USMLE Official 2019 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[libertyyne]

Lets get this started.
M2. Mid Tier everything.
Entertaining some surgical sub-specialties.

Goal 270
Happy with 245

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[Gurby]

Hey guys, Having a beast of a time memorizing cytokines, and the intracellular signaling molecues Ras, MTOR, Kinases, and genes associated with it. Any suggestions? I know them for a few hours and then when I hit those cards again I am like a lost puppy.

Any good videos explaining them that can help? or resources? flow charts etc?

 

[Neopolymath]

Ok, I flipped it and then let it rest under tin foil and ate it. Now what?

 

[Yorick]

Hey guys, Having a beast of a time memorizing cytokines, and the intracellular signaling molecues Ras, MTOR, Kinases, and genes associated with it. Any suggestions? I know them for a few hours and then when I hit those cards again I am like a lost puppy.

Any good videos explaining them that can help? or resources? flow charts etc?

Writing them out over and over helped too. Also, nothing makes information stick more for me than practice questions. If you can find some in Qbanks or elsewhere, maybe that will help too. I dont know what it is, but reading answer explanations for questions, right or wrong, really makes the info stick, I think because my brain doesn't want me to misapply/get questions on the topic wrong again.

Also registered January 25. I start dedicated mid Decemberish, to give me 6 1/2 - 7 weeks of dedicated with 2 weeks off before clerkships. I think that's enough time and enough time for a good break. I think I'm on a good track so far - I'm about halfway through USMLERx QBank, doing it by organ system for review and alongside classes, aiming to finish it by mid November, then I plan on doing Kaplan Qbank on random blocks from mid November - mid December, then UWorld for dedicated. Still watching Boards and Beyond and Pathoma, trying to finish all of it by Thanksgiving, along with SketchyPharm. I'm putting everything I'm learning from classes, random resources and B&B/Pathoma/Qbanks into First Aid then just plan on keep reading it throughout dedicated alongside UWorld.

We got this!!! Some days I just want to put everything down and stop, but I keep telling myself I'm killing myself now and giving up all other activities/beingsocial/etc. for 3-4 months so I can (hopefully) do well on Step and then be set for the rest of my life. It's an investment in the future

 

[Frogger27]

Whats up everyone, joining the thread.

Take Step 1 in the middle of June. Goal: 240+

Now with that said, need some help.

I want to add an anki step deck to review. Should I use bros instead of Zanki? Zanki is like 27k cards which means I would have to do ~150 new cards per day. Would this be too much of a time suck to start Zanki now and plan on finishing in May (pre-dedicated)?

 

[FindersFee5]

Whats up everyone, joining the thread.

Take Step 1 in the middle of June. Goal: 240+

Now with that said, need some help.

I want to add an anki step deck to review. Should I use bros instead of Zanki? Zanki is like 27k cards which means I would have to do ~150 new cards per day. Would this be too much of a time suck to start Zanki now and plan on finishing in May (pre-dedicated)?

For me, 80-100 new cards/day is the max sustainable long term amount I can add. So 150/day for the next 7 months would probs not be doable. However, you don't need to do ALL of Zanki to get a lot of benefit out of it. It's entirely possible that you don't really need to do any of the physio decks (around 4000 cards by themselves). Then, there is a pretty decent amount of overlap in the micro and antimicrobial pharm decks - let's call that another 1500 cards. That drops you to about 100/day.

Really depends on how you like to learn though. Some people like flash cards, some people don't. A lot of people are faster than me and could stay on top of the 100 new/day easily. See what works for you. One caveat, though - if you end up with time constraints between anki and qbanks, choose qbanks.

 

[Frogger27]

For me, 80-100 new cards/day is the max sustainable long term amount I can add. So 150/day for the next 7 months would probs not be doable. However, you don't need to do ALL of Zanki to get a lot of benefit out of it. It's entirely possible that you don't really need to do any of the physio decks (around 4000 cards by themselves). Then, there is a pretty decent amount of overlap in the micro and antimicrobial pharm decks - let's call that another 1500 cards. That drops you to about 100/day.

