Total prep: 8 months (4th year)
Dedicated: 8 weeks.
Resources used:
BNB:
I started out with watching bnb videos, followed by reading FA of the same system, I added any HY point or something that wasn't in FA from bnb to FA. However I have to warn not to make ur FA too messy as in the end it'll be harder to revise. Keep it clean n simple. I think bnb is the best resource to complement FA as it provides explanations for FA and it sticks. Also I believe bnb writers have gone through uworld and amboss lol bcz I encountered everything from bnb in these qbanks. Thats why I say not to write everything down from bnb. Understand it, nd write the things that makes FA easier for u.
FA:
We all know FA is essential for step1. Every page of it has many different concepts and any one can be tested. I started out hating FA for its compressed writing, but with time I came to love it. FA isn't to learn stuff, its where u come to see what u don't know. Everytime I read it, I found something new to learn. But u have to search for the explanations in other resources. In the last phases of preparation FA becomes ur best friend as u can easily revise lots of concepts in a few pages. I did FA 3 times. Everytime it took me 2 months to do so. I don't know how people are able to go through it in a week or two. At my best I could do a system in 3,4 days. But I guess doing it better and slow is far beneficial than just revising and reading the stuff u already know.
Uworld;
The Gold standard for Step1 prep as we all know. From what I experienced I think the first pass of UW is the most important, no matter how much u want to finish it asap. In first pass I only did one block per day in tutor mode. I read all the explanations, the correct and incorrect ones. Made notes and added stuff to FA that wasn't there. A thorough first pass will make ur life so much easier believe me. In the second pass, I only did it to develop test taking strategy, to recognize patterns, exclude options and improve timing. I only read the edu objectives in second pass.
Amboss;
Amboss is highly underrated imo. Throughout all my journey I don't think I enjoyed any other resource more than amboss. The UI is beautiful, the explanations are shorter than UW, the library is perfect for explanations and reading up on difficult topics. I did amboss after my first pass of UW. I wanted it to serve as a break between my first and second pass, bcz I didn't want to remember all of UW answers in my second pass of UW.
I got 3 months of amboss scholarship, however I did amboss in 1.5 months, doing 2 blocks daily. I only did 2-5 hammer questions.
What I liked about amboss is that it touches on parts of FA that uworld tends to skip. UW hits on the major concepts mainly, while amboss tends to get nitpicky with their questions. I found it helpful for me as it made me read FA in a different light, recognizing n seeing things that I didn't with uworld.
Anki;
I found out about anki very late in my prep. So I couldn't use it for its full potential. I only used it for Biochem (zanki deck) and 100 concepts deck and immuno (from anking decks) It made biochem my strongest subject in uworld. No matter what System I was doing I would set aside one hour to do like 200 cards daily, it kept me in touch with biochem throughout my prep. Superb resource all in all.
Practice tests;
Nbme 25 > 4 months out > 246
Uwsa1> 2 months out > 279
Nbme 26 > 5 Nov > 265
Nbme 27> 10 Nov > 260
Nbme 28 > 15 Nov > 258
Nbme 29 > 20 Nov > 266
Nbme 30 > 25 Nov > 260
Uwsa2 > 29 Nov > 271
Free120 > 95% > 3 dec
Real deal > 267 > 8 dec
I also did other nbmes from 15-24 in the preceding months, they were in 240-250 range. The new nbmes has many repeats from these old ones but I guess if you learn from ur mistakes thats a good thing anyways.
Some Last minutes tips:
>100 concepts anatomy:
Must do these as questions come directly from this book. Between 100 concepts, FA and UW I think anatomy shouldn't be a problem for you.
>Nbme pictures:
Do revise these, both old and new, as these do get repeated.
>Pathoma 1-3 :
Easy points on exam directly from these.
>Vitamins and substances of abuse
Again easy points, do them before the test.
>Biostats;
I think there has been a shift in the test where they don't ask about much calculations in biostats, rather the concepts. These are present in new nbmes. Learn the ROC curve guys. Learn the meaning of P-value and alpha etc. Intention to treat analysis, biases etc.
> Pharma graphs :
Both autonomic and general pharma graphs are HY.
> Heart sounds
Medzschool youtube playlist before the test.
That's all that comes to mind..Feel free to ask anything I'll try to answer if I could.
Best of luck to everyone for your coming exams. May U all achieve ur goal scores.
Remember me in ur prayers.
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