Question for those who have taken USMLE Step 1

[phinicky]

When did you guys start studying for Step 1, and how much time did you put in during your second semester of second year???

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[Jim Picotte]

I studied for about 3.5 weeks with maybe 2 days off. I started right after the last block of the second year. It also depends on the school as well in how much time you get off. We got about a month and I nearly used it all. I didn't really do any board review during my classes previous to this time though and I was near "burning out" at the end of those 3 and a half weeks so glad I didn't study much more.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

I'm going to move this to the usmle forum. Since people discuss all steps in there, you should be able to get answers from people who have taken step 1.

 

[DrQuinn]

Our school finished 2nd year at the end of April. I took a week and a half off, then studied for about 8-10 hours a day, 7 days a week (with a lot of email breaks in between) for 3-4 weeks.

Q, DO

 

[Jaded Soul]

I didn't study at all for Step 1 until 7 weeks prior to the exam. The first 3 of those 7 weeks was more directed towards my school's year-end comprehensive exam.

 

[OtoNerd]

Used the 28-day formula that used to be on medstudent.com (before they went bye-bye). Don't have any copies, but it worked well. 14 hours a day for all 28 days (added 150-200 qbank per night).

Was happy with my score...best of luck!

 

[BigBadBix]

I studied maybe 4-6 hours a week for the last 8 weeks of 2nd year, just reviewing micro because I hadn't learned it well during first year. Then I spent 16 hours a day for 27 days after school ended.

Most people I know who studied hard during 2nd year got burnt out & started to forget things they'd studied early in the year. That last month is the most important so my advice (take it or leave it) is to save your energy for then.

Good luck!

 

[TulaneKid24]

Originally posted by BigBadBix
I studied maybe 4-6 hours a week for the last 8 weeks of 2nd year, just reviewing micro because I hadn't learned it well during first year. Then I spent 16 hours a day for 27 days after school ended.

Most people I know who studied hard during 2nd year got burnt out & started to forget things they'd studied early in the year. That last month is the most important so my advice (take it or leave it) is to save your energy for then.

Good luck!

I have to agree both with OtoNerd and BigBadBix.

I studied for about 26 days 12- 14+ hours a day. I didn't study for the boards during 2nd year any. I studied for my end of year shelf exams for about 2 - 3 weeks and then when that was over, I started step 1 studying non stop. I was pleased with my score too.

Save your energy, enjoy your spring break, and don't get stressed out or burned out too early during 2nd semester of second year. You will need that energy to sit through the 8+ hour Step 1 exam.

Good Luck!

 

[djipopo]

can anyone elaborate on the 28 day program described in medstudent.com?

thanks

 

[mpp]

Here is the link to the U of Michigan web page with a bunch of study guides and a couple of Step 1 study schedules including a '28-day' one...not sure if its the same one from medstudent.com

 

[fourthyear]

Best thing I did was start using board review books in your courses second year. I carried First Aid and BRS Path everywhere the entire year and used them every day to review what we were doing in class. It helped a lot b/c I was so familiar with both books by the time I was doing the intense 3-4 week review before the big exam.