Which Tests to take 1 week out?

[Back2Life]

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Hey guys,
Sorry for the redundancy, but I'm taking Step 1 next Friday and I need some last minute advice.

Here's my practice test history:

3/31: NBME 6, 76%, 205
4/5: NBME 7, 81%, 225
4/12: UWSA 1, 69%, 236
4/26: NBME 12, 85.5%, 239
5/13: Free 150 @ Prometric, 88% (91, 80, 91), 255 (according to Med friends...)
5/13: NBME 13, 86.6, 240

My best case scenario is to add 10 points to reach 250 by next week. I'm thinking of taking 2 more practice tests and I was wondering which 2 I should do out of UWSA 2, NBME 11, NBME 15 next week? (or should I do all 3?)

Any other suggestions for what I should do are welcomed 🙂

Thanks!

 

[normtheniner]

Hey guys,
Sorry for the redundancy, but I'm taking Step 1 next Friday and I need some last minute advice.

Here's my practice test history:

3/31: NBME 6, 76%, 205
4/5: NBME 7, 81%, 225
4/12: UWSA 1, 69%, 236
4/26: NBME 12, 85.5%, 239
5/13: Free 150 @ Prometric, 88% (91, 80, 91), 255 (according to Med friends...)
5/13: NBME 13, 86.6, 240

My best case scenario is to add 10 points to reach 250 by next week. I'm thinking of taking 2 more practice tests and I was wondering which 2 I should do out of UWSA 2, NBME 11, NBME 15 next week? (or should I do all 3?)

Any other suggestions for what I should do are welcomed 🙂

Thanks!

Just curious what you did? I did NBME 6 as my baseline as well and got a 205 (430) and am almost at week 2 of 5.

To answer you question, the professor that advised me told me not to take a test within the 10 day window because there is always a chance your score could randomly drop some and that could mess with your head. Just a thought to throw out there.

With that said I've heard NBME 15 is the most indicative of the current test as far as question length and concepts.

Best of luck!

 

[Back2Life]

Well, I just finished classes and only gave myself 2 weeks to prepare. This is what I've done: Kaplan Qbank and Rx 1x each, Uworld 2x, Pathoma (2-3x), Kaplan Vids (Biochem, Genetics, Pharm), Picmonic. Going thru my 2nd "dedicated" First Aid pass.

I definitely recommend starting a document of every Qbank question you miss/didn't understand, with a brief, "trigger word" style phrase/sentence in a column next to it (much faster than writing and it's easily searchable).

I don't know if I agree with your professor (already broke that rule today haha...). I think the confidence gained by getting that ideal score on a practice test outweighs the risk of a lower score.

 

[ejw5075]

11 was 1 point off for me 8 days out

 

[Charlie Hustle]

In the scores and experiences thread, people have been reporting that NBME 15 has been great at score prediction within the last 10-14 days before peoples' actual exams. I think it's worth doing, especially since you appear to be in really good shape anyway. Take NBME 15, lock down your weak areas as reported by the score report, and I think you're all set.

Nice work so far! 👍

 

[Back2Life]

Thanks for the replies! Yeah, I'm definitely going to do 15.

Should I just focus on FA & UWorld other than that then? The tests are pretty time consuming...

 

[HolySmokes]

If you want a nice confidence boost you might consider UWSA2, the general consensus is that it tends to overpredict because of a generous curve.