MS2 ('11), want to start now. NBME? UWorld? Qbank?

[sella turcica]

Ok, I have read a lot of stuff here. People say UW is better than Qbank, or to do qbank first and then UW... Then I see a few people saying to take the NBME exam (pardon me, which one?) before doing the question banks so I can get a baseline score.

Assuming I can/want to only pay for one question bank service, which should I pick? Currently my major courses are path/pharm/micro. Our school keeps us in class from 8am-4pm and does not integrate a lot of material very well. I study right now by reviewing the lectures, writing notes from them in the FA book, and using BRS to help me understand things that the lecturer could not explain well. However, I know this is not adequate. For Step 1 prep, I'm thinking I could spend an hour (max) per weeknight so I want a resource that can give me high-yield feedback and show me what my weaknesses are.

I am aiming for a 230+, not really a 250 or 260 (my MCAT was a 30 so let's be realistic here, haha). Any help is greatly appreciated.

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[Instatewaiter]

First things first- the absolute best way to get a good score on the USMLE is to do very well in your second year classes. There is a lot of ground work you MUST lay in order to be effective in your review month.

So to maximize what you do now, you need to familiarize yourself with the books you are going to be using. You dont need to do questions right now. The use of the review books should take up most of your extra time anyway.

1) Get Micro made ridiculously simple- read this during your micro course. Get familiar with it

2) I figure you are doing organ systems at your school so for each organ system:
a) read the pertinent BRS phys chapters before the organ system starts

b) as you are going through the organ system go through the corresponding chapters in either BRS path or RR path (i highly recommend RR path)

c) go through First Aid after you have finished each organ system and see the things FA is missing. Dont annote too much unless there is something that is glaringly missing. The boards really only hit the high points. A lot of the minutia you learn in class is not tested

d) if you have time and you want to do questions go buy Robbins review and do the questions for each organ system

 

[DF38]

All right, I'm going to ask a stupid question - what is UW?

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Kaplan notes + videos

 

[nowai]

All right, I'm going to ask a stupid question - what is UW?

Usmle World... it's a question bank.

 

[JeffLebowski]

Ok, I have read a lot of stuff here. People say UW is better than Qbank, or to do qbank first and then UW... Then I see a few people saying to take the NBME exam (pardon me, which one?) before doing the question banks so I can get a baseline score.

Assuming I can/want to only pay for one question bank service, which should I pick? Currently my major courses are path/pharm/micro. Our school keeps us in class from 8am-4pm and does not integrate a lot of material very well. I study right now by reviewing the lectures, writing notes from them in the FA book, and using BRS to help me understand things that the lecturer could not explain well. However, I know this is not adequate. For Step 1 prep, I'm thinking I could spend an hour (max) per weeknight so I want a resource that can give me high-yield feedback and show me what my weaknesses are.

I am aiming for a 230+, not really a 250 or 260 (my MCAT was a 30 so let's be realistic here, haha). Any help is greatly appreciated.

The short answer to your question is UW (USMLE World, which is a question bank of some ~2000 questions with explanations, performance tracking, and a USMLE-identical interface - to whoever asked).

I started out using Kaplan but switched pretty quickly and was very happy I did. Go with USMLE World. If I were to say 2 "must haves" that are pretty unanimously agreed upon - they're UW & FA. After that, everyone's got their favorites and for my money (and score) BRS Path & BRS Physio were awesome, with some other miscellaneous sources. If nothing else, do all the UW questions (& review answer explanations), get through FA several times, and do an NBME or two. Fill in the gaps as necessary with whatever resources you like best.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Do not waste Uworld by doing it during the year. Pick one of the other resources. Elsevier isnt a bad option for that. Save U world for your study month. You'll get more out of it then.

Seriously the best thing you can do now is to go through the review books along with your courses.

 

[DF38]

Usmle World... it's a question bank.

The short answer to your question is UW (USMLE World, which is a question bank of some ~2000 questions with explanations, performance tracking, and a USMLE-identical interface - to whoever asked).

Thanks guys. Clearly I haven't started worrying about my studying yet.

 

[Lamborghini1315]

Ok, I have read a lot of stuff here. People say UW is better than Qbank, or to do qbank first and then UW... Then I see a few people saying to take the NBME exam (pardon me, which one?) before doing the question banks so I can get a baseline score.

Assuming I can/want to only pay for one question bank service, which should I pick? Currently my major courses are path/pharm/micro. Our school keeps us in class from 8am-4pm and does not integrate a lot of material very well. I study right now by reviewing the lectures, writing notes from them in the FA book, and using BRS to help me understand things that the lecturer could not explain well. However, I know this is not adequate. For Step 1 prep, I'm thinking I could spend an hour (max) per weeknight so I want a resource that can give me high-yield feedback and show me what my weaknesses are.

