Award-Winning COMLEX Courses & Classes in Oak Park, IL

If you've been looking for a good COMLEX course, Varsity Tutors offers a comprehensive private COMLEX class to help students build their study skills in preparation for the exam. The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA for short) is a series of three high-stakes exams that collectively serve as the most common method of earning osteopathic medical licensure in the country. The sheer volume of topics on the test can feel overwhelming, so investing in a COMLEX prep course could be a good idea.

One of the first topics discussed in any COMLEX course is the structure and content of the specific exam you are preparing for. The bulleted list below provides a rundown of the format of all three tests:

• Level 1
  • COMLEX-USA Level 1 is typically taken after completion of the second year of medical school.
  • The exam consists of 400 questions administered in one day and consists of two, four-hour exam sessions separated by a 40-minute break.
  • Each of the four-hour sessions allows a ten-minute break which is no longer subtracted from the time allotted for the respective four-hour sessions since the 2017 NBOME policy change.
  • Candidates are expected to know the basic mechanisms of health and disease process.
  • he mean score for the COMLEX-USA Level 1 is approximately 500-540 (for first time test-takers), with a standard deviation of about 85 (although this may vary slightly from year to year).
• Level 2
  • COMLEX-USA Level 2, taken during the third or fourth year of medical school, consists of two parts: Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (CE) and Level 2-Performance Evaluation (PE).
  • Level 2-CE requires candidates to demonstrate knowledge of clinical concepts and medical decision-making.
  • The mean score for the COMLEX-USA Level 2 CE is approximately 540 (for first time test-takers), with a standard deviation of about 100 (although this may vary slightly from year to year).
• Level 3
  • he final examination, COMLEX-USA Level 3, is typically taken after starting a residency program and covers the clinical disciplines of medicine

One of the first things that jumps out of that data is how long the test is. Even Level 1 lasts eight hours with only a 40-minute break halfway through! If you're not sure you have the intellectual stamina for a test that long, a COMLEX prep class may try to mentally prepare you for the endeavor. Concentration techniques may prove beneficial, and you may also take practice exams during COMLEX class time to get a sense of what the time available to you feels like.

Once you understand the COMLEX format, it's time for your private instructor to start going over all of the topics that appear on the exam. Spoiler alert - there are a lot of them. The bulleted list below breaks down everything you might study during COMLEX prep courses:

• Level 1
  • anatomy
  • behavioral science
  • biochemistry
  • immunology
  • microbiology
  • neuroscience
  • osteopathic principles
  • pathology
  • pharmacology
  • physiology
• Level 2
  • emergency medicine
  • family medicine
  • internal medicine
  • obstetrics/gynecology
  • osteopathic principles
  • pediatrics
  • psychiatry
  • surgery
• Level 3
  • emergency medicine
  • family medicine
  • internal medicine
  • obstetrics/gynecology
  • osteopathic principles
  • pediatrics
  • psychiatry
  • surgery

That's a lot, but private COMLEX classes may help you break it down into more digestible chunks. For example, if you are studying for the Level 3 COMLEX and feel more confident about Pediatrics than Psychiatry, your COMLEX courses may concentrate on psychiatry to improve your study efficiency. There are no artificial time constraints associated with private tutoring, so you can spend as much time as you like on any subject.

Your private instructor may also design study sessions with your unique needs in mind. For example, a visual learner might work with flashcards to make all of the medical terminology easier to study, while a lecture format might be utilized to help an auditory learner grasp the same information. If you're an introvert concerned by the practical nature of the Level 2-PE, you could even practice social interactions with your tutor to help you prepare for it.

At Varsity Tutors, we also do everything in our power to make COMLEX test prep as convenient as possible. Our exclusive Live Learning Platform facilitates digital study sessions, so you don't have to worry about meeting with your instructor in person. We also try to connect you with an instructor who fits your scheduling needs for maximal convenience.

If you would like to learn more about our COMLEX prep classes, please contact Varsity Tutors with any questions you have. Trained Educational Directors are ready and willing to help you work toward your academic goals!