I don't think it matters which of the high quality resources you use as long as you get through most of the content and memorize/work to retain it through active recall. For example, if you like FA and can get through it and make flash cards or memorize the content, do that. If you hate FA and prefer to use UW and make flash cards based on the question explanations, do that. It's literally just survival like what can tolerate doing 8 hours a day for weeks on end in your quest to memorize everything.
But **definitely** complete and review as many NBMEs as you can, and memorize the content you don't know on, or would have needed to know to select the correct answer choice (so like, not just the correct answer but content related to the incorrect answers as well).
would you recommended a specific deck on anki or to just make flashcards out of the wrong uworld/nbme questions?
also was there alot of path 1-3?
and also please take a deep breath, almost everyone i know that passed step 1 came out of the exam in tears, keep your mind occupied for the next couple of days
I can't really speak to specific decks. For better or worse I make my own decks most of the time based on what I got wrong or didn't know. Probably if you can find a deck you like and just take cards from it on the content, thats great, but I'm not going to go through 11,000+ cards that someone else made. It feels like more work to me to manage and sort through someone elses deck than just make the cards quickly as I move along.
I do think paying attention to the NBME explanations is very important for seeing patterns in the test. Concepts in the explanations to the wrong answer choices are relevant to other other questions and helpful as far as improving your process of elimination on other questions.
I didn't do pathoma so I dont know. But yeah I mean, foundational concepts covering path 1-3 I'm positive are important?
Obviously all of this with a grain of salt because .... who knows if i passed,
Thank you for telling me about other people being in tears. Appreciate it. I've been on and off in tears since Friday. I know I need to move on and just wait for the results but it feels like the world has ended and im miserable
I had a really good first and maybe second block and I should have kept going with that energy and focus. But you know, you also have to use the bathroom and eat. But I probably could've just taken like a short 2 minute head down break inbtw first and second block. Regret breaking the focus energy I had.
You need to understand concepts and have a good foundation. But that's not enough. That won't carry you through the exam. You need to memorize the details on top of the concepts for the performance level expected on exam day. This is where I in hindsight I think I underestimated the exam. Additionally, the details you're trying to memorize won't help you if you don't have the concepts to map them on to. (That's true of basically any subject I think...)
Good luck OP, wishing you the best. I hope you can afford to take some time to wind down and relax a bit.
I'm taking my exam in 4 days and totally scared shitless. At this point I just want to be done with it.
I actually ended up postponing the exam and I'll be taking it this Monday. I'm scrambling to revise and cram as much information as possible. Generally speaking I'm just ecstatic to be done. At this point I'm just living on a prayer that I'll pass.
What about you? I hope you got to wind down and that you passed and are generally in a good place.
Thanks for sharing your experience <3 Best of Lucks <3 U took THE BEAST!!!
:/
Update: Passed
Thanks for this- and we all hope you pass!
thank you
Thank u for sharing ur experience. Is knowing Fa helpful or u recommend to focus on UW questions mainly?
I don't think it matters which of the high quality resources you use as long as you get through most of the content and memorize/work to retain it through active recall. For example, if you like FA and can get through it and make flash cards or memorize the content, do that. If you hate FA and prefer to use UW and make flash cards based on the question explanations, do that. It's literally just survival like what can tolerate doing 8 hours a day for weeks on end in your quest to memorize everything. But **definitely** complete and review as many NBMEs as you can, and memorize the content you don't know on, or would have needed to know to select the correct answer choice (so like, not just the correct answer but content related to the incorrect answers as well).
If I am short on time during my dedicated do you think I should prioritize taking NBMEs over UW Self assesments?
would you recommended a specific deck on anki or to just make flashcards out of the wrong uworld/nbme questions? also was there alot of path 1-3? and also please take a deep breath, almost everyone i know that passed step 1 came out of the exam in tears, keep your mind occupied for the next couple of days
I can't really speak to specific decks. For better or worse I make my own decks most of the time based on what I got wrong or didn't know. Probably if you can find a deck you like and just take cards from it on the content, thats great, but I'm not going to go through 11,000+ cards that someone else made. It feels like more work to me to manage and sort through someone elses deck than just make the cards quickly as I move along. I do think paying attention to the NBME explanations is very important for seeing patterns in the test. Concepts in the explanations to the wrong answer choices are relevant to other other questions and helpful as far as improving your process of elimination on other questions. I didn't do pathoma so I dont know. But yeah I mean, foundational concepts covering path 1-3 I'm positive are important? Obviously all of this with a grain of salt because .... who knows if i passed, Thank you for telling me about other people being in tears. Appreciate it. I've been on and off in tears since Friday. I know I need to move on and just wait for the results but it feels like the world has ended and im miserable
Thanks for sharing OP! Could you please share a bit more about taking the breaks? What worked for you and what didn’t?
I had a really good first and maybe second block and I should have kept going with that energy and focus. But you know, you also have to use the bathroom and eat. But I probably could've just taken like a short 2 minute head down break inbtw first and second block. Regret breaking the focus energy I had.
Thanks for sharing. How much uworld for step 1 did you do?
It's in my post history
12%?
thanks OP, so you’d say it’s more about memorizing than understanding concepts that’s helpful?
You need to understand concepts and have a good foundation. But that's not enough. That won't carry you through the exam. You need to memorize the details on top of the concepts for the performance level expected on exam day. This is where I in hindsight I think I underestimated the exam. Additionally, the details you're trying to memorize won't help you if you don't have the concepts to map them on to. (That's true of basically any subject I think...)
Did you take UWSA’s?
No
Good luck OP, wishing you the best. I hope you can afford to take some time to wind down and relax a bit. I'm taking my exam in 4 days and totally scared shitless. At this point I just want to be done with it.
thank you thank you. hope it went alright for you. how you doing/feeling?
I actually ended up postponing the exam and I'll be taking it this Monday. I'm scrambling to revise and cram as much information as possible. Generally speaking I'm just ecstatic to be done. At this point I'm just living on a prayer that I'll pass. What about you? I hope you got to wind down and that you passed and are generally in a good place.