Really depends on how you like to learn though. Some people like flash cards, some people don't. A lot of people are faster than me and could stay on top of the 100 new/day easily. See what works for you. One caveat, though - if you end up with time constraints between anki and qbanks, choose qbanks.

Thanks for the idea. Yeah I may go through Zanki and skim the deck some to make it more manageable. I probably don't need to do the physiology or pharm/micro (sketchy). I plan on having Kaplan and Rx done before dedicated and will probably do Uworld 1x and 2x of Q's I missed.

 

[Nucleophile1]

Thanks for the idea. Yeah I may go through Zanki and skim the deck some to make it more manageable. I probably don't need to do the physiology or pharm/micro (sketchy). I plan on having Kaplan and Rx done before dedicated and will probably do Uworld 1x and 2x of Q's I missed.

I would recommend using Zanki for the subjects that you are weak in. Doing all of Zanki is probably not feasible but you can definitely hit your weak points.

 

[aymar]

Officially registered, March 20th! Feeling like I want to puke a little bit more each and every day lol. I am currently working my way through USMLE Rx with classes, projected to finish some time in December, while supplementing with Sketchy, Pathoma, & BnB. Goal: 240+

I have a full week at Thanksgiving/2 at Christmas this year, well in advance of dedicated (starting early February). Any recommendations on how to spend the holiday time? I will be taking a few days off of course, but trying to decide if my time would be best spent with intensive review of subjects I struggle in (Biochem, Neuro) or starting the Kaplan Q bank. Based on how far in advance I am of my test date/dedicated, what would you all recommend?

 

[FindersFee5]

Officially registered, March 20th! Feeling like I want to puke a little bit more each and every day lol. I am currently working my way through USMLE Rx with classes, projected to finish some time in December, while supplementing with Sketchy, Pathoma, & BnB. Goal: 240+

I have a full week at Thanksgiving/2 at Christmas this year, well in advance of dedicated (starting early February). Any recommendations on how to spend the holiday time? I will be taking a few days off of course, but trying to decide if my time would be best spent with intensive review of subjects I struggle in (Biochem, Neuro) or starting the Kaplan Q bank. Based on how far in advance I am of my test date/dedicated, what would you all recommend?

Similar situation with vacation time! I think I'm going to used it to solidify stuff from first year that I don't have the strongest base on (biochem, biostats/epidemiology) while also studying a little ahead for the next units, just to stay on top of everything. Currently also doing about 30 Rx qs a day on subjects I've learned, tutor mode, and making cards for everything I miss.

 

[Gurby]

For those of you further out from your exam, make sure that you create a plan of exactly how you will finish RX, Kaplan and UWorld before your exam so that you don't end up in my situation.

I've always had the goal to finish the big three, but now that I'm within the 90ish day stretch to exam day, it doesn't look like I will be able to do it. The pace of material is picking up to the point that I don't have as much time as I used to for each block. Trying to keep up with my FC reviews isn't making it any easier. I guess I could spend less time reviewing questions, but I don't really want to change my approach since it's been working pretty well. I also don't think it's possible to study more without compromising the quality of my study time, since I've been feeling burnt out beyond belief already but trying to keep it together for a little longer....

Hello, future me...

 

[Scrubs101]

For those of you further out from your exam, make sure that you create a plan of exactly how you will finish RX, Kaplan and UWorld before your exam so that you don't end up in my situation.

I've always had the goal to finish the big three, but now that I'm within the 90ish day stretch to exam day, it doesn't look like I will be able to do it. The pace of material is picking up to the point that I don't have as much time as I used to for each block. Trying to keep up with my FC reviews isn't making it any easier. I guess I could spend less time reviewing questions, but I don't really want to change my approach since it's been working pretty well. I also don't think it's possible to study more without compromising the quality of my study time, since I've been feeling burnt out beyond belief already but trying to keep it together for a little longer....

