I plan to take the MCAT in June 2013. I've heard that EK is really good, but I'm worried about the publication date of EK's Complete MCAT Study Package, which is 2007. Does anyone think that it is still okay to use the book? I won't be taking the new MCAT.
EK too old to use?
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It's fine.
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EK books are still the best! But I hear you should focus on Biochem over orgo now a days. MCAT material doesnt change. They also have a guide online if you want to check that to make sure u covered all the topics
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/
EK classroom teachers use that in class to review it all w/ people
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/
EK classroom teachers use that in class to review it all w/ people
Hi all,
I'm sorry to jump in, but I'm new and don't know how to work this yet haha.
I am currently a year or so away from taking the MCAT. However, I want to start reviewing a bit now--ahead I know but I didn't learn as much as I would have liked in some of my pre-reqs. Therefore I want to take initiative now so I do not hate myself later. Anyways, since I am far from when I take my MCAT I feel I am not yet ready to pay a lot for review books. A coworker of mine who attempted med school years ago gave me his old 2000 MCAT review book. It is very old and I plan on buying more up to date books once I have established my date to take it. I think if I look through the old book now though I should learn something, right? The material should be the same (aside from the added areas), right? Anyways, my question is do you think using this old review book would be smart in the mean time to at least get me in the swing of studying? Do you think certain subjects would be relevant, if so which ones?
Thank you all
I'm sorry to jump in, but I'm new and don't know how to work this yet haha.
I am currently a year or so away from taking the MCAT. However, I want to start reviewing a bit now--ahead I know but I didn't learn as much as I would have liked in some of my pre-reqs. Therefore I want to take initiative now so I do not hate myself later. Anyways, since I am far from when I take my MCAT I feel I am not yet ready to pay a lot for review books. A coworker of mine who attempted med school years ago gave me his old 2000 MCAT review book. It is very old and I plan on buying more up to date books once I have established my date to take it. I think if I look through the old book now though I should learn something, right? The material should be the same (aside from the added areas), right? Anyways, my question is do you think using this old review book would be smart in the mean time to at least get me in the swing of studying? Do you think certain subjects would be relevant, if so which ones?
Thank you all
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EK has a 9th edition, published in 2014. Biochem/Psych/Soc is spotty. Kaplan would be better suited for those portions; Khan has some decent psych/soc materials too. The old EK can be used because, as I'll explain, the old material requires knowledge of the same material. G-chem didn't just change in one year to include a myriad of new topics. It's the same old **** as 50 years ago. Balance your equations, the anode is negative, equilibrium constant >1 and the reaction goes forward, catalysts decrease Ea, limiting reagents, stoich is basic multiplication, percent comp is basic division, water has a weird phase diagram, strong acids completely dissociate, weak-strong and strong-strong titrations, Rate = k[reactants]^(coeff), and thermo is still as annoying as ever with all the possible conditions, closed/open/isolated systems, etc. etc. What I'm trying to say is, it's all the same. EK 07 is alright for the old stuff. For biochem/psych/soc you'll need something more recent.
Orgo makes up 10% of the 2 science sections. 0.1(118) = ~11-12 questions. You've still got to study it if you want to get those questions right. To be fair, the amount of material you need to know is proportional to the smaller number of questions. Everyone's Ochem materials are considerably smaller than the other subjects, and the AAMC outline reflects that as well.
From what I've observed in the outline, there are very few differences between the old bio/chem/ochem/physics and the new stuff. Heck, even a lot of the currently-classified biochem stuff was at least partially covered by bio in the old outline. NextStep made a comparison. There were like two main headings they threw out, I think, from the old outline. So the idea is, all of the old material which is still on the new exam will have basically the same knowledge requirements, less a few things. It would serve you best to read the book with the MCAT2015 outline in front of you. I ctrl+F it when I'm skeptical about the book bringing up something that's sort of out there so I don't get lost over all the extra BS specifics they can bring up which aren't even going to help me. Simultaneously, though, this approach comes with a warning: a specific can actually fall under the general realm of something mentioned in the outline, but isn't explicitly stated in the outline itself. That's where you should be careful and really ask yourself if what you're reading is relevant enough to the outline heading (e.g. "Amino Acids") to consider. It all depends on what you need to do, how fast you need to be with your studying (and you've got a leg up, there), and how much you can efficiently put in your LTM.
I'd tell you right now, though, this stuff is a lot less daunting after you've gone through the classes, because a lot of it becomes skim-worthy vs. first-time-riding-a-bike difficult. You have to think in different ways for a lot of the concepts and get used to thinking in those ways, which can take time. That's why it's good you've got time! With that said, though, if you're going to study, take it seriously or just don't. Reading a few chapters in one subject this summer and never touching it until you're "seriously" studying isn't going to have some profound effect on your performance 12 months from now. I'd argue the effect would be pretty negligible. Either be serious about it - commit things to memory, review them every day, push through all the material, make outlines, and gain mastery over each part - or just don't and wait. I will tell you, however, it's good to start early; I didn't, and now I'm in a bit of an awkward position with respect to the current cycle. You may even end up being able to take it early, thereby freeing up the latter part of your UG studies to be pretty much stress-free, while focusing on EC's and grabbing some great LORs along the way (keep this at the front of your mind when doing prereqs!). But the point is this: you'll want to get in the habit of facing things head on, as there are a lot of overwhelming portions of this whole process which serve to scare away those that can't buckle down and push forward. You'd do well to exercise and strengthen that persistence as you go through the MCAT process; your confidence and capabilities will become superior to what they were before.
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