Yes! The point is to give you some margin-of-safety. But why would you want to take the NBME after the UWSA? Won’t you be so exhausted that your NBME will be artificially low? In the experience of many, UWSAs tend to overestimate your score. Want to practice for the real exam AND predict your final score? Then consider taking an NBME right after a UWSA exam. Take an NBME on the Back-End to Predict Your Final Score The additional practice block helped me when the fatigue hit on the actual test day.

Why was my practice test was even longer than the real thing? I wanted to train myself to answer questions beyond 7 blocks. Thus, two UWSAs back-to-back is one block extra than the real exam. One of these practice tests was back-to-back UWorld Self-Assessments (UWSA). To simulate this 8-hour gruel, I took 2 full-length practice tests.

Fatigue can be a significant issue, particularly in the last couple of blocks. You likely have never taken such an extended test before. (Step 2 CK has 8 question blocks/1 hour of breaks. Thus, with 1 hour of break/instruction time, the total test will take 8 hours. They spent the rest of their extra year doing research/other things to help improve their residency applications. Some Stanford students even spend several extra months studying. More than 1/3 of my Stanford class delayed taking their exam. There is no shame in preparing to take the test until you’re ready. NBMEs within a week or two of the final test are most predictive. It is rare to see someone score substantially higher (or lower) than their most recent NBME. However, most are in the ballpark, particularly for Step 1. Most people’s scores are not EXACTLY like their most recent NBME. (To read Get Into a Top Residency: 5 Things You Need to Know, click here). If I had wanted to match in a super competitive field like dermatology? Different story. As such, I probably wouldn’t have pushed back my graduation to score a 240. I might have pushed back my test date had I scored significantly below that.Īt the time of Step 1, I was planning to apply to internal medicine. (To read Are You Ready to Take Your USMLE or Need More Time?, click here).įor me, I would have taken the test if my predicted score was above 250. Does Delaying Your Exam Delay Your Graduation?īut how long should you delay? To answer this, consider: will delaying force you to push back your graduation by a year? The answers to these questions are highly personal. When is the latest date I can take my exam, and would I consider pushing back my exam date?.How important is it that I attain my goal score?.What if your goal score is 240, but you score a 200? Be realistic and ask yourself three questions: I have no idea how the bootlegged score predictor works. To my knowledge, no bootlegged copy has reproduced each NBME form’s unique curve. On another NBME, eight wrong may predict a different score). Each NBME form has its own unique “curve.” (E.g., eight questions wrong on one test may predict a 250 3-digit score. Even though the NBME Self-Assessments are not perfect, the most valuable thing about these exams is their predictive value.

Note: I do NOT recommend using the bootlegged copies floating around online. (To read NBME Self Assessments: Ultimate Guide for the USMLEs and Shelf Exams, click here). As such, the NBME Self-Assessments are the most accurate predictors of your final USMLE score. The NBME has correlated each form with students’ final scores. The best score predictors are the NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) Self-Assessments. Your goal score will depend on your self-assessment, your temperament, and your career goals. The beauty of the USMLEs is that the only requirement is that you pass.

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