Looking for some advice on content review

[scarofkenshin]

I have read everything I found including the reddit sidebar and searching here and r/mcat. Just wanted some advice. I have the following resources:

Updated EK Full Set

TPR Full set, first set that came out with updates ( I think they updated again, but don't think that its updated enough to buy again)

Full Kaplan Set

TBR 2012 Full Set

I have 3 months exactly until my exam. My background knowledge is average. I have debating on which set to use or to mix it up and have read so many conflicting things. I have heard that TBR is too dense for content review, but good for practice questions. I have read that EK is too broad and doesn't give enough details. I was wondering if anyone knows the general consensus of those who did well as far as which resources are optimal ( I know you can use any and do well, just wanted to know if people tend to praise certain books over others)

Was thinking of doing either:

1) the TPR as primary content review, then the usual practice

2) EK as primary content review and finishing faster (since the books are much shorter) which would allow me to do more practice and fill in gaps where it might not be detailed enough (unlike tpr which is more detailed)

But people have also suggested using TBR for Chem/physics content review, pretty confused and have read every advice i could find, would appreciate any advice, thanks!

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[futuremdforme]

What is your goal score? You can do 95th percentile+ with just EK and practice tests. If you find gaps from the practice tests you can fill them in but I don't think it's often necessary.

 

[scarofkenshin]

Woah take it easy there. Read EK, read Kaplan or TPR to fill in the gaps where you're weak. Every one of those is a good choice, and each will tell you everything that you need. Kaplan and TPR contain extraneous information that won't be tested. For instance, knowing the sublclasses of sphingolipids will 99.99% of the time not appear on the MCAT, but Kaplan devotes an entire page to discussing them.

Lol, i know it came off as panicked. The only reason i'm afraid to use EK as my main primary source is because i've read that its too shalow and not descriptive in many areas. I don't want to have to relearn everything after i'm done because it left out too many details. Is this worry not warranted, in other words, EK is sufficient for content review for sure.

 

[scarofkenshin]

What is your goal score? You can do 95th percentile+ with just EK and practice tests. If you find gaps from the practice tests you can fill them in but I don't think it's often necessary.

Goal score is as well as possible. Same question as with the other response if you don't mind: The only reason i'm afraid to use EK as my main primary source is because i've read that its too shallow and not descriptive in many areas. I don't want to have to relearn everything after i'm done because it left out too many details. Is this worry not warranted, in other words, EK is sufficient for content review for sure.

 

[futuremdforme]

Goal score is as well as possible. Same question as with the other response if you don't mind: The only reason i'm afraid to use EK as my main primary source is because i've read that its too shallow and not descriptive in many areas. I don't want to have to relearn everything after i'm done because it left out too many details. Is this worry not warranted, in other words, EK is sufficient for content review for sure.

I took the old MCAT and used EK exclusively (except for verbal, which I think I worked on for a week) and did VERY well, despite being many, many years out of the pre-reqs. My point was that unless you're stuck at 95th percentile and aiming for 99th percentile, EK (or content in general) won't be what holds you back. It's all about test taking skills. I was scoring 70th percentile when I was 25% through my content review, and like I said, that material from prereqs was incredibly stale.

The only caveat: if someone can say that it's different on the new MCAT since I haven't taken it.

 

[scarofkenshin]

Have you taken all of your pre-reqs and did you take them seriously? If you have, I think you will be surprised when you take your first practice exam by how little depth you actually need to score well. The MCAT requires a macroscopic understanding of how systems interact, with relatively few direct-recall questions. Any and all intricate details you need to know will be described in a passage, anything that requires memorization will be covered in EK and won't be incredibly specific. In fact, I'd venture to guess that >50% of the material doesn't appear in any textbook, and the first time you see it is when it's described in a passage. The only reason that you may want to go to the level of detail that Kaplan presents is if you need extra practice to get the memorization down. For instance, right now I am studying menstruation from Kaplan because I'm 2 weeks out from my exam and realized reproduction was a weak point.

