USMLE exam success - United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 Updated: 2023

There are a few different ways that Anki is usually incorporated into Step 1 studying:

Pre-Made decks

Zanki and Anking are two pre-made decks that have been curated over accurate years to capture the best and most high yield Step 1 content from almost any and all resources that students find useful, including Pathoma, First Aid, Sketchy, etc. Both decks are very large and extremely comprehensive, sometimes emphasizing information that isn’t always high-yield or testable.

Making your own cards (content)

For some students, taking traditional handwritten or typed notes is cumbersome and disengaging. With that in mind, it’s not uncommon that students will do their “note taking” by taking the material they find in resources like First Aid, Boards and Beyond, etc and creating their own cards to capture the content in whatever way makes the most sense for them.

Making your own cards (missed questions)

Knowing that UWorld offers a wealth of information in the explanation of answer choices and through outlining the educational objectives of different question types, it should be no surprise that a lot of that content can be ideal for Anki. In this approach it’s important to do your best to pinpoint specific and succinct knowledge gaps so that you can make cards that aren’t so dense that they’re not helpful. It’s important to note that if not appropriately focused, this approach can be incredibly time intensive and can sometimes not be the most productive way to use your time, so be thoughtful in how you incorporate this into your overall study strategy.

Failure to Abide by Department Regulations (Exam Procedures)

Procedures for taking exams (whether during the semester or final exams) are established by professors and the Registrar’s Office. Each final exam period the Registrar’s Office publishes the procedures for examinations.  Students are responsible for knowing and following these procedures. 

Breaches of examination procedures include, but are not limited to:

1. Bringing a cell phone, ipad/tablet/laptop, or any device with internet connection into an exam room.
2. Exceeding the time permitted on the exam (i.e. turning the exam in past the end of the exam period).
3. Communication of any kind in the examination room.
4. Taking a special examination in a non-designated room or taking a regular examination in a special writing room.
5. Leaving the designated exam areas or leaving the building before the completed exam has been returned to the exam center proctor.
6. Bringing outside materials, including calculators, into exam rooms. Exams with special permissions (i.e. use of a calculator) must be taken in the designated special writing exam rooms.  The calculator may not be an internet connected device (i.e. smartphone).
7. Excessive noise within the examination center.
8. Using substances in an examination room.

The following pledge must be written and signed on every exam before it is handed in for grading:

“I promise neither to supply nor receive any aid on this examination.”

Students must complete final examinations in designated rooms, unless otherwise specified by the professor.  The exam (both questions and answers) must be returned to the Exam Center staff, sealed in the envelope with the Honor Pledge signed.

The Honor Code applies to all students enrolled at the College.

Additional information about taking exams at Connecticut College can be found here. 

Self-Scheduled exam Procedures

1. The instructor supplies an examination for each student enrolled for credit. The examination must display the student's name, course number and instructor's name.
2. To receive an examination, the student appears at the appropriate exam center, fills out a sign-in form, and provides identification (license with photo or other picture ID required).
3. Except for special examinations (exam printed on colored paper, or have a colored sheet of paper as the cover sheet) which must be written in designated rooms, the student selects a writing room in the building in which the exam was distributed and may not leave the building until the completed examination has been returned to the exam center proctor. Cell phones, ipads/tablets/laptops, or any devices with internet connection are never permitted in any exam rooms.
4. No outside materials, including calculators, are permitted, except for special examinations where the material is explicitly indicated. The exams which allow materials and/or calculators must be taken in the Special Writing Rooms (exams are printed on colored paper, or have a colored sheet of paper as the cover sheet). As a reminder, cell phones, ipads/tablets/laptops, or any devices with internet connection are never permitted in any exam rooms.
5. All exams must be returned to the exam proctor at the end of the official writing time (11:30 a.m. for morning sessions, 4 p.m. for afternoon sessions and 8:30 p.m. for evening sessions).  The exam centers open 20 minutes before each exam session. The exam writing time is three hours. If you pick up an exam early, it must be returned early (a student may not have an exam in their possession for more than three hours). Picking up an exam after the start of an examination session (8:30 a.m., 1 p.m., or 5:30 p.m.) does not extend the end of the exam session.
6. Students must sign the honor pledge on the exam envelope. When the examination has been completed, the examination sheet or test booklet and blue book(s) used must be placed in the envelope provided. The envelope must be sealed, and the identifying information supplied on the front.  The envelope is returned to the exam proctor, who will provide a receipt.

