juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
Yeah I passed, got 99/249. 6 months studying hard. Want to thank everyone at this site for all their input, the academic discussions and the not so silly questions people post that made me think a lot. Never was the best at anything in my school always got average grades so iīm kinda of a regular joe so, to all the people who arenīt geniuses, This is for you guys!!!!!!!
|
| Challenge
Forum Junior
Topics: 6
Posts: 13
|
wow Congratulations Juanma0! U know u answered my question tht i was making to myself several times.. can a average student get 99s.. so hardwork pays.. thanks and
Good luck
|
| vanshita
Forum Guru
Topics: 21
Posts: 812
|
Congratulation
|
| sarika
Forum Guru
Topics: 195
Posts: 1,200
|
Congratulations!...Can u plz mention the materials u used and ur schedule if possible.?..we will appreciate it thankyou
|
| doc68
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 56
|
great score congradulations
|
| raves
Forum Elite
Topics: 21
Posts: 219
|
congrats juanma,yup u are right we can do it!!
___________________
'NISCHAY KAR APNI JEET KARO'
|
| ssrpk
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 154
Posts: 2,796
|
congratulations a lot!
___________________
life is guud
|
| tolito
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 119
Posts: 2,162
|
congratulations
___________________
It has been a looooong hard journey but I am inches away from my destination...
|
| Surfer
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 22
|
congrats for your great achievement and your nice attitude as well!
|
| juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
OK, well I studied almost exclusively from 2005 Kaplan Lecture Notes. 6 months total. In the morning I would do around 100 qīs and in the afternoon-night I studied. Browsed the Blueprints in Peds and Ob/gyn. I the think the key to my success was that I did Kaplan Qbank for 3 months and really hammered hard the subjectīs that I was worst on. For that I usually used First Aid. In the last month and half before I did the USMLEWorld Q bank. 1 week before i took the NBME form2 but did that in tutor mode and did it very slowly, to try to learn and not get myself nervous. Like I said, I am regular dude, so in Kaplan my score was 64% and in USMLE WORLD it was 68%, but my NBME was 750. Day before, I only viewed slides and photos and thatīs it!!!
Also, I feel that people are misjudging Kaplan Q bank saying it isnīt worth the money, I felt that Kaplan and USMLEWORLD are focusing on different aspects. Kaplan Q bank prepares you better for IM portion while USMLEWORLD covers the rest of the subjects better, but as we know most of the test is IM.
In my official report I noticed that the subjects that were initially my worst I got "higher performance" and an asterisk next to them, so hammering these REALLY payed off.
If anyone has anymore qīs iīll be happy to answer.
|
| HSP
|
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
GREAT SCORE
way to go
are u a recent graduate ?
i have a few questions, please do answer
1) immediately after doing step 1 how many months do u think one can do step 2?
2)how many times did u revise kaplan notes?
3)how did u read in the last 2 weeks before exam?
4)finally in what way did u make use of first aid?
good luck with residency
|
| HSP
|
also... how many days after oasis got updated, u got ur score result in mail?
|
| docnikki
Forum Guru
Topics: 93
Posts: 680
|
many many congrats!!!!
plz answer my quests--
1) how many kaplan reviews did u give. Ive done i reading..psychiatry being still left and am not able to answer quest correctly in forums and all. Did that happen with you too..or does it mean that I haven't concentrated enough. Recently I answered that endometriosis is diagnosed by USG when its done by direct visualization. is it normal?
I have planned to take UW but as u said about Q abnk..i will give time for that too.
2) did u try NMS Q book.
3) did u watch the DVDS..they are takinbg alot of my time and Im unable to finish them..what to do..
4) how many hours did u study..didn't u sleep in the day or just kept studying morining through night?
Im very impressed by you. hard work really pays off! thanks for sharing your experience in here.
|
| juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
Iīll answer HSPīs qīs:
1. I will graduate in february 2007
2. I took step 1 in march 2005 and step 2 in september 2006 so thereīs a pretty big gap. If you have the time I would say 3-4 months is ok. Give yourself a rest between both tests, about 2 months, you need it.
3. ONCE!!!!
4. Last 2 weeks I mostly read from FA, only reading my worst subjects and the hard ones like cardio and derm. Also was doin my incorrect qīs from USMLEWORLD, which consumed most of my time.
5. FA I used mostly as a reinforcement to the material in Kaplan, definitely not my main book and not as important as FA for step 1, which you need to know from cover to cover.
and thanks!!! Have anymore qīs?
|
| juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
Ok, docnikki youīre up:
1. Hmm I donīt know what u mean, but I only read Kaplan once. Something that helped me is that in my country we do internship before graduating so most of the material was fresh. In the forums I learned a lot, of course I didnīt know most of the qīs. People usually post the toughest qīs, so donīt get discouraged. Every new q u donīt know is a chance to learn and a higher score on the test.
