UWORLD vs NBME vs Real Deal

[colts]

How would you guys rank the following in terms of difficulty from hardest to easiest:

Uworld qbank
Uworld self assessment
NBME
Actual Step 1

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[auburnO5]

How would you guys rank the following in terms of difficulty from hardest to easiest:

Uworld qbank
Uworld self assessment
NBME
Actual Step 1

Uworld qbank

NBME

UWSA



... I haven't taken the actual Step 1

 

[shan564]

UWorld qbank

UWSA

NBME

I haven't taken the real thing either.

I say that UWSA is harder than NBME because a lower percentage score gets you the same scaled score. I got 66% on UWSA2, which translated to 230. 66% on the UW Qbank is supposed to be worth about 240ish according to the infamous chart. And according to another random chart, you need quite a bit more than 66% on the NBME to get 230 (but that was just a random source).

 

[BoogieBoogie]

i did take the actual usmle step 1 and i personally ranked them as:
NBME (questions arent bad, but curve makes scoring on this test hard, also estimated by score the best)
UW (question difficulty hardest)
UWSA (question difficulty medium, curve generous and way overestimated my score)

To attest to scores, i got a 252 on the real thing
233 on NMBE12 and 256 on UWSA1 prior to studying
254 on NMBE7 and 265+ on UWSA2 2 weeks prior to exam
overwll 78% correct on UW qbank all questions done in untimed tutor mode

 

[colts]

Why is the NBME harder than the real exam? If NBME's are suppose to past exams, shouldn't they be kind of similar in terms of difficulty? Or is that the exam has gotten easier or the curve is a little better?

Basically, what I am trying to get at is, which one of the practice exams are most like the real exam, in terms of difficulty, curves, style, etc.?

 

[shan564]

I think different people have different definitions of the word "difficult."

Also, I don't think anybody here has said that the real exam was easier than the NBME. I'm not sure how you reached that conclusion.

 

[cliquesh]

My usmle was like a slightly easier version of Uworld. I was scoring in the 230's on the NBME practice tests I took and I scored in the upper 250's and low 260s on the UWAs. I got in the 250's on the real thing. I don't think NBMEs are harder than the real test, but the scoring on those tests are too harsh.

 

[Phloston]

UW qbank all questions done in untimed tutor mode

How did you find going through UWorld in tutor mode?

 

[BoogieBoogie]

How did you find going through UWorld in tutor mode?

its personally preference in my opinion, i was most comfortable doing it that way because i hate not knowing the answer immediately especially if i was deciding between 2 choices which happened a lot.

That being said, if you historically have trouble finishing exams, u may want to do them in timed mode bcause the question stems in UW i thought were slightly shorter than the real exam on average and so you definitely want to make sure u can get through blocks in a timely fashion. Obviously you will get some practice with the UWSA and NBME exams for timing but practice on lots of blocks will help.

 

[BoogieBoogie]

Why is the NBME harder than the real exam? If NBME's are suppose to past exams, shouldn't they be kind of similar in terms of difficulty? Or is that the exam has gotten easier or the curve is a little better?

Basically, what I am trying to get at is, which one of the practice exams are most like the real exam, in terms of difficulty, curves, style, etc.?

The practice exams MOST like the real exam IMHO are the UWSA exams in terms of question style, length and difficulty - curve is quite nice though.

NBME is not harder than real exam in terms of question difficulty (if anything easier because the stems are generally shorter), but the curve is horrendously strict - u have to score like a 90% to get around a 250.

 

[shan564]

How did you find going through UWorld in tutor mode?

I prefer tutor mode too. I feel like I learn more if I read the explanation immediately after going through the thought process involved in choosing the answer... during that particular 2-3 minute period, my mind is zoned in on a specific topic. I also find that I tend to glaze over the explanations to my correct answers when I'm not in tutor mode.

But that's just me. This way works for me because I don't usually have trouble with pacing on tests, so that's not really a priority for me. I'm sure that other people probably have different priorities.

 

[Phloston]

its personally preference in my opinion, i was most comfortable doing it that way because i hate not knowing the answer immediately especially if i was deciding between 2 choices which happened a lot.

I prefer tutor mode too. I feel like I learn more if I read the explanation immediately after going through the thought process involved in choosing the answer... during that particular 2-3 minute period, my mind is zoned in on a specific topic. I also find that I tend to glaze over the explanations to my correct answers when I'm not in tutor mode.

At least we're all on the same page.

 

[subalou1]

How would you guys rank the following in terms of difficulty from hardest to easiest:

Uworld qbank
Uworld self assessment
NBME
Actual Step 1

For me it was:

Actual Step
NBME
Uworld
Uworld assessment

I haven't gotten my score yet but my feeling after the exam was that it was much harder than anything I've done and I felt well prepared going into the exam. I'll post back on the 18th after the scores come out.

