Step 1 How much do people really study?

[Laddertomed]

I read about people finishing 4 banks ANKI and a bunch of other stuff but how much does the average student study pre dedicated during m2? I am aiming for a 240 but feel I am not doing enough.

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[Laddertomed]

I read about people finishing 4 banks ANKI and a bunch of other stuff but how much does the average student study pre dedicated during m2? I am aiming for a 240 but feel I am not doing enough.

I realize there is a step 1 thread, would this be able to be moved or should I repost there?

 

[aldol16]

There is a wide variety. I would say that if you did well in classes and have the foundation, then dedicated period should be just a review period. 4-6 weeks should be plenty sufficient and you can work 8-10 hour days with a day off each week to rejuvenate. Anything more than that and you start getting burned out. That's my opinion.

Regarding resources, find something that works for you. Quality > quantity. Some sort of spaced repetition is helpful - that's why people use Anki. UW is the only QBank you need.

 

[stickgirl390]

I got a solid score with just uworld, one pass. I used the Anki premade decks religiously for about a year and a half prior to dedicated, and just hammered through UWorld for 5 weeks before taking the test.

everyone is different, you have to find what works for you.

 

[Ho0v-man]

I read about people finishing 4 banks ANKI and a bunch of other stuff but how much does the average student study pre dedicated during m2? I am aiming for a 240 but feel I am not doing enough.

Everyone’s different. Very few people do that much. But I think most people who aren’t amazing like most of sdn seems to be, will need to either do multiple Qbanks or sell their soul to Anki for >1 year to get much higher than 235-240.

It has a lot to do with your curriculum too. You should reach out to upperclassman to get a feel for how well-prepared the school gets you.

 

[AzBasRad]

I read about people finishing 4 banks ANKI and a bunch of other stuff but how much does the average student study pre dedicated during m2? I am aiming for a 240 but feel I am not doing enough.

To do well, both quality and quantity of your studying are important. Mindlessly doing Qbanks without adequate review or mindlessly flipping through Anki cards may not be as fruitful. Your baseline test taking skills also play a role. Personally I started studying 6 months prior to my exam: watched all of BnB and annotated FA in my pre-dedicated. During dedicated, watched Sketchy/Pixorize in the morning, read through FA chapters in the morining - early afternoon, did 120 non-random, timed UWorld questions in the afternoon-evening with thorough review afterwards. Ended up scoring 250-255 in the real deal.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Always more than you thought you could ever study but less than you could have actually studied at the end of if.

To give a serious answer probably on the order of 1,000-2,000 hours over all of M1-M2.

Work hard, you’ll do great.

 

[efle]

The vast majority of my friends who scored well (250+) stayed on top of their anki for like an entire year leading up to the exam, and used UFAPS instead of their class slides to learn topics. Several of them did use another qbank in addition to Uworld (usually Amboss or Qmax).

I do also know people who avoided flashcards or qbanks until their dedicated, and still did well, but it required a much rougher dedicated period to pull off (8-10 weeks of all-out cramming lots of unfamiliar info, as opposed to 4-6 weeks of leisurely review for the people who had been prestudying).

Pick your poison. I never had any tolerance for flashcarding and went the cramming route. Dedicated was miserable, but M2 had a lot more time for video games. You're gonna have to put in the hundreds of hours at some point either way.

 

[M&L]

The vast majority of my friends who scored well (250+) stayed on top of their anki for like an entire year leading up to the exam, and used UFAPS instead of their class slides to learn topics. Several of them did use another qbank in addition to Uworld (usually Amboss or Qmax).

I do also know people who avoided flashcards or qbanks until their dedicated, and still did well, but it required a much rougher dedicated period to pull off (8-10 weeks of all-out cramming lots of unfamiliar info, as opposed to 4-6 weeks of leisurely review for the people who had been prestudying).

