Yulia
Forum Elite
Topics: 19
Posts: 240
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Hello Dr Patel,
you sure have a lot of time to prepare. I studied for 4 months full time for step 2. Passed in march, got results back - 256/99
i did it again 
let me tell you what i did to prepare. i took kaplan center prep. it was excellent, i do believe that kaplan notes + video lectures (or live lectures in other case) give enough information to pass step 2.
do i need additional books?if yes, what are the best books to supplement kaplan material?
if you have time to read it and resourses to get it, it doesn't hurt to read other books. i am an anxious type, i spend time and money, to be sure that i have done everything i could. which books? i had blueprints in neurology, surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, ob/gyn. also cmdt which i used for reference, and color atlas of clinical medicine for pictures and stuff like that. i did read the 1st aid, but it didn't feel as essential as the one for step 1.
how important is it to do questions?
VERY important. the more questions you do, the more sense it makes. it helps you to understand what can be asked on the exam, and how you should manage questions. also, questions are a very good learning tool, by doing one question, you can learn 5 different things. as you get used to pacing yourself doing questions at home, it becomes much easier to deal with time issue on the exam. i had 10-15 minutes left at the end on each block on the exam. I probably did about 5000 questions i think. Last month before the exam i did questions only and reviewed whatever i got wrong.
i hope this helps. if you would like me to post the list of question sourses, let me know and i will do that. if there's anything else you 'd like to ask, i will be glad to help.
good luck with your studies.
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| prep4step2
Forum Newbie
Topics: 10
Posts: 20
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Hi Yulia,
What questions have you done? And how was your average score for each question source?
Also, if I don't have enough time and have to choose between Kaplan Q-Bank and usmleworld Q-Bank, which one would you recommend? I'm doing Kaplan Q-Book now and are getting about 65% quesitons correct.
Thanks for your input!
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| meg
Forum Guru
Topics: 62
Posts: 806
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Yooo hooo! Yulia!!! you did it AGAIN!!!! I am so impressed and you are like a role model to me. Even in step 1, I was looking up to you and marvelled at your performance and you have scored 99 in step 2 as well!!!! CONGRATS!!!! That is marvellous. All the best for the CS and Step 3 and May you get the residency position you are desiring.
God bless you, Yulia.
Keep it up.
Meg
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| meg
Forum Guru
Topics: 62
Posts: 806
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Yulia,
please could you share with us the question sources you had taken and the scores (average) you were scoring in them.
Congrats once again for the terrific score!
All the best,
Meg
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| Yulia
Forum Elite
Topics: 19
Posts: 240
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Thanks a lot guys, i will try and do whatever i can to answer all the questions. i might not be able to do it right away since i got this research internship in nuclear medicine, which is not exactly my strongest side so i have to do a lot of reading at home in addition to full time job.
here's what i did for questions:
usmle cd (the one they send you) - 80%
nms and mock exam - about 78-80 as well
kaplan test (the one they give you in the center when you register) 82%
pretests - clinical vignettes and pediatrics - those are good for studying, not for checking how good you're doing, i got probably about 73-75% on average.
kaplan q-book - honestly don't remember how i did on those, not very bad...
kaplan q-bank - ranging from 78 to 98% depends on the subject
and wonderful usmleworld (more than 1650 questions) - in the beginning i was doing miserably - got about 60%, and by the end about 85%
and kaplan simulated exam, on which i got about 90% of questions correctly, which was comforting.
if I don't have enough time and have to choose between Kaplan Q-Bank and usmleworld Q-Bank, which one would you recommend?
how much time do you have? both are good... if i had to choose, i would go with usmleworld, they have more questions, and cost less...
dear meg, thank you very much for your good words. i hope i could be helpful for you. i did all the questions i could get my hands on... the only thing, harrisons pretests i couldn't do, it was frustratingly difficult for me, so i gave up. the bottomline is - the more questions you do, the more comfortable you feel on the exam, if there is such thing as feeling comfortable on usmle
well, at least time wasn't an issue.
i hope your studying is going well. let me know if there's anything else i could help you with.
good luck to all!!!
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| meg
Forum Guru
Topics: 62
Posts: 806
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thanks a lot, Yulia. Congrats on the research internship.
All the best for CS and Step 3 and everything towards residency.
