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USMLE Step 1 Guide: Tips and Advice from the Class of 2009, Compiled by the Inter-Society Council
Contents |
[edit] Resources
What were the top 3-5 most valuable resources you used to study? Are there any resources you would NOT recommend using?
Respondent 1:
- First Aid for the USMLE step 1
- Qbank by Kaplan
- BRS Pathology
- Ziats Pathology Course (Path 523) and reading Robbins Pathology
Respondent 2:
- FIRST AID
- Either BRS Pathology or Goljan Rapid Review Pathology but not both
- Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
- BRS Physiology
- How the Immune System Works
Respondent 3:
- THE COMMITTEES FROM YEARS ONE AND TWO... I realize this isn't what you're looking for, but I think it's worth emphasizing.
- First Aid
- BRS Path and BRS Phys
- Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple
- Pharm flash cards (I think they were BRS)
- KAPLAN COURSES ARE USELESS AND WAYYYYY TO EXPENSIVE, DON'T USE THEM
- KAPLAN QUESTIONS are good for getting you used to taking question blocks, but they are very different from the real thing. Overall, worth doing though.
Respondent 4:
- I chose books from a wide range of recommended sources: BRS path, BRS behavioral, BRS phys were all excellent, as was the rapid review for microbes/immuno/ and path. High yield neuroanatomy was an excellent review and required less than a day. For drugs, I didn't know where to start, so I used mainly PharmCards. I did use Microbes Made Ridiculously Simple, but this I started and finished long before the 6 week study period. Same with Biochem: Illustrated Review, though this I perused in less detail. Resources NOT to use: High Yield Biochem and High Yield molecular biology. The first is insufficient review and the second covers many topics that you likely won't see. (the chapters on transcription and translation are OK, but I'll bet there are better sources.)
Respondent 5:
- DO NOT USE High Yield Immuno (too general) or Biochem (has incorrect information). HY Microbio is a great alternative to Clinical Microbio Made Ridic Simple. HY Microbio has very useful self-tests in the back of the book broken down by organ system that help you develop a framework for clinical situations associated with different bugs. I also do not think flashcards are useful because they do not help you organize information. For the boards, you need to think in "classes" of information for drugs and bugs so you can differentiate between them. Flash cards don't do that; First Aid does. The drugs in FA are sufficient, and you should supplement it (the MOA, side fx, etc.) with Lippincott's Pharm. The bugs in FA are also sufficient, but should be supplemented with High Yield Microbio (b/c it's a faster, easier read than Clinical Micribio)
Respondent 6:
- First Aid for the Boards Step 1
- Kaplan's Qbank
- Goljan's path lectures/notes
- Microbio made ridiculously simple
Respondent 7:
- I used First Aid and added notes into it from (in decreasing usefulness) Goljan Rapid Review Pathology, Levinson/Lange Micro+Immuno Katzung pharm notes, Costanzo Phys+BRS Phys, most of the HY series(especially Embryo, Histo, Biostats, Behavioral Science, Psych, pretty much the whole series)
Respondent 8:
- FirstAID - start annotating during years 1-2, I didn't but it would have been very helpful (FirstAID Cases for USMLE also helpful)
- Kaplan QBank - good practice and explains all the right and wrong answers, can get annoying after awhile
- BRS Pathology, BRS Path & Pharm cards (cards nice 1-2 liners for quick review and grouping concepts)
Respondent 9:
- Kaplan Qbank, First Aid, BRS Pathology, Anatomy Case Files (beware of errors in the book but it is really smart about WHAT to learn)
Respondent 10:
- First Aid, Goljan Rapid Review Pathology, BRS Physiology, Lange Medical Microbiology and Immunology (by Levinson). I also used Kaplan's Biochemistry book, Lange Pharm cards, neuroanatomy made ridiculously simple, and many books from the high yield series. I would not recommend high yield immunology (the Lange book is much better), high yield neuroanatomy (too detailed), underground clinical vignettes (not really helpful), microbiology made ridiculously simple (good for micro class, bad for boards review).
