Advice - 2 wks vs 3 wks vs a month to study

[step213]

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Sorry had to make a new account cause other people know whame.

Been painfully going back and forth about how long to study for step 2 for the lasut there and
Overall my goal is to score +/- 5
I plan on starting to study rig is peds, so i won't have to review as much peds.

Throughout the year i have used usmleworld so during my dedicated time it will be my 2nd run through - also planning to use step up to step 2 (the new edition when it comes out).

What i am worried about with studying for longer periods of time is burning out like i did in step 1, i took 5 weeks to study when in reality i probably only needed 3-4 weeks and that last week was painful since i felt i had already hit my potential.

So what do people think? to hit around a 260 ... 2wks? 3wks? a month?? (any longer then a month and i know ill burn out)

 

[lackli]

With those shelf scores you are probably going to dominate step 2! Honestly I wouldn't study too long because you've already put in the work.

When did you take medicine last? I would say 2 weeks if you've had IM recently and 2.5 weeks if you havent'

I studied for 18 days and felt drastically diminishing returns after 2 weeks. I was able to read step 2 secrets twice and go through uworld 1.5 times. Ended up with a low 260s score.

 

[Stellar Clouds]

Don't waste your time studying more than 2 weeks. I had a slightly better step 1 score but not as great shelf exams. I studied for 1.5 weeks and scored the same on step 2 as step 1. I only used uworld (which I had done throughout 3rd year similarly to you).

 

[step213]

Thanks for the input guys, i had IM a long time ago but i did review quite a bit of medicine when i did my surgery shelf so i think 2 weeks it is. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[DreamingTheLive]

Thanks for the input guys, i had IM a long time ago but i did review quite a bit of medicine when i did my surgery shelf so i think 2 weeks it is. Thanks again for the advice.

You sound like you'll be fine with 2 weeks, but only you know yourself and where you're at. I had a similar score for Step 1 and took about 3 weeks of moderate effort for Step 2 and thought that was a bit too much after taking the test. Scored extremely well for what it's worth.

 

[metallica81788]

Bumping this with a similar question - mid 240s step 1 here after studying for 4 weeks and feeling at peak performance a little after end of 3rd week.

Should I take after 2 weeks or give an extra week? 2 weeks would mean not taking a block off at beginning of fourth year.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CharlieL]

Bumping this with a similar question - mid 240s step 1 here after studying for 4 weeks and feeling at peak performance a little after end of 3rd week.

Should I take after 2 weeks or give an extra week? 2 weeks would mean not taking a block off at beginning of fourth year.

Thanks in advance.

I studied for about two weeks with a lot of interruptions (total probably about 7 full days of studying). Scored slightly higher than Step 1. (I also studied for 4 weeks for step 1).

I think two weeks should be plenty of time for you. You can always schedule the exam, take a practice test at the beginning of those two weeks, and even a few days before the exam, and if you feel you need more time, reschedule. But if you're studying full-time those two weeks I highly doubt you'd need it, especially if you did well on third year clerkship exams.

 

[Stellar Clouds]

Bumping this with a similar question - mid 240s step 1 here after studying for 4 weeks and feeling at peak performance a little after end of 3rd week.

Should I take after 2 weeks or give an extra week? 2 weeks would mean not taking a block off at beginning of fourth year.

Thanks in advance.

I studied for about two weeks with a lot of interruptions (total probably about 7 full days of studying). Scored slightly higher than Step 1. (I also studied for 4 weeks for step 1).

I think two weeks should be plenty of time for you. You can always schedule the exam, take a practice test at the beginning of those two weeks, and even a few days before the exam, and if you feel you need more time, reschedule. But if you're studying full-time those two weeks I highly doubt you'd need it, especially if you did well on third year clerkship exams.

+1

Save your time off for the end of fourth year 😀