You got this, you’ve been grinding it out for so long the finish line is in sight! I’d def agree dont focus on finishing all of them, quality > quantity. Finish UWORLD for sure and then hit weaker topics PRN in the other two.

Best of luck homie, keep up the good work

 

[Frogger27]

How far out from test is the right time to start/finish UWorld??

 

[Frogger27]

I’m starting day 1 of dedicated and doing 80 questions per day.

Cool. I'll be eager to see how it works out for you. Trying to plan if I will start prior to dedicated (which is 5 weeks) so that I can do more than one pass or just keep it for one pass during dedicated

 

[Phoodie]

Currently 6 months out from the test. How do people recommend using USMLERx?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Currently 6 months out from the test. How do people recommend using USMLERx?

I do random/tutor.

 

[Scrubs101]

Hey DO students, how far out are you scheduling your COMLEX? We get 10wks of dedicated, thinking of tacking on one of those weeks for a break so around 9wks. As of right now was thinking 1 full week from USMLE to COMLEX, which would give me 8wks of dedicated for the USMLE and then I’ll probably take the day after off and have 5-6 days to do green book/OMGOMT/comquest qs. Thoughts?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Hey DO students, how far out are you scheduling your COMLEX? We get 10wks of dedicated, thinking of tacking on one of those weeks for a break so around 9wks. As of right now was thinking 1 full week from USMLE to COMLEX, which would give me 8wks of dedicated for the USMLE and then I’ll probably take the day after off and have 5-6 days to do green book/OMGOMT/comquest qs. Thoughts?

Honestly I'm considering taking USMLE on a Monday and COMLEX on a Friday and just doing COMQUEST or the COMBANK OMM questions the 3 days in between. Get it out of the way before I come off my Step 1 high. I got my hands on a Saverese OMM anki deck that I have incorporated into my Zanki deck so I'll have theoretically should have learned OMM at that point.

 

[Scrubs101]

Honestly I'm considering taking USMLE on a Monday and COMLEX on a Friday and just doing COMQUEST or the COMBANK OMM questions the 3 days in between. Get it out of the way before I come off my Step 1 high. I got my hands on a Saverese OMM anki deck that I have incorporated into my Zanki deck so I'll have theoretically should have learned OMM at that point.

Yeah I’ve got a similar deck, haven’t checked it out yet. My plan was to start it at the beginning of dedicated which should give me enough time to “mature it” in preperation for my schools COMSAEs, then just put it on cram mode b/t exams. Are you planning on doing combank/comquest before then at all?

I think I’ll probably just book my comlex now for the date i want, and then when i can book the usmle (i think they dont let you book until 6 months out if im not mistaken?) decide on how much time i need. Im torn between thinking ill burnout between exams and thinking ill need more time to get used to the format and absurd 20% of question that are OMM.

If i had to put a % on the amount of information i learned in med school that was omm it would not be anywhere near 20%, but it is what it is i guess lol

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Are you planning on doing combank/comquest before then at all?

Nah. Combank is crap, and I hear Comquest isn't much better. I even read a study that Uworld had the highest correlation to COMLEX score when compared to those two by a pretty decent amount lol. So I'm just doing Kaplan, Rx, and I'll start Uworld in like Feb or March.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

1 full week from USMLE to COMLEX

Just a first year here, but all the M3s I've spoken to said that 4-5 days was the perfect amount. One girl who took a week said she regretted it because it was too long and she had nothing else to really study anymore, and she just wanted to be free of it.

 

[Scrubs101]

Nah. Combank is crap, and I hear Comquest isn't much better. I even read a study that Uworld had the highest correlation to COMLEX score when compared to those two by a pretty decent amount lol. So I'm just doing Kaplan, Rx, and I'll start Uworld in like Feb or March.

Yeah thats what i was thinking as well haha

Just a first year here, but all the M3s I've spoken to said that 4-5 days was the perfect amount. One girl who took a week said she regretted it because it was too long and she had nothing else to really study anymore, and she just wanted to be free of it.

