Study Plan

[hoodfigga1]

SO i am 6 weeks out from test day. Starting second pass of UWORLD bank (1st pass 66%), 40% thru RX (74%), 50% kaplan (not sure how much more I will continue this bank).

just took SA1: 230 (hear this overestimates ~ 10-20 pts??)

starting to get bored with my current studying (questions, questions, and more questions....). i dunno if i should keep this up or change things up.

anybody dealing with a similar situation/time frame or already taken the test have any thoughts, suggestions??

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[ijn]

I wouldn't believe any individual reports that a certain NBME or UWSA overestimates your score. Most people don't realize you can jump ~8 points up or down on these self assessments and it doesn't mean you had a meaningful difference in performance. Although +/-8 is roughly the standard error of measurement for the NBMEs, who knows what it really is for the UWSAs.

If you don't believe your score, take another self assessment and see where you stand.

 

[hoodfigga1]

I wouldn't believe any individual reports that a certain NBME or UWSA overestimates your score. Most people don't realize you can jump ~8 points up or down on these self assessments and it doesn't mean you had a meaningful difference in performance. Although +/-8 is roughly the standard error of measurement for the NBMEs, who knows what it really is for the UWSAs.

If you don't believe your score, take another self assessment and see where you stand.

u r definitely right, and believe me i have taken this into account. it seems to me like the self assessment for UW should just be an additional Qbank type learning tool rather than an assessment measure if the error is that high (unless u are scoring ridiculously high). i will b taking an nbme in a couple weeks (roughly about a month prior to test day) so i am not as worried about my exact score right now so much as i am with how to maximize my studying in terms of efficiency.....

 

[shan564]

I think DIT has definitely been worth the investment for me... but I'm only about halfway through so far.

 

[hoodfigga1]

I think DIT has definitely been worth the investment for me... but I'm only about halfway through so far.

thanks for the suggestion man, have u noticed any score improvements yet or have u not taken another test since u began?? also how much time would u say DIT requires? (and i mean minimal but still feasible)

my only concern is committing to a schedule for a few weeks with DIT or any other program (and using up that valuable time) and then not seeing the results i was expecting...

 

[Phlame217]

I too am 6-7 weeks out. I am currently averaging 70% in Uworld with about 1000 questions to go. I did all the path first and averaged 78% in path but been pulling 60-65% with weakness in anatomy and pharm.

I pulled 75% in U-Rx but i spent 3 months doing it along side FA readings in matching blocks.

I have Dr. Goljan's review in a 2 weeks which is a week long then I will do DIT for two weeks (part 2).

I took NBME 7 and got a 240 before starting UWorld.

We'll see how things go for me, but I hope DIT will solidify me.

My recommendation, which is a mantra from Dr. Goljan, is to do as many QBanks as possible. He said repeat your marked/missed Uworld but the more banks used, the better the score. Annotate the hell out of FA as you do qbanks too so you have a singular source to refer back to.

 

[hoodfigga1]

I too am 6-7 weeks out. I am currently averaging 70% in Uworld with about 1000 questions to go. I did all the path first and averaged 78% in path but been pulling 60-65% with weakness in anatomy and pharm.

I pulled 75% in U-Rx but i spent 3 months doing it along side FA readings in matching blocks.

I have Dr. Goljan's review in a 2 weeks which is a week long then I will do DIT for two weeks (part 2).

I took NBME 7 and got a 240 before starting UWorld.

We'll see how things go for me, but I hope DIT will solidify me.

My recommendation, which is a mantra from Dr. Goljan, is to do as many QBanks as possible. He said repeat your marked/missed Uworld but the more banks used, the better the score. Annotate the hell out of FA as you do qbanks too so you have a singular source to refer back to.

240 before even starting uworld???....jesus christ dude i think ul b fine haha.

ya i think going thru all the qbanks is definitely essential. i was hesitant on finishing kaplan (avg 65%) but thats only because getting nit picky questions wrong because i havent read all their notes/videos really annoyed me. but migt as well finish it since i spent the money...

 

[MrBeauregard]

240 before even starting uworld???....jesus christ dude i think ul b fine haha.

ya i think going thru all the qbanks is definitely essential. i was hesitant on finishing kaplan (avg 65%) but thats only because getting nit picky questions wrong because i havent read all their notes/videos really annoyed me. but migt as well finish it since i spent the money...

I finished Kaplan with a 70% cumulative. I currently have an 81% cumulative UWorld average. The two question banks literally have nothing in common. UWorld makes you think so much more than Kaplan. Kaplan asks the most detailed questions ever and there is no way to reason through them; either you know it or you don't. With UWorld, at least you can reason your way through them. I was like you and wanted to finish Kaplan because I spent $200 on it, but don't be discouraged with a low average.

 

[shan564]

thanks for the suggestion man, have u noticed any score improvements yet or have u not taken another test since u began??

Before I started DIT, my Qbank scores were around 65-70% (UW average was 59%, but that was mostly because of a weak start). After about 1.5 weeks of it, most of my scores are hovering around 75-80%.

