How long do you guy typically spend studying in a day?

[aetwsslol]

The title says it all.

guys*

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[deleted387928]

6-8 hours

a 3 hour block in the morning, then lunch, then a 3 hour block in the afternoon.

I stopped after dinner during the school year but now I'm putting in some evening work because of boards.

 

[CatFactorial]

One billion!

 

[bomgd3]

Probably 4 hours on average, but it varies widely. Some days I study 12 hours, some days I don't study at all.

 

[womp]

2 hrs after all day of lectures. 4-6 on half day lectures.

 

[just one]

1-2 hours outside of lectures (we only have morning lectures) and about six to eight hours a couple days before a test

I have been know to take 3-4 days without going to lecture or looking at anything then catch up in a day or two with about 5-6 hours of studying

 

[Lil Mick]

1-2 hours most of the time, but 9 hours the day before the exam.

 

[LFSdriver]

Avg 4 hours on weekdays, ~10 on weekends.

 

[DrVanNostran]

I rarely went to class, so I would study 8-10 hours a day, which included listening to an audio of the days lecture on 2.0 🙂

 

[secants]

^ Just curious were you always a day behind since you listened to the audio or was your school super fast in uploading the same hour? Also did you take notes at 2.0 or just follow along? I tried the video strategy but it was an epic fail for me

 

[just one]

We only have lecture from 8-12 (sometimes less) and video is usually posted by noon. Really there isn't much note taking needed, most of our ppts include what you need

 

[DrVanNostran]

^ Just curious were you always a day behind since you listened to the audio or was your school super fast in uploading the same hour? Also did you take notes at 2.0 or just follow along? I tried the video strategy but it was an epic fail for me

My school was pretty good about posting the lectures by 2-3 at the latest. I was actually ahead of my class, I would just listen to the lectures and follow along. I am not a fan of taking notes, unless a professor explicitly mentions something outside the notes. I would review the lecture syllabus 6-8 times for a given test by the time test day rolled along. This worked for every class but anatomy, which was a class I definitely should have went to, hence the HP

 

[thechad]

Over 9,000.

 

[xanthomondo]

I don't know why, but ever since taking step1 I can't study for more than 2-3 hours at a time. I just go into insta-burnout mode.

 

[causalinference]

1-2 hours a day then 8-12 hours the two days before an exam.

Over 9,000.

Wonder how many people will get the reference. 😉

 

[adaptation1]

as a first year, i can see how one only studies 1-2 hours a day, or even lass. but as a second year? can you pass doing that little?!

 

[AlexMorph]

1-2 hours a day then 8-12 hours the two days before an exam.



Wonder how many people will get the reference. 😉

Sadly, I got the reference. That damn show managed to stretch 2 hours of story into at least 100.

 

[cautiousvampire]

1-2 hours most of the time, but 9 hours the day before the exam.

To the above poster and others, how does this compare to your UG studying. 1-2 Hours a day sounds like heaven compared to what I do now (as an UG) Thanks.

 

[AlexMorph]

To the above poster and others, how does this compare to your UG studying. 1-2 Hours a day sounds like heaven compared to what I do now (as an UG) Thanks.

If that sounds like heaven to you and you are in UG, you won't get by with that in med. school. It looks like you need to put in more effort when you get to med. school.

 

[just one]

To the above poster and others, how does this compare to your UG studying. 1-2 Hours a day sounds like heaven compared to what I do now (as an UG) Thanks.

In undergrad I never touched the material until the night before the test.

 

[CatFactorial]

In undergrad I never touched the material until the night before the test.

Same. I don't know how I got into med school though, because that was pretty stupid.

 

[just one]

If that sounds like heaven to you and you are in UG, you won't get by with that in med. school. It looks like you need to put in more effort when you get to med. school.

I took his/her post to mean that they spend more than 1-2 hrs a day in undergrad studying. If that is the case, you need to find a more efficient method. Throwing more effort at the situation is a common mistake medical students make. Efficiently studying is the key

 

[just one]

Same. I don't know how I got into med school though, because that was pretty stupid.

In undergrad I could review test material in about an hour. Three to four passes and I usually could get a 96 or above on tests. In medical school, it takes me about 12 hours to make a solid pass through the material for a test. Our curriculum is systems based and we focus on one main class every five weeks. So one test over five weeks of material

 

[xanthomondo]

Wonder how many people will get the reference. 😉

i dont

 

[MedicineMike]

In undergrad I never touched the material until the night before the test.

