Is 4 weeks too short a time to study for STEP?

[californiadreaming93]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I’m curious as to whether or not it’s possible to study for STEP in only 4 weeks of dedicated prep time.

 

[kraskadva]

That entirely depends on you - specifically how well you learned the material already.

 

[wanderingorion]

It's totally possible. I've met docs who only had a 1-2 weeks of prep, and are doing just fine.

 

[21Rush12]

I did 4.5 weeks and I was OVER IT by the end of week 4. It’s really your own judgment based on how you think you’re prepared.

 

[mrbreakfast]

This is entirely dependent on your goals and how you are doing as a student. I think between 4.5 and 5.5 weeks is pretty good for a relatively good student. Strong students will wish they took less time.

Of course on SDN you're mainly going to get advice from strong students. Many students also end up delaying step. You gotta make the choice based on how good of a student you think you are (average = I'd say 5 weeks) and go from there.

 

[themoonman2]

I did 5 weeks and was pretty burnt out by the end of 4. It's doable, but will mostly depend on how well you know the material going into it, what your desired score is, and how much stamina you have to keep the pace you need the entire time. You also have to make sure you give yourself lots of time to do practice tests, because they always ended up taking me an entire day with doing them and going over wrong questions.

 

[21Rush12]

This is entirely dependent on your goals and how you are doing as a student. I think between 4.5 and 5.5 weeks is pretty good for a relatively good student. Strong students will wish they took less time.

Of course on SDN you're mainly going to get advice from strong students. Many students also end up delaying step. You gotta make the choice based on how good of a student you think you are (average = I'd say 5 weeks) and go from there.

I agree completely. I know a few students took extra time beyond the 6 weeks we get as well. It’s high stakes so the decision really can only be made by honest assessment of individual preparedness and study abilities.

 

[ortnakas]

This depends on how much you get done before dedicated. We had an extremely short dedicated but because our schedule slowed down so much the month prior, almost everyone took no extra time and it worked out fine for them.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

I’m curious as to whether or not it’s possible to study for STEP in only 4 weeks of dedicated prep time.

Most schools only give 4-6 weeks prep time.

 

[Espadaleader]

I think 6 weeks is the minimum at a population level for a strong Step score. Yes, I know people that have scored 250+ on 4 weeks without having done any preparation other than class but 6 weeks is the minimum for I would recommend for all. With 6 weeks, the worse case is that you get bored in week 5-6. With 4 weeks the worst case is you aren’t ready/you don’t score well. You don’t know until it’s too late though. If you only have 4 weeks try to have a pass of UWorld in before dedicated.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I did 4.5 weeks and I was OVER IT by the end of week 4. It’s really your own judgment based on how you think you’re prepared.

This. I take Step in a week and had 6 weeks dedicated. I wish I was taking it tomorrow as one more weeks is going to do exactly squat for my score. 4 weeks is plenty if you study effectively and have put forth good effort in your curriculum and at least have been thinking about boards since the January of 2nd year.

 

[mrbreakfast]

I wish I was taking it tomorrow as one more weeks is going to do exactly squat for my score.

Also agreed. I took close to six weeks and spent much of the final 1.5 weeks wishing I could take the next day. You start to forget stuff, and like many students, I started with my weakest subject, so started forgetting that. I honestly don't think my final week of studying (75% of which was dedicated to M1 topics) got me a single additional question correct.

 

[jurisburger]

I took 7 weeks and felt like I needed it. I would have been screwed if I just had 4 weeks. The last few days dragged but that's probably an inevitable feeling as test date draws closer.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Did mine in 3.5 weeks under suboptimal circumstances and did well. But I know I would have done better if I had more time.

 

[MSTP18]

Not too short in my opinion but if you want to have any flexibility and/or days off, then yeah, it's probably too short.

 

[Moko]

Depends on the student, but I'd recommend scheduling for 6 weeks of study time just to be safe

 

[Angus Avagadro]

A absolutely depends on the student. Also, are you looking for an above average score for a primary care specialty or are you trying to hit 250 plus? I always tell students to run their own race. How do you do on Mcat and shelf exams? My wife would do minimal studying, I would take 6 weeks and she would still do much better than me on boards.

 

[Melanogaster]

4 weeks is good time if you're efficient.