- Go over First Aid initially
- Study First Aid - 1 subject, do questions on that subject 2 blocks in tutor mode.
- Next morning - repeat the questions you got wrong in timed mode and go thru the answers. Start next topic/sub and so on.
- At the end of 1 week - you may have a sizable number of questions wrong/marked - take timed test of those in a day - review.
- Remember revision is the key. First time round - you should add notes to First Aid, so that at the end you have 1 book to review.
- 1 week to 10 days before exam - do timed mixed questions, full 200-250 a day. Get used to the time and environment-no getting up to go to the loo/coffee during a block.
- I aimed to do three 3-hour chunks per day. I'd study one topic from roughly 9am to noon, take an hour break for lunch, study from 1 to 4pm, take 2-3 hrs break to exercise and eat dinner, then do practice questions from 7 or 8pm until I felt tired. Some days were better than others, but I think I averaged around 9 hrs a day, which seemed appropriate to me.
- I liked studying a subject during the day and then doing random qbanks at night, so every night kind of served as a review of everything (vs just reviewing that one subject at some point). I preferred that b/c honestly on the test, that's how it is: random. There is no "cardiology section" and then a "biochem section," so why practice that way?
- Regardless of your study style, the key here is to budget an extra 60 to 90 minutes for each block after you complete it. Don't just look at your score, but instead, take the time to look at the detailed explanations for each question regardless of whether you got it correct or not! Then, make sure to annotate First Aid for the USMLE Step 1! This is KEY! Doing so diligently every day that you study will give you a comprehensive review guide by the time the your USMLE Step 1 exam date rolls around.
mar 23 2009 ∞
jun 9 2009 +