I am absolutely TORN on what MCAT study guide to buy

[csx]

..I've heard mostly good things about BR, GS, and EK but right when I'm about to choose one I read some really awful reviews on the books and now I'm stuck. I know no book is perfect but I wanted to hear from you guys what you think worked best for you.

I consider myself average, in terms of intelligence and memory.

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[jakernewt]

I have used TBR for Physics, Gen Chem, and Orgo and I think they are the best out there. The practice passages are tough, which is a good preparation for the real thing. The practice passages are also designed to teach you or reiterate a previous point from the chapter by reviewing it in the guise of a passage. The passages I think set this set of books apart... it gets you to start acclimating to MCAT thinking/style/passages. However, I chose to use EK for biology and I think it was great. BR's I can't speak to, it just was a little bit too thick for my time schedule. EK might require you to study further on a few topics but overall it gives you what you need to know.

After content review my first practice test (AAMC3) was a 36. This is after being out of school for a little more than a year and not having taken physics 2. So I really credit the books for teaching well. I also took pretty thorough notes as I read each chapter and then made flashcards during a 2nd read of each chapter. That is a pretty tough thing to do through all of studying but it has worked well. I haven't even re-read notes or gone through the flashcards in their entirety yet. You will realize that you just know things as they pop up or will just seem to be able to figure them out. Anyways, that's my 2c. BR for all but bio, EK for bio. (If you are just coming out of organic chem you could possible substitute EK orgo in there as BR is pretty thorough in comparison)

I didn't study for verbal at all apart from the AAMC exams... but theres plenty of info on this site discussing it!

 

[Roxas]

You can't go wrong with either TPR or TBR, but I would be hesitant about strictly EK (due to its lack of passages and extremely concise content) or GS (just because of a few bad reviews I read)

 

[survivordo]

Just find one and stick with it. Literally thousands of students have been successful with each so you really can't go wrong. Continuing to worry about which materials to use will not increase your score but studying will!

Survivor DO

 

[Heisenberg1]

If you can afford it, take the Kaplan course. I made the decision to splurge for an onsite course and am SO glad I did. I didn't really have much direction in my studying and although there are study guides on here, I don't think I could make myself stick to it and most of those are heavy on content. Content is probably less than half the info. All the content review in the world will probably only get you to a 27. Practicing the exam will get you MUCH further. Also, my Kaplan instructor is AWESOME so I guess I lucked out there. For me, I find it easy to study with Kaplan with all the online materials they give you (19 FL exams) and plenty of topical tests etc. have been very helpful. Also, they have revamped all their materials to be more visually appealing to read in the last few years. I started with an 18 on my Kaplan diagnostic and am already scoring in the mid 30s (2 months) on my AAMC FLs. Kaplan really worked for me ;-)

 

[csx]

any recommendations for general chemistry review?

also, how do you go about getting MCAT practice exams? are those available for purchase or are they free? Please excuse my ignorance, I'm new and my pre-med advisor is useless.

 

[MedOldAge]

any recommendations for general chemistry review?

also, how do you go about getting MCAT practice exams? are those available for purchase or are they free? Please excuse my ignorance, I'm new and my pre-med advisor is useless.

AAMC3 is free and (4,5,7,8,9,10,11) $35 each. All from AAMC site.

http://www.e-mcat.com/starttest.aspx?cmd=displayfile&file=buy

 

[faith hopelove]

TBR and TPR are the best out there IMO

 

[TriagePreMed]

I haven't used the gold standard books, but I have the videos and they are garbage to say the least. EK books are nice for a second read review of the review, but they will not prepare you with their questions. TPRH is good for verbal, bio and o.chem. I feel they failed on chem/physics. BR is by far the best set. Some say bio is too heavy in detail. I feel it makes me understand the bio perfectly. Chem and physics are excellent. O.Chem seems too heavy, and if I had a good alternative like TPRH, I'd go with that. For the love of god, don't Kaplan.

 

[Silverflash]

I haven't used the gold standard books, but I have the videos and they are garbage to say the least. EK books are nice for a second read review of the review, but they will not prepare you with their questions. TPRH is good for verbal, bio and o.chem. I feel they failed on chem/physics. BR is by far the best set. Some say bio is too heavy in detail. I feel it makes me understand the bio perfectly. Chem and physics are excellent. O.Chem seems too heavy, and if I had a good alternative like TPRH, I'd go with that. For the love of god, don't Kaplan.

I took Kaplan and loved it. My on-site instruction was great and their online resources are wonderful.

