Doctors In Training (DIT) - Recommended?

[DocYuki]

Hey SDN,
It's been a long, long time since my last post, haha. I've been busy with the notorious pre-clinical years.

I am preparing for Step I, which I am scheduled to take on June 3rd, 2009. I have the essentials ready to go once finals are over on May 8th:

-First Aid 2009
-Goljan Audio and RR Book
-USMLE World
-Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple
-BRS Physio, Path

But there's one major detail. I am the kind of guy who, when it comes to things like preparing for Step I, needs something structured; a push, if you will. I'm not confident I can get up every morning and cover all I need to by myself.

I wouldn't consider a KAPLAN course because they are too expensive and I know that company doesn't bode well with me from previous experience. I was considering this little company: http://doctorsintraining.com/

I have zero knowledge of how they are. Noone at my med-school has an opinion, except for the fact that noone was impressed when they came and spoke to us. But has anyone on here tried them out? They offer, for $600, a series of lectures spanning 15 straight days, each day being 5-6 hours of lecture. The lectures are meant to be active-learning and they use First Aid 2009 as the text book. I don't see how this could go wrong, but the guy who lectures kind of creeps me out. I don't know if I trust him...he might just read straight off of First Aid and waste my $600.

So money, and more importantly, good test prep technique is at stake. I'm the kind of person who needs the push of watching daily lectures, but is this worth the cost?

Anyone with first-hand experience or any idea beyond what I know (which is just what DIT says) is invited to offer an opinion. It would greatly help me out. Thanks!

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[medicine21]

cosine, I think the lectures are suppose to take 1.5 hours each (since you are suppose to stop to take the quiz etc.). i.e. the lectures I did today were (runtime) 60 min, 90 min, and 82 min. For me, it ends up taking longer than 4.5 hrs a day; but, I move pretty slow, trying to memorize as I go. Hope that helps!

 

[cosine]

I went ahead and bought the program and it seems great. I did the first lectures and it is really good for the couple things i have been ignoring. I always tend to concentrate on my stronger points and avoid my weaker ones, but this program makes you also focus on the weaker areas.

I like it because I was able to get through all 3 lectures and still have enough time to do a set of 48 q's from world and to review anything else I would like afterwards such as a chapter of goljan.

Another reason I decided to go with the program is because I had already gone through first aid two times and just wanted a different perspective on it.

Basically, its not much of a time commitment and it is extremely high yield which is why i think it is worth the 600 dollars.

Oh and also I have been using the 2008 version with him and i'm having no problems following. I've used my first aid during medical school and had alot of notes in it, there was no way i was going to buy the new edition.

 

[pepotonoto]

So I called one more time to get some payment information cleared and asked them how much of the first aid actually gets covered during the course and they said 100% of the book is covered + 35% new material from the course itself. The woman said every page and line is covered. Really? Every page and line?? I found that hard to believe.

 

[Zweisamkeit]

So I called one more time to get some payment information cleared and asked them how much of the first aid actually gets covered during the course and they said 100% of the book is covered + 35% new material from the course itself. The woman said every page and line is covered. Really? Every page and line?? I found that hard to believe.

Every line of FA? No, that's false. There are some sections that he skips over.

 

[Depakote]

"every page, every line" is a bit of an exaggeration... but it is a very solid run-through of the material. There are points that he identifies as "low yield" and skips, but I'm on day 14 and I'd say I've seen the overwhelming majority of FA with the exception of some of the biochem and heme/onc stuff slated for tomorrow.

 

[thedon35]

Done with Day 2.... it is pretty good except he SNIFFLES the whole time and it gets on my nerves!

 

[ENThopeful]

Done with Day 2.... it is pretty good except he SNIFFLES the whole time and it gets on my nerves!

yea and his haircut has got to go...


He really does read from first aid though and explains very little. im 600 deep though so I guess I'll stick with it

 

[thedon35]

Yeah he does read directly from the First Aid.... although I actually really like it because I am sooooo ADD and can't pay attention to some of the details and he touches on it. He does add in some things, which is good though.

