u/Pharmandark

Why I Did 250 Questions the Week Before the 220-Question NAPLEX

Not because the NAPLEX is 250 questions - it isn't - it's 220.

A week before my scheduled NAPLEX, I completed 250 UWorld questions.

I did it because I didn't want exam day to be my first experience with exam day.

Ten days before the Naplex, I took the Pre-Naplex assessment using one of the two vouchers my school provided each of us.

It served its purpose - it gave me an idea of where I stood. But when I finished, I realized it didn't quite prepare me for the exam the way I hoped.

As an endurance athlete, I wasn't just looking for where I stood, I wanted to know what the exam would feel like.

I never used the second voucher, not because it lacked value or because I was unsatisfied with my score, I was and it served its purpose - but I wanted a trial run, so exactly one week before my NAPLEX, I did something I wasn't planning…

UWorld limited custom exams to 125 questions, so I built two separate 125-question exams.

I split the chapters roughly in half so I would cover all of the material - the platform allows you to hand pick which chapters you want to be tested on, then I completed the exams back-to-back.

One decision I made intentionally was including math in both exams. Instead of front-loading or back-loading calculations, I wanted them sprinkled throughout, just like they could appear on the real NAPLEX. That forced me to shift naturally between clinical questions and calculations instead of expecting a dedicated math section.

With seven days left, the goal wasn't to learn more - it was to experience sustained decision-making for hours - the way I would be expected on exam day.

I also practiced with the on-screen calculator. Testing centers can provide different physical calculators, and you don't always know what you'll receive, so rather than introducing another variable on exam day, I practiced with UWorld's built-in calculator. If I chose to use the on-screen calculator during the real exam, I'd already know exactly how it worked. It's a small detail, but reducing small uncertainties adds up over the course of such a long exam.

This wasn't exactly a new idea for me - I'm also an endurance athlete - proper preparation is required! 

Before rowing my 42,195-meter marathon, I completed a 30,000-meter trial run. The goal wasn't to rack up more meters, it was to experience what that kind of sustained effort felt like.

That first trial run showed me I wasn't quite ready, I was still in pharmacy school, on APPE rotations, I had to postpone it. That wasn't failure to me - it was calibration. I adjusted my training, came back when the timing was right, after I passed all my board exams and successfully completed that marathon months later.

Different challenge, same principle: A trial run prepares you for the experience.

Looking back, I realized the Pre-Naplex and my own 250 questions served completely different purposes. One predicted my performance. The other prepared me for it.

That's a distinction I'll carry with me far beyond the NAPLEX.

If you're in the final stretch of studying, don't just ask yourself whether you know the material. Ask yourself whether you've practiced the experience.

-Can you stay focused for hours?

-Can you recover after a difficult stretch of questions?

-Can you keep solving calculations when you're mentally tired?

-Can you make good decisions late in the exam, after your confidence has been shaken?

For me, the 250 questions weren't about chasing a number. They were about making sure that when I finally sat down for the real NAPLEX, the experience itself no longer felt new.

Because a trial run doesn't guarantee success - but it gives you the opportunity to calibrate before it matters most.

Exactly one year ago today, I walked into the NAPLEX thinking the exam would reveal whether I was ready. Looking back, I realize it revealed how I had prepared.

Looking back, the biggest things that helped me weren't secret resources or last-minute tricks. They were simple changes in how I approached studying.

Here are the five things I wish I'd known before I opened the first book.

1. Start with practice questions.

It sounds backwards, but practice questions taught me how the material was actually tested.

Instead of wondering what was important, the questions showed me where my gaps were.

The rationales were just as valuable. Even when I answered correctly, I still read every explanation. Sometimes the biggest lesson wasn't why my answer was right - it was understanding why the other choices were wrong.

Questions didn't just measure my learning.

They directed it.

2. Make your study plan visible.

One thing that surprised me was how much mental energy I spent simply remembering where I was.