My caveat is that I found Kaplan to be very useful for psychology. I've never taken a psychology class in my life, so I found the extra content to be useful; however, the psych book doesn't contain nearly as much extraneous information as the others.

Thanks for the thorough response! I took them, but its been a long while so I've forgotten a lot. I think I'm just going to use EK exclusively for everything except Psych. Do you have any opinion on doing TBR/TPR questions after finishing EK chapters, or do you recommend just sticking with the end of chapter EK questions and save all other practice for when I finish all the content review? Thanks!

 

[aldol16]

Most test prep companies don't differ that much in terms of content review. One book might appear thicker than others because of the way it's formatted, because it has a lot of empty space, or because it has a lot of useless "self-check" quizzes at the end of each section, like Kaplan. The real determinant of how well you do is FLs.

 

[scarofkenshin]

I would generally do the chapter questions for EK one week after I read the chapter, keeps the material in working memory better that way. I'm not sure how TPR/TBR questions are formatted but you might consider doing the same with them

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Thanks so much for all the advice and your time, much appreciated!

 

[scarofkenshin]

Most test prep companies don't differ that much in terms of content review. One book might appear thicker than others because of the way it's formatted, because it has a lot of empty space, or because it has a lot of useless "self-check" quizzes at the end of each section, like Kaplan. The real determinant of how well you do is FLs.

I mean, I don't really agree its cause of format or empty space, TPR has objectively a lot more text than EK, so not really sure why you think this. Its just way more detailed

 

[scarofkenshin]

I took the old MCAT and used EK exclusively (except for verbal, which I think I worked on for a week) and did VERY well, despite being many, many years out of the pre-reqs. My point was that unless you're stuck at 95th percentile and aiming for 99th percentile, EK (or content in general) won't be what holds you back. It's all about test taking skills. I was scoring 70th percentile when I was 25% through my content review, and like I said, that material from prereqs was incredibly stale.

The only caveat: if someone can say that it's different on the new MCAT since I haven't taken it.

Thanks, doubt it has changed much

 

[aldol16]

I mean, I don't really agree its cause of format or empty space, TPR has objectively a lot more text than EK, so not really sure why you think this. Its just way more detailed

People have different ways of saying things. Some people are more long-winded than others. For instance, the Kaplan texts tend to be pretty dense. They don't waste a lot of space of the fluffy words. You'll have to read them to find out, but in terms of content review, most test prep companies will prepare you adequately for the exam. Hence why I would suggest going over FLs as soon as possible.

 

[scarofkenshin]

People have different ways of saying things. Some people are more long-winded than others. For instance, the Kaplan texts tend to be pretty dense. They don't waste a lot of space of the fluffy words. You'll have to read them to find out, but in terms of content review, most test prep companies will prepare you adequately for the exam. Hence why I would suggest going over FLs as soon as possible.

I see, this goes along with what others have said. Since EK is the shortest, it will allow me to start the FLs as soon as i can. Thanks for the advice

 

[arlo]

I'm using Kaplan for content review. While I find Kaplan to do a good job of explaining everything, some topics had way too much information. EK does a great job of including important stuff; however, I find some topics to be lacking. If you have a solid foundation, I think EK is the way to go. If you have a weak foundation or have been out of school for a while like myself, Kaplan does a good job of covering everything. For the more detail-oriented chapters, I've been reading those chapters then make sure to know the points from EK instead of the extra stuff Kaplan adds in.

 

[scarofkenshin]

I'm using Kaplan for content review. While I find Kaplan to do a good job of explaining everything, some topics had way too much information. EK does a great job of including important stuff; however, I find some topics to be lacking. If you have a solid foundation, I think EK is the way to go. If you have a weak foundation or have been out of school for a while like myself, Kaplan does a good job of covering everything. For the more detail-oriented chapters, I've been reading those chapters then make sure to know the points from EK instead of the extra stuff Kaplan adds in.