I am aiming for a 230+, not really a 250 or 260 (my MCAT was a 30 so let's be realistic here, haha). Any help is greatly appreciated.

I am in the same boat as you and trust me if you can squeeze in one hour board time every day..you are doing great!! I been trying hard to manage school work and extra studying...i have realized that it can put a lot of pressure on you to satisfy your desire to consume vast amount of material. I am taking a step back now by cutting down on reading some material instead i am focusing on rapidly reviewing some topic i find in first aid and then correlate that back to class. I am going to increase my pace in a step wise fashion..by spring break i want to be done with most of my high yield material and then add in q-banks, low-yield stuff until my hardcore prep. During hardcore prep its a rerun, uworld, NBME's...good luck!

 

[MSKalltheway]

As others have said, the best thing you can do is do well during your 2nd year classes. If you want to get a jump on board studying, I would get the 2008 FA and any qbank thats NOT UW and use that. You can follow along with FA and the qbank questions in whatever class you are taking. Then get a new FA when it comes out to mark up if you dont mind spending the dough and UW during your review period at the end of MS-2.

In my opinion, do NOT use UW during classes, only during the month or two during hardcore review. Using UW before then is a waste, as you are apt to forget a chunk of info during the year. You will be better off doing some light review during the year as opposed to not touching it.

I began picking it up and spending a good amount of time on boards during the last ~2-3 weeks of classes. By this time, I knew my weakest subjects in terms of grades from MS-2 so I focused on those during this time. When classes ended, I did everything according to schedule, this was I saw my weaker subjects one additional time before classes ended. They became my strong subjects on the real thing (I got stars on all of those in the performance report).

PS Just shoot for the best score possible. An average MCAT does not mean you cant get a 250-260 on Step 1. I dont think that would be unrealistic at all...if you averaged a 72% your first two years maybe, but Step 1 is different from both. If you saw my MCAT/grades/Step 1 all together, you may wonder if I slacked before the USMLE, or if I cheated on it somehow

 

[sella turcica]

my school isn't doing systems, it's just topic by topic. Whatever, that's fine with me, I just wish there was a bit more integration. Thank you all for replying, I think I am on the right track - I tend to spend the weekends re-covering course material with the FA/BRS in hand, and yes it's already eating a lot of my time - but I wanted to know if I should push harder right now. Clearly not. Alles klar... und danke.

 

[docscience]

I am kinda freaking out....not really...cause I try to tell myself to chill out all the time...

I don't remember much from first year (physiology, biochem, neuro)....I didn't do so hot in my classes...
I am full immersed in Path and Micro/Immuno right now and doing a lot better. Should I start going through bits of 1st year material every night????

Does the USMLE cover material as in depth as they do in classes?? Obviously not right?

I would much rather kick ass on Step 1 than get honors in classes.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[UditNarayan]

the best way to attack the first part of 2nd year is to do very well in your classes. As you get closer to boards study time, you should start to incorporate more and more board study; in the beginning of my path/pharm course, i studied solely from the lecture notes, but as the class progressed i used less class notes and more goljan. there is no need to start freaking out too soon, else you'll psych yourself out and not be prepared for the heavy duty study period (the 5-6 weeks before your exam). no matter what you do, those few weeks are the most important. good luck! enjoy parts of 2nd yr that you can, it'll all be over before you know it...

 

[JeffLebowski]

I am kinda freaking out....not really...cause I try to tell myself to chill out all the time...

I don't remember much from first year (physiology, biochem, neuro)....I didn't do so hot in my classes...
I am full immersed in Path and Micro/Immuno right now and doing a lot better. Should I start going through bits of 1st year material every night????

Does the USMLE cover material as in depth as they do in classes?? Obviously not right?

I would much rather kick ass on Step 1 than get honors in classes.

Thanks for all the help.

Actually, the material comes back much faster than you think. I know it feels like you'll have to re-learn everything M1 year, but once you read through a chapter or two of BRS physio you'll feel different. It comes back fast.

 

[Lamborghini1315]

I am kinda freaking out....not really...cause I try to tell myself to chill out all the time...

I don't remember much from first year (physiology, biochem, neuro)....I didn't do so hot in my classes...
I am full immersed in Path and Micro/Immuno right now and doing a lot better. Should I start going through bits of 1st year material every night????

Does the USMLE cover material as in depth as they do in classes?? Obviously not right?

I would much rather kick ass on Step 1 than get honors in classes.

Thanks for all the help.

Don't freak out...most of the high yield material on boards really comes from your system courses. Just don't slack off in school..its not always about acing classes but rather you personally learning the material sufficiently and then testing yourself on topics. If you feel confident with all the new concepts you learn throughout the year...board prep shouldn't be as worrisome.