is it true that Examkrackers is the best

[batista_123]

way to study for the mcat? i heard other books put too much useless info that you dont need to know. is this true?

and i just wanted to say my opinion regrading princeton review: waste of time, too much useless info. i just wasted 3 months on it and now i know a lot more but i wont score better on the mcat

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[NervousNed]

examkracers is great, i used it, and it explains difficult concepts more thoroughly in my opinion, it is worthwhile to have several books from different companies to learn the same thing in different ways, one exlpanation might make it easier to learn for you, but overall examkrackers is great, the book has colorful pictures, and a cute little salty guy

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

Yup, it's true. I got a beautiful, colorful $110 ExamKrackers set and got nothing but jealous looks in the library from the folks who blew $2000 on their dull @ss K@plan materials and courses.

Frogs

 

[45408]

It's a guaranteed 40T.

Froggie, why don't you tell us how big your bank account is and how attracted all the pre-pharmacy students are to you as well?

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

Last I checked, my bank account didn't even have enough in it to cover a Kaplan course. So, thank God for ExamKrackers, I guess. 🙄

As to the pre-pharm boys... I don't know any. Couldn't say. Why, what have your heard? 😛

Frogs

 

[Stolenspatulas]

way to study for the mcat? i heard other books put too much useless info that you dont need to know. is this true?

and i just wanted to say my opinion regrading princeton review: waste of time, too much useless info. i just wasted 3 months on it and now i know a lot more but i wont score better on the mcat

i used examcrackers for verbal. it is the best prep by far. i recommend doing all of them at a decent pace over the course of 1-1.5 mnths before the test (1 a day would work). then a week b4 the mcat do all the 'real' mcat verbals from the past (if you go to the older versions the phy and bio become obsolete but not the verbal). plus if u have friends in kaplan or PR then trade and borrow and copy!!! god i traded all my materials and had a ridiculous amount of slightly different perspectives on the same shiznat for everything. it works.

 

[ambidigital11]

On a related note, MCAT Audio Osmosis with Jordan and Jon is great.

 

[juice55]

I thought examcrackers sucked.

 

[smuwillobrien]

I thought examcrackers sucked.

No, that's you. =\

 

[87138]

I thought examcrackers sucked.

That's a shame. Maybe you just didn't have the right kind of foundation to begin with? (not being an ass, just posing a genuine comment)

I find EK to be an outstanding resource, but I can see how someone without the proper solid base in the subjects might struggle. The books are based upon the assumption that you get it, and they do a fantastic job of reviewing the key elements, and if you're able to bridge the gap to join the entire review series into one consecutive body of knowledge, you should be in good shape.

Basically, EK is great for someone who doesn't need their hand held to cross the street.


Edit: This statement was made after having performed well on the MCAT using only Examkrackers as a review source. One would imagine that someone who performed poorly with EK would not give such a glowing recommendation. Unfortunately, whether that reflects upon the company or the individual is left entirely for speculation on our part.

 

[deleted102545]

It worked for me.

 

[mongmong]

After using Kaplan and EK material simultaneously for the Aug MCAT, I would have to say I'm glad I used both. Kaplan more for their many full length practice exams and topical tests and EK for study guide (but felt that some parts of it were too concise whereas Kaplan went overboard w/too much info) and practice questions. So, in terms of studying the concepts, I studied somewhere in between...More than EK study guide material, but less than Kaplan review notes.

Although I really thought it was awesome that EK highlights what needs to be known vs. good-to-know for MCAT, only after the test I found out you can't depend on it 100%. There was a question in my physical sciences section which was based on pure memorization. It would have only taken anyone who could add 1+1 about 2 seconds to memorize that fact to get the question right. However, EK specifically had mentioned in the study guide 'do NOT memorize...' So, of course, I opted the easy way out and decided to not memorize. 😛 Wrong move~~it was an easy question but I missed it simply b/c I followed EK's advise. However, don't get me wrong here. Perhaps, I'd rather have sacrificed that one question rather than have wasted my time memorizing too much info (Kaplan stuff) and driving myself crazy over it during my MCAT studies.

If had to choose ONE study material, I would have chosen EK and somehow tried to get Kaplan FL tests and AAMC practice tests.

 

[xylem29]

EK Bio was only good for me after I had already learned everything from TPR.

Seriously - EK is great if you learned everything to begin with. For people learning for the first time or were weak in the subjects to begin with, EK WILL NOT SUFFICE.

You have to remember - it doesn't matter what materials you use, the MCAT doesn't test the books you used, people who score 30-45 would've done well with or without EK - EK is not the best prep or a magical savior, it's just another prep company. I suggest you check out some of their books before you buy them, just to make sure. On a side note - TPR's Organic chemistry section was a lot more concise and conceptual whereas EK Orgo had too much extra crap.

 

[Missterious1]

EK Bio was only good for me after I had already learned everything from TPR.

Seriously - EK is great if you learned everything to begin with. For people learning for the first time or were weak in the subjects to begin with, EK WILL NOT SUFFICE.

You have to remember - it doesn't matter what materials you use, the MCAT doesn't test the books you used, people who score 30-45 would've done well with or without EK - EK is not the best prep or a magical savior, it's just another prep company. I suggest you check out some of their books before you buy them, just to make sure. On a side note - TPR's Organic chemistry section was a lot more concise and conceptual whereas EK Orgo had too much extra crap.

I agree with this. I used EK + Kaplan books I got from a friend. The EK books were great for subjects I had done well in, but there were topics (mainly in biology) that I did not cover in my bio classes as an undergrad. For those topics I used the Kaplan books first, then EK for review. One gripe I do have about the EK books is that I don't think they cover Genetics adequately... and there was quite a bit of Genetics on the August exam.

 

[DocAlleyCat]

I've taken both PR and Ek...

From my experience I like Ek a lot better. I think PR focuses on to much practice questions without allowing much time to know the material, but everyone has their own way of studying and has to find a program or course material that best compliments your technique.

If anyone has ever heard of Falcon Review I heard they come out with an MCAT review program that is suppose to be really good.

 

[whoispittsnogle]

Examkrackers is so sincere...👍

 

[hra87]

I can only speak for the verbal (I did about half the book with all the practice tests) and it ****ing blew. It was awful. Half the passages were about law, there was no variety. On top of that, every test there would be 2 or so questions that I was SURE the answer was wrong. I had no trouble in this respect with other practices, but each one has something wrong with it. They are all different, implying they are all unlike the real MCAT. At least exam krackers got the LENGTH right, how hard is that, really...

 

[jorditafrita]

I took the mcat this august and did quite well. The only material I used to study (i didn't take a course) was all the examkrackers books and the aamc practice tests.
I would strongly recommend this approach if you have already taken all the pre-recs and are looking for a comprehensive review of the material tested on the mcat. Aside from one question on the ps that ek specifically said not to memorize the equations for, I found EK to be an exceptionally good method for studying.
If you are planning on using EK for self study I would try and get through all the books with at least two weeks left to review, and be sure to do lots of problems (EK has an ample amount) throughout your studying
–that's just my two cents–