Compiled Step one Experiences

[Jalby]

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Hey guys. This is a thread to post individual step 1 experiences. Like what was on it, how you felt going into it, what books you used, what was helpfull, what was not. Basically anything you think would be helpfull to other students. Post your own thread so that you can get the congratulations you deserve and answer any questions, but please just cut and paste that experience onto this thread so it will be around for years. Thank you very much.

 

[JSandall]

Took the test in June 2005. I spent 6 months studying regularly for the exam. I spent 6.5 weeks after my last 2nd year classes finished for focused studying in preparation for the exam.

The exam level of difficulty, in a nutshell, is dependent on how much you study. As Goljan once told me, "The more you study, the higher your score. The less you study, the lower your score." I feel that 4 weeks as some people choose would not have been sufficient, at least not for me.

I was an average student throughout my first two years of medical school. My last half of the second year I committed myself to board preparation above class grades (in essence, I actually performed better than ever my final semester!). As others have said, I too was not the greatest student my first year. I found great difficulty learning anatomy and I believe it was my weakness (especially neuroanatomy) on Step 1. I did not study between first and second year. I tried to learn pathology and microbiology very well during the fall semester of my second year.

During my second year, I studied much more than first. I studied almost every day of the year (even Fridays). I tried to do very well in my second year courses (and did compared to first year). My top resources for each subject are as follows:

TOP OVERALL RESOURCES:

1) First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (my own content added quadrupled the amount of information)
2) Kaplan Qbank (better than you think...used for learning, not necessarily for mastery)
3) Goljan (wow)

Anatomy: Most is in FA...Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy helped for many of the innervation of the hand questions
Histology: High Yield Histology is a great book.
Neuroscience: High Yield Neuroanatomy is not enough...need more imaging references (CT, MRI, etc.)
Embryology:First Aid sufficient
Physiology: Basically all physio was tied into pathology.
Biochemistry: Many questions just listing an intermediate in a pathway (easy if you have memorized FA)
Pathology: If you read Robbins, you are golden. Pathophysiology is the name of the game.
Genetics: Know the classic associations with pathological conditions (involving chromosomal abnormalities).
Molecular Biology: Quite a bit and not in any resources (including HY Cell & Molecular Biology). Know your weird genes involved in embryology.
Microbiology: classic associations you can memorize in FA
Immunology: Know this cold (end of FA section of microbiology); know immunodeficient states and how to treat (i.e. AIDS patients)
Behavioral Science: Surprisingly more difficult than Qbank...HY is a good source.
Pharmacology: FA (I didn't believe anyone when they told me this before...it's really all you need)

I used First Aid and annotated it as I read the information in other sources (High Yield, BRS, etc.). I annotated even those points that I knew cold...because you will forget! I did the Robbins questions and the Qbank questions. Appleton & Lange were rubbish in my opinion.

The NBME exams were good for learning how the test questions would be written. There were "buzzwords" but not many. Sometimes the buzzwords led you astray however, so be careful. There's a lot of reading passages and determining endocrine hormone levels (usually up or down arrows). For pharm, side effects and antineoplastics were big. I thought neuro was the toughest subject so in retrospect, I wish I had studied it last. Biostats was poorly represented and did not seem difficult compared to Qbank.

Time was an issue on the exam. It was tough to get all the questions in during the block for a few of the blocks but others were less time consuming. I think it was just luck or unluck of the draw. Work fast and efficient. In terms of overall time, I just snacked in between sessions and left a lot earlier than anticipated.

I enjoyed the experience (though it was tough toward the end) and am glad I have faced Step 1. I believe the core knowledge I gained in preparation for that exam is helping me day in and day out as I deal with real problems in real patients. Medicine is very fun once you understand the reason behind what you are doing. Good luck to everyone taking and preparing for the Step 1. It is a grueling and sometimes daunting task, but with a little bit of elbow grease and hard work, it is manageable. If you feel distressed, just keep studying. Instead of stressing the last day while sitting at home or lounging, I kept studying. I studied right up until I went to bed. I was tired and I went right to sleep. I woke up the next morning and felt very confident and ready to take the exam. It felt good knowing that I had prepared well and knew I had an edge on the testwriters. I'd like to thank everyone on SDN for the support and help. 👍 👍 👍

Pox,

Good post, I'm sure it will help many prepare. However, and I'm not flaming you, your experience would mean more IMO if you posted how you did on the test. I mean if you scored a 182 it might suggest that your prep really wasn't worth it, but if you scored a 268....you get my drift. If you don't feel like posting a score what about saying something like "I did very well" or "I didn't perform as well as I'd liked"? Give the SDNers something tangible to attach to your prep experience.

