FAQ Section   1. Is Step 1 still scored? No, Pass/Fail since Jan 2022. Passing is essential, but more importantly, Step 1 builds the foundation for Step 2. 2. So which score matters now? Step 2 CK. Scored 1-300; Pass = 218; Average = 245-247 As part of their holistic...

After months of applications, interviews, second-guessing your rank list, and counting down the days until Match results, residency applicants finally arrive at the moment they've been waiting for: Match Week.   For many medical students, Match Week is equal parts excitement, anticipation, and anxiety. It's the culmination of years of...

After months of applications, interview invitations, travel, thank-you emails, and endless conversations with mentors, residency applicants finally reach one of the most important stages of the Match process: creating their rank order list. For many students, this period feels surprisingly stressful. Interviews are over, but now comes the question that...

  Applying to residency as an international medical graduate (IMG) can feel like navigating foreign territory. Between understanding the nuances of ERAS, optimizing your application, securing interviews, and preparing for the Match, there are countless moving pieces, and unfortunately, plenty of opportunities to go wrong.   Over the years, I’ve...

If you’ve spent any time on medical school or residency forums lately, you’ve probably seen headlines about new state laws allowing physicians, especially international medical graduates (IMGs), to practice without completing a U.S. residency. It can sound surprising, even a little confusing, especially if you’ve always thought that residency is...

If you’re a medical student who feels like you’re studying all the time but your scores aren’t budging, you’re not failing, you’re just using a strategy that doesn’t work as well as you’ve been told.   You reread First Aid for the third time. You watch every video in your...

If you’ve reached the point where you’re staring at your ERAS interview spreadsheet, a color-coded Google Doc, and five half-finished notes titled “RANK LIST???” - congratulations. You survived residency interview season. Now comes the part that feels both empowering and terrifying: making your rank list.   Ranking residency programs sounds...

If you’ve ever stared at a USMLE Step 1 question and thought, “I know I’ve seen this before… why can’t I pull it out of my brain?”, you’re not alone. In fact, forgetting high-yield material is one of the most universal (and frustrating) experiences in medical school. It happens to...

From the perspective of a med student-turned-tutor who has used them in the trenches.   Want the Science Behind It? If you’ve ever found yourself reciting “Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Brains Matter More” while trying to remember the cranial nerves, you already know the quiet...

It’s the Monday of Match Week. You’ve checked your email, your heart is pounding, and the words appear: “We are sorry to inform you…”   It’s a sinking feeling — there’s no other way to describe it. But before you lose yourself in panic, take a breath. You still have...