- Joined
- Jun 29, 2011
- Messages
- 1,721
- Reaction score
- 293
I posted this awhile back in someone's thread but have been getting a bunch of PMs about it.. so I figured I would re-post it as its own thread so more people would notice it and get some use out of it! I haven't ever really seen a comprehensive breakdown of each resource so hopefully this will help people struggling with the all too enticing idea of just buying every resource out there. This isn't pokemon, no need to catch them all.
If you have any questions about something I wrote, you can PM me or post them here. I'd recommend posting them here because you'll get feedback from others this way. I'll probably edit this occasionally as things come up with any subsequent discussion + as I'm still involved in the field, I'll likely continue forming opinions on the various resources.
Usual disclaimer in that this just represents my personal experiences with each study resource and the MCAT in general. There is a ton of really good advice in this forum.. I suggest trying to incorporate whatever you think will work for you into a personalized study plan. If that means reading this and throwing out all but one sentence, then go for it. One size doesn't fit all and only you know what study plan will work for you. Don't try to re-invent the wheel either.. stick with what worked in your academic career thus far.
And no, I won't share my score because a number does not qualify the value of anyone's advice.
Forming a Study Plan
Don't get overwhelmed. The study material doesn't matter as much as how you use it. Not to say some aren't better than others, but that's not, IMO, the biggest component of MCAT success. Whatever the resource, set up a schedule and stick to it. Three parts to a good schedule: content review, practice passages and practice exams.
Goal here is to know ALL topics at an adequate level and then try and get as many strengths as possible. MCAT covers so much that you can have many, many strengths and still do poorly if you happen to take a test that hits your weaknesses.. so you need to focus your studying on identifying weaknesses and eliminating them.
My personal study plan was heavily based on SN2ed's plan, which you should definitely read through to get some ideas. I did a quick round of content review, completing 1/3 of my available practice passages to help consolidate everything. Made a spreadsheet and broke down my %s by topic (don't need to get too picky here, just go by whatever chapter in whatever resource you pick). Then, did it all again with another 1/3. After/during this, I started incorporating practice exams AND THE SELF ASSESSMENT. Using the practice exams, SA and my data on the previous 2/3 of passages, I figured out where my weaknesses were and, you guessed it, did another quick review of content and the final 1/3 of passages. I basically ignored my strengths and focused on eliminating weaknesses. As I hit a topic each successive question phase, I reviewed the questions from the previous phases and kept some notes if I recognized something that was repeatedly tripping me up.
Practice exams (and content review) alone don't help you identify all your weaknesses.. so don't expect them to. They just pick a specific subset of topics which you may or may not be weak in... and that test's choice of content is NOT representative of the real thing. However, if you found that on a specific test you struggled on a passage about X.. then X is likely a weakness! Just don't expect practice tests to find every X for you. Practice exams are for timing/experience and finalizing testing strategies. Practice passages are the main component of a successful study schedule. To put it bluntly, practice exams and content review don't get you as many points on test day as practice passages will.
Very similar to SN2ed's schedule but make sure your mindset is focusing on weaknesses.. people tend to like to focus on strengths because they're easier to identify and well, more enjoyable to study. This equals potential MCAT struggle when you don't get a test that luckily picks only your strengths.. which you probably won't get.
THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN MCAT PREP
Putting this between picking study materials and forming a study plan because it's that important and will help with both.
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/345244/data/pstopics.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85566/data/bstopics.pdf
Print those out. Now. That's the OFFICIAL comprehensive topic list from AAMC. Some of the entries are fairly broad but you can expect that any question you get on the MCAT can be linked there. The uses of this vary but you should definitely incorporate them somehow.
Use this to figure out if you are completely lacking a certain topic (maybe your physics course didn't cover everything) or whether you can afford to take the MCAT without a certain pre-req (cross-reference with the missed course's syllabus)
Structure your study plan off this (use this as entries for your strength/weakness chart). Meticulously check off each entry as you go through them to make sure you got to everything (no MCAT resource is comprehensive).
