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I just schedule my step1 today and I will have 10 weeks to study for the thing, do you think that will be enough time? What amount of time is usual to take? thanks!
Is 10 weeks enough for step 1?
- Thread starter Ramoray
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Ramoray said:
It had better be enough because I only have about 4 weeks from today!!! I left myself with about 6 weeks to study, full-time, which I thought was plenty. Many people do it all in 3-4 weeks! But it really depends on whether you'll be studying just a few hours per day vs. the 8-12 hours per day that many put in when they only have a couple weeks to prepare.
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Ramoray said:
Ramoray, I don't think you need to worry about the boards; it's alienating attendings, residents and fellow med students in 3rd year that will more likely to bite you in the arse! Prescription: 1 month board study, 6 months remedial personal skills training...
Maybe 12R34Y and the others just kept up in class and used their board study time efficiently... but no, I'm sure you're right, and they're all just unmotivated or lazy.
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It has nothing to do with lack of motivation or laziness. After 3 weeks of studying 8-10 hrs per day and 2 years of classroom work you will be wishing for death come test time. 3-4 weeks is plenty. Make sure to give yourself a couple days off while you are studying. Most people in our class were suffering from a degree of burnout by the end of 3 weeks. I couldn't read for more than 20 minutes at a time the last few days without taking a 30 minute break afterwards. Do yourself a huge favor and dont study 10 weeks unless you barely passed your courses or you plan on studying 2 hours per day. Good luck.
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you asked for opinions Ramoray...you got mine.
there are 175 students in my class and the usmle step 1 survey we all fill out stated that average prep time was 3.5 weeks. Sorry you disagree.
After 2 weeks i wanted to jump out of a building.
my "laziness" scored me greater than 240. seriously........we'll talk after you've started your prep.
later
there are 175 students in my class and the usmle step 1 survey we all fill out stated that average prep time was 3.5 weeks. Sorry you disagree.
After 2 weeks i wanted to jump out of a building.
my "laziness" scored me greater than 240. seriously........we'll talk after you've started your prep.
later
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I concur. I went for the 5 week plan. The last 5 days consisted of me repeatedly stabbing my eyeballs out instead of accomplishing much.
The insomnia and anxiety from too much caffeine to even think about reading about 1.5 weeks before the test are when the fun really started.
I guess I was just "lazy" and "not motivated" too.
The insomnia and anxiety from too much caffeine to even think about reading about 1.5 weeks before the test are when the fun really started.
I guess I was just "lazy" and "not motivated" too.
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Sorry guys i didnt mean to say its laziness but i was just surprised to hear burnout after a few weeks because we study so hard for 2 years, especially second year, that a few extra weeks doesnt seem like it woudl be much diff than the grind of 2nd year. I mean if we can do it for 2 years it seems like we would be able to do it for a few more weeks. is it that tiring compared to regular 2nd year studying? sorry again i didnt mean anything by the comment i was just surprised.
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I agree with most people on here. I had originally schduled 8 weeks of study time. Thank god my friend decided to get married and have a bachelor party and I had to cut it down to 5 weeks. By weeks four I was ready to kill myself. I wanted nothing more than for this test to come sooner. After studying this crap for 8-12 hours a day for 4 weeks and looking at the same damn pages in FA over and over again you start to burnout and lose it.
10 weeks is INSANE. I say 4-5 is ideal. 6 is already too much.
Ohh and to those that think this is laziness, most of the people at my school that took the test after 4-5 weeks did waaaay better than the crazy 6-8 weekers.
You know this stuff already. Its been pounded into your brain the first 2 years. You just need four or so weeks to dig it out from the deep trenches of your cranium. Do yourself a favor and don't study for so long unless you plan on doing like 1-2 hrs a day.
10 weeks is INSANE. I say 4-5 is ideal. 6 is already too much.
Ohh and to those that think this is laziness, most of the people at my school that took the test after 4-5 weeks did waaaay better than the crazy 6-8 weekers.
You know this stuff already. Its been pounded into your brain the first 2 years. You just need four or so weeks to dig it out from the deep trenches of your cranium. Do yourself a favor and don't study for so long unless you plan on doing like 1-2 hrs a day.
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Ramoray, the amount of time you need for Step 1 is based on how much effort you put into school the 1st two years of medical school. I can't answer your question, because I don't know you. For example, if person A tried very hard in his classes for medical school. Come board time, he will probably only need 3 weeks tops to just do questions. However if person B just went through the motions i.e. did not put in the effort to learn the material but used the time to just study class notes rather than truly learning the material the first time, you will have to invest more time for remedial work. So it depends.
The only one that can answer this question is you. Any advice here that gives you a number i.e 3 weeks or 9 weeks should not be considered since the person that gave you the advice is probably using projection on how much time they "might" need or have "needed" from their 1st two years of medical school.
If you truly want an intelligent, informed response from us, you need to give us more information about yourself.
The only one that can answer this question is you. Any advice here that gives you a number i.e 3 weeks or 9 weeks should not be considered since the person that gave you the advice is probably using projection on how much time they "might" need or have "needed" from their 1st two years of medical school.
If you truly want an intelligent, informed response from us, you need to give us more information about yourself.
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Ramoray said:
just kidding, 10 wks is way too long unless you're trying to retain everything from undergrad and your first two years.
everyone i know took 3-4 wks max. going to long will stretch your edurance and concentration to its upper limit.
good luck if u want to do it; but trust me... people getting 240-50+ aren't studying half that time
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Here is my advice:
Study for 4wks hard core - I mean all day. All that warm fluffy advice about maintaining balance while studying is crap! You really need to be somewhat of a hermit for four weeks, but dont become on of those who remains a freaky hermit afterwards!
The real advice is this however.... If you can, plan 5wks for your 4wk prep, and take a 1wk vacation in the middle. I did it, maintained most of my sanity, and scored in that golden range. By the way, its a good thing if during those two week blocks of studying you are not sure what day it is, or that giant tidal waves have killed 20,000 people. WORK HARD / PLAY HARD!
Study for 4wks hard core - I mean all day. All that warm fluffy advice about maintaining balance while studying is crap! You really need to be somewhat of a hermit for four weeks, but dont become on of those who remains a freaky hermit afterwards!
The real advice is this however.... If you can, plan 5wks for your 4wk prep, and take a 1wk vacation in the middle. I did it, maintained most of my sanity, and scored in that golden range. By the way, its a good thing if during those two week blocks of studying you are not sure what day it is, or that giant tidal waves have killed 20,000 people. WORK HARD / PLAY HARD!