 

[Depakote]

Done with Day 2.... it is pretty good except he SNIFFLES the whole time and it gets on my nerves!

Good luck, I forget which one, but I'm pretty sure he's fighting off allergies or a cold on one of the week 3 days.

 

[Booner]

Who has completed the practice test they give you? I'm down to the last few days and wondering if I should take it or just do more World. For those of you with scores in hand, was the test actually predictive of your performance?

 

[Depakote]

Who has completed the practice test they give you? I'm down to the last few days and wondering if I should take it or just do more World. For those of you with scores in hand, was the test actually predictive of your performance?

I haven't looked at it... I'm interested to know about it as well.

 

[medicine21]

I'm wondering the same thing! I'm just 6 days away...trying to get through FA again...

 

[Booner]

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to get through the entire thing again in the five days before the test like he suggests. I read through every page of the subject chapters but it was pretty painful because it took quite a while. But I do think I learned a fair amount from the biochem and micro chapters, they just took forever. Now I think I'll probably focus on my weaker areas of the systems to make sure I hammer them and do whatever else I have time for. It just felt like I was reading a lot of things I knew already which seemed like wasting time. Only two more days of prep and then I'll see how things go on Friday.

 

[medicine21]

Booner,

Well, at the rate I am going, I don't think I'll be able to get through the whole thing again either....but, we'll see-I'm doing biochem right now which of course takes extra time, so maybe I'll start moving faster soon!

Good luck on your test!!! And please post what you thought about the program after your test...I am curious to compare!

 

[Depakote]

Brief thoughts, full run through the course done, 13 days until the test... I'll try to supplement this later:

It's a good program. There are points where it is a little first aid reliant, but one of the reasons I signed up was to have someone take me through the material, even if most of it was in front of me.

The strengths of the program are definitely the quizzes. Pharm was definitely a weak point, I feel like I've got a better handle on the drug names now. Same for a lot of the rote memorization stuff. The supplemental material for cell bio and genetics is helpful, first aid's coverage in those areas is pretty weak.


minor complaints:
Some mnemonics are very useful if it's a list of things you just need to know that can't be linked conceptually. Like drugs that induce lupus or have cytochrome p450 interactions. But the course (and first aid) also tends to rely on mnemonics for things that can be better explained with concepts like the quiss qiq siq sqs mnemonic that requires you to recall the order the g protein receptor classes are listed in first aid.


Overall-
I wanted a program that was going to pace me and run me through the material, I got that. The quizzing definitely helped with my retention. The supplements are good, he covered a few things I've seen in Uworld and on NBME exams that weren't in first aid.

 

[cosine]

Depakote, congrats on finishing the program. I was just wondering if you had taken the test at the end of the course? If so how was it?

 

[SupaManu]

Brief thoughts, full run through the course done, 13 days until the test... I'll try to supplement this later:

It's a good program. There are points where it is a little first aid reliant, but one of the reasons I signed up was to have someone take me through the material, even if most of it was in front of me.

The strengths of the program are definitely the quizzes. Pharm was definitely a weak point, I feel like I've got a better handle on the drug names now. Same for a lot of the rote memorization stuff. The supplemental material for cell bio and genetics is helpful, first aid's coverage in those areas is pretty weak.


minor complaints:
Some mnemonics are very useful if it's a list of things you just need to know that can't be linked conceptually. Like drugs that induce lupus or have cytochrome p450 interactions. But the course (and first aid) also tends to rely on mnemonics for things that can be better explained with concepts like the quiss qiq siq sqs mnemonic that requires you to recall the order the g protein receptor classes are listed in first aid.


Overall-
I wanted a program that was going to pace me and run me through the material, I got that. The quizzing definitely helped with my retention. The supplements are good, he covered a few things I've seen in Uworld and on NBME exams that weren't in first aid.

