Is EK Biology incomplete?

[premd]

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I have been studying with the EK books for a while now. However, I recently started to do some practice exams from Kaplan, and I am finding that there are quite a few questions on the Kaplan exams that cover material that is NOT in the EK biology book. I am very concerned because I really do not want to study for the biology section all over again with Kaplan. Does EK biology not have enough information, or does Kaplan have too much information?

 

[Phlame217]

It has all you need, if you read the intro, it doesnt cover alot of the building blocks but it covers the "house" itself so some of the stuff kaplan includes is far too basic or whatever.

 

[Isoprop]

ek doesn't include a lot of specifics or go into a lot of depth. they also exclude or de-emphasize some topics that don't historically appear on the mcats (so they say). often, i supplemented ek's book with information in textbooks or kaplan's bio book. not necessary, but helps solidify information.

 

[fabu1ous]

Well, I know I most definately can't speak for everyone... but I studied only out of EK and I scored horribly on this last MCAT in Bio Sciences. I was scoring 9-10's on practice AMCAS exams, don't ask me what happened on the real thing.

What do u guys suggest is the best study material to significantly bring up my BS score?

 

[Phlame217]

Ive been using ek, kaplans mcat, and all my notes from biology, anatomy, microbiology, and biochem and between all of those, im doing in the 13s on the biology.

 

[keke3]

I used ek for bio and orgo and ended up with 13. I thought the bio book was really well done because it included the basics. Any deeper knowledge is usually in the bio passages itself. I've only taken a bio class, biochem and a biolab that covered a bit of genetics and biochem before.

 

[Isoprop]

Well, I know I most definately can't speak for everyone... but I studied only out of EK and I scored horribly on this last MCAT in Bio Sciences. I was scoring 9-10's on practice AMCAS exams, don't ask me what happened on the real thing.

What do u guys suggest is the best study material to significantly bring up my BS score?

did you do the ek 1001 bio? those passages are really helpful.

if you feel you have a good grasp of bio, then you probably need more practice.

if you feel you are lacking bio concepts, grab the syllabus off the aamc mcat website. print it out. go through review book of your choice (i find kaplan to be good, but some recommend TBR) along with your class notes/textbook for biology. make sure you have a good working knowledge of each concept listed on the syllabus, and go deeper if possible. google/wiki some of the topics. bio is pretty conceptual; the deeper understanding of the topics, the better.

i don't know how you did on organic, but if you have trouble with that, i suggest ek's organic along with practicing specs and lab tests (toullen's, etc.) from a book or online. i found my lab manual for ochem to be helpful.

good luck

 

[fabu1ous]

did you do the ek 1001 bio? those passages are really helpful.

if you feel you have a good grasp of bio, then you probably need more practice.

if you feel you are lacking bio concepts, grab the syllabus off the aamc mcat website. print it out. go through review book of your choice (i find kaplan to be good, but some recommend TBR) along with your class notes/textbook for biology. make sure you have a good working knowledge of each concept listed on the syllabus, and go deeper if possible. google/wiki some of the topics. bio is pretty conceptual; the deeper understanding of the topics, the better.

i don't know how you did on organic, but if you have trouble with that, i suggest ek's organic along with practicing specs and lab tests (toullen's, etc.) from a book or online. i found my lab manual for ochem to be helpful.

good luck

I did use ek 1001 book, I probably completed about 500 ?'s as I skipped every other passage-- and thought I had a good understanding of the concepts. I will probably complete the passages I skipped and supplement with Kaplan or TPR questions.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[mzchristee]

I used ek bio and kaplan bio. I found Ek bio very useful especially when supplemented with kaplan bio. i was getting 13-15 on practice... 13 on the real mcat

 

[dingyibvs]

Kaplan Bio/Orgo + EK1001 Bio/Orgo is pretty much all you need for the BS section.

 

[tourniquet1963]

Kaplan Bio/Orgo + EK1001 Bio/Orgo is pretty much all you need for the BS section.

how about TPR + EK? will i be set?

 

[moab336]

TPR bio is out of control... my friend took the class and I had books from someone who gave up on the MCAT the previous year. His notes were way longer than my examkracker notes, and a lot of stuff I did not think would be n the MCAT

I used examkracker's book and their 1001 bio book, and got a 13.

 

[tourniquet1963]

well i took the test before and score a 10 on bio studying just with kaplan.. but i go ton 8 in Verbal, and a 9 in PS, so im taking over.. and this time studying with TPR and EK.

My plan is to finish reading all of TPR by the end of January, and then, 10 weeks prior to my test (in april) ill start with EK.. and do their study at home kit. I really have to score well this time since its my 2nd time around..

Suggestions/critisicm of my plan is welcomed.

 

[Isoprop]

what about feb and march? did you do all of aamc's practice tests?

 

[tourniquet1963]

what about feb and march? did you do all of aamc's practice tests?

feb and march ill be doing the EK study plan.. which is exactly 10 weeks.. and leads up to a week before my test..
yes sadly i did all of the AAMC tests (some multiple times) and a number of kaplan tests.
I havent done the TPR tests.. so i have a few of those, and ill try whatever free ones are out on the internet by the time my test date comes around.

 

[Isoprop]

i don't have any experience with ek's 10 week study plan, but i do like the ek books (except ek1001 ochem... that one is just ehhh).

but your plan sounds plausible to me. it really depends on the individual. since you already have taken the exam once and have some experience with practice exams, maybe you should focus more on your weak topics more than trying to cover everything? perhaps going into more depth into these topics will give you a better understanding for the mcat. i know ek likes to say "you don't need to know more detail than this for the mcat" but if you go deeper, it'll give you more confidence when you read the passage.

in any case, good luck.

 

[tourniquet1963]

thank you very much for your reply.

Also does anyone have any idea if aamc will release a new practice test for the 2008 cycle of tests?..

and, when will they release the 2007 examinee data?

 

[J-MUNCH]

I used EK for content review and got a 13 in BS. So I think it is sufficient.