BOTH Rate my study schedule

[Giovanotto]

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I'm ~ 6.5 months away from my USMLE/COMLEX test date and I plan to do the following until then:

Pre-dedicated:
Alternating days of*
-1hr/day with sketchymicro (with anki reinforcement of sketchy: sketchy deck) + FA pharm anki cards (on brosencephalon deck)
OR
-1hr/day with Kaplan Qbank (15Qs, timed, random/mixed, and going over them)

*In other words, each day I either do micro/pharm anki cards or Qbank

Dedicated: 5 weeks before exam
UWORLD + forms
NBME practice exams.


How does this look folks? Not enough? Too much?
I still cant decide for the life of me whether or not to keep using Kaplan Qbank or start UWorld now.

 

[Giovanotto]

@Mad Jack, @kenjixshadow , @AlbinoHawk DO, @68PGunner, @cabinbuilder, @QofQuimica

Tagging some fellow SDN followers and those that I know are also getting ready to take the USMLE or have already taken it. Please and thank you.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Wtf didn't you start school like last week? How does time go this fast?

I would recommend just doing UWorld and making flashcards out of the content. You can use anki or the new flashcard system in UWorld. Make your second pass during dedicated. Only do the new forms of the NBME. Use pathoma only to clarify concepts.

I don't have much faith in sketchymicro anymore. I knew it better than the palm of my hand, but the test was different on several questions. There were a lot of images and more vague descriptions.

 

[68PGunner]

Whatever that you do, you should aim to finish Uworld by the end of March as your first pass. I personally plan to do about 40 Qbank questions per day from here on out once I get back from vacation. With 90 secs per quest, that’s an hour per day of doing Qbank, and another 60-120 mins of reviewing content and possibly making flash cards or notes. This effort will probably establish your baseline around 220-230 before dedicated. An additional 8 weeks of pure NBMEs and flushing out the details can easily push your baseline up another 20 pts.

What do you think? @Ibn Alnafis MD

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I'm not a big fan of cards. I feel that it's passive learning. I benefit more from active learning (aka Qbank). However, every person is different.

I echo the above two advice. I would do my best to finish UW entirely before dedicated and then do another pass during dedicated. Also aim to finish all NBME exams (including retired versions). Try to do an NBME every now and then and increase the frequency as time gets closer to your exams.

Point is, dedicated time should be utilized to hone your skills and tighten the bolts. It should not be used to learn new information. Most of those who do well on boards start out their dedicated scoring around average. Very few people I have seen who can go from a non passing score to 250 over 4 weeks.

Other sources to use:
Pathoma. Do this multiple times.

FA. Don't just sit and memorize it. Instead, reference it while doing UW.

I can' recommend sketchy since I didn't use it. I'm not big fan of Kaplan so I can't recommend it either. Rx is a good source, but it's a little too late for it now and you should really focus your time and energy on getting the most out of UW.

 

[68PGunner]

I'm not a big fan of cards. I feel that it's passive learning. I benefit more from active learning (aka Qbank). However, every person is different.

I echo the above two advice. I would do my best to finish UW entirely before dedicated and then do another pass during dedicated. Also aim to finish all NBME exams (including retired versions). Try to do an NBME every now and then and increase the frequency as time gets closer to your exams.

Point is, dedicated time should be utilized to hone your skills and tighten the bolts. It should not be used to learn new information. Most of those who do well on boards start out their dedicated scoring around average. Very few people I have seen who can go from a non passing score to 250 over 4 weeks.

Other sources to use:
Pathoma. Do this multiple times.

FA. Don't just sit and memorize it. Instead, reference it while doing UW.

I can' recommend sketchy since I didn't use it. I'm not big fan of Kaplan so I can't recommend it either. Rx is a good source, but it's a little too late for it now and you should really focus your time and energy on getting the most out of UW.

What NBMEs and other diagnostic exams do you recommend? What timeframe should I be shooting for in completion for those individual exams? Again, thanks for everything.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

What NBMEs and other diagnostic exams do you recommend? What timeframe should I be shooting for in completion for those individual exams? Again, thanks for everything.

I’d probably do one NBME before UW first pass (given that you have been studying other sources). Then do one at the end of the first pass (which should be around the start of dedicated). Then I’d take one every week of dedicated. Assuming 5 weeks of dedicated time, this plan should consume 7 NBME exams (12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and the free qs online). If you like, you could causally do qs from older versions (1, 2, 3, etc...) between now and the start of your dedicated just to get yourself familiarized with NBME style qs.

