How to best prepare for step 1 score of 240-250?

[happening6]

I really have to get 240-250 on step1 in order to get the residency and hospital i have been looking for? I would appreciate if you can share your experience. how would you prepare for it? What books are helpful? how many months prior to test date should i start working on it?

I know some people have schedules for themselves. I would appreciate if you could share that as well.
Thanks.

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[CatFactorial]

Use the search function.

 

[bjb305]

Brief synopsis of what I did
Started about 7 months prior during school with USMLERx (about 3300 questions) and Kaplan (about 2200 questions). I liked Rx better cause it tested more of the diseases and their typical presentations. Kaplan tested some crazy details that I don't think would ever show up. I also used FA during the year. I finished Rx before school ended in May and still had 1400 kaplan questions left. During 1 month of dedicated studying, I only used FA and USMLEWorld. I did read Goljan RR path and HY BS, i don't think these are necessary unless you need extra explanations. Did about 3-4 passes thru FA, finished World, had about 400 kaplan questions left, and did NBME tests 6,7,11,12.
NBME scores - 250+
Actual score - 260+
Actual score was 1 point higher than best NBME scores, and I believe that was NBME 7
There were repeats on my exam from the NBME practice ones too
Overall my suggestion would be to read FA during 2nd year and using USMLERx as your question source to prepare for exams. I thought this helped a lot.

 

[OveractiveBrain]

Use the search function.

I like this best.


Here's what a buddy of mine did:
Kaplan + First Aid + Kaplan Qbank + UWorld + Goljan = 264 (8weeks)

Here's what I did
Kaplan + First Aid + Kaplan Qbank + UWorld = 248 (8 weeks)

 

[jhamaican]

I like this best.


Here's what a buddy of mine did:
Kaplan + First Aid + Kaplan Qbank + UWorld + Goljan = 264 (8weeks)

Here's what I did
Kaplan + First Aid + Kaplan Qbank + UWorld = 248 (8 weeks)

so moral of the story is Goljan = +16 points?

 

[jfgavina]

so moral of the story is Goljan = +16 points?

he is very much capable of doing that! eheh

 

[DrYoda]

The best thing I did is learned the M2 material well and for long-term, especially things that are hard to get into your brain in a short period of time like drugs and bugs. Didn't use any review books or qbanks during the year, just our class material.

For dedicated study I spent about 1.5 weeks reading through FA twice. Then I spent 4 weeks doing UW questions with occasionally review of the FA sections in the subjects I sucked at. For the UW stuff I kept a word doc of facts/concepts I didn't know and reviewed it periodically. Scored in the 250's.

 

[fahimaz7]

Do well in school. It's the best thing you can do. Other than that take 30-40 days and study till your eyes bleed (virtually).

 

[fahimaz7]

so moral of the story is Goljan = +16 points?

No. The higher score guy had a better understanding of the material than the first guy. People on here need to realize that no matter what you do, there are going to be people that do more/less and score better than you.

Some people do 10,000 questions, read every BRS book, take DIT and Kaplan as well and score less than a 250. Other people do 2000 questions and get a 260.

The foundation is laid during the first two years.

 

[mednd]

I suggest:

Know Goljan by heart.
Do all of the USMLEWorld and Kaplan qbanks.
Go through FA at least 2-3x in the final month.
Take at least 4 practice tests.

I got a 265.

 

[ijn]

I suggest:

Know Goljan by heart.
Do all of the USMLEWorld and Kaplan qbanks.
Go through FA at least 2-3x in the final month.
Take at least 4 practice tests.

I got a 265.

That's all? Just know 650 pages by heart. What is the 5th word on the 4th paragraph on page 421?

 

[Elbowstoopointy]

That's all? Just know 650 pages by heart. What is the 5th word on the 4th paragraph on page 421?

Do you realize how hard it is to know Goljan by heart......