Use this as you are going through your pre-reqs to recognize what will be tested on the MCAT. Not to say you should ignore the rest but that's added motivation.
Last thing re: the topic list. You can technically get something on the MCAT that's not on the list.. BUT that will likely be accompanied with enough background information in the passage to get by.
Importance of Practice Passages THROUGHOUT your Schedule
Content review and practice passages go hand in hand. They should not be separated. How do you know if you know something without testing yourself? Practice passages provide that opportunity to consolidate what you learned, make sure you're being honest with yourself about what you know AND give you MCAT experience. That MCAT experience is pivotal as it's going to help you frame your studying (as in, you're studying for a test.. so you'll want to review the content in a way the test will expect of you rather than trying to conform later) and help you develop the critical thinking skills you need to be successful on the MCAT.
Practice passages should be integrated from day 1 until the last day of your studying. Through content review, through practice exams.
Picking Study Materials
I'll comment on the materials I know/used. I think different resources work for different people depending on their content background.. don't be afraid to mix and match based on what your weaknesses are going in. Again.. just pick and don't think about the grass on the other side because it's not worth the worrying.
TBR content review + passages:
IMO, TBR is the perfect resource for those looking to ace the MCAT. Difficulty wise, TBR passages are, on average, HARDER than the real thing... but that's a good thing. If you're shooting for a top score, you'll want to make sure you know a topic inside and out.. which means you need a proper gauge which TBR provides with its passages. Chapters are dense but again, you WANT to over-prepare if you're looking to ace the MCAT. If you're not starting from a good knowledge base and/or not shooting for a 33+, TBR is likely not the best resource for you. TBR is great for developing strengths, which is what you'll obviously need to do with a good bit of topics to get a top score.
People get annoyed at TBR Bio but its really just the metabolism chapters that are ridiculous. Use TPRH or EK for those.
TPR Hyperlearning (not regular TPR) content review + passages:
I found content review to be okay. Not stellar but okay. Less dense than TBR, of course. I'd use this resource if I were looking for a thorough review of the content coming from a not so great knowledge base.. because TBR is quite simply too much to learn on an MCAT study schedule and EK is too little. Passages are very similar to MCAT difficulty. While TBR isn't a good predictor of MCAT score (as in, 70% in TBR is quite a bit better than 70% right on the MCAT), TPRH would be. Very good to use to gauge weaknesses whereas TBR is less so because of the difficultly level (you'd think you're weak in more than what you are because TBR demands a higher grasp of the content than the MCAT).
Examkrackers content/practice passages (in book + 1001 series):
EK is very bare bones. This is good for the student who has a strong knowledge base and/or limited amount of time to study. You can definitely do well just using the review provided in EK but this resource falls short on its own because it contains very, very few practice passages. The ones it has are great.. just not enough. Don't just use EK for a topic that you don't like.. that's allowing yourself to gloss over a weakness by just giving up. I liked quickly looking through EK as a means to ensure I understood the major topics at play.
1001 series is very good AND very bad. Very good in that if you know where your weaknesses lie, it's a very good way to help do them away by drilling. For instance, I hate physics.. so when I was studying, I would find a physics topic I sucked at. So I'd open up 1001 and do problem after problem on that topic. The way the book is designed is great for making sure you really understand how to do a problem because each successive problem changes the preceding one just a bit (i.e. drilling). It's also very bad though because it doesn't help you efficiently identify weaknesses... don't treat these as practice passages.
AAMC exams:
I said it above but I'm going to repeat it here.. don't expect practice exams to point out if you have weaknesses in a specific topic. So much to test, that even after 10 practice exams.. you can still have a hidden weakness that will be exposed on test day. This is why practice passages on ALL topics is important.