Thanks! Yeah i heard the same thing from a few people as well, guess I’d rather be one day shorter on OMM than burned the heck out lol

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Honestly I'm considering taking USMLE on a Monday and COMLEX on a Friday and just doing COMQUEST or the COMBANK OMM questions the 3 days in between. Get it out of the way before I come off my Step 1 high. I got my hands on a Saverese OMM anki deck that I have incorporated into my Zanki deck so I'll have theoretically should have learned OMM at that point.

So there is another OMM deck in the making right now by a user on r/medicalschoolanki that is goin to make it ~1500-2000 cards covering all of savarse as well as extra OMM in Qbanks. Just a heads up to keep an eye out for it

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Is anyone working ahead of class with zanki?

I am currently 2 subjects ahead of class right now by teaching myself with BnB and hammering Zanki alongside BnB.

There are a decent amount of subjects I have to look up on wikipedia, but so far (just took endo test) I feel like it is working out pretty good. For our Endo unit I had 90% of the cards matured by the time endo started and class was just sprinkling extra low-yield info on top of my zanki + BnB foundation.

Hoping to get all of Zanki + lolnotacop Matured by January M2.

 

[libertyyne]

Is anyone working ahead of class with zanki?

I am currently 2 subjects ahead of class right now by teaching myself with BnB and hammering Zanki alongside BnB.

There are a decent amount of subjects I have to look up on wikipedia, but so far (just took endo test) I feel like it is working out pretty good. For our Endo unit I had 90% of the cards matured by the time endo started and class was just sprinkling extra low-yield info on top of my zanki + BnB foundation.

Hoping to get all of Zanki + lolnotacop Matured by January M2.

our classses are instructor written exams, I tried doing that and it ended poorly for me in an exam, so I switching back to class focus and griding out as many pertinent and tangentially pertinent cards i can. getting a qbank in has been difficult. Im still trying to figure out that .

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Is anyone working ahead of class with zanki?

I am currently 2 subjects ahead of class right now by teaching myself with BnB and hammering Zanki alongside BnB.

There are a decent amount of subjects I have to look up on wikipedia, but so far (just took endo test) I feel like it is working out pretty good. For our Endo unit I had 90% of the cards matured by the time endo started and class was just sprinkling extra low-yield info on top of my zanki + BnB foundation.

Hoping to get all of Zanki + lolnotacop Matured by January M2.

Not really. I am hoping to do the cards for next semesters systems over Christmas break though. My goal is have all of Zanki, lolonotacop micro, and my OMM deck matured by dedicated in April. It really helps with our classes so I’m going full bore Zanki once our neuro unit is over on Monday.

 

[alprazoslam]

Nah. Combank is crap, and I hear Comquest isn't much better. I even read a study that Uworld had the highest correlation to COMLEX score when compared to those two by a pretty decent amount lol. So I'm just doing Kaplan, Rx, and I'll start Uworld in like Feb or March.

If it starts with com it sucks

 

[Frogger27]

I’m trying to organize my Zanki deck into old ones I want to put into master deck to review. How do you guys do this? I find it really annoying you can move whole sub decks over in Anki and I just have to select the cards and move them without keeping the sub deck organization

 

[USMLE_Pro]

How far out from test is the right time to start/finish UWorld??

I find 6 months to be a sweet spot, but many people start way earlier. It also depends on your test-taking history (may need to start earlier if you have a very low MCAT, for example). Step 1 is far more about test-taking skill than content (I know people will disagree with me, but it's true). Unfortunately, it isn't the people who study the most that do the best. It's about test-taking skill and how you study.

 

[sunshinefl]

I find 6 months to be a sweet spot, but many people start way earlier. It also depends on your test-taking history (may need to start earlier if you have a very low MCAT, for example). Step 1 is far more about test-taking skill than content (I know people will disagree with me, but it's true). Unfortunately, it isn't the people who study the most that do the best. It's about test-taking skill and how you study.

