EK 9th Edition Seems Weak on Content

[maverick55]

I plan to follow Next Step's 100 day study guide and purchased all the suggested books. The EK 9th edition set came in today and they seem extremely light on content and geared for middle school science class. I'm concerned given my relatively weak science background (never taken biochemistry and my prerequisites are a few years old) that EK won't be adequate for content preparation. Are the Kaplan or Princeton sets better? I also purchased NS biology/biochem content review book and the TPR psych/soc book as well so not sure if using these along with including Khan videos in my prep will be enough for learning all the content needed for the mcat. Feeling a little lost in this whole process and looking for guidance.

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[littlebear92]

I'm too am going to use the 100 day study plan, but at the end of each week instead of doing the Khan stuff, I am gonna skim the relevant chapters from that week's EK readings in my Berkeley review book. Also, during the first pass i will do the first 1/3 of the BR passages for that subject. and 2nd pass, the second 1/3 and third pass the third 1/3

 

[frodo25]

If you are weak on science, EK will not help at all. I think TPR does a pretty good job explaining concepts or if you want a really comprehensive overview, go with TBR.

 

[mcatjelly]

EK may be weaker on content, but they're stronger on strategy IMHO. But I agree that their biochem section is a tad lackluster so you could supplement with either Kaplan or TPR.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

EK if you want to learn whats on the exam, TPH/Berkely if you want to learn science. I find that bio/biochem is 'middle school level' sciences, but the difficulty is in reading comp/data analysis. You're better off practicing questions then memorizing details because there's like a .1% chance some random fact will show up on your exam, but a 99.9% chance you'll have to make conclusions based on data that is in no way related to what's in TPR
-someone who only read EK bio/orgo and got a 14

(also, I would especially recommend EK>TPR if you're a long time removed from science because when you have a lot to learn, there's just no reasonable way to memorize an entire TPR book. Start with basics, don't confuse yourself with extra junk. If you need more info on certain topics, then supplement. But don't start with the supplementary or you'll miss the big picture, which is what the MCAT actually tests. The new exam more than ever.)

 

[littlebear92]

EK if you want to learn whats on the exam, TPH/Berkely if you want to learn science. I find that bio/biochem is 'middle school level' sciences, but the difficulty is in reading comp/data analysis. You're better off practicing questions then memorizing details because there's like a .1% chance some random fact will show up on your exam, but a 99.9% chance you'll have to make conclusions based on data that is in no way related to what's in TPR
-someone who only read EK bio/orgo and got a 14

(also, I would especially recommend EK>TPR if you're a long time removed from science because when you have a lot to learn, there's just no reasonable way to memorize an entire TPR book. Start with basics, don't confuse yourself with extra junk. If you need more info on certain topics, then supplement. But don't start with the supplementary or you'll miss the big picture, which is what the MCAT actually tests. The new exam more than ever.)

This.

 

[maverick55]

Thanks for the comments. It looks like I'll stick with EK and supplement if extra explanation is needed. Does it make sense to buy the Kaplan book set (which comes with 3 full length tests) and use it in tandem with EK or will this bog me down and waste my time? I also have the NS biochem/biology content review book but it's very dry and dense. Not too fond of it so far.

 

[mcatjelly]

Mmm, I wouldn't buy the whole set. If you're looking for extra practice, I would get either the CARS, biochem, or behavioral sciences books, which will give you one FL and 3 of the respective section tests. And then buying any of the TPR books will give you 3 FLs which is a really good deal.

 

[IntheClouds4ever]

I purchased the entire EK series to get a broad scope of what is included on the MCAT. ( I had a very heavy medical science load and post grad lab certification) If you are wanting to learn the details of the science; I wouldnt recommend the EK. However, if you are very comfortable in the sciences, the EK series is a homerun for strategies, general content outline, and the passages are great. I supplemented some materials wiht Nextstep and a few random books on the Verbal Reasoning, Math (logs etc with no calc.), psych/soc. After starting the AAMC bundle pack, I really notice a similarity between the pack and the EK passages.

EK- if you are refreshing and polishing for test day
Other materials if you skipped biochem, ochem, other upper level courses..