Hi - I just finished my 2nd year and now preping for step 1. i am taking kaplan in oct. i wake up nights freaking out at the info. i feel that everytime i go over it ...well it's like i have never seen this b/f and i'm learning it for the first time. being in my early 40's .... i stress so much b/c alot is riding on this...anyway- how long did u guys studyfor the exam ( i have kids around) 6hrs/day...10 hrs per day....what do u think of kaplan ? usmle world???
thnx for all ur input! m

I studied for about 5 weeks, about 6 hours per day (scheduled for more like 8-9, but I am big on breaks).

I studied 4 weeks (including spring break) and a LOT during the school year. The 3 weeks I had after finals, I scheduled 12 hours to study and it was more like 10.

I had USMLERx and UWorld; both were fine. Rx was cheaper with more questions and FA correlations, UWorld is the gold standard.

You might want to take a NBME practice test to see where your strengths/weaknesses are and where your score falls now (don't worry, it will go way up with studying).

I had 4 weeks btw end of classes and step 1, studied 7 hours a day m-f and in the evenings I did questions for an hour or so of what I had focused on that day. by the end of the 3rd week i was ready to be done! the last week i just did questions.

our school brought in Kaplan for 3 lectures, Pharm, Micro, and Path. I found them really helpful. They also bought us books and online qbanks, with access to online lectures (which are great)

best of luck to you!
If you are taking the USMLE, i think it is very beneficial. My initial scores jumped up (on practice exams) for the USMLE. I thought their books were great too, very focused. Doing lots of questions gets you used to thinking about how to look at an idea in a way most have not had to in school.

If you are taking COMLEX step 1, it is still helpful, but not as much. they do have some questions for comlex style, but not enough, and their OMM book is not that great.

I highly recommend USMLE World. It is much better than Kaplan. I took 6 weeks to study and I felt it was enough.

Agree with USMLE world - used it for step II and wish I had for step I.

A drastic move - I actually moved into a motel for my last 7 days of studying - they gave me a really good rate on the stay, and my husband brought the kids to swim in the pool in the evenings for a short break. I went home (late) at night to sleep and then hit it again in the morning. Just wasn't getting studying done at home, especially in the evenings when everyone was home.