I'm new to this forum, and will be retaking the MCAT in March. I have already started briefly studying for it, and now want to get into full gear! I already took the Kaplan class, but was unable to really focus on it due to my course load. However, I still have the books from that class. Now that I will be preparing on my own, should I get any other material, or are the Kaplan books sufficient? Verbal is what tanked me....any suggestions on how to raise that, I heard doing a passage a day is really beneficial?
Advice on Study Tips!?!
- Thread starter CeraVe
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Read more! And try to approach the article or whatever you read analytically, as if you were going to use it in an essay you were going to write. I'm working on my undergrad thesis atm and I have to do that with everything I read, to keep everything straight. If I don't do it, then I fail to notice important points or contradictions. It's just like some concepts in bio classes.. you think you have it down, but it isn't until you try to explain it to your study partner that you realize you don't understand it as well as you thought.
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The first thing you should do is find out EXACTLY why you didn't do well on your MCAT.
Kaplan is pretty bad for verbal. I'll post the book review list at the end of my post. About whether you should start to read more or not, it depends on when you're retaking. If your retake is more than 3 months away, sure, read. If it's within 3 months, your time is better spent taking more verbal passages. You should be taking around 4-5 timed passages per day. Only taking 1 passage a day will not cut it. Make sure you thoroughly analyze your results. Lastly, check out the MCAT FAQ for some tips, including a ton of verbal help threads.
I like Vihsadas's verbal thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6022602&postcount=96
Originally Posted by TheBoondocks
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. If you don't believe me, type in EK bio in the search function. 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 good too, but with PR it may be redundant. 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 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 a lot of 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 passages and EK bio, you will kill the sciences. Ek Verbal should help you out with verbal.
Kaplan is pretty bad for verbal. I'll post the book review list at the end of my post. About whether you should start to read more or not, it depends on when you're retaking. If your retake is more than 3 months away, sure, read. If it's within 3 months, your time is better spent taking more verbal passages. You should be taking around 4-5 timed passages per day. Only taking 1 passage a day will not cut it. Make sure you thoroughly analyze your results. Lastly, check out the MCAT FAQ for some tips, including a ton of verbal help threads.
I like Vihsadas's verbal thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6022602&postcount=96
Originally Posted by TheBoondocks
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. If you don't believe me, type in EK bio in the search function. 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 good too, but with PR it may be redundant. 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 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 a lot of 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 passages and EK bio, you will kill the sciences. Ek Verbal should help you out with verbal.
