IMO:
- Yes, I think it is way too late to continue FC on comprehensive mode. I just decided to halt FC-comprehensive for myself. FC is designed to be a long term tool.
- I just switched to light-mode. So far, I do find it helpful. It is slightly superficial in some areas; great in others. I've cut my question load from 300-400 to about 100-200 per day. This will allow me to focus more on getting through Question banks.
- Not sure about FC for Micro and Pharm alone. I haven't started those topics yet.
- I read every single word of BRS Physio twice. FC definitely doesn't cover all of BRS physio. FC does a good job of covering the important stuff. You don't need to know all of BRS Physio for sure.
- Does FC cover all of FA? My answer so far is yes. Does FA cover all of FC? No. As an example, I've banked all of Cardio. I read all of cardio in FA then did all Cardio on Rx. My impression is that FC covers
A LOT more than FA. Likely, FC has too much info.
- How do people study/retain without FC? Ha ha, I have the same question my friend. I started my board studying with FC almost from day 1 and now I don't know any other way to memorize. I'm trying to remind myself that most people don't use FC and somehow do it. Also, all the people I know personally who scored >240, never used FC. The key to memorizing with or without FC is repetition, repetition, repetition. Also, the key to doing well is doing question banks. The people who I know scored >240 did 2-3 question banks completely. I'm going to significantly increase my question bank and hope things will stick.
My overall impression is that FC is an amazing product. It is the best way to memorize. But, for the boards you don't need to have everything memorized (yes, a lot needs to be memorized). Much of the information is floating in your head and when you see a question you will put together the needed facts. The question stems will always have more than 1 clue to nudge your brain to the right area.
A lot of effort goes into memorizing the nuanced differences in FC (not to mention all of the extra non-FA material), but if you are confronted with a clinical scenario on exam / Qbank, you don't need to be able to spit out those fine details. The question stem will give more than 1 clue. Also, the exam is multiple choice, and being able to recognize something is a lot easier than memorizing/regurgitating something. (as an analogy: I can't speak my parents' language very well, but I can understand everything in that language).
I don't like using the word overkill, but FC is in fact a bit overkill. Is that a bad thing - N0. Overkill is precisely what gets you a top score. I will try to use FC for step 2, just earlier