Kaplan notes worth it?

[Ophthoseidon]

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Just wondering if anyone has used the Kaplan Lecture notes and thinks it is worth the buy if you can find them relatively inexpensive (like <100). I was planning to possible review some first year material over M1 summer and thought this might be a good option if they are pretty chep. Thanks!

 

[charmiedermie]

You'd probably need to get the Kaplan videos too if u bought the lecture notes. I bought review books thru Amazon after flipping thru them in the bookstore and recommended by First Aid. I'd spend more money on Qbanks especially if you're aiming in the 260 range.

 

[deleted500612]

Kaplan notes are awesome, and you definitely do not need the videos to get great use out of the notes. I read through Kaplan physiology cover-to-cover during MS1 and I can't emphasize enough how much this helped me dominate phys. I've also used the Kaplan pharm, and micro/immunology review books as well, both really solid. They all have plenty of color pictures and diagrams to keep the pathways and processes interesting and easy to understand. They go into more detail than first aid while still keeping the discussions high yield. I would definitely recommend the series as a resource for pretty much every subject other than path (everyone knows nothing beats Pathoma).

 

[NickNaylor]

I'm sure there are ways to obtain these notes outside of buying them...

For step 2 I acquired some PDFs, printed them, and had them bound at a print shop.

 

[charmiedermie]

Kaplan notes are awesome, and you definitely do not need the videos to get great use out of the notes. I read through Kaplan physiology cover-to-cover during MS1 and I can't emphasize enough how much this helped me dominate phys. I've also used the Kaplan pharm, and micro/immunology review books as well, both really solid. They all have plenty of color pictures and diagrams to keep the pathways and processes interesting and easy to understand. They go into more detail than first aid while still keeping the discussions high yield. I would definitely recommend the series as a resource for pretty much every subject other than path (everyone knows nothing beats Pathoma).

I was reading inside one of them that I bought from a friend and it says, "These 7 volumes of Lecture Notes represent the most-likely-to-be-tested material on the current USMLE Step 1. Please note that these are Lecture Notes, not review books. The Notes were designed to be accompanied by faculty lectures- -live, on video, or on the web. Reading them without accessing the accompanying lectures is not an effective way to review for the USMLE."

So they don't seem to stand alone, especially the Physiology book that has so little text as it is.

 

[deleted500612]

I was reading inside one of them that I bought from a friend and it says, "These 7 volumes of Lecture Notes represent the most-likely-to-be-tested material on the current USMLE Step 1. Please note that these are Lecture Notes, not review books. The Notes were designed to be accompanied by faculty lectures- -live, on video, or on the web. Reading them without accessing the accompanying lectures is not an effective way to review for the USMLE.".

So they don't seem to stand alone, especially the Physiology book that has so little text as it is.

Yes I am aware of what it says and I am telling you it's not true. They say this because they know those texts are widely circulating on the web and they want to discourage people from using it without buying their lectures and/or review course. I have the lectures as well and only watched about 3 chapters worth because I didn't like them or find them that useful. A couple of the lecturers were pretty annoying and would ramble on. On top of that there isn't much they tell you that isn't already in the notes. The disclaimer about the notes being inadequate to study from without the lectures is patently false.

 

[acceptmeplease]

I'd venture to say that if you can "acquire" the notes, you can do the same for the videos.

 

[charmiedermie]

Yes I am aware of what it says and I am telling you it's not true. They say this because they know those texts are widely circulating on the web and they want to discourage people from using it without buying their lectures and/or review course. I have the lectures as well and only watched about 3 chapters worth because I didn't like them or find them that useful. A couple of the lecturers were pretty annoying and would ramble on. On top of that there isn't much they tell you that isn't already in the notes. The disclaimer about the notes being inadequate to study from without the lectures is patently false. .

I think it depends on the subject. For example, I thought Dr. Daugherty and Dr. Kudrath added a lot of information to the lecture notes and/or made it memorable when it came to Behavioral Science and Physiology, respectively.