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A sample six-week dedicated plan for COMLEX Level 1, with OMM every day, COMSAE checkpoints, and how to stretch or shrink it.
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A COMLEX Level 1 study schedule has to cover the systems and keep osteopathic principles in every day, because Level 1 is one eight-hour exam of 320 questions in eight 40-question sections (NBOME exam format). The sample below is a six-week dedicated plan at about ten hours a day, with OMM daily and three COMSAE Phase 1 forms placed at the start, the middle and the end.
It is a sample built on NBOME rules, not a real student's calendar. Read it as a template: the right length for you depends on your first COMSAE and on how much of your school's dedicated period you have.
Sample schedule
Sample schedule for illustration only. Not a real student, not real data. Your tutor builds your actual plan around your practice-exam results and the time you have.
Sample 6-week dedicated COMLEX Level 1 schedule: 6 weeks, about 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. One full day off each week.
| Block | Hours | What |
|---|---|---|
| Anki review | 1.5 | Due reviews (70%+ recall) |
| Question bank | 4 | Timed blocks of 40 questions (the COMLEX section size), full review |
| Content review | 3 | Systems from missed questions + OMM / osteopathic principles daily |
| Other | 1 | Tutor session |
| Week | Focus | Practice exam |
|---|---|---|
| Before week 1 | Baseline | COMSAE Phase 1 form |
| Week 1 | Cardiovascular; Respiratory; Neurology; OMM | |
| Week 2 | Psych / Behavioral; GI; Renal / Urinary; OMM | |
| Week 3 | Endocrine; Reproductive / OB-GYN; Musculoskeletal; OMM | COMSAE Phase 1 form |
| Week 4 | Heme / Onc; Dermatology; Immune / ID; OMM | |
| Week 5 | Weakest systems from COMSAE; OMM | COMSAE Phase 1 form |
| Week 6 | Mixed review; Rest the day before the exam |
NBOME sells three COMSAE Phase 1 forms; use a different form each time.
Four hours of timed questions anchor the day, in blocks of 40, the same size as a Level 1 section. Review every question in the block before starting the next, and write one line on why each miss happened: a fact you never learned, a fact you forgot, or a misread stem. That line decides what goes into the next three content hours.
Anki takes the first ninety minutes, while you are fresh, and stops there. Content review follows the day's misses system by system, with a slot for OMM every day in weeks 1 to 5. The last hour is a tutoring session or, on other days, a second pass at the topics that cost you most.
Six days on, one day off. Students who skip the rest day to catch up usually lose more to fatigue in week 5 than they gained.
| Topic | Official rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Length | One eight-hour day in two separately timed four-hour sessions (A and B) of four sections each, with 60 minutes of pooled break time and a 16-minute tutorial. | NBOME Bulletin of Information 2026-2027 |
| Questions | 320 single-best-answer questions in eight sections of 40. | NBOME: COMLEX-USA examination format |
| COMSAE Phase 1 | Three Phase 1 forms are on sale to students at $60 each. | NBOME: COMSAE |
| Passing standard | Pass/fail. The standard was last reviewed in January 2024, put in place in May 2024, and is next due for review in January 2028. | NBOME: standard setting |
| First-time pass rate | 90.2% of 9,678 first-time takers passed in the 2025-26 testing cycle (May to March). | NBOME: examination performance data |
NBOME sells three COMSAE Phase 1 forms to students, at $60 each (NBOME COMSAE). The sample uses all three: one before week 1 as a baseline, one at the end of week 3, and one in week 5 with enough time left to act on it. Use a different form each time so you are not scoring your memory of the questions.
Each form is 176 questions in four sections of 44, with up to four hours in timed mode (NBOME COMSAE format). That is about half the length of the real day, so on one weekend in week 4 add a full-length rehearsal from your question bank: eight 40-question blocks, two sessions, the same break plan you will use on test day.
Read each report by discipline and by system. If the week-3 form shows two systems well below the rest, they become week 5. If misses are spread evenly, the problem is usually timing or stem reading, and the fix is in how you do blocks, not in more content.
