5 vs 6 weeks.

[zeppelinpage4]

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Hey ya'll, so I've been getting some very mixed advice from upperclassmen at my school, and I realize this can vary a lot for each person. But I'm having some doubt about the date I chose.

My study period begins May 1st, and I scheduled my test for June4th, so about 5 weeks.
I planned to do one good pass of Uworld by May, then do a second quick pass on random while reading FA and going through Pathoma.

Unfortunately, due to business, life, and my lack of ability to go faster on Uworld, I have 1500 questions left unused.

One friend suggested I forget about the questions I did and re-set Uworld in May, and just spend the month doing 2 blocks a day on random timed (I expect I'll be faster since I won't be annotating into FA, just reading the explanations after I do each block).
She also said 5 weeks should be enough time. And I could burn out if I took another 10 days to study.

The other suggested I extend my study period out to 6 weeks and take my time. Spend the first week of May doing as many Uworld questions as I can to get it down to 1000 unused. And then re-setting and doing two blocks a day for a month while I review FA and pathoma.

I had planned on traveling with good friends mid-June and I really feel like I need this break/get away. BUT, this means I have to take my test in 5 weeks versus 6 weeks. I'd be losing maybe 10 days of studying.

TLDR:
a) Take 5 weeks, lose 10 days of studying that could potentially result in a lower score, and enjoy a very special trip with good friends before 3rd year.

b) Take a little over 6 weeks, potentially score better...but also risk burning out midway and spend the two weeks I have left before third year chilling at home.

Obviously the test is my priority over anything else, if I know that extra week or so can make a difference I'll likely take it. But, if you guys think that in 5 weeks I can re-fresh and cover all of Uworld adequately (no annotating, just doing q's on random timed mode), go through Pathoma (I've done a good bit of this already in MS2), and read FA (I've been reading the sections pertinent to my MS2 classes as the year progressed), I could risk not burning out and getting a real vacation/fun experience before 3rd year.

Sorry for the long post, I know there's no correct answer and I don't want to seem neurotic. Just, wanted to hear as many opinions as I could to help my make my decision. Thanks!

Also I'm trying to finalize now, because I'd have to coordinate and plan my traveling ahead of time if I decide to go with my friends.

 

[mcloaf]

I was in a similar situation and chose to go the 5 week route. Your goals as far as what to finish seem reasonable to me. In my 5 weeks I'll have made 2 passes through FA, read/annotated all of Pathoma (not taking the time to watch the videos, which I did along with classes during the year), and done all of UWorld random/timed with annotations and redone incorrects. Additionally I should be able to get through both UWSAs and 6 NBME's. It sucks at times, but it's going to suck whether you do five weeks or six.

 

[cbrons]

Why do peeps wanna so uworld more than once? Why not another qbank? Yes most uworld questioms are good but im fairly certain ar least 20% of uworld are stupid questions that would just never be asked

 

[dfib slim]

Why do peeps wanna so uworld more than once? Why not another qbank? Yes most uworld questioms are good but im fairly certain ar least 20% of uworld are stupid questions that would just never be asked

I don't know man. I'm on my second pass of uworld and still have 2 months to go. I already finished Rx and plan on doing the 6 NBMEs. Besides Kaplan, there aren't much options for extra questions. Still wondering if I should buy Kaplan and hammer out a bunch of blocks like a week before to increase stamina.

 

[seminoma]

6 weeks for me. 2 passes of FA, 3 passes of the "crammable" FA sections, 1 pass of UW.

 

[cbrons]

I don't know man. I'm on my second pass of uworld and still have 2 months to go. I already finished Rx and plan on doing the 6 NBMEs. Besides Kaplan, there aren't much options for extra questions. Still wondering if I should buy Kaplan and hammer out a bunch of blocks like a week before to increase stamina.

Consider Becker qbank over kaplan

 

[efex101]

consider this, will getting a lower score potentially put a major wrench in your life? meaning if you are wanting a super competitive residency put the time in NOW or you will regret it.

 

[mcloaf]

consider this, will getting a lower score potentially put a major wrench in your life? meaning if you are wanting a super competitive residency put the time in NOW or you will regret it.

This is only valid insofar as an extra week will guarantee a higher score. It might or it might not.

 

[Transposony]

Consider Becker qbank over kaplan

Have you done Becker QBank?
I have been looking for some feedback on it but hasn't been successful so far.

