Post by Admin on Apr 29, 2014 22:53:03 GMT -5
First of all, good luck, this is no small task you are about to take on..
FA is THE most important book for preparing for this exam. I did not study all the kaplan books (I didn't have that much time) but in the end, I found that FA was sufficient when combined with USMLE Qbank..You MUST add notes from the answers in Qbank to FA. If you solve it all, and resolve the ones you got wrong by the end of your review, you should be in good shape.
I started with Biochem. bc it scared me more than any other subject. I spent waaaay to much time (1 month) reading it all, and although I was very happy with myself for finally understanding bio (for what seemed like the first time)I wasted about 1/3 of the time I had before my exam, and felt reallly stressed through out the rest. Not to mention that bio is very easily forgotten bc its all names of enzymes and bi-products and steps in cycles. Bio is a catch 22, it makes everything easier to understand when you know it, but u have to review it all over again in the end bc you will forget it.
I also studied Physiology from kaplan, which is much more essential than bio, as the basic phys is not covered in FA, and basic phys gets asked A LOT, esp respiration stuff (lung volumes, volumes volumes!!!)When I got bored of reading, I watched the kaplan videos to cruise through some chapters. I do recommend that for phys. in particular. The Indian doctor, though VERRRRY slow, does give examples of how they ask questions on the exam, so bear with him. I also recommend watching the kaplan behavioral videos during your lunch breaks.. Its is light and almost entertaining, you don't need to follow along in the book, and it sticks with you so you won't spend much energy reviewing it later on.
Other than that, stick with FA and Qbank. If you insist on doing kaplan, plan on doing each book in 2-4 weeks. FA takes at least 3 weeks to get through; this is all assuming you have nothing else going on in your life and can dedicate 12 hours/day to studying.
All in all, I spent about 2 months of very on-off studying, and 2.5 months of serious studying, and alhamdulilah i got a 99/232.
Best of luck, don't let other people stress you out. I'm not a genius, and other people I know who did very well aren't geniuses either; you can do this!!