Thanks for the response, This is different from what others have said so unsure what to believe. My background knowledge is ok but not spectacular, i've forgotten a lot of stuff explained in the later chapters of the books but know a good amount in the earlier chapters. So not really sure if I should take the EK approach or try a more detailed one by kaplan. I was planning on doing EK and just supplementing anything i didn't understand with TPR or online videos such as khan.

 

[arlo]

Thanks for the response, This is different from what others have said so unsure what to believe. My background knowledge is ok but not spectacular, i've forgotten a lot of stuff explained in the later chapters of the books but know a good amount in the earlier chapters. So not really sure if I should take the EK approach or try a more detailed one by kaplan. I was planning on doing EK and just supplementing anything i didn't understand with TPR or online videos such as khan.

I forgot a lot of the content so I found a more detail approach by using Kaplan to be more helpful. For chapters that were very detail oriented, I would reference EK for info I really needed to know. Other details for those chapters, I treated as background info. For high-yield content, I don't think it would hurt to know a bit more to solidify your understand. I would skip Kaplan's Ochem though since Ochem is only a small part of the test and I found the 12 chapters of Ochem in Kaplan to be a bit too much. The ochem section in the EK Chem book covers it nicely on what you have to know.

 

[scarofkenshin]

I forgot a lot of the content so I found a more detail approach by using Kaplan to be more helpful. For chapters that were very detail oriented, I would reference EK for info I really needed to know. Other details for those chapters, I treated as background info. For high-yield content, I don't think it would hurt to know a bit more to solidify your understand. I would skip Kaplan's Ochem though since Ochem is only a small part of the test and I found the 12 chapters of Ochem in Kaplan to be a bit too much. The ochem section in the EK Chem book covers it nicely on what you have to know.

Do you think that if I did EK and finished the content faster, that the extra time I would have would allow me to fill in the details that EK might be missing. Or would you think it would be better to learn it with the details already included such as Kaplan or TPR? Not sure which method is more beneficial

 

[kitkat13]

Do you think that if I did EK and finished the content faster, that the extra time I would have would allow me to fill in the details that EK might be missing. Or would you think it would be better to learn it with the details already included such as Kaplan or TPR? Not sure which method is more beneficial

I think it depends on your learning style.

I learn MUCH better when I have stuff related to the main concept mentioned within that same page and worked out problems. I don't like going over holes later, and feel like I never truly understood that concept in the first place. For me, EK did not work.

 

[arlo]

Do you think that if I did EK and finished the content faster, that the extra time I would have would allow me to fill in the details that EK might be missing. Or would you think it would be better to learn it with the details already included such as Kaplan or TPR? Not sure which method is more beneficial

I agree with what @kitkat13 said. That's how I learn too. I hate going back to fill in the holes. I like to see the big picture as I'm learning. I usually read through the chapter once then go back again a second time and make notes..also when I start filling in holes. I think it really depends on your learning style. It's not like one method is superior over another..it's mainly what works for you.

 

[scarofkenshin]

I think it depends on your learning style.

I learn MUCH better when I have stuff related to the main concept mentioned within that same page and worked out problems. I don't like going over holes later, and feel like I never truly understood that concept in the first place. For me, EK did not work.

Good point, Did you prefer one set of books over others?

 

[kitkat13]

Good point, Did you prefer one set of books over others?

I haven't taken it yet (April) but for my learning style, if I had to start all over again, I would use TBR but Princeton review seems fine for review as well.

 

[scarofkenshin]

I haven't taken it yet (April) but for my learning style, if I had to start all over again, I would use TBR but Princeton review seems fine for review as well.

I see, the constant thing i've heard about TBR is that it is overkill for many topics, not sure how true that is though.