Respondent 11:
- First Aid for the USMLE Step 1
- NBME practice exams, forms 3 and 4
- Goljan audio lectures
- Goljan path book (I didn't buy this one, but really wish I had)
- Pathophysiology for the Boards and Wards (mostly for some more pictures and slides)
Respondent 12:
- First Aid
- Goljan's Rapid Review Pathology book
- Costanzo's BRS Physiology
- I tried to study from both BRS Pathology and Goljan's but found it easier to just focus/use one path review book - doesn't matter which one.
Respondent 13:
- First Aid – you should review it as you go through each subject during the school year (don’t add notes to it, but read through it because it has helpful hints for remembering things on the exams)… also, it wouldn’t hurt to make some useful flashcards of the info it has for each topic… I ultimately made a ton of flashcards from first aid, as did some of my classmates because I’m a huge flashcard person.
- Pharm cards (Lange preferably).
- NBME tests and USMLE free test for practice—if you don’t know a question, make sure you figure out the answer, tons of questions were repeated!!
- Dr. Goljan mp3’s and pathology text book (maybe his high yield notes, but not necessarily)
- BRS Path and Phys
- I don’t recommend Qbank unless you KNOW that questions will help you learn… the questions were not very representative of what was on the exam, nor were they similar to the exam… found it frustrating, VERY VERY frustrating.
Respondent 14:
- I used Kaplan Q Bank and First Aid the most. I used some IV Bank (came with my QBank package), Lange/Lippincott Pharmacology, and High Yield subject guides. I found my resources to be helpful, but far from comprehensive for the things that came up during my exam.
Respondent 15:
- I used the Kaplan online WebReview and QBank, First Aid, and BRS Path. I also recommend pharm cards and micro cards, and I looked through BRS Physio occasionally when I needed to refresh on stuff I'd forgotten. I did NOT use anything to study anatomy beyond what was in First Aid.
[edit] Studying
Please describe some effective study strategies / memorization techniques you used.
1:
- I studied for 5 weeks straight. I found it incredibly helpful to have a set schedule of how many days I would spend on a particular subject. I stayed pretty close to that schedule as far as reading BRS Path and going through First Aid. I would typically study content in the mornings and do at least 1 Qbank test of 50 questions, all new questions each day and then go through each question, even if I got it right and annotate First Aid based on the answer descriptions. I also used the NBME practice exams paid for by Case a few weeks before the exam.
2:
- Start doing Qbank questions early - I did 20/night then upped it to 40/night and finally 50/night two months before the exam. Also, I wrote notes from the answers to those questions into 1st AID.
3:
- I studied in a group early on in the year because it motivated all of us to get a certain amount done each week even when we were still months away from taking the exam. Closer to the actual exam though, I found individual studying to be the best use of limited time. I think it is also worth mentioning that while some mnemonics are good, it is not a good idea to spend a large amount of time memorizing all those found in first aid. The boards test concepts, and I think I can count on one or two fingers the number of mnemonics i used taking the real exam.
4:
- Two things: 1. Assess yourself early and once or twice in the middle. Then, concentrate on your worst subjects. 2. Between assessments, make a schedule and stick to it! Include time for practice questions and study. Plan time to relax; you won't do yourself any favors by burning out. Also include some "adjustment days" where you can catch up on a book that took longer than expected, or if your ahead, go back to difficult material.
5:
- The key is repetition. You can cover a subject in 2-3 days, and this means going through the FA section 2-3 times and going over the Goljan section 2 times, and reviewing the relevant drugs (12-14 hrs/day). BUT, after you do this for all the subjects once, you will still feel like you don't know a damn thing (say, 3 weeks before the boards). So, you have to schedule in 2 extra weeks at the end where you go through it all over again. THEN you'll start to feel like you know it.