Meg
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| tweety
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 5
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is anyone familiarr with the exammaster cd's.
are they helpful
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| emily
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 4
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Hi Yulia, you did a very good job and even I just began to read some messages on the forum, I was very impressed by your good scores! Do u mind to share some experiences with me? What kind of books you read for step 1 and step 2. You mentioned that Aid for step 2 is not as good as step 1? Is that correct? Thanks!
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| lucky
Forum Guru
Topics: 23
Posts: 505
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hello,
i'm new to this forum . Wish i had found it earlier. i too am studying kaplan lecture notes but i don' t have access to audio or video. i'm an img . how do u get the videos and audios?
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| Yulia
Forum Elite
Topics: 19
Posts: 240
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hi lucky,
video - tapes you get in the center when you enroll in the course, or online for highlights, as for audio, i am not sure if kaplan has it for step 2.
emily, i am glad to share my experiences with you or anyone who's interested.
i think i mentioned in this post pretty much everything i did for step two.
concerning first aid, i am not a big fan of it in a first place. prefer to review my own notes and questions, following by chapters in the texbooks for the topics i did poorly.
so about first aid, i had it for step 2, and i don't think i finished reading it.
there was was not enough details and the month before the exam i already knew the concepts and needed details and for that goal questions were the best in my opinion.
step 1 ... it was a few months ago. i posted the list of books and questions somewhere in this forum, so i'll just copy that here.
Anatomy - HY and MRS (made ridiculously simple)
Neuroanatomy - HY and MRS
Embryology - HY
Histology - HY plus Cell biology and histology BRS
Physiology - BRS, NMS, MRS
Biochemistry - LIPPINCOTT, HY, and Metabolism
Microbiology - Levinson, and for immunology I read HY as well
Pharmacology - Lippincott
Pathology - BRS
Behavioral - HY
i also read first aid and crush the board.
i took webprep, so i had kaplan notes as well.
if you have any particular question i could answer, you are welcome to ask.
good luck in your studies!
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| leftfoot
Forum Elite
Topics: 29
Posts: 216
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hey you guys...
my score just came in...i made an 88. dont know the three digit score though.i'm kinda disappointed. i wanted to touch 90.
oh well...now i just wanna focus on step 2 and do better in that exam.
thank you all for all the wonderfull suggestions and advice about step 2 preparation.
i have time so i guess i will try n do both kaplan and usmleworld qbank.
i just had one more question.
for studying theory....what should i supplement kaplan notes with....
crush step 2 OR first aid for step 2 ???
please lemme know you guys!
thanks a million! 
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| meg
Forum Guru
Topics: 62
Posts: 806
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"dr.patel" wrote:hey you guys... my score just came in...i made an 88. dont know the three digit score though.i'm kinda disappointed. i wanted to touch 90. oh well...now i just wanna focus on step 2 and do better in that exam. thank you all for all the wonderfull suggestions and advice about step 2 preparation. i have time so i guess i will try n do both kaplan and usmleworld qbank. i just had one more question. for studying theory....what should i supplement kaplan notes with.... crush step 2 OR first aid for step 2 ??? please lemme know you guys! thanks a million!
Congrats Dr. Patel
I suggest First Aid (the recent edition) for step 2. It is not as superb as the one for step 1, but it is good. If you can do Kaplan+selected stuff from CMDT+ FA+ CTB ... that should suffice in my opinion.Doing a lot and lot of questions is important.
all the best,
Meg
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| Green
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 42
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I have some questions:
1. where to get kaplan stuff, including q-bank, lecture notes, vidoes, ....or anything else?
2. what is CMDT, is it good? where to find it?
3. what is FA or CTB?
i heard that internal medicine consists of most of the step 2 exam, is it true?
thank you all
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| bluesman78
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 8
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Did you pass or fail man? You took test over 1 month ago and thought you failed. What was the outcome?
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| Green
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 42
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I have not received the socre yet. but i felt i failed it. If i fail it, i will buy some kaplan notes or something else.
thanks. you are "chasing" me, man. who are you?
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| bluesman78
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 8
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Just curious because I am waiting for score too and think I failed. I think a lot of people feel that way after test. Most complain but never post followup to give us all hope.
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| dyk33
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 29
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hi yulia,
congratulations on your score. i have a question about kaplan center prep. they say you get 30 kaplan center visits when you sign up. is there a time limit as to when you use up those visits? and how is the quality of the video lectures? thanks
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| Yulia
Forum Elite
Topics: 19
Posts: 240
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hi dyk33,
to your question about kaplan center prep course, you sign up for three months, and allowed as many visits as you can make within 3 months timeframe.