I eventually mapped my study plan across two trifold boards using a six-day weekly rotation.

Instead of asking myself every morning, "What should I study today?" I already knew.

That one change removed a surprising amount of decision fatigue and let me spend more energy actually learning.

3. Train for the exam you're taking.

The NAPLEX isn't a sprint, its an exam of endurance.

It's hours of sustained concentration, clinical reasoning, and decision-making.

I gradually increased the size of my practice question sets the same way an endurance athlete gradually builds stamina.

I wasn't just learning pharmacy.

I was training myself to perform when it mattered.

4. Build recovery into your study plan.

One of the best decisions I made was scheduling one day each week away from the books and having a consistent stopping point at the end of each study day.

At first, it felt counterintuitive.

Looking back, those boundaries probably helped me retain more than squeezing in another hour ever would.

Recovery wasn't time away from studying.

It was part of studying.

5. Trust the system you've built.

There were days I felt behind, weeks where rotations were too busy to study.

Practice scores that made me question myself.

Moments when I wondered whether I knew enough.

Confidence didn't appear on exam day.

It accumulated through months of showing up, following the plan, and trusting the process I'd built.

Looking back, there wasn't one secret that helped me pass.

It was dozens of small decisions repeated over months.

That's what having a study system gave me.

What would you add?

What's one thing you wish someone had told you before you started studying for the NAPLEX?

For a long time I thought performance meant working harder.

Endurance rowing taught me something different: performance is about managing energy, attention, recovery, and consistency - not just effort.

I eventually started applying the same principles to preparing for licensing exams and even everyday work.

I'm curious...

Have you found that the habits that improve athletic performance also improve your work or learning? If not, are you willing to try?

​

The biggest improvement I made wasn't studying more. It was knowing what to study next.

When I was studying for the NAPLEX, I eventually realized something.

I wasn't overwhelmed by the amount of material.

I was overwhelmed by deciding what deserved my attention next.

Every day started with the same questions.

Should I reread this chapter?

Do practice questions?

Review flashcards?

Go back to something I missed last week?

That constant decision-making was exhausting before I had even started studying.

So I stopped asking:

"How can I study more?"

Instead, I started asking:

"How can I make it easier to know what to study next?"

That single question completely changed how I prepared.

Looking back, it was the moment I started to study like a lighthouse.

Instead of trying to build the perfect set of notes, I built a visible system using two tri-fold presentation boards. Everything had a place.

I always knew what came next, what I had already completed, where my weak areas were, and where I needed more practice.

The goal wasn't to make studying harder.

It was to reduce decision fatigue so I could spend my mental energy actually learning.

Around the same time, I had also started training for an indoor rowing half marathon.

To my surprise, the same principles kept showing up in both places.

High performance isn't built through heroic last-minute efforts.

It's built through consistency.

Preparation.

Recovery.

And trusting the system you've practiced.

Looking back, I think a lot of students don't need another resource.

They need a better way to navigate the resources they already have.

Has anyone else found that deciding what to study can be more exhausting than the studying itself?

​

The biggest improvement I made wasn't studying more. It was knowing what to study next.

When I was studying for the NAPLEX, I eventually realized something.

I wasn't overwhelmed by the amount of material.

I was overwhelmed by deciding what deserved my attention next.

Every day started with the same questions.

Should I reread this chapter?

Do practice questions?

Review flashcards?

Go back to something I missed last week?

That constant decision-making was exhausting before I had even started studying.

So I stopped asking:

"How can I study more?"

Instead, I started asking:

"How can I make it easier to know what to study next?"

That single question completely changed how I prepared.

Looking back, it was the moment I started to study like a lighthouse.

Instead of trying to build the perfect set of notes, I built a visible system using two tri-fold presentation boards. Everything had a place.

I always knew what came next, what I had already completed, where my weak areas were, and where I needed more practice.

The goal wasn't to make studying harder.

It was to reduce decision fatigue so I could spend my mental energy actually learning.

