Pick a number of weeks you will allocate to studying exclusively. Decide whether you will be including weekends. I suggest allowing yourself AT LEAST one day per weekend that will not be spent studying until the weekend prior to your exam. Try reducing your hours on the weekends to 3-4 hours/day. Do not burn yourself out!
Once you have decided on a number of weeks, figure out how many productive days this includes. Exclude the time frame 3-5 days before your exam (use this time exclusively for practice exams and last-minute high-yield review).
𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐄:
Graduation: Dec 14
PANCE: Jan 4
Started studying: Dec 16
Total days until exam: 19
Days off: 2 (one Sunday and Christmas)
Total days spent studying: 17
Days spent studying blueprint: 17 – 3 (practice exams and high-yield review only) = 14 days
So now that I’ve made it more complicated than it should be… take that number (14 in my case) and multiply it by the percentage located to each blueprint category (and then round). This is approximately the number of days I spent on each category. I chose to order the blueprint categories from highest to lowest percentage. I knew I would be most focused at the beginning of my studying. This also put the topics that I struggle with (renal/heme) closer to my exam date and made it more likely that I would remember what I had reviewed. There is no right or wrong way to go about doing any of this. It’s just what worked for me.
Print a calendar off and write in your plan! It really helped to hold me accountable. It was also EXTREMELY gratifying to cross off the days as they went by. There’s also a 99.9% chance you will not stay on schedule. Don’t stress! This is just to help guide you in your studies. If you’re interested in more individualized support, click the @varsitytutors find a tutor link in my bio and request me as your tutor.
PA-Cs, how did you plan your PANCE study schedule?
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