usmle website practice materials..Should I do them?

[abelabbot]

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On the Usmle website, we see the following two links:

Step 1 Sample Items (PDF) – updated April 2014

Tutorial and Practice Test Items for Multiple-Choice Questions – updated April 2014* download 25 Mb


Which one is the free 150 questions? The first link has only 138. I am unable to open the second link on my mac. Any advice please? Are these questions even worth it?

 

[Lavan]

They are both the "Free 150," there just aren't exactly 150 questions anymore. The first link is the pdf. The second link includes the FRED software so you can take it as a simulated Step exam (windows only). Same questions in both. It's also what you can take as a practice exam at Prometric if you so choose. The questions are very high yield, pretty representative of the exam. Many are easy (which is also true on the real thing), but you are likely to see several of these questions on your real test as well.

 

[bwmd]

And explanations for the materials can be found here.

 

[Ionian]

From the pdf -.-

The following pages include 138 sample test questions. Most of these questions are the same as those you install on your
computer from the USMLE Web site. Please note that reviewing the sample questions as they appear on pages 7-41 is not
a substitute for practicing with the test software. You should download and run the Step 1 tutorial and practice test items
that are provided on the USMLE website well before your test date. The sample materials available at the USMLE Web
site include additional items and item formats that do not appear in this booklet, such as items with associated audio or
video findings and sequential item sets. You should become familiar with all item formats that will be used in the actual
examination.

 

[Dharma]

So no mac for the software huh?

Do you guys recommend doing the free 150 before any other NBMEs? I'm planning on hitting one this weekend to start the NBME run.