Patrick1234 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Besides the USMLE first aid step 1, what other books would you guys recommend to be good for studying the usmle step 1? And also would people recommend the kaplan course or better to study on your own? Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laika Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 First Aid is all you need for Step 1. If you know it cold, you'll rock the exam. You don't need the course. Are you motivated enough to study on your own? Did you do fine on the MCAT without a course? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviathan Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 There's no better book than First Aid, seriously (at least for step 1). There are 'ways' you can get all of the Kaplan review videos, and if you do have the time to watch them they can be quite helpful/useful if you make flashcards along the way to study from. The total length of the review videos is pretty long, but you can skip the easy sections and go through most of the rest at 2-2.5x speed. Lastly, get USMLE World and study all those questions. If you do all these things you'll get at least 240. But you probably just need a 'pass' (which is 190ish), unless you're applying for residency programs in the states. If you just get First Aid alone and paid attention to half of the stuff in preclerkship, you'll at least pass the exam. I would recommend even paying the $20 (or whatever it is) for an assessment exam and if you're already scoring at least 220, don't even bother studying at all and just write it ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD Consultants CA Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Firecracker (used to be "Gunner Training") is probably the best out there. It adjusts your study schedule based on your progress and performance on quiz. You have a schedule to stick to and it's meant to fill knowledge gaps. A friend of ours just got 260+ on Step 1 and is cruising through clerkship. Make sure you do question banks after (USMLE World, etc). If you need a high score, for EVERY question you get wrong, you need to read explanations to understand why the right answer is correct and why every other choice is wrong. If there is no explanation or you don't understand it, you need to discuss questions with others on forums. It allows you to understand how examiners phrase the questions in certain ways to trick students. Quite often, what seems to be the obvious answer is NOT the correct answer. If you just need to pass for US fellowships, then it shouldn't matter what resources you use or how intense your study schedule needs to be. It's not a cheap exam. Know what score range you need. You want to study for it and write it once only. Can't comment on how useful courses are as none of us have taken them. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttoronto Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 I personally find doing questions very valuable! I bought the USMLEworld and I found them helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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