Right before starting DIT, I scored 228 on NBME 11. I'd scored 230 on UWSA2 two weeks before that, but as you said, that was probably an overestimate. I didn't have any big blaring deficiencies on either of those tests, so I figured that a comprehensive review was well-suited for me.
DIT says that their average score increase is about 5% per week. I didn't believe them - I thought they must be twisting the numbers somehow - but sure enough, I scored 247 on NBME 12 today.

I think my increase might have been a bit misrepresentative because DIT covered most of my weakest subjects in the earlier part of the course. So I doubt that I'll increase by another 20 points in the second half of the course, but honestly, I'd be happy to stick with my current performance.

also how much time would u say DIT requires? (and i mean minimal but still feasible)

I'm following the 15-day recommended schedule with one-day "catch-up/review days" after every five days (plus a bit of flexibility when necessary). In order to maintain that pace, I don't have the time or the energy for any other studying except for 25-50 Qbank questions on most days. This is just my dedicated three-week DIT period. After I finish DIT, I'll take another NBME and see where my weak points are, and I'll have about a week to fix them.

But you might be different if you have a stronger background.

 

[hoodfigga1]

Before I started DIT, my Qbank scores were around 65-70% (UW average was 59%, but that was mostly because of a weak start). After about 1.5 weeks of it, most of my scores are hovering around 75-80%.

Right before starting DIT, I scored 228 on NBME 11. I'd scored 230 on UWSA2 two weeks before that, but as you said, that was probably an overestimate. I didn't have any big blaring deficiencies on either of those tests, so I figured that a comprehensive review was well-suited for me.
DIT says that their average score increase is about 5% per week. I didn't believe them - I thought they must be twisting the numbers somehow - but sure enough, I scored 247 on NBME 12 today.

I think my increase might have been a bit misrepresentative because DIT covered most of my weakest subjects in the earlier part of the course. So I doubt that I'll increase by another 20 points in the second half of the course, but honestly, I'd be happy to stick with my current performance.


I'm following the 15-day recommended schedule with one-day "catch-up/review days" after every five days (plus a bit of flexibility when necessary). In order to maintain that pace, I don't have the time or the energy for any other studying except for 25-50 Qbank questions on most days. This is just my dedicated three-week DIT period. After I finish DIT, I'll take another NBME and see where my weak points are, and I'll have about a week to fix them.

But you might be different if you have a stronger background.

wow man first off congrats on that score, i would definitely be more than happy with that.... i think i will do the DIT 15 day schedule probably starting soon along with world qbank for the second time. that should leave me with a little over 2 weeks after i finish DIT to just read FA (hopefully for what should be the 4th time)..

 

[futuredoc8788]

Before I started DIT, my Qbank scores were around 65-70% (UW average was 59%, but that was mostly because of a weak start). After about 1.5 weeks of it, most of my scores are hovering around 75-80%.

Right before starting DIT, I scored 228 on NBME 11. I'd scored 230 on UWSA2 two weeks before that, but as you said, that was probably an overestimate. I didn't have any big blaring deficiencies on either of those tests, so I figured that a comprehensive review was well-suited for me.
DIT says that their average score increase is about 5% per week. I didn't believe them - I thought they must be twisting the numbers somehow - but sure enough, I scored 247 on NBME 12 today.

I think my increase might have been a bit misrepresentative because DIT covered most of my weakest subjects in the earlier part of the course. So I doubt that I'll increase by another 20 points in the second half of the course, but honestly, I'd be happy to stick with my current performance.


I'm following the 15-day recommended schedule with one-day "catch-up/review days" after every five days (plus a bit of flexibility when necessary). In order to maintain that pace, I don't have the time or the energy for any other studying except for 25-50 Qbank questions on most days. This is just my dedicated three-week DIT period. After I finish DIT, I'll take another NBME and see where my weak points are, and I'll have about a week to fix them.

But you might be different if you have a stronger background.

Shan564, I am also in a similar time frame as the OP and am also considering doing DIT. I was wondering what component of DIT have you found most helpful? Is it the videos or the quizzes?

 

[shan564]

Shan564, I am also in a similar time frame as the OP and am also considering doing DIT. I was wondering what component of DIT have you found most helpful? Is it the videos or the quizzes?

I can't say that I've found any one component more helpful than the other... it's designed as a full intricate package. The quizzes and the videos are all interdependent.

 

[missmedschool]

SO i am 6 weeks out from test day. Starting second pass of UWORLD bank (1st pass 66%), 40% thru RX (74%), 50% kaplan (not sure how much more I will continue this bank).

just took SA1: 230 (hear this overestimates ~ 10-20 pts??)

starting to get bored with my current studying (questions, questions, and more questions....). i dunno if i should keep this up or change things up. have older DIT videos and was planning on starting them a week from now (want to finish the whole thing in 7-10 days, if possible)

anybody dealing with a similar situation/time frame or already taken the test have any thoughts, suggestions??

