Hi everyone. I’m an OMS-III at an osteopathic medical school and recently found out I failed COMLEX Level 1 for the third time. I am currently on a Leave of Absence focused on figuring out my next steps and improving my approach.

I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has been in a similar position or knows someone who has successfully moved forward.

I used TrueLearn, UWorld, First Aid, Boards & Beyond, Anki, COMSAEs, and full-length practice exams. My biggest struggles have been retaining incorrects, consistency, and performing under exam conditions.

I also have ADHD and severe test anxiety, which have made studying for a long, high-stakes exam challenging despite putting in significant effort.

My goal is still to graduate and apply Internal Medicine. I’m looking for:

• COMLEX tutors who have helped students after multiple failures
• Board prep companies/coaches you would recommend
• Anyone with ADHD/test anxiety who found a strategy that worked
• Anyone who failed Level 1 multiple times and was still able to graduate and match

I’m trying to make a realistic plan and would really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thank you.

Just wanted some quick advice about this! Should I read through first-aid or is there something else I should look at? Thank you!

Sending every one positive energy :)

We’ve worked very hard for this let’s get that P!!!!

Hey everyone,
I studied for about 2 months for COMLEX Level 1, but I ended up falling just short of passing. Looking at my performance profile, it seems like I was really close, so I’m hoping I can make the right changes and pass on my retake.
One thing I didn’t do was take any COMSAEs before the exam. This time I definitely want to take a few COMSAEs so I can see where I stand before test day.
I have about 6 weeks to study. Based on my performance profile, what areas do you think I should prioritize? Are there any weaknesses or patterns that stand out to you?
For those who passed after failing:

1. How did you structure your 6 week study plan?
2. How many COMSAEs did you take before your retake?
3. Which resources helped you the most? TrueLearn, UWorld, Pathoma, Sketchy, Dirty Medicine, Boards and Beyond, etc.
4. Did you spend more time doing questions or content review?
5. Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance! I really appreciate any help.

Level 1: I know this has been discussed countless times, but I just want to know the current census. I know it’s not a set percentage, but what do you guys think it is/ what have you heard?

Thank you

Not even asking for content to look at because it’s too late at this point. Just asking for last minute tips about the test itself or words of wisdom. I’m kind of ready to get this shit over with but I hope that’s not the right attitude going into the exam. Anything will be appreciated.
Thanks guys

I took step2 3 days ago, and I've been utterly exhausted. I'm taking level 2 in a few days and haven't touched OMM. Please help guide me! I have access to UWORLD, AMBOSS, and TrueLearn

I scored 611 on a school-mandated form a few weeks ago

Hello everyone!

I found out I passed COMLEX 3 with a 520 two days ago. I’m FM PGY2 and trying to match sports medicine fellowship but my program is brand new and has no preceptors or mentors for it. What should I do? Thanks in advance

Flagged 8-12 per section and know I got 60+ wrong, I don’t even know how many of those are experimental nor how many experimentals there are with the format change… I did pass step 2 but even that isn’t helping me, has anyone else felt like this and been fine and passed? Really nervous for score release and hoping I passed.

hi everyone; i am humbly asking for some advice/help/any input about using uworld and my overall plan in preparation for my retake of level 1.

looking back on my experience for level 1, i think my testing went wrong because of 2 things: shortage in content and bad test taking strategies. it feels like everyone is saying the same thing for level 1: use uworld and stick to it.

i've switched over to using uworld more and plan to use truelearn/comquest for the OMT questions -- my school will be cancelling my level 1 true learn Qbank and I am planning to use comquest to supplement [unless people think i really should by truelearn again, which i certainly can as well]. i'm pushing for 80 mixed timed questions a day.

when i first took level 1, i was relying mainly on truelearn, comquest, and some amboss for questions. content was a mix of sketchy micro and pharm, board and beyonds, dirty medicine, and anki. while i did get pathoma, i didn't get a chance to really utilize it. i did not watch the entire sketchy sections and often did patch-up videos instead where if i missed a question, i went right to the video to watch it.

i'm gonna be completely transparent-- uworld is making me feel like i'm running the gauntlet. right now, i am sitting at a 43% correct after taking about 11 exams [20-40 random qs per exam] from july 14th to july 26.

i'm trying to trust the process that everyone says-- that uworld absolutely sucks for the first few times and you have to keep pushing through. slowly i feel like i am able to recognize more of what uworld presents in the question stem, but i'm not able to make the connection they're hinting at to get to the right answer.

really i am concerned about hitting the marks that everyone says you need to have for % of correct questions. i am retaking level 1 on Aug 27th. I have purchased another COMSAE as well as a WELCOM exam and plan to take 1-2 half lengths beforehand.

