Should I start Anking as a rising M2??

[charamsukh]

I did very mediocre my first year (lots of C's) and I'm realizing I didn't retain much. Is it worth starting Anking now??? Or is too late? I'm looking at the number of cards there are (over 40k) and I have no idea how I'm going to all of this in and finish by like April of next year.

Are there specific things I should just focus on doing the cards for? Like sketchy micro+pharm and pathoma? B&B? Or should I try doing all of it?

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[eteshoe]

There's probably only like 25k-29k step 1 specific cards. Unlock them by First Aid and corresponding BnB tags. Suspend all the step 2 specific material. Start with going over stuff from m1 you're weak in and then continue unlocking cards that correspond w your m2 course schedule

 

[charamsukh]

There's probably only like 25k-29k step 1 specific cards. Unlock them by First Aid and corresponding BnB tags. Suspend all the step 2 specific material. Start with going over stuff from m1 you're weak in and then continue unlocking cards that correspond w your m2 course schedule

is 100 new cards of M1 stuff too much? I feel like I pretty much have to review everything from M1...I don't feel like I know anything.

Also what should I use for pharm and micro? I've noticed that theres both zanki pharm+micro and lolnotacop bugs & drugs on the anking deck?

 

[KendallJennerSniperLady69]

imo anking for step 1 is way overkill now and not necessary
probably did like 10% of anking (for step 1) and 25% of uworld and passed with 3 weeks of dedicated study (mostly doing uworld/watching sketchy/BnB during those 3 weeks)

instead, just start with the step 2 cards, since those will prepare you for 3rd year shelfs and step 2 (the things that actually matter now)

anything for step 1 that you don't learn through those cards can easily be covered through just watching BnB/youtube/sketchy videos to supplement

edit: should add that i don't have true ABC grades at my school for preclinical, but I was always just average/maybe slightly above average for each exam usually

 

[charamsukh]

imo anking for step 1 is way overkill now and not necessary
probably did like 10% of anking (for step 1) and 25% of uworld and passed with 3 weeks of dedicated study (mostly doing uworld/watching sketchy/BnB during those 3 weeks)

instead, just start with the step 2 cards, since those will prepare you for 3rd year shelfs and step 2 (the things that actually matter now)

anything for step 1 that you don't learn through those cards can easily be covered through just watching BnB/youtube/sketchy videos to supplement

edit: should add that i don't have true ABC grades at my school for preclinical, but I was always just average/maybe slightly above average for each exam usually

idk if starting step 2 decks rn is gonna help me when I feel like I don't know anything for step 1?

 

[Goro]

I did very mediocre my first year (lots of C's) and I'm realizing I didn't retain much. Is it worth starting Anking now??? Or is too late? I'm looking at the number of cards there are (over 40k) and I have no idea how I'm going to all of this in and finish by like April of next year.

Are there specific things I should just focus on doing the cards for? Like sketchy micro+pharm and pathoma? B&B? Or should I try doing all of it?

Only if it's helpful.

Find those resources that work for you.

 

[Anakinmemer]

Can anyone provide actual evidence that cloze deletion is superior specifically for the step exams? I understand how it would be best for simpler tasks like learning a language or memorizing vocab, but piecing together 20 different cards with different symptoms and treatments seem like a terrible way to learn a disease in a way that allows you to recognize it on the test. I noticed DRASTIC improvement when I didn't buy into the anking crap and started using larger cards that allowed me to block multiple aspects of a disease together in my mind and thus recognize it much better on the test.

In college I once had a guest lecturer who did tons of research in learning and memory consolidation basically say if it feels uncomfortable you're learning the best. People don't like basic cards or large recalls because it feels slow and annoying to do, but imo you're consolidating the information much better this way. Breezing through one word fill in the blanks with your mind half off is questionable.

So, consider not using anking. Just food for thought.

 

[thetenthletter]

It's good for micro/pharm if you're having trouble memorizing stuff. UWorld, and NBME exams are more than enough to pass.

 

[Billiam95]

No time like the present, don't listen to the naysayers

 

[eteshoe]

is 100 new cards of M1 stuff too much? I feel like I pretty much have to review everything from M1...I don't feel like I know anything.

Also what should I use for pharm and micro? I've noticed that theres both zanki pharm+micro and lolnotacop bugs & drugs on the anking deck?

The Anking deck has everything you need. 100 new cards is not too unreasonable, esp if you have a pretty light summer. Use sketchy micro and pharm to learn the basics and Anki to reinforce.

I do not subscribe to the Anking deck being overkill for step 1 just because it's p/f. The exam is still a very comprehensive beast and the more you know going into it, the more you'll shine on the wards in 3rd year and the less legwork for step 2. Honestly I just advise students to treat it as if it's still scored - it's better to be over prepared than under.

 

[kirtar]

is 100 new cards of M1 stuff too much? I feel like I pretty much have to review everything from M1...I don't feel like I know anything.

Also what should I use for pharm and micro? I've noticed that theres both zanki pharm+micro and lolnotacop bugs & drugs on the anking deck?

Don't worry about which subdeck something is in for the most part and just unsuspend based on tags for whatever you're using whether that be sketchy, B&B, pathoma, or whatnot. There are a lot of cards in the deck, but there are still a decent amount of duplicates and some pretty trivial cards that I found not worthwhile to unsuspend (e.g. stuff that I recalled from an undergrad class 10 years ago). You don't need to get through the whole deck. You just need to get through enough of the portions that reinforce what you actually need (this especially includes cards relating to missed practice questions). That said, if you are thinking about starting Anking, I'd probably start it earlier so that you don't need to add as many new cards/day.