bsmooth7
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Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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add 8-10% to your UW MCQ score to give yourself a good idea of where you are at...
as for my research, yeah, maybe you'll hear about it someday...
sounds like you are doing some retrospective stuff?
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| docdolsee
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 6
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hey guys,
i took my csa last week...and have mixed feelings about how i did...the results r gonna be declared in the month of oct..so i want to start studying for step3.can anybody give me the details of how to go about it?it will be really appreciated.i took my ck in march .should i start reading the same books again?is this the time to register on u w or wait till i have read the theory again?
thanks a lot
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| bsmooth7
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Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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buy first aid and crush (both have new versions out in 2008)
then read the first section, i.e. cardiology in first aid, followed by cardiology crush, followed by taking a set of 50 questions (builds stamina) from cardiology UW MCQ section in the untimed mode.
Read over all explained answers.
Then move on to the next section in first aid and repeat.
Only do 50 questions for each section.
When you have finished both books, then do the remainder of the UW questions in timed mode, again in blocks of 50 (check off all unused questions).
When you finish with UW, buy Kaplan and use it to get your timing down.
Take 1 or 2 full practice tests on Qbank by using timed mode and doing 50 question blocks.
When you take the test, it will feel like a breeze...
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| hottie99
Forum Guru
Topics: 33
Posts: 765
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hey bsmooth! so the studying is going.... still.. oh i have to get more serious about it! so r u gonna be published that i'm gonna hear about it someday??  that's great!! r u doing something that is life changing in medicine?? i am just assistant with some ongoing projects, no publicastions for me, just learning the process of it all, good exposure i presume.. have to get onto this study schedule during all and every free time, i hope it gets done, 8 weeks and counting, that's it! have u finished up eras and everything else?? know where u re applying? i get sidetracked with all that stuff as well!! ooh jeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzz 
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| bsmooth7
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hot99,
how many questions you have done so far?
what books are you using besides first aid, if any?
i am actually finished with residency already, i tend to procrastinate with the boards, took step 2 the day before i graduated med school, step 3 five weeks before i finished residency...
my research involves eating disorders, i am currently writing a book about it...
starting up a private practice in mid-september, currently in the midst of a 10 weeks vacation!
i presume you just finished your 3rd yr of med school?
what type of residency are you applying for?
eras? HA! 
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| bsmooth7
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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hot-E,
How is your studying going?
How many UW questions have you done so far?
Hope things are going well,
B
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| hottie99
Forum Guru
Topics: 33
Posts: 765
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hey bsmooth!! sorry for the delay, wasn't on so much anymore, preoccupied with trying to do eras, study for step 3, and partake in this research, so my plate is full!! 
as for studying, well it's going.. may not be able to take it september, bc the training period for all this 'research' had gone on longer than expected.. and no im not 3rd year, i finished up med school few years ago, and had some personal stuff that stoped me up, but now i've grabbed all this by the ***** and just gone strong and keep pushing to get to my goal of residency..
that's awesome that ur done!! hey we all procrastinate, i am the queen of it to an extnt.. no one likes these exams, i've yet to meet a person that doesn't put off these exams! ur research sounds interesting, care to help a gal out with getting a name published?? j/k! well good luck with ur practice and so forth in the future, i do still plan to take my exam b4 end of the year, am defnitely using ur study schedule and so forth
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| bsmooth7
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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yo hottie,
No problem, I just got back from Vegas, lost a little bit 
Your attitude is very powerful, you will defily succeed big time on this exam.
I am no longer worried about you!
I just want to keep you on the straight and narrow, give you somebody you have to answer to
What percentage are you getting on the UW MCQs so far?
How chapters in First Aid/Crush have you done?
If you are the queen, then I am the king of procrastination!
But that just means you have the confidence that you can pull it off...
Otherwise, you never would have developed those habits in the first place.
Rooting for hottie,
B
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| hottie99
Forum Guru
Topics: 33
Posts: 765
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vegas huh?? suh-weet!! i was to go as well, but now caught up in the ratrace of applications.. havn't done questions in awhile, was getting like 52 (it seems to be my norm for uworld in all 3 banks i've done, hahaha) but i didn't do so many questions yet... i bought the premier stuff, i wanted 1 source and they gave me all of it in 1 book, so i like it thus far.. have it sceduled, so got like 6 weeks or so.. my research has settled it's dust a bit now.. i'm more settled with the project and times i work for that, as well as my eras, since that is my ultimate goal... still working on the FA thoug, i was doing that in conjuction with my uworld.. of which i have to pay for again, whoops!! hahaha... im hoping to go on a nice vaca in december.. somewhere warm, and hopefully i can celebrate knowing i passed my step 3!!! thx for ur support smoothie!! 
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| bsmooth7
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Posts: 35
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Sounds like your studying is going well!
Please do go through all of FA as it was a big portion of my test!
Don't forget to do a few hundred Kaplan questions at least, so you could get a good feel for the actual test.
I was getting right around 52% of UW for most of my preparation so you are in good shape...
You will pass and get in the 200's, no problem...
B
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| hottie99
Forum Guru
Topics: 33
Posts: 765
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hey smoothie!
im gonna buy kaplan today and start that i think.. that way i can get better feel for it.. gonna start listening to more mp3s daily so i can finiish ths prep already.. i want to pass on first shot and hope it helps me for this crazy match season... we shall see how this pans out! wat field are u going into? ur done now right?? ready for the job market i presume.. either way.. how goes ur research? u mentionedbefore, wheres my publication buddy, hehee.. joking, joking, hehe.. anyways.. i hope u around to give me some more inspiration in a few months when i take it!!! keep checking in on me dude!!  take care and tal later!
