Usmle Advice
Hi ,
I finished Step 1 a few months ago. My score was–99– (I could not believe it when I was holding the card and I almost fainted).
I used so many resources for my study, but I have to say that KAPLAN IS THE BEST. I was working as a salesman, for a few months before I decided finally to stay home and study (of course I had some money saved aside at the time).
When I started to study, I though that getting over 85 is just a dream but I made it all the way to 99. It’s all about the resources that you use and the amount of concentration that you have when you sit down on your desk and study. If you want to score over 90 you will do it, but if you just want to pass, your score will be around the passing limit.
As much adrenaline as you have in your body when you sit down to study, as much added points to your score you will get.
Here is the list of my study materials:
1–Kaplan preparation center video lectures (about 194 hours) and it’s the latest edition in the center as of May 2005. I have to tell you that I would never have gotten this score without these video lectures.
2–Kaplan notes scanned on the external hard disc (2002 Edition and it has no markings). These notes helped my so much especially the few days before the test when I needed to review each subject in just one day.
3–A complete set of underground clinical vignettes. Understanding the clinical applications of Step 1 has helped me to read the questions on the test so quickly and even expect what they are asking me before reading the final part.
4–Dr. Goljan Notes and high yields facts and Pathology slides (all scanned on the hard disc). Dr. Goljan is the father of Pathology preparation for step 1 and his stuff is a must if you want to score high.
5-Kaplan Pathology library organized in body systems (I saw a lot of slides and picture on my test).
6–Kaplan Webpreparation (missing Anatomy) with their own notes.
7–Pharmacology, Pathology and genetics live audio lecture recorded from Kaplan live lectures. I had these tapes from one of my friends who finished his step 1 and scored 94 and he encouraged me to use them if I want to ace these topics on the test and he was absolutely right.
8–One CD with more than 3500 questions in Pathology. It made Pathology for me like the air I breath.
9–My own tips and remembered high yield facts and topics that I personally saw on the test. I wrote down more than 2500 topics and tips the week right after the test.
10–Kaplan Qbank in Microsoft word format. ( AGAIN KAPLAN IS THE BEST)
11-NMS software for step 1 (6th Edition).
12—A Complete set of Rapid review CD’s (more than 3500 questions arranged by the subject).
13—Kaplan IV bank.
14—Pre-test books (only Biochemistry, genetics, Pathology and neuroscience).
15—More than 10,000 questions and tips remembered by other students that I used to concentrate on what to study.
16—Board simulator software for step 1.
17—Mnemonics that help you remember the hard to remember facts.
18—Some diagrams, charts and flash cards, I personally made during my 9 months study.
19_Gold standard audio review CD’s (55 CD’s) for step 1 (complete). I have used these CD’s during my exercise in the Gym and in other times when I was so saturated and bored from studying and needed a different format of studying.
20—Pass program notes (over 200 pages of tips, high yields, and high lights) it took me just 4 days to read all over these great material and I would say that it added at least 3-5 points to my score.
20__More stuff that I have prepared myself over the months during the time I was studying and even after I have finished my exam and before the results came in the mail. cheers
one thing that helped me out a great deal was reading exam and study experiences. i shaped part of my studying based on how people studied and their results. so i figga that i’ll share my experience in the hopes that it might help someone else in the future. i remember reading a post once where someone said that people shouldn’t share these type of experiences because the people who take the exam in the future are at an unfair advantage. so be it. if people didn’t post before me, i wouldn’t have gotten such a score, so it’s a "you scratch my back and i’ll scratch yours" type of thing (something like medicare, before bush reform).
ok, i’m gonna seperate it into 3 sections: what i did, what i did which i wish i didn’t do, and what i didn’t do which i wish i did. (say that 3 times fast).
