# USMLE Study Schedule Generator (Step 1 & Step 2 CK)

> A free, client-side USMLE study schedule generator for Step 1 and Step 2 CK.

_Last reviewed 2026-09-05._

## How do I make a USMLE study schedule?

Enter the exam, your start and exam dates, study days a week and hours a day. The generator apportions the organ systems by their share of the USMLE content outline, sets a daily question target from your hours, places NBME forms and the Free 120, and returns the plan as a table, CSV and calendar file, in your browser.

## How to use the generator

1. **Pick the exam.** Choose Step 1 or Step 2 CK. The systems, their weights and the practice forms change with the exam.
2. **Enter your dates.** Set the first study day and the exam date. The plan warns if there are fewer than four weeks between them.
3. **Set days and hours.** Choose study days a week (rest days are fixed weekdays, Sunday first) and hours on a study day. Daily question targets are derived from the hours.
4. **Tick your resources.** Question bank, Anki, videos, NBME forms and UWSA forms. Unticking videos moves that time into questions; unticking forms removes them from the calendar.
5. **Add a baseline and weak systems (optional).** A recent percent correct shifts time between the systems pass and mixed blocks; named weak systems get 30% more days.
6. **Download the plan.** Read the week-by-week table, open any week for its days, then download the CSV or the .ics calendar file. Both are generated in your browser.

## How the Step 1 systems pass is weighted

| System (USMLE row) | Share of items | Midpoint used | In this plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Human Development | 1-3% | 2% | Woven into mixed days |
| Blood & Lymphoreticular/Immune Systems | 9-13% | 11% | Block of study days |
| Behavioral Health & Nervous Systems/Special Senses | 10-14% | 12% | Block of study days |
| Musculoskeletal, Skin & Subcutaneous Tissue | 8-12% | 10% | Block of study days |
| Cardiovascular System | 7-11% | 9% | Block of study days |
| Respiratory & Renal/Urinary Systems | 11-15% | 13% | Block of study days |
| Gastrointestinal System | 6-10% | 8% | Block of study days |
| Reproductive & Endocrine Systems | 12-16% | 14% | Block of study days |
| Multisystem Processes & Disorders | 8-12% | 10% | Block of study days |
| Biostatistics & Epidemiology/Population Health | 4-6% | 5% | Woven into mixed days |
| Social Sciences: Communication and Interpersonal Skills | 6-9% | 7.5% | Woven into mixed days |

## How the Step 2 CK systems pass is weighted

| System (USMLE row) | Share of items | Midpoint used | In this plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nutrition | 15-20% | 17.5% | Woven into mixed days |
| Social Sciences: Legal/Ethical Issues & Professionalism/Systems-based Practice & Patient Safety | 10-15% | 12.5% | Woven into mixed days |
| Renal & Urinary System & Reproductive Systems | 7-13% | 10% | Block of study days |
| Cardiovascular System | 6-12% | 9% | Block of study days |
| Musculoskeletal System/Skin & Subcutaneous Tissue | 6-12% | 9% | Block of study days |
| Behavioral Health | 5-10% | 7.5% | Block of study days |
| Blood & Lymphoreticular/Immune Systems | 5-10% | 7.5% | Block of study days |
| Gastrointestinal System | 5-10% | 7.5% | Block of study days |
| Nervous System & Special Senses | 5-10% | 7.5% | Block of study days |
| Respiratory System | 5-10% | 7.5% | Block of study days |
| Multisystem Processes & Disorders | 4-8% | 6% | Block of study days |
| Endocrine System | 3-7% | 5% | Block of study days |
| Pregnancy, Childbirth & the Puerperium | 3-7% | 5% | Block of study days |
| Biostatistics & Epidemiology/Population Health/Interpretation of Medical Literature | 3-5% | 4% | Woven into mixed days |
| Human Development | 2-4% | 3% | Woven into mixed days |

_Both tables: USMLE content outline tables as published; percentages are subject to change at any time and an item can be classified under more than one row._

## Frequently asked questions

### How does the generator decide how many days each system gets?

By the midpoint of each organ-system row's published range in the USMLE content outline for that exam, apportioned across the days of the systems pass with the largest-remainder method so the integers add up. Rows you mark as weak are weighted 30% higher. Cross-cutting rows such as biostatistics are woven into mixed-phase days rather than given a block. When a pass has fewer days than rows, the rows that miss out are folded into the block before them as a skim rather than dropped -- the week table shows them as a "+ Dermatology (skim)" suffix so you can see which system got squeezed and lengthen the plan if it matters.

