The definitive (or close to) answer to the materials question

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BerkReviewTeach

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Every week, there are a couple threads by people who just joined asking about materials. While the kneejerk response is often do a search, that's not practical for people new to the site. It seems that eventually someone posts a quote from someone who took the time to summarize the materials. Here are three posts from posters who have been here a while that really did their homework about materials and chose to look at pretty much everything available before deciding what was best to study. These are as close to definitive lists as this site has. I don't mean to snub some great posters like JDUB and Maylayna for instance, who have posted summaries too, but these are the three I found before growing tired of searching.

Considering this question comes up over and over, this might be the thread to sticky, or some variation of it.

TheBoondocks said:
not to be rude, but there is a search function. this question gets asked like every three days. In short, EK series are stripped down with the basics you need to know. Get EK bio, it is by far the best for bio, all the responses on SDN say this. Know this book cold. Personally, you learn the best from passages, If you have time and the cash I highly suggest purchasing Berkeley Review Gen Chem and Ochem. There physics is great too. You will thank me later. You'll probably want EK biology review and EK 101 biology passages and EK verbal 101. PR is good, however, if you want to kill the MCAT you have to be able to integrate material. That's what BR does better than anyone else. Like, be able to answer questions if you see the circulatory system wired in parallel or series.

bio - 1. EK bio and 101 bio passages 2. Kaplan 3. PR/BR however, these don't suck, they're just detailed which turns off many people.

Physics 1. BR/Nova 2. PR 3. Kaplan I really think BR but they're are people who swear by nova on this site

Verbal 1. Ek verbal and 101 passages 2. PR 3. BR 4. Kaplan (read stay from)

Gen Chem 1. BR by far 2. PR 3. Kaplan/EK

O Chem 1. BR by far 2. toss up between Kaplan/PR/Ek

That is a general list of what i have read on SDN for the past 4 years, i came here and lurked throughout highschool. Good luck and hopefully this will help. EK is for people who KNOW the material and want review. If you are weak in something BR is the best since it's the most detailed and PR is detailed too, Kaplan is in the Middle, and EK is the least detailed but that doesn't mean it's bad. Just depends on the person. If you can I would buy the BR Chemistry books and Physics book. If you complete the PR science workbook along with BR science passages and EK bio, you will kill the sciences. Ek Verbal should help you out with verbal. I would read your PR books and just do the passages from BR, no need to read them as PR is already descriptive enough.
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SN2ed said:
Biology: 1. EK Bio + EK 1001 Bio, non-detail oriented 1. BR/TPR Hyperlearning, detail oriented 3. Kaplan

Physics: 1. BR 2. Nova 3. TPR Hyperlearning 4. Kaplan

Verbal: 1. EK Verbal + EK 101 Verbal 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. BR 4. Kaplan (Avoid if possible)

Organic Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

General Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan
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BennieBlanco said:
I unfortnately have bought almost everything, except Kaplan (although I have the premier book).

My 2 cents.

TBR is the best in PS. They have in depth review and it is conceptually strong. I DON'T like EK much at all, but I will use all of their practice questions (I have all 1001 and the whole set of content books).

TBR is no good for verbal.

After spending a fortune, here is what I use:

TPR Bio
TBR - Physics/Chem/Orgo

TPR/Kaplan - single books with quick topics. These are great to read real quick almost like summaries. The sections are around 100 pages and could be finished in 1 day easily. So you could read all BS in one day. Great review.

1001 - practice makes perfect
TPR science review - same
FL - get as many as you can

BUT yeah, TBR is great. Lots of Qs in every content book which is why they are great.
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I just found this post while scrolling through a thread and figured this is pretty good to add to the list. Not to mention that I like shiny objects and colored print. (Product of a lifelong short attention span)

Malayna said:
Like so many people here recommend, you should mix up your books differently so you get the best materials for each section.

What amazes me at SDN is the amount of great resources. It made a big difference for me, and I seriously believe that had I not followed the general advice, I wouldn't have scored as well. There are some posters here who put their heart and soul into their posts and really try to help. Since I've been here, there have been about five to ten posters who took the time to put out some great posts that summarized everything they did and what materials and programs worked. These are people who pulled great scores, so you should follow their suggestions. Here is the consensus opinion:

  • Biology review text: Examkrackers because it's to the point.
    Biology review passages and questions: Princeton Review and/or Berkeley Review because they are realistic and have good explanations.

    Orgo review text: Examkrackers if you are really strong in organic or Berkeley Review if you need a more in depth review.
    Orgo review passages and questions: Princeton Review and/or Berkeley Review because they are realistic and have good explanations.

    General chem review text: Berkeley Review because it 's thorough, explains things well, and covers exactly what the MCAT tests.
    General chem review passages and questions: Berkeley Review because they are realistic and have good explanations and as everyone who has used multiple sources will say, "they are the best by far."

    Physics review text: Berkeley Review or Nova both give a solid review and have good sample questions.
    Physics review passages and questions: Berkeley Review because they have several passages that are really good and have good explanations.

    Verbal reasoning review text: Examkrackers gives a solid strategy.
    Verbal reasoning review passages and questions: Everything you can get because no one has great passages and the more you can see from different writing styles, the better you'll be ready for a test of multiple styles.

    Extras: Princeton Review's science workbook is very good and Berkeley Review's class notes have about 200 passages and a lot of short cuts and tricks.

Follow the list and you should do well.
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agreed 100%.

I like TBR for everything (ochem/physics/gen chem) but bio. TPR hyperlearning for bio (as EK has no detail, EK is great if you already know everything)

I plan on buying their 7 FLs also within a month or so.

Happy studying everyone.👍
 
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Just found this thread after your response, BerkReviewTeach. You should get it stickied, it's pretty useful.
 
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Just found this thread after your response, BerkReviewTeach. You should get it stickied, it's pretty useful.
 
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Here's the "least" material version I can give:

Bio - EK (PR, Kaplan, or BR for more detailed)

Ochem - BR

Physics - BR (NOVA for explanations)

Gchem - BR

Verbal - EK verbal 101, AAMCs, (PR or BR for extra practice)

Practice tests - AAMCs, Kaplan FL (1-6, 9), BR CBTs


Here's my "new" recommendation for those needing a review plus extras if you need it. I tried to get it down to a book for each subject.

Get a good base but dont forget to practice. I suggest getting in 10-15 practice tests. Study why you get questions right and wrong and start to learn the MCAT style.

Both content and practice are equally important. Start 2-3 months out too so burnout will not happen. Maybe 20-30hrs/wk...depending on what you need. :luck:
 
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ball1313 said:
What are the BR classnotes? Are they available on the website?
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I've seen the classroom schedule on how to use the BR review books floating around here on SDN - like how there is a Phase I, II, III, and in which order they recommend doing the passages.

But.. I'm not really sure about the legality of this document floating around, so you gotta check with BerkReviewTeach.
 
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IndianVercetti said:
I've seen the classroom schedule on how to use the BR review books floating around here on SDN - like how there is a Phase I, II, III, and in which order they recommend doing the passages.

But.. I'm not really sure about the legality of this document floating around, so you gotta check with BerkReviewTeach.
Click to expand...

I'm a parttime employee and ex-teacher whose only legal knowledge has been gleened by watching Law and Order. I have no idea how legal it is. I assume it's what they send out to their students over the web, so it's probably something they know floats around. It's just a homework list, isn't it?
 
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