I wish! I’m naturally a good test-taker but not great at large volume rote memorization. You are right that everyone says it’s all about content content content. So I’m pretty worried leading up to it.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

I wish! I’m naturally a good test-taker but not great at large volume rote memorization. You are right that everyone says it’s all about content content content. So I’m pretty worried leading up to it.

The good news: it isn't content content content. There's a minimum amount of content needed for the score you want, but a lot of score variation does come down to test-taking approach. For content mastery, I recommend making your own Anki cards based on your UW incorrects. I only studied in a 6-week dedicated period and was able to get down all of the content this way--obviously everyone is different, but most people spend way too much time studying the wrong things. Step 1 doesn't have to be as painful as people make it out to be.

 

[MakeLifeHappen13]

Step 1 is far more about test-taking skill than content (I know people will disagree with me, but it's true). Unfortunately, it isn't the people who study the most that do the best. It's about test-taking skill and how you study.

Would you mind elaborating on this a little more? Most of the practice questions I have done rely strictly on fact recall and application of said facts. No amount of test taking skills will get you the right answer if you can't recall what they want on that particular question.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

Would you mind elaborating on this a little more? Most of the practice questions I have done rely strictly on fact recall and application of said facts. No amount of test taking skills will get you the right answer if you can't recall what they want on that particular question.

So many people think this, and it's hard to get yourself to "see through" questions that appear to be pure memorization. Do you ask yourself "would they HAVE to include this particular piece of information if B were the answer?". Do you compare the various answer choices to determine the the distinction they are trying to get you to make? Do you rely more on process of elimination than finding the correct answer de novo? I have worked with so many students who have said "wow I really just thought I had to memorize this!" and were not at all thinking they could use POE to think through something and scrap together the things they already know.

If you struggle to think like the test-maker, you will continue to think that you have to memorize all the minutiae. The truth is, flawed human beings write these tests, and their intentions are far more transparent than you think. The people who do the best on this test are not the people who study the hardest or even who have the best memory; I've seen it again and again and again, how you approach questions is so much more important. Otherwise, anyone could get a 280 with brute force memorization. But they don't. You need to change your mindset--your goal is not to memorize First Aid. It's to outsmart a test that doesn't actually test you on things that are important for you to know in order to be an excellent physician.

 

[libertyyne]

So many people think this, and it's hard to get yourself to "see through" questions that appear to be pure memorization. Do you ask yourself "would they HAVE to include this particular piece of information if B were the answer?". Do you compare the various answer choices to determine the the distinction they are trying to get you to make? Do you rely more on process of elimination than finding the correct answer de novo? I have worked with so many students who have said "wow I really just thought I had to memorize this!" and were not at all thinking they could use POE to think through something and scrap together the things they already know.

If you struggle to think like the test-maker, you will continue to think that you have to memorize all the minutiae. The truth is, flawed human beings write these tests, and their intentions are far more transparent than you think. The people who do the best on this test are not the people who study the hardest or even who have the best memory; I've seen it again and again and again, how you approach questions is so much more important. Otherwise, anyone could get a 280 with brute force memorization. But they don't. You need to change your mindset--your goal is not to memorize First Aid. It's to outsmart a test that doesn't actually test you on things that are important for you to know in order to be an excellent physician.

this is interesting to say the least, wouldnt you think that the mcat would have a much higher correlation with step 1 if this is truely the case? Last i checked mcat was only .36~ in terms of correlation with step 1.

 

[FindersFee5]

this is interesting to say the least, wouldnt you think that the mcat would have a much higher correlation with step 1 if this is truely the case? Last i checked mcat was only .36~ in terms of correlation with step 1.

Yeah, I agree with you. With the obvious caveat of I haven't taken Step or looked at Uworld questions yet (though I have done some kaplan, Rx, and amboss), I disagree with the statement that memorization isn't important. I think test taking skills and the willingness to reason through a question are super important, but I don't think any of that comes without the knowledge base.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

this is interesting to say the least, wouldnt you think that the mcat would have a much higher correlation with step 1 if this is truely the case? Last i checked mcat was only .36~ in terms of correlation with step 1.