My favorite was his drawing to remember the clearance equation...don't think i'll ever forget that one.

 

[Depakote]

Depakote, congrats on finishing the program. I was just wondering if you had taken the test at the end of the course? If so how was it?

I haven't... not sure if I will. Getting down towards the end of my schedule and I want to get at least one more NBME, the second Uworld assessment and the free 150 in before all is said and done. That doesn't leave much wiggle room. If I do work it in, I'll report back.

My favorite was his drawing to remember the clearance equation...don't think i'll ever forget that one.

That was good. It definitely stuck.

 

[Veronicacronica]

I haven't... not sure if I will. Getting down towards the end of my schedule and I want to get at least one more NBME, the second Uworld assessment and the free 150 in before all is said and done. That doesn't leave much wiggle room. If I do work it in, I'll report back.



That was good. It definitely stuck.

do you (or anyone else) have a precise list of pages or at least topics from FA that are NOT covered?
this is the biggest thing hindering me from taking the plunge. i've gone through FA 1.5 times, but if i take his course after going through FA and the course doesn't cover everything, then that means at least 15 days to forget whatever he doesn't cover.

 

[Booner]

veronica,
I don't have a list, but in going through again now after the course I don't think I've run across anything I haven't seen before. He does skip over a few things here and there (not much at all really), but whenever he does he notes that he won't be covering it and if you want to you should read it on your own. He easily covers over 95% of FA, some parts better than others, but for me it was worth it. There's no way I could have spent that much time reading through more stuff for those three weeks.

 

[snowkhat]

So I took part of the live lectures in the spring and finished all the lectures in May/June. I also did Kaplan lectures and 75% of Qbank. I think DIT has been the most helpful.

My baseline was a 59% on Kaplan Diag=220 at my school
Took NBME1 1.5 weeks in: 209, 440+
Took Free 150: got 75%
Did USMLE World Diag 219
Got a 72% on a full-length Kaplan, about a 220-230+ at my school (we keep our own stats)
Finished DIT
Got a 76% on DIT self Diag=231 (Range 218-245)

I really, really, really, hope this holds up to the real exam. I take it Friday. I felt like anatomy wasn't really emphasized in DIT and I"m kind of lacking in that. I am also lacking in general principles, immuno, heme, and cardio.

I'm just cramming with the DIT notebook tomorrow, notes I made to myself, and some biochem.

Wish me luck!!!

 

[Lamotrigine]

PRECOURSE: Started out with random q's TIMED on World on day 1 52%, Read FA cover to cover in 7 days did 48 q random TIMED q's in UW per day. 7 day UW avg 61%

Course: Still doing 48 q random, timed per day. Day 5, Uworld Self assessment 580 -> 236. Day 11 Latest UW cumulative 68%. A month till test day. Thinking about Rewatching the videos again.

Honest opinion: Nothing is going to change your basic foundation of knowledge you acquired over the past 2 years. This is not a quick fix, and you have to work with the material don't dwell on outside sources unless you are TERRIBLY deficient. My opinion LESS is MORE. He provides you a solid review of FA w/ key and pertinent clinical pearls that will help you next year as well as on the Step I. I recommend this if you want to do well on your boards, NOT to CRUSH them. 250> you would be more time efficient learning low-yield information from multiple sources if you already have a thorough understanding of the basics. The lectures are time consuming if you want to be thorough. Good luck everyone! Hope this helps.

 

[Zweisamkeit]

When are we supposed to receive the post-test survey? I thought on the videos he said we would receive an email a couple of days after our test.

 

[Noeljan]

i have watched only a few of the lectures, it is ok for some stuff but I feel like he goes soooo slow..i wish i could 2 speed the lectures. I feel like I am wasting time when I watch them usually. I might watch the pharm eqns if you guys think they are good

 

[snowkhat]

So I took the exam yesterday and thought it was horribly difficult. I must've gotten the ridiculously hard form. It didn't seem high yield at all.

