confused about Kaplan....help!

[chitown82]

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hey,

so ive a few posts on here indicating its a good idea to get the kaplan notes to study along with classes during M2 year. i went to the kaplan site and i'm confused as to what people are referring to. is it the home study program? webprep? what do most students who get kaplan use? and what is most useful from the kaplan material for step 1.

thanks!

 

[Trader56]

Usually the "Kaplan Notes" refers to the seven-volume set of lecture notes that accompany the lectures (video, WebPrep, etc).

These can be found on Ebay, though EBay yanks the auctions off every Monday because these notes are supposedly not to be sold because Kaplan just gives you the right ot "use" them when taking their courses. They don't change a lot from year to year, so the version from, say 2002, will be just as good as the most recent (I've looked at 2002, 2004, and the newest extensively).

Start watching EBay on Friday evenings, and contact the sellers directly, so that when their auctions get pulled you can still deal with them.

Expect to pay $300+ or so, esecially now when everyone is starting to scramble for board prep stuff.

 

[chitown82]

so is the seven-volume set significantly more helpful than the kaplan home study package. normally, what course would you have to sign up for to get the seven-volume set. lastly, you mentioned this set comes with the lecture (video, webprep) - are they on CD/DVD? i was under the impression that these lectures notes are for live lectures.... 😕

Usually the "Kaplan Notes" refers to the seven-volume set of lecture notes that accompany the lectures (video, WebPrep, etc).

These can be found on Ebay, though EBay yanks the auctions off every Monday because these notes are supposedly not to be sold because Kaplan just gives you the right ot "use" them when taking their courses. They don't change a lot from year to year, so the version from, say 2002, will be just as good as the most recent (I've looked at 2002, 2004, and the newest extensively).

Start watching EBay on Friday evenings, and contact the sellers directly, so that when their auctions get pulled you can still deal with them.

Expect to pay $300+ or so, esecially now when everyone is starting to scramble for board prep stuff.

 

[Trader56]

I can't say how these Lecture Notes compare to the Home Study course as I haven't seen the Home Study.

The 7-volume Lecture notes accompany the various courses Kaplan sells. Some of them are live, some are site visits to a Kapaln Center where you watch vidoe lectures - it depends on what you sign up for with Kaplan, and I don't know the specifics of all their programs.

Now, occasionally some enterprising pirate has the Kaplan lecture videos on DVD offered for sale on Ebay, so theoretically, one could get the notes AND the DVD's, and have it all...theoretically, of course.

 

[closertofine]

I'm a little confused...did they change things around significantly the past few years? I just bought a used set of Kaplan notes from 2001...and there were only 3 volumes (and I think it was a complete set). But I'm not sure if these are the same notes you're referring to?

 

[Trader56]

Hmmm...I'm not sure.

The only notes I know a lot about are the 7-volume set that comes with their (rather expensive) courses.
The books are Anatomy, Behav. Sci., Biochem, Micro/Immuno, Path, Pharm, and Physio. Each is a separate book, with review questions at the end of most chapters. The package usually comes with a QBook for that year, and a simulated full-length exam on a disc.

At the front of each book they comment on how they are meant to be used with the lectures and annotated, and that using just the books without the lectures is not an effective way to study (except it certainly can be).

There are a couple of sets for sale on Ebay right now - white covers with light blue illustrations on them. Just do an Advanced Search on Ebay and type in "kaplan usmle step 1," and you can see them.

Hope this helps...

 

[Amy B]

I have the 7 set web prep books from Kaplan and i love them. I use them to add to my studying for exams as well as the boards. I wish I had gotten them in my MSI year. I bought them from a friend so all i have is teh books and not teh whole webprep course with the audios from thier web site. But I am happy with them and if you can find a set I would reccomend them.

 

[chitown82]

hey there,

what does the 7 volume set come with besides the books? like what does the course include? webprep audio? DVDs? since the books are lecture notes, do you need the actual lectures to follow along?

 

[Trader56]

If you get them on Ebay, it depends upon what the individual seller is offering. They usually do not come with anything except the QBook for that year, and possibly the full-length simulated Step 1 exam on disc.

You CAN use them as a stand-alone study tool. The lectures follow the notes VERY closely, so I guess it just depends upon whether it helps you to hear it as well as reading it. AND whether you have the extra time to listen to 147+ hours of lecture.