 

[CatFactorial]

That's all? Just know 650 pages by heart. What is the 5th word on the 4th paragraph on page 421?

Nothing was said about it being easy, jackass.

 

[Chirurg]

That's all? Just know 650 pages by heart. What is the 5th word on the 4th paragraph on page 421?

"for" (RR 3rd Edition, page 421, 4th paragraph, 5th word)

 

[Chirurg]

Nothing was said about it being easy, jackass.

 

[Elbowstoopointy]

Nothing was said about it being easy, jackass.

Actually yes it was. "That's all?" lol u mad

 

[CatFactorial]

Spending more time on reading proficiency and less time on creepy/irrelevant gifs will take you far.

 

[da8s0859q]

What I did:

- Goljan audio by organ system as we did it in M2;
- Other question banks (GT, USMLERx) by organ system (between the two of them, maybe ~1200-1300 unique questions);
- UWorld in its entirety, starting a couple months out.

Practice NBME forms had me first in the low-mid 220s, then low 230s. Last one was taken two weeks out.

Real thing: well into the 240s.

 

[alternatego]

cool thread I'm definitely using your advice, guys

 

[djack240]

+1!

 

[reedsposer22]

you have to take steroids! it will make ur brain HUGE and u will get a 280 or HIGHER, maybe 300

 

[BlueElmo]

hey guys, just curious, I always read about people reading through FA 2-3x in a month or 3 weeks or something, like it's an interesting novel. But how is that possible and still retain all the stuff in it? I'm reviewing stuff in FA, and it's so much material, I just don't see how you can retain all these facts in such a short period of time. Like I just read through the neurology section (took forever), and can't even remember a quarter of it few days later...

 

[HeyThere13]

hey guys, just curious, I always read about people reading through FA 2-3x in a month or 3 weeks or something, like it's an interesting novel. But how is that possible and still retain all the stuff in it? I'm reviewing stuff in FA, and it's so much material, I just don't see how you can retain all these facts in such a short period of time. Like I just read through the neurology section (took forever), and can't even remember a quarter of it few days later...

Note: I have not taken the exam yet and I am the same year as you, but...[Hopefully, a 3rd/4th year can come and give their opinion since they have studied and sat for the exam]

I truly believe that repetition is the key to mastery. The same for class work. The more times I go through a pharm lecture and truly understand it the higher my exam score usually is. I am not trying to make a direct correlation between classwork and step 1, but I hope you get what I am trying to say.

So, when I read First Aid the 1st time I did not remember that much. The 2nd time I remembered a lot more. I am on my 4th pass now and a lot more is sticking. I kind of view studying as going down a pyramid. Start at the narrow apex and then go down to broad base. Start off retaining little and end knowing a lot.

 

[missmedschool]

Note: I have not taken the exam yet and I am the same year as you, but...[Hopefully, a 3rd/4th year can come and give their opinion since they have studied and sat for the exam]

I truly believe that repetition is the key to mastery. The same for class work. The more times I go through a pharm lecture and truly understand it the higher my exam score usually is. I am not trying to make a direct correlation between classwork and step 1, but I hope you get what I am trying to say.

So, when I read First Aid the 1st time I did not remember that much. The 2nd time I remembered a lot more. I am on my 4th pass now and a lot more is sticking. I kind of view studying as going down a pyramid. Start at the narrow apex and then go down to broad base. Start off retaining little and end knowing a lot.

This is sooo true. The first time I went thru FA I went thru it slowly (I'd forgotten a lot). I'm on my 2nd pass right now & there's a marked difference in how much I remember & how much time it takes to go thru it. You'll actually be surprised with how much you remember from the first pass; I know I was.

Going thru FA 3x in 3 wks etc sounds like torture. I wouldn't recommend it if you want to ACTIVELY go thru FA; you'll just end up going thru it passively.

