wamba
Forum Guru
Topics: 148
Posts: 660
|
I've just done the oasis trick and I passed. I'm so happy guys. i did the exam 3 weeks ago (may 29th) I was a bit worried because my prep has been really stressless and my exam quite easy. I spent all these last days thinking that step1 cannot be that easy, that maybe a made a mortal mistake somewhere, a mistake that I'm not aware.
I studied all the kaplan books but pathology. I memorize every part of it. I didn't touch anything else. No goljan or any other source. As a matter of fact I didn't review pathology. I just can't explain why but my scores were always good in it and reading the review books or the audio (I had goljan lectures and audio) were to me a sort of waste of time.
My exam was really easy. of 7 blocks, I had 6 blocks of simple questions. Some of them were so simple that I tought there was a trick somewhere. try to imagine the type of questions you wouldn't believe they could ask in this exam. but I think I've been very lucky because the last block was incredible. believe me. so difficult that if some unlucky doc gets 6 blocks like them as I got 6 easy ones, he would be in a great time trouble.
one advice: If you are preparing and you go through a big time of stress, just do NBME. It worked for me as a great anxiolytic. You get stressed, you do one, you get a good score and you relax. I did the 4 of them. If you don't get a good score, think about plan B. (I didn't need it because I was always satisfied of my scores)
|
| nirvanamona
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 28
|
hi wamba,
let me be the first to congratulate you all the best
|
| robin082006
Forum Hero
Topics: 471
Posts: 5,123
|
Congratulations,
Wishing you have a great score.
___________________
The Key to Succeed is Patience.
|
| HILFIGER
Forum Senior
Topics: 24
Posts: 201
|
well done!
|
| madavank
Forum Newbie
Topics: 6
Posts: 11
|
wamba r u a student or graduated?
I think you r/were very successful student.
you had read kaplan notes one time....
and you r saying that:oh exam was very easy
I hope your score will be good...
|
| vanshita
Forum Guru
Topics: 31
Posts: 935
|
congratulation you will get GOOD score
|
| motivated2
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 157
|
Congratulations wamba. Are the Kaplan lecture notes your only sources? Can you let us know more about your review each day? What keeps you motivated?
|
| iirrum
Forum Junior
Topics: 0
Posts: 4
|
great congrats!! wish u a wonderful score
i have a question after how many days ur exam date should appear on oasis after u take exam?
|
| wamba
Forum Guru
Topics: 148
Posts: 660
|
thanks guys for ur congrats. madavank: I'm graduate.
I had kaplan notes, FA and goljan audio and lecture notes. But as I said before, I used only Kaplan because using many sources is very time consuming and (I think) useless. I assure you that kaplan has very thing. the clue is READ IT MANY TIMES. the first lecture will be superficial; the second will be the superficial memorizing. and the third lecture, THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE, will make you do through important HIDDEN clues that you can't see in the superficial lecture. But again, I can assure you that KAPLAN CONTAINS ALL THE INFORMATION REQUIRED TO HAVE A GREAT SCORE.
If you use many sources, you will still pass but you will be done in 6 to 8 months, even more. And I personally don't think one should waste all that time for this exam especially because according to some statistics, after a long preparation does not have a greater impact on your score.
now I would like to share some important clue with everybody:
first point: when you start preparing for this exam, you must THINK that this exam is not a burden. It is not that difficult. you must love it because if you don't it will be much more difficult for you than it is in reality. it's like a mariage. you have to get along with your partner otherwise you'll go into a hard time period. THINK ABOUT IT AS A HAPPY MARIAGE. a mariage in which step 1 gives you the knowledge and you give HIM your consideration.
second point: it is important to plan a preparation that is not too long, because your success depends on your ability to concentrate the highest knowledge possible THE DAY OF THE EXAM. not before neither after but THE DAY OF THE EXAM. If ur prep is too long, u'll start forgetting important details u've studied at the beginning and u'll need to review them again: this means only one thing, A TIME WASTING that does not have a greater impact on ur final score.
third point: don't use many sources. I personally believe that if u need to increase ur knowledge, JUST DO AS MANY QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE, from qbanq q book, etc... there is no lecture sources more effective than that.
fourth point: if u study kaplan, u must study EVERYTHING. all the chapters are EXTREMLY IMPORTANT, even knowing which aa is hydrophic or hydrophobic.
fift point: there are too types of prep: the superficial one (the reading) and the deep one (understanding and memorizing). u are on the boat until u start the deep prep. please don't be SUPERFICIAL guys. step 1 is ur partner and when u have a partner u may not discredit some aspects of his character only because it is BORING. when u study for exemple genetic testing or gene mapping and cloning, u must give it the same consideration as u give to neuroanatomy, because u can have questions from it and it worths the same. so once again, DON'T BE SUPERFICIAL.
