anybody study w/ kaplan lecture notes?

[chef]

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anybody tried kaplan notes? the notes you get when u sign up for their courses. are they too detailed? too short? do u recommend them?

if anybody has used them plesae post your epxerience w/ it, what u thought about it, and how it's structured. tia

 

[doc05]

the notes are quite good. I wouldn't recommend using them during MS1 or MS2; you need to learn the material from textbooks.

But for the 1-1.5 months of focussed step-1 review, they are very useful. Much is in outline form, the practice questions are good too.

Most of my study was from these books (though I did supplement with other texts).

 

[chef]

thanks for reply. why do u say u wouldnt use em during m2 year? what's the format like? please list some specifics if possible. tia

 

[doc05]

it's mostly in outline format. that makes the books very helpful for review.

but for learning the material, especially core concepts, as well as pathological processes, etc, etc, you should use texts and course syllabi. the usmle includes very few questions that are simple "identification" questions. you need to have a thorough grasp of the material (learned during ms1/ms2), and then do a comprehensive review with kaplan materials.

best of luck

 

[melanosis]

Hi Doc05,


Which books did you use in addition to Kaplan, and did you feel that they were necessary?

Thanks

 

[Talula]

I used the Kaplan lecture notes and QBank almost exclusively (First Aid for cramming) and was very pleased with my score. Highly recommended.

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by melanosis
Hi Doc05,


Which books did you use in addition to Kaplan, and did you feel that they were necessary?

Thanks

for step 1, kaplan (all 2500 pages) is really all you need. I also used first aid as a high-yield review in the days before the exam. Of course, you can always add 1 book per discipline if you have uncontrolled OCD. katzung is a good review of pharm (but too comprehensive). netter is nice to look at for anatomy. I also liked high-yield for neuro and embryo. brs is good for path. you might also want to try out the robbins question book. it is also very good to use during ms2.

have fun. ms2 is way better than ms1!

 

[monet]

Where/ How do you get the lecture notes from Kaplan?

 

[jed2023]

Originally posted by monet
Where/ How do you get the lecture notes from Kaplan?

There are usually lots of people selling them on Ebay all the time. I think there are fewer sellers now that the demand has gone down, since USMLE step 1 "season" has passed for US med students. But I'm sure you'll see the occassional seller still offering it. Prices usually range from about $100 to $350 depending on the edition year and how used the notes are. 2001 notes usually are available at the lower end of the price range and 2003 notes (especially if they are new) go for the higher prices.
The other route is to sign up for the live lecture series given by Kaplan. I think it's pretty spendy, though, probably over a thousand.

 

[doc05]

you can also get them with kaplan's "web prep" which is not cheap, but is less pricey than the live lecture class.

some schools arrange for various discounts with kaplan; or of course you can buy them used off of 3rd and 4th year students at your school.