Kaplan Lecture Notes without DVD's

[Diegokikn]

I'm an IMG, I plan to take the Step 1 around may 2009 (I have around 5 months to prepare for it) and I'm basing my study in the Kaplan Lecture Notes books 2007... As an IMG it's hard for me to access all these books you guys use to ACE the examn, like BRS, high-Yield, Goljan and so on.... So I was freaking out when all I read in these boards was about any kind of books but Kaplan's. I'm calming myself down since some ppl claim they used them and were good... (thanks god!)

I know my books are probably are out of date, but I think they are not too old... I plan to base my study and review on these, Actualized FA of course, and at least 3 QBANKS (maybe Kaplan's first, another, and UW the last, one for each of my last 3 months before the test date) so I get to know what is being tested on the Real Exam so I can put aside any Low Yield topics that might still be in these "old books".

In case I need a further review of any topic, I have downloaded some of the books you all mention in these threads, for cross-reference... (I'd appreciate if any of you had any of them in .pdf version or knew where I could find them)

What do u guys think about my plan with the resources I have?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

z

 

[Diegokikn]

Well, I don't have the DVD's, I just plan to read them all, to get exposure to the topics I might be asked, then move to some of the review books I got online for cross-reference or any further explanation on any topic, along with Q-banks every day.

I'm like an M4 according to USA system (In my country 5th year student), I have finished all clerkships, and it's been 2 years since I don't have any class involving basic science, that's why I took more time (5 months) to prepare, plus, I'm not really used to USMLE type questions, so that's another reason. Some might say it might be an advantage to have gone through clinical clerkships since questions are very clinical, but I also think it can be a disadvantage since as I said, it's been quite a long time with no exposure to "pure" basic sciences (even though I did very well in them, and I tried to combine them with my clinical study in clerkships).
Anyway... That's my background and my study plan... I'm open to any suggestions or advices from those who have already taken the test or with any experience with the books... thanks!