I'm 6 weeks out as well. I'm almost done with Kaplan QBank, and plan to go through USMLERx in 2 weeks, then finish off with my 2nd pass of UW the last 2 weeks before my exam ... which will be a LOT of questions. I'm definitely going to get bored like you are but I tend to "actively" learn better doing questions than reading a book or watching a video (watching videos are especially hard for me because I tend to want to zone off). So I'm choosing the lesser of 2 evils. If you think DIT will keep you awake and less bored, I would do it. I do agree with you though that it may not be as productive as just doing more questions.

The week of my exam (I'm taking it on a Saturday) I plan to be totally done with QBanks and will go through 1/5 of FA each day.

 

[zebalong]

I'm 6 weeks out as well. I'm almost done with Kaplan QBank, and plan to go through USMLERx in 2 weeks, then finish off with my 2nd pass of UW the last 2 weeks before my exam ... which will be a LOT of questions. I'm definitely going to get bored like you are but I tend to "actively" learn better doing questions than reading a book or watching a video (watching videos are especially hard for me because I tend to want to zone off). So I'm choosing the lesser of 2 evils. If you think DIT will keep you awake and less bored, I would do it. I do agree with you though that it may not be as productive as just doing more questions.

The week of my exam (I'm taking it on a Saturday) I plan to be totally done with QBanks and will go through 1/5 of FA each day.

I have heard from upperclassmen that DIT is really good for the home stretch if you've maxed out everything you could possibly do. Just finished GT, RX and kaplan (took form 7- 257 and uswa 1: 264) - have less then 20% of uworld left to do. For the next 5 weeks I'm going to focus on DIT, redoing all the questions ive gotten wrong in the 3 qbanks and do practice exams and do all the NBME's/kaplan practice exam/USWA 2. While i could read FA on my own- i think at this point i've gotten as much out of it as i possible could by myself and am looking forward to using the work book to drill it in for one final pass.

OP i think it really depends if you think you could be more efficient on your own or if you could get more out of it by doing DIT - while i bought the course, i do know some classmates who pirated the vidoes (to each their own im not judging) and they were able to get the workbook as well by download. I wouldn't bother with DIT unless you have the workbook as well.

 

[hoodfigga1]

I'm 6 weeks out as well. I'm almost done with Kaplan QBank, and plan to go through USMLERx in 2 weeks, then finish off with my 2nd pass of UW the last 2 weeks before my exam ... which will be a LOT of questions. I'm definitely going to get bored like you are but I tend to "actively" learn better doing questions than reading a book or watching a video (watching videos are especially hard for me because I tend to want to zone off). So I'm choosing the lesser of 2 evils. If you think DIT will keep you awake and less bored, I would do it. I do agree with you though that it may not be as productive as just doing more questions.

The week of my exam (I'm taking it on a Saturday) I plan to be totally done with QBanks and will go through 1/5 of FA each day.

sounds like a good plan. i think i am starting DIT next weekend and plan to finish in 15 days giving me 3 weeks to just read, go over qbanks, etc. it seems like i have a good grasp on pathology and pharm, my weaker subjects tend to be the lower yield (anatomy, embryo, biochem, physio). are you incorporating more sources during this time or just sticking with wat u have?

 

[hoodfigga1]

I have heard from upperclassmen that DIT is really good for the home stretch if you've maxed out everything you could possibly do. Just finished GT, RX and kaplan (took form 7- 257 and uswa 1: 264) - have less then 20% of uworld left to do. For the next 5 weeks I'm going to focus on DIT, redoing all the questions ive gotten wrong in the 3 qbanks and do practice exams and do all the NBME's/kaplan practice exam/USWA 2. While i could read FA on my own- i think at this point i've gotten as much out of it as i possible could by myself and am looking forward to using the work book to drill it in for one final pass.

OP i think it really depends if you think you could be more efficient on your own or if you could get more out of it by doing DIT - while i bought the course, i do know some classmates who pirated the vidoes (to each their own im not judging) and they were able to get the workbook as well by download. I wouldn't bother with DIT unless you have the workbook as well.

wow sounds like u r in pretty good shape as well. so my school requires us to take an NBME a little over a month out. I will be about a week into DIT wen i take this exam but i hope to be around a 230-240 then. then the last 3 weeks i will aim to really hone in on my weaknesses..

also how do you guys plan to schedule practice exams during this time frame? i was planning to do nbmes (11,12,13) every weekend for the last 3 weeks, and then just read during the last 4 days before my test.

 

[zebalong]

wow sounds like u r in pretty good shape as well. so my school requires us to take an NBME a little over a month out. I will be about a week into DIT wen i take this exam but i hope to be around a 230-240 then. then the last 3 weeks i will aim to really hone in on my weaknesses..

also how do you guys plan to schedule practice exams during this time frame? i was planning to do nbmes (11,12,13) every weekend for the last 3 weeks, and then just read during the last 4 days before my test.

I plan on doing kaplan/nbme/uwsa 2 on weekends (one each day with review) - usually takes about 7 hours for each (test + review). I'm planning on scaling back doing questions during my last final days but i dont plan on totally stopping questions (do a block of 46 in the morning then read the rest of the day with sometime to work out and stuff). I'm playing around with usmle weapon which is included with DIT, its not great, but its not super horrible either. I think it'll do its job of just keeping me used to answering questions i've never seen before.