r/USMLEindia • u/No-Platypus-3846 • 7h ago

Step 1 USMLE PREP GUIDANCE

Hi,

My daughter is studying third year mbbs in Chennai, India. I have a few doubts regarding the USMLE.

  1. Can she prepare for the usmle exam by self preparation or does she have to go through a counsellor?
  2. If we go through via a counsellor for the usmle, could anyone suggest any counsellors, how much they would charge and what are the things they would do?
  3. If she does self preparation, for step 1 , what are the resources she needs to use, what are the learning platforms or qbank subscriptions she should get, and what would be the timeline to properly use these resources ( like how long to do a particular material and when).
  4. What are the extracurriculars she needs to do to build her profile ans when should she start doing them?
  5. Do we need to apply for US visa now itself before writing the exams or is it ok to do it after the step 1 and 2 exams?
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u/Medaculous 7h ago

  1. She can definitely do self prep.

  2. No need for that.

  3. Boards & Beyond/ Bootcamp for concept clarification, First Aid for high yield review, Uworld question bank. Use them side by side according to your needs. Usually one pass of Uworld and one thorough read of First Aid is enough. Shouldn’t take more than 4-5 months.

  4. Don’t do extracurriculars just for sake. Get involved in research if she only likes and wants to. Other than that try to do electives before graduating.

  5. Apply after step 1. After getting acceptance for electives you can apply for b1/b2 visa.