Do not review the answers immediately. Take a full 24 hours off. Then, spend the next 24 hours reviewing only the questions you got wrong without looking at the correct answer first. Try to reason why you missed it.
Taking the hardest form as your baseline is like running a marathon without training. You will get a low score, panic, and waste time rebuilding false confidence.
Title: Decoding COMASAE Form 107: A Strategic Benchmark on the Path to COMLEX-USA Level 1
Introduction
The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Self-Assessment Examination (COMSAE) series, produced by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME), serves as a critical formative assessment tool for osteopathic medical students. Among the various forms (e.g., 105, 106, 108, 109), COMSAE Form 107 occupies a specific niche, typically administered during the dedicated preparation period for COMLEX-USA Level 1. Unlike its counterparts that may be used for early preclinical benchmarking, Form 107 is widely regarded as a mid-to-late preparation exam designed to simulate the content, difficulty, and timing of the actual COMLEX. This paper provides an informative analysis of COMSAE Form 107, covering its structural characteristics, content emphasis, predictive validity, strategic uses, and inherent limitations.
Structural Characteristics
COMSAE Form 107 mirrors the core format of COMLEX Level 1. Key structural features include:
Content Emphasis and Distribution
Form 107 adheres to the COMLEX Level 1 content blueprint, with a distinct emphasis on osteopathic principles and clinical presentation. Key content areas include:
Strategic Use in Exam Preparation
COMSAE Form 107 is best employed as a mid- to late-dedicated study assessment (approximately 3-6 weeks before the target COMLEX date). Its optimal strategic uses include:
Predictive Validity and Limitations
Evidence from student surveys (e.g., via r/COMLEX and SDN forums) and NBOME technical reports suggests that COMSAE Form 107 has moderate positive predictive value for passing COMLEX Level 1.
Comparison with Other COMSAE Forms
Practical Recommendations for Students
Conclusion
COMSAE Form 107 is an indispensable formative tool for osteopathic medical students preparing for COMLEX Level 1. It effectively simulates the exam's length, interface, and content—especially the critical OPP section. When used strategically as a mid-dedicated assessment, it provides a reasonably predictive readiness score and highlights specific areas for last-minute improvement. However, students must recognize its limitations: it is a static, non-adaptive test that cannot fully replicate the variable difficulty of the actual COMLEX. Ultimately, Form 107 is most valuable not as a crystal ball but as a diagnostic roadmap—guiding targeted study and building the test-taking endurance needed for success on exam day.
COMSAE Phase 1 Form 107 is a 176-question self-assessment examination designed by the NBOME to help osteopathic medical students prepare for the COMLEX-USA Level 1 licensure exam. It is divided into four sections of 44 questions each. Key Content Areas
Students often find Form 107 to have a heavy emphasis on specific clinical topics and OMM. Reported high-yield subjects for this form include: Pediatrics & OB/GYN
: Vaccination schedules, developmental milestones, and pregnancy-related pathology. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM)
: Focus on cranial, pubic symphysis, ASIS, ilia, and sacrum dysfunctions, as well as distinguishing between direct and indirect techniques. Toxicology & Pharmacology
: Exposure to heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury) and benzene, as well as common drug effects (e.g., teratogenic effects of ACE inhibitors/ARBs like fetal renal agenesis). Systemic Pathology
: CNS blood supply, basic heart rhythms, anemias, bleeding disorders, and conditions like cystic fibrosis or osteoporosis. Ethics & Legal
: Informed consent, advanced directives, malpractice requirements, and the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. Exam Logistics and Scoring : The exam is administered through the NBOME Portal
: As of February 2024, individually purchased COMSAE forms now include an answer key in the score report, allowing students to see which questions they got right or wrong. Performance Levels
: Rather than a simple pass/fail, the NBOME provides performance levels based on standard scores to help gauge readiness for the COMLEX-USA. Predictability
: While many students use COMSAE scores to predict their COMLEX performance, the NBOME states it is intended for self-assessment and identifying weak areas rather than precise score prediction. COMSAE - NBOME
The Ghost of Boards Past: A Close Reading of COMSAE Form 107
In the long, fluorescent-lit corridor of COMLEX-USA Level 1 preparation, there is a rite of passage that every second-year osteopathic medical student knows by name: COMSAE Form 107. comsae form 107
To the uninitiated, it is just another acronym. But to those who have stared at its blocky interface on a Tuesday morning in the computer lab, it is the first real mirror held up to your medical soul.
Released by the NBOME as a self-assessment tool, Form 107 occupies a strange, twilight zone in the board prep ecosystem. It is not the beast itself (the real COMLEX), nor is it the polished, third-party product (think TrueLearn or UWorld). It is something rawer—a diagnostic scalpel designed to cut through the noise of your Anki reviews and Sketchy videos.