Pick your poison. I never had any tolerance for flashcarding and went the cramming route. Dedicated was miserable, but M2 had a lot more time for video games. You're gonna have to put in the hundreds of hours at some point either way.

one of my friends didnt use anki at all and scored 260+. no photographic memory or something like that, average MCAT, average undergrad GPA. just put in a lot of work. So anki is not a requirement by any means.

 

[efle]

one of my friends didnt use anki at all and scored 260+. no photographic memory or something like that, average MCAT, average undergrad GPA. just put in a lot of work. So anki is not a requirement by any means.

Yep I was happy with my score without touching anki. But man, there is a ton of rote First Aid minutia memorization so I can see why anki is so appealing to so many people.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

one of my friends didnt use anki at all and scored 260+. no photographic memory or something like that, average MCAT, average undergrad GPA. just put in a lot of work. So anki is not a requirement by any means.

I guarantee you they still used spaced deletion. That’s how people learn. People putting down anki like it’s unnecessary makes no sense. It’s literally automating the spaced repetition part of learning for you so that you can focus on the learning. So yeah, it’s not “necessary” but refusing to use it is just making your life harder for literally no reason.

Also a photographic memory is a myth. The closest thing is eidetic memory and it’s only been demonstrated in a small number of children, and even then it’s questionable.

 

[M&L]

I guarantee you they still used spaced deletion. That’s how people learn. People putting down anki like it’s unnecessary makes no sense. It’s literally automating the spaced repetition part of learning for you so that you can focus on the learning. So yeah, it’s not “necessary” but refusing to use it is just making your life harder for literally no reason.

Also a photographic memory is a myth. The closest thing is eidetic memory and it’s only been demonstrated in a small number of children, and even then it’s questionable.

Instead of anki she used a “table” method . I can tell you more if you PM me.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Instead of anki she used a “table” method . I can tell you more if you PM me.

Yeah there are all kinds of methods. My point is just that no matter what you use, you need to do spaced repetition. That’s what anki is.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

I put in 8-12 hour days for months on end, giving myself one weekend day off and maybe a half day here and there if I was feeling burnt. UFAPS + Anki. 249

 

[NotAnotherPreMed]

Tbh also depends on how good your memory is and how trash your baseline prep is. I personally had a 80 point improvement in dedicated of 10 weeks. I know someone who had just 25 but ofc did clearly better than me overall (but like they went from 245-270 lmao)

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

I moved up 50 points from baseline 180 over a 2 month dedicated by doing 3500 uworld, 1 pass pathoma, read 1/2 first aid, 4 practice tests. No anki. No studying prior to dedicated. Below average student.

Now keep in mind, this is a busy two months, but also enough to keep sanity intact. I'm glad that whole business went P/F when the expectation was becoming to mature 40,000 cards of pointless fun facts on anki rather than do something meaningful with your life, your friends, your family

EDIT: OP, high scores use anki or spaced repetition obsessively for months leading to test day. Average scores learn the old fashioned way and move on after they hit submit. You decide what is most important for you

 

[slowthai]

Now keep in mind, this is a busy two months, but also enough to keep sanity intact. I'm glad that whole business went P/F when the expectation was becoming to mature 40,000 cards of pointless fun facts on anki rather than do something meaningful with your life, your friends, your family

EDIT: OP, high scores use anki or spaced repetition obsessively for months leading to test day. Average scores learn the old fashioned way and move on after they hit submit. You decide what is most important for you

Doing a big Anki deck and having a life outside of school aren't mutually exclusive. It's all about time management.

 

[longhaul3]

IMO it all depends on your foundation. If you learned the material well from the start, you may not have to do much to do well. On the other hand if you struggled with it or did the bare minimum to get by, you'll have a big deficit to make up. The details that step 1 is famous for are much easier when you have a strong understanding of the fundamental concepts to begin with.

So doing "enough" for you will look different from others who have a stronger or weaker foundation—if you are happy with your results, I say keep working hard and trust it. The practice materials these days are very good and I think reasonably predictive.

