USMLE/COMLEX USMLEWorld Step 1 - Raffle and Product Information

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USMLEWorld

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Step 1 Qbank


Our Step 1 Qbank subscription includes the following contents:

  • Over 2000 high-quality, unrepeated multiple choice questions
  • State-of-the-art, classic board-type questions created by real-life physicians
  • Detailed explanations and educational objectives for each question, including excellent illustrations and charts that are easy to read and interpret
  • Board-simulated interface design with FRED software features (highlight, strike-out, annotation, searchable lab values, calculator, mark/flag items, etc)
  • Customizable practice tests (create subject-specific, system-specific, or combination tests in timed, untimed, timed tutor, and untimed tutor modes)
  • Sequence and media questions
  • External references to medical journal abstracts

You can do all of the following and more via your Step 1 Qbank subscription:

  • Create, suspend, or resume a test at anytime with 24 hour account access via the internet
  • View your cumulative performance outline and compare your performance scores with other USMLEWorld users to see which subjects you need to improve
  • Compare your progress over time via detailed performance charts
  • Generate identical test blocks, ideal for instructor-led study groups
  • Improve your time management skill by monitoring time spent per question

Further information about our Step 1 Qbank subscription can be found on our website at http://www.usmleworld.com/Step1/step1_qbank.aspx.

Step 1 Qbank Subscription Rates

  • 30-day Qbank membership: $99
  • 60-day Qbank membership: $135
  • 90-day Qbank membership: $185
  • 180-day Qbank membership: $299
  • 360-day Qbank membership: $399

Step 1 Self-Assessment Exams


Each Self-assessment exam subscription consists of:

  • Four blocks of questions (46 questions per block) in timed mode
  • Completely different set of questions (not taken from the Qbank) based on realistic exam content
  • Correct Answer and a detailed explanation for each question
  • Educational objective for each question
  • Board-simulated interface design with FRED software features (highlight, strike-out, annotation, searchable lab values, calculator, mark/flag items, etc)
  • Score report with self-assessment score and approximate USMLE™ 3-digit score
  • Detailed analysis of relative strengths and weaknesses across subjects and systems
Further information regarding our Step 1 self-assessment exam subscription can be found at http://www.usmleworld.com/Step1/step1_exam.aspx.

Step 1 Self-Assessment Form Subscription Rates

  • Self-Assessment Exam Form 1 (2-weeks): $30
  • Self-Assessment Exam Form 2 (2-weeks): $30

Discounted combination subscription packages
To review the combination prices, please visit http://www.usmleworld.com/purchase.aspx and click on the "Step 1" image. This consists of all currently available subscription options, including combination packages.


FAQ

Q: When does a subscription start? Can it be purchased now but used later? What if I purchase a combination package consisting of multiple courses?
A: A subscription duration starts from the moment it is activated and not from the time of setup/purchase. This allows you the flexibility of starting a subscription when you are truly ready to utilize it. If your initial purchase consists of multiple courses (Qbank, Self-assessment exam form(s), CCS, etc), you will need to activate each of them individually via your account on our website.

Q: Is there a guest account or trial option to test the product prior to purchase?
A: Unfortunately, we do not offer guest/trial accounts to test our product(s) at this time. However, you can view a demo of our software from each of the product pages. You will need to have Adobe Flash installed on your system to view the demos.

Q: Is the software accessible via mobile devices (Android powered phone, Blackberry, iPhone, etc.)?
A: Mobile devices lack the necessary resolution of 1024x768 pixels. Hence, our services cannot be used from any mobile (or) other hand-held devices at this time. It is recommended you consult our system requirements webpage at http://www.usmleworld.com/system_requirements.aspx for a complete listing of necessary system requirements.

Q: How often is the content updated?
A: All of our products have a finite set of questions/cases and we routinely review and update them based on new research and changes in diagnostic and patient management practices. Questions containing older or outdated material are replaced with updated question content. Once a new question/case is added or an existing question/case is updated, it is automatically made available to all users with an active subscription to that particular course (regardless of the initial purchased duration).
- Step 1 content does not change as often as Step 2 or Step 3 as these questions/content are based on core scientific principals
- Step 2 content is added and/or changed based on new diagnostic procedures and medical research (this occurs quite frequently)
- Step 3 content is changed based on new protocols in patient management
- Content in our Self-assessment exams and Subject Review is changed only if the question/concept is obsolete
- Step 2 CS and Step 3 CCS cases are updated based on new protocols in patient handling/management

Q: Does USMLEWorld offer any discounts?
A: Unfortunately, we do not offer discounts to individual subscribers for the purchase of a new subscription. The only discount that we offer is a group discount for 50 or more subscriptions on Step 1 or Step 2 CK subscriptions. Please see our help page at http://www.usmleworld.com/help.aspx under General -> "Do you offer any discounts for students? Professionals? Institutions?" for further details.