Make sure you do enough practice tests, though, so that you're comfortable with the timing and test experience as a whole. You should score within a few points of your average because while the tests don't cover ALL the material, it does enough that it holds some predictive value. You can always hit the jackpot (all strengths) or bust (all weaknesses) though.
Self-assessment is quite possibly THE BEST STUDY RESOURCE. Why? because it helps you do your main job: identify weaknesses. All MCAT-level passages, obviously.. and even breaks it down nicely for you. Do this, then do it again. Where practice tests aren't good for identifying weaknesses, the SA is.. because it covers pretty much everything.
Verbal:
TBR isn't very good. Neither is EK101, quite honestly.. though it's better than TBR and can be used to at least get yourself into the game. TPRH Verbal Workbook is the best practice resource here.. but the Self-Assessment and AAMC practice exams are by far the most valuable resource for verbal. Limited material means post-gaming becomes integral to success. Also, don't be afraid to re-use materials.. it's about developing the thought process rather than getting questions right/wrong. If you can't replicate the correct thought process despite knowing the answer, something is up.
Click here for why I think post-gaming is so important and how to effectively post-game
What I used:
Personally, I used a combination of TPRH Science Workbook and TBR for my prep. This way you get the MCAT level passages and the passages that push you to understand topics at higher conceptual levels. IMO, this is the best combination for the average student. Helps you identify weaknesses (TPRH) and turn them into strengths (TBR). Content wise, all TBR substituting some chapters with EK for Bio. For Verbal, I did a bit in the TPRH VW but mostly just saved my practice for AAMC materials.
Basically:
Mandatory
AAMC Tests/Self-Assessment
Highly recommended for everyone
TPRH Science and Verbal Workbooks
If you're shooting for a high score...
TBR
If you have an excellent background and/or not much time to study
EK
If you have an average background..
TPRH
If you know you have weaknesses..
EK1001
Addendum re: Kaplan books:
Kaplan content review is good, possibly even better than TPRH for that thorough review with a decent background.. it suffers from the same problem as EK though with very little practice problems. The course is another story though (online materials = absolutely superb). If you're going with a course, you probably didn't read this thread but I'd definitely recommend Kaplan. Their resources are just not built for self-study though.
If you have any questions about something I wrote, you can PM me or post them here. I'd recommend posting them here because you'll get feedback from others this way. I'll probably edit this occasionally as things come up with any subsequent discussion + as I'm still involved in the field, I'll likely continue forming opinions on the various resources.
Usual disclaimer in that this just represents my personal experiences with each study resource and the MCAT in general. There is a ton of really good advice in this forum.. I suggest trying to incorporate whatever you think will work for you into a personalized study plan. If that means reading this and throwing out all but one sentence, then go for it. One size doesn't fit all and only you know what study plan will work for you. Don't try to re-invent the wheel either.. stick with what worked in your academic career thus far.
And no, I won't share my score because a number does not qualify the value of anyone's advice.
Forming a Study Plan
Don't get overwhelmed. The study material doesn't matter as much as how you use it. Not to say some aren't better than others, but that's not, IMO, the biggest component of MCAT success. Whatever the resource, set up a schedule and stick to it. Three parts to a good schedule: content review, practice passages and practice exams.
Goal here is to know ALL topics at an adequate level and then try and get as many strengths as possible. MCAT covers so much that you can have many, many strengths and still do poorly if you happen to take a test that hits your weaknesses.. so you need to focus your studying on identifying weaknesses and eliminating them.
My personal study plan was heavily based on SN2ed's plan, which you should definitely read through to get some ideas. I did a quick round of content review, completing 1/3 of my available practice passages to help consolidate everything. Made a spreadsheet and broke down my %s by topic (don't need to get too picky here, just go by whatever chapter in whatever resource you pick). Then, did it all again with another 1/3. After/during this, I started incorporating practice exams AND THE SELF ASSESSMENT. Using the practice exams, SA and my data on the previous 2/3 of passages, I figured out where my weaknesses were and, you guessed it, did another quick review of content and the final 1/3 of passages. I basically ignored my strengths and focused on eliminating weaknesses. As I hit a topic each successive question phase, I reviewed the questions from the previous phases and kept some notes if I recognized something that was repeatedly tripping me up.
