MCAT-Review.org - another MCAT prep source?

pvn1 · Jul 5, 2010

Hi everyone,
I just found MCAT-Review.org and wanted to share it with you guys. I have read lots of posts in this forum, but have seen anyone mention MCAT-Review.org. If anyone has happened to use this website to prepare for the MCAT, please give me some feedback. Otherwise, please enjoy because:
-It's free
-It answers all the questions found on the AAMC mcat study guides.
-The answers are short and to-the-point.

Goodluck!

pvn1

NickNaylor · Jul 5, 2010

There's usually a reason most people recommend the same core options for test prep.

venacontracta · Jul 5, 2010

This site is great because it is such an efficient content review - it lists everything you need to know, but nothing else. If you know everything on that site backwards and forwards but nothing beyond it, it is far more likely that you will get PS/BS questions wrong due to poor reasoning or problem solving skills than lack of content knowledge.

Silverfalcon · Jul 5, 2010

ColeOnTheRoll said:
There's usually a reason most people recommend the same core options for test prep.

Agreed.

MCAT-Review has received some feedback in past as being a helpful review. But it is not a good material to study from because it doesn't have practices like prep books.

Medhatter · Jul 5, 2010

It's GREAT to use them as a last minute overview to increase confidence because you learned the details alraedy. The site reinforces your knowledge.

But if you use that as your sole learning material, you are aiming for a disaster.

MaiJMai · Jul 5, 2010

I found out about this site a few weeks ago through SDN post. It's great for me since I strongly feel those expensive prep courses would be a huge waste of money for me. I just need a quick, thorough review & tons of practice Q's. If u struggle with really basic science concepts, u may need to be spoon-fed, hand-held, & cuddled by Uncle EK or Auntie Kaplan. Though I think they probably need u more than u need them.

Medhatter · Jul 5, 2010

MaiJMai said:
I found out about this site a few weeks ago through SDN post. It's great for me since I strongly feel those expensive prep courses would be a huge waste of money for me. I just need a quick, thorough review & tons of practice Q's. If u struggle with really basic science concepts, u may need to be spoon-fed, hand-held, & cuddled by Uncle EK or Auntie Kaplan. Though I think they probably need u more than u need them.

Before someone takes this as a serious advice, have you done an actual MCAT without any commercial prep material, or going over your college notes, and scored well?

Even the kids I know with 90+ avgs in college use these prep materials to study. And they ended up scoring 40+. Seriously, MCAT is not a test you save money on. I know content review is boring but you need to seriously invest in these things in order to have the capacity to do well, after getting enough practice questions.

rjns11 · Jul 5, 2010

MaiJMai thinks he has it figured out with a 33 on a practice test. His one practice question a day on another website is all he needs.

BR is just robbing us blind by charging $240 for more than 400 passages worth of questions and review of all key concepts.

MaiJMai: why don't you stop giving stupid advice and go sell the bridge you randomly brag about.

MaiJMai · Jul 6, 2010

rjns11 said:
MaiJMai thinks he has it figured out with a 33 on a practice test. His one practice question a day on another website is all he needs.

BR is just robbing us blind by charging $240 for more than 400 passages worth of questions and review of all key concepts.

MaiJMai: why don't you stop giving stupid advice and go sell the bridge you randomly brag about.

Hey pink bird,

1. i'm a woman, not a man - "Mai" should be a hint.
2. Judging from your posts, u r the type of person who does need Big Prep, & they see u as a bag of $ with a big target painted on it.
3. u obviously don't understand my bridge joke.
4. There r enough high quality free or low-cost resources to do excellently on the MCAT - I know many people who can prove this. However, if u never understood the subject matter in the first place ... yeah, u r going to need a lot of educating.
5. Caesar, a senior moderator, said, "Truth be told I don't even like Kaplan. I used the EK books to study on my own for the MCAT. I think those courses are for the most part bunk."
6. AAMC states this about Big Prep (http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/prepfaq.htm):
"One study involving over 20,000 students during a five-year period compared the MCAT exam performance of those who had enrolled in commercial review courses with that of those who had not. The study results indicated that gains derived from commercial review courses are small. The small differences in the scores of individuals who received such coaching could be due simply to the time devoted to reviewing the relevant material."
7. why don't U stop giving stupid advice. BTW, I'm interested in knowing what kind of MCAT scores u r getting????

