Hi everyone, i am really tensed about taking this exam so I need some feeback from you all. I plan to take this exam end of april so got 3 months left.
how should i approach everything.
Did everything and also did the usmleworld questions which are really hard for a first time reader. who hasnt memorzied it cold.
Any advice on how to divide everything up?
plz help !!!
Can't really focus, cuz i need a solid plan.

I know how you feel. I had a slow start as well.

Some tips:

1. Start with a list of the topics in order that you want to study them.
2. Make a start and stop time for yourself, and stick to this no matter what. For example, start at 8am and go till 4pm, then start back up from 9pm until 12am.
3. Make a spot for studying & stick with it. I was studying at the cafes and at a library some days, at home others. Now I study at home, in the same place, without distractions. My retention went way up.
4. Distractions--eliminate or keep to minimum. Being on these forum boards are distractions (except for the TommyK posts). Turn the phones off. No excess noise. Keep snacks/water nearby. Keep negative people far away from you. Make yourself absolutely unavailable for a block of time during your day. No exceptions!
5. Limit your study materials if you need too. No need to have Lippincott's and HY and Rapid Review and Kaplan for biochemistry. Pick one good resource for your topics.
6. Do questions after your reviews. Here's where UW is gold: do sets of q's in timed/unused mode, then afterward, read the explanations very carefully and deliberately. Make notes/copy the diagrams if you need to.
7. Read through First Aid before, during and after your topic reviews.
8. Take the NBME practice tests a month before your test date to see where you stand, and bolster up your review accordingly.
9. Try and not study a couple says before the test date. Relax and do something non-boards related, preferably with other humans not taking the boards
10. Rock the exam.

Don't feel badly if you find yourself deviating from your study schedule. I thought I would only need x amount of days for a certain topic, only to find that I needed a week. So allow yourself a little wiggle room.

Good luck!

__________________
I used to pray and pray for a bike and never got one. Later I learned that God doesn't work that way... so I went out and stole a bike and asked God for forgiveness.

MDIVA did a good job steering you in the right direction. I have a little to add or stress...

Know your source cold (like FA & Goljan). Read them over and over and over and over again... and don't you dare cross reference because if you allow yourself to do that, then you'll be cross referencing everything & wasting time. Just stick to a source and know it cold. You'll be surprised what anxiety on test day does to your memory so you really want to know your stuff.

I would divide my day doing this and questions. Everybody says questions, questions, questions. You know your stuff because you were taught it all, but do you know how to apply what you know? Do the latest banks. You already know the good ones... UW, Kaplan, & USMLERx. Test questions are all the high yield stuff and it keeps you focused on what to know.

Other than that, just relax. You're going to be a doctor some day.

Good luck and God bless.

PS: Write down you goals. I was shown a study where people who wrote down there goal were far more successful than people who didn't... sound like non-sense, but you'll be amazed at how some things work.

I found this 31-day study schedule online (you obviously have more days to study so make revisions). Use it as a guide.

HOw to prepare for the boards

G

you all did an amazing job writing everything...
thanks so much to both of you