MCAT questions are very different from USMLE questions in my view. Low correlation is why I view MCAT as only slightly informative in terms of how much someone has to improve in terms of test-taking skills.

Memorization IS important, it's just far less important than people think.

 

[medicineman1234]

MCAT questions are very different from USMLE questions in my view. Low correlation is why I view MCAT as only slightly informative in terms of how much someone has to improve in terms of test-taking skills.

Memorization IS important, it's just far less important than people think.

I feel like the super critical thinking/test taking skills comes more into play at very high scores where a few questions reasoned wrong or right could make a difference, but to get a "solid" score like 240, wouldn't most people's troubles be memorization?

Maybe what you think is high yield vs minutae is on another level from someone who is an average student. I.e. what you think is less info but high yield is still an astronomical amount that someone who emphasizes memorization more may not get to.

 

[Rahas]

Guys how terrible is NBME 19 right now? A friend of mine took it a couple of days back (exam in 2 weeks) and scored 225, and he's freaking out. 2 weeks prior NBME 17 was 259 and UWSA 2 was 264. This is such a big drop, not sure what it means. He also says he didnt really find it that tough while solving it.

So where does this put him? The drop is so big I personally cant really explain it, except with the whim of NBME 19 associating with some terrible luck.

Also, do you guys take NBMEs first thing in the morning, or after some warm up studying? He started it <1 hour after waking up, and says he wasnt fully awake until after the 1st block. Is there anyway to see block wise score?

 

[SmallGirlBigDreams]

So many people think this, and it's hard to get yourself to "see through" questions that appear to be pure memorization. You need to change your mindset--your goal is not to memorize First Aid. It's to outsmart a test that doesn't actually test you on things that are important for you to know in order to be an excellent physician.

Can you recommend any resources to help improve test-taking ability, preferably geared towards USMLE type questions?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Guys how terrible is NBME 19 right now? A friend of mine took it a couple of days back (exam in 2 weeks) and scored 225, and he's freaking out. 2 weeks prior NBME 17 was 259 and UWSA 2 was 264. This is such a big drop, not sure what it means. He also says he didnt really find it that tough while solving it.

So where does this put him? The drop is so big I personally cant really explain it, except with the whim of NBME 19 associating with some terrible luck.

Also, do you guys take NBMEs first thing in the morning, or after some warm up studying? He started it <1 hour after waking up, and says he wasnt fully awake until after the 1st block. Is there anyway to see block wise score?

My understanding is that NBME 19 has a ridiculously steep curve associated with it.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

My understanding is that NBME 19 has a ridiculously steep curve associated with it.

Agree, I scored over 20 points higher than the real deal. UWSA2 is a better predictor (albeit, tends to over-predict)

 

[USMLE_Pro]

Can you recommend any resources to help improve test-taking ability, preferably geared towards USMLE type questions?

Unfortunately, there isn't an easy fix to changing the way you think and take tests. The best thing you can do on your own is to analyze the questions you get wrong and look for patterns. A better bet is to find a study buddy who is a good test taker, ask them to walk you through the questions--you'll see that the approach can vary drastically between people. One general rule is people do not use POE enough; I use process of elimination on every single question.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

I feel like the super critical thinking/test taking skills comes more into play at very high scores where a few questions reasoned wrong or right could make a difference, but to get a "solid" score like 240, wouldn't most people's troubles be memorization?

Maybe what you think is high yield vs minutae is on another level from someone who is an average student. I.e. what you think is less info but high yield is still an astronomical amount that someone who emphasizes memorization more may not get to.

This hasn't been my experience. I work with a lot of students who are taking the test again or are struggling just to pass. A lot of them have test-taking issues and memorization is not sufficient. Definitely an interesting point and I do think many students can brute force your way to a certain score but not get beyond it without changing your approach to questions.

 

[libertyyne]

MCAT questions are very different from USMLE questions in my view. Low correlation is why I view MCAT as only slightly informative in terms of how much someone has to improve in terms of test-taking skills.

Memorization IS important, it's just far less important than people think.

