Which one is better, UW or Kaplan? This is one of the most often asked questions I’ve encountered from people and the answer is as always not that straightforward. Each has its pros and cons and thereby is more useful in one situation than another.
The best answer is that if you can afford to use both, then do so. UW is better used as a learning tool and is less effective (but not ineffective) in both assessment and preparing you for the actual exam experience. Kaplan is more effective in assessment and test preparation and not as effective as a learning tool.
Most people tend to find UW much tougher than Kaplan. In fact, there is kind of a shock when people scoring high in Kaplan Q bank suddenly start to score 10 to 20% lower in UW. So how does UW make their question tougher and is this really reflective of the actual situation you will face in the examination?
There are 4 major ways to make an examination tougher. The first method is to test lower yield concepts. Most reviewers cover high yield concepts only and most people have covered high yield materials in their review. So putting lower yield concepts on Qbanks will insure that people do not know the material. I covered high yield and low yield concepts in this article.
The second method is to require higher level of mastery of the concept in order to be able to answer the questions. You have to know multiple details about a particular concept to be able to get the answer. I covered Master, Know and Familiar in USMLE in this article. Most 2 to 3 step thinking question are of this nature.
The third method is requiring the examinee not only to master the topic at hand, but to have the necessary analytical skills to solve it. This is effective initially, but long term, the thought process involved would have been worked out by someone and most examinees will just memorize the actual answer rendering it less effective. An example will be questions on the effects of various neurotransmitter and anti-hypertensive drugs on the ANS esp. heart and smooth muscle. It requires knowledge not only of the direct effect of the drugs, but also any reflex response it generates and its exact mechanism of action. However, that is so thoroughly explained in detail in Pharmacology: lippincott’s illustrated reviews that you don’t really need analysis just memorization to answer that question
The fourth and last method requires misdirection. Certain questions are constructed in such a way that most of the stem seems to point to one answer but one or two phrases in the question stem makes another answer the correct one. This is controversial as very few of the actual USMLE questions are of this nature and having too many of this in practice Qbanks can create the wrong instinct. That is looking for the trick in a straightforward question, which can waste valuable time in the actual examination
So how reflective are these of the actual conditions in the examination? Although, the USMLE does use all four methods to make tougher questions, it does not use it as often as UW does. Therefore, UW is a good learning tool, since it does train you to answer tough questions. But as I said, there is a danger of developing the wrong instinct in the exam. I find myself often looking for trick questions where there are none sometimes without realizing it. Most questions in the USMLE will still be straightforward and easy to answer.
Kaplan Qbank is more realistic in that the proportion of easy and tough questions is more reflective of the USMLE. Also its ratio of high yield to low yield question is also more reflective of the USMLE. That is the reason why Kaplan is better as an assessment tool and for test preparation. Although, that may change too as Kaplan is moving towards providing tougher questions in its Qbank.
In order to do well in this competitive exam, doing Qbanks is essential. But even more important is knowing how to use the Qbanks more effectively in review. I’ll tackle that in more detail in another post. I’ll also tackle the NBME assessment tests and how to use them for effective review. Contrary to popular expectation, studying the NBME questions themselves is not really that helpful in helping you raise your scores.
One more thing before we close. The typical USMLE Question Block is always a mixture of tough and easy questions, long and short ones. This is because there is a time limit imposed per block. However, when doing Qbanks, each block is randomly generated and therefore it is possible and very probable to generate a block that is full of tough questions, or easy ones. Long questions or short ones. Therefore, single blocks in Qbanks are never reflective of your actual capabilities. Until next time
August 9th, 2008 at 12:23 am
I just discovered your blog, and have spent the last hour or so going through your posts on the prep4usmle forum as well as your blog. I’m truly inspired. =) I’m a foreign graduate and just recently turned 21, and am going through my first read of Kaplan right now. I’ve signed up for USMLE World and Kaplan Qbank as well as USMLERX. Before reading your posts, I was mix-matching the 3 qbanks to try to get as exposed to as different style of questions as possible. But obviously I’m going to have to change my study plans and method a bit after all the advice you’ve poured, so I thank you greatly!
August 9th, 2008 at 9:24 am
To tmoz;
You are welcome!
January 11th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Would you care to comment on the new Kaplan step 2 CK qbank that was placed on the market in May? In the article above, were you comparing the old kaplan step 2 qbank to USMLE world or were you using the new kaplan qbank for comparison? Thank you.
January 12th, 2009 at 5:20 am
Would you care to provide me with a subscription to the new Kaplan Step 2 CK q Bank?
Thank You.
June 14th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Plz i wanted some help considering pathology, I’ve got Dr. Goljan Rapid Review,,
I’ve also got his audio files.
The question is…..can I do the audio only or I need to do the book also!
I really appreciate ur help!
June 20th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Hi Dr. Mina,
Actually the audio files is good for learning pathology. However, it is very difficult to memorize from lectures. So you have a choice of using the book or his notes for memorization.
Askdoc
June 26th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
hi.. thanks for this information, im using NCLEX RN qbank by the way.
just like to ask if u dont mind, i really feel stupid when im taking the
nclex q bank. my average is just 50%plus, is it really that hard for my result
to be that low? i dont think so, lol. thank you very much.
i really dont know where should i ask this, since ur name is ask doc,
might as well ask u and give it a try. lol
June 26th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
oops, i mean “KAPLAN” RN.. lol
July 9th, 2009 at 12:16 am
Hi fez,
Sorry about the late reply. Are you sure I am the right person to ask about the NCLEX exam? All my current posts are about the USMLE exam. However, if the NCLEX exam is anything like the USMLE exam, then my advise may count. So if the Kaplan NCLEX qbank is anything like USMLE, they will have an average listed for each block. Make sure you are above average to be sure of passing the exam. The higher from the average you are, the more likely you will score high. Remember it is not so much your absolute score, but your score relative to the average scores for those q’s
Hope that helps.
Askdoc
August 20th, 2009 at 7:05 am
To the person who posted using my callsign,
Please do not use my callsign when posting questions or comments. It will confuse the other readers. Please repost your question with a different callsign and I will answer it.
Askdoc – “the original one”
January 10th, 2010 at 4:41 am
hi Askdoc just want to ask you what Q bank AND STUDY MATERIALS did you use for step 3? how many weeks did you prepare?and how did you use the Q BANK IN YOUR PREPARATION?DID YOU USE IT EVERY AFTER system such as after studying hematology? Im in residency right now and have at least 2-3 hrs per day to study for 2mos..Im on 2nd reading of MASTER The Boards..I dont have time to do Kaplan step 2..I believe kaplan step 2 notes is in MASTER the Boards already w/ more emphasis on management..On your CCS how did you study for it?THANKS A LOT!!!!
January 11th, 2010 at 7:34 am
Hi DoctorD,
OK, for the record, I got a 90 only for my Step III. What killed me primarily was the CCS. All my other subjects were in the far right with only CCS down on left the straddling the border. I used both UW and Kaplan qbank for my prep and believe me, unlike Step 1 and Step 2 CK, they are very different from what I actually encountered in Step 3, by the way. Even the NBME for Step 3 cannot be relied on as it tests you only on the theoretical part of the exam, not the CCS and the CCS occupies 25% of your score. As to Kaplan Step 2 Notes, they are good only because 20% of Step 3 still deals with pathophysiology or mechanisms of disease. 55% deals with treatment and management. 25% is CCS. Personally, I used Washington Manual for the treatment part and supplemented with Medical Current Treatment and Diagnosis. They are good in teaching you the clinical aspect of management. Being in residency gives you a tremendous advantage as a lot of questions border on practical things you do in the hospital. From basic orders, answering calls, etc.
As to the CCS, you really need to practice the software. I went through about 20 cases using the accompanying software from USMLE, but in the actual exam, I still struggled with the software. It seems 20 cases is small compared with the 2,000 to 4,000 q’s you practice with UW and Kaplan qbanks. Anyway, what I would change in my review is practice CCS more so the software becomes 2nd nature. Next, create more management protocols to insure best method of working up a patient. Hope that helps.
Askdoc
January 17th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Hi AskDoc thank you for replying to my initial post..Anyways, have anotherquestion re:Q banks–How and when do you use it?after 1st or 2nd reading of your study resources or after every system for example after reading CARDIOLOGY..if you just guide me thru this..
Thanks a lotin advance!!
DoctorD
January 17th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
BTW, reading your post here re: UW vs Kaplan Q bank it seems that you favor kapaln..What do you think?Am i right?since UW seems to be difficult because they test you including low yield subjects/topics and kaplan q bank represents BULK of high yield testable topics..what is your comment on my opinion?
thanks again!!!
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:41 pm
hi ask doc…if u dont mind wil u pls help me with my usmle step2 ck prep strategy..i have a month and a half for my test.i did the kaplan books and am revising them now. along with my revisions im doing offline uworld questions subject wise. i finsihed obg,gyn and psychiatry. i was planning on revising the other subjs also from kaplan material while doing the uworld questions. and then i thought ill do one nbme form just to see where i stand and register for an online qbank since the one im using nowis offline and i dont know how current it is.and i also heard that the step2ck interface changed..im not sure if thats true and i dont really know wat it means for my test. do u think its a good plan? wil i have enough time for it? when i register for an online qbank should i do uworld or kaplan qbank or usmleconsult? i hope u dont mind me asking you so many questions. im kinda stressed about the test. please do find the time and reply.thank you in advance.
February 25th, 2010 at 7:37 am
Hi sanju,
First, how many times have you revised Kaplan? Kaplan is good study material for step 2 Ck, but you need to retain and recall at least 80 to 85% of it to get a good score. More if you are aiming for high 90’s.
Second, how well are you doing answering next best step in management type of questions? If not too good, you may need to write down management and diagnostic algorithms and study them.
I have listed down the 4 most common reasons why people score poorly in Step 2 CK in my reply to NO’s question under this post Guide to Self-Evaluation in USMLE Prep in this blog
Read it for more information
Askdoc
February 26th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
hi ask doc..thanks soo much for the reply..i did read the guide to self evaluation. ive revised kaplan material twice. and i think i can recall close to 75 % of the material. i realised i get very confused when i start answering questions and also realised tat it was because i wasnt very clear with the mnagement concepts. i did prepare algorithms for a lot of stuff coz tats how i usually study. im doing the kaplan qbook right now and am scoring a consistent 85%. what i get wrong is usually a concept tat ive never read before or a prob with my recall i.e. i know i read it but just cant a clear idea abt it..so im focussing on doing questions and re-reading stuff tat i cant recall.. its internal med that scares me. since ive not practised a lot of questions i wanted to go ahead and subscribe for a qbank. wat is ur suggestion?which one do u think i should subscribe for.is my planning ok.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Hi! I am taking my Step 2 (CK) in May 2010. What should I do Kaplan or UW qbank? If have time to do the both what should be the priority and if I have to do one only then which one or are there better ones too?
March 8th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Hi! I am taking my Step 2 (CK) in May 2010. What should I do Kaplan or UW qbank? If have time to do the both what should be the priority and if I have to do one only then which one or are there better ones too? Please e-mail me the response at docrahman@gmail.com