I studied my ass off and totally had improvements in all diags but felt like I was guessing too much on the real thing.

I really think DIT improved my diag scores but we will see if it helped me pass the USMLE or better.

I have the COMLEX Monday...let's hope that goes better. But I'm not a big fan of OMM.

Let's hope they report scores earlier than the expected 6-8 weeks.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

So I took the exam yesterday and thought it was horribly difficult. I must've gotten the ridiculously hard form. It didn't seem high yield at all.

I studied my ass off and totally had improvements in all diags but felt like I was guessing too much on the real thing.

I really think DIT improved my diag scores but we will see if it helped me pass the USMLE or better.

I have the COMLEX Monday...let's hope that goes better. But I'm not a big fan of OMM.

Let's hope they report scores earlier than the expected 6-8 weeks.

I'm also a DO student ...

I was thinking about taking the USMLE a little later ... and using DIT to follow along - did you think it was worth using it? It sounds like the exam wasn't representive of the material covering in the online course ... I need some good advice about this. Congrats on finishing USMLE and good luck on the COMLEX!

 

[Booner]

The thing about reading what other people were tested on during the exam is that yours could be completely different. I felt like my four weeks of hard studying, which included all of the exams, prepared me well for my test. Some of it is just luck of the draw so you just have to cover all your bases while preparing so you can feel confident going into the exam. Sure there were a lot of things that I studied and didn't show up on the exam, but not too much showed up on the exam that I hadn't covered sometime. I know some people feel really terrible after leaving the exam and I am sorry for that and hope for the best for them, but I don't think it helps too much to base your decisions off what other people were tested on.
The course was definitely worth it for me and was high yield for my exam, but most of all it helped me get through the material another time in a different medium that just sitting there reading. I took three weeks to view all the videos once. I watched the videos from 6-11/12. During the videos I'd take time to pause it periodically and write things on the white board to quiz myself and get a few more repetitions on it than he does during the course (for example, bacteria trees and equations). My afternoon study was from 12:30-6:00 where I'd do one or two question blocks on World and begin my review of the material covered in the course for the day. From 8-10pm I'd finish up whatever review I hadn't finished earlier. On Saturday I'd cover again anything from that week that I hadn't gotten around to earlier, or felt like I needed another pass through on (ie antibiotics, I hate those). Two weeks I just did more questions and then two weeks I did the World self assessments. I never got around to taking the DIT exam so I can't remark on that. In the end I felt comfortable with the last self assessment score I recieved and didn't feel like another score would help, but a couple more hours covering information would.
These four weeks were very long, especially for my dear wife and children who were very supportive, but in the end I feel good about the exam yesterday. I just hope I feel this good after I receive my score.

 

[Depakote]

So I took the exam yesterday and thought it was horribly difficult. I must've gotten the ridiculously hard form. It didn't seem high yield at all.

I studied my ass off and totally had improvements in all diags but felt like I was guessing too much on the real thing.

I really think DIT improved my diag scores but we will see if it helped me pass the USMLE or better.

I have the COMLEX Monday...let's hope that goes better. But I'm not a big fan of OMM.

Let's hope they report scores earlier than the expected 6-8 weeks.

There's a 3rd year at my school who got something like a 260+, she left feeling like she failed... hang in there. If your diagnostics were strong going in, there's no reason to doubt yourself.

 

[doogoshly]

i found DIT to be 100x better than kaplan lectures or goljan audio or whatever. i gave both of them a shot and they were soooo much slower, took up more of my time, and honestly felt like i was back in 1st yr being spoonfed info. DIT was compact, seriously higher yield than the others.

for me, i was afraid i couldn't get myself started on studying and/or seriously going through FA. if you're a self-starter and are fine by yourself, you probably don't need DIT. if you don't wanna take any chances with this test like i did, sign up for DIT. it's only $600, which in the grand scheme of things isn't much when others are doing falcon or buying a billion books.

plus DIT has quizzes all over the place, he teaches quite well, and there's a 2hr predictive exam at the end, which is easy but more qs for your money.

