I've been ignoring. I'm good at recoginizing diseases and stuff like that, but it's the little details that are killing me.

If I'm going to do something like DIT, I'd need to start it ASAP if I don't want to extend my time. I have no problem doing that though if needed.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks.

Oh also, I've been doing UW questions. 48 timed. Been getting around 50%.

I think you need to sit down and find out what your weaknesses are and where you are missing questions. Use your practice tests and UsmleWorld assessments to guide you in this. It is definitely NOT time to freak out or anything. I think you built a solid core from what you have studies.

In my opinion, don't spread yourself thin over the next 3 weeks. Maybe DIT + FA is all you need to get into the 220ish range.