Two months. If your school gives eight or nine weeks, keep the same order and slow it down: spend roughly a week and a half on each block of systems, keep OMM daily, and add a fourth timed full-length day from your question bank, because there are only three COMSAE forms to go round. Dylan, quoted below, started with us nine weeks out, which was enough time to change test-taking habits as well as content.
Two weeks. Two weeks is a final review, not a study plan. It works only if your recent COMSAE results already sit comfortably above passing; then the fortnight is mixed timed blocks, your weakest two systems and OMM recall. If you are not there yet, talk to your school about moving the date before you burn an attempt. NBOME allows four scored attempts at each level, and incomplete or voided attempts count toward them (NBOME Bulletin). Rescheduling gets more expensive as the date approaches (NBOME FAQ), so decide early.
Many DO students sit both. The science overlaps heavily, so one schedule can serve both exams, but keep two differences in it. Level 1 tests osteopathic principles and OMM, which Step 1 does not, so the daily OMM slot stays. And the sections differ in size, so practise in 40-question blocks in the run-up to Level 1. Both exams are now reported as pass or fail, and Level 1 adds a Formative Performance Profile that shows where you were weaker (NBOME scoring).
For the Step 1 side, our Step 1 study schedule covers the USMLE format, and the attempt-limit guide compares the two bodies' retake rules.
The day is two four-hour sessions with 60 minutes of pooled break time and a 16-minute tutorial at the start (NBOME Bulletin). Decide before you arrive where your breaks go; a short one after every second section and the longest between sessions works for most students.
Results generally arrive two to six weeks after your testing window closes (NBOME scoring). If the result is a fail, our failed COMLEX guide covers what to do next.
Sean Moazezi, DO sat the COMLEX exams he teaches, and Chelsi Flippo, MD also tutors Level 1. The first session turns your baseline COMSAE into a calendar like the sample, fitted to your dedicated dates. After that, sessions are live questions: you talk through each one, and the tutor works on how you read the stem, which clue you used and how you break a tie between two answers.
Quoted word for word from our student reviews, with the source of each one.
I began working with Sean 9 weeks before COMLEX Level 1. At the time, my practice scores were low, I had zero confidence, and my test-taking strategy was honestly terrible. … He created a personalized study schedule (having someone plan and create a schedule for me was HUGE), helped me set up my Anki, identified knowledge gaps, and introduced a test-taking strategy that noticeably boosted my performance within just a few sessions.
I worked with Sean while preparing for COMLEX Level 1, and I truly don’t think I could have done it without him. He built personalized study schedules, helped me prioritize high-yield content, and strengthened my overall test-taking strategy.
Not only did they help me come up with a study method that actually worked for me after multiple failed attempts at Level 1, but they made themselves accessible every day for any questions I had or any life difficulties that got in the way of studying.
One-on-one COMLEX Level 1 tutoring with The Boards Professor costs $349 per 50-minute session, online by live video (Zoom or Google Meet). Read how COMLEX Level 1 tutoring works, or book a free intro consult.
Our sample uses six weeks of dedicated study at about ten hours a day, six days a week. With eight or nine weeks, keep the same order at a slower pace.
For most students who have finished their preclinical courses, yes. Use the extra weeks for a slower pass through the systems and a fourth timed full-length day.
Only as a final review if your recent COMSAE results are already comfortably above passing. Otherwise, move the date: every scored, incomplete or voided attempt counts toward the limit of four. NBOME Bulletin.
Our sample uses all three Phase 1 forms NBOME sells to students: a baseline, a week-3 checkpoint and a week-5 check. NBOME COMSAE.
Level 1 is reported as pass or fail with no numeric score; you also receive a Formative Performance Profile. NBOME scoring.
320 single-best-answer questions in eight sections of 40, over two four-hour sessions. NBOME exam format.
Yes, if you keep daily OMM in it and practise in 40-question blocks before Level 1.
Every exam rule on this page links to the body that sets it. Checked October 28, 2026:
Twenty minutes on the phone about your test date and practice scores. Sessions after that are $349 per 50-minute session.
