Other (not AO, EK or Kaplan) Self-Study Course Ratings and Opinions

I tried a couple of self-study read books (Barron's, Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc.). I wish I could remember exactly which ones I bought, but I gave them away. Sorry. I do recall they were SOOOOOOOO dry and boring I fell asleep within two or three pages. They were horrible. EK was definitely much more readable and better for self-study. I didn't take any actual class prep courses - the closest one was 3-4 hours away. Each way. Over the continental divide. In the middle of winter. (and uphill BOTH WAYS )

Most of the buy-it-at-Borders type of review books are really much too comprehensive to make them worthwhile and poorly written at best. I would *not* recommend them for anyone for any reason.

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use? (ex. book from bookstore, review materials provided by your university) When did you use it? How long did it take you to complete your self-study program?

I used a big book from Princeton Review (lots of content, 1 passage at the end of each chapter), 4 tests from AAMC, EK Verbal book (material, not passages), and EK mini-MCATs (I think that's what it's called). I started studying in May for the August MCAT, and studied maybe 10 hours a week

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?

Saved a lot of money and got a great score.

3) What were the weaknesses?

I didn't practice the writing sample a whole lot, and never had them read by people who know how to grade it... my score wasn't so hot.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

31 on my first practice test, 37 on the real thing. I was very satisfied.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?

It really depends on where you're starting and what kind of student you are. I did well in those science classes in undergrad so I just needed a review... I didn't need to learn them or have someone explain the more difficult concepts. I'm also a good test-taker in general, so I don't think the fact that I didn't take proctored practice tests hurt me (but I HIGHLY recommend taking full length AAMC tests to build endurance). I also made a detailed schedule at the start and stuck to it for the most part, so self-discipline is a must.

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use? (ex. book from bookstore, review materials provided by your university) When did you use it? How long did it take you to complete your self-study program?

I'm studying right now with the Kaplan book. I based the decision to buy this on three things: 1) I used Kaplan to study for the GRE and did very well, 2) I know what type of study material works best for me, and 3) A friend currently in her first year of med school recommended it. I purchased a used copy through Amazon.com for ~$35. I'm also using college textbooks as needed to review difficult areas.

I'm planning on four months of study leading up to August. I'll take the Kaplan full-length practice test as well as some of the AAMC ones.

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?
The comprehensive nature of the material. I've never been a "study to the test" kind of person, and I can't change now! I like to absorb everything, let it run around in my head, and then form a complete picture in my mind of how it works. I also find that the sheer challenge of studying this way reduces the need for a lot of memorization: if I can figure out how and why something works the way it does, then I will be able to remember it later.

3) What were the weaknesses?
The book is very big, which makes it difficult to tote around. I removed the binding, punched holes in all of the pages, and prepared a ring binder. This way I can pull out the chapter I want to review and leave the rest at home.
Also, as another poster mentioned, these types of books are comprehensive, long, and somewhat dry to read. If you need something that's a bit more concise and moves faster, it might not be for you.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?
I will take the test in August, so we'll see. So far, I'm feeling comfortable with the questions and level of knowledge required.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?
We'll know when I get my score, yes? I would say this type of studying works well for you if you are very self-motivated, can stick to a schedule, and like an in-depth, comprehensive review.

I used the Kaplan books that are given out during the class. A friend gave me his copies and I found them to be very helpful. I started studying the first day of school in January and spent one hour reading one chapter a night until a month before the April exam. I then started taking full-length practice exams from REA until I was pretty confident with the material.

Self-study was great for me because it was free and only took one hour at a time.

Got a set of the books Kaplan passes out in their course (a friend gave me them). This made sure that I had something on every topic that would be covered. Read through these making my own note pages on each topic.

Bought Exam Kracker Physics Problems and Exam Kracker 101 Verbal Reasoning passages for practice materials. (Mainly b/c I felt I was out of practice with Physics, and who doesn't want to do better at Verbal Reasoning). I would definitely recommend Exam Krackers practice problem books. They really helped me learn high yield material.

