frontal
Forum Guru
Topics: 53
Posts: 421
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Wonderful, mymeghji! To think that a relatively old grad got the highest score ever, on this forum is truly amazing. I can only begin to imagine how it must feel to overcome odds and end up so brilliantly! Good luck with the rest of the journey and thanks for posting your opinions.
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| sot
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 14
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thank u very much,you are kind.i ll re-read kaplan+ videos and see how it goes.
thanks again.
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| aimhigh
Forum Elite
Topics: 22
Posts: 148
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Congratulations, Mymeghji, on your fanstastic score!!! Thanks for sharing your successful story!!
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| platinum
Forum Guru
Topics: 46
Posts: 304
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AWESOME
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| drhouston
Forum Senior
Topics: 22
Posts: 63
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Its the highest score I have ever heard of. CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!
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| icycool
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 24
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WOW!!!AWESOME!
YOU R MY INSPIRATION .I AM AN OLD GRADUATE TOO AND ITS SO HEARTENING TO KNOW UR SUCCESS.I AGREE WE OLDIES R JUST AS GOOD COZ WE HAVE DONE CLINICAL WORK ALREADY.
THANKS FOR SHARING UR EXPERIENCE WITH US .ALL THE BEST FOR THE FUTURE.
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| mei
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 36
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mymeghji,
congrat on your awesome score! i met you yesterday but wasn't aware that you are the hero here!
i have step up to medicine and boards and wards so far. how good are the two books? I haven't bought kaplan yet but will in the next few days. for review, is kaplan good enough?
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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Mei
I am sorry I haven't come across those 2 books but to me it sounds like Boards and Wards may be more useful for Step 3 and residency. Most people I know have used the Kaplan books and videos + First Aid for Step 2 CK + USMLE WORLD Qbank which is not only a source for questions but is also a very useful learning tool as the explanations are very detailed. So my honest opinion is that if you use that tried and trusted combo you can't go wrong.
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| chivasregal
Forum Elite
Topics: 10
Posts: 285
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wow!! stupendous score!! congrats
___________________
It's good to be a Resident finally!!
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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Hey guys I just came back form my CS exam. I did it in Philadelphia. It is quite a labor intensive exam. But I am just glad I have finally done it.
After practicing for about 4-6 weeks all the questions I had practiced to ask the SPs were floating and echoing in my mind, my daily routine and even im my sleep. I finally did the exam, dumped all the questions onto the SPs and out of my head.
I found it was hard to prepare for it as the stuff you've got to study for it is quite vague. Anyway I will post a more detailed message in the CS forum after I have time to recover.
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| seri
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 190
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congrats mymeghji on finishing cs! looking fwd to your post.
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| platinum
Forum Guru
Topics: 46
Posts: 304
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hi mymeghji
i needed some serious advice..i had a slot of around 10 days in spare befoer i do my final reading and appear for step2.
i am done with UW and UW revision.i wanted to do other MCQs..i had NMS A&L , medrevu,kap qbank(CD), PRETEST.and step2 mock exam
iwant to do them all but i know it could be difficult..just wanted to know which are the best among these sources in order of preference so i couldl finish them at least.
thought somebody who has written the test could answer it well.
good luck for future
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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If you've already done the USMLE World questions and are still hungry for more questions then I would advice you to go for the Kaplan Q bank which ranks number 2 in terms of quality/exam simulation after USMLE World.
Also try and do the full length Kaplan Step 2 CK simulated test which will test your endurance over a full length simulated test.
Also it is a great idea to go thru' a rapid reading of First Aid Step 2 CK so that you can do a quick review of all the high yield topics
I think if you put in 8-10 hours a day you can easily do all of the above in your remaining 10 days and then you're all set to take on Step 2 CK
All the very best with your exam
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| platinum
Forum Guru
Topics: 46
Posts: 304
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thanks mymeghji..i appreciate your early and rational response.
i had a kap qbank on a cd which iam not sure is the same i will anyway go thru that.and of course i plan to do the FA once & the kaptesttoo
what sourcec would u advice for pictures/photos?
thanx again
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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I used only the ones in First Aid for USMLE Step 2 CK. However if you feel that there is a particular topic where you need an image to correlate the clinical theory with then use the google image search engine and it will find almost every image for you.
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| sachida
Forum Guru
Topics: 57
Posts: 530
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congrats mymeghji. You deserve the best.
___________________
93/91, CS passed, USCE 1 year, PhD (USA), Publications 2, Graduate 1999. Dont need visa
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| Surfer
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 22
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Dear Mymeghji,
My heartist greetings are going out on your brilliant score.
I think you've just got your effort's worth, and no more.
I am on the road to prepare for the USMLE Step 2, for some reasons I'm gonna take it first.I am very determined to get a very good score.
I have a question for you and I do appreciate it if you advise me in this regard.
Do the outlines of the kaplan books cover all the topics we need to know for the exam. by that I mean just topics and not the content of them. Becuase For knowing more about a topic you can go through your textbooks, and that's the way I always do. maybe I am a bit anally retentive. but I really enjoy it.
Wish you all the best in all your future endeavours.
