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.

How to Maximize Your USMLE Exam Day Performance

Essentials for going into your USMLE exam day feeling confident and prepared. Introduction Reaching the final stretch of your USMLE exam preparation is a big milestone, and understandably your emotions may range widely from nervousness to eagerness. You’ve worked really hard to get to this point and now, it’s time for that commitment to pay

Nov 03, 2021

How Med Students Are Using First Aid in 2021

A first hand look at how medical students are using the classic USMLE prep textbook in 2021. The holy grail of medical school texts is, without a doubt, First Aid for the USMLE. Personally, it wasn’t until I was on the verge of failing my first term of medical school (eek!) that the book was

Oct 13, 2021

Med Student Mental Health Check In

Take a minute for a mental health check in with some of our top posts about avoiding (and sometimes making the most of!) stress, burnout, and more! Sometimes the “journey” to becoming a doctor can feel more like running through an endless minefield. High stakes exams, student loans, and crushing workloads—not to mention living through

Sep 16, 2021

Test Taking Strategies for the USMLE

How to approach a USMLE question and basic test taking strategies for the exam. When it comes to something as complex as the USMLE, anything that helps demystify the process can be a game changer. And yes, we mean anything! Even something that may seem as intuitive as how to approach a question. Of course,

Aug 18, 2021

High Yield Guide for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK

How to prioritize high yield topics to raise your score on USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK. Wouldn’t life be much easier if it came with a guide that told you exactly what to focus on? If a little voice in your head periodically chimed in to let you know: “Hey, don’t worry about

Jul 22, 2021

Find and Use Your USMLE Qbank

A guide to USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK Qbanks like UWorld and Kaplan: which is best and how to use them. It seems like the moment you pull out your wallet to make a purchase, you’re overwhelmed with options to the point that picking a simple toothbrush can feel like a quiz; and

Jun 21, 2021

When and How to Schedule Your Step 2 CK Exam

When and how to schedule USMLE Step 2 CK now and after Step 1 goes pass/fail to best prepare for ERAS residency applications. Ah, a calendar year. There’s your birthday, the fresh blooms of spring, the anticipation of summer. There’s that time of year you spend with family or friends. There’s the test day of

Jun 14, 2021

A New Look at Your USMLE Step 2 Score

USMLE Step 1 change to pass/fail and how it might affect Step 2 score reporting. Here’s how to prepare for residence and specialty matching given the change. For a moment, let’s imagine it’s a beautiful sunlit day somewhere very far from your computer screen. You decide to engage in a friendly game with a street

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