 

[efle]

Tbh also depends on how good your memory is and how trash your baseline prep is. I personally had a 80 point improvement in dedicated of 10 weeks. I know someone who had just 25 but ofc did clearly better than me overall (but like they went from 245-270 lmao)

Haha I had a friend who was a flashcarding and qbank zealot. Starting practice score was already 255 and his final was ~5 points higher. If you're truly on top of UFAPS for all of M2 I don't even think you need a dedicated.

 

[NotAnotherPreMed]

honesty if your baseline is 255 you should do better than a 260 lool. I guess they could have gotten unlucky on the test the day of as well

 

[efle]

honesty if your baseline is 255 you should do better than a 260 lool. I guess they could have gotten unlucky on the test the day of as well

Dude a 250 vs 260 don't even significantly differ. 255 vs 260 is a p value >0.5, it's mostly luck for these kinds of differences. He should've taken it immediately and had a two month vacation, which test form he was randomly assigned to take probably had more influence than his dedicated.

 

[deleted1082375]

a lot.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Is Step 1/2 similar to the MCAT in that critical analysis or test taking skills play a significant role, or is it purely a knowledge exam?

Wayyyyyyyy more knowledge and recall.

 

[efle]

Is Step 1/2 similar to the MCAT in that critical analysis or test taking skills play a significant role, or is it purely a knowledge exam?

I know of multiple people with 100th percentile MCATs who had initial practice scores in the 210s-220s. Way, way more emphasis on encyclopedic knowledge, they aren't kidding when they say people try to memorize every thing in First Aid.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

I guarantee you they still used spaced deletion. That’s how people learn. People putting down anki like it’s unnecessary makes no sense. It’s literally automating the spaced repetition part of learning for you so that you can focus on the learning. So yeah, it’s not “necessary” but refusing to use it is just making your life harder for literally no reason.

Also a photographic memory is a myth. The closest thing is eidetic memory and it’s only been demonstrated in a small number of children, and even then it’s questionable.

I tried anki multiple times and it mostly just made me miserable, so I refused to use it. I think there's plenty of ways to get the repetition without the soul crushing boredom of spending hours hitting a space bar. It works for some people, not for others, I still scored great on Step 1 without it. I actually do like flashcards for specific purposes, but the anki routine wasn't a good match for me. IMO question banks were a way more helpful way to get the repetition for me than anki since you ultimately see the same concepts repeatedly but framed in different ways. And repeated real life examples of a piece of information work way better for me than either of those.

I'm also a PBL lover though so I have many opinions that are unpopular with the anki crowd

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I tried anki multiple times and it mostly just made me miserable, so I refused to use it. I think there's plenty of ways to get the repetition without the soul crushing boredom of spending hours hitting a space bar. It works for some people, not for others, I still scored great on Step 1 without it. I actually do like flashcards for specific purposes, but the anki routine wasn't a good match for me. IMO question banks were a way more helpful way to get the repetition for me than anki since you ultimately see the same concepts repeatedly but framed in different ways. And repeated real life examples of a piece of information work way better for me than either of those.

I'm also a PBL lover though so I have many opinions that are unpopular with the anki crowd

You can turn anki into almost anything you want. It doesn’t just have to be flashcards.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

You can turn anki into almost anything you want. It doesn’t just have to be flashcards.

I'm aware but like, the majority of the ways people use it were not any better for me than the study strategies I successfully employed and enjoyed significantly more. To turn anki into something that did that for me would have been way more work than just sticking with those strategies

 

[PostMed2018]

one of my friends didnt use anki at all and scored 260+. no photographic memory or something like that, average MCAT, average undergrad GPA. just put in a lot of work. So anki is not a requirement by any means.

This was me 261 on step 1. I have never used anki, did a 6 week dedicated. My advice is always look at all the resources and see what works for you.