 

[Phloston]

For me it was:

Actual Step
NBME
Uworld
Uworld assessment

I haven't gotten my score yet but my feeling after the exam was that it was much harder than anything I've done and I felt well prepared going into the exam. I'll post back on the 18th after the scores come out.

What about your particular exam, either in an absolute sense or relative to your particular strengths and weaknesses, had you found to be more difficult?

Btw, your username reminds me of Sabouraud's agar.

 

[XRanger]

I would say NBME and actual step are about the same difficulty. I didn't take UW assessment so i don't know but I feel like uworld is way harder than the real thing (the curve is easier tho). I was averaging about 60% on uworld and ~85% on NBME

 

[naseeha]

UW qbank (hardest; I averaged 65% on random and tutor)
NBME (medium; I averaged about 82% on 6, 7, 11 and 12)
Step 1 (easiest; I got 236, 8 points higher than my highest NBME)

I personally felt like I was taking another NBME because the question style was similar along with the question stem length. After the exam I felt like I did well and thankfully I did.

 

[long]

I felt like the step itself was the hardest, followed by the nbmes.

 

[colts]

For those that the step was easier than their practice exams, can you guys maybe expand a little bit on what you did specifically during ure study period that you think may have helped you find the real deal easier?

And for those of you who thought the step was harder, can you explain maybe what you would have done differently during your study period (keep reviewing first aid instead of using other sources, keep doing uworld, use some other resources besides first aid (if so which one specifically?), etc.)

Thanks

 

[richse]

Took the test in June 2011.
From hardest to easiest

UWorld Qbank
UWSA 1
Step 1
UWSA 2
NBME 11
NBME 7

 

[shaiboy]

How important is it to have the latest version of the question bank? Does it change significantly from year to year to mimic the information found on the actual test?

 

[iheartmints]

Are the earlier NBME exams (before 7) worth doing? They're pretty costly exams for something that doesn't give answer keys

 

[J ROD]

Bump this thread.............to get an idea of how folks are feeling now.

I got a feeling almost everyone is going to say the real deal is harder now.

Also, trying to determine if doing a UWSA would be worth it or another NBME. I find NBME harder than UW so far.

 

[wonderbread12]

Bump this thread.............to get an idea of how folks are feeling now.

I got a feeling almost everyone is going to say the real deal is harder now.

Also, trying to determine if doing a UWSA would be worth it or another NBME. I find NBME harder than UW so far.

have you done a UWSA? For me the UWSA were harder than the NBME and more similar to the real deal... NBME was easier to eliminate answer choices IMO

 

[J ROD]

have you done a UWSA? For me the UWSA were harder than the NBME and more similar to the real deal... NBME was easier to eliminate answer choices IMO

No, I bought them but everyone that has done them I talked with said they overestimate and easier than the basic UW questions. I am the opposite. I have taken NBME 16 and I found it harder for me to pick out the correct answer than UW. That's why I wonder if I should do a UWSA or just another NBME and UW.

I am good at UW and not so good at NBMEs. I find I can get UW questions right easier.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I think they were all about the same, TBH. Uworld gives you more to work with but they also require 3+ steps, so it kind of balances out.

NBMEs are 90% straight recall questions (1 or 2 steps maximum) and a few random factoids/weird presentations.

UWSA is a mix between NBME and Uworld. Usually less information to work with than Uworld, but nothing too vague for the most part.

Real deal was basically doing 7 blocks of Uworld. Felt it was right in line with the UWSAs or NBME 16.

 

[Vexare]

I agree with notbobtrustme, the real deal felt very similar to a cross between the later NBMEs (15,16) and UWSA 1 (didn't take UWSA 2 so can't compare).

For those still wondering whether to prioritize UWSA or NBME, I had a similar question 1 week before my step 1 and was told to prioritize NBME 15 and 16 above the UWSAs and I don't regret that at all. It gave me a sense of what score I could expect (predictive value of NBME > UWSA) but most importantly, NBME questions are pretty distinct from UWorld and UWSA questions. It's critical to get used to this style especially when you're close to your exam. Relying on the extra information in UWorld and UWSA questions is detrimental because the real deal will have much more vague presentations and much less giveaway information on what the diagnosis is. In other words, expect to rely more on eliminating answers than you would've previously, and try to piece together the symptoms they present in a way that fits one best answer. The step 1 writers do a great job of throwing you of your comfort zone no matter how much prep you've done...