 

[Noeljan]

I just watched the 1st pharm DIT which was very good btw thanks depakote It solidifed since I already read that chapter
The thing I like about Kaplan is I can watch them on 2 speed and jump around easier. I like to fly through things, I just wish there was a way to put DIT on 2 speed esp if you like to rewatch things
I have only done a few, picking and chosing. I watched kaplan for physio (except neuro, endo and repro) and kaplan path videos, micro and half of immuno which I really like (because I can speed them up a lot). But they are overwhelming sometimes esp with limited time

 

[Noeljan]

i found DIT to be 100x better than kaplan lectures or goljan audio or whatever. i gave both of them a shot and they were soooo much slower, took up more of my time, and honestly felt like i was back in 1st yr being spoonfed info. DIT was compact, seriously higher yield than the others.

for me, i was afraid i couldn't get myself started on studying and/or seriously going through FA. if you're a self-starter and are fine by yourself, you probably don't need DIT. if you don't wanna take any chances with this test like i did, sign up for DIT. it's only $600, which in the grand scheme of things isn't much when others are doing falcon or buying a billion books.

plus DIT has quizzes all over the place, he teaches quite well, and there's a 2hr predictive exam at the end, which is easy but more qs for your money.

ps if you download goljan to your computer you can listen at 2 speed to them as well fyi, though I listened to them more in the school year and not so much lately

 

[snowkhat]

I think I learned a lot from DIT. I certainly improved by 20-30 pts from my baseline. The real test just felt like a huge punch in the stomach. It's also true that you have NO idea what material will be covered so you have to be comprehensive. DIT is very comprehensive. Some test forms are harder than others and sometimes you just have bad luck.

Let's hope I am freaking out for no reason. I still recommend DIT and will let you know if it helped when I get my scores back.

 

[Depakote]

I think I learned a lot from DIT. I certainly improved by 20-30 pts from my baseline. The real test just felt like a huge punch in the stomach. It's also true that you have NO idea what material will be covered so you have to be comprehensive. DIT is very comprehensive. Some test forms are harder than others and sometimes you just have bad luck.

Let's hope I am freaking out for no reason. I still recommend DIT and will let you know if it helped when I get my scores back.

 

[ENThopeful]

I think I learned a lot from DIT. I certainly improved by 20-30 pts from my baseline. The real test just felt like a huge punch in the stomach. It's also true that you have NO idea what material will be covered so you have to be comprehensive. DIT is very comprehensive. Some test forms are harder than others and sometimes you just have bad luck.

Let's hope I am freaking out for no reason. I still recommend DIT and will let you know if it helped when I get my scores back.

wow thats interesting. I am half way through DIT and have seen my UWorld score increase . I find alot of Uworld questions almost straight recall out of first aid at this point, and this is is on random with similar overall averages as before. I was hoping the test would be on somewhat same difficulty. Are you saying that the actual test is based on facts that we dont know or that its a twist on pathology that makes the question really hard to answer?

But in general, it seems that finding the test hard is a good sign, means you were focused and probably a bit microfocused on the experimental/no one is ever going to get questions

 

[pepotonoto]

I've got Kaplan and Uworld for learning the big things, but it's all the tiny and sometimes basic facts from first aid that I have a tough time remembering or memorizing rather. It's not about doing the questions, but remembering the points to answer the thing

Would you say that his reptetitive quizzing helped in memorizing the most important HY facts from First Aid? Aside from getting the "big conceptual picture" from this or other review material/class - there's still quite a bit of recall from facts for this exam right?

Or would something that quizzed you flashcard style like flashfacts by usmlerx (there's another company that claims to do this from another thread, but I'm really skeptic on its legitimacy) be more appropriate for really memorizing the actual facts in first aid?

