Cell Biology - Very best textbook? Or just memorize?

[saoj]

Surprisingly, the cell biology part of Campbell's is not very good. This is a kind of complicated subject in a way that what those crazy organelles do are very specific and complex. Is there a good textbook that explains them well without too complex details? Perhaps that one: http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Cel...1296/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327906344&sr=8-1

Or perhaps I should accept that I should not try to fully understand the function of a Golgi Apparatus and simply memorize a sentence summarizing what it does.

What do you guys think?

By the way, the Kaplan review of cell biology is not that bad... I like how it specifically tells you what is important and what is not so important for the MCAT.

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[listentoadvice]

Pssh, I'd study off of the Kaplan USMLE Step 1 notes. That way, you have the best information possible and the clear writing you desire.

 

[mcloaf]

I think all of these threads you're posting about text books are going to be a colossal waste of time that is going to sap your energy and attention from time better spent getting a broader picture of MCAT topics and taking practice passages. If you have 6+ months in which to give yourself a crash course in undergrad bio, then maybe you could get away with it (didn't you have to take a year of undergrad bio anyway...?).

I also think you have a romanticized vision of biological knowledge. There isn't a tome hidden somewhere in a science library that contains all the cell bio knowledge, and if you can only find you'll "fully understand" it and ace the MCAT. Cell bio is a large field that's constantly expanding and changing, and as with any body of scientific knowledge there are degrees of understanding that will be adequate for whatever purpose you need. You don't need to have a PhD level understanding of the cytoskeleton or the golgi apparatus to take the MCAT. Sorry this is a pet peeve of mine--I had way too many undergrad premed classmates who wasted time on minutiae and when test time came around they bombed because they missed the forest for the trees...and then had the nerve to say that it was because "they tried to really understand it." BS. Don't fall into the same trap. Sometimes the hardest part of studying for the MCAT or class or anything else for that matter is knowing what you DON'T need to know so you can have more time to focus on what you do.

Not only that, wasting time on such things is going to detract from time better spent elsewhere and take up brain space that would be better devoted to the multitude of topics that ARE going to be on the MCAT.


/rant

 

[paul411]

While Essential Cell Biology is an excellent textbook and could be used for clearing up concepts you're having difficulty with, it is an awful primary resource for MCAT prep; it has superfluous details which will definitely waste your time.

A good MCAT review book such as Examkrackers Biology or The Berkeley Review Biology will contain everything you need to know to own the MCAT especially since the materials are tailored specifically for MCAT success. Understand all the material in those review books and do a lot of practice problems. Do not waste your time with textbooks.