Anki

[PodiatryStudent2]

When incorporating anki into studying is it best to make your own cards from lectures or better to use a pre made deck such as bros or zanki? I want to use it in conjunction with my classes. My situation is a little unique since I’m a podiatry student we take classes with the DO students but we take our own boards, not as difficult as the USMLE or COMLEX, so I am hoping to use anki to do well in class not specifically for board studying. For those of you who use anki did you find it best to make your own cards based off lectures or use pre made decks to do well in your classes and get good grades? My grades are decent but I want to incorporate more active studying and do even better.

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[sab3156]

When incorporating anki into studying is it best to make your own cards from lectures or better to use a pre made deck such as bros or zanki? I want to use it in conjunction with my classes. My situation is a little unique since I’m a podiatry student we take classes with the DO students but we take our own boards, not as difficult as the USMLE or COMLEX, so I am hoping to use anki to do well in class not specifically for board studying. For those of you who use anki did you find it best to make your own cards based off lectures or use pre made decks to do well in your classes and get good grades? My grades are decent but I want to incorporate more active studying and do even better.

If you are using Anki strictly for classes, I would make your own decks based on lectures due to the fact that the pre-made decks are pretty bare-bones aimed mainly at board prep and don't cover the minutiae often emphasized in classes. Zanki is a beefier in some more details than Bros, but still not at all sufficient to get A's in the classes at the DO school I attend.

 

[PodiatryStudent2]

If you are using Anki strictly for classes, I would make your own decks based on lectures due to the fact that the pre-made decks are pretty bare-bones aimed mainly at board prep and don't cover the minutiae often emphasized in classes. Zanki is a beefier in some more details than Bros, but still not at all sufficient to get A's in the classes at the DO school I attend.

Thanks for the response. I figured this would be the case but I wanted to see what people who have been using anki would say just to be sure.

 

[deleted645092]

Agree with above. Each professor will have their own minutiae that they like to incorporate to distinguish the 90s from the 100s. For some it's because of what lines up with their own interests, other times it's used just for stats. Pre-made decks will probably get you an 80 or so if you use only them without the lecture.

 

[Mr. D.O.five]

Make own cards AND use Zanki.

 

[Carbon090]

Zanki is bae.

 

[Mr Roboto]

I use Bros and it's helped my grades immensely. I watch the relevant Pathoma/DIT/USMLE Rx vids at the start of each part of the curriculum and then work through the cards for that material. By knowing the high yield/important stuff cold, I've had an easier time picking up the minutiae that each professor likes. It worked for me, may not work for everyone, ymmv

 

[jcve34]

Zanki is good for high yield info. Like Sab said it won’t get you As alone but that’s to be expected. What it’s really good for is getting through the cards with each block of curriculum and then adding them to the rotation of courses completed. Zanki’s power is in the spaced repetition that will keep the info in your head from previous courses

 

[PodiatryStudent2]

Thanks all for the input. I'm going to be using zanki to really memorize high yield stuff while also studying class lectures of course.