School Curriculum enough for P/F Step 1, classmates are changing everything up but I want to stick with what worked last year

[Wobbler12345]

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Hi Guys,

My question is with Step being P/F and the emphasis being shifted to EC's, is really learning the material taught in class enough? I am trying to figure out what I want to do this year in terms of strategy as I am starting M2 at a mid/low tier school. I have a lot of EC's I am dedicated to and a girlfriend I definitely still want to throw a good chunk of time at. Last year I was able to balance everything and generally score in the 92-95% range on the exams and not feel too stressed, plus I need to know the mechanism in order to memorize things and it seems like a lot of outside resources are more about slamming facts in your head. As we start this year, classmates are freaking out and trying to change their approach to school, can I just rock with what has been working and worry about step during dedicated?

Thanks!

 

[Lucca]

Yes you can keep doing what you’re doing save the cramming for dedicated and comfortably pass

 

[operaman]

Even in the scored step 1 era I put most of my effort into classes since I wanted to get junior AOA and grades were a huge part of that. I used boards materials as a supplement to better understand class material. Pathoma was a godsend and I would often watch a class lecture and be confused, watch his lecture and "Get it," and then rewatch the class lecture at 2x and suddenly it all fit together. Things like FA and whatnot are also nice to help pick out high yield testable concepts both for Step 1 as well as class exams.

By focusing on classes, my initial NBME before dedicated was already over 250, so it seemed to work for me. I was also blessed with a really good curriculum and good faculty who cared about teaching.

The only EC that matters in terms of competitiveness is research. Others you do for you because you enjoy them, and having some other random stuff on the ol' CV is nice too, but it's not like residencies are going to be selecting interview invites based on "oooh this guy was in the medical history club too."

 

[GreenDuck12]

Hi Guys,

My question is with Step being P/F and the emphasis being shifted to EC's, is really learning the material taught in class enough? I am trying to figure out what I want to do this year in terms of strategy as I am starting M2 at a mid/low tier school. I have a lot of EC's I am dedicated to and a girlfriend I definitely still want to throw a good chunk of time at. Last year I was able to balance everything and generally score in the 92-95% range on the exams and not feel too stressed, plus I need to know the mechanism in order to memorize things and it seems like a lot of outside resources are more about slamming facts in your head. As we start this year, classmates are freaking out and trying to change their approach to school, can I just rock with what has been working and worry about step during dedicated?

Thanks!

If you’re scoring 90%+ on exams I would not concerned about passing step as that threshold has been scoring above 6% of all test takers. I might consider adding a question bank but that’s up to you.

 

[collegestud2013]

Hi Guys,

My question is with Step being P/F and the emphasis being shifted to EC's, is really learning the material taught in class enough? I am trying to figure out what I want to do this year in terms of strategy as I am starting M2 at a mid/low tier school. I have a lot of EC's I am dedicated to and a girlfriend I definitely still want to throw a good chunk of time at. Last year I was able to balance everything and generally score in the 92-95% range on the exams and not feel too stressed, plus I need to know the mechanism in order to memorize things and it seems like a lot of outside resources are more about slamming facts in your head. As we start this year, classmates are freaking out and trying to change their approach to school, can I just rock with what has been working and worry about step during dedicated?

Thanks!

If that's 92-95% on an in-house school exam, it's not always easy to say how that will translate to Step performance, though a pass on Step 1 is very likely. The raw percentage correct on Step exams for most students tends to be lower than the in house school exams at most med schools since the content covered is so much broader (while may schools will only directly test off content that is specifically mentioned in a lecture or slide).

As for M2, I would only focus heavily on studying for your classes if your school is graded and ranked. If your school is true P/F for pre-clinical, I would focus some times on high-yield ECs like research or making connections with faculty if you're going for more of a research-heavy specialty.

 

[Goro]

Hi Guys,

My question is with Step being P/F and the emphasis being shifted to EC's, is really learning the material taught in class enough? I am trying to figure out what I want to do this year in terms of strategy as I am starting M2 at a mid/low tier school. I have a lot of EC's I am dedicated to and a girlfriend I definitely still want to throw a good chunk of time at. Last year I was able to balance everything and generally score in the 92-95% range on the exams and not feel too stressed, plus I need to know the mechanism in order to memorize things and it seems like a lot of outside resources are more about slamming facts in your head. As we start this year, classmates are freaking out and trying to change their approach to school, can I just rock with what has been working and worry about step during dedicated?

Thanks!

Stick with what works for you, and no need to kill yourself for a 99%, either .