Step 1 264--Ask Me Anything

[Raisin Brain]

I didn't do amazingly well on my MCAT, and I was not top of my class in high school or college. I'm a normal human being who worked extremely hard to score well.

Reading through study strategies was really useful for me when I was starting, so I figured I'd post this!

Before any questions, my three biggest pieces of advice for doing well:
1. Study well during the first two years. You'll be thankful when dedicated begins how much you already know.

2. Practice questions, practice questions, practice questions. I did over 4000+ by the time I took my exam. 1400+ came from USMLE-Rx (I did 20 questions a day 2nd semester M2 year) and 2400+ from UWorld (one time through during dedicated).

3. Find your niche. Whether it's Anki or lectures, find what suits your learning style best and drive it home. I didn't watch a single lecture during dedicated because I just don't retain information that way. Yes, that means I didn't watch a single Pathoma or B&B video. I know, I know--scandalous.

Edit:
4. How could I forget Sketchy? Sketchy Micro and Pharm are gold. Let me say it again. GOLD. I did every Pharm video and I have no regrets. Some say they're monotonous, but since when is pharm an intriguing subject to commit to memory in any form?

Here are my practice scores and UWorld %
UWSA 1: 247 (prededicated)
NBME 16: 255 (4 weeks out)
UWSA 2: 258 (3 weeks out)
NBME 17: 261 (2 weeks out)
Free 120: 93% (111/120) (1 week out)
UWorld: 86%

Fire away! I'm an open book.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

What outside resources did you use during your preclinical years? Do you recommend FC or B&B?

 

[hardpecs]

How useful was USMLE-Rx, in retrospect? I lot of people use it as a secondary qbank after UW, but ive heard mixed things - some saying that it was helpful, others less so.

Also what was your strategy with anatomy?

 

[Raisin Brain]

What outside resources did you use during your preclinical years? Do you recommend FC or B&B?

I didn't use outside resources consistently. Summer between M1 and M2 I tried Firecracker and it just didn't suit my fancy. I'm a big Anki person, and the timing of FC just wasn't what I was looking for flashcard wise.

B&B was useful for Cardio and Pulmonary during 2nd year. He does a good job of making the more difficult concepts easier to swallow.

I didn't use FA until the first day of dedicated. I began Zanki during my 2nd semester of M2 year, approximately 5 months before my actual exam.

 

[Raisin Brain]

How useful was USMLE-Rx, in retrospect? I lot of people use it as a secondary qbank after UW, but ive heard mixed things - some saying that it was helpful, others less so.

Also what was your strategy with anatomy?

Ya know, I'm one of the people who loved Rx. I'm big on getting a "script" for a disease though. I can learn all about something in First Aid, but until I see how it would actually present in a question, I'm worthless. Rx helped me see those patterns well before dedicated started, and I think that's why UWorld was more like a refresher than anything.

Anatomy is brutal for everyone. As far as for during school... It's just a monotonous time of memorizing as much as you can. I used Anki for nerve paths and arterial connections and used a question bank our school provided for us. Again, seeing those questions is huge for me. The practicals are what you'd expect--you're going to have to just bear down and look at the structures until you're comfortable.

For Step 1, I'll be blatantly honest... All I did was learn FA's section twice during dedicated and called it good. I didn't do any Zanki or use another resource. Anatomy is such a massive area that I felt studying it wasn't a good use of my time. I'm sure others disagree.

 

[Mahmoud Omar]

hey, I did free 120 question sample few days and I got 92% as right precent "10 question wrong"
I did UWSA 2 with "19 wrong one" at least I could avoid 7 mistakes

how much should I study in order to reach 260 in the real exam ?

 

[Raisin Brain]

hey, I did free 120 question sample few days and I got 92% as right precent "10 question wrong"
I did UWSA 2 with "19 wrong one" at least I could avoid 7 mistakes

how much should I study in order to reach 260 in the real exam ?

There's no perfect prediction template out there, but I'll give you my scores.

