If I have audio osmosis from EK, do I need to buy their books as well?

[ziggyd0c]

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I've got the audio osmosis lectures and my plan is to listen to each one and take notes, then study from my notes/listen again, etc. I also have 2 books; one is a book of practice problems and the other is a full MCAT review book by Barron's (comes with 6 practice tests).

Do I really need the EK books as well? They seem to be the popular choice according to this site, but in other threads I've seen people say that the audio lectures are basically the books word for word.

Money isn't really an issue, I don't mind buying them. I just really want to know if it's something that will actually help.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I've got the audio osmosis lectures and my plan is to listen to each one and take notes, then study from my notes/listen again, etc. I also have 2 books; one is a book of practice problems and the other is a full MCAT review book by Barron's (comes with 6 practice tests).

Do I really need the EK books as well? They seem to be the popular choice according to this site, but in other threads I've seen people say that the audio lectures are basically the books word for word.

Money isn't really an issue, I don't mind buying them. I just really want to know if it's something that will actually help.

Depends on how you learn best. I enjoyed the books because I could read along and look at the pictures as they talked out the lectures. However, if you want to get the most for your money, look into buying more practice tests instead. That will give you the most bang for your buck results wise.

 

[NeuroChaos]

AO is very very brief overview of the subjects. You definitely NEED EK books.

AO is to listen to/from work, in car, subway etc. It is not comprehensive and does not go in depth as is required

AO follows closely w/ EK books. So you can listen to AO and follow along on EK book. But I would suggest buying EK regardless

 

[kltdd]

The books are more detailed and have practice problems/exams... Also I found that the physics and chemistry review are hard to follow on audio osmosis because of the formulas and math involved. Having the books make audio osmosis more of a review and easier to follow...

 

[ziggyd0c]

can you buy their books in stores or do you have to order them online?

 

[kltdd]

Not sure. I think you have to order them online. I ordered mine from amazon.com but be sure to check ebay, etc...

 

[SN2ed]

You will DEFINITELY need content review books. Also, ditch the Barrons, they are by far the worst MCAT prep book I have seen.

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.

 

[ziggyd0c]

thanks for the feedback. at this point i may get the EK biology review as that is the only area i feel really uncomfortable in.

SN2ed, why is barron's so much worse than other prep books? right now i'm using it as sort of a supplemental complement to the lectures since it has waaaayyy more detail than i think i'll need on the mcat. it comes with 6 practice tests though (in addition to a bunch of practice problems in the text) which is pretty cool.

 

[SN2ed]

These were my experiences with the 2007 version, though I doubt it's changed much. Plus, I haven't read any good comments about Barron's since I've been a member. Whenever it pops up, it's to warn people which makes me think it's still bad.

How Barron's is bad:

1. Content review doesn't cover all of the topics on the MCAT. In fact, it covers topics that aren't on the MCAT. The topics they do cover, focus too much on details that are not tested while losing the big picture. Remember AO is watered down and meant to compliment EK's books, not replace them.

2. Practice problems are not even close to being representative of the actual MCAT. The number of practice tests a book contains doesn't matter when they're lousy tests.

I bet that if you went on Amazon or searched on here, you'd mainly find bad reviews. Basically, this book is a waste of time and money. Finally, it's not without reason that the book review list doesn't have them on there.

 

[ziggyd0c]

These were my experiences with the 2007 version, though I doubt it's changed much. Plus, I haven't read any good comments about Barron's since I've been a member. Whenever it pops up, it's to warn people which makes me think it's still bad.

How Barron's is bad:

1. Content review doesn't cover all of the topics on the MCAT. In fact, it covers topics that aren't on the MCAT. The topics they do cover, focus too much on details that are not tested while losing the big picture. Remember AO is watered down and meant to compliment EK's books, not replace them.

2. Practice problems are not even close to being representative of the actual MCAT. The number of practice tests a book contains doesn't matter when they're lousy tests.

I bet that if you went on Amazon or searched on here, you'd mainly find bad reviews. Basically, this book is a waste of time and money. Finally, it's not without reason that the book review list doesn't have them on there.

hahaha wow, i just read one of the amazon reviews and it definitely agrees with what you said. i thought it seemed way too detailed. oh well, it was only like $35. i was so baffled when i started looking for books. every single one of them says "The #1 Choice for Test Preparation!!!"

it is reassuring to know that these practice problems are not similar to the real MCAT ones. some of them i was like WTF?? well maybe then i'll get the entire EK study thing (the one that is like $150 or so). does that include the material, practice problems, and everything that you can buy separately? i'm especially interested in the "101 passages"

 

[olemissbabydoc]

Yeah, I mistakenly bought Barren's before consulting SDN as well.