 

[Keep2r]

I took it like a job and studied from 6AM to 9PM everyday for 5 weeks excluding weekends. There are a few blog sites where residents who did well post their study schedules, I took one of them and modified it to fit my schedule and included only the resources I thought were important. Ended up scoring 265.

 

[aldol16]

It'll depend on how much legwork you did up front. Everything is cumulative. I'll write this assuming that you're at a US MD school with a decent curriculum, i.e., most of your lectures aren't made by PhDs on topics that have nothing to do with clinical medicine. I would say that if you learn the material well in the organ blocks as you go through them and keep up with Anki (personally used Bros), then you really only need 4 weeks. I'd focus the first week on review (FA, Pathoma, Sketchy as needed) and then take an NBME at the end of that first week. Some might even take an NBME right at the beginning for a baseline. Then focus the next 3 weeks on going through UWorld questions with at least 1 NBME exam a week. You should see your scores improving and you should have a clear target in mind. By your final NBME, you should be very close to or exceeding your target score. Work in the UWSAs in there too as these are really good resources.

Also, I learned the material from class and used outside resources (Costanzo Physiology, Rapid Review) to supplement and reinforce the material. Anki was used for long-term retention.

 

[Phloston]

I read about people finishing 4 banks ANKI and a bunch of other stuff but how much does the average student study pre dedicated during m2? I am aiming for a 240 but feel I am not doing enough.

Average score is shifting upward because people are studying better with Qbanks.

How you'll do will be your test-taking ability x your work ethic.

Do two Qbanks at a minimum.

8-12 hours a day of studying for a year got me over 260.

 

[efle]

Do two Qbanks at a minimum.

8-12 hours a day of studying for a year got me over 260.

Duuude 3500 hours on boards prep is way excessive

 

[Phloston]

Your work ethic needs to match your ambition.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Your work ethic needs to match your ambition.

I agree with this. I but in 3-4 months of hardcore, 8 hour a day study with saturdays off and got a 249. I still remember questions that made me think “if only I had studied this one subject a bit more.” But I’m perfectly happy with a 249.

 

[efle]

Your work ethic needs to match your ambition.

I may not be the most ambitious, but 500 hours during dedicated was plenty to go from 215 starting to 255 final. Very diminishing returns after you've already done a good pass through UFAPS. I cannot imagine doing 7 dedicateds worth of studying over a year like that...that's almost two full-time labor-years of prep.

 

[Cath Up]

I guarantee you they still used spaced deletion. That’s how people learn. People putting down anki like it’s unnecessary makes no sense. It’s literally automating the spaced repetition part of learning for you so that you can focus on the learning. So yeah, it’s not “necessary” but refusing to use it is just making your life harder for literally no reason.

Also a photographic memory is a myth. The closest thing is eidetic memory and it’s only been demonstrated in a small number of children, and even then it’s questionable.

I accept that photographic memory thing is a myth. Are there proposed explanations for why some people can see things fewer times and remember them better than most? I hesitate to believe they are simply and exclusively just better at focusing.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I accept that photographic memory thing is a myth. Are there proposed explanations for why some people can see things fewer times and remember them better than most? I hesitate to believe they are simply and exclusively just better at focusing.

From what I’ve been reading about memory, it seems like some people are just more efficient at making those connections. There are memory techniques that help you remember things faster and for longer, and it might be that some people just naturally do some of those without consciously thinking it.

 

[Captain_Falcon]

From what I’ve been reading about memory, it seems like some people are just more efficient at making those connections. There are memory techniques that help you remember things faster and for longer, and it might be that some people just naturally do some of those without consciously thinking it.

I never thought I was that great at short-term memory, but apparently faculty and even some of my classmates at school pointed it out that I pick up on things a lot quicker than the average student. Idk why. I will say Sketchy works absolute wonders for me - watching the video one time, and just doing the associated cards is enough. I don't even remember the pictures that well after about a week but my % correct on mature cards is 91% for micro/pharm sections

 

[Phloston]

I agree with this. I but in 3-4 months of hardcore, 8 hour a day study with saturdays off and got a 249. I still remember questions that made me think “if only I had studied this one subject a bit more.” But I’m perfectly happy with a 249.

