Incoming MS1s...Do you have plans to commit to Firecracker or Zanki?

[LebronManning]

I'm an incoming MS1 myself and trying to decide if I want to be one of those people that will do flashcards every.single.day. until Step 1 starting on the 1st day of MS1. If y'all aren't familiar with this strategy, several people on SDN and Reddit have done it and it seems like if you are diligent with this and then put in the required work in dedicated, you're almost guaranteed to kill step 1.

Seems like there's two ways to do it which is through Anki and the most popular premade deck is Zanki (AnKing version now) or do it through Firecracker. From what I've gathered, Firecracker is the more seamless software and actually has concepts on their flashcards whereas Anki's software is more barebones but actually better at spaced repetition and Zanki cards are more factoid memorization.

At this point, I'm leaning toward Firecracker but would love to hear insight from those that have been through it and those in the same position as I am.

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[ThrowawayShmoaway]

I’ll be using Blue Galaxies’ Zanki deck (then eventually LolNotaCop’s micro deck). (Or, at the very least, I’ll try to use them; we'll see if I can keep up...) I already downloaded those decks before I found out about the AnKing deck, and don’t have the energy to try to figure out how to merge/update between the two sets.

 

[LebronManning]

I’ll be using Blue Galaxies’ Zanki deck (then eventually LolNotaCop’s micro deck). (Or, at the very least, I’ll try to use them; we'll see if I can keep up...) I already downloaded those decks before I found out about the AnKing deck, and don’t have the energy to try to figure out how to merge/update between the two sets.

Nice. Well if you get free time it might be worth it to look into the AnKing videos on youtube to figure that out. I heard it makes it easier to like pick out cards you need for your classes but I'm no expert on this topic.

Did you consider firecracker?

 

[ThrowawayShmoaway]

Nice. Well if you get free time it might be worth it to look into the AnKing videos on youtube to figure that out. I heard it makes it easier to like pick out cards you need for your classes but I'm no expert on this topic.

Did you consider firecracker?

I looked into FC briefly since some people here mention it as a good resource, but I ended up leaning towards Anki/Zanki more since 1) it’s free (and my school doesn’t provide FC) and 2) it sounds like the content and scheduling are both way more customizable than FC.

 

[Goro]

I'm an incoming MS1 myself and trying to decide if I want to be one of those people that will do flashcards every.single.day. until Step 1 starting on the 1st day of MS1. If y'all aren't familiar with this strategy, several people on SDN and Reddit have done it and it seems like if you are diligent with this and then put in the required work in dedicated, you're almost guaranteed to kill step 1.

Seems like there's two ways to do it which is through Anki and the most popular premade deck is Zanki (AnKing version now) or do it through Firecracker. From what I've gathered, Firecracker is the more seamless software and actually has concepts on their flashcards whereas Anki's software is more barebones but actually better at spaced repetition and Zanki cards are more factoid memorization.

At this point, I'm leaning toward Firecracker but would love to hear insight from those that have been through it and those in the same position as I am.

I'm not a fan of Firecracker. The items in its bank contain many that ask about minutiae, or are pseudocases (ie despite a vignette of a 72 year old woman with lower back pain, the time it really asking about nerve pathology...all you need to read is the last sentence to see the real question)

 

[sallyhasanidea]

Don't use firecracker bruh it's not 2013 anymore. Zanki is literally tried and true just look at all the reviews of top scorers using it. Also likely if you use it you'll never have to pay attention to lectures again. Preclinicals are literally handed to you on a silver platter don't go ****ing up by using some outdated **** that has no data behind it

 

[OrganRepo]

Lightyear and pepper decks

 

[Mariokart101]

Also using Zanki+Lol. Mainly because its free and lots of people have used it and have good experiences. I rather start spending money later than earlier lol.

 

[Wahkoon]

Zanki + Pepper Decks + lolnotacop w/ AnKing overhaul.

STEP 1 after clerkships will make review interesting though...

 

[CJhooper123]

Going with the AnKing overhaul. I’ve heard mixed things about FC.

Not sure how many review/new cards I should commit to on a daily basis. Is it better to set a limit on the number of cards/day or the amount of time you allocate to Zanki? I’m planning on spending the vast majority of my time focusing on my school’s curriculum but hope to hit Zanki daily.

