AMBOSS or Scholar Rx for Step 1 studying?

[blastokine]

Hi all,

I started M2 a couple of weeks ago and am looking for a question bank to use while simultaneously studying for classes before I start UWorld in November. I have been using Rx so far, and have enjoyed it, but I've heard that the questions can be too easy and not representative of Step. I came across a free 2 week trial for Amboss yesterday, and the questions I've done are noticeably more difficult than Rx, but I've heard that the difficulty of Amboss questions can make UWorld easier.

All in all, I thought the Rx questions were reinforcing what I've been learning in class and boosting my confidence. I didn't do as well on the Amboss questions, but is it better to get used to practicing with harder questions that are going to be more representative of Step?

Thank you in advance.

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[7331poas]

amboss then uworld. I would skip on the 5 hammer questions

 

[slowthai]

amboss then uworld. I would skip on the 5 hammer questions

I've heard that they train you to overthink, which isn't good for step. My question is, why can't you just do them anyway, learn what you can from those qs and let UWorld retrain your thinking?

 

[Butters Stotch]

Would it be better to do Kaplan and Amboss for q banks or rx and Amboss/Kaplan? Prior to UWorld.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I've heard that they train you to overthink, which isn't good for step. My question is, why can't you just do them anyway, learn what you can from those qs and let UWorld retrain your thinking?

More questions is better (ie, doing less 5 hammer questions and more of the rest since you won’t have to overthink and spend time reviewing them), and retraining yourself takes time.

 

[slowthai]

More questions is better (ie, doing less 5 hammer questions and more of the rest since you won’t have to overthink and spend time reviewing them), and retraining yourself takes time.

I'm not really understanding; you could just do the whole bank (for as much question exposure as possible) and then do UWorld. The number of 5 hammers can't be more than 15-30% of the bank. You'll have 3200+ questions in UW to retrain yourself.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I'm not really understanding; you could just do the whole bank (for as much question exposure as possible) and then do UWorld. The number of 5 hammers can't be more than 15-30% of the bank. You'll have 3200+ questions in UW to retrain yourself.

I just looked. It’s actually only 2% of the bank (79 questions). Could just do them. I don’t think 79/2686 questions is going to sufficiently train you to the point that it takes a significant amount of time to retrain.

 

[7331poas]

I say skip the 5 hammer questions because usually they are dumb, not useful, and only serve to kill confidence. but thats just me

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I say skip the 5 hammer questions because usually they are dumb, not useful, and only serve to kill confidence. but thats just me

Yeah I call them soul crushers.

 

[Goro]

Hi all,

I started M2 a couple of weeks ago and am looking for a question bank to use while simultaneously studying for classes before I start UWorld in November. I have been using Rx so far, and have enjoyed it, but I've heard that the questions can be too easy and not representative of Step. I came across a free 2 week trial for Amboss yesterday, and the questions I've done are noticeably more difficult than Rx, but I've heard that the difficulty of Amboss questions can make UWorld easier.

All in all, I thought the Rx questions were reinforcing what I've been learning in class and boosting my confidence. I didn't do as well on the Amboss questions, but is it better to get used to practicing with harder questions that are going to be more representative of Step?

Thank you in advance.

I've never heard of Scholar Rx! can you enlighten me as to what it entails, and how you like it???

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I've never heard of Scholar Rx! can you enlighten me as to what it entails, and how you like it???

It’s just another name for USMLE Rx, the people who make First Aid. Has a qbank, flash cards, videos and stuff.

 

[blastokine]

I've never heard of Scholar Rx! can you enlighten me as to what it entails, and how you like it???

It’s just another name for USMLE Rx, the people who make First Aid. Has a qbank, flash cards, videos and stuff.

Yep what Matthew9Thirtyfive said! I like it a lot, some say the questions are too easy and aren't representative of Step but I think they do a really good job of hammering down concepts in First Aid. I'm going back and forth between Rx questions and Amboss questions this week and am going to decide which one to use predominately before I start UWorld.

 

[esob]

I have always found amboss questions to be low-yield on our NBME exams. I'm a huge fanboi of RX and after running through all of the RX questions I typically do the retired/sample NBME questions and fare quite well on our NBME exams. To me, Amboss questions always feel like professor written questions that either are complete softballs with little value, or some weird esoteric questions about Yak's blood in the Ande's mountains if Yak's were socially disadvantaged and infected with TB mutated with an E coli lac operon.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I have always found amboss questions to be low-yield on our NBME exams. I'm a huge fanboi of RX and after running through all of the RX questions I typically do the retired/sample NBME questions and fare quite well on our NBME exams. To me, Amboss questions always feel like professor written questions that either are complete softballs with little value, or some weird esoteric questions about Yak's blood in the Ande's mountains if Yak's were socially disadvantaged and infected with TB mutated with an E coli lac operon.

I did amboss for a bit and liked it, but I actually ended up switching back to Rx for this reason.

 

[slowthai]

I have always found amboss questions to be low-yield on our NBME exams. I'm a huge fanboi of RX and after running through all of the RX questions I typically do the retired/sample NBME questions and fare quite well on our NBME exams.

Which ones are you talking about?

 

[esob]

Which ones are you talking about?

Just the free 100 questions or so that NBME puts out every year, they can be found on the NBME website

 

[deleted1068453]

I'm not really understanding; you could just do the whole bank (for as much question exposure as possible) and then do UWorld. The number of 5 hammers can't be more than 15-30% of the bank. You'll have 3200+ questions in UW to retrain yourself.

