USMLE Shelf exams compared to USMLE - similar studying?

[Freddie Mercury]

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Hello,

I am organizing my study plan and am looking for some advice. My test is currently set for May 30. I have a question regarding the extent to which studying for Step 1 carries over to the shelf exams - namely - Pathology, Microbio/Immuno, and Pharm. Reason I ask is we have our shelf exams about 2-3 weeks before May 30 (my Step1 date) and am wondering if I should push back my Step1 to give more time to study for the shelfs individually. They each compose 10-15% of the class grade for the respective class.

Otherwise, I figure that since I will be getting some solid boards studying in from March (like 85% of my class material is finished by end of February), my studying for Step 1 should naturally carry over to doing well on the shelf. But I am wondering if that is true or not.

 

[nguyen1025]

I've taken all those shelves you mentioned and FA was sufficient for ~90-95% of the questions. So if your step studying consists of using FA as a backbone, you will do fine.