kehlsh · Jul 6, 2010

MaiJMai said:
Hey pink bird,

1. i'm a woman, not a man - "Mai" should be a hint.
2. Judging from your posts, u r the type of person who does need Big Prep, & they see u as a bag of $ with a big target painted on it.
3. u obviously don't understand my bridge joke.
4. There r enough high quality free or low-cost resources to do excellently on the MCAT - I know many people who can prove this. However, if u never understood the subject matter in the first place ... yeah, u r going to need a lot of educating.
5. Caesar, a senior moderator, said, "Truth be told I don't even like Kaplan. I used the EK books to study on my own for the MCAT. I think those courses are for the most part bunk."
6. AAMC states this about Big Prep (http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/prepfaq.htm):
"One study involving over 20,000 students during a five-year period compared the MCAT exam performance of those who had enrolled in commercial review courses with that of those who had not. The study results indicated that gains derived from commercial review courses are small. The small differences in the scores of individuals who received such coaching could be due simply to the time devoted to reviewing the relevant material."
7. why don't U stop giving stupid advice. BTW, I'm interested in knowing what kind of MCAT scores u r getting????

I've been getting 45s and I think ur advice is absurd

NickNaylor · Jul 6, 2010

MaiJMai said:
I found out about this site a few weeks ago through SDN post. It's great for me since I strongly feel those expensive prep courses would be a huge waste of money for me. I just need a quick, thorough review & tons of practice Q's. If u struggle with really basic science concepts, u may need to be spoon-fed, hand-held, & cuddled by Uncle EK or Auntie Kaplan. Though I think they probably need u more than u need them.

Uh, this is horrible advice. Not to pull out my MCAT penis, but I had a 3.9 cGPA and scored a 34 on my first FL before I took the test, and I still studied my ass off using EK materials. You aren't being "spoon-fed" or "cuddled" by using standard test prep materials. It's called not being stupid.

A friend of mine, a smart guy with good grades, didn't use test prep material. He scored a 30 on a Kaplan diagnostic. His studying consisted of a few weeks of review a couple of hours a day. You know how he ended up? 29.

rjns11 · Jul 6, 2010

MaiJMai said:
Hey pink bird,

1. i'm a woman, not a man - "Mai" should be a hint.
2. Judging from your posts, u r the type of person who does need Big Prep, & they see u as a bag of $ with a big target painted on it.
3. u obviously don't understand my bridge joke.
4. There r enough high quality free or low-cost resources to do excellently on the MCAT - I know many people who can prove this. However, if u never understood the subject matter in the first place ... yeah, u r going to need a lot of educating.
5. Caesar, a senior moderator, said, "Truth be told I don't even like Kaplan. I used the EK books to study on my own for the MCAT. I think those courses are for the most part bunk."
6. AAMC states this about Big Prep (http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/prepfaq.htm):
"One study involving over 20,000 students during a five-year period compared the MCAT exam performance of those who had enrolled in commercial review courses with that of those who had not. The study results indicated that gains derived from commercial review courses are small. The small differences in the scores of individuals who received such coaching could be due simply to the time devoted to reviewing the relevant material."
7. why don't U stop giving stupid advice. BTW, I'm interested in knowing what kind of MCAT scores u r getting????

First off, how hard is it to type out 'you'? -Especially if you're going to increase the font size and make it bold, underlined and italicized.

No one on this board is arguing that the MCAT courses are worth the money. The MATERIALS are (review books, practice problems and exams...). The example you cited from Caesar shows that he/she supports buying EK material. Isn't that exactly what you're trying to argue against?

You're right, my situation is different than most because I badly need content review. I'm a business major, haven't taken physics, and can't remember the last science course I took. Before starting review I scored a 22, and a month later, two weeks ago, I scored a 33 (AAMC 4). Yesterday I scored a 36 on AAMC 5.

I know most people have had their science courses more recently, but nobody can get the best score they're capable of without reviewing all of the topics and seeing problems from 10 different angles. Kaplan, TPR, EK and BR provide those review materials and sample problems.

You're going to be paying ~$45,000/year for medical school. Why would you try to save $500 on one of the most important parts of your application?

The reason I didn't get your bridge joke was because, like your advice, it was stupid.

Janieve · Jul 6, 2010

rjns11 said:
First off, how hard is it to type out 'you'? -Especially if you're going to increase the font size and make it bold, underlined and italicized.

No one on this board is arguing that the MCAT courses are worth the money. The MATERIALS are (review books, practice problems and exams...). The example you cited from Caesar shows that he/she supports buying EK material. Isn't that exactly what you're trying to argue against?