Then I threw it under a bus.

 

[ziggyd0c]

lol olemiss, that sounds about right.


now i'm just not sure which i should buy. there's the examkrackers complete MCAT study package, but everyone raves about the "1001 questions" books. i already have a book called "MCAT workout" by the princeton review that just contains a bunch of practice questions. should i still buy the complete study package AND all the practice problems from EK? that would be like 7 books. advice?

 

[futuredoctor10]

now i'm just not sure which i should buy. there's the examkrackers complete MCAT study package, but everyone raves about the "1001 questions" books. i already have a book called "MCAT workout" by the princeton review that just contains a bunch of practice questions. should i still buy the complete study package AND all the practice problems from EK? that would be like 7 books. advice?

Complete study package + all the 1001 books + The MCAT Workout TPR book you have is alot of questions. 1001 x 4 is over 4004 questions alone from EK's 1001 books for each subject.

I would say buy the complete study package and then use that with TPR's Workout book. The study package has some practice discretes (in lectures) and passages (in 30-min exams at the end of the book). You could consider buying the EK Bio 1001 - that's the main 1001 book I have read praise about on SDN, and that way you can not use Orgo/Gen CHem/Phys 1001s which only have discretes. TPR's book could be used for practice passages in everything except Bio.

 

[ziggyd0c]

Complete study package + all the 1001 books + The MCAT Workout TPR book you have is alot of questions. 1001 x 4 is over 4004 questions alone from EK's 1001 books for each subject.

I would say buy the complete study package and then use that with TPR's Workout book. The study package has some practice discretes (in lectures) and passages (in 30-min exams at the end of the book). You could consider buying the EK Bio 1001 - that's the main 1001 book I have read praise about on SDN, and that way you can not use Orgo/Gen CHem/Phys 1001s which only have discretes. TPR's book could be used for practice passages in everything except Bio.

that sounds like a good idea. i've also heard a lot of praise for the 101 verbal passages book. do you have any experience with that? i haven't given much thought to the verbal part but i have a feeling it's one of those things i will be overconfident about and will come around and bite me in the ass 😳

 

[futuredoctor10]

that sounds like a good idea. i've also heard a lot of praise for the 101 verbal passages book. do you have any experience with that? i haven't given much thought to the verbal part but i have a feeling it's one of those things i will be overconfident about and will come around and bite me in the ass

Oh yeah the EK Verbal 101 is highly highly recommended (even compared to Bio 1001). I'd get that for extra verbal practice.

I would also make sure to practice verbal as you practice science questions in the pre-practice test phase of prep. It is so easy to neglect verbal, and also so hard to improve it. Also I didn't use TPR or TBR verbal but Kaplan verbal is really bad. Just stick with EK for verbal and AAMC practice tests (which will have verbal sections) when you get to them! Good luck!

 

[Boges]

I recommend Audio Osmosis and all of the EK books. Follow along with the book and you can pause and review. Then bring the CDs in your car and replay the sections you had been studying.

Also, the books are great to go back over a few key concepts or formulas with out having to track it down on the CD.

I felt the books were essential but I'm sure that's subjective.

Best of luck!

 

[kltdd]

Yeah, I mistakenly bought Barren's before consulting SDN as well.

Then I threw it under a bus.

LOL, I fell victim to Barron's also... I knew it was bad once I saw how sparce the chemistry and o chem review were... and the practice problems just test memorization...

EK 101 Verbal Reasoning is really good and feels like the real thing (difficult/unsure)... My practice verbal score have steadily improved since beginning so.....

 

[DrDre2001]

You absolutely need the books (or kaplan or someone else's review books) to go along with the Audio Osmosis.

I only used AO when i was on the train or driving...or when i had a headache / eye ache and i really really really didnt feel like i could read from a textbook anymore...and i think most people would say the same.

Audio Osmosis isn't very thorough. It went through some pretty hard topics in like a few minutes from what i remember.

And its pretty confusing to listen to if you dont know the subjects they talk about beforehand. Im pretty sure the ppl who made it intended that the listener have read their books as well.