Practice exams (and content review) alone don't help you identify all your weaknesses.. so don't expect them to. They just pick a specific subset of topics which you may or may not be weak in... and that test's choice of content is NOT representative of the real thing. However, if you found that on a specific test you struggled on a passage about X.. then X is likely a weakness! Just don't expect practice tests to find every X for you. Practice exams are for timing/experience and finalizing testing strategies. Practice passages are the main component of a successful study schedule. To put it bluntly, practice exams and content review don't get you as many points on test day as practice passages will.
Very similar to SN2ed's schedule but make sure your mindset is focusing on weaknesses.. people tend to like to focus on strengths because they're easier to identify and well, more enjoyable to study. This equals potential MCAT struggle when you don't get a test that luckily picks only your strengths.. which you probably won't get.
THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN MCAT PREP
Putting this between picking study materials and forming a study plan because it's that important and will help with both.
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/345244/data/pstopics.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85566/data/bstopics.pdf
Print those out. Now. That's the OFFICIAL comprehensive topic list from AAMC. Some of the entries are fairly broad but you can expect that any question you get on the MCAT can be linked there. The uses of this vary but you should definitely incorporate them somehow.
Use this to figure out if you are completely lacking a certain topic (maybe your physics course didn't cover everything) or whether you can afford to take the MCAT without a certain pre-req (cross-reference with the missed course's syllabus)
Structure your study plan off this (use this as entries for your strength/weakness chart). Meticulously check off each entry as you go through them to make sure you got to everything (no MCAT resource is comprehensive).
Use this as you are going through your pre-reqs to recognize what will be tested on the MCAT. Not to say you should ignore the rest but that's added motivation.
Last thing re: the topic list. You can technically get something on the MCAT that's not on the list.. BUT that will likely be accompanied with enough background information in the passage to get by.
Importance of Practice Passages THROUGHOUT your Schedule
Content review and practice passages go hand in hand. They should not be separated. How do you know if you know something without testing yourself? Practice passages provide that opportunity to consolidate what you learned, make sure you're being honest with yourself about what you know AND give you MCAT experience. That MCAT experience is pivotal as it's going to help you frame your studying (as in, you're studying for a test.. so you'll want to review the content in a way the test will expect of you rather than trying to conform later) and help you develop the critical thinking skills you need to be successful on the MCAT.
Practice passages should be integrated from day 1 until the last day of your studying. Through content review, through practice exams.
Picking Study Materials
I'll comment on the materials I know/used. I think different resources work for different people depending on their content background.. don't be afraid to mix and match based on what your weaknesses are going in. Again.. just pick and don't think about the grass on the other side because it's not worth the worrying.
TBR content review + passages:
IMO, TBR is the perfect resource for those looking to ace the MCAT. Difficulty wise, TBR passages are, on average, HARDER than the real thing... but that's a good thing. If you're shooting for a top score, you'll want to make sure you know a topic inside and out.. which means you need a proper gauge which TBR provides with its passages. Chapters are dense but again, you WANT to over-prepare if you're looking to ace the MCAT. If you're not starting from a good knowledge base and/or not shooting for a 33+, TBR is likely not the best resource for you. TBR is great for developing strengths, which is what you'll obviously need to do with a good bit of topics to get a top score.
People get annoyed at TBR Bio but its really just the metabolism chapters that are ridiculous. Use TPRH or EK for those.