 

[cabinbuilder]

@Mad Jack, @kenjixshadow , @AlbinoHawk DO, @68PGunner, @cabinbuilder, @QofQuimica

Tagging some fellow SDN followers and those that I know are also getting ready to take the USMLE or have already taken it. Please and thank you.

I only did practice questions and reviewed the answers I got wrong. I don't know what the other study aides are you mentioned.

 

[QofQuimica]

@Mad Jack, @kenjixshadow , @AlbinoHawk DO, @68PGunner, @cabinbuilder, @QofQuimica

Tagging some fellow SDN followers and those that I know are also getting ready to take the USMLE or have already taken it. Please and thank you.

My friend, I took Step 1 a decade ago. I think you would do well to find some fresher advice regarding prep materials than what I could give you. (Like CB, I don't know what a lot of the items you mentioned even are.)

BUT, in general, my advice would be to not go crazy trying to read every resource known to man. The number of prep materials out there greatly exceeds the number of remaining hours in your life, never mind the amount of time that you have to actually study for Step 1. So pick one or two main resources and study them thoroughly as opposed to dabbling into this and that without ever really learning any of it well. Oh, and don't spend your entire study break studying. My school gave me six weeks, and I found that by the beginning of week 5, I had reached the point of maximum mental saturation. Totally should have stopped studying after the fourth week and had two weeks of vacation instead of just one.

Best of luck to you. 🙂

 

[Giovanotto]

My friend, I took Step 1 a decade ago. I think you would do well to find some fresher advice regarding prep materials than what I could give you. (Like CB, I don't know what a lot of the items you mentioned even are.)

BUT, in general, my advice would be to not go crazy trying to read every resource known to man. The number of prep materials out there greatly exceeds the number of remaining hours in your life, never mind the amount of time that you have to actually study for Step 1. So pick one or two main resources and study them thoroughly as opposed to dabbling into this and that without ever really learning any of it well. Oh, and don't spend your entire study break studying. My school gave me six weeks, and I found that by the beginning of week 5, I had reached the point of maximum mental saturation. Totally should have stopped studying after the fourth week and had two weeks of vacation instead of just one.

Best of luck to you. 🙂

Great advice, thank you for your suggestions and encouragement.

 

[68PGunner]

I’d probably do one NBME before UW first pass (given that you have been studying other sources). Then do one at the end of the first pass (which should be around the start of dedicated). Then I’d take one every week of dedicated. Assuming 5 weeks of dedicated time, this plan should consume 7 NBME exams (12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and the free qs online). If you like, you could causally do qs from older versions (1, 2, 3, etc...) between now and the start of your dedicated just to get yourself familiarized with NBME style qs.

When do you recommend NBME 12? I have repro and then gi as the last two big guns left to start the upcoming semester. Where are the few q’s online? I am only aware of the Assessments from Uworld and Kaplan.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

When do you recommend NBME 12? I have repro and then gi as the last two big guns left to start the upcoming semester. Where are the few q’s online? I am only aware of the Assessments from Uworld and Kaplan.

I did NBME 15 as my baseline in first week of March. I can’t remember what systems I hadn’t covered.

Nbme has about 130 free sample qs. Do these later, closer to your test date. Try to find the old retired versions online. I can’t point you into the direction but I’m sure you are smart enough to find them. Those are good source to use casually.

 

[darknecrosforte]

@Giovanotto @68PGunner we were also emailed on 1/2 about the chance to take that practice Step 1 at any Prometric site for free (~$75 normally), so there's that. Might be helpful. You can schedule that out from 2nd week Jan to like August 18.

 

[arcus]

I'm ~ 6.5 months away from my USMLE/COMLEX test date and I plan to do the following until then...

As soon as practical, visit the Prometric Center where you will be taking the Step 1 Exam. Check the varied routes to the center from your home, visit the building and parking lot, check the break room, vending machines, inspect to see if they have a mini-fridge to place your own meals / lunchbox, ask to see the test room from outside of the windows, ask to see the headphones, and get an overall feeling of what awaits you.

So much of Step 1 preparation is putting your anxiety and the unknown in check. Visiting the test center well ahead of my Step 1 Exam did me wonders. My anxiety was minimal.

 

[ananasmed]

Don't wait to start UWorld, it may take you longer than you expect to properly review every question + take notes. It's the most important part of your prep IMO. Good luck!

 

[pbrocks15]

Would anyone recommend doing UWorld 3 times? If you already are far into it and want to perhaps even just do the ones you got wrong before resetting? Or is this not a good idea?

I feel like I am on a good pace to finish about a month or more before Dedicated.

 

[831929]

what about doing another qbank instead before dedicated then uworld 2x over dedicated?