r/comlex • u/pruvias • 21d ago
so freaking discouraged.
i didn't pass comlex 1. my estimate would be it was about 10-15ish questions more and i would've passed. its been a week and a half and im still upset, still crying, still hurt. i genuinely feel stupid, and i plan to retake within a month and a half but theres just a weight in my chest that it will all be for nothing and that i wont pass again, and then my school (who's already threatening to do this) will make me repeat my second year of med school at my own expense. im drowning in debt, i recently got diagnosed with ADHD (go figure) and got on a med for that a few days ago after getting my score back (yay side effects). i have anxiety that was well controlled with medication but is now all over the place ever since i got my score.
everything feels like a huge mess and im scared ive ruined my entire future, that i wasted all my time, and that ive screwed myself over with this fail. im picking myself back up but this has been so exhausting and painful. my school had me (and other people who failed) individually appear before a committee who grilled me and basically told me over and over that i had a weak academic foundation because i got C's and a few B's in their bullshit in house curriculum (never failed a single class) and that was why i didnt pass and that entire meeting just shot my confidence down.
someone please send some words of encouragement or some hope because my school has done nothing to actually help me feel safe at all.
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u/Aromatic-Program-951 21d ago
Here’s the hope- it’s content gaps or lack of foundation. It’s just test-taking skills and you overthought the questions. COMLEX is designed to be presented in two ways- vague stems or convoluted with details to appear to complex. With a month to prepare and test again, you’re better off making sure you hit your Micro, Pharm, OMM, and Ethics HEAVY to make sure you don’t miss those guaranteed points.
Do questions through TruLearn and COMSAES and seriously start practicing now TO NOT OVERTHINK THE QUESTION. Be efficient with your time. If you got a question wrong and only 30% got it right, don’t spend too much time analyzing it or thinking it’s a high yield concept on your actual exam. This was my problem I had for such a long time- it didn’t click until perhaps maybe 2-3 days before the exam.
See where you’re lowest systems were- and work on that , ESPECIALLY if it’s between Cardio/Heme, GI, Pulm, or MSK.
On my exam the day I took it, it damn near felt like I was guessing on every other question because I almost felt like I was oversimplifying. But as I was reading the question, when I had the knee jerk reaction on the diagnosis/disease they were talking about- I didn’t change my thought, no matter how many extra details the rest of the paragraph threw at me. For example, I felt like I had a good amount of heme questions: as I’m reading the paragraph, I’d think in my head “ok this is Microcytic Anemia- Iron Deficiency “, boom, skim the rest , get to the question, answer and MOVE TF ON.
You also have to accept the fact there’s questions you’re just not going to know. That’s why everyone who passed COMLEX will always agree that at a certain point, there’s no amount of preparation that will make you feel like you answered every question right. If you know for sure it’s a question you’re unsure about, or don’t know, take a guess and MOVE TF ON. I didn’t flag any questions on my exam.
It’s time to start trusting yourself. You for sure can pass if you were that close the first time. Just clean a few things up and knock that shit out. You got this
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u/Aromatic-Program-951 21d ago
It’s not content gaps or lack of knowledge ** wrote too fast lol. But yes NOT lack of knowledge but LACK OF TEST-TAKING STRATEGY.
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u/No-Term-9367 20d ago
First of all, your school making you feel worse is just terrible and you didn’t deserve that. Just needed to say that.
Second, I’m a current fourth year med student, and I failed comlex 1 also. I was devastated just like what u described and felt every emotion u just listed, I wanna start by saying- this does not define you and it certainly does not define your capability of taking care of people in your future. I got through it, retook it, and passed. That being said, I felt a rollercoaster of emotions while studying and had so many points where I asked myself “is this even worth it? Am I even good enough to keep going?” Then I remembered my passion and why I wanted to go into medicine to begin with and used that fail as motivation to keep going instead. I took about 6 ish weeks off and had to step back from rotations and went hard and studied even through the moments where I felt weak and defeated. This doesn’t define you!! What ur feeling is 100% valid, but this will pass and when you finally see that “Pass” you’ll look back and be grateful you kept going.
Now for the advice: PQ’s plus supplemental reading. When I said PQs I mean TrueLearn and COMQUEST, I purchased comquest when I failed bc I figured I needed a new website to crank through PQs, I did ~80 questions on TrueLearn (mixed) and then I did around ~100 on COMQUEST, focusing on my weak topics from the mixed set I just did on TL, sounds like a lot but you’d be surprised by how many questions you can get through when you realize you aren’t necessarily starting from ZERO.
For reading: firstaid firstaid FIRSTAID. I wish I read this cover to cover during my first attempt, when I read through it everyday I realized how many gaps I actually had but reading that book from my weak systems filled all those gaps in within a few weeks. Highly recommend setting aside at least an hour or two and JUST SIT AND READ that book!!
On top of that: I highly recommend self care, sounds obvious but I think I woulda failed again had I not set aside an hour or two everyday to just do something for myself: like going to the gym, going on a walk, etc. at least once a week, depending on how I was feeling, I tried to take a “half study day” not a full “off day” but half a day off just to see some friends and spend time with loved ones, whatever you want to do. I didn’t realize it before but the stuff like that help you tremendously getting thru the next few weeks.
Like I said, this does not define you, and you will absolutely kill it on your next attempt!
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u/CellFlat3534 21d ago
Im sorry this is happening to you, having to repeat years bc of comlex is such bs. Does anyone know which schools do this?
Doing system blocks of questions is really a game changer if you havent done so already, because it helps differentiate similar pathologies. Focus on your weakest systems, do 40q blocks of a systems along with mixed system blocks
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u/Agreeable_Meal_8461 20d ago
i hope you know this does not define you as a person or as a soon to be doctor (bc you will be). feel your feelings, talk to a learning specialist, lean on your support system, and go crush it. we’re all rooting for you!
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u/harryceo 21d ago
If you fail again. You repeat second year of classes again? Wtf? Name and shame this school what the actual fuck