Next Step psychology

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dahmsom

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Im thinking of buying the next step psychology, but theres not a lot of forums post about this. Im just in need of more practice since i never took psychology. I have TPR/EK and finished their practice questions. Does the next step book have practice passages or just random questions?

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I was going to suggest TPR but since you already finished TPR and EK, then go for it. Usually, more practice = better results. Don't forget to use KA too, they have good passages and it's free.
 
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Im thinking of buying the next step psychology, but theres not a lot of forums post about this. Im just in need of more practice since i never took psychology. I have TPR/EK and finished their practice questions. Does the next step book have practice passages or just random questions?

If you are just looking for some practice, then go for their strategy book, not the content review one. I looked at their content review book and it was terrible.
 
Im thinking of buying the next step psychology, but theres not a lot of forums post about this. Im just in need of more practice since i never took psychology. I have TPR/EK and finished their practice questions. Does the next step book have practice passages or just random questions?
The NS content books are ok at best as far as learning the material. They are worth buying only for the hundreds or practice Qs and practice passages you get with them. I would say the S&P books are much better.

Of all the NS content books I say the Psych/Soc was the best, but beyond the practice Qs and passages, that doesn't mean much. I'd go TPR for psych/soc as far as a learning tool, NS S&P for practice and MCAT strategies.
 
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The NS content books are ok at best as far as learning the material. They are worth buying only for the hundreds or practice Qs and practice passages you get with them. I would say the S&P books are much better.

Of all the NS content books I say the Psych/Soc was the best, but beyond the practice Qs and passages, that doesn't mean much. I'd go TPR for psych/soc as far as a learning tool, NS S&P for practice and MCAT strategies.

I have to disagree. Those "hundreds or so practice questions" were a waste of time since except the 10 or so questions at the end of each chapter, the other 900 questions did not come with ANY sort of expalanations (you only get an answer key).

I'd definitely focus on EK 30 min-exams and the end-of-chapter passages from TPR + Kaplan before using NextStep!
 
I think you misunderstood what I said the value of these books was, for me. Overall you get as many practice Q explanations as TPR, but waaaay more Qs. I do agree that explanations to those other Qs would be helpful, but those were just content Qs, easily explained by going back to the chapter. That is why I found this book helpful, not for the MCAT style passages and Qs (which there were about 10 per chapter) but for the content style Qs which helped my drill the psych/soc (my weakest area). Still in hindsight, I would say get TPR and the NS S&P book for psych/soc MCAT practice, which has way more MCAT style practice than EK or TPR, but no content in them.

For the content books:

EK has great passages and Qs, but like too few content Qs. I think TPR strikes the right balance of the two, as far as psych/soc goes.

I would say for content TPR > EK >NS
For content only Q reinforcement TPR >NS >EK
For mcat style practice EK >NS & TPR

Overall: TPR > EK > NS

Even better than all of them though, was the free Khan stuff ( as far a content and practice Qs). I wish the AAMC hadn't been so lazy about creating new Psych/Soc Q packs. They had years but decided to let Khan do it. Khan is nice but they aren't the AAMC and many of the passages were just abysmal. I wouldn't have minded paying $10 for a Psych Q pack or a Soc Q pack. The AAMC was lazy enough to recycle old Qs and charge me for it, why couldn't they come up with Q on the new content, the stuff they KNEW would be the cause of the most anxiety. Now they are coming out with another FL exam and still no biochem, psych or soc Q packs.

Still, free is free and the passages that were close enough to the real thing (~ 1/3) make it worth it overall.
 
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I learned the psych/soc for EK very well and haven't been able to break a 126 on NS FL 1 and NS FL2... Is EK lacking a ton of vocab, or do the NS exams have a ton of terms not needed for the MCAT?
 
I found that TBR review and passages and KA passages was the perfect combination. I had limited exposure to this section during college, but between TBR and KA, I felt as prepared as I could be. I'm extremely happy with how I did and would not have done anything differently.
 
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