6:
- If you are in the beginning of boards studying, learn the material. Spend time on it, read Robbins, do whatever it takes to UNDERSTAND it, it will make your life a lot easier when you are just crunching time to memorize the details later. Don't forget your physiology either, not only will that help you in pathology, but there are lots of questions on the boards on physio.
7:
- I read all of the books above and added them into FA. This was finished by the 2nd week of my studying period. I had been doing QBank all throughout. Then, for the 2nd 2 weeks of my study period, I just read and reread FA, did QBank, took the NBME's, and took the Step 1 "free
150q" set. For rapid, high-yield review days before the exam I used Goljan's "36-page" and "100-page" notes, "remembered questions" PDF's, and some document called "USMLE gold edition high yield review"
8:
- My own mnemonics and those from FirstAID, schedule in lots of breaks and have fun in evenings/weekends. Switched topics every hour or so to not burn out.
9:
- Stick with your normal study strategy and don't worry what everyone else is doing. If you've always studied a certain way that works for you, now is not the time to change it.
10:
- I spent 0.5-3 days on each subject (pharm, biochem, behavioral sciences, embryology, anatomy, all of the path subjects) depending on how high yield it was, but each day I also tried to do questions in all subjects in Qbank or on a practice test. I think concentrating on one subject but making sure to review a little of everything by doing questions at the same time really helps you to reinforce and remember what you've learned before, and prevents all the material from one subject from blending together. Making up your own mnemonics or using those from first aid or from other books is also necessary—regardless of how stupid the mnemonic is, you won't remember some material any other way.
11:
- The best thing to do is to really make use of the NBME practice exams - these are extremely similar to the actual exam, and my exam had three or four exact questions from form 3 and form 4 of the NBME exams that I took. I took the time to look up and discuss the (many) questions I wasn't sure of on the exam, and and the same concepts and line of thinking was tested on the actual boards. I highly recommend taking the time to thoroughly go through each NBME exam you take, rather than just using the score profile that many students use to tailor and focus their studying.
- Also, know everything in First Aid. Especially associated pathologies and complications, side effects of drugs, mechanism of action of drugs, and etiology of diseases. In my opinion, the biochem and pharmacology sections of First Aid don't need a supplement, unless it's used to help you remember the details - the information in First Aid is all you need for the boards. I found the Repro and Behavioral Sciences section particular weak in First Aid - especially the details of different breast cancers and diseases and psych topics. Behavioral science was tricky, and always came down to two feasible answers - perhaps Kaplan Qbank or High Yield would help in this area.
12:
- Scheduled out time slots of when I would be studying what between the end of classes and the Board exam, tried to focus first on subjects I felt/tested the weakest on, read through 1st Aid three times to drill the yield facts presented in my head.
13:
- Flashcards.
- First aid – read it over and over as many times as you can, but it’s actually not a quick read, so be patient.
14:
- Learn the material well the first time, especially during the academic year through the curriculum. Memorization was to simply go through each First Aid page and feel like I knew what was on that page cold. I went over it again and again and again.
15:
- Mnemonics from First Aid, charts and tables from First Aid, flash cards (both purchased and home-made). I also spent time doing QBank tests and then going through the answers and explanations.
[edit] Test material
What subjects do you think were most heavily emphasized on Step 1?
1:
- Biochemistry and cell bio. Maybe its just because I felt that those questions were the toughest and it might have been "field questions." I had a pretty good spread of questions though.
2:
- Microbiology, Pathology, and Pharmacology
3:
- General Physio and Path... including histo sections.
4:
- Don't even ask this question - it's different for everyone! If I think hard enough, I can recall questions from each of the subjects.
