Thank you,

Regards,
Ghosh

Sorry for the late reply. The prep course is really keeping me on my toes. I am also currently experiencing an upsurge on my number of patients, so doing a lot of overtime on my day job, too.

Anyway, have you read my post “Is Kaplan enough for Step 1 Review“? Read it first. What books you need to read depends on a lot of factors. First, what score are you aiming for? Are you a fresh grad, old grad, 3rd year med student? They all make a difference. For most recent grad, who studied more or less properly(esp. if you are AMG), and will be satisfied with passing or getting average scores (80’s) Kaplan notes is more than adequate. Don’t get me wrong, some exceptional people can get a 99 using only Kaplan notes, but I think they are very, very few and rare. I know I can’t.

So If you want a more definite answer, tell me your present condition and maybe I can give you a more definite answer.

A bigger problem for me is that you are giving yourself around 3 months to prepare for Step 1. That is advisable only for a recent grad (as in last year) or 3rd year, who is a good student, learns and memorizes very fast and not aiming for a particularly high score. (at most high 80’s, again there are exceptions). You know your capabilities and goals. So only you can determine if 3 months is enough. One more thing, if you are an IMG, you typically need more time to cover topics that are tested in the USMLE but not taught in your country’s med school. That could cover as much as 30% of the materials you need to study. You need to learn these materials, not just review them and that takes longer.

Askdoc

Sorry for the late reply. Was really busy the past month. Anyway BRS and NMS are a series of review books. BRS is Board Review Series and NMS is National Medical Series for Independent Study (NMS-IS). BRS is more concise and better for USMLE review while NMS is more detailed and can be used for both USMLE review and Shelf review.

How are you? I will be starting a second class beginning middle of January to middle of July or six months. You can join that if you like. Wait for the announcement on when enrollment starts. (Prob. next week). Although I will not be charging tuition fees, I will be charging an enrollment fee which is non-refundable. This is to prevent people who sign up to occupy a space and then drop the course without even starting or just attending one day of classes. Therefore, you need to be sure you are committed to finishing the course before enrolling. Slots are limited, and people who enroll then drop after a week or two, are wasting slots.

About aiming for a 99, I usually ask people not to aim for a 99 but try their best to prep right. If you prep right and it’s meant to be, you’ll get a 99. The problem of aiming for a 99 is that not everybody can get a 99. Obsessing for a 99 can affect your prep and make you perform worst. Once you are in the program, I’ll introduce you to a member of the first batch of attendees who improved her performance a lot after she stopped obsessing about a 99. In fact her chances of getting a 99 is much, much higher than when she was obsessing about it.

In fact, I didn’t start out thinking I’ll get a 99. I though I’ll be happy with 90 or 95. It was only around a month or so before the exam that I realized I have a chance at 99 and went for it. So most important is to concentrate and prep well and if the chance for a 99 happen to appear, then go for it.

Mike aka “askdoc”