Best prep books for new mcat (self study)

[ratman7]

Which brand has the best prep books for the 2015 MCAT?

I'm looking at a November test date and will get all of the AAMC practice books and tests, but out of TPR, TBR, EK, which one has been useful for the 2015 MCAT?

(I heard EK was good, but it's $70 more than the other brands; is it worth it?)

I don't really need too much of content review, just a skim should be enough and good practice tests. Which set should I get?

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[DAF16]

@mcatjelly has some posts in her sig that have testimonials for all the study materials out there. Go check that out and see which ones you like best. If you're trying to do as many FL's as you can then TPR has FL's that come with their books. EK has 4 FL's on their website for 50 buck each, people have said that these are close to the actual MCAT. TBR has great passages to review.

Personally I'm using Kaplan and TBR for content review. I have EK/TBR/AAMC lined up for FL's.

 

[nomdeplume1234]

Hi there. I would probably get a notebook and go through the 34,593 other threads on best books and put a tally down for each company. Then you can count up the winner.

 

[dushash]

I only ordered Kaplan and also had previous EK books. In comparison I think that Kaplan is more in-depth and for me personally works better especially for Biochem. However, I wish they had more questions after each chapter to practice. I guess Kaplan is good for content review, but you need to make up practice questions after that from either their Q-bank or other resources. IMHO.

 

[supremus]

TBR Science Set + TPR P&S

 

[Gandyy]

TBR Science Set + TPR P&S

I used TBR and I've seen the TPR P&S. This is probably very good. In addition for the CARS section, I would use princeton Hyperlearning for Verbal and EK sparingly.

If you master all of those, you will be golden. I took the old MCAT, and I made a giant improvement by using TBR for science and Hyperlearning and EK Verbal for verbal.

 

[Dreamstoo]

I used TBR and I've seen the TPR P&S. This is probably very good. In addition for the CARS section, I would use princeton Hyperlearning for Verbal and EK sparingly.

If you master all of those, you will be golden. I took the old MCAT, and I made a giant improvement by using TBR for science and Hyperlearning and EK Verbal for verbal.

I have taken the old MCAT and voided it. The new exam honestly is very similar but still very odd/weird. Almost every person I know either tried to avoid this test by taking the MCAT as early as possible in their collegiate career or just postpone taking it for a year or so (take multiple gap years). I even know some people who have been discouraged by it as a whole due to struggling with the old MCAT.

 

[Gandyy]

I have taken the old MCAT and voided it. The new exam honestly is very similar but still very odd/weird. Almost every person I know either tried to avoid this test by taking the MCAT as early as possible in their collegiate career or just postpone taking it for a year or so (take multiple gap years). I even know some people who have been discouraged by it as a whole due to struggling with the old MCAT.

Hmm, I realize the test is longer, but I understand that there is much less physics and organic on this test? I hated physics with a passion. Mostly because doing "easy" algebra questions under a time crunch without a calculator is the hardest part for me on the entire test.

The pysch and sociology section is another CARS section from what I've heard from people who have taken it, but of course I dont know for sure. What do you say?

Edit: I agree, the MCAT can be very discouraging. I've had multiple friends drop out of the pre-med route because of it.

 

[Dreamstoo]

Hmm, I realize the test is longer, but I understand that there is much less physics and organic on this test? I hated physics with a passion. Mostly because doing "easy" algebra questions under a time crunch without a calculator is the hardest part for me on the entire test.

The pysch and sociology section is another CARS section from what I've heard from people who have taken it, but of course I dont know for sure. What do you say?

To me, I'm scoring around my average on former AAMC tests when converted to the old test scale. But I'm also taking TPR FLs which were notoriously hard even on the old MCAT. My friend was averaging a 19-20 on TPR and ended up with a ~27 on the MCAT. I know someone who also averaged around 23-24 on TPR tests and got a 35 on the old test.

Psych/Soc to me is not CARs mostly because I actually enjoy reading it lol. I feel pressured for time on CARs much more than I do on Psych/Soc.

If anything, I would say the C/P at least on TPR is absolutely brutal at times. Some of those passages are so out there on their FLs.

It just seems like such a weird test because I entered college with the knowledge about the old test and honestly only heard of this "new MCAT" stuff around the summer of last year so it caught me off guard.

Oh well, I think I'm prepping better this time around.

 

[joh98]

I'd definitely recommend the Kaplan series as a standalone resource. The Kaplan flashcards are a nice addition as well. Princeton Review is a bit light on psychology. Here's a review that I found helpful: Best MCAT Books (March 2017). Read Free Reviews Of The Best Books.