USMLE and APMLE are very different.
I believe they allowed some kids from the california school to sit for it years back and they got butchered. We cover similar topics but the exams themselves are different beasts.
USMLE is full of a bunch of big long case studies...patient presents with this and that. here is an example of a USMLE step 1 question.
"A 52-year-old woman presents to the physician, because she has been experiencing multiple episodes of facial flushing for the last month. The episodes typically last 2 to 5 minutes, and she has reddening over her face, neck, and upper chest. She has noticed that they are associated with an increase in her heart rate. She is unable to predict when these episodes occur, but they are now increasing in frequency and occur 3 to 5 times a day. Additionally, she has been troubled by diarrhea for the last 3 weeks. The diarrhea is described as watery and voluminous. She denies any mucous or blood in the stool or bowl. On examination, she has several telangiectasias over the face and neck. Auscultation over the precordium reveals an S3 heart sound, as well as a blowing high pitched pansystolic murmur best heard over the left lower sternal border. The abdomen is diffusely tender and distended. The liver is notably enlarged with a span of 16 cm in the midclavicular line. No abdominal masses are palpable. What is the most appropriate next step in the management of this patient?"
a.Computed tomography (CT) abdomen
b.Liver function tests (LFTs)
c.Plasma-free metanephrines
d.Somatostatin
e.Urinary 24-hour 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA)
Here is an example of APMLE question...
10. The glomerular filtration rate can be decreased by
(A) increased systemic blood pressure
(B) increased renal blood flow
(C) hyperglycemia
(D) constriction of the afferent arteriol
Our exam is straight spit back. You either know it or you don't. The only thing I could compare it to is the DAT. Which is also straight spit back.The med students exam is more intuitive, requiring you work through the problems. More like the MCAT. Where if you are good you can extract the necessary info from the question itself to arrive at the correct answer.
I would much rather take the APMLE over the USMLE any day.