I got a 93% on the Free 120 (111/120) and a 258 on UWSA 2 three weeks before my exam. I think you're in a good place with a good opportunity to reach your goal. Scoring above a 260 comes down to many factors, and I believe staying confident and calm on exam day did wonders for my score. Good luck!

 

[Scrapbook]

Congrats on your score! How did you approach USMLE Rx? Did you do 20qs/day by discipline, organ system or random? And did you review topics before doing the questions or just reviewed the ones you got wrong? I'm MS2 and feel like I don't remember a lot from 1st year. I definitely want to review a little bit before doing questions, but not sure how to approach them along with classes.

 

[Yorick]

How did you feel walking out of the exam and going through it? A lot of accounts I've read seem to say Step 1 is very different than NBMEs, UWorld, kaplan, etc or may be a mixture of them, so how what do you think is a good way of training yourself to answer actual step questions?

And congratulations!

 

[WeedForLunch]

This account was made like a month or so ago and this THREAD is posted on the USMLE Rx FB Page and is being run by them as a paid advert.. There are a lot of fake experiences so i would ask people to tread cautiously before buying anything.. Many companies are running guerrilla marketing tactics these days using sock puppetry ..

 

[Raisin Brain]

This account was made like a month or so ago and this THREAD is posted on the USMLE Rx FB Page and is being run by them as a paid advert.. There are a lot of fake experiences so i would ask people to tread cautiously before buying anything.. Many companies are running guerrilla marketing tactics these days using sock puppetry ..

Lol that's hilarious, because I am definitely not affiliated with them. I don't think their questions are nearly as good as UWorld and I don't think they're a "definitely use" resource.

I'll take a screenshot of my score and post it in a bit. And I'll also post pictures of all my practice scores if I need to.

I solemnly swear I am an actual med student who just began my 3rd year and have no affiliation with Usmle-Rx or anything else.

This account was created one month ago for anonymity as I don't want people at my school knowing my score or other personal details.

P.s. does anyone know if I have the right to get them to take that advert down? Or since this is a public post do I waive that right? I'd rather not have them using this information...

 

[Raisin Brain]

Congrats on your score! How did you approach USMLE Rx? Did you do 20qs/day by discipline, organ system or random? And did you review topics before doing the questions or just reviewed the ones you got wrong? I'm MS2 and feel like I don't remember a lot from 1st year. I definitely want to review a little bit before doing questions, but not sure how to approach them along with classes.

Thank you! I broke it down by organ system on timed mode. I hadn't looked at First Aid at all when I was doing Rx, but I was doing Zanki along with class material and it worked well.

To be honest, I just read through the questions I missed and just made sure I understood why I missed it. I didn't review the topic. I tried making Anki cards for missed questions, but this became very time consuming as my incorrects piled up and I gave up pretty early on.

I'd suggest getting 1/3 to 1/2 into an organ system before starting questions on either Kaplan or Rx. That way you have at least some idea what you're readint and trying to answer.

 

[Raisin Brain]

How did you feel walking out of the exam and going through it? A lot of accounts I've read seem to say Step 1 is very different than NBMEs, UWorld, kaplan, etc or may be a mixture of them, so how what do you think is a good way of training yourself to answer actual step questions?

And congratulations!

I felt pretty apathetic walking out. Knew I missed at least 5-7 and only remembered 10 questions. I did my best to keep a level head going in, as I knew my practice materials were all pretty clear in how I was performing. Every time I hit a question I didn't know, I tried to keep calm and remind myself 80% of everyone else probably felt similar.

I think the actual thing is different from anything else for sure. The question stems were longer and the answers were more difficult to rule out. Or the stem would be very ambiguous and require quite a bit of deduction to answer it. None of them were unfair though, and plenty had buzz words or were prototypical presentations.

I think the best way to prepare is UWorld's questions. They're the most similar (besides the Free 120) and make you think through subjects more thoroughly than other question banks. I would really focus on learning how to rule answers out rather than just picking the best one. If you're able to consistently read answers and know they're wrong just by the answer itself, you're in a good place.

