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For IMGs who are scared of UWorld before they've even opened it.
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published
2,938 MCQs mapped to First Aid page by page, across 16 systems, inside the First Aid Guide. On my qbanks tier list they're A tier: not a competitor to UWorld, but its augmenter. They're the only MCQs that prepare you for UWorld, so UWorld isn't the first time you see the concept. 48% cold becomes 70% primed.
Read this firstMost of the time, students are scared of UWorld's MCQs. And they have a reason: most students open UWorld on day 1, get 40%, and spiral.
That's not a UWorld problem. It's a sequence problem. UWorld is a learning and assessment tool, not a first-pass resource. The Vault MCQs are the step that comes before it.
First Aid was written to remind, not to teach. The First Aid Guide decodes it page by page, and at the bottom of the page comes Test Yourself: MCQs on that exact page. You read the page, then you test it, before you move on.
Try the renal MCQs: renal is freeAll 158 renal MCQs, under the First Aid pages they test. Read a page, then test it.
Open renal →UWorld is the gold standard, and it stays your main qbank. The Vault MCQs don't compete with it. In my words: they are the only MCQs that prepare you for your qbank, which is UWorld. Not a competitor to the gold standard, but an augmenter.
They prepare you for the difficulty of UWorld's MCQs. Because you've already tested the system page by page, UWorld isn't the first time you see the concept.
That's why they're A tier on the qbanks list, right under UWorld. The qbanks tier list →
The MCQs aren't a separate qbank you open on a free afternoon. They're the last step of reading a page.
By the time you open UWorld, you've attacked the system from 4 angles. You're not starting UWorld cold.
How to read First Aid → · Renal in 6 days → · The RPSR method →
Before the Vault, I used to recommend USMLE Rx. It turned out Rx wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, so I created my own resource.
That's why Rx is C tier: too expensive for not even being your primary qbank, and for the job it does, there's a better alternative. 4 resources I'd never use again →
The Vault MCQs get you ready for UWorld. They don't replace it. UWorld is still your main qbank: system by system, tutor mode, never cold, blocks of 20, at least 2 blocks a day.
Open the First Aid GuideFirst Aid taught page by page, with the MCQs underneath. Free for your first 3 days.
Open the MCQs →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 on usmlevault.com/schedule →
The qbanks tier list — UWorld, AMBOSS, the Vault, Rx.
What the First Aid Guide is — every page, decoded.
ELI5, Test Yourself and Rule out — how every page teaches.
The RPSR method — how to do UWorld.
Renal, start to finish, in 6 days — the free system, run properly.