Same...I went days and days without looking at material/studying and would cram for a good 8-10hrs before the test.

 

[shadowfox87]

In undergrad, studied 10-15 hours per day except maybe on Fridays where I would give myself a break. I did one all nighter in my life and it was in my 1st year of undergrad, after that never did it again. I didn't take any notes and skipped a lot of classes. I was involved in a lot of activities too.

In med school, it's 12-15 hours per day, pretty constant. I give myself 30 mins for lunch and dinner, that's my only break. I take notes now and make them really neat and organized. I don't skip classes anymore and I stopped all my activities.

 

[Democritus]

In undergrad I could review test material in about an hour. Three to four passes and I usually could get a 96 or above on tests. In medical school, it takes me about 12 hours to make a solid pass through the material for a test. Our curriculum is systems based and we focus on one main class every five weeks. So one test over five weeks of material

Biochemistry? Microbiology? Calc-based physics? Calculus? Random bio classes that require memorization of huge lists of material? C'mon.

 

[just one]

Biochemistry? Microbiology? Calc-based physics? Calculus? Random bio classes that require memorization of huge lists of material? C'mon.

Biochemistry 1 & 2, microbiology, embryology, histology, genetics, anatomy, physiology, advanced mammalian physiology. Yup, did that for all of them. I worked full time, have wife and kid so everyday studying just was not a part of my undergrad experience. I never missed class though. It worked well except for biochem 2 and organic 2. All other classes worked beautifully. Actually in histology and embryology, I would wake up morning of test at 4 am and study til the exam at 9am. Got A's in both, actually had only three Bs in four years (org 2, quantitative chem, animal biology). Don't ask what my grades were like ten years earlier in CC before going back and doing a full undergrad degree

Didn't have to take calculus

 

[Smooth as Eggs]

UG was the day before, maybe 2 days before at the most. Med school for me is skip class and study 8-5 most days.

 

[AlexMorph]

In undergrad, studied 10-15 hours per day except maybe on Fridays where I would give myself a break. I did one all nighter in my life and it was in my 1st year of undergrad, after that never did it again. I didn't take any notes and skipped a lot of classes. I was involved in a lot of activities too.

In med school, it's 12-15 hours per day, pretty constant. I give myself 30 mins for lunch and dinner, that's my only break. I take notes now and make them really neat and organized. I don't skip classes anymore and I stopped all my activities.

yikes...

 

[shaggy alfresco]

In undergrad, studied 10-15 hours per day except maybe on Fridays where I would give myself a break. I did one all nighter in my life and it was in my 1st year of undergrad, after that never did it again. I didn't take any notes and skipped a lot of classes. I was involved in a lot of activities too.

Wtf? Were you taking like 40 credits a semester?

 

[ArcGurren]

1-2 hours a day then 8-12 hours the two days before an exam.



Wonder how many people will get the reference. 😉

Absolutely got the reference, this is SDN. Anyone who says they're not a nerd is in the closet

 

[ArcGurren]

In undergrad, studied 10-15 hours per day except maybe on Fridays where I would give myself a break. I did one all nighter in my life and it was in my 1st year of undergrad, after that never did it again. I didn't take any notes and skipped a lot of classes. I was involved in a lot of activities too.

In med school, it's 12-15 hours per day, pretty constant. I give myself 30 mins for lunch and dinner, that's my only break. I take notes now and make them really neat and organized. I don't skip classes anymore and I stopped all my activities.

Holy crap, what was your major? I know people doing engineering at Ivy schools who didn't study that much. I got by fine in UG by studying 3-4 days before an exam all day and doing homework when assigned.

 

[just one]

In undergrad, studied 10-15 hours per day except maybe on Fridays where I would give myself a break. I did one all nighter in my life and it was in my 1st year of undergrad, after that never did it again. I didn't take any notes and skipped a lot of classes. I was involved in a lot of activities too.

In med school, it's 12-15 hours per day, pretty constant. I give myself 30 mins for lunch and dinner, that's my only break. I take notes now and make them really neat and organized. I don't skip classes anymore and I stopped all my activities.

You are telling us you would for example, get up at 7 am and study constantly til 10 pm six days a week for four years. I'm not buying it. That is step 1 time commitment that everyone says is brutal to do for a month or two

 

[causalinference]

In undergrad, studied 10-15 hours per day except maybe on Fridays where I would give myself a break. I did one all nighter in my life and it was in my 1st year of undergrad, after that never did it again. I didn't take any notes and skipped a lot of classes. I was involved in a lot of activities too.