Best of luck!

 

[medicineman1234]

What was your daily schedule like during those dedicated weeks?

 

[razza1]

my uwsa 1 was 228
and my uwsa 2 was 224

just wrote the step, have no idea how I did

when is the earliest the scores come out and how predictive is uwsa 1 vs uwsa2 to the real deal?

 

[Raisin Brain]

What was your daily schedule like during those dedicated weeks?

Dedicated consisted of pretty much the following on a day-by-day basis. I used Cramfighter to schedule out the specifics.

• 8:00am -- 40 UWorld Q's(timed, random)
• 9:00am - 11:00 am -- First Aid/Pathoma
• 11:00am - 12:15/30pm -- Review UWorld
• 12:30pm - 2:00pm -- Lunch/Sketchy videos
• 2:00pm -- 40 UWorld Q's (timed, random)
• 3:00pm - 6:00pm -- First Aid/Pathoma
• 6:00pm - 8:00pm -- Break/Supper/Workout
• 8:00pm - 9:15/30pm -- Review UWorld
• 9:30pm - 11:00pm -- Zanki Reviews/New Biochem cards

I ranged anywhere from 35-50 pages a day in First Aid/Pathoma. I got through one full run through in 3 weeks and then did another run through of First Aid over the last two weeks. I didn't get through every section the 2nd time, but I hit the topics I felt worst about or knew there would be some high-yield memorizing. I didn't do Pathoma twice--I didn't feel it was worth my time.

I would study 6 days a week with the above schedule. On Sundays I wouldn't start until about 2:00 pm, but then I would study until 10:00 pm usually.

 

[Raisin Brain]

my uwsa 1 was 228
and my uwsa 2 was 224

just wrote the step, have no idea how I did

when is the earliest the scores come out and how predictive is uwsa 1 vs uwsa2 to the real deal?

As they say, trust your averages.

As for predictive value, my UWSA1 was a 247, but I took it nearly 2 months out. My UWSA2 was a 258 taken three weeks before. There's a Reddit thread with all of the different correlations and what not if you Google it.

 

[Lnsean]

Dedicated consisted of pretty much the following on a day-by-day basis. I used Cramfighter to schedule out the specifics.

• 8:00am -- 40 UWorld Q's(timed, random)
• 9:00am - 11:00 am -- First Aid/Pathoma
• 11:00am - 12:15/30pm -- Review UWorld
• 12:30pm - 2:00pm -- Lunch/Sketchy videos
• 2:00pm -- 40 UWorld Q's (timed, random)
• 3:00pm - 6:00pm -- First Aid/Pathoma
• 6:00pm - 8:00pm -- Break/Supper/Workout
• 8:00pm - 9:15/30pm -- Review UWorld
• 9:30pm - 11:00pm -- Zanki Reviews/New Biochem cards

I ranged anywhere from 35-50 pages a day in First Aid/Pathoma. I got through one full run through in 3 weeks and then did another run through of First Aid over the last two weeks. I didn't get through every section the 2nd time, but I hit the topics I felt worst about or knew there would be some high-yield memorizing. I didn't do Pathoma twice--I didn't feel it was worth my time.

I would study 6 days a week with the above schedule. On Sundays I wouldn't start until about 2:00 pm, but then I would study until 10:00 pm usually.

that looks exhausting

 

[Raisin Brain]

that looks exhausting

Yep, it was. Unfortunately I'm not a genius and hard work is how I get by.

 

[medicineman1234]

Dedicated consisted of pretty much the following on a day-by-day basis. I used Cramfighter to schedule out the specifics.

