and yet another kaplan question

[deniro]

Hi,

I paid my full tuition for Kaplan and received my 2007 edition Kaplan books today. I watched the DVD (2004) along with it. Some of the lectures are word by word from the notes. The 2007 edition has more pages, tables, but, not for every subject. ( 4 out of 7 are exactly same as 2004).

Majority of ppl said they take the classes becuase they don't want miss out on something..
.Here is the question, does the Live lecture provide more stuff than the notes? like new information, questions, exam taking strategy, tricks?

Money is not the issue, but I am not crazy about driving 2 hours a day to the center and have to catch up everything again after the program. I don't need their struture to manage my studying schedule. In that case, should I withdraw the class before it starts?

Please help!

Thanks.

[rumorsweretrue]

If you're at a point where you're asking, "Why should I take this course?" then you probably shouldn't be. Save your money and travel Asia or Europe with it. Lord knows you'll have the free time.

[rokshana]

If you're at a point where you're asking, "Why should I take this course?" then you probably shouldn't be. Save your money and travel Asia or Europe with it. Lord knows you'll have the free time.


i agree completely

[envivany1]

You wont miss out on anything, the material in medicine is always the same.

[deniro]

Thanks for the responses.

Have you guys taken the class before?

(Rumors: I do plan a trip to other hemisphere).

What I am really asking is "what else does the Kaplan class offer beside the notes? , Do the DVDs reflect the live lectures?"

I got other opinions: two ppl said, they took the class in summer and they highly recommend it because they think Kaplan teaches A LOT more than SGU does (oops, delete it, if you want. I do love my school).

I mean if anybody can tell me that the live lectures give you more beyond the notes, then I will put my 3K down and get a car ready on Jan 8th.

[rokshana]

Thanks for the responses.

Have you guys taken the class before?

(Rumors: I do plan a trip to other hemisphere).

What I am really asking is "what else does the Kaplan class offer beside the notes? , Do the DVDs reflect the live lectures?"

I got other opinions: two ppl said, they took the class in summer and they highly recommend it because they think Kaplan teaches A LOT more than SGU does (oops, delete it, if you want. I do love my school).

I mean if anybody can tell me that the live lectures give you more beyond the notes, then I will put my 3K down and get a car ready on Jan 8th.


well those 2 people weren't paying much attention while at sgu- cause i didn't really think anything new was really presented in the kaplan retreat in atlanta.
eh- i wouldn't do it over again- thought the pace was too fast- i would have used the time better on my own- if you studied during your last 2 years to truly learn the material (and not just for the exams during the term), then you can use the books to study on your own and do well above the average.

[rokshana]

If you're at a point where you're asking, "Why should I take this course?" then you probably shouldn't be. Save your money and travel Asia or Europe with it. Lord knows you'll have the free time.

you would think that with 6 months off you would have all this free time, but it goes FAST!!! I had all these great plans- take the exam after te kaplan class at the end of feb and then i would have 2 and a half months off! I was going to go to visit friends in hawaii and new zealand- but then reality reared its ugly head- I tool and 6 weeks after the kaplan class to study (because the kaplan class was exhausting!!), then i had to get my placement straightened out (was placed in danbury/westchester/bronx and while i've heard they are a pretty good experience, i wanted to live in one place)which took forever!! I submited my appeal april 1st (1st day you could) and didin't get permanent placement letter til the last week in april), so of course i couldn't sign a lease anywhere until i got that letter(and of course since i'm not from the ny/nj area had to figure out WHERE i was going to live), then of course i needed to actually MOVE and settle in and i wanted to get all that done before i started at st joe's(course I'm still settling in and I've been there for 6 months!!)
Suffice to say- did not go to hawaii or NZ (nashville for the wekend was as far as i got!).

[canman]

I did not use any kaplan material. i just read the notes over again for 2 months, and i did very well on step 1. Dont waste your money with kaplan...


canman

[tralfaz]

I did not use any kaplan material. i just read the notes over again for 2 months, and i did very well on step 1. Dont waste your money with kaplan...


canman

You truly were a brave "man" to do that. You did do qbank/nbme questions at least?

[canman]

You truly were a brave "man" to do that. You did do qbank/nbme questions at least?


Yes i did NBME1 and NBME2. thats it... nothing else! SGU prepares you very well for the exam


Canman

[Drakoma]

hey, how do we go about obtaining a loan for the kaplan (or any) review class...does the money go directly to us, then we pay kaplan, or does the money go directly to them? just wondering

[jaywalk81]

there are additional amount that you can take out, i think the max is another 10,000 and that goes to u and you can use it for whatever you want.

call bayshore to get it approved

[tralfaz]

Here's a helpful thread discussing different self-study schedules. Dr. Nick even makes a guest appearance:).

Step one Study Guides - Student Doctor Network Forums (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=108020)

edit-->some other sources:
HOw to prepare for the boards (http://www.md-do.org/how_to_prepare_for_the_boards.htm)
UPENN SOM STUDENT PORTAL | USMLE Step 1 Questionnaire Response (http://www.med.upenn.edu/student/usmle/info.html) (people actually used Netter!?)
USMLE Study Tips: Alpha Omega Alpha — UIC (http://www.alphaomegaalpha.org/Chapters/AlphaIllinois/usmle.shtml)
study schedule for those interested (http://www.usmle.net/step-1/messages2006d/224397.html)
Academic Counseling (http://www.medschool.northwestern.edu/student-programs/counseling/academic/index.html) (check out the links under the brown seminar box)
emorymed » step1 (http://emorymed.wikispaces.com/step1?token=6738511a90b66eeb266e7102e59ba445)
1) Name: (http://webcampus.drexelmed.edu/osa/usmle/usmleadvice02.htm)

[Hobbes1845]

Having never taken Kaplan, I don't know what I've gotten myself into. I do know that spending another 5k when I'm already 130k in debt seems like a good investment if it could even raise my score by 3-5% on the most important test in my life.

Maybe it will, or maybe not...but I'm willing to take those odds.

[stephew]

well put it this way- the 5K you wont even notice in the rest of the debt.

[snowedin]

Yes i did NBME1 and NBME2. thats it... nothing else! SGU prepares you very well for the exam


Canman

How much time did you give yourself to study?

[Pilot25]

Deniro, Im not from SGU and am unaware of how well structured or prepared you guys are coming out of 4th semester.
In my case, i have a hard time being structured and need that environment and schedule to "force study". Fortunately live lectures do that. I did the live lec. in chicago last year in march and found them to be unbelieveably good! Dr. Goljan was awesome! Ive also seen the live lec. tapes and while some lecturers present literally verbatim in the tape and in person (ie behavioral science w/ dr daugherty) others are vastly different (ie dr. barone for path. who is AWESOME in person and not so good on tape).
Theres my 2 cents in this so good luck! remember though that the lecture notes where meant to go with lectures so there is stuff that they expand on that is not in the book and other stuff they specifically mention will not be on the exam so not to waste time reading. Any Q's send me a messege.

[Pilot25]

By the way, in case you are wondering, I did pass the step 1 on my first attempt with a pretty decent score! In my opinion, do the course, if you are in debt as much as we all are a few more G's really wont matter in the long run. They do teach you little mnemonics that they dont on tape that help you so much on your exam. I had at the very least more than a dozen q's on the exam that their mnemonics helped me on and helped me answer the q correctly!