Hello,
My school has a non-traditional schedule (do clerkships first, then Step 1, then sub-i's as you please and somehow fit Step 2 in there). I didn't do the best on Step 1 (score 222) partly because the residency I was interested in told me that they don't really consider the Step 1 score as a major sway in their decision-making--that they have prioritized people with Step 1 score 206 higher than someone with a 270 depending on the rest of the application. I also made the mistake of taking a in-person half Step 1 mock test, which does not give you an analysis of your weaknesses or a scaled score. I found out just 2 weeks before my real test that my Step 1 practice exam scores weren't up to par and unfortunately our school strongly discourages delaying the test so I was unprepared and felt forced to take it regardless. Also due to the non-traditional scheduling--my clerkship experience and NBMEs were done at least half a year ago and more.
My question is...I plan to fit in all my sub-i's (I'm trying for a combined program, so I really am not wanting to officially take any "vacation time" if I can help it) and wanted to know if I did some easier sub-i's or electives, what your advice would be to help keep the retention of facts strong despite having only perhaps 5 hours to study (if I'm lucky) on weekdays and the usual 10 hours on weekends. I plan to start 2 months before my test date and just make sure to hit my own Anki cards aggressively. What are some considerations when deciding when to do the CCSSAs and Step 2 CK practice exams? Would 2 months be enough, or should it even be lengthened to 3?
Any insights are much appreciated!