I wanna get started on MCAT studying, how much will prep books cost in total?

[MCAT or bust]

I'm gonna take MCAT either in april or in summer and wanna start studying

thing is I don't want to spend alot on books at all (def. less than 100)

what all books do I need? I know there is that Kaplan 5 book set but that is $110

is there any combination that is cheaper and effective?

edit: are books from 2000-2008/2009 still helpful for taking the test in 2012? or are the more recent books the only ones i should get?

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[saveourpens]

I'd recommend the Princeton Review Hyperlearning series (the set they give out in class). I bought it on Ebay for $350 and it treated me pretty well. I won't pretend to know your financial situation but don't cheap out on one of the most important tests of your life.

 

[music2doc]

I'd recommend the Princeton Review Hyperlearning series (the set they give out in class). I bought it on Ebay for $350 and it treated me pretty well. I won't pretend to know your financial situation but don't cheap out on one of the most important tests of your life.

This. Going cheap isn't worth it. That said, neither is a $1000+ prep course. I would plan to spend around $500 on prep materials when all is said done. (Keep in mind that the AAMC tests alone are $255 for the whole set plus the MCAT Official Guide.) My suggestion would be to purchase the following:

Berkeley Review set (all 4 science sets; not the writing or VR) -- $240
All 7 AAMC exams (plus the free Exam 3) and the Official Guide to the MCAT -- $255
Exam Krackers VR -- $15 (used)
TOTAL: $510

Then do a steady course of review using all 4 science books and 1 EK VR passage per week for the first 10 weeks (reviewing previous chapters as you go). Starting with about week 5, do one AAMC (starting with 3) each week. Do an extra EK VR passage each week for the first 4 weeks (when you aren't doing an AAMC exam). You should have then done AAMC 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 while still reviewing (weeks 5-10). Do 11 the week before your test (week 11) and 10 at least 3 days before your exam (during week 12). Do the official study guide review passages the week before your exam. Of course, feel free to modify this as needed. You may want to add in an extra week (or 2) between 10 and 11, for instance, to finish Phase 3 of the TBR series....

 

[MedPR]

I'm gonna take MCAT either in april or in summer and wanna start studying

thing is I don't want to spend alot on books at all (def. less than 100)

what all books do I need? I know there is that Kaplan 5 book set but that is $110

is there any combination that is cheaper and effective?

edit: are books from 2000-2008/2009 still helpful for taking the test in 2012? or are the more recent books the only ones i should get?

EK set is $110 new on amazon. Lots of people use only that set and get good scores.

 

[NinersFan0]

I didn't want to spend a fortune, so I bought the EK set for $100 and that's it.

Worked out fine for me, but your needs may be different.

 

[hmainn]

+1 for EK. They definitely condense the material to what you need to know. Borrowed some audio CD's too and used them as a set. Worked well for me.

 

[varsityblue]

+1 for EK. They definitely condense the material to what you need to know. Borrowed some audio CD's too and used them as a set. Worked well for me.

+1 borrowing from a library or an older friend is definitely the way to go. I refuse to spend more than $50 on prep materials for any test and, as such, have only purchased Barron's MCAT and EK VR passages. If you master the content in one book and are able to apply it to real FLs, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a formal course or on a bookshelf full of half-read materials.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I used only the EK series + workbooks for about 160 bucks and I did well on the MCAT.

 

[NickNaylor]

EK books plus all of the AAMC tests is really all you need. That should total less than $400.

 

[tenndoc]

i got the kaplan books on kindle and the examkrackers entire set. i felt that the EK books did a good job of presenting the material in an easy to follow format. you should also buy practice tests... as many as you can. those helped. after getting a 24 in the spring, i really studied with the above and managed to bring it up to a 27 (proud of it. low i know but i don't do well on standardized tests. dont judge)

 

[MCAT or bust]

+1 borrowing from a library or an older friend is definitely the way to go. I refuse to spend more than $50 on prep materials for any test and, as such, have only purchased Barron's MCAT and EK VR passages. If you master the content in one book and are able to apply it to real FLs, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a formal course or on a bookshelf full of half-read materials.

I just checked, Id be able to check out all the kaplan 2010 individ. books (like this http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-MCAT-B...=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324943381&sr=1-5)

am I fine just checking out all 5 of these and maybe getting a couple EK books as well?

note: i already bought the barron's review book a while ago

 

[kristinairene]

i got the kaplan books on kindle and the examkrackers entire set. i felt that the EK books did a good job of presenting the material in an easy to follow format. you should also buy practice tests... as many as you can. those helped. after getting a 24 in the spring, i really studied with the above and managed to bring it up to a 27 (proud of it. low i know but i don't do well on standardized tests. dont judge)

Did you get any get any interviews yet with that score?

 

[tenndoc]

did you get any get any interviews yet with that score?

5

 

[plumhill]

Look around on Amazon or Craigslist for used books. I got TPR bio, chem, and physics books used online (there were hardly any marks in it) for about $80-90 total. There are a bunch of people at my school who sell their review books on Craigslist at an EXTREMELY low cost, and many times the books are very lightly used.

 

[gettheleadout]

Moved to MCAT Disc.

 

[MedPR]

+1 borrowing from a library or an older friend is definitely the way to go. I refuse to spend more than $50 on prep materials for any test and, as such, have only purchased Barron's MCAT and EK VR passages. If you master the content in one book and are able to apply it to real FLs, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a formal course or on a bookshelf full of half-read materials.

I hope you are going to make an exception for USMLE/COMPLEX

 

[estradiol9]

I bought TPR set and EK 1001 series. Plus EK 101. I also purchased the AAMC Guide to the MCAT and will purchase 2 or 3 AAMC FLs. I think buying all of them is overkill.

 

[Swagster]

You really can't beat SN2ed's study plan. That lists all of the books you need. It has the best book for each topic, which after trying them all, I found I agree with his list.

Save money by buying them used. If you start shopping early, you can get a good deal on books in the classifieds here at SDN. I got pretty much everything people said was useful used and spent about $500 on books total.