Can anyone tell me which is better?

usmleworld hands down. It's much cheaper, has almost double the number of questions, and the questions are more like the ones you'll see on the real deal. The questions are tough, but the explanations are golden. This is the only qbank i used for step 2. Got a 254, after going up almost 30 pts from step 1.

dmc...what else did you use for step 2 other than usmleworld?

crush step2 for reading, only used kaplan notes for surgery and the nbme tests, forms 1 and 2. That's all I used. Crush is all you need. Just supplement with questions. I guarantee you won't be disappointed w/ usmleworld. I even had repeats on my actual from usmleworld.

usmelworld is much better. though i would pick first aid or boards and wards over crush.

usmelworld is much better. though i would pick first aid or boards and wards over crush.

crush is horrible, first aid any day.... its one great source of information, both secrets and crush are superficial junk,... I could learn more watching ER or discovery channel than reading crush or secrets... pure garbage those books are in my opinion.

USMLE World is incredible!! The questions are difficult but the answers are Golden :idea:
I used Secrets+Boards & Wards + USMLE World
but the key is questions and all the answers :thumbup:

USMLE World is incredible!! The questions are difficult but the answers are Golden :idea:
I used Secrets+Boards & Wards + USMLE World
but the key is questions and all the answers :thumbup:


Most 4th years that i've talked to absolutely swear by secrets, boards and wards and usmleworld.

that's what i'm doing. i'll let you all know how things turned out in about 6 weeks!
later

I used First Aid (though it's long and boring, in dire need of reformatting) and tidbits from Secrets which does an excellent job to fill in gaps. I would dump Crush if you have a reason to nail StepII.


For question cramming on 2 weeks study time:

I started off with Kaplan Q-book and did at least one test from each section (Peds, OBGyn, IMed, etc), score 60-70%. The Q's build your knowledge base and the explanations are excellent.

Then I tried one test from another popular question book (called NMS? or something) and thought it was a waste of time, scored ~70%

THen did 250 Qs off Kaplan Bank- I thought the explanations were excellent and continued to rebuild knowledge base. score ~ 75-80%

Then did 800 Qs from USMLE WORLD focusing on weak areas (World allows you to do this much better than Kaplan). Scored ~70%


USMLE Step 2 score was 260+, up about 15 points from step I

The explanations on Kaplan are better than USMLE world, but the question format of USMLE world is more accurate and I would rely on World more heavily.

I've heard of people scoring 240-250 using either Kaplan or World alone.

hey all....the mom of all tests (Step 2) is in exactly 1 month!! :eek:

I am guessing that it is enough time, but for some odd reason, my scores keep going DOWN :confused: as I read more and more. I am guessing I am over-reading the questions!

quick Q: anyone study for step 2 JUST on questions alone? I bought kaplan q bank AND usmleworld and have been doing both with mixed results (see above).

lastly, the questions on UW seem REALLY short, don't they? Or is it just me!

Thanks