In med school, it's 12-15 hours per day, pretty constant. I give myself 30 mins for lunch and dinner, that's my only break. I take notes now and make them really neat and organized. I don't skip classes anymore and I stopped all my activities.

If you don't get at least a 260 on Step 1 then I feel sorry for you. Actually, I still feel sorry for you. 12-15 hours a day? If you're not exaggerating then something is seriously wrong with your study habbits. There is absolutely no reason to study more than 8 hours per day in medical school.

 

[shadowfox87]

Wtf? Were you taking like 40 credits a semester?

Well, in undergrad, I overloaded myself twice in the 1st 2 years. In med school, I'm taking the normal amount of credits everyone else takes.

Holy crap, what was your major? I know people doing engineering at Ivy schools who didn't study that much. I got by fine in UG by studying 3-4 days before an exam all day and doing homework when assigned.

You got it, engineering. Everyone's different, in engineering this was common for pretty much most of my classmates.

You are telling us you would for example, get up at 7 am and study constantly til 10 pm six days a week for four years. I'm not buying it. That is step 1 time commitment that everyone says is brutal to do for a month or two

Buy what you want. I get up at 7 am, head to the library at 8 am and keep studying. Like I said, lunch and dinner are my only breaks. If I didn't take lunch or dinner breaks, it would be 16 hours from 8 am to midnight. If you think about it, 12-15 hours is completely reasonable. I also get my full sleep, no all nighters, no studying past midnight period.

If you don't get at least a 260 on Step 1 then I feel sorry for you. Actually, I still feel sorry for you. 12-15 hours a day? If you're not exaggerating then something is seriously wrong with your study habbits. There is absolutely no reason to study more than 8 hours per day in medical school.

I'll feel sorry for myself don't worry. How much you study is irrelevant, it's HOW you study that matters. This thread only asked for the time, not my method, you may assume what you want. I'm not as smart as other people I guess, so I study more.

 

[MedicineMike]

You need to re-consider your study habits...That is beyond overkill...

 

[shaggy alfresco]

What's your method? Maybe it needs to be evaluated?

 

[ArcGurren]

Well, in undergrad, I overloaded myself twice in the 1st 2 years. In med school, I'm taking the normal amount of credits everyone else takes.



You got it, engineering. Everyone's different, in engineering this was common for pretty much most of my classmates.



Buy what you want. I get up at 7 am, head to the library at 8 am and keep studying. Like I said, lunch and dinner are my only breaks. If I didn't take lunch or dinner breaks, it would be 16 hours from 8 am to midnight. If you think about it, 12-15 hours is completely reasonable. I also get my full sleep, no all nighters, no studying past midnight period.



I'll feel sorry for myself don't worry. How much you study is irrelevant, it's HOW you study that matters. This thread only asked for the time, not my method, you may assume what you want. I'm not as smart as other people I guess, so I study more.

I don't think you're less smart necessarily than other people. I feel like you may have a really inefficient way of studying maybe?

Also I totally understand - engineering is a rough major - but I always felt like most of their time spent was doing projects, not necessarily reading for exams.

 

[shadowfox87]

I don't think you're less smart necessarily than other people. I feel like you may have a really inefficient way of studying maybe?

Also I totally understand - engineering is a rough major - but I always felt like most of their time spent was doing projects, not necessarily reading for exams.

Projects can take a lot of your time, a lot of bug fixing. That's only really for last year, exams are still the main focus. Though, in eng, it's not much memorization and reading, more of pure problem solving. Even people that study everything have a chance of failing because they may have had the knowledge but they lacked the ability to apply it to a problem.

My method is working for me and that's all that matters. It's tough, but that's what if that's what I gotta do, then that's what I gotta do. I really don't care that if there's some super secret method that allows you to study less. I've been there and done that, I can't rely on shortcuts anymore.

 

[2012mdc]

Projects can take a lot of your time, a lot of bug fixing. That's only really for last year, exams are still the main focus. Though, in eng, it's not much memorization and reading, more of pure problem solving. Even people that study everything have a chance of failing because they may have had the knowledge but they lacked the ability to apply it to a problem.

My method is working for me and that's all that matters. It's tough, but that's what if that's what I gotta do, then that's what I gotta do. I really don't care that if there's some super secret method that allows you to study less. I've been there and done that, I can't rely on shortcuts anymore.

