What's the verdict on Firecracker?

[LuluLovesMe]

I've heard some people say it's a waste of time/money because it's low yield, it covers too much depth, flashcards are poorly made ect.

I've also heard others say it helped them get an awesome step 1 score and was great for providing structure to their study routine.

What was your personal experience with it?

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[TheBDP]

N=1, but FC helped me solidify FA facts early on in M1. I didnt have to spend much time during dedicated to review basics solely because I had invested the time and energy from the beginning. I can't say how I did on USMLE yet, but if COMLEX is any indication I did decently. If you're a rote memorization type of student Firecracker is good for you.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

N=1, but FC helped me solidify FA facts early on in M1. I didnt have to spend much time during dedicated to review basics solely because I had invested the time and energy from the beginning. I can't say how I did on USMLE yet, but if COMLEX is any indication I did decently. If you're a rote memorization type of student Firecracker is good for you.

I'm terrible at rote memorization. I don't do well memorizing through any other method either actually. In the past I sorta just wrote down concept maps and studied from those.

Would firecracker be useful for me?

How much time do you dedicate to firecracker each day? How much time do you study outside of firecracker each day?

 

[TheBDP]

I'm terrible at rote memorization. I don't do well memorizing through any other method either actually. In the past I sorta just wrote down concept maps and studied from those.

Would firecracker be useful for me?

How much time do you dedicate to firecracker each day? How much time do you study outside of firecracker each day?

If that's the case, I don't think that FC is a good idea for you. I almost used FC/FA only through first year with the exception of the odd anatomy textbook. I'd say on average I spent about 3 or 4 hours a day just using FC.

 

[Mad Jack]

I preferred Bro's anki deck myself.

 

[justAstudent]

N=1, but FC helped me solidify FA facts early on in M1. I didnt have to spend much time during dedicated to review basics solely because I had invested the time and energy from the beginning. I can't say how I did on USMLE yet, but if COMLEX is any indication I did decently. If you're a rote memorization type of student Firecracker is good for you.

I had a similar experience.

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[TheBDP]

I preferred Bro's anki deck myself.

Bro's was great, and practically my entire friend group used it, but I got into it too late.

 

[Mad Jack]

Bro's was great, and practically my entire friend group used it, but I got into it too late.

I know that feel

 

[LuluLovesMe]

I preferred Bro's anki deck myself.

What are the pros/cons of each? Is bro's deck comprehensive enough?

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

I preferred Bro's anki deck myself.

how do people use it? add in topics as you go along and cover them in class?

 

[Jabbed]

If you're at all interested in trying FC do it from the first week of medical school.

That said, Anki4Life

 

[Dr. Retractor]

Are you supposed to use Bro's deck as you would FC? Ie going through it every day? If that's the case then FC would have the advantage of adaptive learning algorithms, right?