 

[efex101]

it might or might not, but IF you add a week you will never think "should I have?"

 

[mcloaf]

it might or might not, but IF you add a week you will never think "should I have?"

True enough. Largely a function of risk tolerance and how prepared one feels, which is going to be different for everyone. I'm taking 5 weeks and if anything I was tempted to move my exam up rather than delay it (though I decided not to for exactly the reason you describe).

 

[mybubbles627]

Take it in 5 weeks. If you have put in the work the first 2 years then that is plenty of time. You will want the break before 3rd year. Worst case scenario schedule it for 5 weeks and if you feel like you need more time then you can push it back. What score are you aiming for? Have you done a practice test to see how far you have to go? Are you planning on going into an extremely competitive specialty? Think about those questions to help yourself decide about the exam. You also don't want to burn out studying and take the exam past your peak which I know happened to several classmates of mine, they dropped from their practice scores cause they were just burned out from studying.

 

[IMdoc2015]

Like another pereon mentioned, Id use practice tests to give you an idea of your readiness more than any advice you can get here. From my experience, the Uworld self assessments were right on the money.

Also, everyone puts a lot of emphasis on getting through Uworld X number of times. Questions are a resource and they wont help you if you just rush through them to ensure you have done 100% of the qbank. In an ideal world you will do them all with annotating FA but not finishing the full qbank doesnt mean you wont do well. I was very thorough (slow) with UW and had like 20 or 30% left by the time I tested but i truly understood every question I did and I scored very well on the exam. That was a lot of talk but in the end Id suggest you continue going at the pace youre at now and get through as many questions as you can and use practice tests to help you figure out when you should take the test.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Wow, thank you for all the replies guys. I'm very glad I asked here.

I was in a similar situation and chose to go the 5 week route. Your goals as far as what to finish seem reasonable to me. In my 5 weeks I'll have made 2 passes through FA, read/annotated all of Pathoma (not taking the time to watch the videos, which I did along with classes during the year), and done all of UWorld random/timed with annotations and redone incorrects. Additionally I should be able to get through both UWSAs and 6 NBME's. It sucks at times, but it's going to suck whether you do five weeks or six.

Thanks mcloaf, it's just good to hear that it's possible. Honestly, I'm willing to put the effort and time in. Even if it's brutal, if I know I have something to look forward to at the end, I'm willing to push harder.
Could I ask approximately how many Uworld questions you did a day during those 5 weeks? Being able to do a full pass/annotate is what I'd like to do as well.

Why do peeps wanna so uworld more than once? Why not another qbank? Yes most uworld questioms are good but im fairly certain ar least 20% of uworld are stupid questions that would just never be asked

I hope so man! The 3rd years play it up as if, if I don't do two full passes of Uworld I'm failing step 1. 🙁 It's nice to hear the other side of the coin to be honest.
I think the logic for two passes is so you can learn on one pass, and one the second pass solidify the knowledge. I definitely feel like I forgot the Uworld questions I did several months back, so I'd like to see those questions again.
But definitely one good pass of the entire Uworld qbank is my goal.

6 weeks for me. 2 passes of FA, 3 passes of the "crammable" FA sections, 1 pass of UW.

Thanks seminoma. Could I ask around how many Uworld questions you were doing each day to get a full pass on it?

consider this, will getting a lower score potentially put a major wrench in your life? meaning if you are wanting a super competitive residency put the time in NOW or you will regret it.

I understand what you are saying. But as mcloaf pointed out, it's hard to say if that extra week would get me a higher score. I suppose, I'll get a feeling for that near the end of my study period, it's definitely hard to say now. I agree, if I'm nearing the end of the 5 weeks and feel I need the extra week, my studying takes priority. But, I wanted to get an idea now, since I might need to make post step 1 plans based around my test date.

If it's not necessary, I'd rather take 5 weeks, not risk burning out, and get a break before 3rd year.

True enough. Largely a function of risk tolerance and how prepared one feels, which is going to be different for everyone. I'm taking 5 weeks and if anything I was tempted to move my exam up rather than delay it (though I decided not to for exactly the reason you describe).

This is also why I'm reluctant to schedule for 6 weeks now. I've heard upper years say they burnt out and started to lose focus after 4 weeks, and felt they were getting diminished returns beyond that point. If I took 6 weeks, I'd risk burning out, and missing an amazing traveling experience with friends.

