USMLE How to Optimize What Remains of Dedicated Time

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SympatricSpeciation

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It is late, and I am now a little over two weeks away from the big day. In the past few weeks, I have used the majority of time on UW, Kaplan, and NBMEs (7 including old offline and existing online ones). I have finished going over both UWSAs. I have gone over 1.5 complete passes of Pathoma previously from MS2 and have taken notes. I learn best through questions, but doing 7-8 blocks/day has come with the price of time and exhaustion, and I'm realizing I haven't spent as much time on videos. I am concerned that listening to videos may not be so effective at this point as I learn next to nothing new. On the flip side, there seems to be an implied law that Pathoma is to be heard at least twice, and I'm sure I have forgotten things that would be nice to be reminded of. My practice tests are at about 240 average right now, and my goal is to stay afloat and reach 245-250.

I have three pathways down which my time and energy can be allocated: videos (pathoma, sketchy, boardsbeyond), QBank review (I'm a quarter of the way through my second pass of UWorld), and NBMEs (have gone through 7 already, but still have 4 more to go). My estimated study time is 170 hours. At this juncture, how many hours should I allot to each of the above categories? Responses much appreciated.

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I have three pathways down which my time and energy can be allocated: videos (pathoma, sketchy, boardsbeyond), QBank review (I'm a quarter of the way through my second pass of UWorld), and NBMEs (have gone through 7 already, but still have 4 more to go). My estimated study time is 170 hours. At this juncture, how many hours should I allot to each of the above categories? Responses much appreciated.

An immigrant student a year ahead of me last year saw me studying for Step 1 in the library. I had UWorld open, a tower of textbooks, and taking hand written notes. I was frantic, neurotic and wound tight. I didn't know this young woman and she approached me and simply said, "you're going to kill it". I said, dumbfounded and anxious, "What?! You think? Really? IDK. I don't know jack". She was amazing. "You know more than you realize, and more than your classmates".

We became friends and I credit her for my performance. She had a male friend with her, a classmate, also an immigrant, and they both scored 260+. When she and her friend saw me studying, they told me I was doing what few people did and I was guaranteed to get 250+

Her recommendation: do UWorld 3 times minimum. I did that. Take notes for missed questions (hand written for me, she did her on computer). Dedicate the week prior to the actual exam to do full run 8 hour exam with timed breaks. You have to build your stamina for the 8 hour exam. Plus you need to sleep. Sleep well during your prep studies. Then 2 days prior to the exam, do nothing. Rest.

i did exactly what she recommended because who was I to argue with two international students who scored 260+. I was scoring in the 90th percentile for my last UWorld questions.

You are so past Pathoma at this point. Dr Sattar is a beast. If I could only be half the maniac genius he is.

NBMEs were a waste of time for me. I took 3 and they were inferior to UWorld.

UWorld solutions are so crammed with data, concepts and key connecting points that make it all clear. UWorld is like god...divine, insightful.... up lifting.

UWorld is your best friend right now. Oh, and I studied 12 hours for 30 days. Dr Linda Costanzo recommends this in her Step 1 guide for her medical schools at her school

You are a quarter of the way through your 2nd pass of UWorld. You need to finish the second pass of UWorld, do a 3rd pass, then do mock board exam under timed conditions with breaks

then you're ready. If you scored below a 250, that would be a surprise.
 
Do you think its possible to get through
An immigrant student a year ahead of me last year saw me studying for Step 1 in the library. I had UWorld open, a tower of textbooks, and taking hand written notes. I was frantic, neurotic and wound tight. I didn't know this young woman and she approached me and simply said, "you're going to kill it". I said, dumbfounded and anxious, "What?! You think? Really? IDK. I don't know jack". She was amazing. "You know more than you realize, and more than your classmates".