Took every AAMC practice test that I could get my hands on. This was the most effect thing that I did. It helped me gage my weaknesses. I didn't mind spending the money to buy these practice tests, especially since I wasn't paying $1500-$1700 for a prep course. I also had some of the Kaplan practice tests and took one of these, but in the end it did seem a bit different from the AAMC tests. I was glad I used the AAMC tests more.

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use? (ex. book from bookstore, review materials provided by your university) When did you use it? How long did it take you to complete your self-study program?

I studied with the Kaplan coursebooks that I borrowed from a friend. I started Valentines day and took the April test. I also purchased a few online practice tests (I think 5). They helped me more than the course books.

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?

It was good for me because I didn't want to pay for the course. I also didn't have a day free to take the class.

3) What were the weaknesses?

I think I would have been better off taking the class. My studying helped me know some of the material, but didn't necessarily prepare me for the test itself. Taking the tests did, but I did that a little later on (a couple of weeks before the test).

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

Not really. I did ok on the test (got into med school) but think I could've done better had I took a course. Especially because I'm a non trad that has been out of the classroom for three years.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?

Well, its ok to study this way if your really committed (don't need someone else to push you) and you really know what your getting yourself into. (I didn't have a pre med advisor or any premed friends to help me with questions, etc) If I had to do it again, I would've taken the class.

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use? (ex. book from bookstore, review materials provided by your university) When did you use it? How long did it take you to complete your self-study program?

Kaplan books from bookstore: The "Comprehensive Review" (useful) and the one with extra-difficult questions (useless, avoid). I also used all the online AAMC practice tests. I spent my spring break week with the Kaplan books and the week before the test doing practice tests.

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?

It didn't take long, I could go at my own pace.

3) What were the weaknesses?

Better feedback on the writing sample might have helped.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

Can't argue with a 40.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?

The Kaplan book was a good review of biology. It's physics section wasn't so useful. I would really recommend that students use only the AAMC practice tests. I found the Kaplan ones to be confusing and unlike the real exam. If you need work on specific subject areas, you'll probably need more than 2 weeks. If you have a strong science background (not that you took a bunch of classes, you just took the prereqs and truly understood them), some review is helpful, especially for biology, but practice will be much more important.

1. I used the books from the Princeton Review Class that a friend lent me. I also used PR practice tests and the free real practice test online. I had an accountability partner for studying (which made us both more committed).
Studied from January to the MCAT.


2) Strengths of your self-study course?

Free, didn't feel like I was wasting any time in a class (I could skip over sections I knew and focus on the more challenging sections).

3) Weaknesses?

I needed to do more REAL practice MCATs, not just Princeton Review tests. Motivation to take full length tests was a challenge.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

Yes.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?

Only if you KNOW that you can be committed to a schedule. I highly recommend subscribing to the MCAT site to get 8 real MCAT practice tests. TAKING AND CORRECTING PRACTICE TESTS was probably the MOST IMPORTANT thing.

It was also helpful to have profs I could turn to for specific questions, and to have a study partner to make sure that I put in the hours as planned.

Good luck.

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use? (ex. book from bookstore, review materials provided by your university) When did you use it? How long did it take you to complete your self-study program?

Kaplan's comprehensive review, about six months

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?

Flexible, and you can go at your own pace and study what you think you need to study

3) What were the weaknesses?

Motivation

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

For some parts better than others, clearly

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?

If you're self-motivated and already have a pretty good grasp of the basic material, then it works well. If you need someone to tell you to study, a class might be better.

(Just pasting in my comments from another thread at the request of the Mod!)
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Only posting this as a service to any others who may be buying up some study aids for future MCATs. Sorted through all my old study books from the April MCAT when I found this again: Barron's MCAT Prep. Used it back in March. Avoid buying this book or even wasting your time looking through this book at all costs. It was relatively inexpensive and caught my eye with its "Four full length practice exams" and "Reviews in biology, chemistry, and physics".

