Next step books?

[yjj8817]

Has anyone bought these books for new mcat? What do you guys think about quality?

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[Walia14]

The amazon reviews for the CARS and Psyc/Soc strategy books look fake and I haven't heard good things about both books from a couple random posts that I've seen on SDN (although those random posts were quite vague).

 

[yjj8817]

The amazon reviews for the CARS and Psyc/Soc strategy books look fake and I haven't heard good things about both books from a couple random posts that I've seen on SDN (although those random posts were quite vague).

Those are fake? Good to know

 

[shahcoco]

The amazon reviews for the CARS and Psyc/Soc strategy books look fake and I haven't heard good things about both books from a couple random posts that I've seen on SDN (although those random posts were quite vague).

Agreed. A lot of rave reviews for this book been posted around Oct & Nov 2014. They're written very similarly, all with good grammar and perfect punctuation. I spend a lot of time on Amazon -- it just not the norm for 10 reviews in a row to be so perfect.

Also, most people don't start studying for exam until about 3-5 months before. How could people 1) begin seriously studying 6+ mos before they took an exam that even HAS the Psych section and 2) give rave reviews before getting their score back?

The part that pisses me off the most is that their shady marketing strategies are potentially messing with peoples' futures.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Highly suspicious of the reviews on Amazon. Next Step seems to be trying to get business

Look at their author link:
http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Schnedeker/e/B00NY9GCL0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_14?qid=1422511220&sr=8-14

click on the books with only 1 review. it's the same person over and over.

 

[Abraxas305]

I did a couple CARS passages and they actually seem pretty good and similar to AAMC-style passages from the practice tests. The only thing I don't like is the limited explanation for an answer. I need to know exactly why an answer is wrong so I can continually refine and build up my CARS strategy.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

I did a couple CARS passages and they actually seem pretty good and similar to AAMC-style passages from the practice tests. The only thing I don't like is the limited explanation for an answer. I need to know exactly why an answer is wrong so I can continually refine and build up my CARS strategy.

Really? I've only done like one and it was ridiculously hard and detailed oriented..or maybe I just suck at this new verbal

 

[Abraxas305]

Yeah they are pretty hard. I don't think "detail-oriented" is the way to classify those questions. They do adhere to the usual AAMC-style of VR seen before, but I guess it's worded a bit differently. It still is based on the type of questions that are usually asked though. I'm just not fond of the explanations because I feel like I'm benefiting from the practice itself, but not quite understanding how the answer solidifies what the question is asking. Like 2 answers are similar and could potentially be right, but there not solid explanation as to why the wrong one is truly wrong, other than saying something like "the point is not supported entirely by the passage." Why? I could use an explanation, even a small one at that, to expand my CARS skills....

 

[jbot13]

I have the NS CARS strategy and practice book. I actually think it's pretty good, though I haven't done all the passages yet. (Also the only thing I can really compare it to is the Kaplan 2015 CARS book, which I do not like so much.)

 

[vin5cent0]

I would not buy their books just on the principle alone that they put up fake reviews. They are, beyond any reasonable doubt, fake on Amazon. All 5*, all written in the same style, and most importantly, nearly every review only has two reviews.. both for their two new books.

Honestly, I find that business practice disgusting. If their books are good, they wouldn't need to fake reviews. TBR doesn't even advertise and look how well they do. Would love to hear a response from their rep on here.

 

[Abraxas305]

Yeah, I guess so, but more practice is better. I would say the passages are better than EK 101 and comparable to TPRH. I'm actually a bit disappointed in the Bio book, as I gone through half the book already. The content itself is okay, but the passages are a bit too easy. I know I was averaging 12s when I took all the other practice tests back in 2014, but I'm literally getting 1 question wrong per SECTION and the sections consist of like 6-7 short chapters. I'm hoping the S&P books are better though. I'd like to see some reviews on that.

 

[medic86]

Yeah, I guess so, but more practice is better. I would say the passages are better than EK 101 and comparable to TPRH. I'm actually a bit disappointed in the Bio book, as I gone through half the book already. The content itself is okay, but the passages are a bit too easy. I know I was averaging 12s when I took all the other practice tests back in 2014, but I'm literally getting 1 question wrong per SECTION and the sections consist of like 6-7 short chapters. I'm hoping the S&P books are better though. I'd like to see some reviews on that.

Maybe you're just that awesome.