I was looking over the threads for gunner training/firecracker and this seems to be THE tool for step1 prep along with FA, etc. My question is how beneficial would it be for me to go along with GT as I go through my classes starting in first year? Or should I just wait until MS2/dedicated study time for step1 to start using it?
I hated it.
It depends on your curriculum. If your curriculum teaches what they do or maybe uses the NBME exams, then I think it may be useful. If you go to a school that teaches a lot of clinical stuff or has a lot of research stuff, you'll be screwed.
It ended up being a HUGE waste of time. And I mean HUGE. The $ was cheap but the time wasting was terrible.
Honestly, you want to be a super gunner and have way too much time and energy on your hands? The best strategy I've ever heard is to do tons of questions. So during M1, you could buy a question book for physio or anatomy or whatever. Then during M2, buy pathology question books and do all you can (robbins + lippincott). Then in the final 6 months, move to qbanks.
One of the high scores I saw that didn't do a billion GT cards everyday was a guy who literally did like 3 books of pathology practice questions (lippincott, robbins, webpath, etc) - then all the qbank ones. You basically have an endless reservoir of experience.
OR you could be normal and just work hard on what is in class and do pretty much just as good.
The whole memorizing of facts thing is huge and important - but I think it's overrated. I think the people who do tons of questions develop a better thought process - which I think is more applicable to your future. Facts come and go but problem solving skill will stay with you.
For the most part, the more you bank, the more time it is going to take. Be prepared to spend 2-3 hrs per day at some point. If you have to take a few days off for a test or something, be prepared for 500-600 questions or more. It is a great program, but you have to put in the time for it to work.
Haha, yup. And wait until in M2 and you are needing to put 20 hrs a week in - with class and clinical responsibilities. (our school may have been different with clinical activities, which is maybe why I didn't have the extra time). Anyway, totally not worth it in my book.