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how long is enough for preparation for step1?
length of preparation
- Thread starter blankaflour
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The best, and yet most useless answer I can give is "it depends."
But if I must give you a number:
For someone, who did well in all their classes (let's say above the mean) at a medical school with a good curriculum that is, however, not a completely boards-oriented, I'd go with 5-6 weeks for a solid preparation. They'd probably need 3 weeks to review stuff, and then 2-3 extra weeks to learn what's not been taught in their school (there's always something) and to get some lower-yield items.
As a rule of thumb, I'd never go with less than 3 weeks (regardless of how good a memory you have) or more than 7 weeks (that's what I am taking, and my last week is completely useless, since I am burned out/don't care anymore/spend more time posting messages on this forum than studying).
I'd absolutely NOT take a year off, just to do some kind of light work + study. Even if one does really bad in his/her classes, as long as he/she passes, it means they know a lot and are likely to forget more than learn in that one year. Remember, there is no such think as a "bad medical school" (at least in the us), so passing it's classes is a sign you are being well-prepared. (That's my guess...maybe someone who actually did that will think otherwise).Anyway, hopefully more posts will follow, so you can get a better picture of what people think.
But if I must give you a number:
For someone, who did well in all their classes (let's say above the mean) at a medical school with a good curriculum that is, however, not a completely boards-oriented, I'd go with 5-6 weeks for a solid preparation. They'd probably need 3 weeks to review stuff, and then 2-3 extra weeks to learn what's not been taught in their school (there's always something) and to get some lower-yield items.
As a rule of thumb, I'd never go with less than 3 weeks (regardless of how good a memory you have) or more than 7 weeks (that's what I am taking, and my last week is completely useless, since I am burned out/don't care anymore/spend more time posting messages on this forum than studying).
I'd absolutely NOT take a year off, just to do some kind of light work + study. Even if one does really bad in his/her classes, as long as he/she passes, it means they know a lot and are likely to forget more than learn in that one year. Remember, there is no such think as a "bad medical school" (at least in the us), so passing it's classes is a sign you are being well-prepared. (That's my guess...maybe someone who actually did that will think otherwise).Anyway, hopefully more posts will follow, so you can get a better picture of what people think.
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blankaflour said:
I think 5-6 weeks is about perfect, with enough time to take a day off per week and to have a mini-vacation or two to prevent burn-out. I wanted 30 actual study days and planned them into 6 weeks. Had Sundays off and went camping for two long weekends to break things up. More importantly, make sure you have a week or two off between Step 1 and third year.
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definitely make sure you take a break before you start rotations!
also it depends on what kind of score you want to get ... i think some of the people who got great scores (big frank, long dong) started studying in the middle of second year or something like that. but i think about 4-6 weeks of hardcore studying should get you close to the mean or even above (again, depending on how well you learned the material the first time in second year)
also it depends on what kind of score you want to get ... i think some of the people who got great scores (big frank, long dong) started studying in the middle of second year or something like that. but i think about 4-6 weeks of hardcore studying should get you close to the mean or even above (again, depending on how well you learned the material the first time in second year)
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This completely depends on how much time your school gives you between 2nd and 3rd year. If you have, say, 4 weeks....like mine....you're not exactly spoiled for choices.