Reference URL's
- View a non-interactive demo of Qbank/self-assessment exam: http://www.usmleworld.com/Step1/step1_demo.aspx
- Recent subscriber feedback: http://www.usmleworld.com/Step1/step1_testimonials.aspx
- System requirements: http://www.usmleworld.com/system_requirements.aspx
- Answers to a majority of general/technical queries: http://www.usmleworld.com/help.aspx

We will be giving away one "Step 1 Qbank 60-day Membership" to two members. Winners for each raffle will be drawn by the forum administrator from among the members who meaningfully contribute to the thread (ask questions, respond to other members' questions, share their user experience, etc).

Members don't see this ad.
 
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Although the name suggests users are taking the USMLE, are there any reports or trends shown for those students taking the COMLEX and how well these questions prepared them for that exam?
 
I know that there is a detailed report after each exam. But is there a way to see the overall strengths and weakness for the different systems once we take all the exams? ie is there a cumulative tally of our strengths and weaknesses. thanks!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
If we make one complete pass through the Q-bank, are we able to restart the Q-bank and go through it again?
 
Can you choose the number of questions you do per set or is 46 the maximum per block?
 
what's the total quantity of media questions in the bank? other providers also say they have media questions (and in reality I think I've come across about 5-10...). Thanks!
 
Should I be annotating the answers from USMLEworld into First Aid?
 
How current are the self assessment forms? I mean, when was it updated?

There were some postings on the forum that stated that the correlation of your self assessment forms to the actual exams is not that accurate. How do you calculate the correlation to the actual exam?

How accurate are your self assessment forms, in comparison to the actual NBME practice exams?
 
Step 1 content will change again this may. How many questions do you add to your qbank to reflect those changes?
 
@Bacchus: Unfortunately we do not have any data related to how effective our questions were for individuals who used them towards other exams such as COMLEX. You may want to seek feedback from your peers regarding their experience using USMLEWorld services for COMLEX preparation.

@twoinone: Which exam are you referring to, the self-assessment exam? If so, the score is displayed per exam and not listed in a cumulative fashion as not all individuals opt to purchase both of them. If we misunderstood your query, please clarify so we can correctly address your concern.

@Zback: That will depend if the subscription in question meets our reset eligibility criteria outlined on our help page at http://www.usmleworld.com/help.aspx under ‘I want to reset/delete my Qbank test history (or) start all over again, is this possible?’ section.

@abmd: Yes, a test block can be generated using as little as 1 question to 46 questions. Please review the non-interactive demo via the link in the main post.

@HokieKatie: That will be strictly up to your study preference however, we have started incorporating links to medical journal abstracts to our new questions to make it simpler for users to locate external references to our questions.

@bestmed: Our staff continually reviews and updates content for each of the services we offer. As mentioned in the FAQ in our main post "Content in our Self-assessment exams, Subject Review is changed only if the question/concept is obsolete".

The self-assessment exam 3-digit score is an estimate based on other users performance in our self-assessment exam and users typically do not share their exact score after the test for us to generate any direct correlation with the data. However, based on the feedback we received from prior subscribers, their score was accurate within 10 points within 7 days of taking our self-assessment exam. This gap increased as their test date was further away from them taking our self-assessment exam.

@mddoc1: Our author and editors are practicing physicians whose primary focus is adding new content after an extensive internal vetting process that accounts for existing medical research and current standard practice/procedure. They also focus on maintaining accuracy and relevancy of existing content hence, it may take some time before they can start adding new questions per the guidelines announced by USMLE.

@BloodySurgeon: Our qbank interface is designed to mimic FRED interface used in the actual exam hence, we are unsure how it compares with the MCAT qbank interface. Please review the non-interactive demo via the link in the main post to make a comparison.
 
Do the question explanations have First Aid 2011 references yet?
 
Will you have questions banks for smart phones in the future?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Building upon the features of your software that you've posted above what advantages do you believe that USMLEWorld has over competing products (i.e. Kaplan's QBank)?

Thank you!
 