5:
- Everyone's test is different. And you always feel like there were a lot of questions from your weakest area. However, there is a strong emphasis on molecular biology and cell biology. There were some subjects that were only brushed over in FA, but were covered in detail in supplemental materials (I used High Yield Microbio, which covered molecular biology of bugs). And the questions don't try and test you on obscure information; they simply take simple concepts and make you think about them in new ways (which can be very difficult).
6:
- All exams were different, my test had at least 5-6 questions on the effects of cirrhosis. A lot of path and physio. Nothing in pharm or microbio that were too difficult. Some confusing ethical or situational questions that are hard to study for.
7:
- All of them. My test had a lot of complex homeostatic neuroendocrine/cardiopulmonary feedback questions in the context of disease, physiology, or pharm.
8:
- Drug side effects, pathophysiology, ID + treatments, and there was more derm and repro than I was expecting.
9:
- Hard to say -- everyone had really different tests. You really do need to know pretty much everything in the review books. Even "low yield" subjects like anatomy can show up a lot -- I had a lot of anatomy questions. If I had not studied it, it would have really hurt my score. I have friends who had only 2 or 3 anatomy questions.
10:
- It was pretty integrated--there were a lot of pathology-based questions that made you make connections to other disciplines (pharm, anatomy, cell and molec bio, etc) which made them more difficult. As for specific subjects, my test emphasized GI, endocrine, and cardio for path, side effects for pharm (first aid was sufficient), basic biochem and cell/molec bio (all in first aid or impossible to study for), very little embryology, somewhat difficult behavioral sciences (pretty much all in first aid although high yield helped), fairly straightforward microbiology without much parasites/viruses (first aid was sufficient), a few images and otherwise just brachial plexus/upper extremity stuff for anatomy (all in first aid or way too out there to study for).
11:
- Equal emphasis - plenty of pharmacology (especially side effects, mechanism of action, and interactions) and micro. Taking practice exams made me realize that more so than pathologies, the more intricate\ details of pathoPHYSIOLOGY, associated complications and diseases, and etiologies were tested. Much more conceptual than Kaplan Qbank questions, which were helpful only in helping me memorize the details of First Aid. I was surprised at how much Physiology and Biostatistics were on the exam, as well as more obscure topics that weren't covered in our curriculum such as various parasites (there were at least 4 on my exam, if not more) and treatments.
12:
- Pathology, Behavioral Sciences, pretty much everything's a blur, so I don't remember:)
13:
- Everything. Drugs: side effects (there were not anti-arrythmics though). Anatomy: first aid stuff, but a lot of it.
14:
- I was hit with a well balanced exam. I did have a lower number of pharmacology and microbiology questions than anticipated. I had more biochemistry (porphyrias!) and cell/molecular biology than I expected. The exam emphasized taking concepts that you were familiar with and putting them in an unfamiliar context. I found myself using a lot of my time just to think through possibilities and things that came up throughout the year.
15:
- Pharm and pathology were hit pretty hard, and anatomy and embryology were definitely not. I recommend giving less emphasis to anatomy than to other subjects. There just aren't enough anatomy questions on Step 1 to make it worth much of your time.
[edit] Preparation
Is there anything you would recommend students do in the 1st year / summer to prepare for Step 1?
1:
- Start learning drugs if you have time. Drugs are pure memorization and the more you see them, the better off you'll be (for Step 1 and the wards). Relax - the hard core study period is when I learned the most. Do well in your regular classes and it'll carry over.
2:
- Read Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple. You could also read BRS Physiology
3:
- What do you feel weak on (for example, for me it was micro)? Study that. otherwise, just enjoy your summer. I would recommend going through some review books along with the curriculum during the year, however.
4:
- Sure - relax and enjoy your last summer break. Don't waste it by studying for a test that's 9 months away. You should use a little but not all of your thankgiving and winter breaks to either assess yourself or start reviewing your worst subjects (eg, for me, I worked on microbes, biochem, and cardiophysiology. Also, I began using Qbook to test specific subjects). Still, remember to relax and re-energize.
5:
- Absolutely not.