You're right, my situation is different than most because I badly need content review. I'm a business major, haven't taken physics, and can't remember the last science course I took. Before starting review I scored a 22, and a month later, two weeks ago, I scored a 33 (AAMC 4). Yesterday I scored a 36 on AAMC 5.

I know most people have had their science courses more recently, but nobody can get the best score they're capable of without reviewing all of the topics and seeing problems from 10 different angles. Kaplan, TPR, EK and BR provide those review materials and sample problems.

You're going to be paying ~$45,000/year for medical school. Why would you try to save $500 on one of the most important parts of your application?

The reason I didn't get your bridge joke was because, like your advice, it was stupid.

Well put!

And I can't wait to see Mai's verbal and essay scores, with how incoherent her posts are.

And Mai: I have also met men called "Mai" - short for Michael. People get all sorts of nicknames when they're studying abroad. So really, the "Mai" part shouldn't tell anyone if you're male or female. Just saying.

ghost08 · Jul 6, 2010

studying for the MCAT is a stressful process, blood pressure shoots up, tempers flare, you need all the resources you can get and that are helpful to you.

If you find one resource helpful, then it's smart to use it. If you find a particular resource not helpful, then don't waste your time on it, because you don't have much of that. Everyone's study habits are different, there's no need to put down someone, or some resource, just because you yourself don't find helpful.

Mai definitely sounds like a girl's name to me.

Medhatter · Jul 6, 2010

ghost08 said:
studying for the MCAT is a stressful process, blood pressure shoots up, tempers flare, you need all the resources you can get and that are helpful to you.

If you find one resource helpful, then it's smart to use it. If you find a particular resource not helpful, then don't waste your time on it, because you don't have much of that. Everyone's study habits are different, there's no need to put down someone, or some resource, just because you yourself don't find helpful.

Mai definitely sounds like a girl's name to me.

Ah, the age-old everyone is different argument.😉 Sometimes it's valid, but far too often it's used by people who refuse to admit that they are wrong.

But anyways I think mai has already clarified her stance by admitting that she uses EK materials to study, which is 1) not free 2)has depth of coverage appropriate for the MCAT. I agree that the commercial classes are redundant, but the texts are definitely not.

My last 2 cents on this topic.

MaiJMai · Jul 6, 2010

rjns11 said:
No one on this board is arguing that the MCAT courses are worth the money. The MATERIALS are (review books, practice problems and exams...). The example you cited from Caesar shows that he/she supports buying EK material. Isn't that exactly what you're trying to argue against?

Actually, the whole argument was about the Big Prep courses, not the materials which can be purchased separately. This doesn't bode well for your VR score.

You're right, my situation is different than most because I badly need content review. I'm a business major, haven't taken physics, and can't remember the last science course I took. Before starting review I scored a 22, and a month later, two weeks ago, I scored a 33 (AAMC 4). Yesterday I scored a 36 on AAMC 5.

Good for u. My opinion is anyone who has completed the pre-reqs for med school recently should not need what Big Prep intensively markets to us.

nobody can get the best score they're capable of without reviewing all of the topics and seeing problems from 10 different angles. Kaplan, TPR, EK and BR provide those review materials and sample problems.

Dead wrong! - unsupported assertion.

You're going to be paying ~$45,000/year for medical school. Why would you try to save $500 on one of the most important parts of your application?

Yes, I think a change out of your Business major is advisable. So your future spending a fortune on med school means u shd spend a fortune on something of dubious value? I believe if u r going to be spending a fortune on med school, u shd make sure your remianing $$ get the biggest bang they can get. Hey, this is basic economics!

The reason I didn't get your bridge joke was because, like your advice, it was stupid.

OK, but really, not as stupid as your advice.

BTW, to ?other guy, I do not use EK or any other Big Prep product.

PremedGunner · Jul 6, 2010

internet mcat argument. exciting!!

rjns11 · Jul 7, 2010

MaiJMai: It was foolish of me to ever doubt your wisdom. I really appreciate you taking the time to correct each and every word of my post. You are my inspiration, and I'd like to thank you for the new study plan I've created from your advice. I will:

1. Only get advice from free, poorly-reviewed websites. I'm starting with this one: http://www.eduers.com/mcat/faq.htm (it's from 2006, but that doesn't matter, it's FREE!)

2. My only source of practice problems will be the one-a-day discreet question which you've posted in the past. Thank you SO MUCH for this one! It's really going to push me past my plateau.

