3 weeks until Exam - New Q Bank?

[studyingforever]

I used Uworld + Case Files during third year for Shelf Exams...and I went through UWorld again for Step 2 over the last month (repeated the incorrects). I have three weeks left and my NBME score was only 200 over the weekend.

I don't know if I should go through UWorld again (I am starting to remember some of the answers having gone thru it several times) or do Kaplan QBank. I'm hesitant to start a new Qbank - but I don't think I have grasped all the subjects properly in World - so it might be better to just go through it again. Any thoughts??

Thanks

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[TexasPhysician]

Personally, I am good at memorizing questions, so a third round at UWorld is useless for me. I actually recommend not doing UWorld until step 2 time because of this. Concentrating on the books during rotations often leads to higher nbme scores in my experience.

In your current situation, I would get Kaplan now. That's just me.

 

[greg1184]

I used Uworld + Case Files during third year for Shelf Exams...and I went through UWorld again for Step 2 over the last month (repeated the incorrects). I have three weeks left and my NBME score was only 200 over the weekend.

I don't know if I should go through UWorld again (I am starting to remember some of the answers having gone thru it several times) or do Kaplan QBank. I'm hesitant to start a new Qbank - but I don't think I have grasped all the subjects properly in World - so it might be better to just go through it again. Any thoughts??

Thanks

I would by far do UWorld again. Knowing the questions by heart is irrelevant. The key is knowing the explanations and concepts of these questions. That way you can recognize them in the real thing. I literally had a few questions that are highly similar to UWorld questions. In other cases, the concepts that were asked in the real thing were well covered by UWorld. You know those well, you will be set for the real thing. Save your money and time.

This is what I said in the big experiences thread:

USMLE World: Worth its weight in gold, platinum, silver, bronze, and plutonium. Get intimate with this qbank, know every single orifice well. Do the QBank twice if you can. I did UWorld 1.5 times. A significant amount of questions were based on concepts discussed in this bank, and a few of the questions themselves were highly similar to a UWorld question. This is BY FAR the most important source to study for Step 2. You are doing yourself a major disservice not doing this bank.

If you really want an assessment of your knowledge, there are plenty of NBME exams and also the UWSA if you haven't done them already.

You have the luxury of doing UWorld yet again. IMO, don't waste it by doing another qbank.

 

[Doublecortin]

Yeah, it's been said many times, and I'll say it again, uworld is your best friend when it comes to step 2. Do it 3rd, 4th time if you can. And not only do it, but make sure you understand each question, each learning objective. I would also do 3-4 blocks in a row without breaks because on the real thing you have to sit there and deal with questions that just keep flying at ya like a mother#$cker. I recently took ck, and the questions are VERY similar to uworld. Kaplan qbank is complete garbage. don't waste your money. Do NBMEs and the free NBME questions.

I used Uworld + Case Files during third year for Shelf Exams...and I went through UWorld again for Step 2 over the last month (repeated the incorrects). I have three weeks left and my NBME score was only 200 over the weekend.

I don't know if I should go through UWorld again (I am starting to remember some of the answers having gone thru it several times) or do Kaplan QBank. I'm hesitant to start a new Qbank - but I don't think I have grasped all the subjects properly in World - so it might be better to just go through it again. Any thoughts??

Thanks

 

[NoWayOut]

I gotta totally agree with the folks here. I would also in your position, do UW again, or even just the explanations of solved questions. If you're dying for new questions, grab a Q book and time yourself if you've already used up the NBMEs, free fred Qs and UWSA.

 

[ikimoh]

Yeah, it's been said many times, and I'll say it again, uworld is your best friend when it comes to step 2. Do it 3rd, 4th time if you can. And not only do it, but make sure you understand each question, each learning objective. I would also do 3-4 blocks in a row without breaks because on the real thing you have to sit there and deal with questions that just keep flying at ya like a mother#$cker. I recently took ck, and the questions are VERY similar to uworld. Kaplan qbank is complete garbage. don't waste your money. Do NBMEs and the free NBME questions.

I completely agree with you. I initially had my exam scheduled for today but the site cancelled it two days ago due to "techinical issues." Called them, their server were down friday through the weekned and all of monday..lucky me. So the next available time to take my exam is three weeks from now. Awesome! Another three weeks to study, not by choice just the next available time for me (with my schedule) unfrotunately.
With that being said, I decided to purchase a month of Kaplan Qbank since I've gone through World twice already. As some one has already mentioned I was afraid that since I "memorized" the answers it would be a waste of time.
I've done 200 QBank questions and my goodness they are "complete garbage." I absolutely wasted $109 which could have gone to two NBME exams. Definitely getting my money back. They have a great refund policy!
Good solid points on this thread. I will stick with UWorld. Did the UWSA and scored 268...I just have to hope that I can maintain this "score high" for another three weeks.
Good luck to everyone.