6:
- Go over BRS physiology, maybe run through first aid once just to see what you are up for, read Robbins? I wouldn't break out the flash cards or qbank just yet.
7:
- Just work hard throughout 1st and 2nd year, that is the foundation for the concepts they test on Step 1. Take the summer off! Jeez.
8:
- Have fun, review only if you want to from the 1st year, in which case learn immunology and pharmacology, read BRS Pathology if you insist on studying more, and have a good time. Only do research if you want to, it's the last summer break you have for awhile and it's good to enjoy it.
9:
- Yes. Start taking notes in First Aid and other board review books with your classes ASAP. The books are not complete enough to use without your own notes. Review the things in the books that aren't getting covered in class, so they aren't totally new to you when board study begins. As far as second year, I would recommend starting to do some prep over Thanksgiving/Winter breaks and to start studying for boards a little every day in January. Don't wait for the dedicated study time to start. Enjoy your summer -- have fun and don't worry about the boards. I read a little microbio over the summer since I didn't learn it well the first time, but it really isn't necessary.
10:
- Learn the material from your first two years well and DON'T START WORRYING ABOUT BOARDS UNTIL NO SOONER THAN 6 MONTHS BEFORE. You need to build a good foundation so that you only have to review during board study time, and the only way to do that is to really learn the material during your first two years. It is okay to use some books that you will use for boards review during your first two years--lippincott biochem, medical microbio and immunology, Costanzo or BRS phys, Goljan Rapid Review Pathology, Pharm cards, and high yield neuroanatomy/neuroanatomy made ridiculously simple are all books that I wish I had followed along with or did follow along with during my first two years. Using some of these books is good especially for learning and remembering helpful mnemonics and becoming familiar with their layout. However, don't worry about using review books too much or about putting too much information into First Aid before boards study time--mnemonics that you make up and extra facts that seem important are okay to add to first aid, but I went overboard and put too much info in First Aid making it not high yield.
- Thus, the goals for the first year are to
- 1) learn the material from class,
- 2) become familiar with some review book formats and mnemonics,
- 3) enjoy your summer--it is your last completely free large block of time,
- 4) look out for books that you may want to buy for boards study so that you can get them cheaper (older versions are almost always okay except for First Aid).
- For the second year, it is a good idea to really starting researching and buying the books you want for boards prep, and you can buy a question source and start doing questions about 6 months before boards. You still need to concentrate on learning the 2nd year material over studying for boards, and if you start studying too early it can be very stressful and you'll forget what you studied when it counts--when you are taking your boards. I bought Qbank in the fall and had nearly completely forgotten the material I covered before winter break by the time classes ended. However, starting to review using a question source or books on subjects you may have forgotten (physiology, anatomy, etc.) is a good idea.
11:
- Review year 1 material over the summer! I regret not doing this. I'd read through BRS Path and BRS Phys over the summer. Also, during first year, force yourself to use First Aid with each committee, read through each section as you go through the committee (block) and make annotations and notes in First Aid. Becoming familiar with the book and its contents is really important! Also, remember that Physiology is important!
12:
- No. Spend time actually enjoying your summer with family and friends. Most of what you study in the summer before will be gone and have to be reviewed over again by the following winter and spring. If you're dying to study something, then focus on a minimal amount of material (something you're weak in) and study it leisurely.
13:
- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Absolutely not. except maybe look at first aid to learn mnemonics or other helpful tips, but ONLY to help study for the current exam, NOT for boards prep. And just make sure you LEARN what is on your exams, and try to retain stuff. But don’t do anything specifically for the boards until thanksgiving at the earliest… you’ll burn out otherwise.
14:
- There isn't much cramming you can do, but going through a good book and knowing it well will help (and be less work to review later). A lot of people used path books - I would focus on something like this that can take quite a bit of time to go over well for that first summer.
