USMLE Becker step 1 question bank

[Transposony]

Was thinking of signing up for the Becker step 1 question bank but it is completely new and largely "untested".
It apparently has about 1100 questions and they claim that it is the only QBank which is "Faculty reviewed".
Has anyone used it so far ?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[marackobaba]

for god sake stop advertising for Becker

 

[Focused1]

@Transposony any luck finding more info on this ?

It has 2000 questions now I think.. I was thinking of buying it but wasn't sure if it's good enough... please pitch in if anyone else has info on this !

 

[Transposony]

I heard some good things about it from someone attending Free Becker webinar few weeks ago but then that person is very likely to be biased.
I am thinking about doing it anyway instead of Kaplan QBank since it is the latest QBank with some great teachers among it's faculty.
Another reason is that UW seems to be losing it's touch according to some recent test takers and this being the most recent QBank.

 

[aspiringmd1015]

UW will never lose its touch

 

[Dalinar]

Thanks for bringing this up. I was actually looking for a new source of questions after I finish UW next month. Could you tell us how it goes and if you found any discount codes?

 

[Focused1]

Whether UW loses it's touch or not.. i dunno..
But i have already done it so it doesnt matter to me..
I was primarily looking for a tool to boost my scores..

From what I have heard.. it's a good qbank with TONS of stupid errors..
Lets see..i will soon find out.

EDITED: Yeah.. in case there is a Becker Rep lurking around...please share a discount code if there is one.. It sells for $100 a month which in my opinion is too steep taking into account the fact that Kap Qbank and Rx are both cheaper..

 

[Phloston]

For a QBank to equal or surpass UW would take a lot of professional (not student) man-hours. And unfortunately people are busy. But it will happen in time.

 

[fssca20]

I did about half the Becker Qbank. Only because we got it for free and we were required to take a Becker comp. I wouldn't spend your money on this. Uworld, kaplan, and rx are all better and more relevant to step 1 in my opinion.

 

[Focused1]

So, I am planning on doing Becker QBank in this week.. Is there anyone around who is doing it right now ? I reviewed a couple blocks from my friend's subscription and I though it is a good QBank there are errors. If anyone is interested we could discuss the doubtful ones here or could just give feedback about it ?
Not too gung ho about it because I have seen wrong Qs but still plan on doing it nonetheless..

 

[Transposony]

After a lot of thought I have decided against doing it since those mistakes might "stick" in your head.
I am going to stick with the three time tested QBanks as it appears that Becker is not ready for the "prime time" and it is going to take some time to "mature".
The only scenario I might even consider it is before doing any of the three Q Banks AND if I had lot of time to spare.

 

[Focused1]

Here's a code for USMLErx!

Just a few days left!!

Till You Pass Step 1 Qmax - $149

PCSOMQMAX1

ends 8/11

Please admins.. stop this account from spamming !!
We dont want your stupid code USMLERx marketing exec !!

 

[Focused1]

I did not realize that this was considered spamming - I will revisit the forum rules. I only post this code on threads where people are talking about different question banks.

U posted the same thing in 10 threads in a matter of a few minutes..
I guess that's the DEFINITION of SPAM !!
Anyways..dont have time to reply to this.. later

 

[Dr.serotonin]

Focused1. i hope you have done Bekers Q bank, how was it? do you recomend it?
thanx

 

[Reperfused]

My question is the same. Anyone who did Becker Qbank, please give your input.
Thanks a lot

 

[Focused1]

havent tried yet

 

[Focused1]

Just wanted to update u guys..
I had eventually gone through it..
Dont do it..it's ****.. far too many mistakes to be useful//has some good questions but they are few and far between.. apparently they think Marfan's is Type 1 collagen abnormality and IGF is decreased in gigantism..

Sorry for the late reply..have been busy with ****.. i guess i will write my experience soon..got a 268 !
Cheers..

 

[worldbeater]

If you want to do another QBank in addition to UWorld or Kaplan, you should try USMLE Weapon. I don't see many people post about it here, but I liked it. It has really nice explanations and helpful hints, and it has an option called "test weaknesses" that is great at testing what concepts you are really struggling on.

UWorld is still the king though.

 

[Mr. Jack's]

I am doing the Becker's right now...and it is good and challenging. I think some of their faculty are previous Kaplan teachers that defected and went to beckers to teach. I haven't done the Online classes yet, but the interactive e-book is really good. Their Q-bank are good too, and reflect what you would see on Uworld...and same format. I will be using the program more, and I will tell yall later more about it.

Right now, I wished they had PDF format... but it seems you can only use their offline program installed in your computer...however they ship hard cover books to your house.

 

[Phedora]

Any more reviews for Becker? Anyone?

 

[DOmed16]

Yeah, its an awesome program. I did full program and bank along with UWorld and Becker's questions looked more like real step than UWorld and were as hard as the questions I saw on my Step 1. I had new version of step with 268 problems and it was very difficult but I felt prepared with Becker. Still would say UWorld more than worth the purchase though. I wouldn't waste my money on USMLERx or Kaplan, neither of them look like the new style of question on step, which are longer and all 3rd order type questions.

 

[Daitong]

Yeah, its an awesome program. I did full program and bank along with UWorld and Becker's questions looked more like real step than UWorld and were as hard as the questions I saw on my Step 1. I had new version of step with 268 problems and it was very difficult but I felt prepared with Becker. Still would say UWorld more than worth the purchase though. I wouldn't waste my money on USMLERx or Kaplan, neither of them look like the new style of question on step, which are longer and all 3rd order type questions.

Hm....Joined today, 1 post... nice try becker reps

 

[DOmed16]

Hm....Joined today, 1 post... nice try becker reps

Nah i'm a 3rd year student haha just joined recently because I was against it at first and just finished my boards and had some time to comment on s0me threads i've been following.

