DIT folks- need advice: best way to use DIT??

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crazyhands

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I was just wondering how you guys are exactly using DIT.

After our classes end, I have about 40 days to study for step 1. So what would you recommend:

Would it be a better idea to start and finish the online course right away and then spend the rest of the time going through uworld questions, FA, and reviewing parts of the online course if I need it?


Or would it be better to maybe go through the online course twice, while going through uworld questions at the same time.


I know they recommend taking step 1 within 5-10? days of finishing the course, but I was feel like it might be better if I review (online course) before doing lots of questions. also, I feel like I learn better by doing questions and applying the info.

Thanks alot!

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I have 5 weeks after we finish classes so my plan (and what many of our MSIII's told me) is going to be to spend the first week hitting my problem areas (biochem and immuno) then also spend some time reviewing RR Path and micro as I have time. Then do questions over those topics (goal would be 2-3 blocks each evening). Then to do the 3 weeks of the course online and use the last week to review areas I might not feel 100% on and to re-read First Aid and work as many questions as possible/take one last practice exam.

I'm planning to do a NBME in a couple weeks (3 weeks before my school time is out) then do one each weekend once school lets out-except the weekend my school offers the CBSE up until my exam. (should be able to get in 5-6 plus my 2nd CBSE through school).

Not sure if that helps but I heard doing a good review week is smart before starting DIT if you have the time. Plus I might need the extra week to be fullly caught up on the weekly email questions.
 
Thought I'd chime in with my two cents on DIT!

Took a week to review some of my weak FA topics before starting, which I would recommend. I ended up taking most of the time available for DIT going through the course only once without repeating lectures.. honestly, I felt like I had a handle on the majority of the material he was lecturing on after going through it once, and my time could be spent better elsewhere. You can use the quizzes and workbook as a review for his high-yield concepts later on.

Started UWorld at the same time as DIT and gradually increased my questions per day (DIT says you should be studying/doing questions for an additional 6 hours per day.. yeah right -- considering going through lectures ends up taking more like 8 hours total per day when adding in the breaks for quizzes). Ended up not quite finishing the entire UWorld set prior to my exam, but definitely reviewed the answers to the questions I missed in depth. Did well on the two UWorld sim exams in the last few weeks prior to my test (something like 235, 255). Ended up with score >240 on the actual test.

I'd suggest throwing yourself into DIT intensely for the course, but not spending too much time rewatching the videos... that's time better spent going over FA on your own or doing practice questions from other sources. Good luck!
 
Thought I'd chime in with my two cents on DIT!

Took a week to review some of my weak FA topics before starting, which I would recommend. I ended up taking most of the time available for DIT going through the course only once without repeating lectures.. honestly, I felt like I had a handle on the majority of the material he was lecturing on after going through it once, and my time could be spent better elsewhere. You can use the quizzes and workbook as a review for his high-yield concepts later on.

Started UWorld at the same time as DIT and gradually increased my questions per day (DIT says you should be studying/doing questions for an additional 6 hours per day.. yeah right -- considering going through lectures ends up taking more like 8 hours total per day when adding in the breaks for quizzes). Ended up not quite finishing the entire UWorld set prior to my exam, but definitely reviewed the answers to the questions I missed in depth. Did well on the two UWorld sim exams in the last few weeks prior to my test (something like 235, 255). Ended up with score >240 on the actual test.

I'd suggest throwing yourself into DIT intensely for the course, but not spending too much time rewatching the videos... that's time better spent going over FA on your own or doing practice questions from other sources. Good luck!

I did the same but did 2 wks for a first pass of FA and then started DIT (weakest--> strong subj). I felt his summary quizzes were pretty high yield. Did you guys/gals feel the same?
 
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Definitely! During the course, I hated taking breaks every five minutes for a quiz, but the repetition really takes the high yield concepts home. Plus, you have something relatively concise to review on paper after you finish the course.
 