• 8:00am -- 40 UWorld Q's(timed, random)
• 9:00am - 11:00 am -- First Aid/Pathoma
• 11:00am - 12:15/30pm -- Review UWorld
• 12:30pm - 2:00pm -- Lunch/Sketchy videos
• 2:00pm -- 40 UWorld Q's (timed, random)
• 3:00pm - 6:00pm -- First Aid/Pathoma
• 6:00pm - 8:00pm -- Break/Supper/Workout
• 8:00pm - 9:15/30pm -- Review UWorld
• 9:30pm - 11:00pm -- Zanki Reviews/New Biochem cards

I ranged anywhere from 35-50 pages a day in First Aid/Pathoma. I got through one full run through in 3 weeks and then did another run through of First Aid over the last two weeks. I didn't get through every section the 2nd time, but I hit the topics I felt worst about or knew there would be some high-yield memorizing. I didn't do Pathoma twice--I didn't feel it was worth my time.

I would study 6 days a week with the above schedule. On Sundays I wouldn't start until about 2:00 pm, but then I would study until 10:00 pm usually.

Damn inspiring.
Thank you

 

[deleted938090]

Would you recommend reading the textbook on the subjects in Step 1 along with your classes, or do you think there isn't enough time for them to be efficient?

 

[Raisin Brain]

Would you recommend reading the textbook on the subjects in Step 1 along with your classes, or do you think there isn't enough time for them to be efficient?

I didn't use textbooks of any kind (including FA/Pathoma) during either M1 or M2 year. I don't like passive learning. Having said that, I did find doing Zanki during 2nd semester this year to be helpful.

I know a lot of people read along in FA while doing classes, and I'm sure many of them did well. Just find what works best for you and stick to it. Don't beat yourself up if you can't find the time to read a chapter of FA in the middle of the school year though. Med school is difficult enough without studying for Step during the school year.

 

[JooceMan137]

I've been using Q banks to help me study for my preclinicals with great success. During M1 year, I used Kaplan, USMLE RX, and Uworld and got straight honors grades. I just started M2 year, and was wondering if it would be a better idea to just use USMLE RX and Kaplan to study for my M2 classes, and saving Uworld for dedicated so I don't end up memorizing answers.

Do you think this is a good idea?

 

[Raisin Brain]

I've been using Q banks to help me study for my preclinicals with great success. During M1 year, I used Kaplan, USMLE RX, and Uworld and got straight honors grades. I just started M2 year, and was wondering if it would be a better idea to just use USMLE RX and Kaplan to study for my M2 classes, and saving Uworld for dedicated so I don't end up memorizing answers.

Do you think this is a good idea?

I didn't use UWorld until dedicated, and I only used USMLE-Rx during the 2nd semester of 2nd year. I liked having the UWorld questions being fresh in my mind going into my actual test, but I think that's a personal preference. So long as you're comfortable answering questions in Step 1 style, I'm not sure it matters when you do them.

I'd continue doing what's made you successful. It's obviously worked thus far.

 

[JooceMan137]

Hey man, I appreciate your help earlier.

Sorry if you mentioned this already. Did you review M1 content at all during M2 year, or just during dedicated?

 

[Raisin Brain]

Hey man, I appreciate your help earlier.

Sorry if you mentioned this already. Did you review M1 content at all during M2 year, or just during dedicated?

No problem. I didn't review any content from M1 year until dedicated, but I was in a curriculum that gave the "normal" processes and anatomy during the first year (including Biochem) and all pathology second year.

 

[harkas]

What did you do during your first year? Did you use outside resources to study for boards or just focus on class work?

 

[Raisin Brain]

What did you do during your first year? Did you use outside resources to study for boards or just focus on class work?

I just focused on class work. My priority during the year was to do well in class, and what we were learning was a more in depth version of FA/Pathoma/etc anyway. I think using those resources to stay organized is smart, but using them to study for class never made sense to me.

 

[JibsGuy52]

MS2 here. For first aid, how did you tackle it? The book itself is massive. Did you just go cover to cover? Don't really know how to start FA.

 

[alprazoslam]

MS2 here. For first aid, how did you tackle it? The book itself is massive. Did you just go cover to cover? Don't really know how to start FA.