The Vibe Check
If you have taken it, you know the feeling. You click through the demographic questions, your heart rate syncing with the hum of the testing center’s HVAC system. Then, the first vignette appears: A 34-year-old with right upper quadrant pain. You look for the gimmick—the OMM, the viscerosomatic reflex, the Chapman’s point. But Form 107 often starts deceptively simple.
And then, by question 50, you are deep in the weeds. A grainy black-and-white X-ray of a pediatric forearm. A patient with a fever and a history of IV drug use. A paragraph-long question about the cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI) that makes you question whether you ever understood the sphenobasilar synchondrosis at all.
The OMM Heavyweight
What separates Form 107 from any old NBME practice exam is its relentless, unapologetic focus on the “O” in DO. Where other practice tests might tip their hat to muscle energy or counterstrain, 107 dives into the deep end.
You will see:
For many students, Form 107 is the moment they realize: I have been treating OMM as an elective. The NBOME treats it as a religion.
The Score Report: A Rorschach Test
The most anxiety-inducing part of COMSAE 107 isn’t the test itself—it’s the score report. The NBOME provides a three-digit score and a “Probability of Passing COMLEX-1” (usually a percentage between 25% and 95%).
If you score above 450, you breathe. You close the laptop, text your study group, and feel, for a fleeting moment, that the sun might actually rise on test day. If you score below 400, a cold dread sets in. You start recalculating your dedicated study schedule. You wonder if “pushing the exam back” is a sign of wisdom or weakness.
But here is the open secret that upperclassmen whisper to the terrified M2s: Form 107 often underpredicts. It is notorious for being a tougher, drier, more obtuse version of the real thing. Many a student has walked out of 107 with a 420, only to score a 550+ on the real COMLEX three weeks later.
The Verdict
Is COMSAE Form 107 a good exam? That depends on your definition of “good.”
So, you take it. You suffer through the awkward phrasing, the esoteric OMM questions, and the vague answer choices. You curse the screen. You eat a granola bar during your break and stare at the wall.
But when it’s over, you are closer to the real thing. Form 107 is not your enemy—it is your uncomfortable, sweaty-palmed sparring partner. It shows you where your ribs are weak, where your counterstrain is sloppy, and where your grasp of microanatomy is hanging by a thread.
And in the brutal, beautiful process of becoming a doctor, that’s exactly what you need: a mirror, not a friend.
Final advice for the traveler: Take Form 107 early (6-8 weeks out). Do not let the score break you. Review every single OMM question twice. And remember: the real COMLEX, for all its flaws, is rarely as cruel as the ghost of 107.
COMSAE Phase 2 Form 107 is a 160-question practice exam used to gauge readiness for the COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE, with a focus on toxicology, pediatrics, biostatistics, OMM, and ethics. The assessment consists of four blocks and is often used by institutions to determine board eligibility, as noted in user discussions. For insights from other students, see the discussion on Reddit. COMSAE Examination Format - NBOME
If you are a medical student in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program, you have likely heard the acronym COMSAE whispered in tones ranging from mild annoyance to outright panic. Among the various forms released by the NBOME (National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners), COMSAE Form 107 occupies a unique and often controversial space.
Is it an accurate predictor of your COMLEX-USA Level 1 score? Is it harder than the real exam? How should you use it in your dedicated study period?
In this guide, we will dissect everything you need to know about COMSAE Form 107, including its format, question style, typical score correlations, common pitfalls, and exactly how to review it for maximum yield.
Verdict: Use Form 107 as a screening tool. If you score above 450, sit for COMLEX with confidence. If you score below 450, delay your exam by 2-4 weeks.
One of the most common student searches is: “Which COMSAE is most predictive?” Based on student-reported data (from Reddit, SDN, and informal surveys), here is how Form 107 compares:
| Form | Difficulty | Typical Over/Under Prediction | Best Used For | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 102 | Moderate | Underpredicts by 20-30 points | Early baseline (4-6 months out) | | 103 | Moderate-Easy | Slight overprediction | Confidence booster | | 105 | Moderate | Most accurate (±15 points) | Mid-dedicated (2-3 weeks out) | | 106 | Hard | Underpredicts by 30-50 points | Stress inoculation (harder than real) | | 107 | Very Hard | Underpredicts by 40-60 points | Final month challenge test | | 108 | Moderate | Slight underpredict | Alternative to 105 | | 109 | Moderate-Hard | Varies | Newer; less data | | 110 | Moderate | Slight overprediction | End of dedicated |
Key Takeaway: COMSAE Form 107 is widely reported to underpredict your real COMLEX score by a significant margin. It is not uncommon to score 440 on Form 107 and achieve 550+ on the actual exam. Do not let a low 107 score derail your confidence.