EK Physics: No Good?

[Marjan Islam]

So I'm basing this assumption from what I've heard from people at my college in general. Is the ExamKrackers Physics book not good? Representative of the MCAT material? Not great at explaining the concepts MCAT-style?

I'm in Kaplan, and have read through both EK and Kaplan physics, and am now reviewing everything before taking the Practice Tests using EK, and not Kaplan, just cause it's an easier read and I understand better.

So what's the verdict on Physics EK? Are my friends just being weird? I have 2 months till the exam, and it's a little late for me to start up using a NEW book, imo.

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[SN2ed]

I thought EK Physics provided sufficient preparation, however, there are better books. Both Nova and BR are favored heavily over EK (and all the other prep books). That said, you'll probably be fine with Kaplan and EK.

Now, about whether Kaplan and EK are representative, know that I took the test a year ago so things may have changed. Kaplan was harder than my MCAT, but somewhat close (in regards to their CBT's PS). EK, on the other hand, was significantly harder than my MCAT. The caveat to EK is that they make their practice passages harder on purpose.

Both Kaplan and EK were okay with their answer explanations with Kaplan being better than EK. By the way, when I'm talking about Kaplan's practice material, I am referring to their online resources. If you're talking about the practice material in the Kaplan book itself, those problems will not be particularly helpful and are not representative of the MCAT at all.

What it boils down to is, if you need a thorough explanation and in-depth review for physics, neither Kaplan nor EK will be too helpful. In this case, get BR or Nova. If you just need a brief refresher, EK and Kaplan will be fine. My bet, buy Nova or BR because it's better to be over prepared than the reverse.

I might as well post this:

Originally Posted by TheBoondocks
This question gets asked like every three days. In short, EK series are stripped down with the basics you need to know. Get EK bio, it is by far the best for bio, all the responses on SDN say this. Know this book cold. If you don't believe me, type in EK bio in the search function. Personally, you learn the best from passages, If you have time and the cash I highly suggest purchasing Berkeley Review Gen Chem and Ochem. There physics is good too, but with PR it may be redundant. You will thank me later. You'll probably want EK biology review and EK 101 biology passages and EK verbal 101. PR is good, however, if you want to kill the MCAT you have to be able to integrate material. That's what BR does better than anyone else. Like, be able to answer questions if you see the circulatory system wired in parallel series.

bio - 1. EK bio and 101 bio passages 2. Kaplan 3. PR/BR however, these don't suck, they're just detailed which turns off many people.

Physics 1. BR/Nova 2. PR 3. Kaplan I really think BR but they're are a lot of people who swear by Nova on this site

Verbal 1. Ek verbal and 101 passages 2. PR 3. BR 4. Kaplan (read stay from)

Gen Chem 1. BR by far 2. PR 3. Kaplan/EK

O Chem 1. BR by far 2. toss up between Kaplan/PR/Ek

That is a general list of what i have read on SDN for the past 4 years, i came here and lurked throughout highschool. Good luck and hopefully this will help. EK is for people who KNOW the material and want review. If you are weak in something BR is the best since it's the most detailed and PR is detailed too, Kaplan is in the Middle, and EK is the least detailed but that doesn't mean it's bad. Just depends on the person. If you can I would buy the BR Chemistry books and Physics book. If you complete the PR science workbook along with BR passages and EK bio, you will kill the sciences. Ek Verbal should help you out with verbal.


Edit: I just noticed you were the author of the physics help thread. In that case, definitely buy Nova or BR. I lean more towards BR though Nova is great as well.

 

[BlueElmo]

So I'm basing this assumption from what I've heard from people at my college in general. Is the ExamKrackers Physics book not good? Representative of the MCAT material? Not great at explaining the concepts MCAT-style?

I'm in Kaplan, and have read through both EK and Kaplan physics, and am now reviewing everything before taking the Practice Tests using EK, and not Kaplan, just cause it's an easier read and I understand better.

So what's the verdict on Physics EK? Are my friends just being weird? I have 2 months till the exam, and it's a little late for me to start up using a NEW book, imo.

EK Physics was not bad in general. It was pretty cursory though, ESPECIALLY in electromagnetism section. If you have a solid background in physics, EK Physics should be good enough. However, if you are not, then try getting TPR or Kaplan review books. I know TPR Hyperlearning is pretty detailed and well-written for physics.
But those 30-minute quizzes at the end, DO THOSE. Those were dead useful for me.