I've heard great things about world at my school, I had been going back and forth between qbanks but based on recommendations from 3rd/4th years I'm probably going to go with this one. Anyone have any good arguments for/experiences with world on here?
 
I've heard great things about world at my school, I had been going back and forth between qbanks but based on recommendations from 3rd/4th years I'm probably going to go with this one. Anyone have any good arguments for/experiences with world on here?
it's pretty unanimous that uworld is far, far better than any of the other question banks
 
I have heard many great things about USMLE World. Can you comment on the accuracy of the questioning experience when compared to the actual USMLE (length, number of answer choices, quality of choices and distractors, question style, images, video, and sound, etc) and how your company's questions stack up against Kaplan QBank and USMLE Rx? Thank you very much.
 
I have heard many great things about USMLE World. Can you comment on the accuracy of the questioning experience when compared to the actual USMLE (length, number of answer choices, quality of choices and distractors, question style, images, video, and sound, etc) and how your company's questions stack up against Kaplan QBank and USMLE Rx? Thank you very much.

When I studied for Step1 I used USMLEWORLD for 2months. The questions seemed a bit longer than the actual exam which worked out to be good practice for me because I had lots of time left on each block. The style of the questions was similar but I thought the Step1 actually gave more clues than UWorld. UWorld was definitely harder and pretty much left out most clues and expected you to figure out the answer. If you didn't, the explanation did a good job of reminding you of all the possible clues you could expect to find in the real exam. I think this way is better because it forces you to know a disease inside out and arrive at your conclusion before even looking at your answer choices, which means you will have more time to decide.

I used Kaplan and USMLERx as well, and Kaplan was most similar to the exam in terms of style and difficulty but it didn't force me to learn more about the disease. I felt like I would miss out on high yield stuff so I decided to complete Kaplan before USMLEWorld so that I would have the most high percentage questions right before the exam. USMLERx was the least like the exam and a bit too easy for me. However there is a LOT of repetition in their questions, so it does help you to memorize certain concepts better than the other qbanks.

The media questions are few and far between, and most times you can answer the question without the media option so their presence on the qbanks is negligible. I think both Uworld and Kaplan were representative in the number of answer choices (sometimes up to R or Z!). One more thing, the actual software - I think UWorld best mimics the USMLE software. It takes up your whole computer screen and you cannot escape or click out of it without ending the block. In the URx you can still see the browser screen and do other stuff which is distracting. Kaplan had a lot of scrolling to do.

Overall, I preferred UWorld a thousand times over and if you can only pick one, I recommend that one. If you can afford more, then go for them all. Step 1 is not as difficult with the right preparation, and the key is questions. The more questions you can do, the better you will be. It is also a mental marathon so condition your mind to endure it by doing 7hour practice exams to simulate the exam day. If you do that, on the day of your real exam, you will not be fatigued, and that's important because sometimes you may know an answer but pick the wrong choice because you are so tired. Good luck!
 
Do you have a suggestion for when the two self-assements should be taken? Would one at 3 weeks and one at 5 weeks for a 6 week study plan be helpful?

Also, which study guides (aside from First Aid) compliment studying using USMLE World?
 
Do you have a suggestion for when the two self-assements should be taken? Would one at 3 weeks and one at 5 weeks for a 6 week study plan be helpful?

Also, which study guides (aside from First Aid) compliment studying using USMLE World?

You may not need to take both self assesments, depending on your progress. However, I do recommend that you take at least one NBME exam prior to your real exam. There are 7 tests to choose from, and for some reason, these exams always tend to predict your score very well. Perhaps you could take a UWSA at the middle of your preparation and an NBME nearer the end of your preparation.

As far as study guides, I think that First Aid and UWorld are an unbeatable combination, and personally, the only other resource I used besides that was my own med school notes. Just make sure you do LOTS of questions.
 
When I studied for Step1 I used USMLEWORLD for 2months. The questions seemed a bit longer than the actual exam which worked out to be good practice for me because I had lots of time left on each block. The style of the questions was similar but I thought the Step1 actually gave more clues than UWorld. UWorld was definitely harder and pretty much left out most clues and expected you to figure out the answer. If you didn't, the explanation did a good job of reminding you of all the possible clues you could expect to find in the real exam. I think this way is better because it forces you to know a disease inside out and arrive at your conclusion before even looking at your answer choices, which means you will have more time to decide.

