EK Bio and 1001 Sufficient For Biology?

[NigerianBull87]

Hey guys I am pulling together some major hours while studying for the Biology portion of the MCAT and have focused primarily w/ EK for the time being. In the future I planned on supplementing my EK Bio lecture book and 1001 Questions w/ the Kaplan review notes on Biology but find myself thinking that notes on all the chapters and the "MCAT musts" in the 1001 book might just be sufficient. Am I wrong to conclude that? Should I supplement the 1001 and Bio lecture w/ Kaplan or TPR or assume everything is covered in the EK books?

I am curious because I know that Kaplan w/ Orgo is way better than EK books and with the 1001 Q's in Orgo is probably sufficient for the MCAT, however biology has me on the fence. I am pressed for time and would like to use it wisely.

Any help would be appreicated. Take Care.

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[cornpops21]

Hey guys I am pulling together some major hours while studying for the Biology portion of the MCAT and have focused primarily w/ EK for the time being. In the future I planned on supplementing my EK Bio lecture book and 1001 Questions w/ the Kaplan review notes on Biology but find myself thinking that notes on all the chapters and the "MCAT musts" in the 1001 book might just be sufficient. Am I wrong to conclude that? Should I supplement the 1001 and Bio lecture w/ Kaplan or TPR or assume everything is covered in the EK books?

I am curious because I know that Kaplan w/ Orgo is way better than EK books and with the 1001 Q's in Orgo is probably sufficient for the MCAT, however biology has me on the fence. I am pressed for time and would like to use it wisely.

Any help would be appreicated. Take Care.

NigerianBull,

When is your MCAT date?

I believe Bio is a strong point for EK (whereas Chem and Physics are not). I was pretty satisfied with the content review in their bio book and only found myself wanting more in-depth explanation on a few occasions (i.e. CNS, small intestine absorption, lacteals, chloride shift). But this information can easily be found online or another source.

People have differing opinions on whether EK really does go over "everything" covered by the MCAT, so if you feel that you don't understand a topic completely, I would supplement it with something from (in your case) Kaplan.

 

[NigerianBull87]

I was planning on taking it July 18th but due to personal/family reasons have rescheduled it to August 22nd. I have roughly 4 more chapters and 400 more questions to go. I have typed roughly 25-30 pages of notes thus far and feel good about those.

 

[TamarMD]

Wait what is this "lecture" I keep reading about. I only have the 1001 biology questions. Also how many hours a day do you study?
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[pheonix10]

while I found EK to be pretty good in what they covered in their regular bio book and 1001 questions book, they are still insufficient in covering molecular genetics and molecular biology imo which was tested significantly on the mcat I wrote. From other threads as well, it seems to be that the majority of prep companies for bio atleast does not cover these subjects in depth. The best resolution would be to use EK and then use some textbooks, maybe find some powerpoint stuff online to get yourself familiar with the molecular stuff and with those two, you should be good to go !good luck.

 

[NigerianBull87]

Wait what is this "lecture" I keep reading about. I only have the 1001 biology questions. Also how many hours a day do you study?
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The lecture is the book that is complementary to the 1001 questions that lays the ground work and if you see the table of contents it says "lecture _" that corresponds to the book that teaches the fundamentals.

Also, I study to to be quite honest at least 10 hours a day.

 

[NigerianBull87]

while I found EK to be pretty good in what they covered in their regular bio book and 1001 questions book, they are still insufficient in covering molecular genetics and molecular biology imo which was tested significantly on the mcat I wrote. From other threads as well, it seems to be that the majority of prep companies for bio atleast does not cover these subjects in depth. The best resolution would be to use EK and then use some textbooks, maybe find some powerpoint stuff online to get yourself familiar with the molecular stuff and with those two, you should be good to go !good luck.

What kind of molecular genetics or biology? (Mendel, Pedigee Analysis, Biochem, etc...)

 

[masterMood]

nigerian were you planning on applying this cycle? If so august 22nd is too late i would say.

 

[NigerianBull87]

nigerian were you planning on applying this cycle? If so august 22nd is too late i would say.

Yeah I am applying this cycle but will have my primary submitted by mid July and start cranking out the essay topics before I get the secondaries. Also I have all my LOR and stuff so I hope that I will be alright.