 

[Zweisamkeit]

I've got Kaplan and Uworld for learning the big things, but it's all the tiny and sometimes basic facts from first aid that I have a tough time remembering or memorizing rather. It's not about doing the questions, but remembering the points to answer the thing

Would you say that his reptetitive quizzing helped in memorizing the most important HY facts from First Aid? Aside from getting the "big conceptual picture" from this or other review material/class - there's still quite a bit of recall from facts for this exam right?

Or would something that quizzed you flashcard style like flashfacts by usmlerx (there's another company that claims to do this from another thread, but I'm really skeptic on its legitimacy) be more appropriate for really memorizing the actual facts in first aid?

The repetitive questions and quizzes definitely helped me learn facts that I had problems memorizing such as micro and pharm. The facts aren't difficult to understand, but just cumbersome to memorize and I thought that DIT does a good job helping you with that. I am not a flashcard person so I really doubt that would have helped me. But if you're one of those people that made hundreds of flashcards for a test, then perhaps it will be best for you.

 

[pepotonoto]

Thanks for sharing that - looks like I need to skim over FA a few times before the course if I take it 1 month prior to the test. Do the contents of part 1 of the course allow you to cover first aid fairly well with all those open ended questions?

So it's around ~600 questions right? (28 emails x 20qs) I've read here that these are concept based and that they give page references and answers to these. It wasn't explained from the website (unless I overlooked it) on how much of first aid was covered from these questions. It just says high yield material from the 1st 2 years of med school.

About the book, do you read that prior to the course or you go along with it in part 2? Are there page references to that too? It's ~300 pages right?

 

[snowkhat]

So...I think to be clear the USMLE does ask stuff in a much more integrated way than you'd expect. Much fewer easy first order than ANY diag I took. I took the NBME1, USMLEWORLD, Kaplan pre-diag, Kaplan Full Length, Free 150, and DITs diag. There were some straight up uber easy questions don't get me wrong and a lot less calculations than I expected. Also the biostats were way easier than Kaplan's. I wasn't expecting the 3rd order questions on the Leukotriene/Lipoxygenase pathway or crazy 3rd order Immuno questions. The micro seemed very easy. It was a tough test and even if you prepare extremely hard you will be stumped. I think that's frustrating.

If you are taking the COMLEX it will seem like easy street. It is truly clinical and they love their micro!

I think both exams need to take lessons from eachother. The USMLE needs to lighten up on the Cell Bio/Genetics/Biostats bs and the COMLEX should clean up their exam format a little more and shorten it.

SCORE ETA: 3 weeks.

 

[Glaxo]

=

I think both exams need to take lessons from eachother. The USMLE needs to lighten up on the Cell Bio/Genetics/Biostats bs and the COMLEX should clean up their exam format a little more and shorten it.

SCORE ETA: 3 weeks.

Yeah but the USMLE is supposed to test a large variety of information useful to a large swathe of physicians. Not only is that cell bio genetics business crucial for a lot of physicians to have a basis in, physicians need to be able to understand the latest literature so that plus biostats plays a role. Also they're testing potential future physician investigators so it's important there too. COMLEX, understandably, isn't testing as much of that so it makes sense they'd have a more purely clinical bent, but I'm sure we're going to get more of that in Step II and III.

 

[Lamotrigine]

This is my final post for this topic. I finished the course on Monday. Took a UWorld self assessment 2 the next day and saw a significant improvement from previous self assessment. I am sold on this course. Kaplan is going to be shaking in their boots once DIT gets more publicity and the name becomes more well known. I was skeptical at first but once I called the number and there was a real live person on the phone I felt a little more calm. Next few weeks, review RR + DIT handouts + FA +finish UWorld. Best of luck to all.