We became friends and I credit her for my performance. She had a male friend with her, a classmate, also an immigrant, and they both scored 260+. When she and her friend saw me studying, they told me I was doing what few people did and I was guaranteed to get 250+

Her recommendation: do UWorld 3 times minimum. I did that. Take notes for missed questions (hand written for me, she did her on computer). Dedicate the week prior to the actual exam to do full run 8 hour exam with timed breaks. You have to build your stamina for the 8 hour exam. Plus you need to sleep. Sleep well during your prep studies. Then 2 days prior to the exam, do nothing. Rest.

i did exactly what she recommended because who was I to argue with two international students who scored 260+. I was scoring in the 90th percentile for my last UWorld questions.

You are so past Pathoma at this point. Dr Sattar is a beast. If I could only be half the maniac genius he is.

NBMEs were a waste of time for me. I took 3 and they were inferior to UWorld.

UWorld solutions are so crammed with data, concepts and key connecting points that make it all clear. UWorld is like god...divine, insightful.... up lifting.

UWorld is your best friend right now. Oh, and I studied 12 hours for 30 days. Dr Linda Costanzo recommends this in her Step 1 guide for her medical schools at her school

You are a quarter of the way through your 2nd pass of UWorld. You need to finish the second pass of UWorld, do a 3rd pass, then do mock board exam under timed conditions with breaks

then you're ready. If you scored below a 250, that would be a surprise.

Do you think its possible to get through Uworld 3 times in around 8-9 weeks?
Can you please elaborate on your study plan if possible or PM please?
 
Do you think its possible to get through
Do you think its possible to get through Uworld 3 times in around 8-9 weeks?
Can you please elaborate on your study plan if possible or PM please?

OP stated she already did 1 pass and was working on a second pass. Thus she should finish her second pass, do a third pass....all doable in 8-9 weeks . absolutely!!! The first pass of UWORLD is the hardest part and most time consuming which you have already done.

Each successive pass of Uworld should be easier if you were meticulous in your first pass in hand written taking notes /editing screen shots, whatever you did, to allow the content you missed to be familiar. By the third pass it should be easier to complete each set of 40 questions under timed conditions with time to spare.

I personally unplugged from society for 30 days: phone was ignored, no social media, woke after 6-7 hours sleep, my husband took care of the meals, the errands, our dog, etc, and I studied 12 hours: 50 minute blocks, 10 mins breaks, 4 cycles yet followed by 1 hour meal / rest, then another set of 4 blocks with 10 mins, breaks, then repeat.

Your focus should be only on Uworld qbanks, their excellent solutions / explanations and be totally engrossed

Forget Pathoma, First Aid, and any other reviews, texts. Focus on Uworld and only Uworld. Dr Costanzo teaches this and it works.

But in the end, you get what you put into it.
 
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OP stated she already did 1 pass and was working on a second pass. Thus she should finish her second pass, do a third pass....all doable in 8-9 weeks . absolutely!!! The first pass of UWORLD is the hardest part and most time consuming which you have already done.

Each successive pass of Uworld should be easier if you were meticulous in your first pass in hand written taking notes /editing screen shots, whatever you did, to allow the content you missed to be familiar. By the third pass it should be easier to complete each set of 40 questions under timed conditions with time to spare.

I personally unplugged from society for 30 days: phone was ignored, no social media, woke after 6-7 hours sleep, my husband took care of the meals, the errands, our dog, etc, and I studied 12 hours: 50 minute blocks, 10 mins breaks, 4 cycles yet followed by 1 hour meal / rest, then another set of 4 blocks with 10 mins, breaks, then repeat.

Your focus should be only on Uworld qbanks, their excellent solutions / explanations and be totally engrossed

Forget Pathoma, First Aid, and any other reviews, texts. Focus on Uworld and only Uworld. Dr Costanzo teaches this and it works.