 

[LebronManning]

Going with the AnKing overhaul. I’ve heard mixed things about FC.

Not sure how many review/new cards I should commit to on a daily basis. Is it better to set a limit on the number of cards/day or the amount of time you allocate to Zanki? I’m planning on spending the vast majority of my time focusing on my school’s curriculum but hope to hit Zanki daily.

This is exactly what I'm thinking. I'd ideally like to max out at 2 hours per day if not less for my 1st year. I think 30-40 news and 100 reviews would do that. Anybody with experience on this?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

This is exactly what I'm thinking. I'd ideally like to max out at 2 hours per day if not less for my 1st year. I think 30-40 news and 100 reviews would do that. Anybody with experience on this?

Don’t cap reviews.

 

[Lucca]

Zanki but not planning to start till 2nd yr since I dont plan to take Step until after M3. Going to focus on classes + health/fun + research first yr

 

[Schwifty]

I'm gonna use the AnKing deck

 

[Ho0v-man]

Don’t cap reviews.

This.

I gave a time commitment breakdown in another thread, on this page. But the TLDR is when your friends are studying 4-6 hours per day, just expect to be putting in 8-10 hours per day.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I’m actually not planning on using anki at all. I used it during my SMP and wasn’t too impressed. I can see why some people swear by it, but it doesn’t do it for me.

 

[libertyyne]

This is exactly what I'm thinking. I'd ideally like to max out at 2 hours per day if not less for my 1st year. I think 30-40 news and 100 reviews would do that. Anybody with experience on this?

What's even the point of anki if you cap reviews .

 

[slowthai]

Zanki+lolnotacop from day 1.

 

[slowthai]

Zanki + Pepper Decks + lolnotacop w/ AnKing overhaul.

STEP 1 after clerkships will make review interesting though...

Wait, what pepper decks are you using?

 

[bobjonesbob]

I used both and recommend zanki. 1st year did anki for my in house exams and dropped reviews after each exam. Also did several hours of firecracker every day keeping up with material cumulatively. Summer after M1, made the switch to go all in on zanki and ditch firecracker after making it half way through it. Over the next year matured 32,000 anki cards.

The content in firecracker is second to none. The issue is their spaced repetition algorithm pales in comparison to anki, and their cards are written sub-optimally. Plus if you're using sketchy, it's much better to review the images on anki cards. That's something you can't do in firecracker.

 

[docmcstuffins3]

I came in to M1 thinking I would use anki and do all 26k anki cards.... I did 10 cards and was bored to tears with that learning style. It's ok to have a plan but dont freak out if anki is not for you or flashcards for mass amount of information are not for you.

 

[LebronManning]

Thanks everyone for letting me know not to cap reviews. So basically it seems like the time commitment will just go up and up and up until step 1 since reviews will keep going up. One question I have is that once you "mature" a card, does it no longer come up on reviews? And is that basically the system telling you "You know this like the back of your hand and you don't need to study this factoid anymore until step1" ?

What would everyone's recommendations be for number of news per day? Plan on doing the AnKing version which is Zanki+Lol+Pepper.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Thanks everyone for letting me know not to cap reviews. So basically it seems like the time commitment will just go up and up and up until step 1 since reviews will keep going up. One question I have is that once you "mature" a card, does it no longer come up on reviews? And is that basically the system telling you "You know this like the back of your hand and you don't need to study this factoid anymore until step1" ?

What would everyone's recommendations be for number of news per day? Plan on doing the AnKing version which is Zanki+Lol+Pepper.

If you do 50 news everyday, you will finish by dedicated, presuming your curriculum isn't accelerated. However, there will be plenty of days where you do no news (unless you have a superhuman work ethic), so trying to do around 100 is a good idea. Zanki is big commitment and most med students who start out trying to do it don't keep up with it. But it doesn't take any special kind of intelligence, just a strong work ethic, and seems to be the best way to ensure a high grade on step 1. Good luck!

 

[bobjonesbob]

You actually can attach images to the name of any bug, drug, or word in Firecracker. That way whenever that word comes up in a card, so does the image.

Otherwise, I agree with the negatives that you pointed out!

