Took a half-length after completing content review - Getting worse?
Hey everybody,
So I've been studying for about 2 months now and have finished up content review. I have a little over a month left and I decided to take a half-length (NS Diagnostic) today due to not having enough time set aside for a FL. Well, I did not do well. I'm actually getting worse as I study more. Here are my scores in order:
Gold Standard 1/3 length - 124/125/125/125 = 499
NS1 - 126/126/125/129 = 506
NS2 - 125/127/126/126 = 504
NS 1/2 length - 123/125/125/129 = 502
I have no idea what to think. I've heard that NS2 is harder than the first, so that makes sense but I have no idea why I scored so poorly on the half-length diagnostic. I can't be getting worse, can I? What should I do? I plan on doing the SB, OG, two AAMC FL, and 2 more NS exams before I write (Aug. 25th). Will that be sufficient?
Posted Jul 17, 2016, 8:07 PM UTC · edited
I bombed NS diag too.. only got 497 but i got 505 on NS1 and 506 on NS2
Hey, got a 497 after content review also. What did you do in between your diagnostic and NS1 and NS2 and how long did it take you to reach those scores if you don't mind me asking?
Sure - I took the NS Diag june 29. (123/123/125/126) Since i was horribly weak in CP/CARS - that's where i worked on and went through AK lectures and practice problems (i.e. EK1001, CP sections in old AAMC FLs) I still wasnt done with content review in physics at this point
Took NS1 Jul9 (127/123/127/128). Did the same thing with AK lectures to hit weak areas and practice problems. Finished content review for physics. I have to still cover reactions in orgo. (i am relying on remnants of knowledge from my Orgo1 class a couple years back)
NS2 was Jul16 (127/126/126/127) Probably will need to hit KA for psych/soci as i saw a good chunk of terms i wasnt familiar with. B/B on Ns2 killed me with the genetics/gametogenesis and translocation passages.
Im also gonna start hitting orgo a bit more seriously since im dropping easy questions because of that content deficiency
Thanks for sharing! From what I read, the diagnostic doesn't seem to be the best predictor, which makes sense because why buy the material if you score well. The B/B section was insanely genetics heavy on NS2. There were over 15 questions, according to the breakdown at the end. I don't think that much knowledge will be required on the real thing.
I'm reviewing it in full now and I'm feeling a little better about how I did, despite my score. There's a lot less room for error with such a small number of questions so I'm taking my score with a grain of salt. You should too. Go do some more practice problems, crush a FL, and keep giving it your all.