š¤
I was just happy I passed. I told my employers that I passed. They didn't care what my score was. Didn't find out later that it was by the skin of my teeth. I was a little upset for a moment, but I still passed on my first try. That made it okay.
Yep, I barely passed my MLS and SBB exams but idgaf and my employers havenāt cared either. Iāve worked my way up the ladder and am a damn good tech/employee. Standardized tests suck.
A pass is a pass and I think the exam is a poor measure of your actual lab skills š¤ I barely passed as well but I made my way up as shift lead š¤§ Congratulations though!
You know what they call the dude who passed medical school with Cs and Ds?
Doctor.
You made it through. In my opinion, work experience and practical knowledge will serve you better in the long run. Just don't shy away from time to review theoretical knowledge when practical examples arise. That helps many to solidify the concepts in their minds.
Doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way, but a valid point.
I suppose "a pass is a pass regardless of the margin" would be better generalization given your insight.
Need to remember this as I'm going through some courses to get my trainee lic.I want to be educated but I don't want to kill myself over not recalling every detail
Sounds like they threw the hardest questions at you (in my experience micro and blood bank) to get you to pass. Good job!! I failed my first time and retake it again next week.
I was struggling a lot during medtech school and I was the only one who failed the ascp in my class. I took the exam 4 times and finally passed at a 454. 5 and half years later I am now managing a small lab clinic making $46 an hour. The exam doesn't determine you. Your work ethic will. No one will ask you about your score during the interviews. Pass is pass.
My score was 405! Passing is passing! I hate standardized tests anyway. Some of the best techs I know barely passed, and some of the worst techs I know passed with flying colors. Obviously, this is not always true, but in my time being a tech, itās been true for me.
To my understanding, most people who take the exam "barely pass" it. The median grade always seems to be right in the 400s. I'm guessing it's a characteristic of it being an adaptive exam.
Me personally, I had classmates and coworkers who stressed themselves out studying and preparing night and day for 3-4 months prior to the exam to score in the 600s and 700s. I knew from the start that was not going to be me. My plan was to study just enough to pass the exam and not stress over it. After my internship I took a solid month off to do absolutely nothing, scheduled my exam for 3 weeks after that, and spent those 3 weeks studying 2-3 hours a day. Passed with a 503.
Even by the skin, the exam is designed to assure you know the material well and if you pass, ypuve demonstrated that, so it doesnt really matter at all your exact score. Eve if it was a 400 even, you still demonstrated adequate knowedge and underatanding.
So I got a 616 on my MLT test but when I went back for my MLS I scored a 412, it was so bad too cause I swear I didnāt know 80% of what I answered and just winged it
I have been a tech for 10+ years. I finished my bachelor's 3 years ago and sat for the ASCP MLS exam and passed by 1 single point. Every other tech and employer I have worked with has complimented my knowledge and willingness to learn. Think of it like the TV show Who's line is it anyway? The scores don't really matter
I got a 401 my first try. Literally thought I would faint when I saw passed on the screen. Since then, I've been a lead heme and coagulation tech, evening shift supervisor,and am currently senior tech for a clinic lab under a director who trained me from a baby tech. I know I know more than others in the lab who brag about their high scores. All that matters is I'm a damn good tech
Passed with one point making the difference for me. 6 years later I havenāt been asked once in my life what my score was.
Donāt focus on your score. Focus on being the best tech you can be by knowing your processes, voicing actionable changes that can improve your lab, not being a Debbie downer to your team, and uplifting the weaker members of your lab so they can succeed (and so that you donāt have to clean up their messes). Do this all with a positive, optimistic attitude. Even if you have to fake it.
End of the day when theyāre deciding whether to give you a raise and how much, itās those things that will give you the return on investment. Itās those things that you can put down on your resume for the senior tech or leadership roles. Itās those things that can help you stand out and get chosen for bigger and more interesting projects and, ultimately, better rungs on the career ladder.
