During the basic sciences, students will learn and build a foundation of the medical level courses which is essential and vital in their preparation for the USMLE Step 1. More importantly, the final semester of basic sciences is the “board preparatory” semester called the 5th semester, in which students will solely study for the USMLE Step 1. The 5th semester is 15 weeks in length. Avalon has a partnership with Kaplan, and in a structured setting on our campus, students will prepare for the USMLE Step 1 with the help of Kaplan live lectures and our 5th semester faculty member.