Barron's New MCAT book useful?

[arturo09]

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Hey everyone,

Just hoping to get any input regarding Barron's New MCAT book. I tried to stick with TBR 2013 books schedule along with purchasing the 2015 EK books. I already did a weeks reading of TBR but it's very hard for me to understand some chapters so I figured maybe I'm not cut for this. I went to the bookstore and read a chapter of Barron's and really seemed to grasp it more than TBR. I'm assuming maybe I'm not that bright, but I was hoping any input can help. I looked into to to SnED new MCAT schedule but I feel the Barron's book along with EK will be more bearable for my tiny pink squishy brain. Thank you.


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[Happy_Puppy5000]

Since you already have the BR books, I would still do there passages, since practice is one of the most important part of your studying. I have not look at the new Barron's book, but I think the practice Exams that came with the old book, were very poor quality. It seems quite a few people in the new 509 have actually used the 2015 EK books successfully. Therefore, since you do not like TBR content book, I would focus on EK content and still do all the passages in TBR, EK practice passages in the book and has many other practice passages you can get your hands on. Especially the AAMC's Bundle. Good luck.

 

[ZPakEffect]

Hey everyone,

Just hoping to get any input regarding Barron's New MCAT book. I tried to stick with TBR 2013 books schedule along with purchasing the 2015 EK books. I already did a weeks reading of TBR but it's very hard for me to understand some chapters so I figured maybe I'm not cut for this. I went to the bookstore and read a chapter of Barron's and really seemed to grasp it more than TBR. I'm assuming maybe I'm not that bright, but I was hoping any input can help. I looked into to to SnED new MCAT schedule but I feel the Barron's book along with EK will be more bearable for my tiny pink squishy brain. Thank you.


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If you are having problems understanding TBR, maybe you should rethink going to medical school. Seriously.

 

[arturo09]

@MrMention I will take your advice and see how this week's review works out. Thanks!


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[arturo09]

@ZPakEffect my apologies, what I meant was I read TBR chapters and it was doable but once I get to the passages or end of a paragraph question I get half of them wrong. Makes me feel inadequate and then I have to read the previous paragraphs to see what I misread or see how I messed up.




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[Happy_Puppy5000]

Arturo:

I do not believe that it is unusual to get a bit of the questions in the BR wrong in the beginning of your studies. Be sure to go over ever single questions, both the ones you got correct and the ones you got wrong very carefully. Use the questions to learn from. That is, use the answer explanation to learn the material better. Sometimes you will find that it was a lack of understanding the material to begin with, other times it will be the "unusual" way in which the question is presented. If you have the EK 1001 series use that also to help you drill the basics. I would totally continue to do the passages from TBR regardless of which book you use for content.

Whether you are comfortable with TBR or not does not necessarily have any bearing on your ability to perform in medical school. Different individual just feel more comfortable with different style(s) of presentation. Having said that, force yourself to get through BR passages and use the answer explanations to solidify the material.

 

[ZPakEffect]

@ZPakEffect my apologies, what I meant was I read TBR chapters and it was doable but once I get to the passages or end of a paragraph question I get half of them wrong. Makes me feel inadequate and then I have to read the previous paragraphs to see what I misread or see how I messed up.




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That's called learning. Are you studying to get better or to temporarily feel good about yourself?

 

[Ryomagoku]

It's not unusual if you don't do well on TBR passages. Those are good practice questions. There is a difference between not retaining what you read vs making careless mistakes.

If you did not understand what you read, that's a problem. But I wouldn't go as harsh as what ZPakEffect said about medical is not your path. That jus means TBR is not for you. Like MrMention said, if you find TBR difficult to read, go with EK. I would avoid Barron's.

Also, know that MCAT is not about if you know this definition exam. It is not about memorization. Don't get discouraged by what people tell you here also.

Chin up and win the war

 

[arturo09]

@Ryomagoku, thank you. Those are kind words and motivational advice. I don't mind ZPakEffect comment, I take in account everyone's opinion. It helps me focus and push myself. I been pushing myself year after year to take the test and not signing up. I was suppose to graduate in 2013 but ended graduating last year. I'm looking also into post-bac programs due to my 3.1 gpa. Right now I have a small research project that got published in 2013 and I am a 2year EMT volunteer. In addition, I finally found a family medicine doctor and dermatologist to allow me to shadow. I hate all this stress but this will test my will to win this battle. I'm now labeling myself a non-trad. If I'm lucky, by the time I turn 27 I hope to be in medical school. God bless everyone hear for their advice and experience to help me decide what to do.


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[Ryomagoku]

@Ryomagoku, thank you. Those are kind words and motivational advice. I don't mind ZPakEffect comment, I take in account everyone's opinion. It helps me focus and push myself. I been pushing myself year after year to take the test and not signing up. I was suppose to graduate in 2013 but ended graduating last year. I'm looking also into post-bac programs due to my 3.1 gpa. Right now I have a small research project that got published in 2013 and I am a 2year EMT volunteer. In addition, I finally found a family medicine doctor and dermatologist to allow me to shadow. I hate all this stress but this will test my will to win this battle. I'm now labeling myself a non-trad. If I'm lucky, by the time I turn 27 I hope to be in medical school. God bless everyone hear for their advice and experience to help me decide what to do.


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If your GPA is around that range, you should look into DO schools. With decent mcat, you have pretty good chance at new DO schools. Take a look into that first.

 

[northwestmedic]

this is a BUMP and a GRUNCH...........

i really like Barron's.... i think it sometimes gets dissed and/or ignored by people who've never seen it. not necessarily in this thread........ i think it could use some formatting improvement and the book size is a bit of a pain to lug around and often use.

i would say kaplans is very comprehensive........but surprisingly i don't think they explain everything comprehensively. which is surprising given the number of content pages...... K's putting a weight on every section is invaluable too

EK is great if you are familiar with the material already. definitely does not explain alot of stuff. just states it........ great as a guide to the content and what you NEED to know. it really does condense the info (except for a few sections.. where the material really can't be compressed)...

i also bought mcat-review guide........ very summarized. i don't think it's near comprehensive enough but it is nice as an introductory read and/or light read. you can't get through ALL the content fairly quickly.

if i was starting over again, i'd probably do barron's then EK. and to some degree use K as reference.........