30 visits within 6 months is a med pass, which is only available for medical students.
if you need more information, you should really look at kaplan website. (this also goes for green's question on where to get kaplan stuff)
the quality of video lectures, it depends... some lectures i loved and some i hated, some were so boring i could barely stay awake, some were excellent, but in either case, there's enough information to pass comfortably, given that you do lots of questions.
green, cmdt stands for current medical diagnosis and treatment, i used it mainly for reference. you can get it in medical bookstore or on line, whichever you prefer. i believe it is widely available.
fa is a first aid, not sure about ctb, you should ask meg, she was the one using the abbreviation.
for the content of step 2 ck, yes - internal medicine questions dominate, but for more information on form or content, oficial usmle website works best of all.
good luck to all!
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| naisarg
Forum Newbie
Topics: 6
Posts: 26
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hello freinds...can anyone please advice me which way should i start my step-2 preparation.I m still waiting for my step-1 results...hopefully i pass out this time as it ws my 2nd attempt and my exam has gone good compared to last time...but then u never know...but still waiting for my results..meanwhile i want to start with step-2 at slow pace .If i clear my step-1 ,,then i m planning to give step-2 by september or latest october.So can anyone guide me which way should i start studying.It's hard to start and get into flow.I have all material needed for step-2 like KAPLAN NOTES,FA,CRUSH THE BOARDS(CTB),CMDT,Q-BOOK,NMS ETC.Any advice is really appreciated..as i want to just study for 3-4 hrs/day till i get my results.I have heard that FA is not good for step-2? what about CTB.can i just read that 1st or start with kaplan notes only? :?:
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| SL
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 1
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Hi Yulia,
Congratulations on your great score on Step2!
I just discovered this forum today. I have few questions regarding step2 preparation even after I read all your posts. Would you please e-mail me at npj50@yahoo.com One more question: do you speak Russian?
Regards,
SL
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| drvl
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 3
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hello,
it seems like you've had success with the usmle exams. i faced difficulty in the past with the test. i was wondering if you knew of any tutors for the step 2 in the new york area.
all the best. thanks for your help.
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| emily
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 4
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Hi Yulia,
Thank you so much for your information. Could you please tell me where I can buy Kaplan notes+videos? I went to the Kaplan web and didn't find any Kaplan notes for selling. Should I take Kaplan course for getting those materials? Thank you again for your advice!
Emily
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| Yulia
Forum Elite
Topics: 19
Posts: 240
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Hi guys,
sorry for not being able to answer any sooner, we had a major deadline at work...
naisarg, i am not sure what you should read first, i don't think it matters at all. i started with kaplan notes, someone likes first aid, the bottomline is, you should be very comfortable with any mcqs at the end. how you get to that point, it's a matter of personal preference. as i said before i didn't have crush the boards and didn't finish first aid, didn't think i needed it.
sl, i do speak russian and i sent you a private message, would prefer to communicate that way if you don't mind.
drlv,
sorry, can't help you here, don't know anyone tutoring steps either here in boston or in ny area. have you done kaplan courses? they help... if you did and that didn't work, there is a course that guarantees a passing score if you enroll and do what they say, and if you fail after that they let you take it again for free. i think it's called falcon physicians review. here's their website.
http://falconreviews.com/index.htm
i haven't had any experience with them personally, just read the information on the website.
emily,
kaplan doesn't sell just books, you would have to enroll in one of their courses. and that's pretty expensive. which step are you studying for? for the first one, you can get books with webprep, which is more affordable, but for the second one, with highlights they don't give notes. there's another way tho get it. try e-bay or other sites like that. personally i wouldn't buy or sell kaplan notes on e-bay, but some people actually do. that way you end up paying less. watch out for old editions and bad copies though. if you ask my personal opinion, i think kaplan course was well worth the money i paid. both times. (i took webprep for the first step)
thank you guys for asking my advice. i am sincerely glad to help anyone who needs it. i haven't had much time for it lately, but will try my best to answer everyone if you post your question here.
good luck to all!
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| asmi
Forum Hero
Topics: 1043
Posts: 4,609
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Hi Yulia,
Congradulations for a great score ,you are excellent !
I have kaplan notes , blue prints and CMDT,are they enough for a good preparation ?
Live lectures is costly though :roll:
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