Around the same time, I had also started training for an indoor rowing half marathon.

To my surprise, the same principles kept showing up in both places.

High performance isn't built through heroic last-minute efforts.

It's built through consistency.

Preparation.

Recovery.

And trusting the system you've practiced.

Looking back, I think a lot of students don't need another resource.

They need a better way to navigate the resources they already have.

Has anyone else found that deciding what to study can be more exhausting than the studying itself?

About a month before my NAPLEX, I realized something.

I had accumulated an incredible amount of information—but no way to see it all.

My notes were spread across notebooks, loose papers, review books, sticky notes, printed handouts, and digital files. Every study session seemed to start the same way.

"Where did I write that?"

"Which chapter should I review today?"

"Didn't I already study this?"

It wasn't that I didn't have enough resources.

It was that I couldn't see the system.

So instead of looking for another book or another question bank, I bought two trifold presentation boards.

My goal wasn't to make something pretty.

It was to make my studying visible.

I attached my notes by chapter and laid everything out where I could see it at a glance.

Not every detail.

The entire landscape.

For the first time, everything had a home.

Instead of digging through stacks of paper, multiple notebooks, folders, and digital files, I could simply walk over to the boards and immediately see where I was, what I'd already covered, and what still needed attention.

Something unexpected happened.

Studying became quieter.

I spent less time searching.

Less time deciding.

Less time feeling overwhelmed by everything that was scattered around me.

More time actually learning.

Looking back, I don't think the boards made me pass the NAPLEX.

They were simply the first step in building a study system that worked for me.

Sometimes we think we need another resource.

Sometimes what we really need is a better way to see the resources we already have.

I'm curious—

Has anyone else used an unconventional way to organize everything while studying?

I'd love to hear what worked for you 🤔

Exactly one year ago today, I walked into the NAPLEX thinking the exam would reveal whether I was ready. Looking back, I realize it revealed how I had prepared.

Looking back, the biggest things that helped me weren't secret resources or last-minute tricks. They were simple changes in how I approached studying.

Here are the five things I wish I'd known before I opened the first book.

1. Start with practice questions.

It sounds backwards, but practice questions taught me how the material was actually tested.

Instead of wondering what was important, the questions showed me where my gaps were.

The rationales were just as valuable. Even when I answered correctly, I still read every explanation. Sometimes the biggest lesson wasn't why my answer was right - it was understanding why the other choices were wrong.

Questions didn't just measure my learning.

They directed it.

2. Make your study plan visible.

One thing that surprised me was how much mental energy I spent simply remembering where I was.

I eventually mapped my study plan across two trifold boards using a six-day weekly rotation.

Instead of asking myself every morning, "What should I study today?" I already knew.

That one change removed a surprising amount of decision fatigue and let me spend more energy actually learning.

3. Train for the exam you're taking.

The NAPLEX isn't a sprint, its an exam of endurance.

It's hours of sustained concentration, clinical reasoning, and decision-making.

I gradually increased the size of my practice question sets the same way an endurance athlete gradually builds stamina.

I wasn't just learning pharmacy.

I was training myself to perform when it mattered.

4. Build recovery into your study plan.

One of the best decisions I made was scheduling one day each week away from the books and having a consistent stopping point at the end of each study day.

At first, it felt counterintuitive.

Looking back, those boundaries probably helped me retain more than squeezing in another hour ever would.

Recovery wasn't time away from studying.

It was part of studying.

5. Trust the system you've built.

There were days I felt behind, weeks where rotations were too busy to study.

Practice scores that made me question myself.

Moments when I wondered whether I knew enough.

Confidence didn't appear on exam day.

It accumulated through months of showing up, following the plan, and trusting the process I'd built.

Looking back, there wasn't one secret that helped me pass.

It was dozens of small decisions repeated over months.

That's what having a study system gave me.

What would you add?

What's one thing you wish someone had told you before you started studying for the NAPLEX?