Although nobody knows how step 1 is graded, I can't help but wonder how all of the tools we use to predict scores somehow seem to work (ex. NBME avg. for later NBMEs if taken close to your real deal is a great predictor, UWSAs > 260 seem to be predictive but under that seem to overpredict, UWorld >80-82% = 260+). These are just some of the trends I've noticed from the 2013 step 1 thread as well as from posts scattered throughout SDN. For me the most confusing is the ridiculously high % correct you need for 260+ on NBMEs but somehow a much lower % correct on UWSA seems to hit that range, and an even lower cumulative UWorld % correct (assuming timed, random, 1st time) correlates with the same score range.

 

[J ROD]

Yeah, I noticed when I first did NBME 16 and my only one to this point. At first, I was thrown off and thought I was going to bomb it. But once, I got it down and such I did fine with a 241. Actually, much higher than what I was expecting. I thought I might get a 220 something since I had only done DIT and only couple hundred UW questions.

NBME 16 felt tough to me but totally doable. I would be extremely happy with a 230-240. Live with a 220+

 

[Psai]

I think they were all about the same, TBH. Uworld gives you more to work with but they also require 3+ steps, so it kind of balances out.

NBMEs are 90% straight recall questions (1 or 2 steps maximum) and a few random factoids/weird presentations.

UWSA is a mix between NBME and Uworld. Usually less information to work with than Uworld, but nothing too vague for the most part.

Real deal was basically doing 7 blocks of Uworld. Felt it was right in line with the UWSAs or NBME 16.

I totally agree with this, it's basically what I was going to say

My rank from hardest to easiest

Actual step 1
UWorld
NBMEs
UWSAs (because I went through maybe 40% of uworld for the first one and around 80% for the second. it felt like some questions repeated)

 

[urbanclassic]

I did Uworld 2x and I averaged 90% the 2nd round. I felt Uworld questions were maybe a little easier than the real thing, but maybe that's because of how I did them. I never did them timed and always did tutor mode.
I scored exactly 90% on NBME 16 and got 251 and I got a 250 on the real thing. NBME 16 difficulty was pretty much the same as the actual test.
I took NBME 7 a few days before the actual test and got a 94.5%, but I felt it was easy, which makes sense because it's the oldest one available so most of the review books cover it.
I took the Free 150 a few days before the test as well and got 89%, I felt the questions were kind of weird on this one.
I didn't take the UWSA's because I didn't have time and I heard they tend to overestimate your score.

Also I agree with the person who said if you're having trouble finishing on NBMEs. Do Uworld timed. I did the opposite and wished I would have practiced with my timing more. I probably would have done better on the actual test if I finished more comfortably (I was able to answer all the questions on the test, but I was VERY rushed at the end of most of the sections and had to pick answer choices based on a few seconds of reading the question and a few I blindly put an answer).

 

[Ismet]

Hardest
Step 1
UWorld
NBMEs
UWSA1
UWSA2
Free150
Easiest

 

[rodmichael82]

Hardest
Step 1
UWorld
NBMEs
UWSA1
UWSA2
Free150
Easiest

+1

 

[study4life]

How would you guys rank the following in terms of difficulty from hardest to easiest:

Uworld qbank
Uworld self assessment
NBME
Actual Step 1

I got my Step score back today, and I wanted to share my experience with these different resources, because looking at these forums before my exam was always helpful for me.

To answer your question.
The level of difficult from hardest to easiest, I would say:

UWorld Qbank
Actual Step
Uworld Self Assessment
NBME

Here is how I did on various assessments:
Uworld Qbank: 79% doing sets of 44 timed
Uworld self-assessments: UWSA1 = 262, UWSA2= 265 (taken back to back as an 8 hour exam a week before)
NBME : 13- 262 (5 weeks out), 16- 256 (3 weeks out), 17 - 262 (4 days out)
Actual Step: 266.

I feel that Uworld really prepares you for the actually step if you take the questions seriously and really work on your test taking skills. When you come across a question on Uworld that is a challenge, dont just randomly bubble and move on. This is your opportunity to buckle down and see what you know. Start a difficult question by eliminating the answer choices you know are not right. You might surprise yourself and find yourself with one answer left. This skill will really help you when you come across a question on Step 1 where you don't know the answer immediately.

 

[seminoma]

Hardest
Step 1
UWorld
NBMEs
UWSA1
UWSA2
Free150
Easiest

Hardest
Step 1
UW
Free 138
UWSA1
UWSA2
NBMEs
Easiest

At least for me.

 

[rising hope]

HARDEST

Step 1
U world
NBME
UWSA 1
FREE 132

EASIEST

score: 255

 

[fufushatoora]

What is free150?

 

[Smiths11]

I just finished UWSA2. My 1st block score is inaccurately low because I developed an asthma attack during the exam, didn't hit pause, and missed the last 10 questions.

Adjusted for that, my raw score is a 60%. Did anyone get this raw score? If so, what 3 digit score this translates to? It's too bad that UW doesn't break it down for you.

Thanks in advance