Definitely! During the course, I hated taking breaks every five minutes for a quiz, but the repetition really takes the high yield concepts home. Plus, you have something relatively concise to review on paper after you finish the course.

thanks for the reply. Did you go back through quizzes every few days/every night or ?
 
thanks alot for everyones input, I appreciate it!:)

For those who have already taken the exam: how do you feel about DIT saying that the exam should be taken in a 5-10 day window from when you finish the DIT online course? Do you agree?

I plan on finishing DIT with 2+ weeks left. I plan on working on weaknesses and doing questions on those areas first and then doing tons of UWORLD questions. One of my friends scored in the 250s and he kept on stressing the importance of doing tons of questions.
 
Follow up question for those who have done DIT!

What do they recommend you do each day in addition to that days lectures and material?

I haven't done this yet but I thought I'd weigh in on the 5-10 days post class to take the test:

I think this is important actually because if you wait too long some of the high yield information you gathered from the beginning of DIT will fade and you run the risk of burn out. I think your plan for after finishing DIT is spot on, but you should probably do it in 10 days or less to avoid these issues! My test is just about 10 days from when I finish and I intend to do a lot of questions, review weak areas, questions, etc.
 
I'm actually doing the split access and have started watching the DIT 2011 lectures. I'm not sure how much I agree with them saying to end 5 days before your test. The lecturers are adding things to FA left and right and I'm constantly pausing to write it down and mnemonic or a different way of thinking about something. Knowing myself, if I was doing this 5 days before the exam that would completely freak me out!!
 
Hey ! I am doing DIT. I have done most of it before in my last term of medical school. In January I started off with Goljan along with FA. And then I watched ALL the kaplan videos along with FA. I also was doing UWorld all along, and was suppose to take my exam at the end of March. I extended another month because I felt that now that I've understood everything, I needed time to memorize everything. I find it difficult to concentrate in these last few weeks so I am using DIT. Since I understand everything and know FA inside out i.e where everything is and exactly what hes talking about, I think DIT is great. I was sitting around trying to go through FA myself last week and wasn't getting much out of it. I'd get bored, tired, and not wanting to do this anymore.

I started doing DIT since I knew that this way I'd def get through FA for the millionth time. He mentions things that you wouldn't really pay much attention to.

I do like the quizzes and stuff because its constant repetition. Not just from that day, from day 1.

I should be done with DIT by Friday in which I will take NBME 6.

Then I will watch DIT AGAIN for 15 days 8am-1pm and do UWorld the rest of the evening. 2 days before my exam I will take NBME 7 and the day before my exam of course hang out, watch a movie, go for a walk!! etc = )

So I would def recommend DIT for those that are done studying and just need someone to help you go through FA. Its more like having someone read you a story book :p because going through FA alone for some can be quite difficult when the exam date is near. You get burnt out. And those last few weeks esp the last 2 weeks are super important and can really make a difference in your score, from what I hear.

Hope this helps!! Once I take the actual exam and get my score back :p obv that will be when I can actually tell you what worked and didn't :p
 
Hey guys I'm looking for a little advice on whether or not to use the DIT videos. I would start it on Monday and it would finish it about 5 days before the USMLE on June 6. I have about 15 blocks of UW left (doing one a day) but also need to do all of Combank for Comlex prep (Take the Comlex a couple days after USMLE but from what I hear you can do Combank in a week). In addition, I want to watch an hour or two of Pathoma videos in the evening (IMO, Pathoma > Goljan, but check it out). I've almost read FA twice and am wondering if doing DIT would not be effectively using my time because it takes so long to do each day. I guess I'm questioning DIT's use as a 3rd read through when I can read all the info myself in a quicker amount of time and then potentially spend more time doing Pathoma or UW questions for a 2nd time. On the other hand, I've heard how the repetition in the program is great. Given my resources, do you guys feel that doing DIT is worth it or should I just save some time and read FA again w/o DIT?
 
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