best materials..EK???

[jjy2103]

i wanted to ask for advice on what is the best study material for each section
i am trying to buy books on amazon..

should i buy all (and only)of the EK materials?
or are their certain sujects that are better explained by kaplan or TPR books?

i was going to buy
EK VR 101
EK MCAT for VR and math, chem, orgo, physics, bio
EK 16 miniMCATs
EK 1001 questions in physics, bio, orgo, chem
EK audio osmosis

any books you would substitute or add to this list?

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[thesmartazz]

i wanted to ask for advice on what is the best study material for each section
i am trying to buy books on amazon..

should i buy all (and only)of the EK materials?
or are their certain sujects that are better explained by kaplan or TPR books?

i was going to buy
EK VR 101
EK MCAT for VR and math, chem, orgo, physics, bio
EK 16 miniMCATs
EK 1001 questions in physics, bio, orgo, chem
EK audio osmosis

any books you would substitute or add to this list?

I took a Kaplan course (waste of time...) and had the eK books also. Because I had a surplus of materials, I was able to pick and choose which books to use, so hopefully I can offer some type of comparative perspective...

I took 2 of the mini MCATs during the first week of my eK studying schedule and never took another one ever again. I personally didn't find them helpful, and some of the questions that they asked were way too specific. Yes, if you can devote your life to learning all of the little details in mini MCATs, you'll be extremely well prepared. However, this level of depth simply wasn't present on the MCAT that I took last month. I never had to know how which monosaccharides were transported from the small intestine via facilitated diffusion vs secondary active transport, and so forth.

I also ended up using very few questions from the eK 1001 series since I was already up to my neck in simulated MCAT tests from an ebay purchase where I inadvertently bought all of Kaplan's full length practice tests, topical tests, etc. This didn't mean very much since I was taking a live course from Kaplan at the same time (and thus had access to all of this stuff anyway), but I would recommend using Kaplan's practice tests over eK's 1001 questions series. Both eK and Kaplan can be pretty tricky sometimes, but the Kaplan tests will at least present you passages instead of only discretes. Bio 1001 is the only eK book in that series that includes passages (well, other than Verbal, obviously). Unless you are going to devote your entire life to MCAT studying for months and months, you'll want to triage the materials and only use the ones that would be most useful to your studying preferences.

Thus, if you can get your hands on the Kaplan materials, you may want to just break up the Kaplan full lengths and take them in sections rather than doing every other question, etc., out of the eK 1001 series. eK books can be pretty pricey, and while I liked the review book series, I wasn't a fan of their practice problems (1001 questions series) at all. (Maybe I'm just a discontent, but I hated a lot of the verbal passages in V101...)

 

[Labslave]

The EK texts are far better than anything out there on the market. Period. The questions within the books and the 30 min. exams are awesome at making you apply the material you learn.

I wouldn't advise buying their 1001 series, however. Most of the questions really are detail oriented and a giant waste of time.

I supplemented using the EK books with three tests from the AAMC and did really well on this past April's MCAT. PM me if you want details.

 

[Raj625]

the only EK 1001 one book that might be of use is the Bio since it is all passage based, and very similar to bio passages on the MCAT where you have to interpret information, apply it, make inferences, etc. It is also an active way of retaining the bio material since it is organized by chapter. I found it very useful.

 

[priyanka]

I just compared the prices, walmart.com has it cheaper than ebay.

 

[Fatima]

The EK texts are far better than anything out there on the market. Period. The questions within the books and the 30 min. exams are awesome at making you apply the material you learn.

I wouldn't advise buying their 1001 series, however. Most of the questions really are detail oriented and a giant waste of time.

I supplemented using the EK books with three tests from the AAMC and did really well on this past April's MCAT. PM me if you want details.

Labslave what was your score?

 

[Labslave]

Labslave what was your score?

