What's a good score on the free 150 q's from NBME? I just got....

[mountaindew2006]

just wondering...I just did them and got a 66%. I tried to take it somewhat serious. But what killed me was teh stuff i knew before COLD, but blanked out in since I havent reviewed them in a while. I've been doing q's by disciplines so the stuff I did about a month ago i've forgotten. I think i know now why they say mix up ur q's. but at any rate, how good of an indicator is this??

Thanks

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[trouta]

I think it is hard to say for this test. If you really want some way to assess yourself, pay the $45 buck and take one of the self assessment tests offered by the NBME. Scores on the released items will likely vary based on what point you take them.

 

[Idiopathic]

I got 80%...I thought they were much harder than the NBME self-assessment that you pay for though.

 

[rotatores]

I ended up getting a 71%. All my friends who have already taken the real deal say that step one is harder than the released items but a little easier than the NMBE questions.

 

[mountaindew2006]

yah...i think it was stupid. I've been doing q's of only things i learn AND i have been following the kaplan course, thus i do days w/ only path, physio, etc. As a result i sort of forget what i did on day one. At this point, i think i should start 'mixing' so as not to forget stupid, easy stuff. I'm soo pist at getting some of these really really easy stuff wrong!

oh well.

hey idio..when are u takign urs?

 

[Stinger86]

I ended up getting a 71%. All my friends who have already taken the real deal say that step one is harder than the released items but a little easier than the NMBE questions.

That's how I felt too, but I'm sure other people might disagree

 

[rotatores]

That's how I felt too, but I'm sure other people might disagree

It seems that most of my friends thought that the test was "okay" or extremely hard. I honestly think that there are only a few forms out per testing block. Some are a lot harder than others and some are totally doable...b/c i know some really smart people who thought it was impossible and some "not so smart" friends who thought it was okay. Who knows?

 

[Idiopathic]

I just took the self-assessment items and felt they were cake compared to the released items. Anyone else?

 

[Idiopathic]

hey idio..when are u takign urs?

Next friday...

 

[PSU2002]

I thought rumor had it that the NBME Self-Asses items were tougher than the released items. No?

 

[tega]

got 84/88 fist 100 qs.....also heard self assesment were harder......and also felt QB was much more difficult than the released items...

 

[bigfrank]

I would say that the NBME items were equally tough when compared to the actual test. They are pulled from the same pile.

I think I got about 85% of the released items right and many were markedly easier than the actual exam.

 

[cubs3canes]

I agree with bigfrank, the exam is closer in difficulty to QBank and NBME than the released items. But an unusual side note, I did have a direct repeat from the released on my actual test!!! It was something that I NEVER would have known if I did not do the released items.

 

[calot's 3angle]

i've seen the released items explanations on the kaplan page--lots to read through 73 pages! i guess the actual questions are unavailable?

 

[lindyloohoo]

calot...the questions can be downloaded off of the usmle.org website. i haven't seen them on kaplan's site anywhere.


To those of you who have taken the self assessments, did you think 1 form was harder than the other? I took the first one and was pretty happy with my score, but I'm scared to take the other one, afraid it will be harder, my score will go down, and I'll be in worse shape mentally for Thursday.

 

[Idiopathic]

No, they just cant put them on the Kaplan page due to copyright restriction. They are available at www.nbme.org

 

[calot's 3angle]

if you've subscribed to qbank, the link to the explanations are in the box titled "my courses and services" on your "my kaplan" page.

sorry to be so dense, but i can't seem to find them on either the nmbe or usmle page. i've checked in publications and news and information... thanks!

 

[Idiopathic]

http://www.usmle.org/step1/default.htm

Download the PDF file

 

[calot's 3angle]

http://www.usmle.org/step1/default.htm

Download the PDF file

thank you!!

 

[Smoke This]

I would say that the NBME items were equally tough when compared to the actual test. They are pulled from the same pile.

I think I got about 85% of the released items right and many were markedly easier than the actual exam.

I got 86.7% on the released items. Haven't taken the $$$ NBME questions and not planning on it. I don't feel any better though after reading this account of how much harder the real thing is.

 

[Legion560]

RE: 150 released items from NBME

I side with the majority here. I got an 81.3% and most the stuff I missed were really plug and chug memorization type questions. I noted about 5-6 that I did not understand the concept.

Im not a Qbank star by any means , but even I can say that these released items are a joke (detail wise) compared to Q bank. In comparison to Q bank, the stems are short, but require some level of reasoning instead of spitting out the answer because you recognized a buzzword. In fact, Id say the level of difficulty on the released items is probably a lot similar to the NBME assessments that your school probably made you take (like my school did-bastards!).

Havent taken the official $elf assements yet, but guaranteed that I will do worse on those. I think the Released Items are a false confidence booster.

The ethical dilemma: Save the $90 for booze, or give it to the NBME so they can tell me how unprepared I am If YOU were the doctor, what would you say?

Legion.

 

[mountaindew2006]

just got through all 73 pages of explanations...took me about 2.5 days. I learned some stuff since i looked up certain things. But wow my score was horrrrrrrrrrible!! but i'm not gonna let that get me down since most of it was regurg stuff which i didnt go over in a long time! HOPEFULLY things will change.

 

[mnms]

hey,

i just toke those 150. i don't know what it is with me, but i did horrible on those too. i found them to be a tad easier than qbank, but many of them were you know 'em or you don't.

i've got a little less than 2 wks 'till the test. i'm avging in the mid to high 50%s on qbank but have done random tests since day one which started w practically zero review knowledge and i still have a few more topics to go over (biochem, phys, and the behavioral stuff - i suck at biostats).

the way i see it is that i need to be getting about 2-3 more questions right on qbank to put me in the 60%s...only then will i feel confident bout the real deal. otherwise, i'm worried bout taking Step 1.

are any of you in the same boat? would love to hear.

 

[PACtoDOC]

It is worth doing the Prometric Practice USMLE for 45 bucks. I took it, consciously choosing not to do the released items so I could not prepare. 2 days after COMLEX, I took it and found it fair, on the same level as Q bank but easier than COMLEX. I left with a score of 109/150. When I got home and saw what I missed I was pissed. But I bet that happens with any exam for some of us. If only I had one more day to study behavioral!!!!!! Something just has to give. But for you guys planning on scoring in the 80's for the real USMLE, you probably ought to call ahead to see that they have a leather receliner for his Majesty!! People don't generally break the 80% mark on USMLE. An 80 generates a 3 digit score of some unhuman score of 280. My buddy did the practice test last year (which is why I did it), and he scored a 72% on the practice exam. His real exam'3 3 digit correlation was almost on the head at 248. The 72% predicted he would have scored a 252. Not too bad a target practice...taking the same type of test next to the loud typing GRE'ers, under the same pressure( sort of). My main focus was to see if it correlated with Q Bank and to see if it correlated with my real score, and to make sure I wasn't in the 50% on the practice questions. My guess is everyone who is honest with themselves will agree a correlation exists. I'll start off the thread.

Matt
Qbank-74%
practice items at Prometric (NOT at HOMe second go round!! - 72%)
Predictions based on these observations is 246. I will post in a few weeks when I get my score and then lets let science crunch the numbers.