Board simulator series. Good or bad?

[blackberry13]

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How are these books compared to USMLEworld and Qbank? I haven't heard much about them.

 

[mules05]

How are these books compared to USMLEworld and Qbank? I haven't heard much about them.

If you're looking for something to actually simulate the type of questions on the exam, they're awful. If you're looking for a source to drive in a lot of information, they're great. The most recent version, as far as I know, is still from 1997 and has a lot of questions in formats that are no longer used on the test. If you have enough time to dedicate to them that won't cut into your regular study time, I'd say go for it- I used these books the week before the test (took me about 6 days to get through all of them) and I really think it made a difference in my score.

 

[Pathinterpreter]

...I used these books the week before the test (took me about 6 days to get through all of them) and I really think it made a difference in my score.

Hi mules, did you used Board Simulator Series as your only source of questions? I mean, didn't you used Qbanq or USMLEWorld?

Also, How important are the General principles and Normal process books? (I've heard the most important ones are I, II and III by systems)

Thank you in advance?

 

[Pathinterpreter]

...I used these books the week before the test (took me about 6 days to get through all of them) and I really think it made a difference in my score.

Hi mules, did you used Board Simulator Series as your only source of questions? I mean, didn't you used Qbanq or USMLEWorld?

Also, How important are the General principles and Normal process books? (I've heard the most important ones are I, II and III by systems)

Thank you in advance

 

[mules05]

Hi mules, did you used Board Simulator Series as your only source of questions? I mean, didn't you used Qbanq or USMLEWorld?

Also, How important are the General principles and Normal process books? (I've heard the most important ones are I, II and III by systems)

Thank you in advance

I didn't use BSS as my only question source, and I personally would recommend AGAINST using this as your primary source of questions. I did all 5 of the BSS books and found them all helpful; however, this was in addition to Kaplan Qbank (finished 100%) and USMLEWorld (finished once before studying, then went through about 50% of it again). I also used Pretest (Biochem, Path, Physio, Pathophys, Pharm, Micro, Behavioral Sci, Clinical Vignettes, maybe some others), did all questions in the BRS books that I used for review, and used First Aid Q&A, QBook, NMS, and Lange question books. I happen to go through questions quickly and learn well from them, so this approach worked well for me. I think BSS is a great addition if you have a very solid foundation of knowledge and are looking to pick up some extra points, but not for a primary question source.

 

[Long Dong]

Also, How important are the General principles and Normal process books? (I've heard the most important ones are I, II and III by systems)

Everyone I know how finished the series got over 240. But most of those that I know about also did other sources like qbank, robbins review of path.

And yes the systems books are better, but if you have the time get threw it and learn from it and i'm sure even the most average med student would do well.

 

[Big Steve]

Dong and Mule,
Do you guys recommend starting the books early (say January) and going through them slowly or waiting until the last few weeks before the test? Right now my strategy is going to be to do BSS from Jan-Apr and then use QBank or USMLE world closer to the test.

 

[Pathinterpreter]

Thank you very much Long dong and mules for your advises.

 

[Long Dong]

Right now my strategy is going to be to do BSS from Jan-Apr and then use QBank or USMLE world closer to the test.

Yes this exactly what I did. I did BSS first in Jan to try and learn as much as I could first. Then closer to the test I used qbank (timed and random) to simulate real testing conditions. When I took it UW didn't have bank for step 1, only 2, but I'm sure it's qauilty stuff since for step 2 UW is the way to go.

 

[njbmd]

How are these books compared to USMLEworld and Qbank? I haven't heard much about them.

I loved BSS and did quite well on USMLE. I had the series on CD-ROM and could pop the disk into my computer and work anywhere. The questions are written quite differently from USMLE but they are great.

 

[mules05]

Yes this exactly what I did. I did BSS first in Jan to try and learn as much as I could first. Then closer to the test I used qbank (timed and random) to simulate real testing conditions. When I took it UW didn't have bank for step 1, only 2, but I'm sure it's qauilty stuff since for step 2 UW is the way to go.

I did the opposite- as mentioned above, I kept BSS until the end of my studying and then sat down and did all of it at once. However, I think Long Dong got a better score than me, so maybe y'all should listen to his advice instead of mine.

 

[Long Dong]

I did the opposite- as mentioned above, I kept BSS until the end of my studying and then sat down and did all of it at once. However, I think Long Dong got a better score than me, so maybe y'all should listen to his advice instead of mine.

You're to modest, a few points here and there could of gone ether way for ether one of us.

But for you others who haven't taken it yet. Do you see a theme here? Most who finished it did well. So just do it weather in the begining or towards the end.

 

[Loanna]

I am interested in buying the books,but I don't know which of them to buy exactly (all of them?).Plus in amazon there aren't all of them...Anyone knows anything?Any suggestions?
P.S : Thanx Long Dong!

 

[crys20]

i had to hunt them down from private sellers on amazon or half.com, here and there, they were super cheap, and did manage to get the 3 question books, which was all i wanted

 

[Loanna]

👍 That's exactly what I see me doing...! By question books you mean the 3 system books, right?

 

[MSKalltheway]

Yup, the three systems books. I had to get them from private sellers from amazon as well, but I got them all for <$5. Im just pissed there is no super savers shipping 😡

Oh well, I'll roll with though it since apparently the score benefits are huge!

 

[InternationlDoc]

uhh question here:

I am only doing 3 systems books - but they are challanging. so far I've done 300 questions in cardio book but am scoring ~ 75%

besides getting my butt kicked; should I even be bothering with the abnormal/basic sci books? I heard those aren't that great and more nit-picky details you probably won't encounter on USMLE - suggestions?

 

[InternationlDoc]

bump

whats the update fellow BSS'ers (acpql, Hunter etc)

I'm nearing the end of the Cardio book. wow! what a q-book!

 

[SeventhSon]

can someone explain exactly what is the content of the "normal abornomal processes" and "general principles" books? Is it all cell injury/inflammation/neoplasia?

 

[fruitloops]

i've started following Long Dong's study planby working through all of the BSS books. my question is that when i go over the BSS test questions, i can pinpoint my subject weaknesses. but, when i get to biochem questions, i have a difficult time as i haven't gone through biochem yet; so, i miss most of them. how did you deal with biochem questions when you went through BSS? did you refer to Kaplan or First Aid, or did you blow them off until after you did all of the BSS questionsand then buckle down to learn biochem? just trying to get a better idea of how to best use BSS.

 

[VeggieGal]

i have all the BSS books and really want to start doing them. i am taking the boards in june; however, everytime i go to start a section, i get discouraged b/c i haven't covered those topics yet in class and find it a little bit difficult to answer the questions and understand the explanations without some background. are y'all just moving through the problems timed? or just doing the ones pertinent to the subject that you are studying. i want to start doing problems every night for an hour, but dont know whether it's more efficient to do BSS now or kaplan qbank b/c with qbank you can adjust the subject accordingly. any thoughts?