Students who fail Step 1 usually did not "not know enough." They spent 90 days reading and 9 days testing themselves under time.

A week that actually moves a score looks like this:

1. Two named blocks, every weekday. One for a system (cardio, renal, neuro). One for mixed MCQs. Name them on the calendar. Unnamed time gets eaten.

2. MCQs before comfort. If you cannot explain why the wrong answers are wrong, you did not finish the question.

3. A weekly cut. Drop the lowest-yield hour you logged. Replace it with your weakest system. Repeat.

That is the StemQ loop: schedule → timed questions → time audit. Not more PDFs.

If you are 8–12 weeks out, start with 40 mixed questions a day and a 6-day schedule you can keep when you are tired. Intensity you cannot repeat is not a plan.