Andres Garcia is a current M4 at McGovern Medical School in Houston. He matched into Dermatology – one of the most competitive specialties out there! We reached out to Andres to learn more about how he prepared for the Match.
What did you do to get ready for Step 1?
I first got introduced to Picmonic during my 1st year for microbiology and fell in love. The amount of information that I could keep in my head versus rote memorization was incredible.
Once I started my dedicated study period for Step 1, I realized I was doing well on UWorld blocks only because I could recall so much information from the Picmonic cards. I had the entire library visually memorized before walking into the exam.
I ended up with a 247 on Step 1! I am an average test taker at best, but with Picmonic I was able to score in the 86th percentile for Step 1.
What advice do you have for students who are now beginning their medical journey?
Starting med school was pretty tough. It’s not easy going from being one of the smartest kids from your university to just an average medical student. Looking back, I have no personal regrets but I wish that I could have told more classmates just how amazing Picmonic was for keeping all these medical facts in your head.
I never thought that I could apply to one of the most competitive specialties in medicine, but with Picmonic my literal dream is coming true.
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