Is there a way to paste a picture of a sketch from sketchy? Last time I used FC, it was clunky feature where you had to link in images from the internet. You couldn't just paste in a screenshot or upload an image from your computer.

 

[Medic741]

I'm an incoming MS1 myself and trying to decide if I want to be one of those people that will do flashcards every.single.day. until Step 1 starting on the 1st day of MS1. If y'all aren't familiar with this strategy, several people on SDN and Reddit have done it and it seems like if you are diligent with this and then put in the required work in dedicated, you're almost guaranteed to kill step 1.

Seems like there's two ways to do it which is through Anki and the most popular premade deck is Zanki (AnKing version now) or do it through Firecracker. From what I've gathered, Firecracker is the more seamless software and actually has concepts on their flashcards whereas Anki's software is more barebones but actually better at spaced repetition and Zanki cards are more factoid memorization.

At this point, I'm leaning toward Firecracker but would love to hear insight from those that have been through it and those in the same position as I am.

I used firecracker religiously and it was one of the best decisions I made in medical school. To get the bang for your buck though you really gotta commit to it and use it to its ‘full’ potential. FWIW I scored a 233 step and 682 comlex (95th percentile) with only 10 DAYS of dedicated due to military training obligations requiring me taking the exam without a dedicated period. If I hadn’t been using FC I would’ve been hosed. Here’s how I used it to get an idea...

Wake up while eating breakfast do 40-50 ‘today todos
Board review from 8a-12p

12-1p break

1p-whenever watch class lectures. After each lecture I’d mark the topics covered as ‘current’, go back to subject the topics were nested under and select ‘do cards’ and choose all marked ‘current’ that have ‘never been seen’ this would generate a deck of all the content I just watched. I’d do the deck marking things as
Green - I know it intuitively
Yellow - I don’t think I’d know this in a week if you asked me then
Red - I don’t think I’d know this at the end of the day

Then, the few days before an exam I’d start doing cases on the selected topics which was enormously helpful and something that I think is underutilized in FC. Sure, the stems are long complicated and sometimes poorly written but shocker so will your school’s exams be.

The most helpful thing comes during dedicated when you can start hammering through cards that you’ve still got marked as red/yellow in the few days before the exam.

Again, if it weren’t for FC I would’ve been hosed by my no dedicated period situation, can’t refommend this tool highly enough

 

[Chelsea FC]

Just a warning to incoming MS1 that starting zanki and sticking to zanki is a whole other beast. With Zanki there are mostly no break days(Of course you can hit spacebar every now and then until all your reviews are gone but this shouldnt become a habit). So if you go out one day and wake up the next day burnt out and tired zanki you still have to rally and get those cards done. Even when you are on vacation those cards will still be there (nothing worse than seeing your cards pile up). Zanki reminds me of those tobacco commercials, with the person having fun and have to leave what they are doing because of their tobacco addiction. Not saying you cant have fun while doing zanki but it will take alot of commitment so much so that you will end up resenting it. But just like tobacco its an addiction I just can't quit.

 

[FindersFee5]

I'll second the Zanki train. Again, you really do need to get used to doing it every single day, though. I had a streak of 500+ days studied without a single missed day by the time my test came. It's really not that huge a time commitment when spaced out effectively, although it will require you to do some things that seem silly - I reviewed all my cards on christmas, on my birthday, after finishing class finals. But it does pay off.

 

[LebronManning]

I'll second the Zanki train. Again, you really do need to get used to doing it every single day, though. I had a streak of 500+ days studied without a single missed day by the time my test came. It's really not that huge a time commitment when spaced out effectively, although it will require you to do some things that seem silly - I reviewed all my cards on christmas, on my birthday, after finishing class finals. But it does pay off.

So when you do it every single day, what would you say the time commitment was per day year 1 and 2? I'm assuming that's about 50 new cards per day and then the reviews increase linearly over time?

You mentioned that you reviewed cards on those holidays: Does this mean just reviews or news too?

Lastly, when you "mature" a card, does that mean the card will never show up again?

