Step 1 and 1st Year

[yasminj]

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I'm a first year student who's a traditionally poor standardized test taker and a S L O W learner. I have to work very hard and make multiple passes through material to really get it to stick and I am not good and memorizing giant lists of facts without having some sort of "why"/conceptual knowledge to back it up.

That being said, I'm looking for tips on materials that could be useful to peruse during my 1st year. I'm NOT looking to study for Step 1 at this point, obviously. But I am looking for books that can help me keep track of what's high yield and what I really need to keep on top of for Step 1. Do you guys have any recommendations about this? I was going to get a used copy of First Aid (2011... just 'cause I didn't want to spend a ton on a brand new one at this point) but I wasn't sure what, if anything, I should pick from the High Yield, Rapid Review, or BRS series.

Also, I was just reading on another thread here about someone who'd just taken Step 1 saying that First Aid wasn't really useful because the test was becoming more reasoning based and more like the MCAT? Not sure if you guys agree about that... everyone always talks about First Aid like it's the Holy Grail so I just assumed I should get it.

 

[imperturbable]

Look into Firecracker. It's like First Aid but in flashcard form, and it's designed to be used throughout first and second year. It got too intense for me during second year, but it might be helpful to reinforce the things that you're learning in first year. Also, stop thinking about things in terms of "high yield" or not high yield. Everything is high yield. Step 1 does not discriminate. The best advice to do well on Step 1 is to study your ass off during the first two years. There's no secret way - just put in the work.

 

[Anastomoses]

First Aid will still be useful even if the test is becoming more reasoning based. You'll need to know the groundwork on which that reasoning is based.

Reasoning-based just means first you STILL have to know all that info...and then you're going to have to learn to integrate information earlier and more than previous years had to do in time for the exam.

 

[Morsetlis]

I'm a first year student who's a traditionally poor standardized test taker and a S L O W learner. I have to work very hard and make multiple passes through material to really get it to stick and I am not good and memorizing giant lists of facts without having some sort of "why"/conceptual knowledge to back it up.

That being said, I'm looking for tips on materials that could be useful to peruse during my 1st year. I'm NOT looking to study for Step 1 at this point, obviously. But I am looking for books that can help me keep track of what's high yield and what I really need to keep on top of for Step 1. Do you guys have any recommendations about this? I was going to get a used copy of First Aid (2011... just 'cause I didn't want to spend a ton on a brand new one at this point) but I wasn't sure what, if anything, I should pick from the High Yield, Rapid Review, or BRS series.

Also, I was just reading on another thread here about someone who'd just taken Step 1 saying that First Aid wasn't really useful because the test was becoming more reasoning based and more like the MCAT? Not sure if you guys agree about that... everyone always talks about First Aid like it's the Holy Grail so I just assumed I should get it.

First Aid is a map. You don't need the map to go from your house to the grocery store, but you better know how to use crosswalk, which side of the street cars drive on, and whether there are bad neighborhoods/alleyways to avoid along the way.

Would a map be helpful? Sure... your mom might ask you to go to the Asian Fish Market, and you'd have no idea where that is. But as long as you know the general mechanics of walking to places inside a city, a map will help you get there.

Conversely, review courses are like GPS.

 

[CDI]

First Aid is a bible.

ftfy

 

[Morsetlis]

That's fine, the last time I read the bible was Freshman year of college 😉