Reminders

• You may not leave the building with an exam
• Return all exam materials to the exam proctor
• All exams MUST be returned no later than 11:30 a.m., 4 p.m., or 8:30 p.m. in order to be in compliance with exam procedures
• Cell phones, ipads/tablets/laptops, or any devices with internet connection are never permitted in any exam rooms.

Please be aware of the following end-of-semester reminders: 

Incompletes

To negotiate an incomplete (deadline is 11:30a.m. on Wednesday, May 17), see the instructor and your dean.  Incomplete forms are available from the Deans Office.   

Bills

Please pay all of your bills prior to leaving campus.  Under College policy, unpaid bills will result in a Transcript Hold which will delay the processing of transcript requests.

Leave/Other Departures

Degree-seeking undergraduate students who do not expect to be enrolled in the College for the following semester are reminded that the appropriate leave forms should be filed with the Dean of the College.  Filing the form will prevent you from receiving bills for next semester, allow the college to reallocate residential space, and open course seats to others.

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Select a term to view room assignments & schedules:

 Spring 2023Fall 2023

Faculty of Arts & Sciences, and the Undergraduate Schools of Business and Education

Exams will meet according to the schedule published here at the beginning of each semester's registration period. Unless informed otherwise, classes will meet in the regular classroom. Requests for larger rooms should be made by the instructor via email to the [[w|zimmer,Academic Scheduling Coordinator]].

• Exams are based on the START DAY & TIME of the class, no matter how many time periods it crosses. For example, a class meeting from 8:00 - 9:50 a.m. MW would hold its exam in the 8:00 a.m. MWF time period.
• Classes meeting at non-standard times on MW will have their exam in the time block reflected by the whole hour, e.g., a class meeting at 10:30 a.m. MW will have its exam in the 10:00 a.m. MWF block.
• Classes that meet only one or two days per week that do not have a set final exam slot will have their exams with the time block represented by the traditional listing (MWF or TR).
• Classes meeting at non-standard times on TR will have their exams with the time block immediately preceding. For example, a class meeting at 2:30 p.m. TR will have its exam in the 2:00 p.m. TR time block. A class that meets at 1:00 p.m. TR will have its exam in the 12:30 p.m. TR time block.
• No exams will be held on the reading days.

Block exams for courses with multiple sections may be requested prior to the beginning of registration for the term, through the [[w|zimmer,Academic Scheduling Coordinator]]. For a class that does not have a meeting time but needs a room for an in-class exam, [[w|zimmer,contact the Academic Scheduling Coordinator]].

Review the Academic Regulations in the undergraduate course catalog for additional information on Final Exams.

Boston College has different schedules for Undergraduate and Graduate courses as follows:

Undergraduate Course Exams

Undergraduate Courses Exams either have a standard exam or a common exam.

Standard exams: Undergraduate classes that meet in time slots starting between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

NOTE: some undergraduate courses with multiple sections may have a Common Exam; please review the Common exam tab for those courses to which this type of exam applies.

In situations where the class meeting time falls halfway between two time slots, use the corresponding exam time slot for the later time slot. For example, a class meeting MW starting at 8:30 should use the MWF 9 meeting time slot to determine the corresponding exam time.

Common Exams: some undergraduate courses with multiple class sections; these are grouped together to provide ease in the administration of the exams.  Review the Common exam tab for those courses to which this type of exam applies.

Graduate Course Exams

Graduate Courses Exams: meets on the same day of the week on which the class meets during the semester and follows this grid on the Graduate Courses Exams tab.

All Exams

Students should check their final exam schedule at bc.edu/myservices as the end of the semester approaches to confirm the time and room assignments for each of their exams.

Instructors should check their final exam schedule at bc.edu/myservices as the end of the semester approaches to confirm the time and room assignments for each of their exams. If your exam day/time/location does not appear on your list of exams in your Portal as expected, notify your Department Administrator immediately so it may be scheduled.  

NOTE: exams usually occur in the classroom in which the course is taught, but there may be exceptions. Please check the exam room assignment as your exam approaches.

USMLE™ - United States Medical Licensing Examination Centers

The following are postal addresses and phone numbers of the centers, where the US Medical Licensing Examination is held in India. This has started since May this year, with USMLE Step 1, and the Step 3 examination has also been shifted to the computer-based testing (CBT) since November 1

In 2007, a blind man asked Pushpa to guide him across a busy road in Bengaluru, a teeming metropolis in southern India. After they reached the other side, he made another request which changed her life.

