Kaplan USMLE Step 3 LivePrep

[RunwayModel]

Anyone done the Kaplan USMLE Step 3 LivePrep program and think it was worth it? Did the course add anything not in the videos? I was thinking about dishing out money for it but $1800 seems like a lot, unless the course is VERY good. I would like to do very well on Step 3, not just pass it.

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[andwhat]

Anyone done the Kaplan USMLE Step 3 LivePrep program and think it was worth it? Did the course add anything not in the videos? I was thinking about dishing out money for it but $1800 seems like a lot, unless the course is VERY good. I would like to do very well on Step 3, not just pass it.

do not even imagine wasting your time or money... it is worthless in my opinion, many have failed taking this superficial course... better to read on your own good luck. You can do very well on your own, taking this course can actually lower your score.

 

[RunwayModel]

Can you elaborate on why you thought the course was bad? Is it because Kaplan puts more money and effort into their Live Prep Step 1/Step 2 courses? Thanks for the heads up.

 

[andwhat]

Can you elaborate on why you thought the course was bad? Is it because Kaplan puts more money and effort into their Live Prep Step 1/Step 2 courses? Thanks for the heads up.

runway model, nice name!..... I like it...
the course was awful mainly because it was full of erroneous superflous junk that anybody knows, coming from step I and step II. Thats not nearly enough info to pass step 3 trust me.. It was worthless and awful, the lecturers would say things that would confuse you, like dont order a RF on a patient on whom you suspect Rheumatoid Arthritis, wtf???? And the teachers for the most part are arrogant and waste alot of time, for instance, it was like a rampant zoo when the Psych teacher came, people would talk openly and freely during the course -= NOBODY WOULD STOP THEM, so disrespectful, and then other teachers would blatantly tell people not to answer and interrupt them without raising their hands and then they are allowed to speak, I was just completely disgusted by the kaplan course... it was a serious waste of time and money.. but hey if you are rich go for it... I used totally other sources luckily I was smart enough to pass and do very well step 3 without touching kaplan, I used USMLE World and USMLESteps123.com for practicing the cases. Their step I and step II courses werent that great either (Kaplan) I managed to learn more and gain more information from other sources, like NMS and Board Simulator Series (Step I) and USMLE World for step II. Kaplan is way too superficial, and grossly inadequate overall on step 3, they dont give you nearly enough info for step 3. They were great in Biochem and Physio for step I, so so on the rest. Esp Pharm, they were very weak as far as USMLE went, Board Simulator Series was much better for all subjects. Also hearing that Exammaster isnt bad for step III??? They were recommended against for step I and step II, not so for step III seems like.
good luck.

 

[NuMD97]

OK, I'm a tad confused. You provide a lot of information about Kaplan for Step 3, which seems to indicate that you took the course. If you did not take the course, is this information coming from folks you know? Or you basing it on your previous experience with Kaplan for Steps 1 and 2?

In another related vein, didn't you post elsewhere on this bulletin board that the Premier Course for Step 3 is better? Did you take it?

Could you clarify?

 

[andwhat]

OK, I'm a tad confused. You provide a lot of information about Kaplan for Step 3, which seems to indicate that you took the course. If you did not take the course, is this information coming from folks you know? Or you basing it on your previous experience with Kaplan for Steps 1 and 2?

In another related vein, didn't you post elsewhere on this bulletin board that the Premier Course for Step 3 is better? Did you take it?

Could you clarify?

well, you should be good with your step 2 ck knowledge, and even a bit refreshed with step 1 material if you are thinking of Premier Review. I mean Premier review goes by extremely fast, its a boot camp for step 3. No I used audios and dvds from the Kaplan course from a friend, didnt bother attending the course because I didnt hear great things about it.... dont have them (audios and DVDs) anymore, got them from a friend of mine. Directly from the live lecture course, which was worthless and completely. Premier is good, if you are fresh and good with step 2 ck material, there are some holes, but Medicine is right on target and excellent -- I did attend this live lecture course from Premier Review. The waste of money that I was referring to was the dvds off of ebay, and audios from the live lecture course -- the audios I got for free, dvds off of Ebay for clarification once again, as I see that people are a bit nervous here understandably with people hovering around trying to make a profit off of anyone desperate. I think that kaplan notes and audios or dvds you can get from Ebay, for step 2 ck plus premier review is a great combination. I am an IMG, I dunno, I like to help and give advice, but I read somewhere in the match forum some girl saying "imagine if the scramble postmatch list got out, and FMGs got one of the spots that we could have obtained" needless to say, that was not a cool statement, and a bit disgusting -- but its all good.... everyone is entitled to an opinion.. as I can see that there are mostly US grads here..I am here to help, as always. wish you all the best. I am not here to mislead anyone, I have seen some posters trying to profit off of desperate individuals. I have been there, on the other side that is, so I am giving only sincere and genuine advice... take my advice... or dont take it bottom line.