3. I will not purchase any of the AAMC tests. What are they thinking trying to CHARGE for those things? Unbelievable.

4. I will assume that spending the necessary money to get into the best school I can is bad economics.

I'm going to make a three day (who needs months with advice as great as this??) study schedule. I think SN2ed's will be replaced by mine within the hour. Don't worry, I'll make sure to cite you as a reference.

ilovemcat · Jul 7, 2010

PremedGunner said:
internet mcat argument. exciting!!

Awesomeeee!! Let me bring my Organic Book brb

BrownRoach · Jul 7, 2010

MaiJMai said:
Actually, the whole argument was about the Big Prep courses, not the materials which can be purchased separately. This doesn't bode well for your VR score.

Good for u. My opinion is anyone who has completed the pre-reqs for med school recently should not need what Big Prep intensively markets to us.

Dead wrong! - unsupported assertion.

Yes, I think a change out of your Business major is advisable. So your future spending a fortune on med school means u shd spend a fortune on something of dubious value? I believe if u r going to be spending a fortune on med school, u shd make sure your remianing $$ get the biggest bang they can get. Hey, this is basic economics!

OK, but really, not as stupid as your advice.

BTW, to ?other guy, I do not use EK or any other Big Prep product.

I think there is agreement that there is a lot of stupid advice out there!
😍

MaiJMai · Jul 9, 2010

rjns11 said:
MaiJMai: It was foolish of me to ever doubt your wisdom.

True.

I really appreciate your taking the time to correct each and every word of my post. You are my inspiration, and I'd like to thank you for the new study plan I've created from your advice.

U r welcome, I think.

I think SN2ed's advice will be replaced by mine. Don't worry, I'll make sure to cite you as a reference.

Actually, in talking to my colleagues at MIT & friends in Med school, I will recommend a study plan way cheaper & at least as effective, with the proviso that it is not intended for people who need to be babied.

kehlsh · Jul 9, 2010

MaiJMai said:
True.

U r welcome, I think.

Actually, in talking to my colleagues at MIT & friends in Med school, I will recommend a study plan way cheaper & at least as effective, with the proviso that it is not intended for people who need to be babied.

can you please stop trolling?

Geekchick921 · Jul 9, 2010

Medhatter said:
It's GREAT to use them as a last minute overview to increase confidence because you learned the details alraedy. The site reinforces your knowledge.

Agree 100%.

Medhatter said:
Before someone takes this as a serious advice, have you done an actual MCAT without any commercial prep material, or going over your college notes, and scored well?

Even the kids I know with 90+ avgs in college use these prep materials to study. And they ended up scoring 40+. Seriously, MCAT is not a test you save money on. I know content review is boring but you need to seriously invest in these things in order to have the capacity to do well, after getting enough practice questions.

ColeOnTheRoll said:
Uh, this is horrible advice. Not to pull out my MCAT penis, but I had a 3.9 cGPA and scored a 34 on my first FL before I took the test, and I still studied my ass off using EK materials. You aren't being "spoon-fed" or "cuddled" by using standard test prep materials. It's called not being stupid.

A friend of mine, a smart guy with good grades, didn't use test prep material. He scored a 30 on a Kaplan diagnostic. His studying consisted of a few weeks of review a couple of hours a day. You know how he ended up? 29.

Well, I'm going to pull out my own anecdote now. I had that giant Kaplan book that I cracked about 3 times, a Barron's book I got before I knew what crap it was (I gave it to my kid to rip pages out of while I studied) and the EK 101 and the 1001 General Chemistry questions books. Those two I actually used, though I only did about 3 of the 14 tests in EK 101 Verbal, and about the first 200-300 of the 1001 Gen Chem book.

Virtually ALL of my MCAT review was from online sources, mostly wikipremed, khanacademy, and mcat-review.org. I also made my own O-chem flashcards from a Gold Standard website. I looked over my old O-chem notes once the last week before the test. The only additional science course I have taken besides the pre-reqs is A&P, and my bachelor's degree is in theatre.

Result? 14/11/14. IMO, you do NOT need to shell out money for "big name" test prep material, especially just for content review. It's out there. Practice questions and practice tests, on the other hand, I do think you need to suck it up and purchase.

Silverfalcon · Jul 9, 2010

Geekchick921 said:
Virtually ALL of my MCAT review was from online sources, mostly wikipremed, khanacademy, and mcat-review.org. I also made my own O-chem flashcards from a Gold Standard website. I looked over my old O-chem notes once the last week before the test. The only additional science course I have taken besides the pre-reqs is A&P, and my bachelor's degree is in theatre.

