Ready for step 1 or postpone?

[prim]

Hi I'm an IMG from England I've been studying for about 4 months. My exam date is on the 20th of January.

I took UWSA 2 and NBME form 7 today.
UWSA2: 252
NBME 7: 240
U world percent: 80's (2nd time round)

So I've got about 2 and a half weeks left to study. My question is: I shouldn't push back my exam date right? I want to score a 99 and I know a 240 is a bit borderline for 99 ( or it is even a 97?) but I have two and a bit weeks left to study and I've also heard that pushing back your exam too much lowers your score.

I just need some reassurance thanks! I'm just a bit worried because some of the NBME questions I feel like I was completely guessing. How accurate is NBME 7 supposed to be at predicting your score?

Oh btw I've also realized that the grading for NBME is pretty harsh as I worked out I got 86% correct overall but only made a 240 whereas on UWSA2, I scored only 75% overall but scored 252? How does it work?? I wouldn't have said the NBME questions were easier either!

[drarnab]

Originally Posted by prim

Hi I'm an IMG from England I've been studying for about 4 months. My exam date is on the 20th of January.

I took UWSA 2 and NBME form 7 today.
UWSA2: 252
NBME 7: 240
U world percent: 80's (2nd time round)

So I've got about 2 and a half weeks left to study. My question is: I shouldn't push back my exam date right? I want to score a 99 and I know a 240 is a bit borderline for 99 ( or it is even a 97?) but I have two and a bit weeks left to study and I've also heard that pushing back your exam too much lowers your score.

I just need some reassurance thanks! I'm just a bit worried because some of the NBME questions I feel like I was completely guessing. How accurate is NBME 7 supposed to be at predicting your score?

Oh btw I've also realized that the grading for NBME is pretty harsh as I worked out I got 86% correct overall but only made a 240 whereas on UWSA2, I scored only 75% overall but scored 252? How does it work?? I wouldn't have said the NBME questions were easier either!

Hey there, these look like good scores for a 99, NBME is very harsh with percentages - i got 87% right in form 6 and scored a 236 . Did any of your bars cross the borderline performance bar? I got two questions wrong in hematology which were pretty straightforward.. my gut feeling is that some of these questions may be weighted by "important information to be known by all passing the test". my 2c. UW has harder questions in general. Never taken the UWSA so cant comment.

[Haisook]

NBME 7 is very accurately predictive. I also got 240 in it, and got 241 in the real exam. It's not about the percentage/number of answered questions, but about what questions you managed to answer. Easy questions - that all people get right - do not give much weight. Hard tricky questions - that most people get wrong - give you an edge if you get them right.

By the way, nowadays, 240 guarantees a 99. The exam has become more difficult, and scores in the late 220's correlates to 99!

So I don't think you need to postpone unless you want to get higher than 240, which from what I've heard is difficult to achieve once you stepped into the 99 range.

[prim]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've booked a holiday for right after the exam, so I definitely have to take it on the 20th now!

Regarding your comment about how some questions count for more than others, is it the same in the exam? Do I lose more marks if I make silly errors on easy questions??

Oh and another random thought: do you get a calculator option on the actual exam? Uworld gives you a calculator whereas NBME doesn't so just wondering..thanks

[Haisook]

Originally Posted by prim

Regarding your comment about how some questions count for more than others, is it the same in the exam? Do I lose more marks if I make silly errors on easy questions??

Logically, yes. You are compared to others. You shouldn't mess up in questions that most people get right.

Originally Posted by prim

Oh and another random thought: do you get a calculator option on the actual exam? Uworld gives you a calculator whereas NBME doesn't so just wondering..thanks

You will get a calculator. The interface is exactly as that of UW.