 

[Newyawk]

Not that youre going to care, but Ive said it before and ill say it again. You dont need to use anki. Just use 1 good step 1 resource (costanzo for physio, pathoma for path, etc) alongside your classes combined with 1 or 2 step 1 qbanks (rx, kaplan, uworld).
It is a little more challenging if youre in a systems-based curriculum vs a traditional curriculum but still doable. If anecdotes are what youre using to gauge what methods lead to consistently high scores (reddit “data” is a joke) then look at all of the students who tried using anki and still didnt do that well. Look at the 260s scorers who didnt touch anki. Many students dont work their asses off for 2 years and still do well.
Honestly tired of making this argument but I keep making it bc of the students who actually report back to me that I helped them. This step 1 season one 265 scorer thanked me after he got his score back for telling him anki isnt necessary and to do the above. Look at all the students saying “wish i wouldve done less anki and more Qs”.
Do what you think works for you, period.

 

[LebronManning]

Not that youre going to care, but Ive said it before and ill say it again. You dont need to use anki. Just use 1 good step 1 resource (costanzo for physio, pathoma for path, etc) alongside your classes combined with 1 or 2 step 1 qbanks (rx, kaplan, uworld).
It is a little more challenging if youre in a systems-based curriculum vs a traditional curriculum but still doable. If anecdotes are what youre using to gauge what methods lead to consistently high scores (reddit “data” is a joke) then look at all of the students who tried using anki and still didnt do that well. Look at the 260s scorers who didnt touch anki. Many students dont work their asses off for 2 years and still do well.
Honestly tired of making this argument but I keep making it bc of the students who actually report back to me that I helped them. This step 1 season one 265 scorer thanked me after he got his score back for telling him anki isnt necessary and to do the above. Look at all the students saying “wish i wouldve done less anki and more Qs”.
Do what you think works for you, period.

From what I gather you saying is that practice Qs are paramount but still need to do other study resources whether it just be consistently using the resources or using them via Zanki.

So you're saying do practice questions throughout the 2 years, right? Would you say Rx and Kaplan questions should be used for the 2 years and then UWorld during dedicated only? Some have suggested not to start UWorld until dedicated or a month or 2 before because you don't want to use up the best questions?

 

[Medic741]

So when you do it every single day, what would you say the time commitment was per day year 1 and 2? I'm assuming that's about 50 new cards per day and then the reviews increase linearly over time?

You mentioned that you reviewed cards on those holidays: Does this mean just reviews or news too?

Lastly, when you "mature" a card, does that mean the card will never show up again?

Regrettably it can be hundreds of new cards / day and thousands of reviews. This is one big reason I preferred FC and adopted early — you can use it and take days off without a ridiculous amount of busy work piling up

 

[docmcstuffins3]

I think it’s important to recognize that most people don’t do Anki or Firecracker because they enjoy it but instead that it works ridiculously well for learning and retaining massive amounts of information.

Do what works, not what you like.

what you like and what works for you are one in the same. Working in a way that stimulates you is important for memory.

 

[Newyawk]

From what I gather you saying is that practice Qs are paramount but still need to do other study resources whether it just be consistently using the resources or using them via Zanki.

So you're saying do practice questions throughout the 2 years, right? Would you say Rx and Kaplan questions should be used for the 2 years and then UWorld during dedicated only? Some have suggested not to start UWorld until dedicated or a month or 2 before because you don't want to use up the best questions?

Basically yes but from my understanding anki is hard af to keep up with. Not worth the stress if you can do without it.
Uworld should be started as early as you can start integrating concepts. If you have a traditional curriculum then start it day 1 of 2nd year with your pathology courses and do it along with physio, pharm, etc. Uworld is a learning tool.
I also did a lot of Qs from subject based resources like grays anatomy review Qs and robbins path q book.

 

[VincentAdultman]

These things all sound made up.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Basically yes but from my understanding anki is hard af to keep up with. Not worth the stress if you can do without it.
Uworld should be started as early as you can start integrating concepts. If you have a traditional curriculum then start it day 1 of 2nd year with your pathology courses and do it along with physio, pharm, etc. Uworld is a learning tool.
I also did a lot of Qs from subject based resources like grays anatomy review Qs and robbins path q book.

What about with a systems curriculum? I’ve had a lot of people tell me to save uworld until dedicated. I don’t know how it is for step, but it was amazing for the MCAT and I wished I had discovered it sooner.

I also don’t plan on using anki. I learn and retain so much better using questions.

