Step 1 256/99
Here is my information for those interested in trying to read the tea leaves of their coming boards. I found it useful to look at other scores and study plans and see where I stood and figure out where to go.
-SAT - 1380 (Went to a small town school with a great agriculture program...but nothing else. Zero prep for college bound students.)
-undergrad gpa 3.7 (With lots of units and research and activities.)
-MCAT 36 - 12V,12P,12B
-med school rank - guessing top 10%.
-Qbank 73%, not random, all timed, (finished 1 week b4 exam).
-Step 1 released items = 81% (2 weeks b4 exam).
-Robbins Pathology Questions averaged 70% finished every question
-NBME form 1 207 (6wks b4 exam to see where I stood).
-Breakfast = Bagel, egg, decaf coffee....now I can't even look at 'em.
-Music = Manu Chao & Motorcycle Diaries sound Track
-Study Break - Poker/Swimming
Study plan:
Took 6 wks. The first two were split between classes and light study. The last four were pretty much everyday as much as I could bear. (Sometimes 14hrs sometimes 8hrs. Usually 10hrs.) I took four days off and a couple of unexpected half days due to study fatigue. (Sometimes I know I'm fried and go find some woods or beach to enjoy.) Concentrated on Path, Phys, Pharm. Followed Jalby's advise and the last six day plan that is common on these forums. Multiple adjustments to my plan were made as I started to learn how to study based on Qbank performances and talking with friends. Pushed hard the few days before the test doing FA and other quick review sources. I swear I picked up five points the last day.
Study materials in decending order of utility:
Kaplan - I bought the big Q Review package and ended up only doing Qbank which is more than adequate. IV Qbank is just extra if you feel you need it. Started with scores in around 63% then slowly built up to where I was getting 73% on new material and 90-100% on the old questions. I did it by selecting questions on the subjects I was studying at the time. Read and understood the reason why I got any question wrong and wrote it down in notes which I reviewed at the end of the day. I hate giving money to these kaplan fear mongers...especially since their MCAT course was useless for me, but I admit the Qbank is a good product.
Goljan - His help was incredibly valuable for me...especially the notes. I think it is worth budgeting a big chunk for review of his materials.
First Aid - Primary source for pharm and biochem....don't need any more materials if you know these cold. Supplemental for the rest. I didn't take all the notes in this book, but I did learn it well...including all the little details that look useless.
BRS Phys- great book went through it 1x and areas I wasn't so good at 2x.
BRS Path- I thought it was a mixed bag with this book...definitely taught me some, but it was so bullet point-ish that I started getting sick of it.
Levinson Micro/Immuno - I thought this book was 10x better than micro made simple. Could be just a preference. I went through this book 2x for both micro and immuno.
Robbins Path question book - did all the questions. Medium yield. Challenging questions. Worth it if you have enough time.
BRS - Behavioral - great book for getting this down. 1 day read and worth every minute.
BRS - Neuroanatomy - so, so...I used my own notes in the end.
Robbins Pathology Book - made a run at reading the entire book 6m before exam...realized I was a complete nutter...and that this method was not useful for board study. (But good to actually learn the material.)
Good luck and enjoy the insanity of the USMLE
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OW