U-world correlation with CBSE scores

[toothy97]

Hi all,

I am taking the CBSE in February and am feeling a bit discouraged. Started U-world and while getting a lot of percentages in the 55-70s range, am also getting a few low scores like in the 40s.

Was just wondering for those of you who took the CBSE, what was your score correlation? Also, any tips for improving my score in the next 2 months? Currently, I am just re-reading FA and sketchy.

Thanks.

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[Jaa_]

That's normal don't worry. About 3 months out from my test I was averaging around 60s and closer to test day around 70. Broke 80 on the real deal. However I wouldn't really use UW as a score estimate (as everyone on here says), NBMEs are much better tools for this. I would just try to shoot for 60+ on every block.

But if you really want to overanalyze you can use this which was kinda accurate for me.

2 months out is a decent amount of time. I loved the analysis tools on UW where I could see what I needed to improve on. Sometimes I did focused blocks of my weak subjects I think that helped me a lot. If you've been through all of the content , the best advice is to take an NBME if you haven't done so already.

 

[OMaxFace]

Bottom Line:
- UWorld scores don't matter.
- Read the answer explanations. That is all that matters.

 

[Jaa_]

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the questions asked on the CBSE are a very different style than what you see in UW. One mistake I made was I got too accustomed to figuring out UW questions and I bombed my first NBME because they don't provide all the hints that you see in UW questions.

 

[toothy97]

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the questions asked on the CBSE are a very different style than what you see in UW. One mistake I made was I got too accustomed to figuring out UW questions and I bombed my first NBME because they don't provide all the hints that you see in UW questions.

Thank you. I've only been through content once (am going through a second pass right now along with Uworld), should I still take an NBME at this time? I was planning to wait until Jan originally, but seems like it's better to start earlier

 

[Noemata]

The CBSE actually consists of retired USMLE Step 1 questions, which, if you look at some of the retired NBME forms, are easier than the current Step 1 questions. UWorld scores are correlated with Step 1 as another poster pointed out, but you might not need to know as much detail if you're writing the CBSE and not Step 1.

Speaking as someone who's written the CBSE twice, finished UWorld twice, and also written Step 1, I would say the difficulty level, easiest to hardest, is CBSE, then UWorld, then Step 1.

Good luck.

 

[Ivy.ch]

I only skimmed the above comments, but I agree that UWorld gives long, detailed questions which can trigger keyword associations, while NBMEs give very short, know-it-or-not questions more representative of the CBSE.

 

[toothy97]

Thanks everyone! I'll try not to focus *too* much on U-world scores. Just sometimes a blow to the ego when you get a string of questions that brings your average down, but it's all learning

 

[iluvnetters]

I started off in the 20s/30s and was scoring 50s for the majority of my studying until about a month out where I started getting 70-90 on all my blocks. I'd still dip into the 50s and 40s now and again depending on what was thrown at me. I also didn't do super well on my NBMEs in practice but after each NBME it was clear that my issue was my test taking strategy rather than my knowledge. Scored a 230+ on the real deal. All that matters is how you perform on test day, so worry about your current scores because theyre all set on the standard of med students taking STEP, not dental students taking the CBSE.

 

[toothy97]

I started off in the 20s/30s and was scoring 50s for the majority of my studying until about a month out where I started getting 70-90 on all my blocks. I'd still dip into the 50s and 40s now and again depending on what was thrown at me. I also didn't do super well on my NBMEs in practice but after each NBME it was clear that my issue was my test taking strategy rather than my knowledge. Scored a 230+ on the real deal. All that matters is how you perform on test day, so worry about your current scores because theyre all set on the standard of med students taking STEP, not dental students taking the CBSE.

Good to hear! Currently scoring low 60s as an average, so hopefully in 2 months I can pull this off and just be DONE with it!