Audio Osmosis - do you like it?

Audio Osmosis... That phrase goes against everything I've ever learned.

 

It's easier than reading, but less effective. That's what I got out of the sampler.

 

I think it depends on how you use them. Dont use them as substitute for books. use them just to review the material after you read themfrom books. I think Ao can be helpful if used in right way. Also be careful there are some errors it so make sure you check the examcrackers website and make those corrections. goodluck.

 

I agree strongly with Optimistic above. The CD's are a great compliment to the books. I listened to a different CD every night when I laid down in bed. I did this for about five months and I swear I heard Jordan and Jon's voices during the MCAT in my head. It made the day easier.

Bottom line, they are a great learning tool if you are an audio learner and it you put the time in to listen to them.

 

What exactly is Audio Osmosis?

I commute a good 3 hrs a day - would it be something I could listen to while driving?

thanks,
u2ecila

 

AO is a 12 CD set made by Examkrackers to complement a home study course for the MCAT. If you do commute for 3 hours a day I really think you could benifit from listening everyday. The science is presented in a cheesy/funny/sarcastic way. If you visit their website, you can just ask for a free sampler.

<a href="http://www.examkrackers.com" target="_blank">www.examkrackers.com</a>

Best of luck.

 

I bought the Audio Osmosis cd's but must admit, I haven't listened to them too much yet. So far they seem great, but they are not quite as easy to learn from as I was expecting. I definitely need to go over the material in a book first -- especially things like organic where you need to look at the molecule before listening to people talk about it. Certain things are very visual and can't be learned from a cd unless you've seen it in a book first or just had in a class. The instructors on the cd are MUCH better than my Kaplan instructor, but I find it a little difficult not to see the people while they are teaching.

 

I used them for the arpil mcat. I took the examkrackers course, so it went hand in hand. After each lecture, I would review the lecture in the book, and then listen to the cd lecture. I think it's a great complement.

 

[An SDN'er sent it to me - thanks!!!]

 

I used them for the August MCAT. I bought the EK total review set back in February and slowly started chipping away at it while taking a regular course load in undergrad. I'd listen to the AO CD's in my discman walking to and from classes (large campus), and like another poster mentioned, put one on when I lay down to go to bed. I had no delusions of actually attempting to "absorb" this information while asleep subliminally, but for the 10-30 minutes it would take me to fall asleep, it was great to listen to and brush up on concepts. Think about how many nights there are in a couple months, and you realize that that really starts to add up.

I personally would not use them for your only study source. They are a fantastic way to COMPLEMENT another visual study source. I didn't take any classes at all, just used the EK total review set, EK AO, EK Verbal 101 and Bio 1001, and that big Kaplan book very sparingly. Throw in the AAMC practice tests and that's all I needed.

If you're interested at all (if it makes a difference), my August MCAT score breakdown was:

VR: 10
PS: 13
BS: 10
WS: Q

Total: 33Q

 

I used AO for Aug MCAT... The thing I like best about it is how it focuses on the important parts and tells you what you don't need to know for the MCAT. It helps me in narrowing down on what I should review from my textbooks and other materials.

I never tried listening to it while going to sleep, though. I listened to it mostly during commutes. The Physics and Orgo sections are pretty difficult to listen to because you need to visualize graphs and molecules, so I found it useful to pause, jot down what they just said or draw the diagrams, and then continue.

 

AO was amazing. I'm glad I got it - I never took a physiology course and I learned it all from AO first b4 getting to the TPR books. AO is a great supplement to your MCAT readings for sure.

 

I'd say if you can't foot the money for a Kaplan or TPR class, AO is the only way to go. I brought my score up 10 points between April and August using mainly AO and some EK 1001 books (and all of the old AAMC practice tests). It's a much cheaper alternative for effectively the same thing (minus the visuals), and if you're an auditory learner, all the more reason!

 

After reading through the ExamKrackers Complete Study Package, I spent my entire last month of studying listening to Audio Osmosis, doing practice AAMC tests, and ExamKrackers 101 Passages in Verbal Reasoning.

The jokes on Audio Osmosis are very, very bad, but it's easier to listen to the material over and over without having to sit there and read.

=]

 

I agree with the above posts that you can't use AO as a substitute for the books. I read the EK section first (they correspond to AO), and then listened to AO while going through the section of the EK book again. I felt it really helped to solidify my knowledge of the subjects.

 

I just don't see any reason NOT to have AO, except maybe the price. Regardless of how great any of your other test prep materials are, being able to listen to MCAT lectures when you'd otherwise be listening to music or nothing else is a great way to reinforce things. Even though the jokes are corny, it really helps to pound things into your brain.

I recommend AO to anyone.

 

I used it in August 2006, and I agree with pretty much everything choklad said.

Don't use it as a book replacement, that's for sure!

 

i drove 45 mins to and from work this summer and thought AO was awesome review because the thing about taking the mcat is that you have to have stamina and keep sharp during the entire months of studying and this is effective

 

If you have a long commute you should look for it on ebay. I listened to them 2 1/2 times in the car and it helps to remind me of stuff and keep my mind sharp during a long commute, but seriously: When you go to sleep -- Go to sleep!

Don't try to learn something while you're falling asleep, that's just common sense. You need to sleep every night, it's part of the human condition and isn't something that you should try to find a way around. When it's time to sleep, turn the radio and TV off, chill out, close your eyes, don't think about anything, and get some sleep.

