MCAT Book Revisions

[Southern_Weather]

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Dear SDN,
I realize there are quite a few threads pertaining to MCAT 2015 test prep material. From what I've read, the new TPR books have quite a few typos and errors and I'm sure the other companies that have released material have their flaws as well. I was curious as to how often companies revise and update their books. I'm wanting to go ahead and purchase a set but am willing to wait if revisions come soon; how long should be expected? Also, I read that Kaplan's books (aside from their new biochem and behavioral sciences books) are basically exactly the same as they were for the 'old' MCAT, did they at least remove the stuff that will no longer be on the new MCAT? I'm okay with it being the same as the old as long as I'm not studying material that won't be on the test.

Thank you

 

[Prettywoman0172]

It looks like Kaplan already has a 2016 set for preorder. Why?

 

[Southern_Weather]

It looks like Kaplan already has a 2016 set for preorder. Why?

My original post states why I am looking for this; I was hoping a newer set would be edited more carefully and not contain as many errors. Thank you for letting me know.

Does anyone know if their (Kaplan) current set of books for 2015 ( their physics, chemistries, and biology) have been edited to remove content not on the new MCAT?

 

[Prettywoman0172]

I meant 'why' as in why would they already have a 2016 edition. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me :-/

 

[Southern_Weather]

I meant 'why' as in why would they already have a 2016 edition. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me :-/

I guess I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to how revisions work. I figured that the frequency of them was dependent upon the substantiality of the errors contained within them. I've read of some of the companies have errors greater than just typos such as incorrect equations; I thought that would warrant a sooner revision but I guess annual makes more sense.

 

[Prettywoman0172]

My take on it is that no one knows what is going on and the publishers are rushing in order to keep making money. I read that the first round of books were published before the companies sawthe new content outlines.

 

[Southern_Weather]

My take on it is that no one knows what is going on and the publishers are rushing in order to keep making money. I read that the first round of books were published before the companies sawthe new content outlines.

That's what I've gathered as well. In which case, what would you recommend be used to study if someone wanted to take the MCAT this summer? Basically we'd have to gamble on one of the companies and hope they got it right.

 

[Prettywoman0172]

I'm using the AAMC outline and resources, Khan Academy, the old books from TPR, TBR, and Kaplan, Kaplan's new Behavioral Science and Biochemistry books...and I am hoping for the best.

 

[Southern_Weather]

Pretty much what I was going to do. Just use my old Kaplan books, get their new Biochem and Behavioral Sciences books and use Khan Academy.

I have read that Khan Academy's MCAT videos have quite a bit of extra 'stuff' that won't be on the MCAT and is unnecessary for anyone trying to focus strictly on testable material. What is your take on that?

 

[Prettywoman0172]

I think it is very detailed...and yes,,there is a lot of stuff. But remember, the AAMC partnered with Khan to create these videos. I think that students who are not paying close attention and studying, umm, everything are going to get hosed.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

My take on it is that no one knows what is going on and the publishers are rushing in order to keep making money. I read that the first round of books were published before the companies sawthe new content outlines.

THIS!!!

We (TBR) have been getting some grief for a while now because of our slow revision process and lack of a "2015" printed on our covers. But I tend to think you are 100% correct with what you said. Based on the last major change to the MCAT (in 1991), it's fairly predictable how this will go down. The MCAT students will take in 2015 will be different from what is out there in 2016 and 2017. It's a moving target, and I will venture to guess that the practice passages that have been released to date will be much like AAMC Practice Exam 1 from 1990, which was formatted the right way, but ended up being outdated rather quickly.

Our books have been changed a little with each printing over the past two years, but the truth is that while they are close to being 2015 ready (I feel our books are closer than any books on the market), it's an inexact science given how little there is to go by. Our approach and tricks and techniques will be highly beneficial and our passages will be great at developing skills and mixing topics, but no matter what, the new MCAT is going to catch everyone by surprise with some passages. Our advice to students is to over-prepare and know details, especially for the stand-alone questions.

It's ironic that the complaints about the details from before are now the biggest pluses in our books. We'll be revising them at least twice a year over the next two years.

For now, if I were a student, I'd be all over Khan videos for the new section, because the people at AMC have been touting them and you can guess two things are true. First, they want to promote their Kahn videos, so it's in their interest to make the test with that in mind. Second, the people they hired to write passages could very well come from the same pool of people used to make the Kahn videos.

 

[Prettywoman0172]

@BerkReviewTeach - Thank you so much for the above post. After seeing it I went through the old copies of your books that someone gave me last semester and found those biochem topics you described in your post to fit the AAMC outline better than the Kaplan book I spent $40 on. There are relevant passages in there, too. So thank you again for taking the time to say all of this.

 

[mw5teach]

I heard that the next step materials have stopped printing because of errors, but are available for purchase again on Feb 5 after corrections are made.

Every test prep company seems to be making errors.