More efficient =/= shortcuts. For example you can read big robbins cover to cover and learn the material or you can read goljan, do robbins review questions, and use big robbins as a reference and learn 99% of the same stuff.

Your method may be working now but what are you going to do 3rd year when you have less time? You have to become more efficient

You need to re-consider your study habits...That is beyond overkill...

Way beyond overkill

My study habits
1st year:
1) regular weekday - 2-3 hours. Around test time 6-7
2) regular weekend - 4-5 hrs. Around test time 7-8
There were times where I took breaks from studying but still went to class. These were usually post test for a few days (one time a week off)

2nd year (2nd half with Step on the horizon)
1) regular weekday 4-5 hrs. Around test time 7-8
2) regular weekend 5-6 hrs. Around test time 8-10
I would take one day breaks here and there but I studied almost every day the 2nd half of 2nd yr. Also skipped most classes.

Step 1 - Daily schedule
8-9 work out
9-10 breakfast/shower
10-11 1st block
11-12 2nd block
12-1230 lunch
1230 – 4 review UW questions
4-430 break/snack
430 – 730 study
730 – 8 dinner
8 – 11 study
11 – 12 relax

A solid 11-12 hrs every day.

3rd year
1) Surg. ~1 hr on the days I wasn't exhausted. Closer to the shelf 7-8 hrs a day
2) IM ~ 2 hr on non call days during the week. Didn't study much on the weekends. 7-8 hrs closer to the shelf
3) Psych/FM/Peds - zero to little studying until shelf time. About 5-6 hrs a day over a week to a week and a half.

 

[shadowfox87]

More efficient =/= shortcuts. For example you can read big robbins cover to cover and learn the material or you can read goljan, do robbins review questions, and use big robbins as a reference and learn 99% of the same stuff.

Your method may be working now but what are you going to do 3rd year when you have less time? You have to become more efficient



Way beyond overkill

My study habits
1st year:
1) regular weekday - 2-3 hours. Around test time 6-7
2) regular weekend - 4-5 hrs. Around test time 7-8
There were times where I took breaks from studying but still went to class. These were usually post test for a few days (one time a week off)

2nd year (2nd half with Step on the horizon)
1) regular weekday 4-5 hrs. Around test time 7-8
2) regular weekend 5-6 hrs. Around test time 8-10
I would take one day breaks here and there but I studied almost every day the 2nd half of 2nd yr. Also skipped most classes.

Step 1 - Daily schedule
8-9 work out
9-10 breakfast/shower
10-11 1st block
11-12 2nd block
12-1230 lunch
1230 – 4 review UW questions
4-430 break/snack
430 – 730 study
730 – 8 dinner
8 – 11 study
11 – 12 relax

A solid 11-12 hrs every day.

3rd year
1) Surg. ~1 hr on the days I wasn't exhausted. Closer to the shelf 7-8 hrs a day
2) IM ~ 2 hr on non call days during the week. Didn't study much on the weekends. 7-8 hrs closer to the shelf
3) Psych/FM/Peds - zero to little studying until shelf time. About 5-6 hrs a day over a week to a week and a half.

Your step 1 schedule very closely mimics my daily routine except for the snack part. I don't read books cover to cover unless it's a really good story book. In 3rd year of my undergrad, I had to go through the same thing (less time+more work) and so far med school, has not reached that level. Also, I start my day an hour earlier than you and I don't work out everyday. I only do breakfast on exam days or if I'm really hungry in the morning. Right after the exam, I'll watch a movie or go out with friends.

I'm used to this, it's so natural now that it's like brushing my teeth everyday. Maybe people don't get this serious until step 1, which is why I see so many complain threads during that time, but I've been studying like this since undergrad. I don't feel like I'm in jail, it's just work to me.

 

[causalinference]

How much you study is irrelevant, it's HOW you study that matters.

Incorrect. How much you study is very much relevant. As someone else pointed out, you might have all the time in the world now, but just wait until you get to third year. You'll do horrible on your shelf exams unless you find a way to study efficiently. This isn't a question of how smart you are. This is a question of methodology. There is a serious methodological flaw in your study routine.

Another point that should be made is about your health. It's simply not healthy to study that much without leaving yourself time for exercise. A little relaxation doesn't hurt either. Don't you have any hobbies that you enjoy?