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| mikky
Forum Elite
Topics: 17
Posts: 504
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hey bsmooth...congrstz on getting done with all the USMLE exams....i have a question...is the kaplan u r ugesting is kaplan Q bank or Q book?? i have Q book...should i buy Q bank too??
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| bsmooth7
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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hottie,
just wanted to remind you:
kaplan % is roughly equal to actual usmle %
57% is passing = 190
60% = 200
63% = 210
66% = 220
etc, etc, etc (3% = 10 pts)
usmleworld is much harder than actual usmle so add about 8% to your usmleworld score to figure out your projected usmle score
49% is passing
but you want to have some room to spare
52% is like 60% = 200, which is a good start!
54% will give you even more room = 62% = 206
I was getting about 54% at the end on usmleworld and i wound up with 206, so the formula worked out perfectly for me.
Of course, your CCS performance affects your overall score so you might not wind up with that 8% spread that the formula predicts.
So, Kaplan is vital as it will tell you exactly where you are performance-wise and the difficulty level is nearly identical to the actual test!
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| bsmooth7
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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mikky --
I never used Qbook so I can't comment on that.
QBank is better, though, because you are using the same computer interface as the actual exam and if you only practice on paper, it might hurt your performance on the actual usmle.
I only did a few hundred Kaplan items and my biggest regret was that I didn't do more.
My other regret was that I didn't prepare enough for the CCS portion, which is 25% of your score, so spend about 25% of your study time preparing for it unless you are acing the practice CCS stuff.
I also found FA to be better than Crush for my particular exam but I used the Crush published in 2004 and I believe the 2008 edition came out a few weeks ago so it might not be a fair comparison.
The FA edition that I used was the newly published 2008 version, which I found excellent.
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| bsmooth7
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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Timing Problems
A lot of people report having timing problems with the long question stems and close answer choices.
I recommend practicing skimming the answer choices before even reading the question!
I also recommend practicing how to skim these long passages, i.e. not actually reading word-for-word but paying special attention to what seems like the important part of the passage, which you would know if you read the answer choices first!!!
Skimming is the key to solving your timing problems!!!!
So is doing timed practice sessions as part of your preparation!
And the final key is to move on to the next question if you cannot make up your mind!
(You can always choose an answer, and mark that question so that you can come back to it at the end)
Hope this helps,
B
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| caduceus
Forum Guru
Topics: 120
Posts: 809
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any idea about shaher cd?
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| mikky
Forum Elite
Topics: 17
Posts: 504
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thanx a lot bsmooth....
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| bsmooth7
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 35
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caduceus --
i never used shaher, so i don't have an opinion...
but i do have an opinion regarding one thing and that is...
How much money should I spend on usmle preparation???
I don't think anybody should have a limit, with 2 major exceptions:
1)You are a compulsive shopper and know that you will wind up buying things that you will definitely not use
2)You are in immediate danger of losing your home due to financial problems
Being homeless is worse than not begin fully prepared for this test!
So, if you do not fit into either of the above categories, then my advice is to buy any materials that may help you pass this test!
I wound up buying some things that I didn't have time to thoroughly review, but how do I know that some of those materials didn't get me a few points?
And the financial cost of failing and having to take this test again should encourage you to buy as many materials that you feel might be helpful to you.
Not to mention the considerable emotional cost of failing, which is priceless for many.
So feel free to buy things that may increase your score on this test!
I bought usmlesteps123 two nights before the test and spent three hours using it.
Though I found it a bit confusing, maybe it helped me score 3-4 points on the test.
There is no real way to know.
When I say that I think FA and Crush were useful for me, these are my personal attributions, but they may not be completely accurate.
Another way to think about it:
If I used only FA, what score would I get?
If I used FA and Crush, what score would I get?
If I used FA, Crush, and Premier, what score would I get?
It is likely that as more materials are added, your score will go up.
Sure, the returns will be diminishing with each thing you add, but sometimes it can make the difference between failing and passing.
The same thing goes for the MCQ materials, more is probably better.
Of course, there is probably some saturation point, where no matter what additional materials you use, your score will not increase further.
But how many of us reach that point?
One last thing: I am not saying to buy 10 different books and read through all of them as fast as you can.
Sometimes, using 1 or 2 books and reading them through multiple times is better than buying 5 or 6 books and not being about to review them as thoroughly.
So it is not just about quantity, but the quality of your preparation with each book.
I hope this message helps somebody!
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| hottie99
Forum Guru
Topics: 33
Posts: 765
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u always help me smoothie!! 
soooooo, i bought kaplan yesterday..and started it today.. i must be delusional or something, but they're not too bad.. only done 1 test yet thus far, but after like 5-10 will give you my percentile so u can assess for me there buddy.. just been caught up with applications and stuff, have eras done, but working on other things.. ah well, que sera, sera, right?
gotta find me a study buddy i think, my buddy lakshya (he's on this forum as well) is studying for step 3, hopefully his magical 99's rub off on me, hehehe.. so we're going to start shortly.. i got 8 weeks, so i figure it's now or never.. gotta get priorities straight and get it done!!! keep on checking in.. i need that whole accountability to keep me on my toes.. hehe.. til next time...
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| bsmooth7
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Topics: 2
Posts: 35
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what is your %?
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