Take it in 5 weeks. If you have put in the work the first 2 years then that is plenty of time. You will want the break before 3rd year. Worst case scenario schedule it for 5 weeks and if you feel like you need more time then you can push it back. What score are you aiming for? Have you done a practice test to see how far you have to go? Are you planning on going into an extremely competitive specialty? Think about those questions to help yourself decide about the exam. You also don't want to burn out studying and take the exam past your peak which I know happened to several classmates of mine, they dropped from their practice scores cause they were just burned out from studying.

Thanks mybubbles, it's good to hear 5 weeks is possible.
Very good questions.
I've heard upperclassmen mention burning out and going past their peak. I'd feel really bad if burned out, AND simultaneously missed out on a much needed break traveling with friends.
My interests for specialties are currently pediatrics, internal med, family med, psych, PM&R, EM.
I'd like to do as best as I can of course to leave my options open, but I'll honestly be ecstatic if I hit the national average (or even a little below). Most of the programs I'm interested in aren't super competitive save for EM. Though my opinions might change once I actually do clerkships. For now though, I'm not interested in any of the competitive specialties.

And that's a good idea, the first practice test might help me decide. I haven't taken any yet, but plan to take my first practice exam at the start of my study period in May. Then take several more to see progress. So I guess timing would be very dependent on that.
Are the practice exam scores a very good gauge of how we can expect to do on the real exam?

Like another pereon mentioned, Id use practice tests to give you an idea of your readiness more than any advice you can get here. From my experience, the Uworld self assessments were right on the money.

Also, everyone puts a lot of emphasis on getting through Uworld X number of times. Questions are a resource and they wont help you if you just rush through them to ensure you have done 100% of the qbank. In an ideal world you will do them all with annotating FA but not finishing the full qbank doesnt mean you wont do well. I was very thorough (slow) with UW and had like 20 or 30% left by the time I tested but i truly understood every question I did and I scored very well on the exam. That was a lot of talk but in the end Id suggest you continue going at the pace youre at now and get through as many questions as you can and use practice tests to help you figure out when you should take the test.

Thanks IMdoc, yes it seems like the practice exams will be the best place for me to start. My classes are done at the end of this month, so I'll aim to do a diagnostic practice exam and hopefully I can make a better decision about this 5 or 6 weeks choice after that.

And that is so nice to hear about Uworld. Though I have gotten a lot faster with Uworld, I honestly just go through things slow. But, it's the pace I know I learn at. I keep getting the feeling from peers that I have to rush, and if I can't finish Uworld I'll fail Step 1. It puts a lot of pressure on me to rush, but it's a fine line between being fast and being thorough. I'm having a lot of trouble finding that balance. Hopefully i will get one good pass, but your post makes me feel better about taking my time right now.

So, I guess plan is to keep doing questions as I am and decide about the weeks after my first practice test.

Thanks again everyone, this advice is really invaluable. I only get to talk to upperclassmen, which is good cause they went through the process at my school, but they have one view point and it's good to hear others.

 

[mcloaf]

Thanks mcloaf, it's just good to hear that it's possible. Honestly, I'm willing to put the effort and time in. Even if it's brutal, if I know I have something to look forward to at the end, I'm willing to push harder.
Could I ask approximately how many Uworld questions you did a day during those 5 weeks? Being able to do a full pass/annotate is what I'd like to do as well.

I'm doing 2 blocks of 46 a day, which comes out to something like ~25 days. Usually spend my mornings taking and annotating the sets then doing my reading in the afternoon/evening.

 

[efex101]

how fast you do questions depends on many factors, how fast you are, do you do study mode or test, do you read answers/etc. It is very personal but you will know once you get started.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

I'm doing 2 blocks of 46 a day, which comes out to something like ~25 days. Usually spend my mornings taking and annotating the sets then doing my reading in the afternoon/evening.

Thanks mcloaf. That's actually pretty impressive you could cover two blocks in a morning while annotating. Could I ask what you did with each question? Did you annotate just the main objective usually? And did you read all the explanations (even the wrong answer explanations)? Or just the main objective and main explanation?

Right now I'm annotating the Q i.d. and the main points from the main objective (if it isn't already written in FA) into the relevant sections. And I read the main explanation and the main objective. I'm not reading the wrong answer explanations. It's taking me 7-15 minutes per question depending on how difficult it is, but two blocks a day would take me the entire day at that pace.

how fast you do questions depends on many factors, how fast you are, do you do study mode or test, do you read answers/etc. It is very personal but you will know once you get started.