It’s a list of facts and charts to be memorized word for word. The biochem section might be a little much for usmle biochem but the rest was spot on

There isn’t a lot of biochem on usmle really not as much as FA alludes to

 

[Raisin Brain]

MS2 here. For first aid, how did you tackle it? The book itself is massive. Did you just go cover to cover? Don't really know how to start FA.

Echoing alprazoslam (love the name, btdubs), it's really about memorizing. When I began FA, it was scheduled out by Cramfighter for me. For stuff I didn't know, I would memorize it and go back to it 10 minutes later to be sure it was still in my head. Near the end it was more so reading over quickly.

I will say I disagree with the Biochem being too in depth. My test day was chalk full of in Biochem, and nearly none of it was straightforward. I used Zanki Biochem (pulled from FA) and only did the cards during dedicated. I did 80 new cards a day and kept up with the stack. That was more than enough to feel comfortable.

 

[Blakeb_212]

Hey all,
I have a question in regards to cardiology.
If total peripheral resistance is increased, is the system increasing or decreasing venous return? And can I think of TPR and vasoconstriction/dilation as the same term?

Thanks in advance grade savers!

 

[073116]

Hey all,
I have a question in regards to cardiology.
If total peripheral resistance is increased, is the system increasing or decreasing venous return? And can I think of TPR and vasoconstriction/dilation as the same term?

Thanks in advance grade savers!

Dude this is a gunner sdn thread about 260+ on step1. You are out of your element Donny!

 

[Step2myLou]

Echoing alprazoslam (love the name, btdubs), it's really about memorizing. When I began FA, it was scheduled out by Cramfighter for me. For stuff I didn't know, I would memorize it and go back to it 10 minutes later to be sure it was still in my head. Near the end it was more so reading over quickly.

I will say I disagree with the Biochem being too in depth. My test day was chalk full of in Biochem, and nearly none of it was straightforward. I used Zanki Biochem (pulled from FA) and only did the cards during dedicated. I did 80 new cards a day and kept up with the stack. That was more than enough to feel comfortable.

So you think having FA memorized cold is helpful? I have heard many people say that it is not important but would love to hear your opinion. Also you said that the exam had a lot of buzzwords and prototypical presentations so would you recommend RX over Kaplan because of that? Thank you!!

 

[Raisin Brain]

Hey all,
I have a question in regards to cardiology.
If total peripheral resistance is increased, is the system increasing or decreasing venous return? And can I think of TPR and vasoconstriction/dilation as the same term?

Thanks in advance grade savers!

If the total peripheral resistance is increased, the venous return is decreased. And yes, you're correct in thinking of TPR and vasoconstriction/dilation in the same terms to a point. Just remember TPR is referring to the arterial system. If you then think about how constricting arteries would limit arterial flow getting to the veins--->leads to decreased venous return, it makes a bit more sense! Similarly, increased TPR leads to decreases in CO because of the increased afterload on the heart.

Best of luck!

 

[Raisin Brain]

So you think having FA memorized cold is helpful? I have heard many people say that it is not important but would love to hear your opinion. Also you said that the exam had a lot of buzzwords and prototypical presentations so would you recommend RX over Kaplan because of that? Thank you!!

I guess to me, any learning is essentially memorizing. In the end, doing well on Step 1 requires knowing all of the little tid bits of information they can test you on and then being able to extrapolate those details and synthesize them when the questions are more than 1st order. For me, this came down to memorizing the information and doing practice questions for the synthesis aspect.

Let me be clear, there were plenty of questions on Step that were not prototypical questions with buzzwords. However, there were neurological questions regarding diseases in which the stem included almost every buzzword you could possibly need to narrow it down. There was also a treatment regimen question for one of the most common bacterial infections. But there were plenty of questions I had never seen before or had any idea what the correct answer was. I just tend to disagree with the notion that Step 1 has completely moved away from a test of recognizing disease patterns and/or buzzwords per say.

I think either Rx or Kaplan would be acceptable to become familiar with the presentation of certain questions. I had a good experience with Rx, but I've heard good things about Kaplan as well.