Kind regards,
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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I hope I understand your query well. Yes I think the outlines cover the highly tested areas very well so you can use them as broad outlines and fill up any other details you wish from your other reference books. Topics that are not covered are not highly tested
I see that you are going to do your Step 2 CK first and that's okay but just a word of advice doing some topics from step 1 in preparing for your Step 2 CK exam will greatly benefit your chances of a higher score. So read up Metabolism, Clinical Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Immune deficiencies, Hypersensitivity reactions, Organ transplantation rejection, Endocrine Physiology from the Kaplan Step 1 notes or at the very least from First Aid for USMLE Step 1.
Because it is important to undestand that the Step 2 CK exam is actually a combo exam testing Step 1 and Step 2 CK, which is why I say that doing Step 1 first is important. However if you will strive to cover the above topics from Step 1 it will serve you well in your Step 2 CK exam
Good luck with your exam
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| Surfer
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 22
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Many thanks for your quick reply,
Actually I can understand your reasoning on taking the Step 1 first, and I agree with you too. But I am going to take the Canadian exams beside the USMLE exams, and this way seems the wisest for me to overlap taking them at the same time. But fortunately I've always put lots of my time and energy on the pathpgysiology section. Even now that I'm preparing for the exams I can't help it going through my textbooks, and although I'm quite a fast reader this sometimes makes my progress a bit slow.
Thanks again for your advice, and for sure I will be concentrating more on the sections that you already mentioned.
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| dr2002
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 45
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HI:Mymeghji, congrats for a GREAT SCORE ,in step 2 ck.Well i am planning to take step 2 ck,by sept first week,i have 3 months ,i hvae just startd my reading ,will 3 months be enough. to get a score of 90+. Can you please help me ,in how to plan my three months preparation.Can u please telll me which NBME U GAVE AND WWHAT WERE U RE SCORE IN THE NBME.
GL TO ALL
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| drzhiv
Forum Junior
Topics: 4
Posts: 26
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HI Mymeghji, I never wrote in the forum n was a silent reader but ur marvellous score compelled me to give u lots of congrats n v sincere wishes for ur v bright future ahead of u. i need some advice from u n i 'd b grateful if u 'd kindly help me out. i gave 4 months to my first read from kaplan videos n kaplan books n now doing second read for 1 month n still doing medicine n the second read will take a month more i havnt touched the questions yet n i plan that after the second read i will do kaplan q book in a month n then usmle world q/ans in a month with details n n then q book kaplan n then first aid at the last . i plan to give exam in nov i need ur advice suggesting is this plan ok or too slow. i havent taken the date for step2 ck (as i unfortunately got v less marks in step1 due to not doing sufficient q/ans just did kaplan q bank once well n thats it ) n time got finished n i had to appear in exam so this time i am afraid not to take the exam date b4 finishing at least kaplan q bank n usmle world. i know its v good to have some dead line n it makes u work more punctually n because of not taking date i waste much of my time i cant overcome this fear n regret of my step1 bad scores. i know its personal problem based question but i 'd request u for ur guidance. once again congrats on ur brilliant success best wishes for the residency of ur choice.
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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dr 2002
If I understand you correctly your total Step 2 CK prep time is 3 months. Well most people do at least 3 readings of their core materials and you didn't say what you were using for your studying. It is very important to do the first reading throughly and undersatnd every concept/mechanism and that typically takes about 8-10 weeks. You should start doing questions side by side when doing the second reading. The second reading typically takes about 3-4 weeks The best value for money is the USMLE WORLD Q bank do this once and very well along with your second reading. The final reading takes about 2 weeks at the start of which you should do the NBME forms and the Kaplan Simulated test.
I did all 3 forms that NBME offers and I got 800, 800 and 690 in forms 1, 2 and 3 respectively. But from my scores you can tell that I found Form 3 the most challenging.
My sincere advice is that if you're aiming for a high score take at least 4 1/2 to 5 months for your prep. 3 months may be a little on the shorter side. By the way I myself took 7 months for my Step 2 CK Prep
Let me know if I addressed your issues. Good luck with your exams
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| mymeghji
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 68
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drzhiv
It is good that you are took your time (4 months) in doing your first reading and that's okay assuming that you are reading on a regular basis and not on an "on and off" basis and hopefully you were very thorough.
You will need to pick up speed and try and finish your second reading in half that time and you must must start doing questions NOW with your second reading. USMLE World is excellent for this. It is not important how much you get in your questions but what is much more important is that you learn the pattern of questions, you learn to do the questions under time pressure i.e. in one minute and finally you read and absorb the detailed explanations. If you have time and money also do the Kaplan Q bank as well as it will also provide useful practice.
Do your final reading in 1 month and make sure you do the NBME forms, all 3 if possible and the Kaplan Simulated test. As well make sure to use First Aid for Step 2 CK in your final 2 weeks
Doing the prep too quickly is not good and doing it too slowly also has it's disadvantages as you start to forget too many things, reading same material over and over becomes very monotonous and you start to lose interest and worse of all you can actually burn out
So pick up some speed, do not think about what is past give it your very best for the next exam
All the very best to you, good luck in your exams
Edited by mymeghji on 06/10/06 - 04:19 AM
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