bottom of the class: hope for step 1?

[godchaser1016]

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I am at the bottom of my class (lower 1/4), but I am not a slacker. I put in far more hours than average students in my class. I was not a bio major and had not many science courses in undergrad. Our school being PBL and no lecture really hard for me who speaks English as a second language. It was tough getting adjusted to school that's very discussion based. I still have very good grades in discussion participation because I try to contribute. Profs like me because they can tell that I try. But I tend to do very poorly on in-school exams. There can be multiple factors, anxiety and not knowing key concepts from reading textbooks. (We have no lectures!)

My hope is that I can get 230-240 with 3-4 months of studying while other people will only have 6 weeks. (I am planning to skip my first rotation and not have any vacation during 4th year.) I think this can be achievable because I DO know what's important to learn for the board while I spent lots of time trying to find what to focus for in-school exams.

Yet it takes long time to do UW because I never learned some of the concepts and I am learning some of the conceptual stuff for the first time.

Given more time and studying 12+ hours a day for 3 months should give 230 or more. Could you guys help me making a study plan? Any helpful comments? Any input will be appreciated.

 

[fahimaz7]

Why is it that all medical students think they work harder than everyone else? I can promise you that people at the top of your class work equally hard in school, as there are only so many hours in the day that can be used.

I think the best prep for this test is the foundation from the first two years. What year are you? If you are a second year and done with class, maybe you should dedicate a few weeks (of that 3-4 months) to learning the basic sciences, pathology, micro, and pharmacology from a standard and basic source (ie Kaplan or even a few of the text books like CMMR, Robbins path, etc).

Kaplan + a question bank is probably going to be your best bet, with CMMR and some other primary sources mixed in.

Did you take a CBSA yet? Perhaps you should and see where you stand.

PS. I can't think of anything worse than doing 12+ hours of step 1 prep for 3-4 straight months.

 

[Famo]

What you should do is study study study and try to get in for where ever your planning on going. The key is too rest as much as you can and don't try the partying it doesn't really help.

 

[ArcGurren]

3-4 months for 12 hours a day is a very very long time for step 1 prep. I would be worried about burning myself out to be completely honest.

 

[ScubaStarved]

My hope is that I can get 230-240 with 3-4 months of studying while other people will only have 6 weeks. (I am planning to skip my first rotation and not have any vacation during 4th year.) I think this can be achievable because I DO know what's important to learn for the board while I spent lots of time trying to find what to focus for in-school exams.

...

Given more time and studying 12+ hours a day for 3 months should give 230 or more. Could you guys help me making a study plan? Any helpful comments? Any input will be appreciated.

I usually stick to the question-fact threads, but will comment here because I don't know if you understand the 4th year timeline. I'd also recommend you talk with an adviser before putting this plan into action.

4th year is more or less like this: Sub-I and aways usually in the summer, September submit application and letters to ERAS, Nov-Jan interviews, and Feb-June finish up elective requirements, relax, prepare to move, etc. If you a put off a 3 month rotation (med or surg) or 3 1 month rotations, you will have extraordinary difficulty fitting these into a 4th year schedule AND residency directors will have no idea why you only have 60-70% of your grades available to them.

Yes, you could do Neuro in late spring, do 1 or fewer away rotations, and decide not to be available for interviews in October or November, which MIGHT allow you to carry this plan out. But then I'd wonder if you could fulfill whatever 4th year requirements your school has. Draw this out on a calendar and keep in mind you cannot do core rotations during interviewing months. Do your 3rd and 4th year rotations begin/end at the same time? Our 3rd year rotations begin whenever and 4th year rotations are 1st-30th, making it impossible to do these back to back.

Now, if you have 1 month rotations as your first block of clerkships, it is entirely possible to push 1 rotation into 4th year and take an extra 4 weeks. Even so, that doesn't make it a good idea. Have you ever done solo-study, 12 hour days for 4-5 weeks straight? I have twice. The first time it was bearable, almost enjoyable because the info/process/routine was new, I improved my scores rapidly, and I had friends doing the same thing with which to spend the minimal social time. The second time, by myself, was a low unparalleled in an otherwise painless 3 years of school.

 

[godchaser1016]

Thank you for the reply fahimaz7. Yeah, I agree that I need some substantial review. I just got done with the 2nd year two weeks ago.
I don't remember what I got on the CBSA, but it was at the border of passing.

Why is it that all medical students think they work harder than everyone else? I can promise you that people at the top of your class work equally hard in school, as there are only so many hours in the day that can be used.

I think the best prep for this test is the foundation from the first two years. What year are you? If you are a second year and done with class, maybe you should dedicate a few weeks (of that 3-4 months) to learning the basic sciences, pathology, micro, and pharmacology from a standard and basic source (ie Kaplan or even a few of the text books like CMMR, Robbins path, etc).

Kaplan + a question bank is probably going to be your best bet, with CMMR and some other primary sources mixed in.

Did you take a CBSA yet? Perhaps you should and see where you stand.

PS. I can't think of anything worse than doing 12+ hours of step 1 prep for 3-4 straight months.

 

[godchaser1016]

I did talk to an adviser about this, and I made sure I will not miss anything. In fact, there were a couple of 4th years who graduated with who took step one in september because they had to remediate couple of courses. Thanks for the concern though. I did make sure things will line up as there will be no consequences other than tight schedule in 4th year.

Yea, I've been doing 12+ hour a day for two weeks now. It's not that bad. I do worry that I might get burned out. Maybe my NBME scores will improve enough in August, then I can move the test date up.

I usually stick to the question-fact threads, but will comment here because I don't know if you understand the 4th year timeline. I'd also recommend you talk with an adviser before putting this plan into action.

4th year is more or less like this: Sub-I and aways usually in the summer, September submit application and letters to ERAS, Nov-Jan interviews, and Feb-June finish up elective requirements, relax, prepare to move, etc. If you a put off a 3 month rotation (med or surg) or 3 1 month rotations, you will have extraordinary difficulty fitting these into a 4th year schedule AND residency directors will have no idea why you only have 60-70% of your grades available to them.

Yes, you could do Neuro in late spring, do 1 or fewer away rotations, and decide not to be available for interviews in October or November, which MIGHT allow you to carry this plan out. But then I'd wonder if you could fulfill whatever 4th year requirements your school has. Draw this out on a calendar and keep in mind you cannot do core rotations during interviewing months. Do your 3rd and 4th year rotations begin/end at the same time? Our 3rd year rotations begin whenever and 4th year rotations are 1st-30th, making it impossible to do these back to back.

Now, if you have 1 month rotations as your first block of clerkships, it is entirely possible to push 1 rotation into 4th year and take an extra 4 weeks. Even so, that doesn't make it a good idea. Have you ever done solo-study, 12 hour days for 4-5 weeks straight? I have twice. The first time it was bearable, almost enjoyable because the info/process/routine was new, I improved my scores rapidly, and I had friends doing the same thing with which to spend the minimal social time. The second time, by myself, was a low unparalleled in an otherwise painless 3 years of school.