usmle practice queastions

[neilc]

i am wondering what a good source for cheap (or free) practice questions for step 1. i have all the books i need and now i would just like to get as many questions as possible and just go nuts. any sources, web sites or whatever would be helpful.

thanks!
neil

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[blueey]

Neilc

Best source for step I is Kaplan Q Bank ( ~ 2000 Q), for a month about 99 $ I think, gets cheaper with extension, or go to Kaplan site and see they have some Q for free ( ~ 50 I think, not sure)

 

[shag75]

You can get practice questions at the kaplan website for free and also 50 questions for free at *******.com as well.

 

[Amy]

Try e-Bay too. You can find cheap question CD-ROMs, etc.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by shag75
*******.com

?????????????

 

[BellKicker]

I used Webpath a lot. That's free of charge. I think there are over 2000 Qs there.

 

[neilc]

thanks for all the good info! if there are any more ideas, throw them out there...i know that a lot of us are finding this useful, as it seems to be pretty important to practice with as many questions as humanly possible..

by the way, how do i get to webpath?

 

[southerndoc]

Doing the USMLE practice questions off their CD is an absolute must. There are 150 questions. The CD is free. Just pick one up from your student affairs office or get it from the NBME by emailing them.

As far as online question banks being free, just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. If money is an issue, then talk with your financial aid office about giving you extra loan money to afford to purchase study aids for the USMLE.

 

[BellKicker]

Geek Medic (I'm on your back today )

I know you mean it well but keep in mind that for the most part, we have never even heard of the USMLE over here. There is no help at our schools; no advisors to ask.

How much help would you get at your school if you were studying for a Scandinavian license or something? Actually, you'd probably get more help than I got at my school.

One advisor refused to believe there was anything called the USMLE. He insisted there was a test you could take in England that would allow you to practice both there and in the US.

Anyway,

Webpath can be found at:

http://www-medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html

Neil, this is how I used Webpath. I made charts with all my percentage scores on them. Like I would do G-I and score 70% and then a week later (hopefully) score more than that. I probably did every question on there 5 times or more. I fully believe in doing questions questions and then some more questions.

I did medrevu - every question 3 times. qBank every question twice. All my review books, every question at least 2 or 3 times. Probably adds up to 40,000 questions or something.

I didn't study all that much. 2 months was what I had and I hadn't taken pathology yet (still haven't). I just focused on the questions. My gross anatomy book (BRS)....... I only did the 500-some question maybe 5 times.

OK, that sounds pretty anal but I just can't read the same stuff over and over again. Nothing sticks when I do that. It's like I recognize it but it it doesn't stick. At least questions generate some kind of activity.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[LoneSEAL]

Bellkicker,

Now I'm very curious based on your preparation, what did you get on the step I exam? You seem like a dedicated student. Any other advice on books that you used...like what was useful and what wasn't?

 

[neilc]

sounds great bell kicker! yeah, how well did you do? i am curious.

i think that most of us over here have a similar study method for the usmle. unfortunately, none of our professors care about or even understand the format of the usmle. (this brings up another point: there are some schools over here in europe that are converting to a 4 year model based on the us for international students to attract the dollars that americans bring...but none of the profs have studied for the usmle, and the school is designed for a very different course of study. be carefule withs those types of programs!) we get excellent instruction, but we must prepare for oral exams that last about an hour and can be on anything covered in the course. i find that studying for those exams uses different regions of my cortex then studying for multiple choice usmle style questions.

so, my goal is something similar to your method. practice as close to the real thing as i can get....

thanks!

 

[BellKicker]

Neilc, I imagine that just about now you're oh so sick of hearing:

"oh, it's only multiple choice?"


AAAAAArh, I've spent all summer telling people that MCQs can be made so damn hard that everyone fails. And still it's like

"wooo, but you can always figure out the answer".


Lone Seal,

I got a 99/249. I'm really happy about that score and I do believe there was a bit of luck involved. I was weak in basically all your weak subjects (and from the sound of it, not nearly as strong as you in anything else). I got no embryo and easy gross. Quite a bit neuroanat but again quite easy.

My behavioral science qs were a bitch. I don't think you could have studied for them. Maybe 10 questions that were all along the line of "what would you say to this patient.....?" I always boiled it down to 2 or 3 choices but I was never sure.

Geek Medic,

remember I posted those questions (rewritten, of course) and you scolded me. I was so damn nervous about getting in trouble with the USMLE law, seriously. Erased the post as soon as I read your comment.

neilc, do you have the NMBE retired qs? If not, see if you can get them. I think they were quite high yield.

Later.

 

[southerndoc]

Originally posted by BellKicker
Geek Medic,

remember I posted those questions (rewritten, of course) and you scolded me. I was so damn nervous about getting in trouble with the USMLE law, seriously. Erased the post as soon as I read your comment.

Bell, there was good reason to erase your questions. The USMLE could take legal action if they found someone posting questions on message boards.

Whoever makes the GRE recently suspended its computer subject test because it found a website was posting questions and answers.

 

[neilc]

i have heard the NBME questions are the bomb...where do i get them?

by the way bell kicker, congrats on the scores...sounds like you are a usmle a** kicker as well!