But in the end, you get what you put into it.
Hi,
I am thinking of adopting your plan. I believe in doing questions as a way to learn rather than just an assessment. I have a couple of questions.
1. Did you go through first Aid/pathoma etc. prior to your dedicated?
2. Your first pass of uworld, was it within the month of decided or had you done a thouroughly run through it once before dedicated. And then did it three times again?
3. When going through the questions, did you read through both correct and incorrect? I know you said you spent time on the incorrects but did you do the same for the correct ones?

I'm asking all these questions because All I have done so far for my dedicated is doing uworld questions, and it takes be forever to review a block.
I am left with about 200 Uworld questions to complete(which will takes me about 3-4 full study days to complete). I do also write handwritten notes plus Anki for pharm questions.

I am taking my first NBME today for a baseline score. Then I have 5 weeks of uninterrupted studying. My test is scheduled for early June.

I would really like some quidance as to how to maximize my time doing JUST Uworld cos I believe it will work for me as well.

Thank you.
 
Hi,
I am thinking of adopting your plan. I believe in doing questions as a way to learn rather than just an assessment. I have a couple of questions.
1. Did you go through first Aid/pathoma etc. prior to your dedicated?

I dismissed FA as a serious resource. I used textbooks all the way. I purchased a Pathoma subscription after I read all of Robbins & Cotran, 9th Edition. Underlined, wrote in side margins, the whole nine yards. Pathoma videos were EXCELLENT! Dr Sattar is a beast. i have posted elsewhere on SDN that he was my "role model". I wanted to be able to teach medicine like he does on his videos. He does Histology thoroughly. I watched his videos while at the gym at 6 AM. It took me a while to go through his videos that way but it reinforced everything I learned with Robbins & Cotran.

2. Your first pass of uworld, was it within the month of decided or had you done a thouroughly run through it once before dedicated. And then did it three times again?

I purchased UWorld my second semester of my first year....I hit UWorld before most students. A few of us got together and agreed it made sense to tackle UWorld and buy a year subscription to start testing with Anatomy, Biochem, etc...the first year stuff.

3. When going through the questions, did you read through both correct and incorrect? I know you said you spent time on the incorrects but did you do the same for the correct ones?

good question. I did not spend much time on the correct ones. I focused on the missed ones PLUS the many choices for each missed question. It was brutal but I learned tremendously

Don't underestimate how much you learn by doing the hard work of reading, taking hand written notes and shutting out the world. I did and my learning curve was literally a straight line slope in the upward direction.


I would really like some quidance as to how to maximize my time doing JUST Uworld cos I believe it will work for me as well.

I can not take credit for what I posted. What I shared on this post is what students one year ahead of me told me who scored 260....all 3 of them out of a class of 200.

Who would you follow: the First Aid groupies or the nerds with the 260 Step 1?

i wish you the best. You can do it
 
I dismissed FA as a serious resource. I used textbooks all the way. I purchased a Pathoma subscription after I read all of Robbins & Cotran, 9th Edition. Underlined, wrote in side margins, the whole nine yards. Pathoma videos were EXCELLENT! Dr Sattar is a beast. i have posted elsewhere on SDN that he was my "role model". I wanted to be able to teach medicine like he does on his videos. He does Histology thoroughly. I watched his videos while at the gym at 6 AM. It took me a while to go through his videos that way but it reinforced everything I learned with Robbins & Cotran.



I purchased UWorld my second semester of my first year....I hit UWorld before most students. A few of us got together and agreed it made sense to tackle UWorld and buy a year subscription to start testing with Anatomy, Biochem, etc...the first year stuff.



good question. I did not spend much time on the correct ones. I focused on the missed ones PLUS the many choices for each missed question. It was brutal but I learned tremendously

Don't underestimate how much you learn by doing the hard work of reading, taking hand written notes and shutting out the world. I did and my learning curve was literally a straight line slope in the upward direction.




I can not take credit for what I posted. What I shared on this post is what students one year ahead of me told me who scored 260....all 3 of them out of a class of 200.

