doc_droc_apurva
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acutal score - 89/216, exam date: 26,27 may, score report - 14 june
nbme - 450 (1month before)
qbank and qbook - dont remem but was gettin low 30s/50
uworld - 63%
was expectin a low 90.. but screwed up 3-4 cases in ccs pretty bad and i think that hurt me in the end.. no worries.. water under bridge.. got score 1 month after reportin due to usps delays
study time - 6months on and off with externship and iviews..
step1 - 99 (247), step 2 - 96 (236) (nov 2005)
materials - kaplan s2 books, s3 videos.. dont even think about buyin k3 books - utter crap.. wasted my time
crush mle
half of fp.com
uworld
qbank and qbook
ecfmg cd
i and a friend of mine had almost same preparation and experience:
http://www.usmleforum.com/forum/message.php?id=95...
my golden advice.. if i were to start my prep all over again this is all i wud do if i had plenty of time:
first read crush (if ur s2 was recent) like mine
then do all the questions in the world.. all qbook, qbank, uworld..
i think swansons and fp.com are a bit low yield - althoh gr8 sources if u have months on end..
make notes of things u got wrong.. 15days before exam just read crush again with ur notes.. a 85+ is urs easily..
i had practiced cases on ccs software.. but i think not enuf.. uworld ccs is more than enuf..
now for the high octane verison for those ppl with just a few weeks:
read crush, do uworld ccs, do uworld ques, read crush.. go get em..
i feel s3 is most unpredictable exam.. ppl get tricked into believin the exam is easy - and there lies its beauty. i felt day 1 was gr8 and was all pumped up.. but day2 was difficult. ppl have had contrastin experiences..
obgyn is tested less. surg is mostly trauma. mainly its med and peds.. lots of preventive medicine.. ccs is most enjoyable part of test.
do go thru ethics from washington uni website.. i did glance thru 123usmlesteps.. remem if ur case doesnt end before 20min means u screwed up somewhere..
also u will feel there is less break time on day2. u will start day with only 45min of break time.. but after every ccs case 10min of break time will be added on and plus u get all the minutes which u save off the case.. i took breaks after every 2 blocks.. and breaks after every ccs case..
pls do not ask me about my ccs cases as its illegal to share.. plus i dont remem them - supression maybe however all other queries are welcome..
hope it helps..
apurva
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| amirhossein
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It seems you are doing well, congrats!
Nice and helpful post, thank you.
Amir
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| infliximab
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congratulations apurva,
great score & good post,
i'm starting my preps for s3
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| drk1980
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Congrats!! both on a great score and the last grand exit...! Very useful details, thanks.
All the best for ur MRCP now.
Wish you greater luck for the Match.
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| doc_droc_apurva
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thank u very much yall for ur wishes..
dr1980 - besta luck with ur s2.. keep us posted.. dont cu a lot on the forums nowadays
infliximab - go inflict some massive damage
amir - hope eveyrthins gr8 on the visa front
apurva
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| an
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Congrats Apurva...well done....it must have been pretty harrowing waiting for the results...is there an OASIS kind of trick we can do after scores r reported to find if passed or not?
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| doc_droc_apurva
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nope.. u can only know when ur score has been reported and nothing else..
it wasnt very harrowing. i was dead sure of passin.. and didnt need the score till sept.. but yes it was highly irritating with ur folks breathin down ur neck
apurva
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| drk1980
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droc(ker), i bet your parents now must be mighty proud....just like before. They must like doing breathing exercises, its healthy anyway:-D
Blv me, i'm lurking! ask my lonely books.
PS: Do you have a "step2ck exam in retrospection"?
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| doc_droc_apurva
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sure.. here goes.. secret to 95+
2.5 months - read kaplan notes exclusively + kaplan videos
next 1.5 months - 2nd read + qbook + make note of difficult topics like
next 1month - exclusively qbank and uworld + make notes of answers u get wrong
next 15days - speed read of every subject in 2days + notes of qs u got qrong + last 2d for difficult topics..
fit in ecfmg cd and kaplan simu as per ur convenience
score around 35 per block of kaplan qbank and qbook, 70%+ in uworld, and 95+ is urs..
remem on test day u will feel very underconfident.. as s2 is tuffer than s1 in terms of tricky ques.. ecgs are usual - afib, vf, vtach, torsades, mi.. history will be major giveaway
and also exam is an hour longer..
i studied for 4.5 months inclusive of shiftin from india to middle east.. im sure if a retard like me can do it - u can do way better..
open for queries..
apurva
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| doc_droc_apurva
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remem to give less time for psychi.. in surg focus more on trauma.. dont read the theory portion of surg in kaplan. do only vignettes.. do med and peds together system wise - wil save tons of time.. focus on washington ethics..
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| drk1980
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gee thanks a ton. shall bookmark this.
and hey, that kind of retard i dont mind being!!
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| the_holy_man
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Congrats and thanks for the info.It was very usefull indeed.Good to see helpfull advise from the most visible member of the forum.
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| doc_droc_apurva
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ahem.. thats a big compliment.. thanx.. but i think bbb wud take that title hands down
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| chivasregal
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i hate to disagree with doc apoorva abt giving less time to psych...i dont know wat devoting less time means...psych is important part of step2CK..5-7 days is enough for psych..i found blue prints psych n BRS psych better than kap psych notes..believe me one gets lots of questions from psych albeit not as much as medicine/peds/obg but more than surgery..good luck
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| Doc2378
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Apurva Ji, bahut bahut mubarak ho!! Byramjee Jeejeebhoy ji aati prasan honge aapse.....Khoob naam roshan kiya hai college ka...congrats!
n' thanks for a very informative post dude...all the best for the match...(its a moot point actually...if you don't match I dunno who will!)
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| doc_droc_apurva
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thanx man.. u a bjite? wow chupe rustam janab do drop an im sometimes.. what u upto mate?
chivas my friend - what i meant by devotin less time to psych is that u have done it over and over for ur s1 and s2 and basically the ques are pretty easy.. i was extremely comfortable with psych and hence devoted less time to it.. ethics on the other hand is every1s bane..
apurva
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| cyra
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Congratulations apurva!
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| vancomycin
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congrates
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| shela
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HI apruva, could u plz guide me about step 3.I am IMG have passed step 1, CK&CS. I am applying for residency this year. I have Green card. I am freenowadays , I want to know if I take step3 before residency, is there any advantage or disadvatage of taking it now before residency&
how important the step3 score? I hope I'll get sicere advice from this forum. Thanks
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| shela
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BTW CONGRATS4 ur sucess&good luck
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| doc_droc_apurva
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hi there shela
sorry for the late reply. dont visit this thread more often. am usually in the match section.
givin s3 will help u even if u have gc. this is for 2 reasons. removes the headache of pd of s3. and also saves u time and effort durin residency which is very strenous. disadvantage is that if u fail it will create a negative impression in mind of pd. hence if ur unsure of passing schedule it before ur residency but after rol deadline.
imp of s3 score is somethin on which no1 is sure. however get the best score for every exam even if its toefl. always helps somehow or the other.
gl
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| shela
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Thanks Apruva, could you please guide me about how to preparefor step 3&what books should be used, what shoud be the stretgy to study
& how much time is needed to prepare for step 3? I really appreciate ur help . Good luck
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| guest08
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hi apruva, congrats!!! I graduated from medical school a few years ago but never did internship. How important is clinical experience to passing step 3 with decent score??
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| doc_droc_apurva
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clinex helps. but is not everythin. i suggest not to worry about it and just prep for it as u usually wud for the other steps. gl
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