36 (10VR, 13BS, 13PS)

 

[Fatima]

36 (10VR, 13BS, 13PS)

Wow Then i must come to you with advice(s). Ok i have this problem i ask the same question millions of people over and over again, that is just me . I have once posted about this same question and there were couple people who really answered it well but since my situation has changed and i am not going to school for this semester if not the whole year, i have couple questions to ask.
Yes this semester for sure i am not going to be in class . I know i have a time and i don't want it to go wasted. What will be your study advice for me. My plan is to do the reviewing since i forgot almost everything from freshman and sophomore (seriously) about 3-4 hrs each day. I will be taking the MCAT 2007 April and i have done all the MCAT courses except Physics. I have this summer free and this semester and may be the next semester too. Please tell me the best way i could manage it since you been there and done that. This year is really important and i am freaking out about its plans and i can't trust the decisions with myself alone. I work part time and i don't know what happen to the rest of the day-it just goes fast. I am looking for and internship and some volunteer or Research program. You could also advice me about extracurriculars.
Thanks in advance

P.S
This is for particularly for Labslave but everybody is very much welcome to respond. Please fee free, I know everybody have something good to say.

______________________
Life is what you make out of it. Always has been, always will be
-by Grandma Moses

 

[Labslave]

Wow Then i must come to you with advice(s). Ok i have this problem i ask the same question millions of people over and over again, that is just me . I have once posted about this same question and there were couple people who really answered it well but since my situation has changed and i am not going to school for this semester if not the whole year, i have couple questions to ask.
Yes this semester for sure i am not going to be in class . I know i have a time and i don't want it to go wasted. What will be your study advice for me. My plan is to do the reviewing since i forgot almost everything from freshman and sophomore (seriously) about 3-4 hrs each day. I will be taking the MCAT 2007 April and i have done all the MCAT courses except Physics. I have this summer free and this semester and may be the next semester too. Please tell me the best way i could manage it since you been there and done that. This year is really important and i am freaking out about its plans and i can't trust the decisions with myself alone. I work part time and i don't know what happen to the rest of the day-it just goes fast. I am looking for and internship and some volunteer or Research program. You could also advice me about extracurriculars.
Thanks in advance

P.S
This is for particularly for Labslave but everybody is very much welcome to respond. Please fee free, I know everybody have something good to say.

______________________
Life is what you make out of it. Always has been, always will be
-by Grandma Moses

For someone in a normal situation, I would recommend you to focus on classes to make sure you get A's instead of studying for the MCAT, but seeing as this isn't the case with you, it might be to your advantage to start working on your weakest areas now.

However, I wouldn't advise you to start studying 3-4 hours a day now. You'll just get burnt out; that kind of studying should start this coming January.

I will tell you this: if you haven't had any physics, it would be a very bad idea to take the MCAT without it. Even with just one semester of physics (which could be the case with you before you take the MCAT), the PS section can be brutal (I have a number of friends that tried taking the MCAT without both semesters of physics and received less than stellar results in the PS section).

With that in mind, it might be best for you to push your MCAT back to next August instead of this April.

In any event, don't start freaking out yet! It's too early.

Best of luck!

 

[Fatima]

For someone in a normal situation, I would recommend you to focus on classes to make sure you get A's instead of studying for the MCAT, but seeing as this isn't the case with you, it might be to your advantage to start working on your weakest areas now.

However, I wouldn't advise you to start studying 3-4 hours a day now. You'll just get burnt out; that kind of studying should start this coming January.

I will tell you this: if you haven't had any physics, it would be a very bad idea to take the MCAT without it. Even with just one semester of physics (which could be the case with you before you take the MCAT), the PS section can be brutal (I have a number of friends that tried taking the MCAT without both semesters of physics and received less than stellar results in the PS section).

With that in mind, it might be best for you to push your MCAT back to next August instead of this April.

In any event, don't start freaking out yet! It's too early.

Best of luck!

I think you little bit misunderstood me and correct me if i am wrong. I said i will be taking the MCAT April 2007 which means i will cover both the physics semesters before it.