Which NBME test to take as an early diagnostic?

[Waysensei]

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Hey all. I am planning on taking one of the 7 NBME's as a diagnostic to gauge my strengths/weaknesses right now so I know what to focus on in my studies over the next 3 months. Which one would you recommend? Since each of them are 50 dollars, I would prefer to only buy the ones that will be most like the actual USMLE I'm going to take in June.

 

[Elixir86]

Hey all. I am planning on taking one of the 7 NBME's as a diagnostic to gauge my strengths/weaknesses right now so I know what to focus on in my studies over the next 3 months. Which one would you recommend? Since each of them are 50 dollars, I would prefer to only buy the ones that will be most like the actual USMLE I'm going to take in June.

I haven't taken the test yet or any NBMEs, but if you'd like to save your money for a diagnostic test, perhaps you should consider taking the free 150 test as a diagnostic before studying and save the NBME to actually measure your progress. $50 might be better spent making sure that you're improving rather than, "Let's see what I suck at."

 

[studentologist]

I've heard that the free 150 is the most accurate predictor of your actual score so I'm considering paying for an NBME to use as a diagnostic and doing the free 150 closer to test day.

 

[Waysensei]

I've already done a fair amount of studying. I've gone through all of First Aid and have been doing questions from the Kaplan Qbank. I feel like I'm ready to take a NBME, to know where I am @ this stage in the game. I just want to know which one I should take.

 

[Phur]

It's been said that NBME 1 is roughly 10 years old while NBME 7 came out within the last year. 2-6 are in between. The test has evolved over the past 10 years, so theoretically the later ones are more realistic towards the current exam. That said all of them have been taken by a mass amount of people so the scoring and levels of the bars should be fairly accurate regardless of which one you take. 200 q's is a relatively small sample size, but is probably enough to give you a general idea where you stand. Any of them should work. If you're not planning to do all of them, then try and think how many you plan to do. If you think you're going to do three, do the last 3, 4- the last 4, etc. Or you could do the UW assessments, which actually give you the answers.

 

[vicinihil]

Wouldn't the most predictive test of your score be the one you take closer to your test date rather than at the beginning? I took the free 150 before I started studying and did pretty well but am definitely hoping to improve from there. I would hope that the next 4 weeks of studying I intend to put into studying for this test puts me above how I did on the free 150.

 

[Waysensei]

What I want is a NBME test that will gauge my areas of strength/weakness, so I can know what areas I need to focus on. Does the free 150 give you a printout of your performance?

 

[vicinihil]

What I want is a NBME test that will gauge my areas of strength/weakness, so I can know what areas I need to focus on. Does the free 150 give you a printout of your performance?

No it just gives you a percentage at the end.

 

[TopsyKrett]

can someone put up a link for that 150 q free test?

 

[vicinihil]

http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/2010/menu.html

1st link

 

[whitecote]

if a person gets 200 as their CBSSA score, do you guys know how many questions they mightve gotten correct out of the 400?

 

[NorGwynCrab]

I'm not planning on doing any NMBE's. Is this a bad idea?

My test is in a week. I've done one of the UW self-assessments and most of UWorld (averaging in the 70s now). The self-assessment was discouraging, so I'm thinking of not doing any more practice tests.

Thoughts on this? Should I at least do the Free 150 at some point? I don't want a complete confidence killer.

I guess I'm not sure what the point of so many practice tests really is...

 

[TopsyKrett]

http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/2010/menu.html

1st link

thanks!

 

[illixir]

if a person gets 200 as their CBSSA score, do you guys know how many questions they mightve gotten correct out of the 400?

I think the NBME score is out of 800. There are also only 200 questions.
Unless you mean 200 was your corresponding 3 digit score, if that's the case then the NBME score would've been about 430 and 70.2% questions correct, just an estimate based on attached file, the validity of which I can't ascertain.

 

[vicinihil]

Are the CBSSA's you speak of the NBME practice tests 1-7 on the NBME website. Also, how many blocks or questions do these have? If you say 200, does this mean it's only 4 blocks so a little more than half the length of the actual test?

 

[Waysensei]

I ended up taking NBME 5. It had 4 blocks of 50 questions each, for a total of 200 questions. According to FA, the real USMLE has 336 questions over 7 blocks of 48 questions each, so the NBME is a bit more than half of the actual board exam. I believe that the CBSSA is the same as the NBME exams.

 

[gman33]

I'm not planning on doing any NMBE's. Is this a bad idea?

My test is in a week. I've done one of the UW self-assessments and most of UWorld (averaging in the 70s now). The self-assessment was discouraging, so I'm thinking of not doing any more practice tests.

Thoughts on this? Should I at least do the Free 150 at some point? I don't want a complete confidence killer.

I guess I'm not sure what the point of so many practice tests really is...

I'm not doing any NMBE other than one the school forces on us. I don't want to take any test where I don't know what I got wrong.

 

[kryptik]

you wont know what you got wrong on the real deal, i guess you wont be taking that either 😀

 

[NorGwynCrab]

gman33, thanks for the response - I feel the same way. If I can't review what I got wrong, then I feel like that time taking the test was better spent studying.