Good luck w/your rotations. 👍

 

[chak_de_phatee]

Pox,

Good post, I'm sure it will help many prepare. However, and I'm not flaming you, your experience would mean more IMO if you posted how you did on the test. I mean if you scored a 182 it might suggest that your prep really wasn't worth it, but if you scored a 268....you get my drift. If you don't feel like posting a score what about saying something like "I did very well" or "I didn't perform as well as I'd liked"? Give the SDNers something tangible to attach to your prep experience.

Good luck w/your rotations. 👍

Exactly for all we know she got a 187.....

 

[Long Dong]

Exactly for all we know she got a 187.....

It's a one eight seven on an undercover cop. Had to say that cuz I'm from the LBC.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

Exactly for all we know she got a 187.....

pox is a she? bigfrank has been fighting with a girl this whole time?

Pox,

Good post, I'm sure it will help many prepare. However, and I'm not flaming you, your experience would mean more IMO if you posted how you did on the test. I mean if you scored a 182 it might suggest that your prep really wasn't worth it, but if you scored a 268....you get my drift. If you don't feel like posting a score what about saying something like "I did very well" or "I didn't perform as well as I'd liked"? Give the SDNers something tangible to attach to your prep experience.

Good luck w/your rotations. 👍

a RANGE would be much more informative.

 

[bigfrank]

Exactly for all we know she got a 187.....

Even I don't think it was quite that low. However, if the score had been all that good, Pox was poised to "shout the score from the mountaintops," so to speak. The posts were all there. Pox even started a thread attempting to correlate NBME's and Step I.

As far as Pox's gender, I too am beginning to get the impression that it's a girl...

 

[MedStar]

Everyone is different, some need 6 months and others like me probably need about 4 weeks doing about 4 hours a day.
I have known too many people that spend 12 -14 hour days of studying and they do worse than me or some do a bit better. It is not my style.
If you get it you get it, if you dont you dont. I think intelligence testing should be brought in to screen medical school entrants. I do respect hard working students however it doesnt instill much confidence in me, knowing that they have spent hours upon hours memorizing and may not have the intellect to apply the material.

 

[gary5]

Everyone is different, some need 6 months and others like me probably need about 4 weeks doing about 4 hours a day.
I have known too many people that spend 12 -14 hour days of studying and they do worse than me or some do a bit better. It is not my style.
If you get it you get it, if you dont you dont. I think intelligence testing should be brought in to screen medical school entrants. I do respect hard working students however it doesnt instill much confidence in me, knowing that they have spent hours upon hours memorizing and may not have the intellect to apply the material.

Nice attitude. Med school is easiest for those with photographic memories. However, memorizing and intelligence are completely different things. If you remember easily, I would not assume that you are intelligent.

 

[HamOnWholeWheat]

Everyone is different, some need 6 months and others like me probably need about 4 weeks doing about 4 hours a day.
I have known too many people that spend 12 -14 hour days of studying and they do worse than me or some do a bit better. It is not my style.
If you get it you get it, if you dont you dont. I think intelligence testing should be brought in to screen medical school entrants. I do respect hard working students however it doesnt instill much confidence in me, knowing that they have spent hours upon hours memorizing and may not have the intellect to apply the material.

These posts pop up every once in a while. I agree memory and intelligence are very different things, but I'd make the argument that a deficit in EITHER would make for a substandard medical student (I can't yet speak toward the quality of a physician).

I have met a couple of students who worked very hard and had everything memorized and did fantastic in pre-clinicals, but then seemed to be functionally ******ed on the wards, as they didn't seem to have the capacity to apply any of their knowledge. They're out there, but they're not all that common in my experience.

I have also met students who either didn't work hard, or had a really crappy memory, and ended up doing equally mediocre in pre-clinicals and clinicals (both due to a lack of core knowledge, presumably). What always struck me was that some of them rationalized by claiming they were "thinkers" who were more interested in working their way through problems rather than "just memorizing". I've met a lot more of this type than the first at my medical school.