15:
- Relax and recuperate from year 1. Anything you study during the summer will be forgotten by the time you take Step 1, so don't waste your time. If you absolutely MUST study something, go through the pharm cards and learn them. That will come in handy during year 2 as well as on the boards.
[edit] Reflection
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in your preparation?
1:
- I would have learned drugs earlier. I also would have taken more questions at the beginning. By the end I was taking at least 100 questions a day. I wish I had started taking 50 questions every day of the study period. I had ~400 questions I didn't get to by the end.
2:
- No.
3:
- Don't wait until the last possible day to take the exam. I did, and it wasn't necessary. 6 weeks is more than enough time. Study for 5 weeks, take the exam, and then take a week off. I regret not doing that.
4:
- I would have tried to find a good biochem review book. Although this subject is reviewed better than most in First Aid, I think I would have benifitted from a less disjointed review (as first aid tends to be. It's great for quizzing your self in the final weeks, however.)
5:
- Absolutely not.
6:
- Started earlier
7:
- Studied more of the basic concepts of physiology early in the study section, e.g. potentials, receptors etc.
8:
- Annotated FirstAID along the way. Started immuno and pharm a little earlier. Gotten a small job to keep balanced.
9:
- I wish I hadn't been as stressed out and nervous, the boards are important but they aren't that important in the scheme of life!
10:
- I would have looked at Goljan rapid review of pathology during 2nd year classes and studied pathology primarily from Goljan and skimmed through BRS pathology afterwards instead of using BRS pathology during 2nd year. I would have bought USMLEworld or Kaplan Qbank for only a
few months as Kaplan's Qbank was not all that helful or reflective of the test. I would have read First Aid a few more times through, concentrating on complicated but high yield tables that gave me trouble.
11:
- I would have bought the two other NBME exams and spent more time going through all the exams in detail, both looking up answers I wasn't sure of as well as discussing them with other people (preferrably an M.D. or upperclass friends). I would also have begun seriously reading through
BRS path and BRS phys over the summer of first year, and used First Aid throughout year 1 and lastly, I would have spent a considerable time on pharm and micro, as these are both extremely high yield topics.
12:
- Not sure/ hard to say.
13:
- Started around thanksgiving/winter break… made flashcards from first aid (or at least looked through it) as I went through each committee in school.
14:
- Studied things more thoroughly during the year and made notes that I could revisit during my preparation time for the exam.
15:
- I wouldn't have stressed out so much about the exam.
[edit] Additional comments
Do you have any other advice, comments, or suggestions regarding any Step 1 related topics that was not covered above (planning, organization, exercise, sleep, practice exams, pre-test routines)?
1:
- Don't study the night before the exam and don't push back your date. I couldn't have been happier to have gotten the test over with when I did. Also, if you can, schedule your boards so you have time for a vacation before the wards start. You'll be happy you did. If you start studying and study straight for 5 weeks, you'll have prepared well enough by your scheduled date.
2:
- Make a schedule to follow during the month off so you make sure you have time to cover everything you need. Try to exercise at least a few times a week and eat healthy. Take two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cut them up into four squares each for a total of 8 squares - eat one square between each section on the day of the test.
3:
- (None)
4:
- I'd say come up with your own. For example, in my case, I worked out 3 times a week, and the night before the exam, I completely took the night off to relax and get a good night's rest.
5:
- If you are taking the boards on March 8th (what I did), then you can start reviewing over Christmas break. During the break, start planning the next two months - subjects to cover, etc. Make a spreadsheet/calendar. Keep concentrating on coursework, which doesn't end until February, but try and cover a few subjects (thoroughly). You'll find that, by the time February rolls around, you'll have forgotten these subjects anyway.... but it doesn't hurt to try. Spend 5-6 weeks (start intense studying 1-2 weeks BEFORE classes end), 11-14 hrs/day (remember to take a day off once in a while), and take the boards at the beginning of March. THEN take a 1-2 week trip to a foreign country and rub it in your classmates' faces.