Result? 14/11/14. IMO, you do NOT need to shell out money for "big name" test prep material, especially just for content review. It's out there. Practice questions and practice tests, on the other hand, I do think you need to suck it up and purchase.

I believe your case, however, isn't applicable to everyone. You are one of several members in SDN that I admire for hard work. You would have done well on MCAT regardless of what you used because you are such a hard worker - juggling everything you have there.

Geekchick921 · Jul 9, 2010

Silverfalcon said:
I believe your case, however, isn't applicable to everyone. You are one of several members in SDN that I admire for hard work. You would have done well on MCAT regardless of what you used because you are such a hard worker - juggling everything you have there.

Well, thank you. And I agree that what I did wouldn't work for everyone. I took new notes and pretty much took a crash course in all of the pre-reqs. I needed the videos from wikipremed and khanacademy because I learn much better when I hear, see and write things simultaneously. Just reading through a review book would not work for me. I also liked that I had my own structure. I'm sure many other people would benefit from a more layed-out study plan, or the actual structure of a review course that you can get with things like Kaplan. Hopefully, by the time you're almost done college, at the youngest, you know how you study best.

My point is, though, that the two people I quoted had this tone that you are boned or just plain stupid if you don't going to shell out $200+ for a set of BR or EK books or $2000 for a Kaplan course. That's just not true; you can find content review for free all over the internet. IMO, it's the practice questions/tests you really have to spend the money on.

(Editted out my last paragraph because it was in reference to the other thread I posted in earlier. Whoops!)

SN2ed · Jul 9, 2010

I don't think the actual free sites (i.e. ones that produce their own material and not steal from others) out there are good enough yet to use as one's sole source for content review. They work well for people that are already strong students. However, that's primarily the top 1-5% which is over represented on SDN. Something people can forget on here is that +35 scores are actually rare. Now in a few more years, one may very well be able to use websites for their content review.

That said, you absolutely must buckle down and pay for some passages and practice FLs. None of the free websites I've seen have a decent source of practice material. Furthermore, the key to the MCAT is not content review, but taking tons of timed practice passages. Hence, it is vital that you pick up some good material.

A word of warning, I'd only trust free sites recommended by long time posters, such as, Geekchick921. SDN, due to its size, frequently gets scam websites posted on here and just regular old spammers/advertisers. These posters usually operate under a false pretense and act like they've just found this awesome website, so they had to sign up to SDN to tell others.

Finally, no one needs to spend thousands for a prep course. Yes, a great teacher and the camaraderie with your fellow students can help, but they aren't necessary. Courses are also good for providing a schedule, but I hope I've helped in that category 😛 Beyond that, it's important to keep in mind that everyone basically studies on their own. When you're signed up for a course, you'll attend classes and maybe some 1-1 review sessions with the teacher, yet the bulk of your studying is by yourself.

qwerty75 · Jul 10, 2010

I agree that you don't need to fork out a lot of $$$ for good MCAT prep. The following supports this:

AAMC (http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/prepfaq.htm):
"One study involving over 20,000 students during a five-year period compared the MCAT exam performance of those who had enrolled in commercial review courses with that of those who had not. The study results indicated that gains derived from commercial review courses are small. The small differences in the scores of individuals who received such coaching could be due simply to the time devoted to reviewing the relevant material."

Caesar (senior moderator):
"Truth be told I don't even like Kaplan. I used the EK books to study on my own for the MCAT. I think those courses are for the most part bunk."

Geekchick921 (Moderator):
"My point is, though, that the two people I quoted had this tone that you are boned or just plain stupid if you don't going to shell out $200+ for a set of BR or EK books or $2000 for a Kaplan course. That's just not true; you can find content review for free all over the internet. IMO, it's the practice questions/tests you really have to spend the money on."

SN2ed (Assistant Moderator):
"… no one needs to spend thousands for a prep course. Yes, a great teacher and the camaraderie with your fellow students can help, but they aren't necessary."

I did not use any of the commercial prep products and got 39R. There are countless others like me. I am concerned about several posts recently telling newbies they "must" fork out lots of $$$ for proper prep. I think people should be provided balanced info and prompted to decide for themselves. It also concerns me when there are posts saying free sites are no good when I'm sure the poster has not really evaluated those sites.

MCAT-Review.org - another MCAT prep source?

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