I never supported book-burning until I bought this piece of crap. The review materials were a joke. The practice exams were so poorly written with many blatant errors / inconsistencies that I still didn't crack a 30, despite the tests being the easiest pieces of garbage ever. If an "All of the above" answer choice was offered on the Verbal section, that was often the real answer. Often 4 or 5 of them in a row. So dissatisfied that I left 3 of the 8-hour practice exams untouched. Wasn't worth my time.

DO NOT BUY BARRON'S MCAT TEST PREP!

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1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use?

I had originally started with a TPR course but decided to drop it and get a refund after the 3rd class b/c it didn't seem worth it. I used TPR books from a friend, EK Biology, EK AO, and Kaplan flashcards. I did not follow the TPR schedule but did use their course syllabus - quite useful b/c it tells you which chapter(s) can be considered a single "unit" (ex. Ch. 1 -biochem, Ch.2 - molecular bio = 1 unit) so I would make it a goal to complete a single unit each day. I began my prep in late June, spending the first week doing gen. chem, and then started to pick up momentum with adding on physics, and biology. I finished bio, chem, and physics by the end of July and then finished orgo by the first week of august - leaving me 4 weeks to do practice tests and to review.

I was able to review all the material a 2nd time - but I used EK Bio for the 2nd time and this was very useful b/c it solidified for me the important stuff - TPR bio has too much info and you can't tell what's essential and what's not. I also started to use Kaplan flashcards and these were very helpful for memoring equations. I used the TPR science workbook and did not complete it all b/c i didn't have time - but i did complete the gen chem section (my weakpoint) and all praise for the workbook b/c it just hammers in equations, concepts, etc --> essential. I used AO to supplement and to clarify things that I just couldn't understand from TPR books - AO simplifies things making it easier to grasp.

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?

Certainly that you can follow your own schedule and focus on your own weaknesses. You don't need to have your confidence lowered when, going to class, you're behind and everyone is ahead, and you can't understand what the instructor is saying - that's not a good feeling to have.

Plus, by not taking the TPR course, I was forced to seek SDN and EK advice on VR - which turned out to be the best, and most logical strategy - instead of being intimidated by TPR's advice that you should skip the "killer passage", this doesn't even exist. Being led to believe VR is so difficult ex. "you can only beat it by skipping, skimming, ranking passages, do them out of order, the average is 8" - I was subject to this in the first class...but fortunately I dropped it and did not have my VR confidence lowered further.

3) What were the weaknesses?

Well, I was supposed to start in May but didn't get rolling till late June - thus, if you have problems with motivation, going solo is difficult. Also, not getting used to taking the practice aamc's in actual testing conditions - that's another downside.

The only thing I wished I could have done differently was start in May - so that I would have had all of July and August for reviewing and practice tests - reading and understanding the stuff the first time is great - but you really do need to look it over again b/c you tend to forget things (ex. i would get the equilbrium and rate law's mixed up, but not after the 2nd review). Had I begun in May, I could've finished the Science Workbook and finished all the AAMC's - I only completed 5,6,7,8 - for 3, 4, and 9 in only did the verbal, and given the material a 3rd review - which is what mcat pearls suggest. Of course, I was already getting saturated and sick of looking over stuff during my 2nd review.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

Absolutely - you set your own schedule, you can adjust it, you set ur own goals, focus on your own weaknesses - regardless of how I do on the real MCAT - I felt confident going in and I knew my stuff.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?

Yep. 110% - don't waste your money on a course unless you need the structure and discipline of the course - of course, even if you take the course - you will still need discipline and motivation to study on your own time, otherwise, the course ain' gonna do nothin!

Point is - you're either motivated enough to take the MCAT prep seriously or you're not - if you're not, a course won't make a difference. If you are serious, the course still doesn't make a difference b/c it's all about the work you put in outside of class.

For TPR books, EK Bio, AO, and Kaplan flashcards.