 

[da8s0859q]

Note: I have not taken the exam yet and I am the same year as you, but...[Hopefully, a 3rd/4th year can come and give their opinion since they have studied and sat for the exam]

My opinion: it's all in the repetition and application. The efficiency index goes way up when you're honest with yourself and hit the weak parts hardest/most, and leave your strengths for a more breezy review. Doing "all of FA 3x" is inefficient as hell unless you honestly need to re-review all of FA 3x.

Having seen whatever given page in FA more than a few times (first when reading with organ systems in late M1 onto M2, then for a block exam, then for a shelf somewhere, then while Step studying once or twice) is why I could sometimes tell you something from FA down to where it was on the page.

Doing a billion questions from UWorld / USMLERx / any other high-quality question bank is what helps show you how to apply and solidify concepts and knowledge.

 

[HeyThere13]

Having seen whatever given page in FA more than a few times (first when reading with organ systems in late M1 onto M2, then for a block exam, then for a shelf somewhere, then while Step studying once or twice) is why I could sometimes tell you something from FA down to where it was on the page.

I am not as efficient as you! It takes me a long time to learn material. I just want to learn the material so I can get a decent score. If it takes you 4 times and takes me 9....it does not really matter as long I know the material. Yes, it is inefficient, but hey we all learn different and have different styles.

 

[da8s0859q]

I am not as efficient as you! It takes me a long time to learn material. I just want to learn the material so I can get a decent score. If it takes you 4 times and takes me 9....it does not really matter as long I know the material. Yes, it is inefficient, but hey we all learn different and have different styles.

Don't get me wrong, some stuff in FA I hit again and again because it just didn't stick for some reason. I just think that even though "oh yeah I went through FA 3x" or 4x or whatever-x sounds impressive, it's more efficient to hit what you're weak on over and over and trust yourself to do well on stuff you know much better.

That's the other nice thing about qbanks. You can't BS yourself about what you're good/bad at there.

 

[missmedschool]

My opinion: it's all in the repetition and application. The efficiency index goes way up when you're honest with yourself and hit the weak parts hardest/most, and leave your strengths for a more breezy review. Doing "all of FA 3x" is inefficient as hell unless you honestly need to re-review all of FA 3x.

Having seen whatever given page in FA more than a few times (first when reading with organ systems in late M1 onto M2, then for a block exam, then for a shelf somewhere, then while Step studying once or twice) is why I could sometimes tell you something from FA down to where it was on the page.

Doing a billion questions from UWorld / USMLERx / any other high-quality question bank is what helps show you how to apply and solidify concepts and knowledge.

I disagree. IMHO both FA and question banks are the way to a 240-250. Doing FA 3-4x will be very efficient if you're ACTIVELY going through it & not just skimming over the stuff you think you know. Speaking from experience, there's plenty in FA I think I know until I actually see an indepth UW question on it.

 

[da8s0859q]

I disagree. IMHO both FA and question banks are the way to a 240-250. Doing FA 3-4x will be very efficient if you're ACTIVELY going through it & not just skimming over the stuff you think you know. Speaking from experience, there's plenty in FA I think I know until I actually see an indepth UW question on it.

Sure, but Step 1 studying sucked hard and so I tried to make it as painless as possible. That's also why I said that the good thing about UW, etc, is that you can't lie to yourself about what you're weak on.

 

[7atem]

My schedule now is to go through review books+ FA+ USMLERx

review books to review the material in depth.
FA to emphasis on high-yield subjects
Q-bank to apply the knowledge solidify them in mind and know my weak points and try to work more on them

Now I'm starting my clinical phase taking Radio and Peds so I think it will be hard to compensate

after 4 months is to take a review course and I'm considering Falcon.

 

[schmavis]

My schedule now is to go through review books+ FA+ USMLERx

review books to review the material in depth.
FA to emphasis on high-yield subjects
Q-bank to apply the knowledge solidify them in mind and know my weak points and try to work more on them

Now I'm starting my clinical phase taking Radio and Peds so I think it will be hard to compensate

after 4 months is to take a review course and I'm considering Falcon.

