Kaplan Qbank or Usmlerx Qmax for second year?

[The Madden Bus]

I was just wondering what people's opinions/thoughts are (particularly those of you who have taken Step I already) on which question bank is best to use during second year. I keep going back and forth between Kaplan qbank and USMLErx QMax for the start of second year before I decide which one to buy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[Black Surgeon]

I used kaplan for the shelfs during the year, and USMLE RX + U WORLD for step 1 studying. In my opinion, RX and WORLD are a tie for best and kaplan is second best for step 1 but great for the NBME shelfs.

I ended up with a 231/99, and I believe a great percentage of my performance was due to USMLE RX, IMHO, it doesnt get as much praise as it deserves around these parts.

 

[Syncity]

I used kaplan for the shelfs during the year, and USMLE RX + U WORLD for step 1 studying. In my opinion, RX and WORLD are a tie for best and kaplan is second best for step 1 but great for the NBME shelfs.

I ended up with a 231/99, and I believe a great percentage of my performance was due to USMLE RX, IMHO, it doesnt get as much praise as it deserves around these parts.

I'm also a fan of USMLERx.

I would take the following approach. I would purchase Kaplan QBank for the year (which is what I did), complete that, then cover both Rx and World during your dedicated study time (which is what I did). UWorld adds a lot of info that is not in FA and is great at making you think about the questions. The major benefit of Rx is that it really solidifies FA in your mind.

Alternatively, you could cover Rx throughout the year in conjunction with FA. However, I think above approach is better.

 

[neuromaniac]

Since your question asked about usmlerx and kaplan, I'd go with usmlerx. U-World, however, is the gold standard.