Step1 question books

[theodore]

Ok, this will be a quite long question.
I m taking Step1 on December 5th. I ve been through pathology, micro, pharmacology and physiology once and i m gonna start reviewing now, while throwing some time for the rest of the subjects.From the comprehensive question books, i have the nms review for step1, the appleton/lange review for step 1 and the 3 board simulator series.I d like to know which ones would benefit me the most, because i can t see myself going through all of them( i have about 6 to 8 hours of classes every day). Also, do u hink it would be worth it to give extra time for subject oriented question books(eg pre test pathophysiology,appleton lange micro) or should i go directly for the big ones?
And one extra question for my girlfriend. Would u suggest buying the kaplan book series over the highly rated books in 1st aid for step1? I can give her an opinion over the latter, but not about the latter.
Thanks everyone in advance.

When the last forest is destroyed, and the last river is dried out, and the last fish is killed, we ll understand that we can t eat money.[/QUOTE]

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[theodore]

...Of course i meant i can give an opinion about the latter, but not about the former

 

[Ludy]

I've heard that the NMS questions are most representative, of the books you mentioned. I had both BSS and NMS, but I only got around to doing one test from the NMS book (I finished all 5 BSS books). I felt like NMS was quite a bit easier than BSS, but comparable to QBank and the real thing. BSS was more difficult, but I thought I learned more from doing the questions because the explanations are more detailed (and because I got so many wrong ). My advice would be to do QBank over either of the other 2 books. I thought having practice with the computer format and just sitting at a computer for several hours a day was invaluable. Plus, the level of difficulty of the questions in QBank is very similar to the real thing. If you don't want to shell out the $99, I'd probably go with NMS at this point. It took me 5 months to finish the 5 BSS books because I was doing them along with classes, like you will be. NMS is closer to the real deal anyway.
I didn't use Kaplan, so I can't help you there

 

[theodore]

Ok, thanks Ludy.Can anyone around compare the Kaplan series with the 1st aid recommended review books? Thanks in advance(always).

When the last forest is destroyed, and the last river is dried out, and the last fish is killed, then we ll understand that we can t eat money.(How can i install this to all my messages, so that i don t have to write it over and over)?

 

[Stockholm]

Hi Theodore,

A bit late perhaps but I'm new at this site. I took Step 1 in September and used NMS, Appleton and Lange, and PreTest as question banks. I agree with Lucy; the NMS questions were somewhat like the actual test but are generally easier than the test itself. I felt the closest thing were the questions that follow on the Step 1 CD rom they sent out following registration. PreTest were second closest - and I used it a lot.

Good luck on your exam!

 

[rajal]

what subjects(pretests) did u use and found it helpful.

what do u recomend for molecularbiology

 

[Stockholm]

I used two of the PreTest books: the one that has questions from all fields and PreTest Micro. I liked the combination book better, but that's probably because I got PreTest Micro close to my exam date and just skimmed through it quickly.

I'm trying to think what I used for molecular biology - I had Lippincot's Biochemistry and read that cover to cover. That covers some molecular bio. I also worked through Appleton and Lange which contains many biochemistry questions.

Good luck on your exam!

 

[theodore]

I've done the pretest pathology, which i found quite good, although the explanations were quite lengthy, but was good for reviewing some theory. Pretest pathopphys. wasn't bad either, although not as good. Stockholm, the collective book has questions taken from the rest of the series. I realized that long after i bought it. Damn! By the way, how did u do in step 1 ?

 

[bb25]

I have used Q bank for the USMLE step 1 and found them excellent and besides they also help you practice questions on the computer. I also used all the Board Simulator series books and found that reading the answers while studying the subjects concurrently very helpful.
Practice tons of Questions!! I am selling the BSS series books if you are interested all 5 books.