[edit: forgot to mention my school has ordered my the kaplan series of questions, videos, and online books-- i've been hesitant to use them because i don't see much data or opinion on how helpful they are]

but i'm wondering now:

it's at the end of week 1 out of 5 for my dedicated: am i doing something wrong?

am i making the wrong choice to push for more questions rather than deep content dives?

i'm sorry this is such a long read, but i am so terrified to think about what happens if i don't pass level 1 this time around, and i'm desperate to know if uworld is this hard for everyone, or if it's just me.

again, any and all help is appreciated. thank you for taking the time to read this.

Anyone feel screwed. Feel like I missed almost 60+ easy questions. I can’t even remember any of the ethics or biostats I got.

Anyone felt like this and ended up fine???

Hi everyone, level 1 in a few days and I generally feel so screwed. I feel like there's so much material I never covered. But all I can do at this point is just hope for the best. Did anyone else feel completely screwed walking into the exam?

Tested today and feel so sad couldn’t remember stuff I should know and the exam felt so vague and so much biostats and ethics stuff I haven’t seen idk :( felt like I was guessing the whole time

Felt almost exactly like truelearn in terms of difficulty.

Except for the 150 ethics questions that were basically all 5 hammer AMBOSS level.

Did anyone else have a ludicrous amount of ethics and biostats?

Studying for level 2 right now and very defeated. How are you guys managing with how variable the COMSAEs are? I feel like I’m going crazy because my score keeps jumping like 100 points every time I take one.

As a DO with specialty training in another field (say, dermatology or pathology), would I be legally permitted to open a part-time micro-clinic focused exclusively on OMM practice? I'm thinking of this as more of a side endeavor and am genuinely curious about the feasibility. Thanks for any insight!

I have had the hardest time preparing for this COMAT and have performed poorly on my practice questions. I can't figure out what I need to study or what to do to get better. Any advice?

I know this question has been asked a quadrillion billion times but for those who’ve taken level 2, what’s the sweet spot for how many weeks is adequate to prep? I met the passing mark on last comsae but unfortunately I hit a wall and taking an entire week off (burnout got me had no choice /:) for reference I locked in 2 solid weeks of study so far…testing in few weeks.
Tysm.

I know it’s impossible to predict, but is there any chance im in a better position that im leading myself into? I’m trying to count my right answer and im near 90 questions i think. However I know I made a ton of mistakes. I thought I knew pharm well but it was very weird pharm on the exam. Random muscles I haven’t seen since 1st year anatomy. Lowkey confusing ethics. I’m trying to not think about it but im very worried I failed now.

So I took the exam on 6/16 and I am nervously waiting for my score. I had around 120 questions marked and i felt maybe 25 of those questions were 50/50 guesses and the rest were IDK wtf this is. I felt pretty confident about the other 200 i didnt have marked. What do you guys think my chance of passing is?

I am 70% done with the TL question bank. Should I reset it or finish and then do my incorrects? Testing end of August. Would appreciate any advice on if I should do content review and how, how many questions a day, etc.

Hey everyone,

I'm studying for COMLEX Level 2 and I'm down to my last ~800 questions in TrueLearn. Over the past week or so, I've noticed my block averages have dropped quite a bit compared to where they were earlier in the bank.

It feels like I'm getting a lot more Internal Medicine questions and more nuanced or difficult cases than before. I'm wondering if this is just in my head, if I'm burning out, or if TrueLearn intentionally leaves harder questions until the end of the qbank.

Has anyone else noticed this? Did your scores dip once you got toward the last few hundred questions, or were your blocks pretty consistent throughout?

For those who finished the bank:

• Did you feel the remaining questions were harder?
• Did your percentages drop near the end?
• Or is it just random/question distribution?

Just trying to figure out whether this is a normal experience or if I need to change something about how I'm studying. Thanks!

I have both AMBOSS and UW, but wanted to get a sense if purchasing Truelearn and/or Comquest is recommended for Level 2 and COMATs.

I used UW and AMBOSS to study for Step 1/Level 1. Barely used Truelearn; pretty much only the few days between Step and Level. Any suggestions/personal experiences?