Who would you follow: the First Aid groupies or the nerds with the 260 Step 1?

i wish you the best. You can do it
Thank you. I will try my best to go through uworld at least two more times in these 5 weeks and continue to learn as much as I can. I took my first NBME yesterday and I got 196 so that's my baseline. I can only improve from there.

Thanks again.
 
I dismissed FA as a serious resource. I used textbooks all the way. I purchased a Pathoma subscription after I read all of Robbins & Cotran, 9th Edition. Underlined, wrote in side margins, the whole nine yards. Pathoma videos were EXCELLENT! Dr Sattar is a beast. i have posted elsewhere on SDN that he was my "role model". I wanted to be able to teach medicine like he does on his videos. He does Histology thoroughly. I watched his videos while at the gym at 6 AM. It took me a while to go through his videos that way but it reinforced everything I learned with Robbins & Cotran.



I purchased UWorld my second semester of my first year....I hit UWorld before most students. A few of us got together and agreed it made sense to tackle UWorld and buy a year subscription to start testing with Anatomy, Biochem, etc...the first year stuff.



good question. I did not spend much time on the correct ones. I focused on the missed ones PLUS the many choices for each missed question. It was brutal but I learned tremendously

Don't underestimate how much you learn by doing the hard work of reading, taking hand written notes and shutting out the world. I did and my learning curve was literally a straight line slope in the upward direction.




I can not take credit for what I posted. What I shared on this post is what students one year ahead of me told me who scored 260....all 3 of them out of a class of 200.

Who would you follow: the First Aid groupies or the nerds with the 260 Step 1?

i wish you the best. You can do it
When you say you hand-wrote notes, how did you go about this? Read the explanations then try to write it from memory? Or just write it as you read it?
 
When you say you hand-wrote notes, how did you go about this? Read the explanations then try to write it from memory? Or just write it as you read it?

I initially started doing Uworld by marking my missed questions to review. I reviewed them by simply reading them on UWorld screen on the library computer or my iPad after my exam was scored. Yet I wasn't retaining the information bc it was passive learning. I learn best by active learning. It was frustrating that UWorld answers had so much information including the alternative answers for each question. I was sinking in depression.

It was later one day at the library that two 3rd year MD students approached since they were watching me. They were very kind, self-effacing, immigrants like me and genuinely giving people. We had a long conversation about how to use UWorld effectively. They told they had done extremely well on Step 1 but I did not ask their scores. I think its rude to ask peoples Step scores bc there is so much judgement that takes place. If it is really high then youre treated like a knowitall which is not the case at all. If you do poorly youre judged harshly.

They recommended that I make hand written notes on paper using different color pens, and focus on all of my missed questions and understand why I missed them. Research the correct answers using textbooks like Costanzo Physiology, Robbins and Cotran, Ross Histology, Pharmacology texts, Janeway Immunobiology, etc, they stressed to know the bugs cold including the parasites, etc. They were intense and I just sat there in silence soaking it all in

What they were proposing seemed like a death sentence of hard labor...thats what came to my mind. But I really wanted to crush Step 1. They left and I went home late that night as usual

The next day I adopted their plan and the results were exactly what I needed. The concepts were clicking. I came to understand complex processes. I was able to trach the concepts instead of struggling to recall them. I hate mnemonics and sketchy micro platform is pitiful. I was shocked what a difference their methods made. I kept running into them and they were always such nice, caring, giving people that we became more acquainted. I didnt learn till weeks later that they had both scored a 260. They were at the library late as third years banging away at the books, and they had mentioned their class scores. They were below the national mean.

They had no time for being cocky. They wanted to do well as immigrants because they really appreciated what they had in America's medical schools.

Do what works for you and work towards the score you desire for Step 1, Step 2 CK, etc

For me active studying works best and that means a whole different level of engagement. I liken it to "attack" mode. I sit on the edge my chair and attack as if in battle. Its intense but so is medicine

cheers
 
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