 

[Integrated MCAT Course]

Okay. It's good to be seeking advice at this point, three months out. Three months is not a great deal of time, so you want to be thoughtful about your goals and methods. Ultimately, the main goal is to have a comprehensive, well-structured knowledge-base in the exam ready to perform. A big mistake many folks make is to take whichever big set of materials they choose, divide the pages by the number of weeks before the exam, and grind through with one intense study cycle, mastering each topic as they go. This is like building a neighborhood one house at a time without ever planning the streets or installing utility systems. It's much better to get two or three good cycles through the material for your retention and structure. For this reason, the number of weeks you have makes me lean towards advising that Examkrackers, or maybe Kaplan, should be your primary set. With ExamKrackers, you could take a couple of weeks to read the entire set one time, almost like pleasure reading, learning the table of contents, the bold headings, the main ideas, with the main goal of this cycle to be able to outline the whole knowledge base and give a synopsis of what each topic is about, and you would still have time for six weeks for intensive learning and topic-centered practice with the final month for refinement and full-length practice. Whichever set you choose, you really want to be at a stage several weeks before test-day where you know what every page looks like. Every page should be like a familiar friend. For that you need to see each page many times. Berkeley Review is greatly superior in a number of dimensions (even the old edition), but there is a big danger of spending so much energy tunneling through the mountain that you never get a chance to see what the knowledge-base looks like as a whole, which is where people run into trouble starting late with TBR.

However, a major drawback with Examkrackers is that it is inadequate in biochemistry and molecular biology. For the new exam sophistication in these topics is really important for a good score. You can use TBR to supplement in these areas or a good review series like Linpincott can also be really helpful. For Biochem I'd also recommend you have a back edition of Stryer on hand. With the time you have, you don't want to back-load your content review with the big factually intense topics in the biological sciences (biochemistry, molecular biology, and physiology). Trying to put all that information in your head can overwhelm the last month. For some of these topics, you really have to learn and forget a few times before your brain learns how to remember. In other words, if you choose Examkrackers, I suggest that you supplement with materials tuned at a more sophisticated level in a few areas of biological science and start early with those in parallel.

 

[scarofkenshin]

Okay. It's good to be seeking advice at this point, three months out. Three months is not a great deal of time, so you want to be thoughtful about your goals and methods. Ultimately, the main goal is to have a comprehensive, well-structured knowledge-base in the exam ready to perform. A big mistake many folks make is to take whichever big set of materials they choose, divide the pages by the number of weeks before the exam, and grind through with one intense study cycle, mastering each topic as they go. This is like building a neighborhood one house at a time without ever planning the streets or installing utility systems. It's much better to get two or three good cycles through the material for your retention and structure. For this reason, the number of weeks you have makes me lean towards advising that Examkrackers, or maybe Kaplan, should be your primary set. With ExamKrackers, you could take a couple of weeks to read the entire set one time, almost like pleasure reading, learning the table of contents, the bold headings, the main ideas, with the main goal of this cycle to be able to outline the whole knowledge base and give a synopsis of what each topic is about, and you would still have time for six weeks for intensive learning and topic-centered practice with the final month for refinement and full-length practice. Whichever set you choose, you really want to be at a stage several weeks before test-day where you know what every page looks like. Every page should be like a familiar friend. For that you need to see each page many times. Berkeley Review is greatly superior in a number of dimensions (even the old edition), but there is a big danger of spending so much energy tunneling through the mountain that you never get a chance to see what the knowledge-base looks like as a whole, which is where people run into trouble starting late with TBR.

However, a major drawback with Examkrackers is that it is inadequate in biochemistry and molecular biology. For the new exam sophistication in these topics is really important for a good score. You can use TBR to supplement in these areas or a good review series like Linpincott can also be really helpful. For Biochem I'd also recommend you have a back edition of Stryer on hand. With the time you have, you don't want to back-load your content review with the big factually intense topics in the biological sciences (biochemistry, molecular biology, and physiology). Trying to put all that information in your head can overwhelm the last month. For some of these topics, you really have to learn and forget a few times before your brain learns how to remember. In other words, if you choose Examkrackers, I suggest that you supplement with materials tuned at a more sophisticated level in a few areas of biological science and start early with those in parallel.

Wow, thanks for the thoughtful explanation, much appreciated! I agree with what you say. Do you think that it is useful to do much practice during the reading of the content, or save it for the last read thru or even after completing the content? Is there practice sets you prefer over others? Thanks~!