That's why I really believe that you could be using your time better than passively studying Kaplan notes and video lectures. If you talk to previous test takers about their biggest regret, 90% of the time they say they wish they had done more practise questions. Imagine if you could spend 3-6 more months just doing practise questions. If instead you used say boards and beyond combined with Anking, and finished that in 6 -9 months, that gives you 3-6 months more time that you can dedicate to any resource of your choosing. Let's say you were 1.5 years out, and you spent 1 year of that doing Kaplan. Some people say - well I have ages till my exam, I'll definitely get through it by then, but to that I say even if you're 1 year plus out from your exam, your time is still extremely valuable! If you're struggling with base knowledge there are better resources to use than Kaplan, like boards and beyond, which still covers all the basics of the USMLE in enough detail for IMGs, but is still high yield enough, and is fast paced enough cover the content in a reasonable time. I was covering a lot of the same content, and it was less concise than what I was watching in boards and beyond, another resource I was dabbling.Įventually I switched completely to boards and beyond over Kaplan, and I am so glad I did. I feel like there is so much content on the USMLE that 'comprehensive' resources like Kaplan just take too long. There was so much content It felt like I was going to two medical schools at once. I had no idea whether they would be useful, but as an IMG I wanted a comprehensive resource, and I thought that I would be able to finish it in a year.īetween medical school, and other high yield resources like pathoma and sketchy, I found it impossible to also keep up with Kaplan. I originally picked up the Kaplan books 2 years out from Step 1 (the first time) along with first aid. Long(er) answer - it depends, if you'll let me explain. Short answer - probably not, I think you should use Boards and Beyond instead. I believe that there are limited circumstances where they should be used, but because I value your time, I'll give you my thoughts right away.
Some people say they are a waste of time, and some say that they are a god tier resource.