It feels like i have to memorize 20 facts to be able to reason through something on these questions.

 

[Save a life]

Currently 6 months out from Step 1 and wanted to share my plans to do well on the exam:

Goal Score: 250+, interested in neurology and want to have lots of options for residency

Pre-dedicated:

Qbanks (will complete before dedicated):

• USMLE Rx (currently half way through)
• Kaplan (will start in January)

Spaced Repetition (will complete before dedicated and keep up with):

• Zanki (currently about half way through)

Videos (watch all at least once):

• Sketchy Medical (including path, currently half way)
• Pathoma

Other (not primary resources, will not necessarily complete these):

• Read and complete questions - BRS physiology
• Reading Pathoma/First Aid with courses.
• Golijan Rapid Review path reading some sections/skimming
• Golijan audio (while cleaning apartment and exercising).
• Firecracker cases (i.e. their q bank)
• Robbins Review pathology (i.e. Robbins q bank, all path questions)

I go to a traditional curriculum MD school and have been scoring above average with some honors. Our lectures are non-mandatory so I'm able to spend a decent amount of time doing board-prep resources and watch lectures on x2.

Dedicated:

I will have an actual dedicated schedule in the next couple of months. My plan right now is to use UWorld qbank and exams, all of the NMBE's, the free 120, keep up with the Zanki deck (I will have matured all the cards by then). I will also probably skim FA 2019, watch some Sketchy/pathoma videos again, and use the Golijan audio (despite it being dated).

 

[libertyyne]

Currently 6 months out from Step 1 and wanted to share my plans to do well on the exam:

Goal Score: 250+, interested in neurology and want to have lots of options for residency

Pre-dedicated:

Qbanks (will complete before dedicated):

• USMLE Rx (currently half way through)
• Kaplan (will start in January)

Spaced Repetition (will complete before dedicated and keep up with):

• Zanki (currently about half way through)

Videos (watch all at least once):

• Sketchy Medical (including path, currently half way)
• Pathoma

Other (not primary resources, will not necessarily complete these):

• Read and complete questions - BRS physiology
• Reading Pathoma/First Aid with courses.
• Golijan Rapid Review path reading some sections/skimming
• Golijan audio (while cleaning apartment and exercising).
• Firecracker cases (i.e. their q bank)
• Robbins Review pathology (i.e. Robbins q bank, all path questions)

I go to a traditional curriculum MD school and have been scoring above average with some honors. Our lectures are non-mandatory so I'm able to spend a decent amount of time doing board-prep resources and watch lectures on x2.

Dedicated:

I will have an actual dedicated schedule in the next couple of months. My plan right now is to use UWorld qbank and exams, all of the NMBE's, the free 120, keep up with the Zanki deck (I will have matured all the cards by then). I will also probably skim FA 2019, watch some Sketchy/pathoma videos again, and use the Golijan audio (despite it being dated).

seems similar to what I am doing, Why no Uworld?

 

[Save a life]

seems similar to what I am doing, Why no Uworld?

I don’t know. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are two schools of thought on saving Uworld - once during dedicated or doing it twice with once during courses. I have a friend who saved it and got a 260+. He recommended saving it for dedicated and doing Rx and Kaplan throughout the year so that’s what I’m doing.

I think if someone is doing qbanks, Anki, and this kind of stuff during courses and dedicated they’ll be fine. No one knows exactly what the best formula is for prepping and each person is different.

 

[libertyyne]

I don’t know. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are two schools of thought on saving Uworld - once during dedicated or doing it twice with once during courses. I have a friend who saved it and got a 260+. He recommended saving it for dedicated and doing Rx and Kaplan throughout the year so that’s what I’m doing.

I think if someone is doing qbanks, Anki, and this kind of stuff during courses and dedicated they’ll be fine. No one knows exactly what the best formula is for prepping and each person is different.

I figured as much, was just curious about the reasoning.

