Category: Step One- Ross University

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How to Prepare for the Comp

Here is how I approached the comp and used it to help prepare me to succeed on step 1 of the USMLE.

 

It’s just a practice test

At the end of the day the comp exam is a practice step 1 exam and nothing more. I took five practice exams when I studied for step 1 and step 2 respectively. These were NBME practice tests and were just like the comp because the comp is a practice exam that is meant to show you were you stand. Sure, it will suck if you have to retake the comp but your end goal is to crush step 1! So don’t worry about passing or failing the comp. In the long run it doesn’t matter if you pass or fail. If you fail, it means that you aren’t ready to take step 1. And hey, I passed the comp on my first try but I certainly wouldn’t say I was ready for step 1. I still required two more months of studying in order to get my scores up.

 

Pass the comp but focus on step 1

Back in my day we had 4 weeks to study for the comp after our fourth semester final. I understand that times have changed but my study strategy should still ring true. My strategy was simple: I wanted to pass the comp so I didn’t have to worry about it after I left the island. However, at the end of the day the comp doesn’t really matter. All that matters is crushing step 1. No residency program will know if you passed or failed your comp exam but they will certainly know what you got on step one.

 

Don’t try and study everything

It doesn’t pay off to try and study everything before you take the comp because there simply isn’t enough time. During my third and fourth semester I was using the Kaplan step one question bank to study for the NBME final exams so I chose to use a Kaplan diagnostic test to see where I stood. Turns out I sucked at everything but there were certain subjects I was particularly bad at. As I suspected, my best subjects were ones that I had just studied for my fourth semester final. Strategically, I chose not to study these subjects and hoped that I would remember them when I took the comp. Instead, I focused on a few organ systems that I was particularly bad at, specifically pulmonology, nephrology, and gastroenterology. I also chose to focus on cardiology because it is the single organ system that takes up the largest composition of questions on step one.

 

Start studying for step one when you start studying for the comp

When I left the island I had already studied four organ systems (the three I sucked at plus cardio). It wasn’t sufficient enough to allow me to skip them during my two months of preparation for step one but it gave me one hell of a head start. Again, it doesn’t matter if you pass the comp or not. Sure it will suck if you have to take it again but you have to keep the long-term goal in mind of not just passing step one but crushing it. Passing step one might get you a residency but killing step one will get you an amazing residency.

 

And do practice questions. Lots of practice questions.

The more practice questions you do the higher you will score. There is simply not way around it. By the time I took step 1 I had completed half of the Kaplan qbank once, all of UWorld, and all of the questions I answered incorrectly in UWorld once which comes to a grand total of 3,000 questions or so. Some people did all of Kaplan, UWorld, and one or two other qbanks but I personally felt like that’s overkill but everyone is different. UWorld should be the minimum though.

Practice questions will not replace your studying but instead should supplement and guide you in which topics you need to study. Practice questions show you your weaknesses and give you topics to go back and study. I suggest one full question set which should take you one hour followed by three hours to review those questions. Then study for four hours in the afternoon after an hour break. Then eat, sleep, repeat!

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How To Pass The Comprehensive Shelf Exam

“I am a third semester student and I would like to ask you for some advice. I am deeply worried about the comprehensive shelf exam pass rate (~ 50%). I do not wish to have to retake it in the US. My goal is to focus on step 1 during that time. I have heard of a few people failing out of Ross because they did not pass COMP the 3 or 4 chances given. I plan on coming back a week early before school starts to start studying for COMP. In addition, is your study habits the same in which you applied for the step exam as well? They make the comp sound impossible…but it has to be possible.”

Short answer: the fact that you are already thinking about your study strategies for the comp exam and step 1 shows me that you will pass.

Long answer: Let’s get down to the dirty details now that I’ve delivered my mandatory inspirational quote for the day. First off, if you haven’t already check out my original post where I describe some general advice on how to pass your comprehensive shelf exam. That post is meant for fourth semester students who just took their final and now have one remaining month to study for the COMP. I know the curriculum has changed at Ross since I left the island and I’m not sure if they still give you one month for the COMP but the basic philosophy I describe should still be applicable.

I don’t know what the COMP passing rate is but even if I had those statistics I would be willing to bet that they would include quite a few confounding variables. Frankly, if you put in the time and effort you should be able to pass the COMP on your first try. The few people I know who failed the COMP failed because they didn’t put in enough effort. They treated the month before the COMP as a mini vacation more than a dedicated study period (see previous blog post above).

When I was on the island I also heard those alleged rumors of students failing the COMP on multiple attempts. They are just rumors. Even if they are true then those students are likely the outliers on the standard bell curve. They are the exception, not the rule. From here on out your mindset is not whether you pass or not. Your new mindset is how well you will do when you pass.

Now everyone is different and every student has his or her own study habits. Personally, when I left the island in between each semester I did zero studying. I may have organized and reprinted some notes but I certainly didn’t study. Let alone come back early to study. So for the sake of sanity do not go back early. That being said, everyone is different and you know yourself better than I do. So if you want to go back early to study then do it! I am simply concerned that you will burn out. Especially since during my fourth semester we had those dreaded eight hour days of lecture three days a week. I don’t know if that has changed or not but an entire semester of medical school is enough of a reason for me not to go back to the island early to study. So, again, if you are the type of person who alleviates their anxiety by studying then by all means go ahead but before you make any rash decisions check out my original post. Specifically the part about recharging your batteries.

Lastly, the study strategies that I employed for the COMP were identical to what I did for step one. A morning question set took me one hour to take and three hours to review. Then a one hour break followed by a four hour block of videos in the afternoon. That was followed up by an evening run on the beach, pick up game of basketball, or lifting session at the gym. Followed by a calm review session of everything I looked over that day after dinner. Then sleep, eat, study, repeat. Sleep, eat, study, repeat.

In the end, your step one score = (how smart you are) x (how hard you work). There is always someone out there who is smarter than you but there is no excuse for there being someone who works harder than you.