Materials:
- Berkeley Review (BR) General Chemistry
- BR Organic Chemistry
- Examkrackers (EK) Biology for non-detailed approach OR The Princeton Review Hyperlearning (TPR) Biology/BR Biology for a detailed approach (In the schedule, I will use EK Bio because most prefer a non-detailed approach)
- BR Bio
- BR Physics
- EK 1001 series, excluding EK 1001 Bio (i.e. do NOT buy EK 1001 Bio)
- EK Verbal 101
- TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook or Berkeley Review Verbal
- AAMC Full Length (FL) #3-5 and 7-11 (AAMC #6 is not available at the moment)
You're using EK Bio for content review and BR Bio for passages. If you need more detail during in your content review, refer to BR Bio.
You can pick up the BR books from their website: http://www.berkeley-review.com/TBR/home-study.html
Also, check out the For Sale section on here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=230 All of the above, except for the AAMC FLs show up from time to time. I've regularly seen a complete BR set go for under $100 on there. Whenever you buy used, MAKE SURE THE PASSAGES ARE UNMARKED.
To buy the AAMC FLs: http://www.e-mcat.com/
Bare Minimum Set-up:
$245 for AAMC FLs (
http://www.e-mcat.com/)
$240 for BR Physics, O-chem, Gen Chem, Biology (
http://www.berkeley-review.com/TBR/home-study.html)
$26 for EK Verbal 101 (
http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-MCAT101-Passages-Verbal-Reasoning/dp/1893858553)
$30 EK Bio (
http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-MCAT-Biology-Jonathan-Orsay/dp/1893858448)
Prices vary on TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook, search the For Sale forum on here for copies. They regularly show up. You should be able to get one for under $50.
Total = $541 + TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook
Set-up with EK 1001:
$18 EK Physics 1001 (http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-1001-Questions-MCAT-Physics/dp/1893858189)
$20 EK O-Chem 1001 (http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-1001-Questions-Organic-Chemistry/dp/1893858197)
$19 EK Chem 1001 (http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-1001-Questions-MCAT-Chemistry/dp/1893858227)
Total = $598 + TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook
Possible Book Replacements:
If you're having a hard time finding the TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook, BR is an okay replacement. Well, there's not much of a choice left. Again, I HIGHLY recommend you hunt down the TPRH Verbal Workbook.
TPRH is a great choice for content review in all subjects, however, you still need the BR books and EK 101 Verbal for their practice passages. TPRH does not have enough practice passages, though the Workbooks are still great resources.
A Little Bit more about TPRH books:
If you're looking for the Science or Verbal Workbooks, your best bet is through the For Sale forum on here:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=230
You can also find the full TPRH set in the For Sale. People usually sell the whole set together.
If you want the content books, they're available on Amazon:
Biology:
http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Revie...7929/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1293060438&sr=8-4
Gen Chem:
http://www.amazon.com/General-Chemi...7945/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1293060438&sr=8-7
O-Chem:
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemi...7937/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1293060438&sr=8-8
Physics:
http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Revie...7953/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1293060438&sr=8-5
Yes, these books are the same as the TPRH content review books. The only difference is that these books, unlike the class content review books, contain some practice passages. I believe it's 3-4 passages per chapter. It's not enough to just stick with these books and some FLs, but it's nice to have a few passages thrown in.
About the EK 1001 series:
It is a good idea to get the complete EK 1001 series. I thought they really helped me nail down my understanding of the various topics. Through using the physics especially, I found that I didn't understand some things as well as I would like. Furthermore, for whatever reason, they helped me visualize the problem in my head and made the equations intuitive to use. Too many people neglect their basic understanding which could be bolstered by EK 1001. They think they have a strong grasp, yet when those fundumentals are tested, one's weaknesses become more apparent.
Plus, doing more timed practice problems is always a good thing.
The only negative for the non-bio and VR practice books is that they aren't in the right format (unless you think of them as tons of discretes). However, it is significantly easier to spot your content weaknesses with EK 1001
because they aren't passages. You don't have to worry about if you messed up due to a failure to synthesize multiple ideas or the passage was worded strangely. When you mess up on EK 1001, you know it's due to a content weakness.
Lastly, this problem would be alleviated by the BR books and EK content books containing practice passages. There are also the practice tests that you will be taking.
I suggest you get the above material 1-2 months in advance. You don't want to be missing your materials when you're about to start this schedule. Also, older content review books are usually okay, just don't go too far back (past 5 years old).