I think you really have to be able to do both to do well in medical school, but that's just one guy's opinion. Just don't fall into the trap of calling yourself a "thinker", if you really mean "slacker", and definitely don't use it as a justification to rip on people who work hard to memorize as much as they can. Memorizing and thinking aren't mutually exclusive.

"If you get it you get it, if you dont you dont"

Yeah, I remember thinking that the first time I saw the WHO classification for NHL. It made sense at the time, so I'm sure I can think my way through that one when I see it on the wards. 🙄

HamOn

 

[sure1979]

hello everyone,

i am a new member in this forum.i wanted to ask you all if u have any fre online material who could lend me for couple of months so that i can read them.

hope to hear from u all

 

[GuP]

hello everyone,

i am a new member in this forum.i wanted to ask you all if u have any fre online material who could lend me for couple of months so that i can read them.

hope to hear from u all

if its free, y would it need lending? 😕

 

[AsherAysh]

Hey all,

I'm an MSII taking step 1 in June. I am thinking of taking the Kaplan Class (it is offered at my med school). Does anyone know if it is worthwhile, or if there is a post here somewhere that discusses it?...I had trouble finding a post on this topic.

Thanks

 

[GuP]

no more experiences recently? i know someone had to have taken the test recently...let us know how it went!!!!

 

[GuP]

exam in a week...what should i do?

 

[ertugrul]

don't start to panic 😉

 

[PhillyGuy]

One week is a long time, although I think at this point you probably know as much as you are going to know. I would finish all the Qbank questions and review incorrect ones if you have time. Definitely go over First Aid once more before the exam. And get plenty of sleep the night before. It's as much a test of endurance as it is of knowledge.

 

[studentups]

I've listened to some Goljan Audio and it's so much better than any teacher I've had. IT could be because I've already had so much of the stuff but still it's good. Does anyone know if his Rapid review for Path is good. So far, people seem to like (though not as a sole resource)`

 

[studentups]

I agree with HamOn: you can't blame people for giving it their all, even if it doesn't always pan out. It's important to have a life outside of studying. At least exercise daily for a bit. Med students seem to love to argue about how big their brain is or why their brain didn't get this or that. Personally, a better memory would change things for me big time. I don't know how many times I wished I could recall something on a test. The more you know, the better, right? But, of course you have to apply, which is where practice questions, etc. come in. Pox might not have rocked it, but he/she took the exam and probably is accurate about how the test correlated with here study material.

As to the "If you get it you get it, if you dont you dont" quote, I think it says nothing about the type of person who could learn medicine: I mean for the general public who doesn't wish to go to med school (and I mean the ones who are super smart and educated and the ones who are not) they don't get it because they wouldn't want to get it and wouldn't want to do it. If you don't want to do this, what type patient care would you give. HOw willing would you be to make the time committment sacrifices that are required. FOr most people who are in school, I think they get it and understand basic biology pretty well. It comes down to a lot of experience, good physiology and pathology instructors, and dedication to self-study.

Med school constantly feels like an affront on our intelligence that we felt was so commanding before entering it (Personally I've never felt like I was better than anyone, just either bored or just not smart enough). It's like daily humble pie, but no insurmountable.

 

[JayZee]

Hey all,

I'm an MSII taking step 1 in June. I am thinking of taking the Kaplan Class (it is offered at my med school). Does anyone know if it is worthwhile, or if there is a post here somewhere that discusses it?...I had trouble finding a post on this topic.

Thanks

I'm taking mine in June as well! I've heard from my classmates that it depends on the instructor. Our info-sys dept gave us comments from last year's class on the class. I went to 2 days of the physiology review, and I didn't benefit from it, so I'm studying at home until the path and OMM (from COMLEX) review...But according to other students the pharm instructor was amazing...you should probably go once or twice to see what you get or not get from it.

Good luck!

 

[mysophobe]

I was reading through this a little, and I'm sorry, but HamOn...that avatar makes me want to barf. I was eating a pastry, and I had to give the rest to my dog after viewing that horrendous thing.

 

[HamOnWholeWheat]

I was reading through this a little, and I'm sorry, but HamOn...that avatar makes me want to barf. I was eating a pastry, and I had to give the rest to my dog after viewing that horrendous thing.

