Flash Facts vs Firecracker vs Bro vs GT

[.hematoma.]

Hi folks,

I'm deciding on longitudinal board resources to use during MS2 (starting in a few weeks) so that I can reduce the trauma of the dedicated prep time. I've gone through many threads here talking about several different First Aid memorizing tools, and I'm wondering if there are any thoughts on pros/cons of the tools in my title.

For reference, I have Flash Facts and I like it a lot (as a test I used it to study for my biochem NBME shelf last year, and while I didn't go through all of the questions this was my highest shelf score of the ones I took MS1), and I've started a trial of Firecracker. I don't see a significant difference b/w Firecracker and Flash Facts other than the spaced repetition of the former... is it worth dipping into Firecracker/Bro/GT if I have Flash Facts?

Note: Yes, I've read through previous threads but I haven't found conclusive support for Flash Facts! Also Note: Yes I posted this again because no one responded in the Step 1 thread!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Hi folks,

I'm deciding on longitudinal board resources to use during MS2 (starting in a few weeks) so that I can reduce the trauma of the dedicated prep time. I've gone through many threads here talking about several different First Aid memorizing tools, and I'm wondering if there are any thoughts on pros/cons of the tools in my title.

For reference, I have Flash Facts and I like it a lot (as a test I used it to study for my biochem NBME shelf last year, and while I didn't go through all of the questions this was my highest shelf score of the ones I took MS1), and I've started a trial of Firecracker. I don't see a significant difference b/w Firecracker and Flash Facts other than the spaced repetition of the former... is it worth dipping into Firecracker/Bro/GT if I have Flash Facts?

Note: Yes, I've read through previous threads but I haven't found conclusive support for Flash Facts! Also Note: Yes I posted this again because no one responded in the Step 1 thread!

I tried both Firecracker and Flash Facts. Anki didn't mesh with my learning style and the way things were taught at my school 1st year so I didn't bother re-installing it just for Bros deck, but it may be worth checking out. Benefits to Bros deck would be that Anki has the best spaced repetition algorithm and you could add cards based on Rx and/or UWorld explanations.

Firecracker is too much in my opinion, unless you start from day one in 1st year and stay on top of it daily. Most of my classmates that used Firecracker felt the same way and eventually ditched it during 2nd year. I also didn't care for the way some of the cards were set up. Some would ask a really straightforward question that should have a brief straightforward answer, but the answer would end up being 1 or more paragraphs long and contain a bunch of extraneous info. Others questions would seem as if they should have more detailed answers, but the answers that were given were one sentence and lacking in adequate detail, so you'd have to click for more info and it would just become more time consuming.

Overall I liked Flash Facts.

Pros: The questions were brief and for the most part I liked the way they were worded/set-up. The explanations are brief and to the point, and when the answer appears so does a PDF of the relevant pages from FA along with the page numbers - I found this really helpful for making an initial pass through FA while also staying ontop of reviewing old material. The way its set up also makes it really easy to turn on cards as the material is covered in lecture. It also doesn't take too long to knock out your cards each day. I tried to do 200-300 cards per day and could usually get that done in 2-3 hours and it never seemed to interfere with staying on top of lecture material or getting question blocks done and still having freetime.

Cons: The repetition algorithm is pretty crappy. Sometimes cards that I marked as knowing really well would repeat a few cards later. If I shut off a card that a knew really well or that was just a crappy worded card it would sometimes still reappear. Some of the cards are crap and some have blatantly incorrect answers and never seemed to get fixed no matter how many times I reported them. Despite the drawbacks they didn't outweigh the pros, and overall I liked it.

If I were to do things over I would look into Bros deck (flash cards work better for me studying for standardized exams v. school written ones) and see how I feel about it. I'd also start using either Bros deck or Flash Facts and Rx along with lecture from the beginning of 2nd year rather than waiting until the 2nd half of the year.

 

[Redpancreas]

You're missing DIT, but then again its $800.
Yes they read FA to you, but they put in a lot of stuff I didn't know also that really heighten awareness and bring the words to life.

Also, Memorang is pretty decent but I haven't tried it or have the time. Too much!

 

[Dr.Bajaber]

I am like you not sure either, but I like that I can mark a specific topic in Firecracker.I downloaded bro's deck but I do not like that I have to finish for example a whole subject to star using it. My Firecracker trial will end soon. I will just stick to Bro after all

 

[Doctor Ro]

Personally loved flash facts. Strong believer in keeping as little resources as possible. Thus, because it's connected to FA after every fact it feels like I'm only using one resource. Every thing goes faster in the end when you've only used one connected resource. BUT I don't know anyone who tried BROS and didn't like it. So if you want free, go BROS.

 

[7331poas]

Anki