 

[ENThopeful]

Yeah but the USMLE is supposed to test a large variety of information useful to a large swathe of physicians. Not only is that cell bio genetics business crucial for a lot of physicians to have a basis in, physicians need to be able to understand the latest literature so that plus biostats plays a role. Also they're testing potential future physician investigators so it's important there too. COMLEX, understandably, isn't testing as much of that so it makes sense they'd have a more purely clinical bent, but I'm sure we're going to get more of that in Step II and III.

someone just give me a good source to study cell biology from! it read through the 1999 and even dabbed into the dudek histology book but i still cant answer half these cell bio questions.. I mean if its really emphasized/important, make your requirements clear so we can at least learn what you intend us to learn.. instead of pulling these obscure questions that some PhDs cant even answer (yes ive asked).


(rant over)

 

[ENThopeful]

does anyone notice some discrepencies in the things he says? one day he says that the rate limiting enzyme is ATcase for pyrimidine synthesis, the previous day he says carbamoyl synthase ii.. I clarified it and its atcase for prokaryotes and carbamoyl synthase ii for eukaryotes so i guess he is technically right there

he also says among the some drugs create awesome knockers that spironolactone is the worst offender, and then the next day he says ketoconazole is the worst offender

 

[thedon35]

does anyone notice some discrepencies in the things he says? one day he says that the rate limiting enzyme is ATcase for pyrimidine synthesis, the previous day he says carbamoyl synthase ii.. I clarified it and its atcase for prokaryotes and carbamoyl synthase ii for eukaryotes so i guess he is technically right there

he also says among the some drugs create awesome knockers that spironolactone is the worst offender, and then the next day he says ketoconazole is the worst offender

Yeah the spironolactone thing pissed me off. They are both pretty potent in causing gyno.

 

[ENThopeful]

do you know which is more potent?

 

[thedon35]

from what I read they are both high up there... my first guess was ketoconazole, but I have used spironolactone myself and got a tiny case of gyno for a couple days. It was WEIRD!!! haha .. I can't imagine them asking which one is more likely to cause it. I think I would go with keto though. (it seems more popular when I read articles)

 

[Veronicacronica]

is there a sample of his recorded lectures somewhere? i was told there is a one hour demo but don't see it on the website.

 

[Depakote]

There's the demo video

In my lectures, I saw a link to a free sample lecture (day 6). My course has expired now so I don't know how to get to it again. Maybe they can email you the link.

 

[Cliff Huxtable]

So what are the opinions on this course now that scores are back?

I am thinking about the Step 2 course.

 

[fergustsi]

So what are the opinions on this course now that scores are back?

I am thinking about the Step 2 course.

230+ and i dont know if i wouldve gotten that without DIT.

oh, yeah and did i mention i didnt even finish DIT? i only got halfway through it because i bought it a week before the test?
he really is just reading from FA and annotating it (someone people dont like this), i think he adds enough to be worth the 600 bucks. The reading directly from FA is def worse in the beginning, once he gets into the systems, it seems he is adding more info.
I dont think this is the end all review course, but its a good adjunct to uworld. (i also did kaplan live review first, which is why i bought DIT so late)

 

[njshibby]

230+ and i dont know if i wouldve gotten that without DIT.

oh, yeah and did i mention i didnt even finish DIT? i only got halfway through it because i bought it a week before the test?
he really is just reading from FA and annotating it (someone people dont like this), i think he adds enough to be worth the 600 bucks. The reading directly from FA is def worse in the beginning, once he gets into the systems, it seems he is adding more info.
I dont think this is the end all review course, but its a good adjunct to uworld. (i also did kaplan live review first, which is why i bought DIT so late)

I got a 265 and I attribute a lot of that to DIT. Great course esp if you're like me and have a hard time pacing yourself and keeping on track and not going off on study tangents. I used it to get through First Aid the first time which would have been a real struggle for me otherwise. Only place where I felt lost by just following through on DIT w/o a extensive text was biochem, but in retrospect it wasn't like the biochem on step I was that in depth. Receptor signaling and second messengers where the weakest points of FA and DIT. I'd also do way more USMLEworld/Qbank than he seems to recommend.
A++ though and better than kaplan vids/live (though their pharm is excellent)