1) what i did: i used a variety of review books from different publishers, etc. my books included: 1)path BRS 2)physio BRS 3)ridiculously simple micro 4)Lippincott pharm 5)high yield biochem 6)high yield beh sci 7)high yield neuro 8)BRS anatomy (didn’t finish it)…i ultimately supplemented all the subjects with Kaplan books and the 30-day video lecture pass from Kaplan.
my MAIN NUMERO UNO book was First Aid. honestly, First Aid has got a good portion of the exam covered. basically, i used it as a notebook and noted down anything that i came across in any of my other books into First Aid. (duh, i took notes…lol). you should see the size of my writing in FA, i used ultra-sharp pens and mechanical pencils to get it down to size. that took about 4 months averaging 6 hours per day (reading the books took more time that all that writing). then i spent about a month listening to Kaplan lectures, and taking notes too. at this point i was avg about 10-12 hours per day. these were very hard days.
this next part was probably the most important part. in my opinion, if you’re like the rest of us and are not endowed with photographic memory or an einstein brain, you must do this next step. even if you decide not to take Kaplan review lectures or any other type of review. that is….drumroll please…Kaplan QBank. no i do not work for Kaplan. but they know what they’re doing. i also bought IV QBank, which i thought was a waste of money. but the original QBank was the closest that i could get to the exam without actually taking it.
basically, i sat with the Kaplan medical director and he told me how to take those exams. i did a set of 50 in about an hour. then i spent about 2-3 hours reviewing it. review the correct answer, the wrong answers, why i got it right, why i got it wrong, where i’m weak, what i need to study. if it was just a memorization problem, then i would go memorize. if it was a concept problem i would go open Guyton or robbins or Kaplan or any other book to understand the concept. and this Kaplan dude told me not to lie to myself. if i didn’t know something, i should admit it, and then take care of it. these last two months were especially difficult. my two year old daughter had just about had it with my 12 hour days, and my wife was starting her 7th month of pregnancy.
also, what helped was i did questions outside of the QBook and QBank. namely, lange review for micro/immuno, pharm, physio, webpath, blackwell online exam, robbins question book (excellent book, worth its weight in gold).
towards the end i heard about this man named Goljan. i had about 2-3 weeks left before the exam and i was wondering if i should take the gamble of spending 4-5 days going through his lectures. boy, i am so glad that i chose to listen to him (this after i went through some of the posts on aippg & other forums). this man put almost everything i learned in the past 6 months and blended them in the best way possible. i also went through his 100 page notes, which was more helpful after i listened to his lectures.
that was pretty much it. i averaged 73 on QBank, took 3 simulated exams from Kaplan: i got two 74s and a 77. on the simulated cd that usmle sent i got 41, 44, and 45 a week before my exam.
2) what i did which i wish i didn’t do: there are two books which i purchased which were a complete waste of time and money. one was ridiculously simple for the USMLE step 1 (not the micro one, that book is amazing) and the other was appleton and lange’s questions book. i’ve already told you about IV QBank, and what i thought of it.
3) what i didn’t do which i wish i did: number one on this list is to listen to Goljan a least another time. after i listened to him once, which took about 5 days, i wanted to listen to him again, but i jus didn’t have the time. if i could do it all over again i would listen to him once, then take notes while listening to him again, and then listen to him a third time while reviewing my notes. he’s really that good. oh, i also used his question book (the rapid review series for step1), which is very good. another thing i kinda messed up on was that i started to take notes about 2 months into my studying. i had to do a lot of catching up later on.
i’m really glad about another thing. when i started school i read somewhere that i should study hard here so i don’t have to go nuts later. sounds pretty obvious, no? but you wouldn’t believe the amount of people who will study for weekly exams just by memorizing previous tests, etc. like someone once said on this forum, there’s no way that 7 months or 3 months of studying will substitute for 2 years of medical school. also, no school will teach you everything…especially down here in the carribean. so you need to hit the books and learn all there is to know.
sorry this post was so long, but it seemed that the detailed posts always helped me the most, so i figured i’d return the favor…pass it forward i think they say.
final thoughts…this exam is gonna stick to what every 2nd year med student should know. not what some specialist should know, not what some 3rd or 4th year student should know. stick to high yield books. use First Aid (yes, read that part in the begining that talks about how to study). it truly is a "godsend" as someone put it. my firstaid is falling apart. i remember while i was studying i would keep it in a very high place, and take special care of it so that it wouldn’t get into the sticky chocolate filled hands of my two year old.
good luck to anyone who is going to tackle this exam. it’s very doable. if my thoughts and experiences helps even one person, then it’ll be worth it. once again, thank you all for your support and help. see you in the step 2 forums.
peace
-win’06 (that’s right, windsor university, for you naysayers)
