No matter how much money you spend on books, every medical student needs to do a ton practice questions for the USMLE Step 1. Questions are an excellent way to learn the useful tip-offs and keywords, and—depending on the source—get a better feel for the board format. They’re also a form of active learning, unlike trying to self-induce a coma with the universally-utilized First Aid for the USMLE Step 1.

For question books, post-Step MS3s and your local Half-Price Books are always good resources to buy study materials on the cheap. But free is better, and the internet is undeniably convenient and portable. I scoured the web to find free question banks online (updated August 2011):

  • Test Prep Review has a USMLE practice self-assessment section. There are 20 modules of 20 questions for 400 questions. They’re mainly fact-recall and not vignette-based, but it’s easy to use and accessible.
  • Wiki Test Prep [now defunct] is was a student-written qbank with over 900 questions with explanations. The site is great, and you can browse questions by keyword, flag questions, and create your own tests. It also lets you know what percentage of students answer the question correctly, which is interesting. The questions are in clinical-vignette board format.
  • 4tests.com hosts the 60 question Kaplan diagnostic exam. Answers can be exposed during the test if desired and do contain explanations. (Mom MD also has the identical sampler, only organized in six 10-question pages with answers directly below questions)
  • Lippincott’s 350-Question Practice Test for USMLE Step 1 is a solid Qbank, but you must register (for free) before using it.
  • ValueMD has a large question bank divided up by subject. The site also requires a free registration. The questions are straightforward fact-recall type and the site itself is clunky and hideous, but it’s still good review.
  • The NBME offers its own small set of free practice materials for the Steps 1, 2, and 3. You have to download the 2012 program here (50mb), Windows only. It contains the software that the actual Step uses (Fred V2), a tutorial, and 100+ question practice test. A must do.
  • USMLERx has a free 20 question qbank test using the NBME’s Fred V2 software. Their qbank is also one of the cheaper ones, in that you can buy it for just a month at a time (making it a great second option for the last push).

Enjoy.