I like amboss. I'm doing a pass through of it and then plan to get through as much as I can of Rx/Kaplan before starting UWorld in october or november.

 

[JSReed]

I'm alternating between amboss and Rx. Idk if I'll fully finish either tho, bc another ~4k questions by Jan seems excessive. But so far, Rx keeps me confident and amboss keeps me grounded. And both help me learn duh.

There's definitely some esoteric amboss questions, but its wayyyy overblown. Plus tbh, these q banks should be less about gaining confidence/predicting score and more about learning. So I'm not getting hella bent out of shape over q bank questions this early on.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Just the free 100 questions or so that NBME puts out every year, they can be found on the NBME website

I didn’t even know that was a thing.

 

[slowthai]

I didn’t even know that was a thing.

If they're the questions I think they are, they are extremely straightforward, first order questions and are definitely not representative, lol

 

[deleted1068453]

I'm alternating between amboss and Rx. Idk if I'll fully finish either tho, bc another ~4k questions by Jan seems excessive. But so far, Rx keeps me confident and amboss keeps me grounded. And both help me learn duh.

There's definitely some esoteric amboss questions, but its wayyyy overblown. Plus tbh, these q banks should be less about gaining confidence/predicting score and more about learning. So I'm not getting hella bent out of shape over q bank questions this early on.

Yea my amboss % are a dumpster fire. And thats completely good with me.

 

[JSReed]

Yea my amboss % are a dumpster fire. And thats completely good with me.

Uhhh....yea sooo mine are higher for amboss

 

[esob]

If they're the questions I think they are, they are extremely straightforward, first order questions and are definitely not representative, lol

The one's I do are fairly spot on with our NBME exams, which are composed entirely of retired Step 1 questions.

 

[PrideOrPanthers]

I would do amboss looking back at it, but I did only Rx during m1/m2 than uworld during dedicated and scored >260 so I bet it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. if you already paid for Rx, just roll with that

 

[slowthai]

The one's I do are fairly spot on with our NBME exams, which are composed entirely of retired Step 1 questions.

I would kill to be taking step when it was just like that; a lot of buzzwordy first/second order know it or you don't. Zanki would've been OP those times.

 

[slowthai]

Would it be better to do Kaplan and Amboss for q banks or rx and Amboss/Kaplan? Prior to UWorld.

It depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to familiarize yourself with FA in question form? Do Rx. Wanna hammer phys/pharm? Do Kaplan. Want to get comfortable with answering difficult qs and make UWorld easier? Do Amboss. Wanna gun? Do all four.

 

[Butters Stotch]

It depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to familiarize yourself with FA in question form? Do Rx. Wanna hammer phys/pharm? Do Kaplan. Want to get comfortable with answering difficult qs and make UWorld easier? Do Amboss. Wanna gun? Do all four.

Would you recommend amboss over Kaplan? Also since we are on the subject I’m about to go into biochem and immuno. Any q banks you could recommend for those subjects?

 

[slowthai]

Would you recommend amboss over Kaplan? Also since we are on the subject I’m about to go into biochem and immuno. Any q banks you could recommend for those subjects?

If you ask any of the recent high scorers that did both, you'd likely get unanimous support for Amboss. I personally can't recommend one over the other since I haven't done them yet.

I'd recommend review books for biochem: Lippincott, BRS, and Pretest. For immuno, looks like Lippincott has two review books: Micro/Immuno and just immuno. These review books all have practice qs. You can also do the BnB questions for both subjects.

 

[drgweeds]

Amboss was the best thing I did before UWORLD. It’s hard and it makes UWORLD a breeze.

 

[giguerex35]

currently doing amboss and its pretty good but i will say for every 50 questions or so theres 1 where im pretty sure it could be 2 answers, and before you go and say it, I know how to pick the better one

 

[blastokine]

I'm alternating between amboss and Rx. Idk if I'll fully finish either tho, bc another ~4k questions by Jan seems excessive. But so far, Rx keeps me confident and amboss keeps me grounded. And both help me learn duh.

There's definitely some esoteric amboss questions, but its wayyyy overblown. Plus tbh, these q banks should be less about gaining confidence/predicting score and more about learning. So I'm not getting hella bent out of shape over q bank questions this early on.

I share the same mind set. Are you an M2 or M1?

 

[OchemOficionado]

Would it be better to do Kaplan and Amboss for q banks or rx and Amboss/Kaplan? Prior to UWorld.

So many resources, so little time.

I’ve used Kaplan during MS1 to prepare for final exams. I’m thinking of continuing that. In the meantime, I am using both rx and Amboss as a targeted review/knowledge check (it kicks my butt. One second I’m 40th percentile, then 91st the 0th, HAHA). Uworld starting in Nov/Dec is also the plan.

 

[Butters Stotch]

So many resources, so little time.

I’ve used Kaplan during MS1 to prepare for final exams. I’m thinking of continuing that. In the meantime, I am using both rx and Amboss as a targeted review/knowledge check (it kicks my butt. One second I’m 40th percentile, then 91st the 0th, HAHA). Uworld starting in Nov/Dec is also the plan.

When you say you used Kaplan for ms1 are you in a traditional or systems based curriculum?

 

[OchemOficionado]

When you say you used Kaplan for ms1 are you in a traditional or systems based curriculum?

Trad. MS2 is a lot more integrated though. I think they’re revamping the curriculum a little at a time.