I used Kaplan and USMLERx as well, and Kaplan was most similar to the exam in terms of style and difficulty but it didn't force me to learn more about the disease. I felt like I would miss out on high yield stuff so I decided to complete Kaplan before USMLEWorld so that I would have the most high percentage questions right before the exam. USMLERx was the least like the exam and a bit too easy for me. However there is a LOT of repetition in their questions, so it does help you to memorize certain concepts better than the other qbanks.

The media questions are few and far between, and most times you can answer the question without the media option so their presence on the qbanks is negligible. I think both Uworld and Kaplan were representative in the number of answer choices (sometimes up to R or Z!). One more thing, the actual software - I think UWorld best mimics the USMLE software. It takes up your whole computer screen and you cannot escape or click out of it without ending the block. In the URx you can still see the browser screen and do other stuff which is distracting. Kaplan had a lot of scrolling to do.

Overall, I preferred UWorld a thousand times over and if you can only pick one, I recommend that one. If you can afford more, then go for them all. Step 1 is not as difficult with the right preparation, and the key is questions. The more questions you can do, the better you will be. It is also a mental marathon so condition your mind to endure it by doing 7hour practice exams to simulate the exam day. If you do that, on the day of your real exam, you will not be fatigued, and that's important because sometimes you may know an answer but pick the wrong choice because you are so tired. Good luck!

Thanks for all your great advice! I know some people recommend that you go through Qbanks twice or three times completely in order to get a good grasp of the material. How many times did you get to go through USMLEWorld? How about USMLERx and Kaplan? I'm thinking about taking two months to study at this point.
 
Thanks for all your great advice! I know some people recommend that you go through Qbanks twice or three times completely in order to get a good grasp of the material. How many times did you get to go through USMLEWorld? How about USMLERx and Kaplan? I'm thinking about taking two months to study at this point.

I went through the whole qbank once and then did my incorrect questions once after that. I did Rx and Kaplan each once. I spent a lot of time doing my Uworld questions though; I went through the explanations for both my correct and incorrect questions, and I wrote down any new information in my study book. I used highlights and colored pens to outline important facts, especially the ones where a small percentage of people got the question correct. in my mind, if few people are getting it correct, then if I get it correct that might lead to a higher score for me! Two months sounds fine but it all depends on your knowledge base and target score. If you did very well on your shelf exams you should not need very long but if you struggled then allow for some extra time. Either way, the NBME is the best indicator of your estimated success so do not take it lightly. that being said, after all the scary stories about usmle step 1, it doesn't have to be as bad as people make it out to be. good luck!
 
Hi, Neuro or Derm,

Thanks for your insightful reviews/comparisons on the 3 main Qbanks, as well as NBME and UWSA exams.

Sounds like one can't go wrong by signing up for UW Qbank.
 
When do you suggest starting USMLEWorld? I am an M1 doing well in my classes but I don't want to start too soon and just get everything wrong but would also like to have plenty of time to get the information down.
 
When do you suggest starting USMLEWorld? I am an M1 doing well in my classes but I don't want to start too soon and just get everything wrong but would also like to have plenty of time to get the information down.

Too soon. Most people use a question bank (gunners here) through their 2nd year to supplement their learning and allow them to annotate through First Aid. When you get serious, you get uworld and focus on the real exam.
 
How long does it take your average user to complete the qbank?
 
@beyondbethany: No, we do not refer to other texts from any of our courses.

@OhioDoc & runeofmajesty: In many USMLE Qbank sources an average student can answer around 70%-80% of questions. This means that by spending a good amount of time and money, you end up learning only 20%-30% of new content. Unlike our competitors, our practice questions are much harder, making it much more difficult for an average student to score high in the first few attempts. The goal is not to discourage the students, but to motivate them to study harder and smarter. Average scores for USMLEWorld border around 50%-60%, implying that on an average a student learns 40%-50% of new content with our QBank. The USMLEWorld Qbank question items are designed to test the difficult part of the examination content while incorporating the less to medium difficulty concepts in each question’s explanations.

@Mace1370: No, that is breach of our terms of service

@NERDY & cbrons: See FAQ in the main post

@TheSlyme: The most commonly purchased subscription duration is 90-days
 
Are there statistics that correlate how students score on USMLEWorld self assessments vs. Step 1? I hear that USMLEWorld is generally considered a bit tougher than the boards and helps students prepare, but I'm curious to know if there are any score conversion charts, etc.
 