 

[Medic741]

What about with a systems curriculum? I’ve had a lot of people tell me to save uworld until dedicated. I don’t know how it is for step, but it was amazing for the MCAT and I wished I had discovered it sooner.

I also don’t plan on using anki. I learn and retain so much better using questions.

You’d probably be best off saving UWORLD until dedicated for the most benefit — I started doing random untitled in December and was grateful to have saved it until then.

I used other qbanks along with systems to reinforce topics during the year. The two I used for systems - based learning were firecracker, TrueLearn, and exammaster. Luckily you have a bunch of options to save UWORLD for when you need that high quality resource the most

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

You’d probably be best off saving UWORLD until dedicated for the most benefit — I started doing random untitled in December and was grateful to have saved it until then.

I used other qbanks along with systems to reinforce topics during the year. The two I used for systems - based learning were firecracker, TrueLearn, and exammaster. Luckily you have a bunch of options to save UWORLD for when you need that high quality resource the most

Was looking at usmle-rx for a qbank to save uworld. I tried firecracker and thought it was okay.

 

[deleted967981]

For anyone thinking about Firecracker, it’s 30% off through today.

www.med.firecracker.me

 

[Ho0v-man]

Was looking at usmle-rx for a qbank to save uworld. I tried firecracker and thought it was okay.

I liked rx. A lot of people hate it, but for the purposes of memorizing FA and keeping up with old material I thought it was great and more consistent than Kaplan.

For anyone thinking about Firecracker, it’s 30% off through today.

www.med.firecracker.me

Only 70% more off and it’d be perfect!

 

[Isoval]

I liked rx. A lot of people hate it, but for the purposes of memorizing FA and keeping up with old material I thought it was great and more consistent than Kaplan.


Only 70% more off and it’d be perfect!

I love RX and began using it at the end of M1 during our "fundamentals of disease" courses (e.g. microbiology, neoplasia).

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I love RX and began using it at the end of M1 during our "fundamentals of disease" courses (e.g. microbiology, neoplasia).

Good to hear. It seems pretty good so I’m glad I’m not crazy.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

So when you do it every single day, what would you say the time commitment was per day year 1 and 2? I'm assuming that's about 50 new cards per day and then the reviews increase linearly over time?

You mentioned that you reviewed cards on those holidays: Does this mean just reviews or news too?

Lastly, when you "mature" a card, does that mean the card will never show up again?

My mature cards max out at a 3 month interval. They never disappear.
It'll depend on the person. As for me, I have been on a couple vacations this summer with my wife, so we've been gone a few weeks, and I have done my reviews without adding new cards. Ill do them as we wait for a bus or just any free time we get. It hasn't been too bad. Its been about 400-500 reviews and I can usually get them done in 90ish active minutes all combined.

 

[iforget2]

This.

I gave a time commitment breakdown in another thread, on this page. But the TLDR is when your friends are studying 4-6 hours per day, just expect to be putting in 8-10 hours per day.

Yep this was my experience first year. But it’s been rewarding being 17k cards into the deck going into 2nd year while people are just now learning about zanki after our beginning of the year practice nbme. You’re going to have to know these facts eventually, may as well do an easy 50 new a day now as a first year than a stressful 100 new a day starting second year

 

[Detailfanatic]

When you guys say to do 50 new cards per day, do you do 50 random cards per day or do you try to follow along your lectures?

 

[ConfusedAboutEverything]

If step 1 goes pass/fail, will you guys still Zanki?

 

[jhenj529]

If step 1 goes pass/fail, will you guys still Zanki?

I'd still do cards, but I wouldn't try to hit every single one

 

[LebronManning]

If step 1 goes pass/fail, will you guys still Zanki?

Def not lol.

I don’t think that’s going to happen tho

 

[Antynamikal]

Def not lol.

I don’t think that’s going to happen tho

Now, that's ironic.

 

[MilesDavisTheDoctor]

What is the m1 studying meta now that step1 is pf? My school is ranked pf m1 and uses grades for AOA. Should I just try to ace my classes and not even think about step?

 

[deleted905798]

As a rising M2, let me just say Zanki is the GOAT for long-term retention; even if step 1 becomes P/F I would highly recommend it for all of path (cards based on Pathoma), and all of Pharm (mostly based on sketchy)--it will pay off for Step 2/rotations