 

[danny89]

TBR for orgo, physics, and chem. TPR for bio and TPR workbook for verbal.

 

[valkener]

Honestly you need most of them. TBR/TPR and most definitely EK. See the link in my sig if you want.

 

[ohhi]

Can someone PLEASE provide a glossary of what all the abbreviations stand for...I thought I had figured it out but what is TBR vs. BR, etc? Please help

 

[MCATMountain]

Can someone PLEASE provide a glossary of what all the abbreviations stand for...I thought I had figured it out but what is TBR vs. BR, etc? Please help

I think they're the same thing. TBR = The Berkeley Review, BR = Berkeley Review.

 

[gettheleadout]

Honestly you need most of them. TBR/TPR and most definitely EK. See the link in my sig if you want.

What's the point of buying all of EK's content books if you have TBR for gen chem, physics, and organic?

Can someone PLEASE provide a glossary of what all the abbreviations stand for...I thought I had figured it out but what is TBR vs. BR, etc? Please help

TBR / BR = The Berkeley Review
TPR / PR = The Princeton Review
TPRH = The Princeton Review Hyperlearning (these are their in-course materials, only available secondhand unless you're enrolled)
EK = Examkrackers
GS = Gold Standard
AAMC = self-explanatory lol
FL = Full Length (practice exam)

 

[sunflower18]

My two cents -- I just started studying a few weeks ago and haven't taken any practice tests yet, so I have no idea how I'm doing, but I feel like the TPR review books are great. They are in a really easy to read format, and explain things very well. I have the TBR series as well, but I haven't used them yet as much as TPR, although I hope to use the two in tandem so that I can see the material explained in two different ways.

 

[Mehd School]

What's the point of buying all of EK's content books if you have TBR for gen chem, physics, and organic?

While I agree with you 95% on this topic, I must admit that it's been nice to flip open my EK book and get a very concise refresher on a topic that I've forgotten something about right before my test date. Now that I'm almost complete with my trek up the mountain that is MCAT (I hope), I can't say I'd recommend EK to someone unless they're fresh off their pre-req's. I wouldn't have said the same thing 6 months ago.

 

[Mindbuffer]

I like the Kaplan books because they're super easy to follow. I also supplemented with TPR for concepts I didn't fully understand. A lot of people hate on Kaplan because it doesn't go too in depth, but I preferred this. Most of the MCAT requires more general and basic knowledge. It can be overwhelming and a waste of time to read through all of TPR bio, for example. TPR gave me some great shortcuts for solving physics and gen chem problems though, and their organic chem book is amazing.

I also tried the EK 1001 books for physics and gen chem, but I found them time consuming and unnecessary. It's not worth all that practice for 13 discretes that I'd probably be able to solve anyways. EK 101 for verbal I think is overrated too. I'm not hating on EK, I just didn't like those specific books.

Above all, I would make sure to get the AAMC material. The official guide to the MCAT was great, as well as the self-assessments.

 

[Mehd School]

I like the Kaplan books because they're super easy to follow. I also supplemented with TPR for concepts I didn't fully understand. A lot of people hate on Kaplan because it doesn't go too in depth, but I preferred this. Most of the MCAT requires more general and basic knowledge. It can be overwhelming and a waste of time to read through all of TPR bio, for example. TPR gave me some great shortcuts for solving physics and gen chem problems though, and their organic chem book is amazing.

I also tried the EK 1001 books for physics and gen chem, but I found them time consuming and unnecessary. It's not worth all that practice for 13 discretes that I'd probably be able to solve anyways. EK 101 for verbal I think is overrated too. I'm not hating on EK, I just didn't like those specific books.

Above all, I would make sure to get the AAMC material. The official guide to the MCAT was great, as well as the self-assessments.

Prepare yourself.

I used Kaplan books. I found them to be a good intermediate between the heft of TBR and the conciseness of EK. There were certainly some weak spots, as all prep books have, but I certainly think the books are underrated here and have a populous bandwagon.

And lastly I agree with you wholeheartedly about the EK 101 book. I thought it was excellent until I started on AAMC passages. I soon found that the EK strategy works excellent for EK and only EK ... at least for me. Once I adapted to AAMC passages and adopted a new strategy I'm back up to 10's and 11's. I would recommend EK 101 to nobody.

 

[lovemango]

I used TPRH for content review and EK as a refresher in the month leading up to my MCAT. The TPRH workbooks were great for practice, especially the highly coveted verbal workbook. I also took all of the AAMC full-length practice exams, you definitely need those no matter what other practice material you choose to use. Wasn't a huge fan of Kaplan.