The time has come! (the walrus said...)
I need to schedule my USMLE Step 1 board exam. I have (technically) a 3 month slot in which to schedule it, but truthfully I have more like from March 16th to April 24th. That's about a 6 week long prep period. Now, I know that I am seriously deficient in a lot of the content tested - I'm all about some concepts, but memorizing content has never been my strong point. I know that I need to work on my Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Microbiology pretty intensely, plus just reviewing all the organ systems in general.
So I now need to pick a date for the exam. Most people would say the more study time, the better, but I know me, and I know that I burn out on studying pretty easily (like, for example, I have an exam in 3 hours, and yet I'm posting an lj entry). Most admins say give yourself a week off between step 1 and the beginning of 3rd year, but a lot of 3rd and 4th years I've spoken to said you peak in the 4th week, and that's when you should take the exam. I had one tell me to just review for 2 weeks, but I think that might be out of the question.
I really think that I should do 5th week. Also, no one seems to schedule their exam on Monday or Tuesday... those days are more likely to be open, so I might be able to schedule Monday the 6th week.
input? advice? recommended board review books?
So I now need to pick a date for the exam. Most people would say the more study time, the better, but I know me, and I know that I burn out on studying pretty easily (like, for example, I have an exam in 3 hours, and yet I'm posting an lj entry). Most admins say give yourself a week off between step 1 and the beginning of 3rd year, but a lot of 3rd and 4th years I've spoken to said you peak in the 4th week, and that's when you should take the exam. I had one tell me to just review for 2 weeks, but I think that might be out of the question.
I really think that I should do 5th week. Also, no one seems to schedule their exam on Monday or Tuesday... those days are more likely to be open, so I might be able to schedule Monday the 6th week.
input? advice? recommended board review books?