Confused how/when to start Step 1 studying for M2 year and what resources?

[Dr. Brightside]

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So I have several questions starting my M2 year and would love any help! FYI: We get an average amount of dedicated time, I'm aiming for top peds programs (>245), this summer I've done light Zanki for the systems we covered M1 year, I've always done very well on standardized exams but can be lazy with things like flashcards.

1. Do you really need to use 5-6 different resources like most people use? That feels overwhelming to me as I went entirely off of lecture notes + First Aid for M1 year and did well on our NBME finals.

2. 1st Semester of M2 year: My school does well on step but our weakness is Micro and Pharm. My plan was to maybe to do the Sketchy videos for both of those this semester and continue light Zanki review (30min/day) for everything so far and First Aid for our block finals. Is this enough for now?

3. 2nd Semester of M2 year: What study resources will I add starting January?

4. Is doing maybe 4-5hrs of research and 1-2hrs volunteering per week doable 1st semester M2 year and halving those numbers for 2nd semester?

5. Any other general advice?

Thanks!!

 

[LyMed]

Use however many resources it takes to cover what is in FA. I would start adding Qbank questions and ramping that up as the year goes on. How your research and volunteering goes is dependent on your time management. Never sacrifice STEP for research or volunteering.

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

Honestly just ditch your school curriculum & commit 100% to Zanki. Use Pathoma/First Aid/Sketchy for supplementation.

For school exams, just cram all the minutia 2-3 days before. Boom.

I did my first pass of UWorld starting in January & did my second during dedicated.

Didn't use other QBanks 'cause I heard Kaplan is "meh" & Rx is basically testing you on minutia from First Aid.. which is exactly what Zanki does.. & Zanki is 1000x more useful. Plus Rx was really glitchy this past year for people.

 

[FindersFee5]

So I have several questions starting my M2 year and would love any help! FYI: We get an average amount of dedicated time, I'm aiming for top peds programs (>245), this summer I've done light Zanki for the systems we covered M1 year, I've always done very well on standardized exams but can be lazy with things like flashcards.

1. Do you really need to use 5-6 different resources like most people use? That feels overwhelming to me as I went entirely off of lecture notes + First Aid for M1 year and did well on our NBME finals.

2. 1st Semester of M2 year: My school does well on step but our weakness is Micro and Pharm. My plan was to maybe to do the Sketchy videos for both of those this semester and continue light Zanki review (30min/day) for everything so far and First Aid for our block finals. Is this enough for now?

3. 2nd Semester of M2 year: What study resources will I add starting January?

4. Is doing maybe 4-5hrs of research and 1-2hrs volunteering per week doable 1st semester M2 year and halving those numbers for 2nd semester?

5. Any other general advice?

Thanks!!

1. Use the number of resources that feels right for you. Some people like to pick and choose parts from different resources, others prefer to commit to one. I would say that Zanki will basically cover everything, though it won't teach you to apply it. A single pass through FA will also help you pick out anything that you missed previously.

2. Sketchy pharm is AMAZING. Sketchy micro is v helpful too. Anki will make sure that you don't forget those things by the time you need to apply them.

3. Start doing 1 qbank now. Try to have it finished about a month before your dedicated and start adding UWorld at that point. Others advise UWorld early, but I think the novel questions are really valuable. See my guide in my signature for more of my thoughts about that.

4. Totally reasonable to have that much extra time per week. I tutored 3-6 hours a week even through 2nd year and still got to the gym 4x/week. I did go out a little less on the weekends than friends, but it's all about choices.