Blueprint Med School Blog (formerly Cram Fighter & Med School Tutors)
The blog for Blueprint Medical, supporting your MedEd journey with our exam study planner, tutoring, residency consulting, and advanced boards.
5 USMLE Question Types As “Parks and Recreation” Characters
Have you ever wondered which USMLE question types you might encounter on your Step 1 exam, and how to tackle them? Do you also love a certain NBC sitcom about the mishaps of Parks and Recreation employees? Read on for the perfect marriage of the two: matching each USMLE question type with its Parks and
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Tips for Studying On-the-Go During Med School
Stop me if this sounds familiar: To keep on track with your study plan, you’ve got 1000 Anki cards, 100 practice questions, and 10 videos to finish this week. On top of that, you’re required to be present and prepared for your clinical rotations and you have to plan your study goals around your class
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How to Find the Best Study Spot for Your USMLE Exams
Studying for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) can be a demanding and time-consuming task. If you have been following along with my previous blogs about how to find the best med school study planner and how to recover after your study plan begins to falter, I would be remiss to not discuss the
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Step 1 Pass Rates Are Decreasing: How to Make Sure You’ll Pass
In recent years, the role Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) plays in the residency application process has changed. When it transitioned from a scored assessment to a pass/fail test in January 2022, the change alleviated the pressure to score as high as possible and realigned the focus back to making
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Help, My USMLE Study Plan Isn’t Working! How to Get Back on Track
If you have gotten to the point in your medical training journey to be preparing for your medical licensing exams, the USMLEs, congratulations! You are on a path that many have found immensely rewarding as well as terribly stressful. Being a medical student, you are used to exams whether it be the SAT, ACT, MCAT,
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Changes Coming to Step 2 CK Practice Exams (CCSE and CCSSA) in 2023
Beginning December 5, 2022, the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) will update score reports for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2 CK practice exams. Remember that, while the USMLE Step 1 is a “pass/fail” exam, Step 2 CK still provides a three-digit score that may be weighed in the residency application
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Quiz: Do You Need a Tutor in Med School?
Medical school is difficult, and it’s helpful to lean on friends and a support system during the tough rotations. Remind yourself how smart and capable you are—after all, not everyone is admitted into medical school! Even if you breezed through your college classes without breaking a sweat, it is unrealistic to think that you won’t
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How to Stop Procrastinating: Med Student Edition
Raise your hand if you were the type of college student who procrastinated on your assignments and put off studying for tests. Both my hands are raised! While this approach may have served us well in the undergraduate setting, it is not ideal in medical school. The sheer volume of material in medical school is
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