### How is the daily question target calculated?

From your hours. The live exam gives 90 seconds a question in 30-minute blocks of up to 20, and the plan reserves the same again for review, so three minutes a question. After Anki time is set aside, half to two-thirds of the remaining minutes go to questions in the systems pass and three-quarters in the mixed phase, rounded to the nearest ten and capped at 240.

### Where do the NBME forms and the Free 120 go?

A baseline NBME form on the third day when the plan is four weeks or longer, further forms roughly every ten days, UWSA forms mid-plan and about twelve days out if you have them, the final NBME about eight days out, and the Free 120 about four days out. Forms only land on study days and never within four days of each other, so on a tight calendar a form that cannot find a slot is left out rather than crowding another one -- the week table lists the forms that actually landed.

### What happens if my exam is less than four weeks away?

The plan still builds, with a warning. The systems pass compresses to one or two days a system, there is no second pass, the number of forms drops, and the final phase shrinks to three days when the plan is under two weeks. It is a plan for the time you have, not the time you wish you had.

### Does the generator send my dates or plan anywhere?

Your dates, the day-by-day plan and the files you download stay in your browser: the plan is computed there, the CSV and calendar files are generated there, and there is no account and no upload. StepGenie does send one anonymous analytics event when you build or export a plan, recording the exam, how many weeks the plan covers, study days a week, hours a day, the total questions planned, which resources you ticked, how many weak systems you named, whether you entered a baseline, and which file format you chose when you export. It never carries your dates or the plan itself.

### Can I import the plan into Google Calendar or Apple Calendar?

Yes. Download the .ics file and import it: in Google Calendar under Settings -> Import & export, in Apple Calendar with File -> Import. Each study day is an all-day event carrying that day's tasks, so the plan sits alongside everything else on your calendar.

## Sources

- USMLE, Step 1 Content Outline and Specifications (System, Discipline and Competency tables) -- https://www.usmle.org/exam-resources/step-1-materials/step-1-content-outline-and-specifications (accessed 2026-09-05)
- USMLE, Step 2 CK Content Outline and Specifications (System/Discipline and Clinical Science tables) -- https://www.usmle.org/exam-resources/step-2-ck-materials/step-2-ck-content-outline-specifications (accessed 2026-09-05)
- USMLE, "The USMLE program updates content outlines for all Step exams" (January 29, 2024) -- https://www.usmle.org/usmle-program-updates-content-outlines-all-step-exams (accessed 2026-09-05)
- USMLE, Step 1 exam page: fourteen 30-minute blocks of up to 20 questions in one 8-hour session for exams on or after May 14, 2026 -- https://www.usmle.org/step-exams/step-1 (accessed 2026-09-05)
- USMLE, Step 2 CK exam page: sixteen 30-minute blocks of up to 20 questions in one 9-hour session for exams on or after May 7, 2026 -- https://www.usmle.org/step-exams/step-2-ck (accessed 2026-09-05)
- NBME, Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessment -- https://www.nbme.org/examinees/self-assessments/comprehensive-basic-science-self-assessment/ (accessed 2026-09-05)
- NBME, Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment -- https://www.nbme.org/examinees/self-assessments/comprehensive-clinical-science-self-assessment/ (accessed 2026-09-05)
- UWorld, USMLE Self-Assessments -- https://medical.uworld.com/usmle/features/self-assessment/ (accessed 2026-09-05)
- USMLE, Step 1 sample test questions -- https://www.usmle.org/exam-resources/step-1-materials/step-1-sample-test-questions (accessed 2026-09-05)
- USMLE, Step 2 CK sample test questions -- https://www.usmle.org/exam-resources/step-2-ck-materials/step-2-ck-sample-test-questions (accessed 2026-09-05)

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Use the generator: [USMLE Study Schedule Generator (Step 1 & Step 2 CK)](https://www.stepgenie.app/tools/study-schedule)
Example schedules: [Step 1](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-1-study-schedule) - [Step 2 CK](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-2-ck-study-schedule)