# The Step 1 Roadmap

> Pick your USMLE Step 1 exam date from your study hours (5 to 6 hours a day: 6 months; 8 hours: 4 months; 12+ hours: 12 to 14 weeks), set your first NBME 4 weeks before it, finish every system to completion, revise for 1 week, then give NBME 27 offline. With a date calculator.

URL: https://drmarishasudani.com/step-1-roadmap
Canonical: https://drmarishasudani.com/step-1-roadmap

## Questions this guide answers

- **How do I choose my Step 1 exam date?** Pick it from the hours you can study each day. At least 5 to 6 hours a day: your exam is 6 months away. 8 hours a day: 4 months away. 12 or more hours a day: 12 to 14 weeks away. Then write your first NBME date 4 weeks before the exam. To get to that first NBME, finish every system of First Aid to completion, keep at least 1 week to revise them all, then give NBME 27 offline and review it the same day.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1 · Plan
The Step 1 roadmap: your exam date and your first NBME date
99% of IMGs won't do this, and it's the simplest thing in Step 1 prep . It takes 1 page.
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
How do I choose my Step 1 exam date?
Pick it from your hours. 5 to 6 hours a day: 6 months away. 8 hours: 4 months. 12+ hours: 12 to 14 weeks. Then write your first NBME date 4 weeks before the exam . Finish every system to completion, keep 1 week to revise, then give NBME 27 offline.
Read this first Don't read this unless you need to pass your Step 1.
Step 1 is a pass/fail exam, not a target-score exam. So you don't need a target score. You need a target date , and 1 honest question: do my actions allow me to get there, or not?
Here's how you set it. Take a page and draw a line down the middle.
Left Exam date From the hours you can study
Right First NBME 4 weeks before the exam
Students who did this
Real students, in their own words, on the exact tools in this guide. Tap to play.
Haritha · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Lakshmi · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
1
The left side Write your exam date, from your hours
First, understand that you need to study at least 5 to 6 hours a day .
Tap the hours you can study a day
5–6 h a day 6 months
8 h a day 4 months
12+ h a day 12–14 weeks
5–6 hours a day If you can study 5 to 6 hours a day, your exam date should be 6 months away.
8 hours a day If you can study 8 hours a day, it needs to be 4 months away. That's about 16 weeks.
12+ hours a day If you can study 12 or more hours a day, it can definitely be 12 to 14 weeks away. That's a tight timeline. The Vault schedule builds it, and tells you plainly that it will be an intensive schedule. Under 11 weeks, it asks you to book a call with me first.
Your roadmap page: 2 dates
I start on
Exam date (left) —
First NBME (right) —
Tap your hours above. The first NBME is the exam date minus 4 weeks. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Pick these same hours in the Vault schedule It builds every single day for you: week 1, every system in order, the revision week, NBME 1, and on to exam day. You never have to work out what's next.
Build my schedule →
▶ USMLE Step 1 timelines for beginners My video: how long your prep should be.
2
The right side Write your first NBME date: 4 weeks before the exam
On the right, write the date of your first NBME. It needs to be exactly 4 weeks before your exam . This is your first checkpoint.
If your first NBME is on that date, how long will you need from that NBME to the exam? That's what the 4 weeks are for: the rest of your NBMEs, the full-length days, the final week and the day before.
This page becomes your roadmap to ace and smash your Step 1. In the Vault, this checkpoint is already on your roadmap : NBME 1, and every road your score can take after it. Now you know when your first NBME is. Here's how you prepare for it.
See your first NBME on the Vault roadmap Your NBME 1 checkpoint, and what happens after it at above 70%, 65 to 70% and below 65%, laid out before you give it.
Open my roadmap →
3
Before NBME 1 · comment ORDER Finish every system in First Aid, to completion
The first step is to complete all of the systems in First Aid, system by system, to the point of completion of each system . That includes all 10 organ systems and the foundational ones.
It starts with 7 to 9 days of micro and pharm: Sketchy Micro (the free PDFs are in the Vault University ) and High-Yield Pharmacology . Then the systems, easy systems first, cardiovascular last . Renal, respiratory and GI are the easier ones: you begin with them, you don't skip them. Never begin with cardiovascular. Days are at 10 to 12 hours a day. In the Vault schedule , this order is placed for you, day by day, at your hours. Tap a system for its own guide:
The system order
Renal 6 days · start here
Respiratory 6 days
Biochem: Nutrition 1 day, before GI
GI 7 days
Reproductive 7 days
Biochem: Carbs, Fats 1 day each, before Endocrine
Endocrine 6 days
Biochem: Cellular, Molecular, Amino acids 1 day each
Immunology 5 days
Heme / Onc 6 days
MSK 6 days
Dermatology 3 days
ANS 1 day
Psychiatry 5 days
Biochem: Genetics 1 day, before Neuro
Neurology 7 days
Cardiovascular 7 days · always last
Biostats & Ethics 3 days
Every system, the same way: micro and pharm from the First Aid Guide pills → the First Aid Guide, page by page → Mehlman videos → the FA Foundation Anki → UWorld with RPSR. How to study any system →
V Open the renal FA Guide in the Vault Renal is free. Try the method on it first.
When is a system complete? Every UWorld question is done, every bookmark is traced to First Aid, your last 2 blocks are above 65%, and the last block felt boring. The completion checklist →
▶ How to Pass USMLE Step 1 in 2027, Part 3: how to study each system Chapter at 4:34. The completion rule is at 7:31.
Why this order, and every phase: the 16-week plan → · Each system's guide: the system guides →
Your system order, placed day by day Renal first, cardiovascular last, every day sized to your hours, with each system's First Aid Guide, Anki and UWorld blocks in it. Free for your first 3 days.
Start my schedule →
4
The week before NBME 1 Keep at least 1 week to revise everything
After the systems are done, based on your timeline, you should have at least 1 week before your first NBME to revise all of these chapters. On the Vault schedule , it's 7 days at 10 hours a day minimum:
Every morning, 1 hour of Sketchy Micro .
Then the FA Foundation Anki , in the order you studied the systems, with First Aid open beside you. Open FA Foundation Anki in the Vault →
On days 2 to 6, 2 timed blocks of 20 questions from NBME 26, offline. By day 6 you've done all 200 questions of it, so NBME 27 isn't your first timed form.
Nothing new in this week. You consolidate and you recall.
Open the FA Foundation Anki for revision week 17 system decks in First Aid order, the page number on every card. Run them in the order you studied the systems.
Open the deck →
5
Comment DAYBYDAY Your first NBME, and the day-by-day after it
Then you give your first NBME, and this is how you do it. On day 8, NBME 27, offline.
200 questions, 10 blocks of 20.
Always the offline version. The online version gives you 50 questions in 75 minutes, which feels comfortable and inflates your score by about 4 to 6%. Why NBMEs are always offline →
First pass of every block in about 23 minutes, never more than about 1 minute 20 seconds a question. Flag what you're unsure about, and use the last 6 to 7 minutes only on the flags.
A 5-minute break every 40 questions. No phone, no pausing.
Review it the same day. The review protocol →
▶ Before giving your first NBME, watch this video Watch it 5–6 days before NBME 27.
▶ How to Pass USMLE Step 1 in 2027, Part 5: the NBMEs Chapter at 10:55. The order and how to take them.
After NBME 27, every day is already written. Your score picks the road: above 70%, nothing changes; 65 to 70%, a 15-day Patch; below 65%, a Rebuild and the date moves. Then 28, 29, the NBME Booster Anki , and NBME 31, 32 and 33. Only the NBME 31, 32 and 33 trend tells you you're ready: above 68% on all 3. How to know you're ready →
Your day-by-day plan
Want a day-by-day schedule that tells you exactly what to study next? The Vault builds it around your exam date.
Build my schedule in the Vault →
Week 1 to exam day → · The last month, day by day → · Taking your first NBME →
Want both dates worked out for you?
The schedule asks your hours, then builds every day from week 1 to your first NBME and on to exam day.
Build my plan →
usmlevault.com · free for your first 3 days · book a call with me
Read next
The 16-week plan — the 4 phases and the system order.
Week 1 to exam day — what happens at NBME 1.
When is a system actually finished? — the completion checklist.
The exact NBME order — which form, when.
3 tips to avoid failing Step 1 — the bar, the last 14 days, the 280-question day.
USMLE Vault · The Step 1 Roadmap · Created 2026-10-22 · All free guides
USMLE Vault
Try the Vault free for 3 days Start free trial

## Source

USMLE Vault — https://usmlevault.com
Author: Dr. Marish Asudani

Updated: 2026-10-22