Difference in review book years?

[joshmell]

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Hey all, I've decided to start getting some light review in for the MCAT and before I buy some books I checked out some books from the library. I got a biology one and a physics one, but they are both from 1998. Do these review books change drastically, or has the information covered on the MCAT changed a lot at all? Just wondering if I should start going with these or just bite the bullet and get some up-to-date books now (kinda poor at the moment).

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hey all, I've decided to start getting some light review in for the MCAT and before I buy some books I checked out some books from the library. I got a biology one and a physics one, but they are both from 1998. Do these review books change drastically, or has the information covered on the MCAT changed a lot at all? Just wondering if I should start going with these or just bite the bullet and get some up-to-date books now (kinda poor at the moment).

In 2003, the good folks at AAMC decided to change the content of the exam. They increased the genetics and molecular biology on the MCAT and eliminated some of the organic chemistry topics. Specifically, benzene and alkene chemistry was eliminated.

The moral to this story is that materials from 2003 or later are better than before 2003. The truth of the matter from what I've read here over time, is that most companies simply take edition 4 and change the cover to make edition 5. It probably doesn't matter too much which one you use.

But, if you want to save some money, try Facebook classifieds or Craigslist in an urban area served by more than three MCAT companies, that way there will be tons of materials flying around.