Below is a schedule straight from the "Penn Method".
Study Schedule:
- Background Reading: First 26-34 days (depending on how many days you spend on each subject)
These days are meant to get your familiar with the material for you to see all the material once and to distill out the most testable points in order to take notes upon for further study (see "Review" section below). Don't get caught up on trying to memorize every detail. These days are approximately 8-10 hours of studying/day. You can study the subjects in any order that you see fit. Typically, students start with a cursory read of First-Aid for the Boards (which usually takes 3-4 days). Some people, however, find First-Aid to be vague and difficult to read without background material/details, so they skip this initial read. People then tackle the individual subject areas, taking notes in the margins of First-Aid. This means that during the background reading portion of your studying, you will likely read First-Aid twice. For the individual subject areas, some students start with their favorite subjects in order to start with a positive attitude, while others start with their worst subjects in order to get them over with and have more time to process the material. THERE IS NO RIGHT/WRONG WAY TO DO THIS! Most importantly, make sure you sleep, eat, and exercise during this time. Also, try and relax for AT LEAST 1-2 hours per night (i.e hang with significant other, watch movies, leave the library). Your brain needs time to chill and process the massive amount of info that you are putting in there!
-3-4 days First-Aid for the Boards
-4-5 days Biochemistry + 50 biochem questions per night
-3-4 days Microbiology (Micro Made Ridic Simple) + 50 microbio questions/night
-1-2 days Immunology (Lange's book) + 50 immuno questions
-1 day Embryology + 50 embryology questions
-1-2 days Anatomy + 50 anatomy questions
-1 day Neuroanatomy + 50 neuroanatomy questions
-3 days Physiology + 50 physiology questions/night
-4-6 days Pharmacology + 50 pharmacology questions
-3-4 days Pathology + 50 pathology questions/night
-1 day Histology + 50 histology questions
-1 day Behavioral Sciences + 50 behavioral sciences questions
As you study during the first 26 - 34 days of reading, TAKE NOTES in the margins of First-Aid on the section that relates to that day's readings. After you finish your reading, try to DO at least 50 PRACTICE QUESTIONS on the topic (i.e Biochemistry) that you read about that day and read ALL the explanations for each question on the Kaplan Website or at the back of the Book. Some students choose to take notes on the questions that they get wrong in order to process/remember this material.
- Review (Last 5-10 days): The last 5-10 days are the most important study days. The goal is to review the bulk of the material you have studied by REVIEWING ALL OF FIRST-AID AND THE NOTES YOU TOOK throughout the first weeks of studying. At the end of each day, do as many questions as you can (50-150 if possible) pertaining to the topics you reviewed. Some people found it helpful to review First-Aid and their notes twice during this time, while others found it helpful to review the entire book and their notes once, marking pages that were particularly unfamiliar or particularly high yield and reviewing only their marked pages a second time.
These days are approximately 12 hours of studying/day, except for the day before the boards (this should be a much lighter day). You should still take a bit of time each day to relax; it is important to maintain your composure and constantly remind yourself that you are doing the best you can!
.On the day before the boards, briefly review all the pages you marked as high-yield or unfamiliar. You can also catch up on any reviewing that you did not get to. Do NOT study for 12-14 hours the day before the boards. Some people also recommend not doing any questions the day before so that you do not psyche yourself out but others found it helpful to do some questions the day before the exam. You should decide how you best learn/mentally prepare and plan accordingly. .