Amount of time it takes to get from 190 to 250 is equal in time it takes to get from 250 to 260+. At least that was in my experience.

 

[Phloston]

I may not be the most ambitious, but 500 hours during dedicated was plenty to go from 215 starting to 255 final. Very diminishing returns after you've already done a good pass through UFAPS. I cannot imagine doing 7 dedicateds worth of studying over a year like that...that's almost two full-time labor-years of prep.

And no one says you have to. Nor did you. But 255 is more than solid. Yes.

 

[Phloston]

I accept that photographic memory thing is a myth. Are there proposed explanations for why some people can see things fewer times and remember them better than most? I hesitate to believe they are simply and exclusively just better at focusing.

People have differences in recall ability and retention, yes. That's life.

 

[efle]

Amount of time it takes to get from 190 to 250 is equal in time it takes to get from 250 to 260+. At least that was in my experience.

A 250 and 260 dont differ (p ~0.25). 3000 more hours to achieve something that happens by chance a quarter of the time seems a bit much

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I never thought I was that great at short-term memory, but apparently faculty and even some of my classmates at school pointed it out that I pick up on things a lot quicker than the average student. Idk why. I will say Sketchy works absolute wonders for me - watching the video one time, and just doing the associated cards is enough. I don't even remember the pictures that well after about a week but my % correct on mature cards is 91% for micro/pharm sections

Sketchy works because visual mnemonics work great for like 99% of people. I watched the vids once on 2x and then did the cards and did great on micro.

 

[Phloston]

A 250 and 260 dont differ (p ~0.25). 3000 more hours to achieve something that happens by chance a quarter of the time seems a bit much

Extra study is always stored as potential energy regardless. But if the guy/gal in MS1 wants to do 3000 hours less, score 5-9 fewer points, and then trek around Cambodia and Laos, that too is a good outcome.

 

[drducky.]

For you guys that did sketchy pharm, would you say it’s worth it? Or just do the anki cards?

 

[Captain_Falcon]

For you guys that did sketchy pharm, would you say it’s worth it? Or just do the anki cards?

I think it is worth it. The videos are longer but thats because they have to tie in some anatomy and pathology. So if you are cool sitting through a 10-30min video initially and then making up that time in the long run with quick and easy flashcards then do it

 

[4thtimeretaker]

I think it is worth it. The videos are longer but thats because they have to tie in some anatomy and pathology. So if you are cool sitting through a 10-30min video initially and then making up that time in the long run with quick and easy flashcards then do it

How long would you say Sketchy Pharm takes to get through in its entirety, there about 13 hours of Sketchy Micro but like 27+ hours of Sketchy Pharm and prolly like 45+ hours of Sketchy Path lol.

 

[Captain_Falcon]

How long would you say Sketchy Pharm takes to get through in its entirety, there about 13 hours of Sketchy Micro but like 27+ hours of Sketchy Pharm and prolly like 45+ hours of Sketchy Path lol.

I haven't done Sketchy Path much, pathoma/boards and beyond is what I use for that pretty much. For the sketchy pharm videos I don't watch them near 2x speed (like I regularly was able to do with Micro). More like 1.3-1.5x speed. So probably around 22 hours

 

[Phloston]

For you guys that did sketchy pharm, would you say it’s worth it? Or just do the anki cards?

I always recommend straight, rote methods for students (i.e., Anki variants, FA). I watched 30 seconds of one video and thought I was on a kindergarten field trip and on salvia. Not my learning style at all. I like dry and boring and quiet.

Sketchy is good for students who like image associations for memorization. I've had a few students over the years who've seemed to really like it.

It's more a scenario of: "How do you learn best?" versus "Which is actually best."