TPR Hyperlearning (not regular TPR) content review + passages:
I found content review to be okay. Not stellar but okay. Less dense than TBR, of course. I'd use this resource if I were looking for a thorough review of the content coming from a not so great knowledge base.. because TBR is quite simply too much to learn on an MCAT study schedule and EK is too little. Passages are very similar to MCAT difficulty. While TBR isn't a good predictor of MCAT score (as in, 70% in TBR is quite a bit better than 70% right on the MCAT), TPRH would be. Very good to use to gauge weaknesses whereas TBR is less so because of the difficultly level (you'd think you're weak in more than what you are because TBR demands a higher grasp of the content than the MCAT).
Examkrackers content/practice passages (in book + 1001 series):
EK is very bare bones. This is good for the student who has a strong knowledge base and/or limited amount of time to study. You can definitely do well just using the review provided in EK but this resource falls short on its own because it contains very, very few practice passages. The ones it has are great.. just not enough. Don't just use EK for a topic that you don't like.. that's allowing yourself to gloss over a weakness by just giving up. I liked quickly looking through EK as a means to ensure I understood the major topics at play.
1001 series is very good AND very bad. Very good in that if you know where your weaknesses lie, it's a very good way to help do them away by drilling. For instance, I hate physics.. so when I was studying, I would find a physics topic I sucked at. So I'd open up 1001 and do problem after problem on that topic. The way the book is designed is great for making sure you really understand how to do a problem because each successive problem changes the preceding one just a bit (i.e. drilling). It's also very bad though because it doesn't help you efficiently identify weaknesses... don't treat these as practice passages.
AAMC exams:
I said it above but I'm going to repeat it here.. don't expect practice exams to point out if you have weaknesses in a specific topic. So much to test, that even after 10 practice exams.. you can still have a hidden weakness that will be exposed on test day. This is why practice passages on ALL topics is important.
Make sure you do enough practice tests, though, so that you're comfortable with the timing and test experience as a whole. You should score within a few points of your average because while the tests don't cover ALL the material, it does enough that it holds some predictive value. You can always hit the jackpot (all strengths) or bust (all weaknesses) though.
Self-assessment is quite possibly THE BEST STUDY RESOURCE. Why? because it helps you do your main job: identify weaknesses. All MCAT-level passages, obviously.. and even breaks it down nicely for you. Do this, then do it again. Where practice tests aren't good for identifying weaknesses, the SA is.. because it covers pretty much everything.
Verbal:
TBR isn't very good. Neither is EK101, quite honestly.. though it's better than TBR and can be used to at least get yourself into the game. TPRH Verbal Workbook is the best practice resource here.. but the Self-Assessment and AAMC practice exams are by far the most valuable resource for verbal. Limited material means post-gaming becomes integral to success. Also, don't be afraid to re-use materials.. it's about developing the thought process rather than getting questions right/wrong. If you can't replicate the correct thought process despite knowing the answer, something is up.
Click here for why I think post-gaming is so important and how to effectively post-game
What I used:
Personally, I used a combination of TPRH Science Workbook and TBR for my prep. This way you get the MCAT level passages and the passages that push you to understand topics at higher conceptual levels. IMO, this is the best combination for the average student. Helps you identify weaknesses (TPRH) and turn them into strengths (TBR). Content wise, all TBR substituting some chapters with EK for Bio. For Verbal, I did a bit in the TPRH VW but mostly just saved my practice for AAMC materials.
Basically:
Mandatory
AAMC Tests/Self-Assessment
Highly recommended for everyone
TPRH Science and Verbal Workbooks
If you're shooting for a high score...
TBR
If you have an excellent background and/or not much time to study
EK
If you have an average background..
TPRH
If you know you have weaknesses..
EK1001
Addendum re: Kaplan books:
Kaplan content review is good, possibly even better than TPRH for that thorough review with a decent background.. it suffers from the same problem as EK though with very little practice problems. The course is another story though (online materials = absolutely superb). If you're going with a course, you probably didn't read this thread but I'd definitely recommend Kaplan. Their resources are just not built for self-study though.
Last edited:
