Is taus plan something that could help the truly-average medical student overachieve (235+, lets say), or are most of the people that score really well using the taus plan already top students?
Past Taus Plan Users
- Thread starter Czeckers
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well 235 is well above teh national average. PM me if you want my experiences with Taus.
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In my opinion, the average medical student uses a poor preparation strategy that tends to neglect subjects they don't think will be tested and overrelies on First Aid.
I think that almost any medical student who worked hard during MS1/MS2 and uses a well-devised comprehensive strategy should be able to score many points above the national mean.
I think that almost any medical student who worked hard during MS1/MS2 and uses a well-devised comprehensive strategy should be able to score many points above the national mean.
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The Taus plan is a good plan. There are others.
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What jeebus is trying to say (and what I agree with) is that how you do on the boards has very little to do with how "smart" you are and much more to do with how meticulously you prepare.
People don't score well with the Taus method because they're smart. They score well because:
(1) The plan forces you to meticulously go through material multiple times
(2) The plan forces you to review all subjects, regardless of how much you like or dislike them
(3) The plan forces you to utilize outside review books to supplement the holes in FA
(4) The plan forces you to do a ton of questions
To do the "whole" Taus plan requires a concerted level of effort far and above the "typical" board prep experience. Most people don't read and annotate half a dozen review books into their FA. Most people don't do 5000+ questions.
That's why its successful. The principles behind the plan are solid, but its not a magic formula. It just gives you a framework to manage your time, gives you a sense of how much time you should spend on each subject, and gives you "tasks" along the way. Does the Taus method tend to self-select towards individuals who did well their first two years of med school? Sure, because the individuals that were very meticulous with their coarsework are going to tend to be the same way with board studying. And its a lot easier to raise your score when you learned everything well the first time and Step 1 prep is more focused on review than re-teaching yourself material. But there's no "pre-requisite intelligence" or "special trick" to it... its all about concerted effort, which is a lot easier said than done (even the best at it struggle with it).
What jeebus is trying to say is that it doesn't matter how you do it, but to do "that well" on Step 1 you need to make sure no stone is left unturned. You need to study everything, and study it meticulously enough that you understand it and can apply it abstractly. You need to do a ton of questions so you are comfortable with "how" the USMLE tests knowledge. There's many ways to get to that point. There's nothing special to taus, and its not for everyone, its just a decent format to structure your study schedule.
People don't score well with the Taus method because they're smart. They score well because:
(1) The plan forces you to meticulously go through material multiple times
(2) The plan forces you to review all subjects, regardless of how much you like or dislike them
(3) The plan forces you to utilize outside review books to supplement the holes in FA
(4) The plan forces you to do a ton of questions
To do the "whole" Taus plan requires a concerted level of effort far and above the "typical" board prep experience. Most people don't read and annotate half a dozen review books into their FA. Most people don't do 5000+ questions.
That's why its successful. The principles behind the plan are solid, but its not a magic formula. It just gives you a framework to manage your time, gives you a sense of how much time you should spend on each subject, and gives you "tasks" along the way. Does the Taus method tend to self-select towards individuals who did well their first two years of med school? Sure, because the individuals that were very meticulous with their coarsework are going to tend to be the same way with board studying. And its a lot easier to raise your score when you learned everything well the first time and Step 1 prep is more focused on review than re-teaching yourself material. But there's no "pre-requisite intelligence" or "special trick" to it... its all about concerted effort, which is a lot easier said than done (even the best at it struggle with it).
What jeebus is trying to say is that it doesn't matter how you do it, but to do "that well" on Step 1 you need to make sure no stone is left unturned. You need to study everything, and study it meticulously enough that you understand it and can apply it abstractly. You need to do a ton of questions so you are comfortable with "how" the USMLE tests knowledge. There's many ways to get to that point. There's nothing special to taus, and its not for everyone, its just a decent format to structure your study schedule.
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Well said.
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You are definitely not going to get an above-average score if you are an average student.
If you didn't work hard in basic sciences, you aren't going to work hard for the step.
Just embrace your mediocrity instead of spitting in the wind. People like you are what allows others to look good. Take satisfaction in that knowledge. 👍
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That defeats the purpose of the Taus method. The method is based on gathering the best resources for each individual topic and distilling it down to two sources by the end.
If you use Kaplan, then it is the Kaplan method, not Taus.
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anonymity leak.
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OK I understand what you are trying to say but you are assuming you know something about me, when you really don't know anything about me. I work as hard as anyone in my class (save a few) but I am still sort of stuck in a rut of mediocrity on test scores. I believe that it is because I am a disorganized, frantic studyer without any sort of plan. Hopefully, the solid foundation of understanding that I do believe I have built over the past year and 3 months will allow me to use taus plan to keep my work ethic high, but help me to concert my efforts in a more organized and methodical fashion.
So maybe I just answered my own question, in the light of what you and a couple of others posted above.
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In the end, it really is up to you to decide what you can or cannot do. Work smarter instead or harder. This exam is as much about strategy as it is about knowledge.
