UWorld, Kaplan, USMLE Consult, USMLERx

[sosarah]

I've seen a few threads comparing any 2 of these, but I'm curious about the comparison of all 4. If you had to rank these for Qbanks on their usefullness, how would you rank them?
Here's a quick table I compiled, in no particular order:

# ?s 30 days 60 days 90 days 180 days 9 months 360 days
2000 USMLEWorld $99 $135 $185 $299 $399
3000 USLMERx $79 $119 $149 $239 $299 $249
2500 USMLE Consult $75 $115 $135 $395
2300 Kaplan Qbank $109 $149 $189 $329 $429

Thanks!

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[drizzt3117]

Uw, usmlerx, kaplan, mdconsult.

 

[Ookluh]

I've only used World and Kaplan, and they each have their strengths.. I liked Kaplan for reinforcing things that I had just read because it got fairly detailed/nitpicky, whereas World was good for taking everything and learning to apply it and problem solve. That being said, I think World >> Kaplan, and I've never used Rx or Consult, but have heard Rx is generally easier than Kaplan- and the lack of popularity of Consult might be for a reason, but who knows..

 

[PokerDoc]

Uw, usmlerx, kaplan, mdconsult.

I agree with this order as well.. however, I would not use UW until you are ready for the final 4-6 weeks of boards...

Use Rx for the school year

 

[singinfifi]

I liked Kaplan's Qbank, especially the option to only hit the "high yield" questions, which eliminated a good bit of the "nit-picky"ness. I also really liked the video tutorials that they offered with a lot of their questions and their explanations were excellent. They would give you not only the answers, but tips on how to best approach that type of question as well. Kaplan as a whole drives me nuts in all honesty. I'm not sure what it is about them, their materials are good but for some reason if someone says to me "do you like kaplan" I always say "their materials are excellent". Not "yes".

I didn't have UWorld, but I hear it's excellent.

Kaplan's COMLEX bank is freaking useless, (for all you DO students out there).

I have "Flash facts" from the USMLE (Only used it for a week) but it was good for going through facts on my weak spots in first aid. I'm sorry I don't know about USMLE Rx.

 

[C5toC9]

My plan is GT soon and then add Rx for M2, then UW for straight boards prep.

 

[kryptik]

UW>Rx>kaplan they each serve their purpose and ideally you should do all 3, rx and kaplan with class, uw for board studies

 

[MilkmanAl]

Uw, usmlerx, kaplan, mdconsult.

Agree except that I haven't used MDConsult. UW is the gold standard, no question about it.

 

[bbydoc]

UW>Rx>kaplan they each serve their purpose and ideally you should do all 3, rx and kaplan with class, uw for board studies

obviously this is everyone's personal choice but Im not gonna do more than uworld and maybe usmleRX. I mean if you dont get the concepts it doesnt matter how many banks you do, you can ask the same concept in millions of ways. Im sure everyone agrees that there is nothing better than uworld out there.
just my opinion.

 

[drizzt3117]

Agree except that I haven't used MDConsult. UW is the gold standard, no question about it.

I haven't used their real bank but they give you like 400 questions with each rapid review if you buy the book so I looked at the ones they gave you, they're real easy but ok for reinforcing the ideas in rr path. I mean if you have time, they're free I guess.

To elaborate a bit more, I just don't like how kaplan words their questions and don't think it's conducive to boards studying but they do make you think in a different way. If you have time to go through 6000 questions during the school year as the previous poster mentioned, more power to you. I used a lil UW during the year and I wish I'd saved it for last and done more qs instead of using kaplan during my 4 weeks of studying.

 

[abmd]

UW>Rx>kaplan they each serve their purpose and ideally you should do all 3, rx and kaplan with class, uw for board studies

Do you really think doing kaplan would be beneficial. I am planning to do Rx during the year and then doing UWorld at the end. Kaplan just seems so expensive and I don't want to spread myself too thin, just focusing on the most important things.

