# 2 PDFs = a 10-Point Jump (NBME edition)

> The Neil Randy PDF and the Mehlman HY Arrows: why these 2 PDFs have moved my students at least 10 points on their next NBME, how to run each one, and exactly when.

URL: https://drmarishasudani.com/two-pdfs
Canonical: https://drmarishasudani.com/two-pdfs

## Questions this guide answers

- **Which 2 PDFs raise NBME scores for Step 1?** The Neil Randy PDF and the Mehlman HY Arrows. The Neil Randy PDF consolidates all of his high-yield playlists system by system, not just biostats: work it like questions and start with the systems your error log flags. The Mehlman HY Arrows are 160 up-and-down arrow questions: cover the right-hand column and say the direction out loud before you check. Run both before NBME 32 and 33, or when you are stuck on a plateau. These 2 alone have helped several of my students gain at least 10 points on their next NBME.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1 · NBME edition
2 PDFs = a 10-point jump
For IMGs whose NBME scores have stopped moving in the weeks before NBME 32 and 33.
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
Which 2 PDFs raise NBME scores for Step 1?
The Neil Randy PDF and the Mehlman HY Arrows. The Neil Randy PDF consolidates all of his high-yield playlists, system by system, not just biostats. The HY Arrows are 160 up-and-down arrow questions, exactly the kind the NBME keeps asking. Run both before NBME 32 and 33, or when you're stuck on a plateau. These 2 alone have helped several of my students gain at least 10 points on their next NBME.
These 2 PDFs are a 10-point jump. Want a 20-point jump? Scroll to the end →
The short version 2 PDFs. That's it. No new course, no new Qbank.
The 10 points in the title are percentage points : 62% to 72%, not 62% to 63%.
They work because by the time you open them, you've already studied the content once. You're not learning anymore. You're compressing. Both PDFs are the densest version of what you already know.
1
PDF 1 The Neil Randy PDF
People use Neil Randy just for biostats. That's not the case. He's the GOAT in a lot of systems : cardiovascular, CNS, psychiatry, ethics, biochemistry.
The Neil Randy PDF is a consolidation of all of his high-yield playlists, broken down system by system. It helps you quickly revise, consolidate, and accelerate your NBME growth. It is worth 5 to 10% on its own.
How to run it:
Work it like questions, not like notes. It's high-yield questions across every system. Commit to an answer before you look.
System by system, alongside your error log. Start with the systems your NBME misses keep flagging.
4 sections. On the Vault schedule, 1 section a day over the 4 Mehlman days. On your own, 2 to 3 days maximum.
Get the Neil Randy PDF in the Vault University It's under Files, next to the Mehlman HY Arrows. Free for your first 3 days.
Open the Files tab →
Want to hear a system from him first? His playlists, by system:
▶ Neil Randy · Cardiology YouTube playlist
▶ Neil Randy · Behavioral health YouTube playlist
▶ Neil Randy · Biochemistry YouTube playlist
Page 1 of the Neil Randy PDF: what it covers and how to use it.
Students who did this
Real students, in their own words, on the exact tools in this guide. Tap to play.
Lakshmi · Passed Step 1 An honest review of USMLE Vault
Ananya · Passed Step 1 An honest review of USMLE Vault
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
2
PDF 2 The Mehlman HY Arrows
Arrows help you understand things. Each one is an up-or-down arrow question: this goes up, what happens to that? Those questions clarify a lot of your concepts, and the NBMEs and the real exam ask a lot of them. They just open up your mind.
It's 1 dense document covering every system at once: 160 arrows.
How to run it:
Cover the right-hand column. Say the direction out loud before you check.
40 arrows a day. All 160 in 4 days.
Then all 160 again in your final week. This pass is fast: direction out loud, move on.
↓ Get the Mehlman HY Arrows in the Vault University usmlevault.com/university, under Files, next to the Neil Randy PDF.
▶ How should I go through the HY Arrows PDF? Mehlman, on running his own PDF
▶ "Is it worth it to do HY Arrows?" Mehlman, 3 minutes
The Arrows are not tied to any UWorld percentage. Mehlman's videos are a different resource with a different job: they're a fixed step in every system. How to use Mehlman →
Students on the FA Guide
Roshni · Passed Step 1 An honest review of The FA Guide
Haritha · Passed Step 1 An honest review of The FA Guide
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
3
When they go in
Not on day 1. They are revision instruments, so they come after your content is built. Run them before NBME 32 and 33. Both forms offline, like every NBME: online (50 questions in 75 minutes) inflates your score by 4 to 6%. Why offline →
When
What
Before 32 and 33
On the Vault schedule: 4 Mehlman days between Mock Exam 1 (NBME 32 + 31) and Mock Exam 2 (NBME 33 + the Free 120). 1 Neil Randy section and 40 arrows a day.
Stuck on a plateau
Move 2 of the 3 that break 62 to 65%. Stuck at 62–65% →
Final 14 days
Neil Randy over 2 to 3 days maximum. Arrows at 40 a night for 4 days, then all 160 again in the final week. The final 14 days →
Before 32 and 33 they belong with the rest of the push from 68% to 75%: how to score more than 75% → · The tab for NBME 33: the week before NBME 33 →
Want a day-by-day schedule that tells you exactly what to study next? The Vault builds it around your exam date.
Put both PDFs on the right days →
4
Want 20 points? Add the 2 decks.
If you want a 20-point jump, do the NBME Booster Anki and the FA Foundation Anki as well. 1 revises First Aid. 1 revises every NBME. The PDFs compress, the decks make you recall.
The 2 decks behind the extra 10 points The NBME Booster Anki revises every form. FA Foundation Anki revises First Aid. Both open straight into the deck.
NBME Booster Anki → FA Foundation Anki →
2 decks = a 30-point jump →
Mehlman and Neil Randy are not Vault resources. The Vault teaches you how and when to use them, and hosts them for you in the University , under Files.
University → Files in the Vault, where the Neil Randy PDF sits.
Both PDFs, on the right days.
The schedule puts Neil Randy and the Arrows exactly where they belong, between your mock exams.
Open usmlevault.com/schedule →
usmlevault.com · free for your first 3 days
Read next
2 decks = a 30-point jump — FA Foundation + NBME Booster Anki .
Stuck at 62–65% — the 3 moves.
How to score more than 75%
The 7 free sheets — every PDF with its trigger.
The week before your NBME
NBMEs offline: the complete system
USMLE Vault · 2 PDFs = a 10-Point Jump · Created 2026-10-22
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