Is USMLEWorld Mac (with Firefox or Safari as a browser) compatible?
 
from the world website:
To utilize our services and all of its unique features fully, your computer must:

have Microsoft Windows XP or higher (Vista, 7 etc.) or Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or higher (10.4.x, 10.5.x or 10.6.x) with administrator privileges,
 
I wanted to share my experience using the step 1 qbank. In my opinion it is the most high yield yet comprehensive resource out there. The questions are usually more difficult on the whole than the actual exam itself, but really does prepare you well. The interface is spot on, and I felt very much "at ease" when taking the exam because everything looked familiar.
 
question about the sequence questions. are the answers locked in for the first part of the question and then you move onto the second part of the question is this what a sequence question is? also, are there ones on the real step 1?
 
from the world website:
To utilize our services and all of its unique features fully, your computer must:

have Microsoft Windows XP or higher (Vista, 7 etc.) or Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or higher (10.4.x, 10.5.x or 10.6.x) with administrator privileges,

Is the Qbank accessible via the iPad as well?
 
I wish there was a UWORLD at a lower price just for first years. That being said I got a small subscription anyway just to see what its all about and great questions. About as hard as the ones on my normal tests so they help prepare me for those..


I def recommend first years try it out:) but there are not that many questions that i feel like i can answer so i wouldnt go crazy try the path questions or anything
 
Recent posts in the Step 1 2011 experiences thread (in the Step 1 forum) indicate that USMLE questions are getting longer and are longer than the questions in the qbanks. It seems unrealistic for you guys to update all the questions you have, but what can be done about this?
 
What does raffle mean on the title of this thread?
 
Not sure if this was addressed but the self assessments, are they just questions from the bank or new questions? Is the format just the Fred software with standard breaks like the real exam?
 
question about the sequence questions. are the answers locked in for the first part of the question and then you move onto the second part of the question is this what a sequence question is? also, are there ones on the real step 1?


Yes, sequence questions are more than 1 part where the 2nd (and beyond) questions aren't available for viewing until you answer the 1st question. Once you confirm your answer to the first question, you cannot change that answer.

And yes, these also appear on step 1 and 2.
 
Not sure if this was addressed but the self assessments, are they just questions from the bank or new questions? Is the format just the Fred software with standard breaks like the real exam?
they're completely different questions according to the website
 
If I purchase a 60 day membership, and I want to extend it 30 days, can I do so without paying the full $99 for a new membership?
 
Do you offer group discounts and how many students would have to subscribe together to qualify?
 
Is the Qbank accessible via the iPad as well?

Not sure since I don't have an iPad or world to try this out, but since the iPad runs iOS4 and not OSX I'd guess that it's not compatible, but would love to hear an answer from someone who has tested it.
 
Recent posts in the Step 1 2011 experiences thread (in the Step 1 forum) indicate that USMLE questions are getting longer and are longer than the questions in the qbanks. It seems unrealistic for you guys to update all the questions you have, but what can be done about this?

We are constantly revising, updating, and adding new questions to our Qbanks. Outdated questions are updated or the question is replaced. Through this process, we are able to ensure that our content is continuously updated as new medical guidelines are implemented or the style of the USMLE changes.
 
Do you offer group discounts and how many students would have to subscribe together to qualify?

We offer group discounts on Step 1 and Step 2 with subscription duration lasting 3, 6, or 12 months only with a minimum purchase of 50 subscriptions.

For further information, please see our help page at http://usmleworld.com/help.aspx under "Do you offer any discounts for students? Professionals? Institutions?"
 
Are there statistics that correlate how students score on USMLEWorld self assessments vs. Step 1? I hear that USMLEWorld is generally considered a bit tougher than the boards and helps students prepare, but I'm curious to know if there are any score conversion charts, etc.

Each of our self-assessment exam forms provide the user with an approximated 3-digit score.

These scores are an estimate based on other users' performance in our self-assessment exam and users typically do not share their exact score after the test for us to generate any direct correlation with the data. Based on the feedback we received from prior subscribers, however, their score was accurate within 10-15 points within 7 days of taking our self-assessment exam. This gap increased as their test date was further away from them taking our self-assessment exam. While we make no guarantee of this, it may be useful as an approximation.

You may also want to consult http://www.usmle.org/Scores_Transcripts/minimum_passing.html page to see how your three digit score stacks up against USMLE's minimum three-digit passing score.
 
What does raffle mean on the title of this thread?

We will be giving away one "Step 1 Qbank 60-day Membership" to two members. These members will be chosen by the forum administrator at random from among the members who meaningfully contribute to the thread (ask questions, respond to other members' questions, share their user experience, etc).
 
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