 

[NuMD97]

I read somewhere in the match forum some girl saying "imagine if the scramble postmatch list got out, and FMGs got one of the spots that we could have obtained"

I remember that comment. In prior years, some good Samaritans have posted the Match lists here. In the end, it's hard to get through the phone lines anyway, so it's just a matter of luck.

Someone I know took Premier, and said pretty much what you said: The Medicine is strong, but the rest is somewhat weak, which is why, I presume, some folks recommend Kaplan. [Once again, I'm not selling any product.]

The way you posted your comments, about the instructors' arrogance, made me think that you were there. I remember them from Step 2, and, yes, they are arrogant, but if the information is sound, no matter, you don't need to go out for beers with them.

But you do make a good point: Any advice given on the web has to be taken with a grain of salt, and looked into by checking the original sources. People mean well, for the most part, but you have no idea who they are or what backgrounds they have in terms of their own education, so caveat emptor is a good rule to go by in here.

Thanks for taking the time to clarify.

And good luck to you as well,

Nu

 

[andwhat]

I remember that comment. In prior years, some good Samaritans have posted the Match lists here. In the end, it's hard to get through the phone lines anyway, so it's just a matter of luck.

Someone I know took Premier, and said pretty much what you said: The Medicine is strong, but the rest is somewhat weak, which is why, I presume, some folks recommend Kaplan. [Once again, I'm not selling any product.]

The way you posted your comments, about the instructors' arrogance, made me think that you were there. I remember them from Step 2, and, yes, they are arrogant, but if the information is sound, no matter, you don't need to go out for beers with them.

But you do make a good point: Any advice given on the web has to be taken with a grain of salt, and looked into by checking the original sources. People mean well, for the most part, but you have no idea who they are or what backgrounds they have in terms of their own education, so caveat emptor is a good rule to go by in here.

Thanks for taking the time to clarify.

And good luck to you as well,

Nu

hey... no I meant to say that they (Premier Review lecturers) were Luke Skywalker on target with Internal Medicine topics covered on USMLE Step 3, and Hans Solo / Chewbaka on everything else. So Star Wars analogy simplified, they were strong in everything, but strongest in Medicine. I do not think that the rest is somewhat weak at all. Maybe Psych, surprisingly this is their specialty, but they only teach like ten or so pages for it, but they do give endless amount of Medicine topics which are covered great in my opinion. With the exception of Gastroenterology, which for some odd reason is almost always a difficult topic somewhat to learn and to teach.
""I remember them from Step 2, and, yes, they are arrogant, but if the information is sound, no matter, you don't need to go out for beers with them.""
I personally did not find them sound on topics for USMLE Step 2 CK, and terrible for step 3. I learned far more from MKSAP for students, and USMLE World mcqs for USMLE Step 2 ck -- even their Qbank was horrendous and the software broke down alot and wouldnt work from certain libraries -- their maintenance was even horrendous, the people on the phone were rude as hell and made me wait on hold all of the time until I was fed up and hung up -- great service there Kraplan. Kaplan notes were very superficial and disorganized, and the live lectures werent of tremendous benefit ESPECIALLY for that monstrous price tag. If they are arrogant and they suck, then that is a double negative. Not good, not good at all. I wouldnt say that they completely sucked, but not nearly enough pathology / pathophysiology correlations, which is actually tested somewhat deeper into Step 2 ck than majority of people think, believe it or not. Step 2 ck I would say that it seemed as if they were more genuinely interested in teaching than for step 3 though I will venture to give them a little bit of credit. But step 3 course was awful, and truly. Barely any points mentioned or written in their notes were relevant to the USMLE Step 3 examination, and the famous one of them all, no names mentioned here, was doing FAR more dancing and acting and truly annoying students there to learn, than even his usual self.
Premier Review course covered those holes quite well. And ccs is all up to you, practicing the heck out of those cases ad nauseum is the best way to go. Remember its 25% of the test. So dont screw it up. Very easy to neglect that part, but very unwise also.
Best of luck to all.

 

[NuMD97]

Remember its 25% of the test.

From what I have read, it's 25% timewise, but actually counts 20%. Substantial, certainly, but not valued as a quarter of the test.

 

[andwhat]

From what I have read, it's 25% timewise, but actually counts 20%. Substantial, certainly, but not valued as a quarter of the test.

could be..... but remember and keep in mind, in the future it will be worth 50-even 75% of the test, as mentioned from sources, like Strong Medicine -- may not be great to read and get useful medical info, but the intro is good, where they talk about the test in general -- , and also heard the same from other sources... plan is to increase the weight on this aspect of the test.