Posted by Boo from IP 66.56.9.94 on March 31, 2006 at 18:03:28:
In Reply to: Speciallly to BOO posted by mike singh on March 31, 2006 at 14:48:05:
Hi Mike,
I must say that I really sympathize with the circumstances you had to confront. First of all, you should not even be looking forward to a score because if you missed the last block, it will be recorded as an "irregularity". This will show up on your USMLE transcript but again, no score will be reported. So technically, the only lost you had was your money!! True, i'm sure that you are utterly frustrated with how things came about, but considering your uncertainty about this exam, it probably was the best thing outcome now that you can retake it again and increasing that chances that you will beat the exam. I'm surprised how you claim the exam was tougher because I thought it was extremely straight-to-point considering that you knew concepts COLD. Of course, you will get the occassional out-of-place questions that you might have never visited in the books, but a strong majority of questions relate to things that you have come across. I honestly think that this second time around, you were just more anxious and that's why it led to you believe that it was a tougher exam. But all I can say is to not attempt a retake unless you are prepared in all aspects. You must go into this exam with confidence and not uncertainty. You have to train yourself to narrow concepts down from a whole volume of subjects. That's all it takes. Missing the exam by 11 points is not that bad at all!! You were brave enough to sit for it in the first place and that deserves alot of praise itself!! Then, now you can be happy that this second exam will not count against you because there will no score against you, only an "irregularity" report. As for my recommendation on when to take the exam again, it honestly boils down to you because YOU, and ONLY YOU, know YOURSELF!!! Again, you know you are ready when you can answer questions and be able to provide a whole picture of a topic with CONFIDENCE! You are in no positition to be depressed and drained out. You need to pick your head up high, get up, and go at the hurdle again with passion, confidence, optimism and an embracing heart!!!! Believe in yourself if this is WHAT YOU REALLY WANT!!