Thanks efex, I agree. I actually started using Uworld for our last two courses. I've been trying to get more efficient and faster with using it before my free study period begins.

I'm currently doing tutor mode and I pick from sections relevant to the block I'm in. I do 10 questions straight, then I spend a little over an hour reading the main explanation and main objective while annotating for each question. I flag my incorrect questions.
As I mentioned above, my pace is around 7-15 minutes per question right now. I can essentially do 10 questions in 1.5-2 hours if I focus. If I can get my pace down to 10 questions an hour, I can hopefully manage 2 blocks a day when my study period begins. Though that will leave me little time to read FA each day. So I do want to get faster.


I'm hoping doing timed and random will speed me up a bit then. However, I'm open to suggestions or ideas for speeding up on Uworld.

 

[mcloaf]

Thanks mcloaf. That's actually pretty impressive you could cover two blocks in a morning while annotating. Could I ask what you did with each question? Did you annotate just the main objective usually? And did you read all the explanations (even the wrong answer explanations)? Or just the main objective and main explanation?

Right now I'm annotating the Q i.d. and the main points from the main objective (if it isn't already written in FA) into the relevant sections. And I read the main explanation and the main objective. I'm not reading the wrong answer explanations. It's taking me 7-15 minutes per question depending on how difficult it is, but two blocks a day would take me the entire day at that pace.

I go mostly by feel. If it's something I feel I know well, is pretty easy, and the % of students who got the question correct is high I'll probably just read the main educational objective and move on. If it's something I got wrong or marked because I thought something about it was more difficult I'll read everything including the wrong answers. A lot of the time I'll speed read the right answer, skim the wrong answers, and read the educational objective if it was a question I got right that I felt was of average difficulty/not too much of a struggle. On average I'd say I'm spending around 1.5 hours to go through each set, so I start my sets at 8, take them back to back then annotate, and I'm done sometime between 12 and 1pm.

I'm only annotating things that I don't find in first aid. If it's something that's already in there but I may have missed it I'll circle or underline it, but for the most part I'm only writing things in if I feel like it's adding new content that I didn't know before. I've written things down from wrong answer explanations on questions I got right, and there are plenty of questions I get wrong where I don't annotate anything because the info is already in FA and I just forgot it or made some sort of reasoning error.

 

[seminoma]

@zeppelinpage4 right now I'm planning on doing 1 block per day for the first few days, and then do 2 blocks per day with 1 day off each week. Right now my schedule is setup that I'll finish UWorld about 5-7 days before my test date.

I go mostly by feel. If it's something I feel I know well, is pretty easy, and the % of students who got the question correct is high I'll probably just read the main educational objective and move on. If it's something I got wrong or marked because I thought something about it was more difficult I'll read everything including the wrong answers. A lot of the time I'll speed read the right answer, skim the wrong answers, and read the educational objective if it was a question I got right that I felt was of average difficulty/not too much of a struggle. On average I'd say I'm spending around 1.5 hours to go through each set, so I start my sets at 8, take them back to back then annotate, and I'm done sometime between 12 and 1pm.

I'm only annotating things that I don't find in first aid. If it's something that's already in there but I may have missed it I'll circle or underline it, but for the most part I'm only writing things in if I feel like it's adding new content that I didn't know before. I've written things down from wrong answer explanations on questions I got right, and there are plenty of questions I get wrong where I don't annotate anything because the info is already in FA and I just forgot it or made some sort of reasoning error.

1.5 hours to review a block? That's really impressive.. It takes me 3-4 hours to review the Kaplan blocks I do alongside classes and that's without annotating most things. I do read through every explanation and then flip to the relevant topic in my class notes just to make sure things line up (this obviously slows things down quite a bit). Has your review gotten faster now that you're approaching your test date? Right now my schedule is written based on two assumptions:

1. I can complete 2 blocks (including review and annotations) in a total of 6-7 hours.
2. I can read a chapter of FA in 2 hours (most of them anyway)

My plan right now is to read a chapter of FA everyday (longer chapters like neuro are divided across two days), complete/review 2 blocks of UW, and make/review some kind of document with things I feel need to be reviewed again later. Essentially my days will be 10 hours studying, 2 hours reviewing the difficult-concept document, 1 hour at the gym, 3 hours eating/relaxing/hygiene/etc, and 8 hours sleeping.