Good luck!

 

[Blakeb_212]

Dude this is a gunner sdn thread about 260+ on step1. You are out of your element Donny!

Lol I know I’m only in week 4 of first year but I figured the best place to find the right answer would be here, and I wasn’t sure where else to post. Glad you all are so motivated

 

[medicineman1234]

I guess to me, any learning is essentially memorizing. In the end, doing well on Step 1 requires knowing all of the little tid bits of information they can test you on and then being able to extrapolate those details and synthesize them when the questions are more than 1st order. For me, this came down to memorizing the information and doing practice questions for the synthesis aspect.

Let me be clear, there were plenty of questions on Step that were not prototypical questions with buzzwords. However, there were neurological questions regarding diseases in which the stem included almost every buzzword you could possibly need to narrow it down. There was also a treatment regimen question for one of the most common bacterial infections. But there were plenty of questions I had never seen before or had any idea what the correct answer was. I just tend to disagree with the notion that Step 1 has completely moved away from a test of recognizing disease patterns and/or buzzwords per say.

I think either Rx or Kaplan would be acceptable to become familiar with the presentation of certain questions. I had a good experience with Rx, but I've heard good things about Kaplan as well.

Good luck!

I love your philosophy and that's how I honestly approach medicine. The only difference is my dream score is like 24 points below your actual score since I know I won't have enough time to knock it out of the park like you did.

 

[Raisin Brain]

Lol I know I’m only in week 4 of first year but I figured the best place to find the right answer would be here, and I wasn’t sure where else to post. Glad you all are so motivated

Hey we all gotta start somewhere. Cardio is one of the least intuitive subjects for me, and your question was one of hundreds I had when we first started learning it.

Good luck with first year. You'll do great.

 

[Raisin Brain]

I love your philosophy and that's how I honestly approach medicine. The only difference is my dream score is like 24 points below your actual score since I know I won't have enough time to knock it out of the park like you did.

Hey don't short yourself. When I started medical school I expected to be in the bottom 25th percentile of my class andmy goal on Step was a 230. But yes, I did put an absurd amount of time in, and it wasn't easy. But don't let anyone ever tell you that a 240 isn't a good score. Or even a 230 for that matter. Passing this exam is a huge accomplishment in itself.

Just study as hard as you can and remember to live life a little bit too. You'll be done with Step in no time!

 

[bethygean]

I’m apart of an inaugural class and would appreciate some input as to how I’m doing. I’m doing FA, pathoma, UWorld, COMBANK (and a few Kaplan questions here and there just because I have access to it through my school.) The material I test myself on is the system we’re on in class. So far (at the end of each system) I’m scoring 60%+ on UWorld and ~60%+ on COMBANK USMLE questions and for COMBANK COMLEX questions I’m scoring 70%+. I don’t have any upper classman to ask about my performance so I guess I’m just not sure where I’m really supposed to be scoring at. I’m ~2.5 months into second year. I’m planning on taking both COMLEX and USMLE. Thoughts?

 

[iforget2]

Going through zanki as an M1 right now but what would you suggest for me going forward? Start using a Q-bank?

 

[Raisin Brain]

I’m apart of an inaugural class and would appreciate some input as to how I’m doing. I’m doing FA, pathoma, UWorld, COMBANK (and a few Kaplan questions here and there just because I have access to it through my school.) The material I test myself on is the system we’re on in class. So far (at the end of each system) I’m scoring 60%+ on UWorld and ~60%+ on COMBANK USMLE questions and for COMBANK COMLEX questions I’m scoring 70%+. I don’t have any upper classman to ask about my performance so I guess I’m just not sure where I’m really supposed to be scoring at. I’m ~2.5 months into second year. I’m planning on taking both COMLEX and USMLE. Thoughts?

Sorry for not responding in a timely manner! I somehow missed the post.

