Best MCAT review books?

[student99382]

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I still have a year before I need to take my MCAT, but want to start slowly preparing with an MCAT prep book. I'm looking to buy one from the plethora (literally) of available books; I've been doing some research, and they all seem like they have their pros and cons. As you can imagine, I have absolutely no idea what I should be going with.

From what I've gathered:
EK is short and to the point.
Kaplan goes into more detail, has some nice practice questions, but is riddled with errors.
PR is sort of a mix of EK and Kaplan.

Preferably, I'd like a book that's really helpful with physics and gen chem, as those are my weaker subjects.

Otherwise, is there anyone here who has used multiple books that can shed some light on which they thought was most helpful for their MCAT?

EDIT: Also, does the EK verbal review really stand far above the rest?

 

[alpharez]

Chem and physics were my weaknesses too. I used the EK books plus the AAMC exams and got a 12 on the real thing.

I really like the EK books because like you said, they're straight to the point. The mcat is more about being able to solve mcat style passages rather than knowing every detail of physics and chem in depth (the Berkeley review). That's why I really liked EK. EK gave me the basic information that I need to solve problems (formulas and basic concepts) on the real test, and the AAMC exams prepared me for the style of questions asked by the mcat.

Edit: For verbal, the best books are EK 101 and TPRH Verbal Workbook.

 

[gettheleadout]

How have you not found TBR? TBR for Gen Chem and Physics.

 

[student99382]

Thanks for the replies. Has anyone heard anything about Barron?

 

[deleted346323]

I would avoid Barron materials. There's way better stuff out there. I used EK and would definitely recommend them.

 

[shishy]

Yeppppp.
TBR for passages is GREAT. One cool thing though is to supplement the content review with EK (usually you will have time to do content review more than once and the second time through is faster and you can review everything with EK again because it's just so terse!).

 

[student99382]

Still having a tough time deciding what I should be getting. /:

I'm pretty confident I'll be getting TBR for physics, as that is by far my worst subject. I'd probably get all TBR besides the verbal, but that's too expensive for me. TBR has a bunch of practice problems, correct?

Is EK a good choice for subjects you have a decent background in? It also contains the verbal section which is almost unanimously voted the best.

How's EK compared to Kaplan? Barron is apparently junk, so I think it's between these two for the other 3 subjects (bio / chem / orgo)
EDIT: Of those three subjects, gen chem is my worst.

 

[student99382]

Bump.

 

[rfvbnmju]

TBR has tons of practice problems.each section has 70-100 problems. The chem and physics has 8-10 sections each.

I'd go with them and the Kaplan 5 book series.
That and 5 full lengths and you'll be set.

Only used EK 1001 for physics and it was mildly useful.
Sent from my phone.

 

[SN2ed]

Biology: 1. EK Bio (for content) + BR Bio (for passages and further topic depth if needed) 1. TPR Hyperlearning, detail oriented 3. Kaplan

Physics: 1. BR 2. Nova 3. TPR Hyperlearning 4. EK/Kaplan

Verbal: 1. EK 101 Verbal 2. TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook 3. BR 4. Kaplan (Avoid if possible)

Organic Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

General Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

Extra Practice Material: 1. TPR Hyperlearing Science Workbook, good source of practice passages 1. AAMC Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (most representative material available) 2. EK 1001 series, helps nail down basics

 

[ChiveON]

Biology: 1. EK Bio (for content) + BR Bio (for passages and further topic depth if needed) 1. TPR Hyperlearning, detail oriented 3. Kaplan

Physics: 1. BR 2. Nova 3. TPR Hyperlearning 4. EK/Kaplan

Verbal: 1. EK 101 Verbal 2. TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook 3. BR 4. Kaplan (Avoid if possible)

Organic Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

General Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

Extra Practice Material: 1. TPR Hyperlearing Science Workbook, good source of practice passages 1. AAMC Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (most representative material available) 2. EK 1001 series, helps nail down basics

Thanks for this!

What is the official guide to the mcat exam? Is it not included with the aamc full lengths you can purchase?

 

[MedOldAge]

Thanks for this!

What is the official guide to the mcat exam? Is it not included with the aamc full lengths you can purchase?

What SN2ed meant is the AAMC guide (3rd edition now) published separately as a general guide for all MCAT students. It does contain a section showing everybody what the MCAT test questions format and structue are. It includes many questions as much as a full length test. That is extra besides the free AAMC 3 FL we all talked about. The guide is not part of individual FL tests which are from 3 to 11 and they are on line; and the guide is a book form (in paper).