6:
- Take advantage of the NBME tests offered by the school for free! Don't be over zealous and do them all early in your studying, do one 1 week or 2 weeks before the exam so you know where you are. Lastly, download the USMLE study material off of the USMLE webpage, it has the real USMLE format and 150 questions which are real questions. Take Qbank with a grain of salt, some material on there is ridiculously detailed, confusing, or difficult that will never show up on a real exam. Don't be discouraged if you aren't doing well on qbank, it's a steep learning curve. Goodluck!
7:
- It only takes 4 weeks to study for the thing, but it's gonna be a hellish 4 weeks of 10-12 hrs/day.
8:
- Oh, keep doing the things you love doing, you'll have the time - cooking, exercise, get sleep. If you start to get frustrated with a study medium take a break from it for a day or two. Or go out or take a little road trip the next weekend to get your motivation back.
9:
- Pick a score goal before you start so you know what you're working for and you aren't just studying aimlessly. During the dedicated board study time, stay away from people who stress you out. Also, stay away from people who distract you from working. Have a little fun so you stay sane. Give yourself a week off for vacation before bridge week starts! You don't need all 6 weeks of study time if you have been working and are efficient. You'll burn out anyway. Pick a date and stick with it - have a flight somewhere so you can't push back your date. I was really wary of giving myself the week of vacation initially, but a lot of upperclassmen had suggested it to us -- I am SO glad I did. Hands down the best advice I was given.
10:
- Get sleep and do some non-boards stuff during your study time-- exercise, watch a few favorite weekly TV shows, meet a friend for lunch or dinner. Figure out a loose schedule ahead of time and give yourself more time than you think you need--I just set goals instead of making a strict schedule, and cut down on certain books or on amounts of time I wanted to spend on a specific subject when I realized I was spending too much time on it. Don't be afraid to not study a book you bought--less sources are better as you are more likely to remember something you read multiple times from the same source. Don't worry about getting through all of Qbank or all the practice tests, its not necessary. Try not to compare yourself to the people around you, it will only stress you out--its okay to work with your classmates but make sure you select who you work with carefully. Try to schedule your test so that you have at least a couple days of vacation--you will probably feel awful after the test, but rest assured that you studied hard and you definitely deserve a little time to wind down before diving into 3rd year.
11:
- Planning is key - make a schedule for yourself and keep revising it as you study. Remember that everyone falls behind their set schedules, but it provides a roadmap and direction for where you want your studying to go. It will also help organize and motivate. I would also use the practice exams more as a learning tool rather than using them as mere assessments (via the score profile). Take at least three full length exams (yes, a full 8 hours) before you take the actual test to get your body somewhat accustomed to the grueling process - trust me, it helps.
12:
- Don't let low practice exam scores discourage you; instead, use them to motivate you even more to keep studying. Taking at least 1 week off between Boards and the start of 3rd year is an excellent idea....and will make you study more diligently during Board prep time.
13:
- Make sure you have some time to rest/travel or SOMETHING before starting to study. I was very burned out coming into the study time, so I postponed studying until the 5 weeks, and even within that 5 weeks, I didn’t really start studying til 2 weeks beforehand—this is because I was SO unmotivated because I had no breaks from studying and really needed one.
14:
- (None)
15:
- Make sure you exercise, sleep, make a study schedule and stick to it, and don't try to do four weeks of 16-hour days. You'll burn yourself out. Dedicate a solid four weeks to test prep, study 10-12 hours per day at most, and then go out and get some fresh air or watch a movie or something. Any more than four weeks will begin to burn you out. Remember that Step 1 is a major pain, but it's that way for everybody. If you're having a hard time on the exam (and you will), so is everyone else. There are going to be a lot of questions you can't answer, but that's how they intend the exam to be. Just take your time on test day, think things through, and don't obsess over the ones you don't know.
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