Why are you considering Falcon? Are there any real benefits to Falcon specifically?

 

[ucsfstudents]

Some people are better at retaining information than others. I would worry more about what your strengths and weaknesses are and tailor your preparation to address and make up for your weaknesses. Step 1 is very much about recalling many, sometimes random, often interrelated facts. If you have problems with recalling random facts, you will need more time to study. For some, 2 weeks of study if fine. For others, it takes several months.

 

[7atem]

Why are you considering Falcon? Are there any real benefits to Falcon specifically?

For Falcon specifically I liked the offers that they give, lodging and studying in a hotel with people who share the same objective. They have more lectures than Kaplan, and more intense; many students praise the lecturers and mention that they give you examples where they make you remember the stuff, a subscription in UWorld.

Here in Saudi Arabia its hard to study for a long period among your family and relatives, there will be many disturbances. so a nice environment of study will be nice.

and I feel that I will benefit from it.

 

[HeyThere13]

Some people are better at retaining information than others. I would worry more about what your strengths and weaknesses are and tailor your preparation to address and make up for your weaknesses. Step 1 is very much about recalling many, sometimes random, often interrelated facts. If you have problems with recalling random facts, you will need more time to study. For some, 2 weeks of study if fine. For others, it takes several months.

Loving this!!!

 

[usmlejourney]

Getting 240+ needs

practicing lot of qs along with learning how to apply basic science facts/concepts in to clinical qs...it needs to have good foundation otherwise we can learn it by doing lot of quality qs from uw,kaplan.

if u know uw and kaplan inside out with FA then you will get above 250

 

[Green Grass]

FA + Rapid Review + Goljan Audio + UWorld = 250's

Now, this isn't just reading these and not learning the information. I mean actually learning the information found in these resources and being able to apply it across multiple disciplines. That is the key - not memorizing facts, but actually learning how different concepts can be applied together.

 

[golfman]

FA + Rapid Review + Goljan Audio + UWorld = 250's

Now, this isn't just reading these and not learning the information. I mean actually learning the information found in these resources and being able to apply it across multiple disciplines. That is the key - not memorizing facts, but actually learning how different concepts can be applied together.

Agreed. This is what I did. But I threw in Rx questions as well. But those 4 are super important. Listen to audio while driving to school/working out.

 

[uNiq1]

Hey all quick question for all those read FA 3-4x people. I'm the kind of person that needs the whole story to remember the 3 basic facts. It's just how my brain works. I like to use the tree method where I learn the trunk and some major branches really really well and then subsequently add smaller branches of minutia (random little facts) (i think that's the spelling) as I go on. I feel like first aid is full of random little facts but no story that explains them all. Any recommendations for a study style where I simply can't just take something for granted. Not saying I need to go into like 10 levels of detail but at least 1 or 2 levels of depth beyond the fact is needed for me if I ever want any chance of retaining it.

Thanks for reading and helping out.

 

[Green Grass]

Start early. Read review books for each major topic. Three hole punch your FA, cut off the binding, and put it in a three ringed binder. Make copies of pictures and charts from review books and add them to your FA. Add notes to your FA. At the end of my studying I think my FA doubled in size from notes and extra copies I added to my binder.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Here's what Goljan, essentially, said in one of his lectures: "if you read more, you'll do better; if you read less, you'll do worse."

That may be a slight oversimplification, but not by much. I think people get a little bit too freaked out by trying to find the "best" study method; in reality, I think it comes down mostly to raw time spent. Someone could read First Aid 4 times and do UWorld twice and probably do as well as someone who did each of First Aid, Goljan, BRS, UWorld, Qbank, and DIT once if they spent an equivalent amount of time really learning the material.

I think the most important thing is to just pick a way that appeals to you, and stick to it. Don't get freaked out when someone tells you that they're doing something different. At the end of the day, everything really covers the same material, just in different ways.

