Step I UW is tough!

Started by Arctic Char
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Arctic Char

Arctic Char

Full Member
15+ Year Member
i'm getting my balls kicked in here!

i am doing 150 Q/day, and reviewing the answers and explanations thoroughly and feel like i am learning a lot . . . but damn! i'm barely exceeding 60% here . . .

pleeeease tell me step 1 isn't this tough . . .
 
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MtMed said:
i'm getting my balls kicked in here!

i am doing 150 Q/day, and reviewing the answers and explanations thoroughly and feel like i am learning a lot . . . but damn! i'm barely exceeding 60% here . . .

pleeeease tell me step 1 isn't this tough . . .
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haha...relax man...UW is harder and doesn't throw you the joke questions like the free 150 and the real thing....forget the % as long as you are really learning (well unless its well below like 50%...)

I got >230 on form 4 about a month out when I was only in the low-mid 60 range on UW
 
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I agree with the others. UW is definitely harder than the real exam. I thought that every question on UW was multi-step thinking questions, where the real exam had very few of those. Either way, UW is probably the best qbank for learning purposes and for timing purposes and that is what you should use it for.

Dont worry about the scorese you get on the qbanks. My step 1 score was way higher than the qbanks predicted but around where the NBME tests predicted.

Good luck! 🙂
 
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UW is representative of the more challenging questions on the exam. On the real exam, there are easier ones thrown in too. I averaged about 60% on UW with about 50% complete and got a 252 on the real thing. I wouldn't use it to evaluate your progress -- my scores didn't even improve over the 3 weeks I studied. NBME's are better for checking your progress, or so I've heard.
 
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I like the discussions on this board . Many great ideas shared , excellent discourse . Now , lets scientifically evaluate UW 's efficacy - hopefully with a larger sample , we can get a better idea to answer , is UW really harder than the USMLE ?

Maybe the original poster can now post his verdict since he just took the test ? What about the other folks on the board ?

It would be interesting to hear the views.
 
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TTPHUS said:
I like the discussions on this board . Many great ideas shared , excellent discourse . Now , lets scientifically evaluate UW 's efficacy - hopefully with a larger sample , we can get a better idea to answer , is UW really harder than the USMLE ?

Maybe the original poster can now post his verdict since he just took the test ? What about the other folks on the board ?

It would be interesting to hear the views.
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well, yeah, UW is good. it teaches you how to think going into the exam, but it does not teach you everything you need to know. i highly recommend it, it is an excellent resource, but it needs to be complemented with knowledge from other sources; e.g. FA
 
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TTPHUS said:
is UW really harder than the USMLE ?
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"Harder" is kind of nebulous -- if a test hits on areas you are weakest on, it is going to be harder to you, but not necessarilly harder conceptually. So whether you find a particular block of questions hard on World or Step 1 is going to depend on whether questions are mostly in your wheelhouse or too far off the plate, based on your own knowledge (which tends to overlap, but not be identical to anyone elses). All you are doing with World is preparing for what that company has determined are high yield topics. Doesn't mean a string of low yield things on your particular version of Step 1 won't burn you, nor does it mean that you couldn't also see nothing but comparable questions to those you got right on World or things you remembered from class. So I suggest that discussing "harder" will be fruitless IMHO. Doing well on World, Qbank or the other question systems, usually means you are relatively prepared for the test, not that you will find it easy or hard.
 
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would be nice to analyze results from one group of test takers without uw and another with same resources except for uw . uw being the only variable different ?/

any recent test takers can share if handling uw puts you at a higher frame of thinking on the test ?

I am doing the questions , but the score is kinda low 🙁
 
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As the above have said, UW represents the more challenging questions you'll get on the real thing, without the straightforward one-liners. UW prepares you for the harder questions, but you still need to have the basics down.
 
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domer621 said:
As the above have said, UW represents the more challenging questions you'll get on the real thing, without the straightforward one-liners. UW prepares you for the harder questions, but you still need to have the basics down.
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I agree 100%

Also in the test you have 4 questions like UW, then 2 questions harder than UW and then they feel pitty for you and give you 2-3 easy questions.
 
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