Best MCAT Study Prep for each subject

[guttapercha113]

Hello everyone! I am currently scheduled to take the MCAT on August 11th.
Materials I have:
TBR (The Berkeley Review)
Kaplan
EK
(I got them for decent prices)

From reading other threads, I have found a general idea of what book is the best for which subject:

• General Chemistry- TBR
• Organic Chemistry- TBR
• Physics- TBR, EK
• Biochemistry- Kaplan
• CARs- AAMC FL, Practice, TPR Passages, EK for Strategy
• Biology- ??
• Psychology/Sociology-??

I am currently trying to find which books are best for Biology and Psychology/Sociology sections? I have heard that EK biology is decently good and Khan and TPR is okay for psychology/sociology?

Does anyone have any opinions on better/worse materials for any of the subjects? I have heard Kaplan and EK lack in Psychology/Sociology?

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[pms_testosterone]

Khan Academy for bio
(And I've hear for psych/soc as well, though I didn't use it for such.)

 

[joe7456]

Kaplan is actually really good for psych/soc.

As for Bio, EK was very concise.

It just depends on how much detail you want.

 

[aromatic substitution]

I'd like to add that if you're a visual learner khan academy and ak lectures are really good. I'm personally biased and I think TBR is the best all around for content review for the sciences. Yes, their books are overly detailed, but the passages and answer explanations are pure gold. Not to mention they offer test taking tips throughout their review books.

 

[jazzmetal]

• Psychology/Sociology-??

This book for the high school AP Psych test is actually a great resource for Psych/Soc and at less than $8, the price is right:
Amazon product

For CARS, start with the AAMC materials and look for an LSAT prep book for more questions - the same company writes the questions for both tests. You can also use the old AAMC tests if you can find them, since CARS hasn't changed. I would look for AAMC material over anything from a third party, although I agree that EK's strategy advice is pretty good. But mostly read a lot of passages and practice your timing such that you're making as thorough a read as you have time for the first time through, rather than planning to circle back at the end of the section to re-visit questions.

 

[DoctorCrush]

I found Kaplan sufficient for content. But practice, I have to say hands down is EK 101 books. Wish I did that earlier in my studying. Khan is great practice especially verbal and psych / soc. Chem and biochem / bio etc is more for like content I feel like atleast from khan.

 

[guttapercha113]

I found Kaplan sufficient for content. But practice, I have to say hands down is EK 101 books. Wish I did that earlier in my studying. Khan is great practice especially verbal and psych / soc. Chem and biochem / bio etc is more for like content I feel like atleast from khan.

Thanks so much! I read reviews on the CARs 101 passages for EK and a lot of people said it was really bad and even set them back. What do you think? Does anyone have a good resource for practicing CARs passages?

 

[661874]

C/P, if you're strapped for time, EK all the way. All of the content you need is there. If not, TBR all the way.

 

[DoctorCrush]

Thanks so much! I read reviews on the CARs 101 passages for EK and a lot of people said it was really bad and even set them back. What do you think? Does anyone have a good resource for practicing CARs passages?

I didn't buy the CARS 101 because I already have NS. But I love the other 101 books. It's VERY similar to the section bank style with lots of graphs, interpretation and data. I took the mcat back in Aug od 2016 and felt that this is the most similar to AAMC.

 

[delman0322]

Anyone happen to find anything good for strictly passage based books with the explanations? i need to start going through questions to help my understanding of material and then the data analysis or passage base type quetions

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Anyone happen to find anything good for strictly passage based books with the explanations? i need to start going through questions to help my understanding of material and then the data analysis or passage base type quetions

BR books come with about 160 passages and about 1200 questions for each of the science sections (general chemistry is actually 180 and 1344). All questions come with detailed answer explanations.

 

[delman0322]

BR books come with about 160 passages and about 1200 questions for each of the science sections (general chemistry is actually 180 and 1344). All questions come with detailed answer explanations.

What year were the books you used by BR?

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

What year were the books you used by BR?

Start with the classifieds here at SDN. That will get you the most current copies as well as the most reliable seller. Check the link in my signature for advice when buying used BR books.

 

[Swagster]

Have to completely concur with the stream of this thread about the best materials. The right books are a mixture of TBR sciences (text for chemistry and physics and passages for all the sciences), EK biology (for quickly double checking material), TPR and EK for CARS, and TPR book and KA passages for P/S.

This is the golden recipe if you look at the best scorers suggestions.