Your jealousy is utterly transparent. You wish you had a cat half as awesome as Cotton. 😍

HamOn

 

[mysophobe]

Uh...yeah. Keep tellin yourself that.

 

[acab]

Thanks for all the great advice on preparing for this beast.

I'm in desperate need of advice. My case:
I was supposed to take step 1 a week ago but postponed it two days before Dday after scoring 207 on NBME form 1. So I'll take it in 5 weeks but will have classes during that period (from 7 or 8 am to 4 or 5 pm everyday, but not very hard, mostly intro to clerkships).

My new plan is to do reading and some questions on my weak areas for the next 2 weeks, take the other NBME forms in the last 3 weeks, and only do questions in the last 5 days to build endurance. My biggest problem is that I'm a very slow reader. Considering that I'll have about 5-6 hours to study at night, I feel that I have to cut down on the number of books.

Questions:
- Is FA embryo, biochem, and pharm (cold) enough?
- Should I just do questions for the last 3 weeks?

Thanks in advance for whatever advice you may offer.

 

[NDESTRUKT]

dumb question, yes i know - but does the survey at the end matter for anything? i clicked answers without looking because i was running out of time and had to get going somewhere after the test.

 

[Reborn24]

Hope im ready. Took the practice test at prometric and it just didn't seem to be the same difficulty as qbank, it seemed easier. Did anyone else have the same experience? Any last minute pointers from previous takers would be appreciated.

later.

How do you buy qbank. Is it only available online

 

[OmahaMX80]

So I took Step 1 today. I think I failed... I guess that's how most people feel? (Please say yes.) It felt so random. I feel like I worked hard, studied hard. Here's what I did:

BRS Path
BRS Phys (except GI Chapter)
Biochem Slides (from coursework)
Step Up
First Aid (read cover-to-cover twice, once right before Step 1)
Rapid Review Path + Audio (all 37-odd hours)
Med Micro Made Simple
Qbank (finished yesterday)

And I left the test today feeling utterly destroyed. I did decent on the basic science shelf and the online CBSSA as well as the Path shelf. I felt prepared... until I took it.

Not sure if it'll help anyone... but there was a lot of anatomy, neuro, and acid-base/renal on mine. And a lot of really really obscure stuff I'm not even sure how to classify.

Anyway, good luck to those yet to take it. I think everyone's step 1 is different so don't base your study plans off my experiences.

 

[JayZee]

Omaha, as my board review professor likes to say, YOU'RE GOING TO FEEL LIKE YOU FAILED...if you don't feel that way, THEN you need to worry!

I'm sure you did fine! Congrats on slaying that mighty beast...I must face my fears on 2 occasions, 9th and 12th...wish me luck!

 

[OmahaMX80]

Omaha, as my board review professor likes to say, YOU'RE GOING TO FEEL LIKE YOU FAILED...if you don't feel that way, THEN you need to worry!

I'm sure you did fine! Congrats on slaying that mighty beast...I must face my fears on 2 occasions, 9th and 12th...wish me luck!

Thanks JayZee. 🙂 Good luck to you!!

 

[NYC-girl]

did anyone start looking up answers when they got home and start realizing that they made a lot of dumb mistakes? I felt pretty ok about everything until I started looking through my books. 😱
I am about to have a nervous break down! I am counting the hours until my scores come!

 

[AmoryBlaine]

did anyone start looking up answers when they got home and start realizing that they made a lot of dumb mistakes? I felt pretty ok about everything until I started looking through my books. 😱
I am about to have a nervous break down! I am counting the hours until my scores come!

For whatever this is worth, I jotted down all the stuff I was confused on on the last NBME I took. Looked it up later and found out I got it all wrong, many questions. Score >240.

 

[brwneyes]

Hi..Can someone please explain the COMLEX format to me? I know the USMLE has 7 sets of 50 questions, is the complex the same? Also if you have taken both exams could you please reflect on your experience on how both compare or contrast.. I'd really really appreciate the help....thanks in advance 😛

 

[Paws]

Omaha, as my board review professor likes to say, YOU'RE GOING TO FEEL LIKE YOU FAILED...if you don't feel that way, THEN you need to worry!