 

I got AO and I think it worked well to listen to the lectures on the way to and from classes that corresponded to the sections of the EK books that I just read the previous day and whatnot. I agree that it should be no substitute for the books because it isn't quite as detailed, but I think that there are some useful tips on the CDs that you don't get in the book. Also, if you know you are at least somewhat of an auditory learner, it is definately a good way to help remember equations, etc. The humor is cheesy, but as cheesy as it is it still helped me remember things. For those of you who have the $$ to buy it and will actually take the time to listen to it then I would definately do it. Thats my two cents

 

I used the AO to supplement what I was doing in TPR. Just listened while I was doing dishes, walking to campus, whatever.

During the test I could hear J&J talking about what I was looking at in my head (SN1 & SN2 reactions especially) which kept me pretty level headed.

I'm an economics student so for me having the little memory tricks that they offered was valuable. When I'm learning material at a "normal" pace I can always find my own tricks and do well, but learning a year's worth of chem, physics and bio in a couple of months was a different story. I needed the crutch.

 

Would somebody mind sending me the AO track list?

TIA!

 

damn jew claw...jk It is awesome

 

AO makes use of the time I never thought I could - commuting, when i'm running errands, when i'm driving home from college for weekends or holidays (a rarity, but still..).

I love it...the nerdy jokes remind me of all the Bill Nye the Science Guy crap we had to watch in school.. and after learning about ochem for hours, I need somebody to make a corny joke about it

 

I'm currently using AO to supplement my review books and stuff, and am finding it pretty helpful. Just want to add that they're very good to listen to while commuting or even just the 10-15 minute walk to class (they're divided up into very short tracks, usually around 3 minutes long). Originally, though, I thought I'd be able to use them while doing relatively mindless tasks (entering data in the lab where I work, for example), but it turns out that I need more or less my full concentration to listen to them, because it's difficult, for me, at least, to grasp their sample problems or remember the equations and stuff without picturing them in my head, etc. So that's my $.02

 

I don't really listen to it, but my brother does. The AO guys are really good at dumbing things down when his professors doesn't know how.

 

I'm planning on using them at a desk with pencil and paper.
As they discuss the material, I write it out. So far it seems like the way to get
the most out of it, it's comprehensive but it'd take a special kind of mind to tackle it all on the go.

-Cheers

 

For like the last month of studying for the MCAT, all I did was lay in bed and listen to Audio Osmosis. Most of the time I would fall asleep, but it definitely helped a lot. <3

 

This sounds like a good idea and will reinforce the concepts. Although it is a more time-dependent method. I am in the Kaplan class but I downloaded AO and use it as a supplement. I loaded it into my iPod and listen to it in my downtime, long car trips, etc. where normally I would just be burning time.

 

Thats such a great idea! Can you please give me the link from where you downloaded AO? Thanks in advance!

 

I study before going to bed and put on the relevent lectures while going to sleep. It's an awesome consolidation of material.

Also while I'm imaging, slicing brains in lab, or doing another mindless task - listening to AO a) keeps me from getting bored and b) is great review

 

AO is good for keeping the material fresh. I think in the last couple of days leading up to the test I will just listen to the whole thing once through...

 

I also used AO and had pretty good success. It's worth mentioning that I am also a musician/sound engineer so i am pretty used to concentrating on what i hear ... regardless, most of the lectures didn't do much for me until i had gone over the material at least once in the EK books or kaplan. They were a good way to reinforce things i had just read over and practiced but i definitely felt like they became background noise unless i was really focusing on them.... in the weeks leading up to the may 11 exam i forced myself to listen to them any time i was in the car ... and after the millionth listen to some of those jokes i damn near drove into a telephone pole to end the suffering.

but seriously, i doubt anyone could "learn" physics, chem or bio from scratch using only AO, however, they did prepare me well for those obscure discretes which AAMC routinely manages to produce from somewhere inside that giant booty ... and if you've taken care of business on the mcat basics, many listens to those little AO tidbits might get you a few extra points if it doesn't drive you to madness first.

in the end i was very glad w/ how things turned out...

PS 13
VR 13
BS 12

38O overall.

Good luck to all of you!!!!

 

wow congrats - i would love to get a score like that

 

I would definitely recommend AO as a supplement to get to know the material first. I am a kinesthetic learner, so I have the AO transcribed, so I can basically learn MCAT through all my senses. But I wouldn't solely rely on the material because sometimes, important parts are not explained, and sometimes these are required. However, your notes + Kaplan + Examkrackers used properly is a sure way to success!

I hope--my d-day is August 9th, and I am a bit scared.

 

bump almost 10 years wow.
I spoke with two pre-meds who are planning on taking the MCAT and haven't heard of Audio Osmosis.
Just wanted more people to know about this resource. I already had the Exam Crackers lesson books and found Audio Osmosis to be an amazing addition to them. The narrators make corny jokes, but if you listen to them enough times, it really does help, esp. with the biology section.

Good luck everyone!

 

Here is a complete evaluation of examkrackers audio osmosis. I think it's really improtant to have the corrections because there are some errors. Don't be thrown off though, almost every comprehensive science material has some errors. I wouldn't use the CDs as my primary source but they are certainly a nice addition to Sn2ed's schedule.

 

I didn't like Audio Osmosis ... learning is an active process and you cannot do it by listening - at least not me. It may to some extent help in Bio .. like listening while working out but meh ... I would rather listen to Miley Cyrus Try it:

http://grooveshark.com/#/album/Audio+Osmosis+Disc+01/692395

 

I agree.

A lot of the info is basic and you don't need to listen to memorize the information they talk about. Nothing beats practice and reading through the content and answer explanations.

Also... Audio Osmosis is like super old and there are errors. Might as well just do the books.

 

I'm about 15 months away from my mcat and since I already have the prerequisites under my belt I've decided to "prime" myself with the ao CDs in advance of sitting down and seriously studying. I'll let you all know how it works out.