...just based on the number of 40+ applicants who AAMC says exist. Without inherent test taking skill (or inate intelligience, particularly reading comprehension, if you will) you'll never get that kind of score.
This is so 100% true. More than anything, you have to understand what they are asking in the questions. I think the biggest mistake people make is absorbing information and thinking that this is preparing them. You have to know some information, but more importantly you need to know how to apply it. Their questions are not always clear, and only with good intuition and reading skills can you get the meaning of what they're asking. This is why I think people should rate MCAT materials by (1) their answer explanations to their practice questions and (2) the number of examples they present in their books that either mix multiple topics or look at things in a slightly atypical way.
...I would recommend getting TBR books for passages only not content review (if you have the money to spare. Gen. Chem & Physics are most the most useful in my opinion). (Their content definitely goes too far into detail which trust me, is more hurtful than helpful. Remember so many minor details is not an efficient way to study for the MCAT).
I disagree with your assessment here. I want to say this as respectfully as possible, but your experience with one exam does not necessarily represent the general MCAT experience. Everyone has a unique experience. IMO, the strength of the BR content review in the physical sciences is the many test strategies. The physics book is pretty much a
how to answer questions book. The text sections in gen chem and physics are more questions and explanations than actual text. There just isn't that much in the ways of deatils; it's tons of examples and question. The math tricks alone are good for a a point or two climb. If you know how to use their books the right way, they are the best thing out there.
The fact is that every MCAT is different, so you need to prepare for everything. It's impossible to have a universal plan. For instance, if I were to base my entire study suggestions on my MCAT, then I would tell everyone to study genetics experiments in detail, ignore physiology except for the kidney (and know that in detail), undertsand PCR, memorize all the carbonyl reactions you can find, know your optics equations, undertsand all of the trick magnetism examples you can get your hands on, don't worry about torque, be good with galvanic cells and voltage, and memorize titration curves to the tiniest detail.
My advice would be about as useful as telling someone to pick mostly odd numbers when playing the state lottery, because the time I played had almost all odd numbers.
Everyone has their own experience and opinion; I just wanted to toss mine out there to balance yours.
