NBME’s are a great tool to check your progress.
What is an NBME?
It is comprised of 4 blocks of 50 questions each. So not really a mock exam per se, but still useful. However do not be fooled about the content. Questions on the exam will not necessarily look the same as the NBME.
So then why should I do them?
What I am about to say is my interpretation of how NBMEs help track your progress and correlate with how you will score.
- NBME firstly prepare you for the mindset of taking the exam. It can be used as a mock exam when paired together or can be used in conjunction with Uworld to make 8 blocks
- It more or less tests you on your understanding and ability to answer questions which you may not have prepared for while step studying. And for this reason, it is great because Step 1 is not going to be like any test you have taken or prepared for in your past.
- Ideally you want to do 4 before your exam. Some people say do all available, but it’s up to you
How to use them?
Well there are two methods you can implement to use them
- You can do them every weekend in your dedicated study time.
- Pros – Good way to keep yourself on the “exam style” if you opt to do tutor mode in Uworld for the beginning of your step prep / It tracks your progress week by week / Allows you to slowly adapt to long test taking conditions
- Cons – Sometimes you may not be prepared or feel prepared when you take it the first time / A week might not be enough time or a change to see any real change in performance / Takes up time during your dedicated time when you can use this to learn new material
- You can have a schedule of when you want to take your first NBME and then the rest (so basically you take them whenever you feel prepared or semi-prepared and more as a progress tracker)
- Pros – Fits your schedule and you can adjust to suit / You may perform better since you know if you have put in more work to see a change / Can avoid using up your “learn new material” time
- Cons – May end up pushing them back if you don’t feel prepared / Inadvertently might leave 3-4 NBMEs to do week before the test / Can make you uneasy if the score you got on them isn’t reflective of what you or where you want to be
However, in hindsight, something to recommend, is doing one every 2 weeks. Find what’s best for you
Uworld Assessment (UWAS)
Similar to an NBME but has 4 blocks of 40 Qs and aren’t questions found in your Uworld subscription.
Differences –
- I have heard many mixed things about how they calculate your score based on how well you did in the assessment. Some say it gives you a higher score and some say it has been adjusted to reflect a more accurate score. To be honest, just use them to get into test taking mindset and also to review after. You can save the NBME to determine your progress
- These actually give you feedback on your questions just like normal uworld so that you can easily review them and make notes
- When you finish a block, you can see which questions you got wrong immediately. I would advise not doing so until you complete all blocks.
Other than that, it’s a pretty good tool to help gear you up for the actual step 1
The ultimate USMLE step 1 guide 