Books to choose for MCAT?

[aiethela]

Hi SDN,

I am planning to take the MCAT in January.

I bought Kaplan subject review box, got the kaplan flashcards for free from a friend, and am using EK 101 for additional Verbal practices. I also bought that MCAT 45 book by Kaplan so I can study from it in future.

So far, I finished all the practice tests in Kaplan subject review sections once and can easily tackle flashcards as well. Questions I had were:

1) Is Kaplan too easy? It's because I'm doing well in Kaplan verbal, and EK 101 seems way harder than Kaplan.

2) I think I need some additional practice in physics, bio, and verbal after doing Kaplan. What are some good books should i buy? TBR seems kinda expensive.

3) I have access to 5 AAMC tests and 6 Kaplan tests. Would this be enough in preparing for the MCAT?? I was planning to start doing them after finishing EK 101.

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[Hemorrage]

Kaplan sucks

 

[Benedictus123]

I use a combination of EK, the 1001 EK for quick review, and TBR for passages. TBR is expensive, but the passages are worth it. Personally I like the EK 1001 for hammering core concepts, but YMMV.

 

[aiethela]

I use a combination of EK, the 1001 EK for quick review, and TBR for passages. TBR is expensive, but the passages are worth it. Personally I like the EK 1001 for hammering core concepts, but YMMV.

I read much hatred on EK 1001 Bio here for some reason. Was it worth studying for you??

 

[Benedictus123]

I actually don't use EK 1001 for bio, thanks to these boards. Just the other 3. I almost have a PhD in a bio-related field too though, so I don't worry as much about this section.

 

[mushuwu158]

My personal experience:

For Bio: EK is perfect is you did relatively well in high school/college-level bio and you just require quick review. I looked at TPR bio but it's so ladden with details that I can't reccomend it. Haven't looked at Kaplan or TBR.

For PS: I HIGHLY suggest TPR for the content and TBR for the passages. TPR books have the perfect amount of info you'll ever need. TBR's content is also great, but gets unnecessarily overcomplicated when it starts talking about quantum mechanics and atomic theory. What TBR shines in are the passages. They will kick your ass, but help make sure you truly understand the material.

For VR: I can't suggest anything. I took a few tips from EK and practiced with EK101, but overall I suggest PanRoasted's advice (his thread is around here somewhere in the first few pages). The rest is just luck.