qbank vs. real step 1

[Reborn24]

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Is Qbank typically considered harder or easier than the real thing. Is getting half of the questions right on qbank reason to be scared at this point.

 

[toehammer]

by the end of the qbank i was getting around 80% timed random nonrepeated...i only ended up getting a 227......

the qbank questions are supposedly paraphrased real test questions, not all but most, which is why a lot of the questions are asking way too detailed questions. A lof the questions are just not representative of the real exam. If you have the time, do all of the questions, but if ur short of time dont chose qbank over doing goljian reading for example.

 

[neoucomsucks]

Just wondering what your overall qbank % was. You stated 80% in the end only?

 

[toehammer]

i think it was 74% after it was said and done.....listen, if u get 80% of step 1 correct its a hell of a lot better than 227.

 

[Captainwada]

I started w/ mid 70s and ended w/ 80s. Q bank sucsk!! nothing like STEP 1 Questions.
Q bank was too detail oriented and not concept oriented enough. STEP 1 is more comprehensive and integrated than Q bank!!! do usmle world...Screw Q bank!!
I ended up w a 233. I wouldve done better if I did USMLE world or USMLExer...stupid Q bank!

 

[Dragon2007]

I think Kaplan has too many unnecessary questions (Too detailed in Anatomy etc) and concentrate more on memorization. I did one block of NBME and the Kaplan qts are much different. UW is much closer to NBME. Some of my friends at Hopkins quit doing Kaplan and doing only UW.

 

[Arctic Char]

UW = USMLEworld . . .??

 

[felicia2001uk]

I saw a post by Lord JEEBUS,stated if Kaplan Q bank easy..then it is memorisation but if critical reasoning ,then difficult Q bank.
any comments ,anyone?

 

[beastmaster]

I saw a post by Lord JEEBUS,stated if Kaplan Q bank easy..then it is memorisation but if critical reasoning ,then difficult Q bank.
any comments ,anyone?

Comment: Nothing you post ever makes any sense.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

Comment: Nothing you post ever makes any sense.

do you also have a hard time understanding foreigners?

she was wondering if qbank tends to have easy 'memorize-n-recall' questions, and difficult 'critical reasoning' questions.

 

[lord_jeebus]

do you also have a hard time understanding foreigners?

she was wondering if qbank tends to have easy 'memorize-n-recall' questions, and difficult 'critical reasoning' questions.

I know what she's referring to, and that's not her question at all.

I basically said in another thread that QBank will be easier than the real thing if you're a strong memorizer, and harder than the real thing if you're strength is critical reasoning.

 

[surprisedgirl]

ah that makes me happy b/'c memorizing is NOT my thng....anatomy was definitely the worst of my classes

 

[VincentAdultman]

I ended up w a 233.

Yeah, Kaplan really f%#%ed you over...🙄

 

[lord_jeebus]

ah that makes me happy b/'c memorizing is NOT my thng....anatomy was definitely the worst of my classes

Don't get me wrong, you have to memorize a lot.

But the facts you need to know are not as esoteric as those found in the most difficult questions of QBank. When a question is difficult, it is usually difficult not because you need to know an ultra-obscure piece of information, but because the question is written so that it is hard to figure out what concept they are trying to test, or because they are testing you on a concept in a way you have never seen before.

 

[kito]

I know what she's referring to, and that's not her question at all.

I basically said in another thread that QBank will be easier than the real thing if you're a strong memorizer, and harder than the real thing if you're strength is critical reasoning.

You hit the nail on the head. Most of us are in the second camp, so for me Qbank was much harder than the real thing. I felt less stressed taking the real thing and the NBME practice exams than I did the QBank practice sets.

 

[caliMDkid]

I did not do all that great of Qbank (~65%), but did fine on USMLE(~240).

I was scared reading the forums that compared qbank to real scores. BUT, I agree with the above posts that Qbank questions are memorization. BUT I also believe that if you do like I did and really go through the answers/explainations, Qbank is gold. I was crunched on time and the bulk (95%) of my studying was only Qbank and BRS path. I did not even come close to reading through FA even once. Maybe I just got lucky, but I think Kaplan covered everything on my test well, except for random biochem questions, which were not in FA ever.

I felt the real thing was much "easier" than kaplan. The thing I found, as others indicate above, the USMLE questions were very conceptual, so I was able to figure things out, whereas in kaplan, I could never remember the name of a random bug/drug.

Good luck!