- Joined
- Feb 11, 2017
- Messages
- 230
- Reaction score
- 245
Hey guys
Also posted my experience in "Official 2017 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread" a few days ago but decided to make a new thread just to make it easier to be found 🙂
International medical student from Greece here.
Received my score ~1 week ago-254 .. and I am so happy 😀 ..so I would like to share my experience in a simple way and if you have further questions feel free to ask.
Resources
1. First Aid
2. Becker video lectures
3. Pathoma
4. CMMRS
5. First Aid
6. Kaplan qbank
7. UWorld qbank
8. ANKI
Preparation
1. January 2016-June 2016: Rushing through my resources and annotation of First Aid 2015 (The first contact with USMLE material- NOT a real prep period 2-3h/day, 3-4 days/week)
DEDICATED (August 2016-January 2017)
1. 5 Aug-19 Oct: Studying of (annotated) FA2015 & transferring notes to FA2016 & Kaplan Qbank at the end of each section (to improve my test taking skills and practice the knowledge I just learned)
2. 20 Oct 2016: NBME 12-->230
3. 22 Oct-31 Nov: UWorld (1 block/day) & taking notes & review theory when needed
4. 1 Dec-26 Dec: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
5. 27 Dec: NBME 17-->255
6. 29 Dec-10 Jan: UWorld (2 blocks/day) & taking notes & review theory when needed
7. 14 Jan: 2 assessments back to back & 1h total break ----> NBME 15-->252 & UWSA 1-->266
8. 15 Jan-24 Jan: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
9. 25 Jan: NBME 18-->246 (not a good day)
10. 26 Jan-5 Feb: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
11. (31 Jan-->practice session at prometric center = free 120 q’s-->89%)
12. 7 Feb 2017: REAL TEST-->254
Comments
1. Anki
I was pretty lucky to have a friend with whom we began our preparation together using the same resources. He spent a lot of time (and I mean A LOT of time) creating his own flashcards , which he shared with me. Every time I received a deck from him was like receiving a blessing from God( ).Sadly by the time I began my dedicated period he hadn’t completed about half of the sections of FA, and I had to use Brocencephalon’s deck for the missing ones (Bro’s deck was far inferior compared to the deck my friend was making, but I guess it was better than nothing). I did flashcards everyday (at least one hour per day from November 2015 to 15 Jan 2017 without skipping a single day) which really improved my long-term retention of knowledge and minimized the time required for reviews.
2. Hours per day during dedicated
August-September : 6h/day (including Anki)
Oct-Nov: 7-8h/day (including Anki)
Dec:9h/day (including Anki)
Jan:11h/day (not including Anki)
3. Sites that I found useful
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html
I didn't use it systematically but if I had to prepare for step 1 again I would definitely incorporate that in my studying
https://www.usmle-rx.com/proposed-errata-and-suggestions-fa-step-1
When you end a system or a section in First Aid just check out what other people proposed to change in next first aid version. You will find too many hidden gems here PLUS you will have the new First Aid long before its published
https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/4uej4b/survey_results_2016_usmle_step_1_correlation/
When taking your NBMEs just check out these correlation charts to assess where you stand.
Also posted my experience in "Official 2017 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread" a few days ago but decided to make a new thread just to make it easier to be found 🙂
International medical student from Greece here.
Received my score ~1 week ago-254 .. and I am so happy 😀 ..so I would like to share my experience in a simple way and if you have further questions feel free to ask.
Resources
1. First Aid
2. Becker video lectures
3. Pathoma
4. CMMRS
5. First Aid
6. Kaplan qbank
7. UWorld qbank
8. ANKI
Preparation
1. January 2016-June 2016: Rushing through my resources and annotation of First Aid 2015 (The first contact with USMLE material- NOT a real prep period 2-3h/day, 3-4 days/week)
DEDICATED (August 2016-January 2017)
1. 5 Aug-19 Oct: Studying of (annotated) FA2015 & transferring notes to FA2016 & Kaplan Qbank at the end of each section (to improve my test taking skills and practice the knowledge I just learned)
2. 20 Oct 2016: NBME 12-->230
3. 22 Oct-31 Nov: UWorld (1 block/day) & taking notes & review theory when needed
4. 1 Dec-26 Dec: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
5. 27 Dec: NBME 17-->255
6. 29 Dec-10 Jan: UWorld (2 blocks/day) & taking notes & review theory when needed
7. 14 Jan: 2 assessments back to back & 1h total break ----> NBME 15-->252 & UWSA 1-->266
8. 15 Jan-24 Jan: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
9. 25 Jan: NBME 18-->246 (not a good day)
10. 26 Jan-5 Feb: Review (annotated) FA 2016 & UWorld notes
11. (31 Jan-->practice session at prometric center = free 120 q’s-->89%)
12. 7 Feb 2017: REAL TEST-->254
Comments
1. Anki
I was pretty lucky to have a friend with whom we began our preparation together using the same resources. He spent a lot of time (and I mean A LOT of time) creating his own flashcards , which he shared with me. Every time I received a deck from him was like receiving a blessing from God( ).Sadly by the time I began my dedicated period he hadn’t completed about half of the sections of FA, and I had to use Brocencephalon’s deck for the missing ones (Bro’s deck was far inferior compared to the deck my friend was making, but I guess it was better than nothing). I did flashcards everyday (at least one hour per day from November 2015 to 15 Jan 2017 without skipping a single day) which really improved my long-term retention of knowledge and minimized the time required for reviews.
2. Hours per day during dedicated
August-September : 6h/day (including Anki)
Oct-Nov: 7-8h/day (including Anki)
Dec:9h/day (including Anki)
Jan:11h/day (not including Anki)
3. Sites that I found useful
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html
I didn't use it systematically but if I had to prepare for step 1 again I would definitely incorporate that in my studying
https://www.usmle-rx.com/proposed-errata-and-suggestions-fa-step-1
When you end a system or a section in First Aid just check out what other people proposed to change in next first aid version. You will find too many hidden gems here PLUS you will have the new First Aid long before its published
https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/4uej4b/survey_results_2016_usmle_step_1_correlation/
When taking your NBMEs just check out these correlation charts to assess where you stand.
Last edited:
