OK, I have read lots of complaints about Spartan and the quality of tuition there and a lot of people have complained that essentially they are self studying there.

So here is an idea. Use Spartan (or any other school) to get an MD. As Spartan is only 3 years take a year out between basic science and clinicals to attend the year long intensive Kaplan programme which costs about $10,000 plus $500 for the home study materials. So just use Spartan for their WHO listing. Pay the fees and study the Kaplan how study programme then take a year away from Spartan and do the Kaplan full time for a year before taking step 1.

You would still qualify in 4 years and in my opinion the Kaplan study year with Kaplan tutors in a hotel setting would mean you have all the knowledge you need.

As far as I can see, even if you slept through the basic sciences at Spartan, the Kaplan year would probably be enough to get a good USMLE pass.

Has anyone else done anything like this? From what I have read, this is what most students do although most don't spend the year full time at Kaplan, they just study the Kaplan materials.

Also, does anyone know what visa I would need to do my rotations in the US being a non US citizen?

good ideas

Has anyone tried this?

Is this how students are currently studying?

I am willing to bet my last £/$ that students who pass USMLE do so because of Kaplan (or similar) and not because of Spartan.

So use Spartan for their IMED/WHO approval and to get the MD but use Kaplan/First Aid for your USMLE scores.

I am sure the same goes for many Caribbean medical schools not only Spartan.

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...."Beyond jealosy and betrayal; beyond hate and desire; beyond pain and death; lies the ultimate revelation; the final choice; the end; because the fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth" Neon Genesis Evangelion

Guys Please don't be fooled. American Medical Schools also use Kaplan. I attented Medical School Base Four years college I see them all the time studing kaplan taPes. I worked at the library while in Udergrad. NO AMERICAN MEDICAL STUDENT TAKE STEPS WITHOUT KAPLAN.....NONE NEVER....

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All caribbean med school
ocean side, carib MD 2010 "supras parable"

"you will get alot more done with a gun and nice talk, than with a gun alone" Al capon

I thought as much! Medical school prepares you for a general education whereas Kaplan prepares you for a specific exam.

Do Kaplan do video lectures? I thought it might be good to use them to support my studies. I went to the Kaplan site but it isn't very helpful it just lists packages rather than resources.

***EDIT***

I found the video lectures and the home study course. Will these be enough? I understand from searching Google that most people reccomend Goljan for the pathology.

Essentially I will be self teaching so will Kaplan be enough to cover the material? Does it teach the material or is simply a bullet point/notes series?

In a nutshell I am not confident that Spartan (or any other Carribean/Eastern European school) will prepare me for USMLE so I am going to use the school for the MD but teach myself. This is what learning is all about after all! Some people are there to learn and some people are there to be taught! I am there to learn.

Is Kaplan suitable for "stand alone" learning? Or are other books needed?

i don;t think the video lectures nor the books are enough to take the usmle. people take kaplan, falcon, etc as a review not as primary learning.....beleive me i had the exact same idea back in the day but after going through school and doing kaplan i can tell you the stuff in kaplan alone is not enough.

you can test this out before you try out your experiment. do a kaplan video lecture in your choice if topic then go to usmleworld and sign up for it and take the simulated exam (not in tutor mode) if you get above 70% you have cracked the easy way to pass the usmle.

there is no magic "secret" to these exams, you have to know the material, to know the material you need more than kaplan. you can attend any of these schools, they all follow the us curricula and use the same textbooks so even if the profs are from places you've never heard of and can't understand more than 3 words from them you are still forced to study the same material as every one of us..what they test and how they test is irrelevant because you are still reading the same material and by taking a kaplan, falcon, etc review course you can make up deficiencies in testtaking strategies, fill in material gaps then do sample questions to get used to test style

beleive me its a process that takes time, the material takes time. you have to know the basics before you get to a level of understanding shortened review style books like kaplan and things like first aid. i mean when i first saw first aid and the kaplan and brs books they absolutely looked greek because it just seemed like random facts thrown together but after studying the material i can look at a kaplan page and understand 90+% of it because it links back to a foundation of medical knowledge that is difficult to grasp in a "review course"

good luck

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OBGYN PGY II
I see light at the end of the tunnel!!!...wait a minute its just another freakin tunnel!

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!

I just sold my business for £10,000 ($19,660 at current exchange rate) to pay for medical school. It was only a small home business making me a simple living but I got a good price for it considering it has only been established 6 months.

Now my options are Spartan (qualify in 4 years) or Romania (6 years but possibly automatically recognised in UK)

Arrgggh what should I do? I am very unsure about Spartan and Romanian schools equally. I want to set up my own family practice in the USA when I graduate but also have the option of returning to the UK.

So I now don't have my business (although and a cheque for £10,000 will be with me in approximately 28 days) I just don't know what to do now.

Romania easy admission inexpansive approved in USA widely.
disadvantage: chances of passing US exams remote[all my friends who graduated from there failed[big time] in USMLE due to substandard & crowded education[that was few years back]

Spartan is California disapproved and many states using CA now with very long list [Alaska,VT,TN,CA,TX,ND,NM,IN,OK etc],they have practicing grads in USA in good positions but I think its becoming more difficult,the school and the St Lucian gov have not done much efforts in seeking recognitions and approvals for 25 years.
no one can tell you what to do ,it seems like you worked hard for your money and need a palces that gives you little more security.

good luck

WOW! That is a massive list of dissaproved states. I am not sure my money would be well spent at Spartan. It might be better for me to spend an extra two years in med school and got to Romania.

Surely my success at USMLE will depend upon my own hard work. I am not sure Spartan will prepare me any better than a Romanian school. At least a Romanian school won't leave me disbarred!

Problem with Romania is the entry exam. It's a long way to travel to sit an exam with the content relatively unknown! Apparently it's two essay style questions and they can ask anything they want.