Why is that??? I just took a full-length Kaplan practice exam and I had only been studying for like, three days after classes got out and I got a way high score! Every second I was taking it I was sure that I was just guessing and actually flunking bigtime. I don't understand that. 😕

I hope I can remember that when I take the real thing. "Pretend it's just a practice exam," I'll tell myself I guess.... 😳

 

[NYC-girl]

Hurry up and go take the exam!!

 

[quideam]

Took the exam on Saturday!!!!! Finally 🙂.

I'll post more later, but for now i'll just say that honestly, it REALLY wasn't that bad. The questions were definetely more similar to the NBME than the QBank questions, and there *was* a bunch of random stuff, but it felt pretty doable. First Aid was definetely key, as well as doing lots and lots of practice questions.

Good luck everyone!

 

[JayZee]

thanks for the post quideam. T-4 days for me. ::spazz::

 

[Iron123]

when reviewing questions did you go over the ones you got right AND wrong or just the wrong ones? if i go over only the wrong ones, i'll be able to go through many more questions overall. but then i don't get the value of reading all the explanations. what do you think in retrospect would be more beneficial?

congrats to those who finished and good luck to those like me who are sweatin!

 

[DrGoljan]

I'm finally on MySpace everbody! Come add me.

http://www.myspace.com/drgoljan

Your pal,
Ed

 

[JayZee]

hi there Dr. Goljan... 😉

 

[quideam]

Lol... I *seriously* doubt that's Dr. Goljan. Anyway...

As far as questions, yes, I tried to go over as many answers as possible. I know that's very time consuming, so towards the end I definetely stuck to only going over those questions that I didn't *understand*; if it was just some fact that I got wrong, I wrote it down and tried to remember it, but that's about it. If I got a question right, I generally didn't go over it, unless I only got it right because I guessed, in which case of course I reviewed it.

Don't worry, it'll be over soon!!

Good luck everyone 🙂

 

[Arsenic]

I'm finally on MySpace everbody! Come add me.

http://www.myspace.com/drgoljan

Your pal,
Ed

Just so you guys know, "DrGoljan" was banned because it was an AECOM student just messing with you.

 

[NYC-girl]

JayZee

 

[JayZee]

JayZee

Thanks NYC-girl! 🙂

 

[JayZee]

Just so you guys know, "DrGoljan" was banned because it was an AECOM student just messing with you.

I had tiny feeling that that was gonna happen! 😉

 

[OmahaMX80]

I really congratulate those that feel like it [Step 1] wasn't a big deal. I studied pretty hard and using all the indicators at my disposal, I "should" have been pretty prepared. Still, I felt like the test was extremely random and I can't honestly say that anything I studied really seemed to be of benefit; not Qbank, Goljan, FA, or BRS. Maybe I just got thrown a lot of really odd ball questions but that's my honest opinion.

 

[TIMMY]

I really congratulate those that feel like it [Step 1] wasn't a big deal. I studied pretty hard and using all the indicators at my disposal, I "should" have been pretty prepared. Still, I felt like the test was extremely random and I can't honestly say that anything I studied really seemed to be of benefit; not Qbank, Goljan, FA, or BRS. Maybe I just got thrown a lot of really odd ball questions but that's my honest opinion.

The test wasnt as random for me but I did have that 'one' block where I kept saying may be I have the wrong exam. Honestly, most of the questions (Path,Physio,Biochem,pharm,Micro), were doable....doesnt mean I nailed them all but they asked about familiar material Qbank..Nbme...FA. Then there were those ~6Qs that they just pullled out of their #$&#*(Show Off!!) and of course I was absolutely clueless.

I took block 1 and it was all Pathophy.... 😀 ...I thought yes....we'll just sail through and hit up Block 2 with the same Intensity 😱 BLOCK 2: THE MOLECULAR BIO. ONSLAUGHT!!!!(HY CMB WAS GOLD FOR THIS). My only advice to folks who havent taken it.....do a lot more practice Qs from different sourcesnot just Q bank...if U have the time. Do not live and die by Q bank.

My eyes keep looking up at the left corner for a ticker.....Prob some kinda Post-Traumatic issue... also means I need to call it a day. One heck of a relief this is over with.....

3RD YEAR!!!

 

[mattorama]

I took mine yesterday and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I took all 4 of the NBME tests and thought the real thing was VERY similiar in question difficulty and distribution. All I did the week before the test was Qbank (~1300 questions...had a 76% total for whatever that is worth). I found them exceedingly helpful. I will put off posting too much until I get my actual score back in @#$% MID JULY, but I honestly wish I had of taken the thing the week after finals and given myself a few more weeks of break before 3rd year starts.