 

[fiestyusmle]

I am doing the Becker's right now...and it is good and challenging. I think some of their faculty are previous Kaplan teachers that defected and went to beckers to teach. I haven't done the Online classes yet, but the interactive e-book is really good. Their Q-bank are good too, and reflect what you would see on Uworld...and same format. I will be using the program more, and I will tell yall later more about it.

Right now, I wished they had PDF format... but it seems you can only use their offline program installed in your computer...however they ship hard cover books to your house.

Hi Jack
I love the becker e coach too.I have the books and am doing my second review...I have done uw twice...I am searching for a study partner to do a combined review of beckers and FA before I give an nbme ...would you be interested...pls let me know

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

It always goes UW > Rx > Kaplan > Anything else. Don't go for an untested product. 2-3 passes of UW are worth more than 1 pass of UW + 1 of anything else.

 

[Focused1]

I am doing the Becker's right now...and it is good and challenging. I think some of their faculty are previous Kaplan teachers that defected and went to beckers to teach. I haven't done the Online classes yet, but the interactive e-book is really good. Their Q-bank are good too, and reflect what you would see on Uworld...and same format. I will be using the program more, and I will tell yall later more about it.

Right now, I wished they had PDF format... but it seems you can only use their offline program installed in your computer...however they ship hard cover books to your house.

Yeah, its an awesome program. I did full program and bank along with UWorld and Becker's questions looked more like real step than UWorld and were as hard as the questions I saw on my Step 1. I had new version of step with 268 problems and it was very difficult but I felt prepared with Becker. Still would say UWorld more than worth the purchase though. I wouldn't waste my money on USMLERx or Kaplan, neither of them look like the new style of question on step, which are longer and all 3rd order type questions.

Hm....Joined today, 1 post... nice try becker reps

Hi Jack
I love the becker e coach too.I have the books and am doing my second review...I have done uw twice...I am searching for a study partner to do a combined review of beckers and FA before I give an nbme ...would you be interested...pls let me know

There needs to be like a filter in this website for sock puppetry.. 3 people said Becker is amazing.. either their ecoach or their Qbank. However all of em were brand new accounts. They did subsequently post 1 or 2 more comments somewhere else by chance.. but... its clear that brand new accounts say Becker is awesome whereas older accounts with tons of actual input to this website say it's shi t.. The new acounts are just marketing shills hired by Becker. They put so many ads like everywhere on FB, via adwords and elsewhere.. You guys at Becker need to use the funds you use for adverts to hire someone to proofread your content. If it's good content people will use it. When i used your Qbank there were a million mistakes. Noone wants to us a product and then have to go around searching for whether what's written is correct or not. Good old faculty, **** content.. Sigh.. :-/

 

[Focused1]

It always goes UW > Rx > Kaplan > Anything else. Don't go for an untested product. 2-3 passes of UW are worth more than 1 pass of UW + 1 of anything else.

I second this.. Couldn't be more accurate. These new companies like Medquest, Becker, Osmosis, etc are wannabies who will never make it.. UW is gold.. Rx helps understand and reinforce FA. Kaplan is also good.

 

[DOmed16]

I got scores back, Step 242, Comlex 646, I used Becker, UW, and FA. If you start early and have the time Becker will build you a good foundation which was the only reason I used it. @Focused1

 

[DOmed16]

I started with the ebook and then after a pass I did their Live Online, I am content with my scores, do whatever works for you.

 

[Lyan khan]

I second this.. Couldn't be more accurate. These new companies like Medquest, Becker, Osmosis, etc are wannabies who will never make it.. UW is gold.. Rx helps understand and reinforce FA. Kaplan is also good.

Please Focused post ure step 1 experiecne since u got high score....Im done with FA and UW almost twice and stuck at 218 online nbme 15 need advice thnk u

 

[sirobellum]

I just completed the Becker qbank and give my opinion. Yes, I am a new account and my experience with this qbank has led me to create an account just to write a review. I have done Rx and Kaplan, but not UWorld yet so I cannot compare.

I will say, the e-coach / e-book lecture part of Becker is good. It's very comprehensive and informative. I used it for biochemistry, immunology, and pharm here and there. It's basically the same as the Kaplan videos but with newer looking diagrams that look nice but aren't always an improvement, especially the immunology ones. I've only dabbled in their physiology, pathology, and other topics, which have been well done, particularly behavioral sciences.

The qbank is frustratingly poor. Sure, there are some questions (maybe 2/block) that are challenging in a novel way, but there are so many questions that are either poorly written, entirely wrong, or repeats that doing the question bank isn't really that valuable for learning new material. Many questions are written with ambiguous questions that have multiple answers. Other questions simply have incorrect information. They do respond promptly to feedback on questions and as a result they have corrected >10 questions due to mistakes I have found.

I wonder how many mistakes I missed that I now considered "facts" and will get wrong on the real deal. By publishing (and profiting off!) an unfinished qbank with tons of mistakes, I believe they are really doing their students a disservice and injustice. There are not just small typos, although there are plenty of those, they are explanations with entirely wrong information.

Perhaps the worst part of the question bank is the explanations to questions. Rarely do explanations contain images, diagrams, or figures. Explanations many times give a few random factoids about the correct answer and then fail to truly explain why the other options were incorrect. For this reason, I do not believe you can use Becker bank as a learning tool as you can rx, kaplan, and (presumably) uworld.

When expressed my concerns to Becker, I was told that there was one person working on the question bank and that their editors are way behind, partly because they are working on a step 2 bank. I doubt the qbank will ever improve to a worthy standard. I will be straying away from their step 2 bank.