 

[neurodjent]

I just want to post an update so it hopefully inspires me to work harder. I have been following along with my schools curriculum with Zanki and its definitely helping me get good grades but the speed in which the curriculum moves makes keeping up with the reviews difficult. I am currently sitting on about 7k reviews that I have to do which definitely is demotivating but I am going to try my hardest to get through them this week. Overall, I have 7.5k matured and 5.3k learning. I have 24k left to see but many of those are cards I have edited and suspended along the way as well as some Sketchy Path cards that I will not use. I'm thinking that getting through 75% of my decks will actually be getting through all of it. I have done over 1k questions from combank, both the usmle and comlex banks, at about 75% correct and around 600 from usmlerx at 68% correct. It's hard to believe that I am in a good position since the Zanki cards are stacking up but I am going to stay optimistic and think I am on a good track. I am hoping to get through all of Zanki by the end of April.

Anyone else in this position? Any words of encouragement?

 

[libertyyne]

I just want to post an update so it hopefully inspires me to work harder. I have been following along with my schools curriculum with Zanki and its definitely helping me get good grades but the speed in which the curriculum moves makes keeping up with the reviews difficult. I am currently sitting on about 7k reviews that I have to do which definitely is demotivating but I am going to try my hardest to get through them this week. Overall, I have 7.5k matured and 5.3k learning. I have 24k left to see but many of those are cards I have edited and suspended along the way as well as some Sketchy Path cards that I will not use. I'm thinking that getting through 75% of my decks will actually be getting through all of it. I have done over 1k questions from combank, both the usmle and comlex banks, at about 75% correct and around 600 from usmlerx at 68% correct. It's hard to believe that I am in a good position since the Zanki cards are stacking up but I am going to stay optimistic and think I am on a good track. I am hoping to get through all of Zanki by the end of April.

Anyone else in this position? Any words of encouragement?

I have 5k matured. 20k learning(most of these are one review away from being matured) and 23 k unseen. (I have lightyear and a few sketchy decks as well). Only about 400 qs from rx @80%. And will start on uworld this unit. I am not concerned about mature vs not mature, I feel like if I can get 3-4 reviews of a card that is good enough for me. I too have been struggling to keep up with cards since my school moves fast and it is hard to deprioritize school exams. I'm planning on starting to do 4 blocks one day a week to start getting through questions and getting pace down.and maybe spend an hour a day going through old reviews. Still figuring out if I should do u world on tutor .

I think you are on track to doing well.

 

[getfat]

Didn't know this Thread Existed until now. Kinda wierd that its my turn to participate.

DO student in a traditional curriculum. I've been an middle of the pack, (~50 percentile) student throughout most of systems so far (covered only neuro, cardio, renal, pulmonary and endocrine so far). Lectures are mandatory at my school so I have to tailor my schedule around it. Which really stinks.

Goal is < 220. I'm interested in Family medicine, Internal Medicine. And would like the ability to specialize if I really wanted to depending on what happens during clinical years.

Pre-dedicated:

Qbanks (will complete before dedicated):

• USMLE Rx = I do 40 questions per day. Sections include subjects i've already covered. All the morning. I write down the explanations behind wrong answers. Unsuspend the concepts on anki, firecracker in the afternoon. Will plan on ramping up questions soon to possibly include current subject GI. Possibly 60 questions per day.
• Kaplan debating starting this Q bank around January. I'm not sure if I have the time honestly. Still debating this because i plan on purchasing Uworld around January when I completely finish USMLE-RX Q banks.

Spaced Repetition

• Zanki, Sketchy, Pathoma, Zanki. I'm not far on this and i'm trying to get better. I'm at maybe 1% matured and 5% learning right now. Most of it is still suspended.
• I utilize firecracker but its mostly for the organized lecture material. The flash card algorithm is very basic.
• I do most of these flashcards during class.

Other (not primary resources, will not necessarily complete these):

• Read and complete questions - BRS physiology
• Reading Pathoma/First Aid with courses,
• B&B. Have bought all the books and annotate the material. Helps a lot later down the road when you review because you don't need to look at videos.
• Firecracker cases (i.e. their q bank)