 

[Brickhouse]

you guys are scaring the *%$& out of me.

 

[LaurieB]

Ok, I haven't read any of the posts in this thread, but I thought I'd share some tidbits that I shared with some friends from my experience at the Clark St. center in Chicago. (I took my test yesterday.)

-The test is exactly like the practice version available at the NBME website (http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/2006/2006menu.htm) - you have to download and install the program. If you look over it ahead of time, you can skip through the tutorial and that will add to your break time.

-If you finish a section early, that gets added to your break time and then you get a screen that lets you decide if you want to take a break or continue. If your time runs out, you go directly to the next block so be sure to end the block at least a few seconds beforehand if you want to take a break.

-My test center was cool, but not super cold. I wore a t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie. You have to wear whatever you take in (you can't hang it over the back of your chair) so zip-ups are nice in case it warms up at all. That said, I was never uncomfortable.

-At the Clark St. center there is a diner with a carryout place on the first floor of the building. I got a sandwich there and ate it outside. Other folks brought lunch and ate it at the center in their main lounge, but I saw a guy looking at FA over lunch and instantly decided I wanted to get far away from him. There is also a Wendy's and a Subway nearby. The line at Subway was insane at 12:30 though.

-You can look through the bulletin of info for more details on test procedures (http://www.usmle.org/bulletin/2006/TOC.htm). It's nice to do ahead of time so that you know what you are in for.

-They will give you tissues before you go in if you ask for them, but you can't have anything else with you other than the key for your locker and your ID.

-They have beautiful orange shooting range headphones to block out the noise. I didn't like them, but most folks used them. The noise levels didn't bother me, except for a fire truck that went by, but that was only for 30 seconds.

-Finally, I left feeling really psyched to be done, but then an hour later I felt like I failed. By three hours, I started to convince myself that I probably didn't fail. Today, I'm trying to figure out what to do with all the extra time in my life and I'm working on regaining some lost social skills. 🙂

-Good luck to everyone!!!

 

[JayZee]

Congrats LaurieB, and thank you for posting your experience!

 

[Brickhouse]

Ok, I haven't read any of the posts in this thread, but I thought I'd share some tidbits that I shared with some friends from my experience at the Clark St. center in Chicago. (I took my test yesterday.)

Thank you, that was very helpful. Congratulations, I'm sure you did great!

 

[DebDynamite]

Took the exam on Saturday!!!!! Finally 🙂.

I'll post more later, but for now i'll just say that honestly, it REALLY wasn't that bad. The questions were definetely more similar to the NBME than the QBank questions, and there *was* a bunch of random stuff, but it felt pretty doable. First Aid was definetely key, as well as doing lots and lots of practice questions.

Good luck everyone!

Hey everyone,
Well, I took it yesterday and I must say that I agree. No matter how I score, the only regret I have about the entire process was that I flippin' worried so much about it. It wasn't as bad as the anticipation of actually taking the test. The questions are simpler than QBank in that they seem to be written better. They may be just as "third order"- but less circuitously (sp?) so. As for the bunk about the USMLE being "about 60%" clinical vignettes- my test was more like 90%. It was like taking one long SHELF exam really. I had one question that was almost verbatim QBank- and repeatedly encountered themes that QBank drove through, but still think that the NBBME questions were "easier"- in that they were more clearly written.

I studied for about 3.5 weeks, pretty hardcore, and felt it was the perfect amount of time for me.

I ended up doing mainly FA (about twice through), about 1000 QBank q's (any more than that I felt was overkill, and still think so). I also listened to Dr. Barone via Kaplan's WebPrep- which I enjoyed more than Goljan. I liked his voice compared to Goljan's (although my study partner disagreed- she would listen to Goljan Path and and I would listen to Barone- and we would compare the two every day as we went over FA together- in the end I feel the fact that I pirated Dr. Barone's path reviews from Kaplan made it all worth it for me- I will use it again in the future no doubt, and happily so as I am still peeved at Kaplan for server updates at the MOST inconvenient of times....). I think really studying hard for 3-4 weeks is key- now I can go PLAY for 4 weeks-yes!

Good luck everyone!