Hi all, first time poster.
I'm currently finishing up my MSI year (1 block left - woohoo). I'm aiming for a 270+ on STEP I next May, which is obviously a reach for anyone even with adequate preparation. That being said, I wanted some input on a schedule I've put together over the last few days that essentially starts during my last block of my MSI year and continues through to next May/June of 2017 when I would be taking the test.
Up to this point in school I have covered Anatomy, Embryology, Biochemistry, Histology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, and Physiology. My last block of this year is essentially Microbiology with some Immunology. The way my school is structured is that during my MSII year I will take Pharm/Immuno -> Neuro and then Patho for the last two semesters of my MSII year.
Starting in my Microbio block of this year, I was going to dedicate 1-2 hours per day to review and then my remaining time to Microbio. I was planning on starting with Anatomy and using Anatomy - An Essential Textbook as my primary resource, doing 1-2 chapters per day and the subsequent questions. I also have all of the Kaplan videos, which I was planning on adding in to the appropriate day and taking my own notes over so that I only have to watch the videos once.
After Anatomy, I was going to use HY Embryo in conjunction with FA (and again Kaplan) and annotate everything into FA from HY Embryo that seems relevant.I was thinking of having my FA unbound and then putting it into a 3-4 inch binder so that I could then add in computer paper on things that needed heavy annotation so that I didn't mess up my FA beyond recognition. Thoughts on this?
For Biochemistry I was planning on using Rapid Review BC in conjunction with FA. I've heard RR is overly detailed, but I also taught Biochem for an MCAT company so I have a fairly strong background in that area. Again, annotating in information as necessary.
For Molecular/Cell Bio I was going to use HY Cell and Molecular Bio again with FA. Any thoughts on this HY book? I haven't heard much about it.
Lastly, in terms of current review I was planning on using the large Costanza (not BRS) for Physiology and again annotating into FA. Thoughts on using the large Costanza vs BRS since I have so much time?
For Microbio I was going to primarily use lectures, FA, and SketchyMicro to master the content and then add in the flashcards eventually (again I've heard they are too detailed).
I'm hoping I can achieve a majority of my review prior to summer, but will likely be extending into summer.
Once summer starts I was planning on starting USMLE Rx and just covering the topics up to that point that I had learned. The big thing I'm worried/curious about is trying to teach myself Pathoma over the summer. Since my school essentially saves Patho for the end and teaches it up until most people's dedicated study time, I really want to get a handle on it before December of 2016 so that for the last half of the year before my test I am essentially focusing solely on question banks and reviewing content. Does this seem reasonable?
I've heard pairing Goljan's audio with the book is a very effective tool for learning. And then potentially add in RR Path later as it tends to be more detailed. I was thinking of doing something similar with the Pathoma book that I did with FA since it is the go to patho resource; such that I debind and put Pathoma in a 3 ring binder and then annotate FA and RR Path into Pathoma. Does this sound like a reasonable idea?
Lastly, for the people who got 250-260+, was there a certain type of question or topic that you felt you could have prepared for better in retrospect? Were there just things not covered by the main resources or were they covered and you just forgot them come test time?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the long winded post!
I'm currently finishing up my MSI year (1 block left - woohoo). I'm aiming for a 270+ on STEP I next May, which is obviously a reach for anyone even with adequate preparation. That being said, I wanted some input on a schedule I've put together over the last few days that essentially starts during my last block of my MSI year and continues through to next May/June of 2017 when I would be taking the test.
Up to this point in school I have covered Anatomy, Embryology, Biochemistry, Histology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, and Physiology. My last block of this year is essentially Microbiology with some Immunology. The way my school is structured is that during my MSII year I will take Pharm/Immuno -> Neuro and then Patho for the last two semesters of my MSII year.
Starting in my Microbio block of this year, I was going to dedicate 1-2 hours per day to review and then my remaining time to Microbio. I was planning on starting with Anatomy and using Anatomy - An Essential Textbook as my primary resource, doing 1-2 chapters per day and the subsequent questions. I also have all of the Kaplan videos, which I was planning on adding in to the appropriate day and taking my own notes over so that I only have to watch the videos once.
After Anatomy, I was going to use HY Embryo in conjunction with FA (and again Kaplan) and annotate everything into FA from HY Embryo that seems relevant.I was thinking of having my FA unbound and then putting it into a 3-4 inch binder so that I could then add in computer paper on things that needed heavy annotation so that I didn't mess up my FA beyond recognition. Thoughts on this?
For Biochemistry I was planning on using Rapid Review BC in conjunction with FA. I've heard RR is overly detailed, but I also taught Biochem for an MCAT company so I have a fairly strong background in that area. Again, annotating in information as necessary.
For Molecular/Cell Bio I was going to use HY Cell and Molecular Bio again with FA. Any thoughts on this HY book? I haven't heard much about it.
Lastly, in terms of current review I was planning on using the large Costanza (not BRS) for Physiology and again annotating into FA. Thoughts on using the large Costanza vs BRS since I have so much time?
For Microbio I was going to primarily use lectures, FA, and SketchyMicro to master the content and then add in the flashcards eventually (again I've heard they are too detailed).
I'm hoping I can achieve a majority of my review prior to summer, but will likely be extending into summer.
Once summer starts I was planning on starting USMLE Rx and just covering the topics up to that point that I had learned. The big thing I'm worried/curious about is trying to teach myself Pathoma over the summer. Since my school essentially saves Patho for the end and teaches it up until most people's dedicated study time, I really want to get a handle on it before December of 2016 so that for the last half of the year before my test I am essentially focusing solely on question banks and reviewing content. Does this seem reasonable?
I've heard pairing Goljan's audio with the book is a very effective tool for learning. And then potentially add in RR Path later as it tends to be more detailed. I was thinking of doing something similar with the Pathoma book that I did with FA since it is the go to patho resource; such that I debind and put Pathoma in a 3 ring binder and then annotate FA and RR Path into Pathoma. Does this sound like a reasonable idea?
Lastly, for the people who got 250-260+, was there a certain type of question or topic that you felt you could have prepared for better in retrospect? Were there just things not covered by the main resources or were they covered and you just forgot them come test time?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the long winded post!