: there is an easier and faster way to study kaplan: memorize the graphes, the figures and the tables first. because they are easier to remember and by doing this, you have the opportunity to go directly into a deep preparation.
for exemple: if you memorize the kreb cycle, (it is not difficult at all), the following lecture of the chapter, which only the explanation of what you already have in mind will be fast and easier. If you don't do that, you will need more energy to memorize it and I can assure u that u'll be more likely to forget it.
I ran out of time but I'll be back with some other points
|
| frontal
Forum Guru
Topics: 53
Posts: 421
|
I've saved your post, wamba. It makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you for writing it.
May you score really well. Good luck.
|
| shilahk
Forum Senior
Topics: 13
Posts: 126
|
hi wamba...
congraaaaaaaaaaaaaaats.....i wish you sucecss through out the way....
thanks for your advice about the NBME...i want to ask you about it...how much does it cost? and how can i get it??
thanx again wamba and good luck
|
| wamba
Forum Guru
Topics: 148
Posts: 660
|
sorry for the mistakes in my post guys when it was written fast coz I was a bit in a hurry.
|
| coolsuch
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 104
|
Hi Wamba,
Congrats.I have saved your post too.It really makes sense since I am new to this forum and dont know where to look my quries.Thank you for sharing it with us.I was really confused to begin with but you seem to have anwered my quries.Can I bother you if I have few more queries
Good luck
|
| tolito
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 119
Posts: 2,174
|
congratulations wamba. you must be a very good student!!! no lazy brain syndrome for you!!! yes i also find out that kaplan LN is very adequate but you have to read and KNOW every line. if you dont have prior knowledge (esp for old IMG), that is virtually impossible to achieve. cos kaplan is so short on explanation. guys talk about the video so maybe with those, the lecture notes will be easier to understand. as for me, i read supplementary books and i have come back to reading kaplan notes a third time per subject and it is only now making sense to me!!! i find answers to questions to which i was clueless ( in qbank and even NBME) as one sentence tucked away somewhere in the notes!!! amazing. i have not done the exam yet so i cannot comment on my style but indeed kaplan alone for me was too 'difficult to comprehend' and too 'concentrated' for me to remember without the support of other books.
i wish you a great score.
___________________
It has been a looooong hard journey but I am inches away from my destination...
|
| motivated2
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 157
|
congrats wamba. Thanks for your exam exp. It helps a lot...
|
| arizona_wave
Forum Elite
Topics: 56
Posts: 268
|
Hello Wamba,
Congrats to you...good luck for your score....
I gave the exam on 30 th may and i cannot get the courage to do oasis trick.....!
I had a moderately difficult exam with easy 1st ,2 nd ,3rd and last 2 blocks but middle 2 blocks were very difficult....
I totally agree with you on the kind of prep you did...i did exactly the same..!
Just stuck to Kaplan like dear life ,Dr.Goljan the saviour in Patho,and of course friendly First aid....
I think 3 readings of these 3 (audio-patho) are very good .........
So best of luck to you ........hope i too can share my score with everyone......
Plz do post your score when you get it....
Good luck
___________________
Matched in 2008 !!
|
| wamba
Forum Guru
Topics: 148
Posts: 660
|
tx guys for ur congrats. It's 5.03 am, Atlanta time. I have my CS in 3 hours. It is the last wall! I NEED A RIVER OF GOOD LUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
| raves
Forum Elite
Topics: 23
Posts: 248
|
good luck wamba
___________________
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"
|
| wamba
Forum Guru
Topics: 148
Posts: 660
|
hello guys. I'm done with CS (and with all the steps but step 3, scheduled for febbruary 2007). If anyone has any question or concern, pls feel free to ask.
|
| marwa
Forum Junior
Topics: 3
Posts: 30
|
Hi Wamba,first of all congrats on passing step 1,i wish u a grest score & i'm sure CS wa just a piece of cake.
i have a q. about pathology..i don't know how to study for it,i have BRS & Goljan,,should i read BRS first,and then go over Goljan ?? i would like to know how u did it.
thank u very much.
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Similar forum topics