Qbank/Practice Questions??

[Ologist]

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Hi,
I'm preparing for Step I and have just started doing Qbank questions...i've done 100 so far and noticed that that was already 5% of my total questions. At this rate i think i'm going to run out pretty early. Has anyone else had this problem? What other sources are good for practice questions? I've heard of NMS, blackwell. Also, when should i do the old USMLE released tests and how do i get those? Thanks for all the input.

 

[timtye78]

Kaplan Qbank questions are excellent, and btw there is nothing wrong with taking the quizzes where you set it to re-use and blend the questions. The practice is good, and you will begin to see your percent increasing. usually 50% or greater will imply passage of the exam.

Also another key tool in your arsenal (sp?) should be First Aid for USMLE Step 1. (Not as good for the other exams).

NMS question book was something that helped many people pass easily.

 

[TommyGunn04]

There are other important (some free) sources of questions, like the released items from the NBME, which you can download from NBME.org. I think it includes about 150 questions and it looks exactly like the interface used on the real exam. In fact, I've heard that some of these questions reportedly occur word-for-word on people's exams! Then there's also the Blackwell USMLE website with a free full-length test...I'm not sure how good the questions are though. And you can also purchase those exams from the NBME for $45 each, which get scored and are purported to help predict your score to some degree (although experience with their efficacy varies greatly depending on who you talk to).

 

[outgolfing26]

just another follow up....i had qbank....but, failed the boards. Now i have the questions on CD, does anyone think that I should subscribe to qbank again? the only options missing would be not being able to scramble the questions and not get the percentages but, I can get those by keeping track of the questions i get right.

 

[bigfrank]

For the vast majority of individuals, the $45 exams from the USMLE people are an excellent predictor. I had 2-3 exact repeats on my Step I.