Stepora · USMLE study planning
USMLE Study Schedule Template (Free PDF & Excel) — Or Let Stepora Run It
Every template on page 1 of Google asks you to do the same thing: download a grid, then spend the next eight weeks maintaining it by hand. Ours is free and genuinely filled in — an 8-week Step 1 dedicated plan you can open in Excel or Google Sheets today. Download it, use it, and when the manual upkeep gets old, Stepora runs the same plan for you automatically.
The free download below is a complete 8-week Step 1 dedicated schedule: 56 days, two 40-question blocks a day with review, capped Anki, a weekly self-assessment rhythm (NBMEs every 7–14 days, Free 120 in the final week), and one protected day off per week. Open the CSV in Excel/Sheets, shift the dates, and it's yours — no email required.
Download the template
Stepora USMLE schedule template — 8-week Step 1 dedicated plan (CSV)
56 days, day by day: question blocks, review sessions, Anki targets, self-assessment days and rest days. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Download the CSV template (free)
Prefer paper? The printable weekly planner gives you a clean one-week grid — open it and print (or save as PDF) as many copies as you need.
What a filled week looks like (Week 3 of the template)
| Day | Block 1 (40 Q) | Block 2 | Anki | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Cardiology — timed | Review + error log | Reviews + 40 new | Weak-subject drill: Biochem, 25 min |
| Tue | Cardiology — timed | Review + error log | Reviews + 40 new | First Aid cardio pages interleaved |
| Wed | Pulmonology — timed | Review + error log | Reviews + 40 new | — |
| Thu | Pulmonology — timed | Review + incorrects | Reviews + 40 new | Half day — stop after Block 2 review |
| Fri | Mixed random — timed | Review + error log | Reviews only | Mixed blocks begin: exam realism |
| Sat | NBME day — full form under standard conditions | Reviews only | Debrief in the evening: bucket every miss | |
| Sun | Protected day off — no questions, no Anki | |||
The honest problem with every template
A template is a photograph of a plan. The day you miss two blocks for a wedding, a fever or a call shift, every date after it is wrong — and the fix (re-spreading 300 remaining questions across 41 remaining days, re-anchoring the NBMEs so the last one still lands a week before the exam) is exactly the arithmetic nobody does at 11 pm. That's the whole reason Stepora exists: it starts from this same template logic, then re-plans itself every day. Missed work rolls forward, NBME scores change the load, and the exam date stays protected.
If you like the shape of this plan, compare it with the full Step 1 study schedule guide (4-, 6- and 8-week versions), or skip the spreadsheet entirely and build this schedule in Stepora in about two minutes.
Turn this schedule into a plan that runs itself
Stepora takes your exam date, your hours and your resources, then runs every day for you — one mission at a time, with NBME tracking and automatic replanning when life happens.
Build my plan — $1.99/monthFrequently asked questions
Is this USMLE study schedule template really free?
Yes — the CSV downloads immediately with no email, no account and no watermark, and the printable planner is a normal web page you can print or save as PDF. Stepora makes money from the optional app ($1.99/month) that runs the plan for you, not from the template.
Can I use the template for Step 2 CK or Step 3?
The filled example is a Step 1 dedicated plan, but the structure — two blocks a day, review, capped Anki, weekly assessment, protected rest day — transfers directly. For ready-made versions, see the Step 2 CK study schedule and the Step 3 study schedule on this site.
How do I move the template to my own exam date?
Open the CSV, find the final row (exam week), and count backwards: the plan is built in weeks, so set your exam date first and let each week land seven days earlier. Keep the self-assessments every 7–14 days and the Free 120 inside the final week.
Template or app — which should I use?
If your timeline is short and stable, the template alone can carry you. If your days are unpredictable — work, rotations, family — the app earns its $1.99 by re-planning around real life instead of letting one bad week quietly void the whole grid.
Keep planning
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