 

[2012mdc]

Your step 1 schedule very closely mimics my daily routine except for the snack part. I don't read books cover to cover unless it's a really good story book. In 3rd year of my undergrad, I had to go through the same thing (less time+more work) and so far med school, has not reached that level. Also, I start my day an hour earlier than you and I don't work out everyday. I only do breakfast on exam days or if I'm really hungry in the morning. Right after the exam, I'll watch a movie or go out with friends.

I'm used to this, it's so natural now that it's like brushing my teeth everyday. Maybe people don't get this serious until step 1, which is why I see so many complain threads during that time, but I've been studying like this since undergrad. I don't feel like I'm in jail, it's just work to me.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to study but there are just things to think about
1) If you require that amount of time to cover regular pre-clinical stuff how are you going to step it up while preparing for Step 1?
2) Some of the third year shelf exams (Surg and IM) are pretty difficult and IM in particular requires a good amount of studying. If you rely on studying 12 hours a day what are you going to do when you only have 4?

Two things that have kept me sane and very successful in med school
1) balance - I get my work done and while I've made some sacrifices I still have a life
2) being willing to adapt - the willingness to switch up studying styles/methods has been very helpful. I knew people at my school who did well 1st year and then crashed and burned 2nd year when they tried to study the same way. It is very important to always adapt and find the most efficient way.

The ends do not justify the means because those means will not always be possible

 

[Ischiowhat]

Definitely varies.....during the most hellacious times, or if I made up my mind to do well in a class, I might study 5 til 8am, go to class til 2pm, study til 9pm, and repeat that all week. Then 12 hr/day on the weekends. But other times I'll skip lecture, study 8 hrs, call it a day and get drunk.

 

[shadowfox87]

I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to study but there are just things to think about
1) If you require that amount of time to cover regular pre-clinical stuff how are you going to step it up while preparing for Step 1?
2) Some of the third year shelf exams (Surg and IM) are pretty difficult and IM in particular requires a good amount of studying. If you rely on studying 12 hours a day what are you going to do when you only have 4?

That's the point, I don't have to step it up since I'm already at that step, my rhythm doesn't need to change. Who says I spend ALL of that time covering pre-clinical stuff? Most of the time, I'm just reviewing. I'm not studying MORE to catch up. I'm studying so it sticks. I haven't been behind in med school since I've started.

Incorrect. How much you study is very much relevant. As someone else pointed out, you might have all the time in the world now, but just wait until you get to third year. You'll do horrible on your shelf exams unless you find a way to study efficiently. This isn't a question of how smart you are. This is a question of methodology. There is a serious methodological flaw in your study routine.

Another point that should be made is about your health. It's simply not healthy to study that much without leaving yourself time for exercise. A little relaxation doesn't hurt either. Don't you have any hobbies that you enjoy?

You and I are pretty much saying the same thing. I'm saying that HOW (method) of studying is more important than how much (time) spent studying. Even if a person chose to study as much as I do, they may not get the same result b/c they aren't studying properly. I already know that. In contrast, a person can study less and achieve the same result if their method is more efficient. Have you considered if a person does both? That's what I'm aiming for. I would be stupid to say I have a perfect study method as I'm always modifying with each course has its own way of studying. Though, I usually keep my time spent a constant, the variable is the method.

As I said before, in undergrad, I was heavily involved in too many activities, not making that mistake again. Time for hobbies is during vacation, not when I'm in school.

 

[2012mdc]

That's the point, I don't have to step it up since I'm already at that step, my rhythm doesn't need to change. Who says I spend ALL of that time covering pre-clinical stuff? Most of the time, I'm just reviewing. I'm not studying MORE to catch up. I'm studying so it sticks. I haven't been behind in med school since I've started.

Unless you are covering everything that will be on the Step every 1-2 months then you are covering less material now per day then you will when you get into your dedicated Step 1 study time.

You will have to cover more material in the same time frame

 

[ArcGurren]

That's the point, I don't have to step it up since I'm already at that step, my rhythm doesn't need to change. Who says I spend ALL of that time covering pre-clinical stuff? Most of the time, I'm just reviewing. I'm not studying MORE to catch up. I'm studying so it sticks. I haven't been behind in med school since I've started.



