missbonnie said:
congrats on the score.
what's this 6 day before the test plan u mentioned? I left about 4 days to review everything once more before the exam day, is that you mean? Any other details would be helpful
bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Yeah, the 6 day schedule is basically just intense general review...just as you have planned. (And I might have been wrong, it could only be five days plus one test day.) It starts with the day of intensive testing to get your test endurance up and see any weak spots.(I did nine hrs of Qbank (ugh), but one could do any of the prep tests... NBME, Kaplan comprehensive, etc.) The next five days are spent reviewing subjects most of the day then doing lots of questions at night. I used First Aid, the Goljan high yields, Levinson Micro and pharm flash cards a friend made for me.
Some people recommend a complete day off before the test. This may or may not be the right advice for you. I felt more comfortable reviewing the material instead of sitting around waiting. (More proof of USMLE insanity.) I did have a nice dinner and went to the gym. The last day of intense review gave me 5 questions easy...heavy pharm and Goljan High Yield.
Below is pasted the original SDN schedule which I adapted to fit my own strengths/ weaknesses.
Another quick thought for all...don't be too rigid with the schedule...find out what you need to improve and hit those areas hardest. I found that sometimes I was following a schedule just because I wrote it down when I knew it wasn't working to my best advantage.
good luck!
OW
Schedule (Last 5 days*) ->
key to a 250+ score:
*WARNING: last 5 days are the absolute meat of getting the score.
Everything you've done before
this is just a warm-up. These days are approximately 12-14 hours of studying/day. Besides eating, sleeping and working-out, you are doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE BUT STUDYING.
Day 1 - review Biochemistry, Physiology sections of First-Aid (i.e deeply study these sections and all the notes you wrote in the margins). This should take approximately 5-6 hours. In the afternoon, do 150-200 questions/answers related to Biochem, and Physiology.
Day 2 - review all small topics (i.e. Histology, Anatomy, Embryology, Neuroanatomy, Behavioral
Sciences) and Pathology sections of First-Aid plus your notes. Do 150-200 questions related to these topics.
Day 3 - review Pharmacology and Micro + Immuno sections of First-Aid plus your notes. Do 150-200 questions related to these topics.
Day 4 - review First-Aid sections/notes: Biochem, Physio, Path. Do 1 practice test from Appleton and Lange.
Do more questions related to these topics.
Day 5 (Last Day!!!) - Review First Aid sections/notes: Micro + Immuno, Pharm, and small subjects. Do second test from Appleton and Lange. Do more questions related to these topics.