Final Stretch

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I'm in the final stretch now, gotta little less than a month left.

My only resources so far have been First Aid, UWORLD, and NBME practice tests.

Haven't done any other qbanks or watched any of the videos from Kaplan, Pathoma, etc.

In this last month, should I add anything to my resources?

If recent test takers could comment that would be great, but anyone with any help or suggestions would be good.

what are your NBME scores so far

Originally Posted by chiefMD

what are your NBME scores so far

210 and 214

(goal is as high as I can get it)

I thought Pathoma was very useful. FA Express has also been great. But the best resource I've used so far is definitely DIT. I'm only through about a week of it, but for those of us who are in the 210-230 range and have about 4 weeks of study time left, I think it's really the best resource available.

But it's not as popular on SDN... my theory is that this is because a lot of the people here are trying to get from 250 to 260, not from 220 to 240.

Originally Posted by shan564

I thought Pathoma was very useful. FA Express has also been great. But the best resource I've used so far is definitely DIT. I'm only through about a week of it, but for those of us who are in the 210-230 range and have about 4 weeks of study time left, I think it's really the best resource available.

But it's not as popular on SDN... my theory is that this is because a lot of the people here are trying to get from 250 to 260, not from 220 to 240.

I dont have access to DIT, what about it was so great and different than FA express and Pathoma?

If you've already covered FA on your own, DIT does a good job of guiding you in a way that helps you learn how to synthesize your facts into test-like knowledge. I think it's been the best resource I've used so far... but everybody is different.

Originally Posted by docjohn101

I dont have access to DIT, what about it was so great and different than FA express and Pathoma?

In my opinion, DIT is best when used after you have learned the fundamentals. It helps you put things together. Since you are scoring around 210s, you should be okay to use DIT. Since it is $$, perhaps try to get couple of friends and yea...

What about just skipping DIT, and using pathoma since I have access to that?

Originally Posted by docjohn101

What about just skipping DIT, and using pathoma since I have access to that?

I personally prefer pathoma over DIT however, DIT is an entire course and covers everything. Pathoma is mainly for pathology even though he does integrate other topics but not alot.


May be look into USMLErx videos ($299 for 3 months) or kaplan HY (a little bit more $$ than usmlerx).

Originally Posted by shan564

I thought Pathoma was very useful. FA Express has also been great. But the best resource I've used so far is definitely DIT. I'm only through about a week of it, but for those of us who are in the 210-230 range and have about 4 weeks of study time left, I think it's really the best resource available.

But it's not as popular on SDN... my theory is that this is because a lot of the people here are trying to get from 250 to 260, not from 220 to 240.

its not popular because lectures are boring & difficult to watch/stay awake with. Also you retain more information when you read it & figure it out on your own. Even with pathoma i had a hard time staying motivated, whereas I can do a boat load of questions with perfect attention in the same amount of time.

any more suggestions or ideas...anyone not use any videos and just reviewed first aid and uworld?

Stick with what you're doing. If you're in the final month and have been on the FA-UWorld regimen, then continue with it. There are plenty of people who have done well with those two alone. If you were more than a month out, some other resource possibilities might be relevant, but they're not now. The final month isn't meant for new information. It's meant for questions and review. Videos/audios are not a good use of your time at this point, no matter how good they may be / have been for other people. Plan for the final two weeks to be literally >90% reviewing your QBank-annotated copy of FA. Between 4 and 2 weeks out, make the most of UWorld (>80% of your time) and transfer succinct, relevant points to your FA. If you finish UWorld earlier than the 2-week mark, try and blast through it again, perhaps at 300 questions per day. If you finish it right around the T-minus 2-week mark, then during the final two weeks, do >10 hrs of FA per day with ~2hrs of UWorld questions (second-pass).

Hope that helps,

bump...more advice?

Originally Posted by docjohn101

I'm in the final stretch now, gotta little less than a month left.

My only resources so far have been First Aid, UWORLD, and NBME practice tests.

Haven't done any other qbanks or watched any of the videos from Kaplan, Pathoma, etc.

In this last month, should I add anything to my resources?

If recent test takers could comment that would be great, but anyone with any help or suggestions would be good.

theres an entire 10+ page thread of recent test takers.

My advice: don't take advice from people who haven't taken the test yet