 

[unsung]

If you actually read through all the solutions in the back of the 1001Qs for bio, that's a *really* good review. You'll get hit with the high yield facts over and over again until they're second nature. Plus there's some extra interesting random things about cheetahs and what not . But, like others have said, it might pay off to spend a little bit of extra time on genetics. The stuff they do have on genetics I thought was pretty good (also a part of it gets split off and relegated to the last chapter of the book with ecology, so the genetics chapter itself looks more sparse than it actually is.)

 

[TamarMD]

The lecture is the book that is complementary to the 1001 questions that lays the ground work and if you see the table of contents it says "lecture _" that corresponds to the book that teaches the fundamentals.

Also, I study to to be quite honest at least 10 hours a day.

Oh wow. Ok did you get the book from a bookstore or did you order it online? I just went into my local barnes & noble and pulled every MCAT prep book off the shelf. So I have Kaplan, Barrons, Princeton Review and ExamKrackers. Do you study 10 hrs because you are taking the exam soon? I'm taking the exam next summer or May of 2010. I'm not applying until the 2010-2011 cycle. Is 3 hrs a day enough or should I put more hours in?

 

[Revilla]

What kind of molecular genetics or biology? (Mendel, Pedigee Analysis, Biochem, etc...)

You should know a little about all of those. Mendel is more classical genetics. Molecular genetics is inheritance on the molecular level. Be familiar with the basics of it. Know how to read a pedigree and learning a little biochem will be a big help as well.

 

[NigerianBull87]

Oh wow. Ok did you get the book from a bookstore or did you order it online? I just went into my local barnes & noble and pulled every MCAT prep book off the shelf. So I have Kaplan, Barrons, Princeton Review and ExamKrackers. Do you study 10 hrs because you are taking the exam soon? I'm taking the exam next summer or May of 2010. I'm not applying until the 2010-2011 cycle. Is 3 hrs a day enough or should I put more hours in?

This is my first time taking it so I am a novice just as you are, but you can buy the lecture book at www.examkrackers.com or you can go on amazon or something like that. It is a very good book thus far.

 

[NigerianBull87]

You should know a little about all of those. Mendel is more classical genetics. Molecular genetics is inheritance on the molecular level. Be familiar with the basics of it. Know how to read a pedigree and learning a little biochem will be a big help as well.

Nice, took Genetics and Introductory Biochem already. Do you guys think that if I take the MCAT for the first time in August I am screwed? I mean I'm sure that there are individuals who are taking it in July, whom will void or perform poorly and retake in August and look for a retake in August and try and get in. I am getting really worried about people saying I will not get in because I am too late.

 

[cornpops21]

Nice, took Genetics and Introductory Biochem already. Do you guys think that if I take the MCAT for the first time in August I am screwed? I mean I'm sure that there are individuals who are taking it in July, whom will void or perform poorly and retake in August and look for a retake in August and try and get in. I am getting really worried about people saying I will not get in because I am too late.

Well, let me ask you this...is it absolutely essential for you to apply THIS cycle? Waiting one year is NOT the end of the world. In fact, I believe the average age of matriculants is about 25 years old. If your answer to my question is "no", then I would apply next year. This way, you will have all your essays completed and your MCAT behind you, and can submit on June 1st. I think you're putting yourself at a disadvantage by applying that late. Depending on where you want to apply, there might be less interviews available with an increasing number of applicants.

 

[MossPoh]

The problem with taking the mcat the first time in august is that you have no safety net. If you screw up and want to retake then you WILL be late in the cycle. It is cutting it close as is. I took my first test in april and am retaking in July. If you walked out feeling like you tanked it, then you could at least get a month of study in and try again.

Its not "bad" but it is risky. I was getting upwards of 36 on the practice exams and came out with a 25. Talk about a collapse


I think the EK bio and 1001 questions is sufficient for bio. Honestly, bio is probably as much of a test taking ability section than anything. The physical sciences section is much more based on previous knowledge, or so it seemed to me. Biology will blitz you with passages that have all the necessary info and you just have to sort through it for the answers. That is why I like the EK 1001 for bio. It hammers in concepts, but it also works with you a little on test taking ability.