 

[efex101]

gawd, I remember your pain 🙂 hang in there as you do more questions/get more comfortable you will pick up the pace. I was OCD so had to do more than one question bank and sometimes repeat them...LOL

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Haha, thanks efex. Moral support is just as helpful as Uworld advice right now. Just trying to look to that small break after the exam. 🙂

I go mostly by feel. If it's something I feel I know well, is pretty easy, and the % of students who got the question correct is high I'll probably just read the main educational objective and move on. If it's something I got wrong or marked because I thought something about it was more difficult I'll read everything including the wrong answers. A lot of the time I'll speed read the right answer, skim the wrong answers, and read the educational objective if it was a question I got right that I felt was of average difficulty/not too much of a struggle. On average I'd say I'm spending around 1.5 hours to go through each set, so I start my sets at 8, take them back to back then annotate, and I'm done sometime between 12 and 1pm.

I'm only annotating things that I don't find in first aid. If it's something that's already in there but I may have missed it I'll circle or underline it, but for the most part I'm only writing things in if I feel like it's adding new content that I didn't know before. I've written things down from wrong answer explanations on questions I got right, and there are plenty of questions I get wrong where I don't annotate anything because the info is already in FA and I just forgot it or made some sort of reasoning error.

Thanks for taking the time out to explain that. It looks like you took it question by question depending on the difficulty and your knowledge base. I may give it a try with a block of questions later to see if it helps me go a bit faster. I really am impressed by that 1.5 hours per block time. I don't know if I could reach that, but if I can get it down to 2-3 hours per block I'll be ecstatic.

Guess I should keep experimenting with how I do the blocks, and hopefully I'll find a method that's fast enough, but I can still feel like I'm learning.

@zeppelinpage4 right now I'm planning on doing 1 block per day for the first few days, and then do 2 blocks per day with 1 day off each week. Right now my schedule is setup that I'll finish UWorld about 5-7 days before my test date.



1.5 hours to review a block? That's really impressive.. It takes me 3-4 hours to review the Kaplan blocks I do alongside classes and that's without annotating most things. I do read through every explanation and then flip to the relevant topic in my class notes just to make sure things line up (this obviously slows things down quite a bit). Has your review gotten faster now that you're approaching your test date? Right now my schedule is written based on two assumptions:

1. I can complete 2 blocks (including review and annotations) in a total of 6-7 hours.
2. I can read a chapter of FA in 2 hours (most of them anyway)

My plan right now is to read a chapter of FA everyday (longer chapters like neuro are divided across two days), complete/review 2 blocks of UW, and make/review some kind of document with things I feel need to be reviewed again later. Essentially my days will be 10 hours studying, 2 hours reviewing the difficult-concept document, 1 hour at the gym, 3 hours eating/relaxing/hygiene/etc, and 8 hours sleeping.

Thanks seminoma, that is actually a very good idea. For the first time I went through a block of 46 questions in a day, and it was exhausting. I think it took my 6 hours throughout the day and I was really having trouble focusing near the end. So, starting slower and adjusting to two blocks a day might help the transition seem more managable.

Also, I feel much better just reading your post. That study plan you made is very similar to a plan I was making up several days ago with one of my mentors at school. 🙂

 

[seminoma]

Also, I feel much better just reading your post. That study plan you made is very similar to a plan I was making up several days ago with one of my mentors at school. 🙂

Well that makes me feel better about my plan too!

 

[mcloaf]

1.5 hours to review a block? That's really impressive.. It takes me 3-4 hours to review the Kaplan blocks I do alongside classes and that's without annotating most things. I do read through every explanation and then flip to the relevant topic in my class notes just to make sure things line up (this obviously slows things down quite a bit). Has your review gotten faster now that you're approaching your test date?

It's gotten a little faster as I've progressed. Some of the reason I do it at this pace is by necessity since there are only so many hours in the day and I have a pretty full schedule and still want time to exercise, make food, spend some daily time with significant other, etc. A lot of it, though, is just because I'm really impatient and get really bored reading qbank explanations. If it's something I really know well I don't feel bad pretty much skipping the explanation. I don't read the explanations for questions about test characteristics like PPV anymore, or things like peroneal nerve injury -> foot drop because at some point it just becomes redundant and not a good use of my time.