I think it depends on your goals to really decide how you're progressing. 60% on UWorld is right around average, so that would absolutely be a solid score. Another thing to realize is that even though you're doing each system separately, sometimes the questions delve into other areas you haven't studied yet. I didn't do UWorld during the year, but I imagine my overall average would likely have been lower. The only comparison I can give you is USMLE-Rx. I used that QBank during the year for each organ system and ended up with a 79% average by the time I started.

You're doing all the right things, preparing early and doing questions. It'll pay off. Keep working hard and sticking to a schedule! Good luck!

 

[Raisin Brain]

Going through zanki as an M1 right now but what would you suggest for me going forward? Start using a Q-bank?

As an M1 in my curriculum, I don't think doing a QBank or Zanki was feasible. We didn't focus on pathology, only anatomy and physiology. But if you're M1 is more integrative, then I think using Zanki from the get-go to is a great idea so you don't have to jam pack M2 year.

As for as a QBank, there are plenty out there. So, if you did use one during your first year, you would still have plenty to choose from next year. However, you need to accept that your % will likely be a little lower than you desire just because you don't have a solid foundation yet. Or maybe you do and I'm wrong!

I can only speak to what I did during first year, and that was just learning the material in class as best I could with Anki. Even on Step 1, I felt I had some questions I answered correctly due to retention from M1 year. Pre-clinical grades are correlated to a higher Step 1 score, after all!

Good luck with first year. It goes quick!

 

[DrAK18]

Hey, hopefully you're still around answering Q's, this thread has helped me a lot.

I had my sights set on getting a score similar to yours before I had to take a year off from medical school...I wasn't able to study or brush up on anything during my time off, and now I'm 3 months out from Step 1 and finally able to put the pedal to the metal.

In your estimation, would you have been able to get a score in the 260's if you'd taken a year off after 2nd year and were in a similar situation?

I did very well in all my classes, but I've forgotten basically everything. I'm definitely willing to put in the time and effort like you did, but I'm worried I'm simply too far behind. I'm missing the majority of questions using any given QBank in Random mode, and if I were to take a full length test right now it would be really, really ugly.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[Raisin Brain]

Hey, hopefully you're still around answering Q's, this thread has helped me a lot.

I had my sights set on getting a score similar to yours before I had to take a year off from medical school...I wasn't able to study or brush up on anything during my time off, and now I'm 3 months out from Step 1 and finally able to put the pedal to the metal.

In your estimation, would you have been able to get a score in the 260's if you'd taken a year off after 2nd year and were in a similar situation?

I did very well in all my classes, but I've forgotten basically everything. I'm definitely willing to put in the time and effort like you did, but I'm worried I'm simply too far behind. I'm missing the majority of questions using any given QBank in Random mode, and if I were to take a full length test right now it would be really, really ugly.

Thanks for any insight!

I think this is a very person-dependent answer to your question. It depends on your learning style and comfort level with learning information quickly. So I'll try to answer your question in a broad sense of what I would try to do. The nice thing about the information you've learned over the past few years is that it all comes back pretty quickly with some review.

I think for you, with 3 months, you need to do a few solid run-throughs before feeling comfortable with the material. I'd take First Aid and Pathoma and try to go through it all in 1 (or 1.5) months very thoroughly, learning it as though it's your first time. Boards and Beyond could be useful if you like lectures, I don't learn well from them. You could try to throw Zanki in there, but that would likely be overwhelming and not beneficial. Then you can tailor your next two months to focus on your weaknesses and review.

You need to do Sketchy Pharm and Micro. Those videos save so much time if you just memorize the pictures and take a peek at them all once a week. Unless drugs and bugs sticks for you in other ways very easily of course.

Continuing QBanks right now is likely not be beneficial if you really aren't remembering the information. Those questions can be used later when you have the right knowledge and then can attempt to synthesize.

I think with 3 months, if you study as much as I did every day and really go for it, you could achieve a >250 score. Pre-clinical grades correlate well to Step 1 scores, so if you put the time in, I think you can score very well.

Best of luck to you. If you have any other questions just let me know. I'm not actively on SDN but I monitor my notifications.