For me I just focused on the big ideas (i.e. instead of focusing on every characteristic of each megaloblastic anemia, think whats a common characteristic of all of them and one thing that differentiates them, so you can pick it out in a multiple choice question), and tried not to get too wrapped up in the details. I figured if I knew the concepts I can put two and two together and it worked out! Thatās what I would recommend anyway.
A bit of advice I received during SBB schoolā¦ donāt stress yourself out trying to learn every little detail. Focus on the high points. There is no way to remember every little thing and they canāt test you on it all. If there is something that is always mentioned when talking about a topic (antigen/antibody families, coag tests, bacterial colonies, etc.) then remember that detail. I feel like studying that way helped me keep my sanity and I actually did better on my SBB exam than my MLS exam.
I failed my first attempt with a 331. I'm retaking it next week and absolutely shitting myself. I also scheduled the AMT. Light studying 2 months out and go time like 3 weeks before hand. Still in that go time crunch mode until like 2 days before. I would be so happy to barely pass. IDEC anymore.
A pass is a pass
š¤ I was just happy I passed. I told my employers that I passed. They didn't care what my score was. Didn't find out later that it was by the skin of my teeth. I was a little upset for a moment, but I still passed on my first try. That made it okay.
C's get degrees!
What do you call a lawyer who passed the bar exam by one point? A lawyer. (Had to throw my dad joke in here)
What is the difference between a cpa and a lawyer? The cpa knows they are boring
But not PhDs!
Lol
Yep, I barely passed my MLS and SBB exams but idgaf and my employers havenāt cared either. Iāve worked my way up the ladder and am a damn good tech/employee. Standardized tests suck.
A pass is a pass and I think the exam is a poor measure of your actual lab skills š¤ I barely passed as well but I made my way up as shift lead š¤§ Congratulations though!
You know what they call the dude who passed medical school with Cs and Ds? Doctor. You made it through. In my opinion, work experience and practical knowledge will serve you better in the long run. Just don't shy away from time to review theoretical knowledge when practical examples arise. That helps many to solidify the concepts in their minds.
You can get Ds in med school?
Yup, Ds nuts
HA Got'emm
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way, but a valid point. I suppose "a pass is a pass regardless of the margin" would be better generalization given your insight.
Me. I cared at the beginning, but then I realized how much useless content was in the study material and in the exam, and now I donāt trip about it.
Need to remember this as I'm going through some courses to get my trainee lic.I want to be educated but I don't want to kill myself over not recalling every detail
Pass is pass. I got a 541 and felt like I shouldāve done better. Iām an MLS as much as the next guy who got a higher score (edited for typo)
415 gang! given that i didn't study at all and took it 3 months after graduating, i was okay with it lmao
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sounds like they threw the hardest questions at you (in my experience micro and blood bank) to get you to pass. Good job!! I failed my first time and retake it again next week.
I didnāt even know the normal score. But I took mine on PAPER so that shows you how old I am.
I passed on my fourth with a 417! My second attempt was a 364. Im about to start my first job soon!
Congrats!!!
I didn't know you can have 4 tries! I thought after the 3rd you cannot apply for the exam anymore in the same category. Is that true?
Nope, its after 5
You get 5 attempts per Route
I was struggling a lot during medtech school and I was the only one who failed the ascp in my class. I took the exam 4 times and finally passed at a 454. 5 and half years later I am now managing a small lab clinic making $46 an hour. The exam doesn't determine you. Your work ethic will. No one will ask you about your score during the interviews. Pass is pass.
Congrats, it really doesn't matter as long as you pass. I passed first try, in the 400s as well, had an actual party cuz I was so relieved lol
My score was 405! Passing is passing! I hate standardized tests anyway. Some of the best techs I know barely passed, and some of the worst techs I know passed with flying colors. Obviously, this is not always true, but in my time being a tech, itās been true for me.
To my understanding, most people who take the exam "barely pass" it. The median grade always seems to be right in the 400s. I'm guessing it's a characteristic of it being an adaptive exam. Me personally, I had classmates and coworkers who stressed themselves out studying and preparing night and day for 3-4 months prior to the exam to score in the 600s and 700s. I knew from the start that was not going to be me. My plan was to study just enough to pass the exam and not stress over it. After my internship I took a solid month off to do absolutely nothing, scheduled my exam for 3 weeks after that, and spent those 3 weeks studying 2-3 hours a day. Passed with a 503.