For the MCAT, I took a lot of practice tests. But since this exam is so information-heavy (ie. lots of memorization), it seems like study time is more valuable. Plus my school only gave us a few weeks, so I'm trying to make the most of it.

 

[vicinihil]

I think taking at least 1 nbme is worth it just to get a basic feel of how questions will be asked. No matter how "similar" UW claims to have it down, I think previous NBME questions are still more similar to the actual thing. Though it doesn't give you the answers, I think the breakdown of what subjects you need to work more on will be helpful to your studying.

 

[NorGwynCrab]

Hmm, that's a good point. I assumed UWorld was pretty close to the real thing (isn't UW supposed to be a bit harder?).

 

[lildave2586]

I think the NBME score is out of 800. There are also only 200 questions.
Unless you mean 200 was your corresponding 3 digit score, if that's the case then the NBME score would've been about 430 and 70.2% questions correct, just an estimate based on attached file, the validity of which I can't ascertain.

Where did you get that document? My NBME score report from form 5 had slightly different numbers. Wonder what the discrepancy is?

 

[theanswer03]

I think the NBME score is out of 800. There are also only 200 questions.
Unless you mean 200 was your corresponding 3 digit score, if that's the case then the NBME score would've been about 430 and 70.2% questions correct, just an estimate based on attached file, the validity of which I can't ascertain.

Is that document correct for all of the CBSSA tests? Or does each test have a separate score conversion chart?

 

[LongIslProdigy]

My school doesn't require us to take the CBSSA but I'm looking into taking one before the semester ends just as a baseline to compare to.

1.Does anyone have any input as to which CBSSA form to take..there are a few. I'm guessing if your school requires and administers it, you may not know exactly what form it was.

2. Which would be best to take in the beginning of studying? CBSSA, NBME, or UWSA?

Thank you

 

[vicinihil]

I think each CBSSA has a different conversion chart. I just did CBSSA 7 and the questions weren't as involved as UW but i feel like I was penalized harder. The proportion of questions are also pretty heavy on Behavioral Science I felt. Did anyone else feel this way? How did CBSSA 7 compare to the real deal?

 

[illixir]

Is that document correct for all of the CBSSA tests? Or does each test have a separate score conversion chart?

Every test has its own algorithm I think and weights each question differently(just like supposedly each question is weighted differently on the real thing). I'm not even sure if I buy that or if they're weighted that much differently.

The chart's not meant to be a replacement of the actual score report but I believe the person that created that document though did so as an estimate that could be used for any of the NBMEs.

 

[psych]

I have a stupid question about the NBMEs. Everyone refers to them as 1-7 but I'm a little confused. Those are the comprehensive "basic science" ones and the "clinical science" exams are for step 2? Just want to make sure...

 

[vicinihil]

yes.

 

[psych]

yes.

thx!

 

[thechad]

Well, not taking an NBME because you can't review your answers isn't the best argument for not taking one. You can take it in untimed mode and look up things you're not sure of, or jot down some notes on a couple sheets of paper of things you want to look up later (that's what I did, anyway, and got a few answers right on the real thing because I did). I only took one NBME, so I can't say how they compare to each other. I did take the free 150, and there is a "show answer" button in it. The free 150 also predicted my score within one point. Just my 2 cents.

 

[TopsyKrett]

How long is the 150 free test? I just downloaded it to take tomorrow

 

[LeLu]

Are the UWorld practice tests as good as NBME's? or harder like the Q's?

I have 2 for free, but would it be better to take an NBME?

Is everyone in agreement about taking NBME#7 if you are taking only 1?

 

[Rabbit Hole]

Are the UWorld practice tests as good as NBME's? or harder like the Q's?

I have 2 for free, but would it be better to take an NBME?

Is everyone in agreement about taking NBME#7 if you are taking only 1?

I think it's safe to take NBME 6 or 7 since they are the most recent ones.. either will do fine. NBME - charts your progress - see where you're at.

 

[MDpride]

is NBME and CBSSA same thing?

shall i take NBME 7 first or free 150 before starting my 30day study ?

I plan to take another NBME or CBSAA after 14 days of first round of study.

then USMLE WORLD for final 14 days as per taus plan.

 

[12loser12]

Hey I"m planning on taking my first NBME in a couple of days. I was planning on doing it in timed mode so I can get a feel for speed, etc. But, if I do this, then there is pretty much no way of going back over the questions (even if I have to find the answer myself) and learning something is there?

My other idea is to do untimed mode, try to do it in under an hour, and then spend the rest of the time looking up answers, but then I'd have a big gap between blocks too. Anyone familiar with the format have any good ideas?

 

[vicinihil]

I say you do the test for what it is...a diagnostic and figure out what sections you need to work more on. If you want good feedback, use the UWSA tests. NBME 6 gives you the option of going back through your wrong answers (for an extra fee). I did this and looked up the answers to what I missed. Otherwise, I'm not sure if going through every question and looking up answers in untimed mode is the best use of your money or time. Use it as a practice of doing 4 blocks consecutively and work out the way you want to take your breaks etc.