That's what I'm telling myself anyways. We'll see how I do next week

 

[Bernoull]

Here's what Goljan, essentially, said in one of his lectures: "if you read more, you'll do better; if you read less, you'll do worse."

That may be a slight oversimplification, but not by much. I think people get a little bit too freaked out by trying to find the "best" study method; in reality, I think it comes down mostly to raw time spent. Someone could read First Aid 4 times and do UWorld twice and probably do as well as someone who did each of First Aid, Goljan, BRS, UWorld, Qbank, and DIT once if they spent an equivalent amount of time really learning the material.

I think the most important thing is to just pick a way that appeals to you, and stick to it. Don't get freaked out when someone tells you that they're doing something different. At the end of the day, everything really covers the same material, just in different ways.

That's what I'm telling myself anyways. We'll see how I do next week

Sage advice, goodluck next week!

 

[secants]

Start early. Read review books for each major topic. Three hole punch your FA, cut off the binding, and put it in a three ringed binder. Make copies of pictures and charts from review books and add them to your FA. Add notes to your FA. At the end of my studying I think my FA doubled in size from notes and extra copies I added to my binder.

I can't emphasize the pictures/charts/visual copying/pasting enough, especially if you're a visual learner. I would use a program on my mac called skitch ( I think onenote does this too) and look through my all my digital sources for good summarized schematics and print them out to put into my bindered FA 2012. Just shell out the money for print copies/ink. I think it's really worth it.

 

[lakerfan38]

So I've through with 80% of Uworld at 70% and I've finished Kaplan qBank at 74%. I'm really getting frustated with the NBMEs. I got a 530 on NBME 5 Last weekend and I just got a 520 on NBME 3 tonight. Should I just focus more on reading instead of doing questions? I've gone through pathoma once and first aid 2 times. Mind you, I'm taking this test in the middle of June but these NBMEs are destroying me

 

[COdoubleMO2theN]

So I've through with 80% of Uworld at 70% and I've finished Kaplan qBank at 74%. I'm really getting frustated with the NBMEs. I got a 530 on NBME 5 Last weekend and I just got a 520 on NBME 3 tonight. Should I just focus more on reading instead of doing questions? I've gone through pathoma once and first aid 2 times. Mind you, I'm taking this test in the middle of June but these NBMEs are destroying me

Have you been doing UWorld and Kaplan on random/timed?

 

[Chirurg]

So I've through with 80% of Uworld at 70% and I've finished Kaplan qBank at 74%. I'm really getting frustated with the NBMEs. I got a 530 on NBME 5 Last weekend and I just got a 520 on NBME 3 tonight. Should I just focus more on reading instead of doing questions? I've gone through pathoma once and first aid 2 times. Mind you, I'm taking this test in the middle of June but these NBMEs are destroying me

I would focus on RRRP (Read Rapid Review Pathology) or focus on what has been highlighted as your weakness in those NBMEs, also apparently the recent NBMEs are worlds apart from NBME3 and NBME5, hell I think NBME3 is almost a decade old.
good luck!

 

[shaiboy]

Sorry for the stupid question. I've searched other threads but still haven't been able to come to a sound conclusion. What exactly does FA refer to? Is it "FA: general princples/organ systems" or is it "FA: USMLE Step 1" or is it "FA: Q and A"?

 

[Green Grass]

First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2012 (or whatever year you are buying)

 

[shaiboy]

Thank you kindly. Is the general consensus that FA: General Principles and Organ Systems is not as helpful as FA: USMLE Step 1?

 

[MrBeauregard]

Thank you kindly. Is the general consensus that FA: General Principles and Organ Systems is not as helpful as FA: USMLE Step 1?

Apparently those books are riddled with numerous and often glaring mistakes. First Aid for the USMLE has long been regarding as the single most important text for Step 1 studying.

 

[jasmine112]

use FA man, it works! esp the new 2012 color edition