2. Tried it for Step 1, and found it to have very similar diagrams to actual test but kind of outdated. No experience on the Step 2 version, so sorry there.
3. Umm, yeah I watched 1 topic every day ( about 27 min). That was the first thing I did. Just to get me hyped for the day. I think you really need lots of stimuli for this test, be it audio, video, post_its in your bathroom, memorizing, reading, qīs, etc. Stimulate your grey matter in every way possible.
4. I started studying at 8 am. Took naps from 3 to 5 pm. Then till 12 am religiously. almost every day. Fridays i didnt study a word, usually went out and partyed or something. You need to relax!!
Great, if you hvve anymore qīs please ask away!!
|
| docnikki
Forum Guru
Topics: 93
Posts: 680
|
thanks juanma0
I appreciate your quick response. truely very encouraging. I loved the idea of watching DVds every day atleast for half amn hour..im sure that way I will finish..its hard to give 3-4 hrs every day inorder to finish it soon.
Just one more quest...when u started to study at 8 am did you start wityh Dvds oer quest as you said you needed to stimulate ur self every day.
also another stupid quest...did you do anyt exercises ...becuase I exercise regularly and thought of stopping to see if I get more time to studies...though I was getting more time but my alertness went down...you studied 8am till 12 am..with naps from 3-5pm.. I was just wondering what stimulants u used..exercises, coffee tea..or just nothing.
Did u study alone by yourself or had study partners to share your studies with. You seemed so motivated...is that all by yourself.
thanks  Im so happy to know your experience. Its really very very encouraging.
|
| HSP
|
thank u so much for ur response
can u tell me which kaplan step 2 videos u found most useful during ur test?
|
| juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
Ok docnikki,
I usually started my day with a good breakfast and a cup of coffee, nothing else. Coffee makes me pee a lot, so I stay away from it!! Yeah, I started with the DVDīs and went on to questions. The most important part is reviewing your incorrect ones. Knowing why the rest of the answers are NOT the correct one is a million times better than just knowing the right answer.
I went to the gym for the first 4 months and quit in the last 2 months. Are you female? Because most of the women I know only do spinning or pilates and no weights. I do weights and it takes me 2 1/2 hoursto do my routine. So it just took too much time. But if youīre female than an hour of aerobics is fine i guess.
I didnīt have a study partner, but a friend (who also got 99) usually called to see how I was doing, and of course my BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND always supported and helped me out, she is the real reason of my success.
On the day of the test I took 2 Red Bullīs, for that extra kick!!!!
|
| juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
HSP:
I donīt know much about other Kaplan videos, but the ones I used were a bit old, from 2002-2003 I think. They had Dr. Conrad Fischer, Elmar Sakala, Pino, some jewish guy and others I forget. They were pretty standard stuff but I think that they helped me get motivated and understand some concepts. Which ones do you have?
|
| HSP
|
juanma0,
i have the same videos that you have
i liked internal medicine, i am going through them .
but OBG, is tooooo slow
and psychiatry i think its almost the same as it was in step 1
so i have decided not to watch OBG and PSY
1)can u tell me if its worth watching SURGERY AND PEDIATRICS?
2)also what was your strategy in exam when a question was too long with lots of lab values?
thanks again for answering all my questions so promptly
my best wishes to u and ur girlfriend
|
| HSP
|
also is it obsolutely essential that i should browse through blueprints pediatrics and OBG??
|
| juanma0
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 146
|
Hey HSP,
Well I thought that most of the videos are pretty simple stuff, but you have to remember that these people select these topics and their content because it is VERY high yield so maybe itīs worth 20 min of your time viewing. Surgery is done a bit different because instead of handing you bulleted info the MD gives it cased based which makes it more interesting. The first peds videos are the best. As for my strategy for long qīs : I usually read fast and marked it and gave a quick answer, just in case I didnīt have time to go back and think it through. Usually I did have the time to go back though. No it is not essential to browse the blueprints, but you should pick ONE review book that best fits your study style and stick with it.
Hope that answered your qīs. Good Luck !!!!!
|
| USMLEGladiator
Forum Elite
Topics: 74
Posts: 321
|
which videos r best & must b watched?
is MKSAP useful for prep?
___________________
scores are just up to how high we aim and of course the amount of effort and time we put into it
|
| zaf3000
Forum Senior
Topics: 8
Posts: 87
|
Congrats,, Really happy for ya
Your study plan is very similar to mine, except that I didn' take step 1 and I am going for CK first then step 1. Do you think by taking step 1 you benefit alot or is the result doable without taking step 1 first?
|
| HSP
|
thank you
good luck with ur future
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
