Average Student's Plan to get >500 COMLEX

[sunnyk123]

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Hey all,

So I will be starting second year in a few weeks and I wanted to make a plan that I could stick to. Over this summer I've looked at zanki, b&b videos, and sketchy. I want to make a plan that I could reasonably keep up with during second year to ensure that I get at least a 500 on COMLEX. Zanki seems really time consuming and I am not sure I'd be able to keep up with it. I've done Sketchy micro and pharm during first year and I feel like it has helped me a great deal in keeping that information in my head.

Our school has provided us with a Kaplan subscription which I believe includes both a COMLEX and Step 1 qbank. Would it be a good idea to spend about an hour a day during first semester of second year to do about ~10 questions and review the answers? I also plan on spending time reviewing the sketchy vids.

I know most people are aiming for killer scores but I just really want to ensure that I have a good shot at 500+comlex. I plan to take Step 1 if my scores indicate that I can hit >220.

 

[Jinxapotato]

honestly just focus on your coursework for now, and start light USMLE study by December or so, aim to finish a Q bank before dedicated (I like Rx better, Kaplan just seem too...out there), then do UWORLD over dedicated once + error, and the usual UFAP + sketchy. I didn't do Zanki, tried for like 500 cards and just don't like it.
I did this, and when they made us take the COMSAE (before dedicated), I didn't prepare at all, and I got like a 509 or something around that. Hence, do well on your coursework will at least grant you the foundation for a 500+, with proper studying, you can hit 600+ in no time.

 

[sunnyk123]

honestly just focus on your coursework for now, and start light USMLE study by December or so, aim to finish a Q bank before dedicated (I like Rx better, Kaplan just seem too...out there), then do UWORLD over dedicated once + error, and the usual UFAP + sketchy. I didn't do Zanki, tried for like 500 cards and just don't like it.
I did this, and when they made us take the COMSAE (before dedicated), I didn't prepare at all, and I got like a 509 or something around that. Hence, do well on your coursework will at least grant you the foundation for a 500+, with proper studying, you can hit 600+ in no time.

Thanks! Which USMLE Rx product do you recommend? They have “360 step 1” and “q max”

Also do you think it would be a good idea to do ~10 questions a day for fall semester? At that rate I should be done with ~1200 questions by December. How long does it take to do 10 questions and review them?

 

[Jinxapotato]

Thanks! Which USMLE Rx product do you recommend? They have “360 step 1” and “q max”

Also do you think it would be a good idea to do ~10 questions a day for fall semester? At that rate I should be done with ~1200 questions by December. How long does it take to do 10 questions and review them?

I just got the qbank, get whatever one that's cheapest, they might do a sale by christmas time so maybe you can buy around that time.
I try to do a block a day, if there are exams to study, I pause them for a day or two, Rx questions are pretty easy and they point you to the exact page of FA, in case you want to annotate so it's not as time consuming as UW

 

[DocWinter]

Having taken levels 1 and 2, IMO the two best things you can do is

Number 1 to do a high # of questions, no less than 6000 and ideally closer to 10K. You can reset old banks and redo them to get to this number. If you are focusing on comlex, I would do COMbank and comquest and redo the entire banks, as well as your Uworld. Uworld is wonderful, but it can be a time suck if you’re focusing on comlex as it is disproportionately focused on medicine, where, combank and comquest give you a better idea of the random crap you’ll see on comlex.

The other most helpful thing for me was To get accustomed to the timing and duration of the exam. Do multiple days where you run eight blocks throughout the day, 400 questions total, under time conditions and with scheduled breaks. You need to perform as well at the end of the day is at the start when you were fresh, and only repetition and practice will get you there.

If you are a great average or poor student you can benefit from doing these things by preparing your mind and your body for exactly what you will go through on test day