You and I are pretty much saying the same thing. I'm saying that HOW (method) of studying is more important than how much (time) spent studying. Even if a person chose to study as much as I do, they may not get the same result b/c they aren't studying properly. I already know that. In contrast, a person can study less and achieve the same result if their method is more efficient. Have you considered if a person does both? That's what I'm aiming for. I would be stupid to say I have a perfect study method as I'm always modifying with each course has its own way of studying. Though, I usually keep my time spent a constant, the variable is the method.

As I said before, in undergrad, I was heavily involved in too many activities, not making that mistake again. Time for hobbies is during vacation, not when I'm in school.

You really do not understand the mental energy and manner of work that is required to study for Step 1. No matter what it is a MUCH bigger burden than studying individually for classes. You are taking a much larger volume of information and trying to synthesize, compress, and remember it, not to mention integrate it. One of my friends studies like you do for classes and he is struggling with Step 1 studying because of how burnt out he is. He has given himself till the very last possible date our school allows you to take the exam.

We are not attacking you or criticizing your intelligence. We are giving you friendly advice as to what we recognize as a serious problem with the way you study and how seriously inefficient it is.

As for hobbies... well that is your own loss. I've managed to get preclinical honors in about half of my classes without killing myself studying like the way you are.

 

[Shadowmoses]

I have a problem and this thread seems to be the most relevant to my issue. Basically I have come to realize that while my previous study method worked very well grade wise, it was inefficient (studying like 7+ hours a day on top of going to classes, and practically re-summarizing big books into my own notes using cornell notes format) and I had to give up my hobbies for all of last semester. Well now I want to change that and I could use some advice.

I want to shift away from using big books (ex. Guyton) and rely more on the lecture notes (powerpoint slides) prepared by the school and using review books instead as my primary study resources. Moreso, I want to get away from preparing notes of any kind, with the only exception being making flashcards out of the powerpoint lecture slides. How do you guys use the big books..as reference only or do you read thoroughly through it?

I'll admit I read the big books word for word and try to understand every picture and graph, and this alone takes up a lot of time...nevermind the fact I still had to convert all that into cornell note format. I experience burnout once a week it seems.

Here is my new method on how to handle studying on a daily basis for whatever I learned that day in class (its a rough idea at the moment, main idea though is to abandon dependency on big books):

5 Step Study Plan for Med School

• Read review book

• Read class lecture notes (ppt slides) - put into OneNote
  • Annotate where necessary
  • Make flashcards in Flashcard Exchange

• Use internet or book resources (big books) to figure out cloudy areas

• Review actively (make flowcharts or concept maps, flashcard drills)
• Do practice questions or Q-banks, gunner training, netter flashcards

 

[2012mdc]

I have a problem and this thread seems to be the most relevant to my issue. Basically I have come to realize that while my previous study method worked very well grade wise, it was inefficient (studying like 7+ hours a day on top of going to classes, and practically re-summarizing big books into my own notes using cornell notes format) and I had to give up my hobbies for all of last semester. Well now I want to change that and I could use some advice.

I want to shift away from using big books (ex. Guyton) and rely more on the lecture notes (powerpoint slides) prepared by the school and using review books instead as my primary study resources. Moreso, I want to get away from preparing notes of any kind, with the only exception being making flashcards out of the powerpoint lecture slides. How do you guys use the big books..as reference only or do you read thoroughly through it?

I'll admit I read the big books word for word and try to understand every picture and graph, and this alone takes up a lot of time...nevermind the fact I still had to convert all that into cornell note format. I experience burnout once a week it seems.

Here is my new method on how to handle studying on a daily basis for whatever I learned that day in class (its a rough idea at the moment, main idea though is to abandon dependency on big books):

5 Step Study Plan for Med School

• Read review book

• Read class lecture notes (ppt slides) - put into OneNote
  • Annotate where necessary
  • Make flashcards in Flashcard Exchange

• Use internet or book resources (big books) to figure out cloudy areas

• Review actively (make flowcharts or concept maps, flashcard drills)
• Do practice questions or Q-banks, gunner training, netter flashcards

That's a legit plan. My study plan was pretty similar 2nd year

Say we were covering MSK and then Neuro in one test block. This would be my plan

MSK
1. Read Goljan and FA MSK
2. Read and highlight lecture ppt's
3. Do old exam questions (make notes) and UW questions

Neuro
Then repeat for Neuro but with Robbins Review MSK questions (highlight explanations) so that I reinforce the previous week's material.

When it got close to exam time I would review all the lecs and my notes from questions.

I felt like I was able to integrate well studying for Step 1 at the same time as studying for class