10/12/13 - 35Q

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use? (ex. book from bookstore, review materials provided by your university) When did you use it? How long did it take you to complete your self-study program?

I bought the Kaplan comprehensive review and TPR book from a bookstore. Since certain subjects I hadn't taken in a while, I decided to check out a AP Barron's chemistry book from the library. This really helped me and gave me a complete review of the chemistry needed for the MCAT--I made sure I covered the major topics the AAMC has listed on the MCAT site. After each subject covered, there is a shorty multiple choice quiz on the material. This helped reinforce the material and some the of the questions were comparable to ones you would see on the MCAT. For physics, I actually referred back to my undergraduate book: Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick and Walker. I also used a Peterson's book.

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?
The quizzes in the AP book reinforced subject material and actually were a decent preparation for MCAT level questions. Also, I prepared by not only taking practice tests. Taking multiple practice tests, I noticed a pattern in the questions and passage types---application of the material. So I focused my studying on application. Whenever I came across a subject or topic, I wrote the important equations but also brainstormed about various applications of the material. This really helped me to understand the equations.

3) What were the weaknesses?
I do not recommend the Peterson's book. It is very bad!!! The physics on there is way harder on the actual MCAT and the verbal practice was just horrible. I had to actually retake because of my verbal score and the Peterson's book was of no help.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?

I didn't need to prep for the physics too much because of my BME major and my minors in medical imaging and medical physics. The AP chemistry book really helped. Both times I took the test, my score reflected my preparation. However, for the biological sciences I had a little bit more trouble. Most of my review books came short in reviewing the genetics and certain questions I encountered both times I took the test really focused on biology I had never taken. The section were manageable, but I did struggle through them. I actually had to retake because of my verbal score. I practiced more critical reading, tried different techniques and through the process started to become more comfortable.

5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?
If the student really struggles at physics I recommend either reviewing the material from the book or seeking help. I would definetly recommend the AP chemistry book for review of the chemistry. For biology, definetly review genetics, immunology and biologically related organic chemistry because those were topics I encountered both times I took the test. Ultimately, it boils down to thinking conceptually and not merely memorizing the material. As long as you know the equations, know how to derive them or manipulate them, and hava a good understanding of the material, you should do well.

Hi everyone! I hope it's okay if I bring this old-ish thread back up... I was wondering: I've been reading the threads about self-study here and a couple of people have mentioned the "Big Kaplan book" as being a good supplement for the EK set, so I was looking it up on amazon... and I'm not sure which of their products it actually is. There seems to be a "Premier Program" for each year (there's a new 2007 one, apparently) and then there's also a "Comprehensive Review", which sounds promising, but it's a few years old... if that's it, do they come out with a new one every year and I'm just missing it, or should I just go with the 2005 one?

1) Which self-study MCAT prep method did you use?
I used a big Kaplan book that I got from a friend and a number of random online resources that I found.

2) What would you say were the strengths of your self-study course?
This was a pretty great resource for reviewing material. Excellent visuals.


3) What were the weaknesses?
Practice tests. The book I got did not provide me with enough practice test and practice problems for the MCAT. I did find a few free practice tests from various sources online. But overall I felt that I needed to do more in order to be where I wanted to be. Here are links to some free sources of questions online.

4) Do you feel that your self-study course prepared you adequately for the MCAT?
Not at all. I eventually bailed on it and took a classroom class that worked very well. That being said, I found that I had a huge leg up in the class room course because of my previous time studying and I would definitly recomend trying the self-study approach first.


5) Would you recommend that future MCAT students prepare using that self-study course?
It was a great book but was not sufficent alone.

I Just bought The Nuts and Bolts of Organic Chemistry by Karty. has anyone found this text to be useful in studying for the MCAT? I bought it because it teaches you to understand not to memorize. And to cover my bases im taking TPR in october, waiting for EK to come in the mail, and already done with Kaplan big book (however it didnt help much with Ochem). Will TPR give me enough practice? I want to totally pwn the MCAT.

bumping for some more recent opinions.

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