"He asked me if I could write an exam for his friend," recalls Pushpa, who goes by one name.

She said yes, but when the day came, her excitement gave way to anxiety. She had never written an exam for someone else and didn't know what to expect.

Many Indian students with physical or learning disabilities use a scribe to write exams on their behalf. They dictate answers to the scribe, who notes them down. As per government guidelines, scribes are not allowed to write for any subject they themselves have studied at university level. They can get a defined fee for exams conducted by the government, but most of the time, the work is voluntary.

"It was three hours of tension. The candidate was dictating the answers very slowly and was asking me to read out the questions again and again," says Pushpa, who chose to help out for free.

But she did enough to help 19-year-old Hema (who uses one name) pass her school final exams.

Soon, an NGO working with blind people approached Pushpa for help and then other students. In the past 16 years, Pushpa has written over 1,000 exams, free of charge.

"Exam halls are like a second home for me," she tells the BBC.

In addition to school and university exams, Pushpa has also helped candidates appearing in entrance exams and selection tests for government jobs.

"Now it is routine work for me. I don't feel any stress," she says, adding that the experience has helped her learn about many subjects she had no knowledge in - from history to statistics.

She has helped blind students, those with cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, autism, dyslexia and students incapacitated by accidents.

But it can be challenging sometimes. When working with students with cerebral palsy, which often impairs speech, Pushpa says she has to "concentrate hard and look at their [the students'] lip movements to try to understand words".

Story continues

But she takes it in stride. She has helped Karthik (he goes by one name), who uses a wheelchair, write 47 exams.

It was a crises that forged their long association. During a school exam, Kartik's scribe left abruptly and Pushpa stepped in to help. The 25-year-old says he greatly appreciates her continual support since then.

"I'm lucky to get a scribe like Pushpa. Scribes are really like gods for us," he says.

Working together for years has given them a great understanding of each other - Karthik has now graduated and is preparing for government clerical recruitment exams.

"I have written multiple exams for many students and each one has a unique story," Pushpa says.

In the third week of March, Pushpa wrote a university degree exam paper for 19-year-old Bhoomika Valmiki.

Ms Valmiki, who is blind, uses tools that convert text to audio to study, but such apps cannot be used during exams.

"I can only move forward in my life if Pushpa writes for me," Ms Valmiki says.

"Pushpa was very patient and waited till I finished my answers. She never distracted me and repeated my answers before writing them down," she adds.

Most people who seek Pushpa's help have struggled to get into university, yet she says her empathy won't undermine her integrity.

"My job is to write what they say," she says. "I have no choice when they ask me to tick a wrong answer or dictate a sentence which is grammatically incorrect. I can't intervene."

When students who speak other languages struggle to understand English words she translates the word for them. "That is the only help I give," Pushpa says.

Pushpa comes from a poor family. After her father was injured in an accident, her mother worked hard to feed her and her brother.

"At one point, me and my brother had to drop out of school because we couldn't pay fees," she recalls.

A stranger stepped in to help and Pushpa says she volunteers as a scribe to supply back this goodness to society.

She has taken up several small jobs over the years to make a living, but the past few years have been particularly hard.

In 2018, her father died and in 2020, her brother passed away. A year later, Pushpa, who was then unemployed, got some more bad news.

"In May 2021, my mother passed away. A few months later, in August, I wrote 32 exams. Some days I would write two exams."

She says she found scribing therapeutic and helpful in overcoming her grief.

Her tireless work has not gone unnoticed. On 8 March 2018, she was honoured by the then Indian president, Ram Nath Kovind, for her efforts. She also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other award winners.

Pushpa now works in a tech start-up and gives motivational talks at corporate events.

But she still writes exams for those who cannot, and since she can speak and write in five Indian languages - Tamil, Kannada, English, Telugu and Hindi - there's plenty of demand for her services.

"I supply my time and energy. If I write an exam for someone, it changes their life," she says.

Children with dyslexia in Scottish schools will be able to sit electronic exams rather than the traditional paper version after a successful pilot scheme.

Fall 2022

The following schedule has been designed and approved with the expectation that students must plan to take up to two examinations per day. Questions about this schedule or policy should be directed to successcenter@calvin.edu. (See below regarding classes that meet four days per week and common exam times for some classes.)

Special exam times