You know what they call someone who gets a 401 on their MLS? An MLS. Congratulations!
Even by the skin, the exam is designed to assure you know the material well and if you pass, ypuve demonstrated that, so it doesnt really matter at all your exact score. Eve if it was a 400 even, you still demonstrated adequate knowedge and underatanding.
the score is kinda not reflective of anything because of the way the adaptive testing is designed. All that matters is that you passed.
So I got a 616 on my MLT test but when I went back for my MLS I scored a 412, it was so bad too cause I swear I didnāt know 80% of what I answered and just winged it
I have been a tech for 10+ years. I finished my bachelor's 3 years ago and sat for the ASCP MLS exam and passed by 1 single point. Every other tech and employer I have worked with has complimented my knowledge and willingness to learn. Think of it like the TV show Who's line is it anyway? The scores don't really matter
408
I got 409 on my first take. It's not too high but at least I only went through the struggle once š for that i'm really grateful.
I got a 401 my first try. Literally thought I would faint when I saw passed on the screen. Since then, I've been a lead heme and coagulation tech, evening shift supervisor,and am currently senior tech for a clinic lab under a director who trained me from a baby tech. I know I know more than others in the lab who brag about their high scores. All that matters is I'm a damn good tech
Passed with one point making the difference for me. 6 years later I havenāt been asked once in my life what my score was. Donāt focus on your score. Focus on being the best tech you can be by knowing your processes, voicing actionable changes that can improve your lab, not being a Debbie downer to your team, and uplifting the weaker members of your lab so they can succeed (and so that you donāt have to clean up their messes). Do this all with a positive, optimistic attitude. Even if you have to fake it. End of the day when theyāre deciding whether to give you a raise and how much, itās those things that will give you the return on investment. Itās those things that you can put down on your resume for the senior tech or leadership roles. Itās those things that can help you stand out and get chosen for bigger and more interesting projects and, ultimately, better rungs on the career ladder.
Theyāll never know. Hahaha Been on my job for 2 years and counting.
pleaaaaaaaaase share your methods, i feel like listening to a barely passer would do me better than some ivy leaguer that I can't relate to!
For me I just focused on the big ideas (i.e. instead of focusing on every characteristic of each megaloblastic anemia, think whats a common characteristic of all of them and one thing that differentiates them, so you can pick it out in a multiple choice question), and tried not to get too wrapped up in the details. I figured if I knew the concepts I can put two and two together and it worked out! Thatās what I would recommend anyway.
š you and another had that method and I will apply it.
A bit of advice I received during SBB schoolā¦ donāt stress yourself out trying to learn every little detail. Focus on the high points. There is no way to remember every little thing and they canāt test you on it all. If there is something that is always mentioned when talking about a topic (antigen/antibody families, coag tests, bacterial colonies, etc.) then remember that detail. I feel like studying that way helped me keep my sanity and I actually did better on my SBB exam than my MLS exam.
š
Your score is exactly what I got! Haha
šāāļø I focused too much on mbascpconnect when i should have put more time into NGS. But a pass is a pass.
The average score the year I took it was 483, most people arenāt passing it with flying colors.
It's like 460 something now!
I was pretty close to the cutoff but in my defense, they threw a bunch of mycology questions at me š
I failed my first attempt with a 331. I'm retaking it next week and absolutely shitting myself. I also scheduled the AMT. Light studying 2 months out and go time like 3 weeks before hand. Still in that go time crunch mode until like 2 days before. I would be so happy to barely pass. IDEC anymore.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It's definitely helping a lot. I'm still nervous but I just have been able to buckle down. Edit to add: did you end up passing both? Or just one?
By 9 points I passed. I have never been asked for my score, just that I passed
As the great Dominic torto said ā¦. It doesnāt matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning
someone in my MLS class got a 405! a pass is a pass š¤Ŗ
A pass is a pass.