how much time did you give yourself to study for the step 1?

[Dr. McDreamy]

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so it's coming to that time of year...when i have admit to myself that I do indeed have to take the step 1. I'm hearing so many things from different people about how to prepare. Our classes end in mid May and rotations start July 2 . A lot of upperclassmen say to give yourself no more than 2 weeks of step 1 study time or you'll get burnt out. actually, that's all i've heard from upperclassmen. but i know people in my class, gunning for competitive areas who are talking about 4 weeks of studying (and two weeks of vacation afterwards). Anyone have any pointers? We have to take shelf exams at the end of the year, so that should give me some review for the exam (and i dont want to forget it all), but at the same time, i dont' see how studying for 4 weeks will burn me out. as it is, i spend 6-7 hours a day studying anyway, i dont see how spending 6-7 hours a day studying for the step 1 could be any worse.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. muchos gracias 😀

 

[helpfuldoc2b]

so it's coming to that time of year...when i have admit to myself that I do indeed have to take the step 1. I'm hearing so many things from different people about how to prepare. Our classes end in mid May and rotations start July 2 . A lot of upperclassmen say to give yourself no more than 2 weeks of step 1 study time or you'll get burnt out. actually, that's all i've heard from upperclassmen. but i know people in my class, gunning for competitive areas who are talking about 4 weeks of studying (and two weeks of vacation afterwards). Anyone have any pointers? We have to take shelf exams at the end of the year, so that should give me some review for the exam (and i dont want to forget it all), but at the same time, i dont' see how studying for 4 weeks will burn me out. as it is, i spend 6-7 hours a day studying anyway, i dont see how spending 6-7 hours a day studying for the step 1 could be any worse.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. muchos gracias 😀

Seems like 1-2 months from what I hear.

 

[felipe5]

I studied for 4 weeks and by day 27 i was pretty burned out.....just be sure and give yourself at least 1 week off. that is crucial

 

[Bertelman]

one month is good, but pace yourself. Don't go 7 days a week, and don't neglect a few fun things. Maybe take a weekend off in the middle. I'd suggest taking off several days as soon as MS2 is over, then save yourself at least a week before MS3 begins.

Mostly, though, it has to do with how well you have been doing thus far in classes, and how well you think you need to do on Step 1.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

I studied about 3 weeks, 7 days per week, something like 10-12 hrs per day (including reading and questions). I gave myself one day off during that time and took the day before the exam off. Towards the end I was completely fried, but it paid off. I then had 3 weeks of vacation before third year, which was pretty damn nice. I wouldn't recommend more than 4 weeks, you'll end up having to review the material that you began studying with by that point.

Also, make sure to condense your sources, I saw people with like 4 books open and I was like, WTF? How can you use all that ****?

 

[turkleton]

My finals for second year were on a Thursday, took the weekend off, and on Monday I started boards studying. I gave myself 4 to 4 1/2 weeks. Studied 6 to 6 1/2 days a week, 8-5 for reading, took a break for running/eating/tv, then questions until I went to bed. I too was burnt out by the end- almost everyone is, but it's good because its the sign that you need to stop studying and take the test- but it paid off. A few things to be successful:

1. Tell your friends and family that you will be inaccessible for those weeks- it's not true, but this will lighten the painfully tantalizing requests to go do fun things.
2. Have a loose plan of how and what you're going to study on which days- stick to it as much as possible but be flexible and don't spend 3 days on low yield stuff.
3. Be mentally prepared- I became robotic during this month- I took my breaks- but I was focused on what I needed to do.
4. Don't let all the other stressed out kids jar you- huge pitfall.
5. Whatever you do DON'T MOVE YOUR TEST DATE. 4 weeks is plenty of time- probably too much. By the end though people are worried they don't remember every step in gluconeogenesis and tack on another two weeks to study. You will sorely regret this I promise you.

It's a tough stretch, but you'll be fine.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Another advantage to minimizing your prep time is that it reduces the need to restudy the material you had your last set of finals on.

I think the most effective plan for most is to integrate boards topics into studying for 2nd year courses (eg. by reviewing old topics related to new ones from class) and limiting post-finals cramming to 2-3 weeks. More than 4 is insanity.