 

[kryptik]

Do you really think doing kaplan would be beneficial. I am planning to do Rx during the year and then doing UWorld at the end. Kaplan just seems so expensive and I don't want to spread myself too thin, just focusing on the most important things.

doing question can never hurt, i agree kaplan is more expensive, i personally did rx during the year, and kaplan qbook which i got for real cheap, not as many q as the online bank but its good enough

 

[abmd]

doing question can never hurt, i agree kaplan is more expensive, i personally did rx during the year, and kaplan qbook which i got for real cheap, not as many q as the online bank but its good enough

Thanks for your reply. Yeah I'm just worried about not having enough time to cover all of them. I figured since Rx reviews FA which seems to be the most important thing to do, I should focus on that and UW. I did get the Kaplan Qbook for free (an older version I think) so I was going to do that as well as Robbins Review during the year. Does that sound okay?

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I started out using just World, and I think it is wonderful.

I just got Rx, and I think it is wonderful too, but in a different way.

I think they are beautiful together.

Rx is AWESOME for memorizing ****. World is just as great for applying it. I believe that both of them together are greater than the sum of the parts. I am really starting to feel like I know **** now.

 

[kryptik]

Thanks for your reply. Yeah I'm just worried about not having enough time to cover all of them. I figured since Rx reviews FA which seems to be the most important thing to do, I should focus on that and UW. I did get the Kaplan Qbook for free (an older version I think) so I was going to do that as well as Robbins Review during the year. Does that sound okay?

yes the robbins review book is awesome, especially for course work so yes it sounds good, also dont forget the free question banks out there, like webpath which is also great for system specific questions and wikitestprep

 

[PokerDoc]

the other thing I liked about Rx over Kaplan is it had way more questions per theme..

so since I used it during the school year, for GI for example i had like 350 questions and my roommate had like 170 on kaplan.. our actual exam was like 110 questions and I'm pretty sure I had hit every topic I was asked about since I did so many more questions

 

[abmd]

yes the robbins review book is awesome, especially for course work so yes it sounds good, also dont forget the free question banks out there, like webpath which is also great for system specific questions and wikitestprep

so wikitestprep + webpath. is there anything else? also, do you think i should get Rx for the whole 9 months or 6 months Rx + 3 months UW? I will be getting UW in the last 3 months anyways. I just don't know if I will have time to continue doing Rx on top of it? Thoughts?

 

[PokerDoc]

so wikitestprep + webpath. is there anything else? also, do you think i should get Rx for the whole 9 months or 6 months Rx + 3 months UW? I will be getting UW in the last 3 months anyways. I just don't know if I will have time to continue doing Rx on top of it? Thoughts?

I did six months (december to may) never anticipating I'd need a qbank all year long.. but I wish I had the qbank for the questions on the themes earlier in the year, so i'd just get it for your whole second year, 9 months

 

[abmd]

I did six months (december to may) never anticipating I'd need a qbank all year long.. but I wish I had the qbank for the questions on the themes earlier in the year, so i'd just get it for your whole second year, 9 months

Do you think I will have time though because I want to do UW 3x. I was going to do Sept-March: Rx and April-June: UW. I wanted to UW 3x in that time. Will I have time to do Rx on top of that? Thanks!

 

[kryptik]

yes if you can afford it get the 9months, it will give you more flexibility, a lot of pple use rx or kaplan for system specific quizes and uw on random, so you definitely can do both.

PS: if you are a member of amsa you get a great discount with rx so check that out.

 

[abmd]

yes if you can afford it get the 9months, it will give you more flexibility, a lot of pple use rx or kaplan for system specific quizes and uw on random, so you definitely can do both.

PS: if you are a member of amsa you get a great discount with rx so check that out.

Okay thanks kryptik and pokerdoc. good luck on the step!

 

[C5toC9]

anyone need qbanks after step 1 (eg 3rd year and beyond)? or should we aim to end our subscriptions right after step 1 date?