Ek vs Kaplan...

[KeKe88]

I was wondering if anyone has used both Ek books & Kaplan material. I've used Kaplan in the past, but now with my MCAT test date only a couple months away, I wanted to see if it was worth the money to buy EK books. Any thoughts? Thx!

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[Green Pirate]

from what I've been reading on this forum, if you only have a little bit of time, it would be better to go with the more condensed review (EK) and spend a fair amount of time working through practice problems/tests. The more detailed reviews might be beneficial for those who have more time.

 

[burningsky]

The Kaplan books contain an extravagent amount of information. The EK stuff is great and concentrates on what you need to know. Get ahold of some Kaplan practice tests if you can though. They are much harder than the AAMC or the EK tests and might help you prepare.

 

[Addb]

I used the giant Kaplan book/CD and the EK Audio Osmosis with Jordon and Jon. They were both great products. They focused on different areas, with Kaplan going into a bit more detail (especially in PS) and J&J bring more useful for tips, methods and keeping older material fresh (especially good VR strategy.)

Overall, I'd say go with both if you can, but otherwise what are you weaker areas? Kaplan was more detailed and had far more mechanical and mathematical information and rather difficult practice tests, while the EK audio course seemed to zero in on conceptual rather than mechanical. Obviously things like optics and titration curves will suffer in an audio lecture, but they really came in handy for going over or reaffirming things I already knew, particularly anatomy.

My suggestion: Use the EK:AO to go over things you already know, and use the Kaplan to learn things you missed the first time through your class.

 

[.surgical.]

I didn't take Kaplan, I took TPR and studied with EK on my own.

EK is superior to TPR in every possible way for one big reason. EK makes a big effort to limit the material down to what they believe you really need to know. TPR went WAAAAY overboard on the material, teaching you a lot of information that is definitely unnecessary 90% of the time in an attempt to fill class time.

I loved the EK books for teaching you what you need to know and not going overboard. They even point out when something is "extra" and won't be tested, as well as providing summaries in the margins of what "is really important" from every section.

TPR and Kap: King of unnecessary extras. Don't memorize the amino acids, its not tested. Don't learn every single named organic reaction for what might amount to 1 question or no questions on the real thing, its not worth your precious study time.

 

[Shrike]

Surgical, I think you're going a bit overboard here. We (TPR) do include a lot of material, perhaps too much, in some of our texts, particularly biology, but it has nothing to do with filling class time -- our syllabus is not based on the textbooks. For example, is it bad for us to show the amino acids in the book, if we also say that you shouldn't memorize them?

I've discussed this in more detail here.