Blowing off 2nd year...hammering the boards

[Back34]

Well, MSII is drawing to an end and I must say that I could have put a LOT more effort into my studies. The year consisted of personal difficulties, including a 5 month fight with my significant other. Don't get me wrong, I'm passing everything -- some things by the narrowest of margins -- but I didn't learn a lot of material the first time around.

It's a given that I've already started going over some of those things that I missed and scheduling step I as late in June as possible. Thus, my strategy is in place, but I'm looking for a little inspiration here. The talk of the forum is "the best preparation is doing well in MSII" and it's getting me a bit nervous.

So, is there anybody out there who was in a similar predicament and came back to do average / above average on Step I.

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[Stinger86]

Originally posted by Back34
So, is there anybody out there who was in a similar predicament and came back to do average / above average on Step I.

I guess not

 

[praha12]

All is not lost. Remember, many schools teach lots of material that isn't on Step 1 and don't teach lots of material that is. This means that much of what you didn't "learn" may not be relevant to the exam anyway. Performance in Med 2 may be a statistical indicator of Step 1 performance, but this relationship is probably more reflective of high-scoring students' caliber and study habits than it is prophetic of your own individual score. Just study as hard as you can and try to make up for lost time. Getting stressed out at this stage will only make things worse.

 

[ktat72]

i will tell you that my preclinical years were the worst that could ever be - I was barely getting by in some of my MS 1 classes then started to pick up a little in my MS 2 classes. I ended up doing a little better than national average on my step 1 - i think the main reason was that i learned from my mistakes on my tests and that helped out a lot in my exam preparation.

 

[PeterY]

hmm...sorry to hear about your situtation. there really isn't anything you can do about the past year but there is a lot that you can do about the coming summer. start studying a little bit every week for the boards now and when may-june comes around make sure you have a plan for how you are going to study. hit all the high yield topics and make sure you know them. if you do that i think it is entirely possible to score above the average. best of luck.

Peter

 

[Scooby Doo]

I'm with you in this boat too...and it's about time to jump overboard..half the time I forget I'm in med school...I have been to maybe ...umm.. 5% of my classes this year....Past 3 months, the only times I have woken up for my 9am class has been when it's an exam and maybe 2 other lucky times.

So yea...I don't know what to tell you..except that you're not alone...

 

[jed2023]

Not to be the harbinger of bad news, but I have heard of people blowing off 1st year, blowing away 2nd year, and then doing great on the boards (240 plus), but I haven't personally heard of any stories about the reverse tactic. This probably reflects the fact that 2nd year is more heavily emphasized and that some 1st year material is reviewed during 2nd year courses.

Definitely not impossible, though, depending on how high you are looking to score. If you search back to board posts over the summer, there were a few below average/poorly performing students that studied their booties off for Step I and scored in the low, mid 230's. Which is close to a standard dev above the national average. Some people wouldn't consider this an "awesome" score but it's pretty good.

Also, as you implied in your post, you still have a lot of time before Step I. You can use this time to compensate.

 

[Fermi]

You'll just have to be extra diligent in your study plan, and make sure you review everything from the "ground up" so you're sure you comprehend and are not just cramming all those missed facts into your head in a rushed panic. I didn't do very well in most second year classes solely due to lack of effort. Thus, when srping rolled around I really felt like I didn't have a real grasp on many of the basic and clinical science concepts. I took several full weeks to study for the boards, and it made a huge difference. I had a lot of fun reading and learning that I hadn't had in some time, so much that I would get off task reading interesting clinical minutuae. But I digress. Essentially, even though I had <2 months to make up for 1+ year of academic neglect, I took my time in understanding each concept and filling in all the details afterward. For the almost complete lack of regular studying in second year, I was very happy to accept a >230 score on Step 1.

 

[Scooby Doo]

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Screw b0ard!s! wher' the pusj433Y !!

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