Additional studying suggestions? TBR, KA, Anki!!!

[arc5005]

Background:
Hi there, so I'm a non-trad student. I've taken all my pre-reqs (except biochem) between the last 2-8 years. I purchased The Berkeley Review books (TBR) last fall (2016) and started studying them, completed the entire Bio I book, and then had some personal issues which delayed my studying, so I decided to just postpone medical school applications until the following cycle, which will be the 2017-2018 cycle, and I think I'll be ready once my MCAT is completed.

Anyways, I'm wondering if I should be studying additional materials outside of what I'm currently using, which is just the TBR books with supplemental KhanAcademy videos when I have difficulty with a topic (no KA practice questions yet).

I re-started my studying at the end of August, and I'm about 2 months into my MCAT studying.

Progress so far:
TBR Biology I: completed
TBR Psychology: completed
TBR Physics I: On chapter 4/5
TBR Gen Chem: On Chapter 5/7
TBR O Chem I: On chapter 3/4
TBR books not started: CARS, Physics/Gen Chem/O Chem II/Biology II.

KA:
I've watched countless KA videos particularly on topics I've forgotten or have struggled with, generally at speed 2.0, and take minimal notes, and instead just try to grasp the concept for a quick review.

ANKI:
In addition, I have been making Anki cards for each chapter based on the concepts and TBR questions I get wrong, exemplar questions for a concept, etc...

I try to review about 150 of my ANKI cards every day, which is extremely time consuming since some of them are actual practice problems, and not just easy cloze statements. As I feel like I really begin to understand the concept inside and out, I'll suspend the card, but I haven't suspended that many of the cards I have made yet.

I work full-time, and fortunately I am able to get most of my ANKI cards done in between patients and on my lunch at work. I try to get 2-3 hours of studying in on work days after work, and I generally block off 6-8 hours of time to study on Saturdays and Sundays. Studying has definitely started to consume my life: haven't been very social, less gym, gaining weight, eating comfort food, but I figure if I can just plow through this then I can get the MCAT over and done with and get back to balance again.

So, are there any other recommendations?
1. Are the KA practice questions any good?
2. Should I purchase another company's books for practice questions?
3. Where can I get full-length practice exams?

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[etp123]

Generally it is recommended you don't mix and match or purchase another company's books. Pick one set and learn that set and their strategies, else you'll confuse yourself.

AAMC is probably your best source of practice materials, the Qbanks and the section banks. AAMC also has 3 full-lengths and a diagnostic or sample I believe. Those are your best materials. If you would like more FLs just to get the hang of taking a several-hours long test, every test company has FLs available. Kaplan, Princeton Review, TBR, Nextstep, ExamKrackers are generally the ones people use. Check out the 509+ MCAT strategies thread and you can compile a list of which tests people generally seem to use and give feedback on (ex. certain Nextstep exams seem to be better than others).

 

[gallons]

Not tbr. Their dozens of typos in all their books will drive you crazy.

 

[663697]

I can't speak for other prep companies, but the TPR practice tests were terrible, minus CARS. The passages and questions are not representative of AAMC style at all, and very focused on content rather than reasoning. I have heard the same about Kaplan as well.

 

[Zenabi90]

Practice FLs, generally I see AAMC, NextStep, Altius as the highest recommended, followed by EK/TBR, and then Kaplan/TPR if you've run out of alternatives.

It looks like you're already halfway through TBR. If it's working for you, finish it.

I second etp123's advice in not mixing and matching, except that TBR does not yet have material covering Sociology. I would recommend you supplement with Reddit's 100pg Psych/Soc doc, or TPR's Psych/Soc review book.