Most plans end at your first NBME, and then you’re on your own. Yours doesn’t. The Vault builds every day from week 1 to exam day — and shows you what changes if NBME 1 goes badly, before it happens.
A 16-week plan usually covers content and stops at the first NBME. Then the hardest month — which form when, how to review, when to book, what to do with a bad score — is improvised, alone, at the moment you’re most anxious.
That month is where most attempts are won or lost. So it is now in the plan, from the first day.
On your schedule, tap “Road to exam day”. It is every block from today to Step 1, top to bottom — one block per system or phase — with Checkpoints where they fall: each NBME, the full-length mocks, Vault Assessment 1. “Today” marks where you are; “Done” marks what’s behind you. It ends at Exam day — USMLE Step 1.
“Nothing here changes on its own.” The road only moves when something real happens — a score, or a change you choose.
Under NBME 1 the road shows all 3 outcomes in advance. Your score picks one:
| Above 70% | Nothing changes. You carry on to the next checkpoint. |
| 65–70% | A 15-day Patch is added for your weak areas, then the plan resumes. |
| Below 65% | A Rebuild block is added and your exam date moves. The plan is re-cut, not abandoned. |
Knowing this before you attempt NBME 1 changes how you attempt it. A low score isn’t a verdict — it’s a known road. If you’re already on the plateau, the 62–65% guide is what the Rebuild is built from.
The stretch after NBME 1 — Phase 2 — is normally 33 days. It holds the rest of your NBMEs in order, the full-length mocks, the Free 120, the NBME Booster in the last weeks, and a rest day before the exam. Every task names what to do and opens it.
Which form, when, in blocks or full: The exact NBME order. Your first form: Your first NBME. The last 2 weeks: The final 14 days. The full-length simulations: the Step 1 assessments.
You don’t pick a date and hope. The app works it out: your exam date is 35 days after your first NBME, and your plan says so — “Your exam date: [date] — that is what N hours a day gets you.”
Already booked a date? Use Reset. The last step asks “When is your Step 1 exam?” — pick it, or “~3 months”, “~4 months”, “Not sure yet” — and the app checks it honestly:
| It fits | “Your plan finishes [date]” — the weeks in between stay open for review. |
| It fits only if condensed | Phase 2 is condensed to fewer days to finish in time. Both mock exams, the Free 120 and your rest day stay. |
| It doesn’t fit | it tells you the pace that would make it — or offers “Increase my hours”, “Use [later date] instead”, or “Message Dr. Marish”. |
Condensing only happens at 12+ hours a day, 1 day at a time, and never below 23 days at 12 hours or 22 at 15. A plan that would quietly over-run your booked date is the worst kind of plan — this one tells you on day 1.
Reset also keeps what you’ve done: your hours, days off and finished systems are filled in, and if you’ve already studied it asks whether to keep your day count.
The default order isn’t random — each system sets up the next, and Micro and Pharm come first for a reason (the 16-week plan explains it). Most students should leave it.
But if your school runs a different block, or one system is a known weakness, tap the orange “Study order” button. Move systems up or down; the app warns you when a move splits systems that belong together. Then, before anything changes, it shows you:
| Plan ends | old date → new date |
| First NBME | old date → new date |
Only then do you tap “Apply the new order”. Days you’ve finished stay finished. And whatever the order, each system is still done the same way — finish it before you move on, First Aid from 4 angles before UWorld (RPSR).
Everyone sees the schedule. The full road to exam day and Study order come with the full Vault. If you’d rather have me look at your road with you — your date, your hours, your weak systems — book a free 30-minute call.
Not sure where to start at all? What USMLE Vault is takes 2 minutes. And if anything on the road confuses you, ask the tutor — it knows the schedule screens and will point you to the right button.
The 16-week plan — the content phase, system by system
The exact NBME order — which form, when, and the scores that mean ready
Stuck at 62–65% — what the Rebuild is built from
The final 14 days — the end of the road
Anki: two decks, two modes — where each deck falls on the road