MCAT books

[psrai85]

Hey guys,

I'm taking my MCAT this summer and hoping to score close to 40. I have started studying for it and i'm taking summer off to just study for MCAT. i just need help in which books to buy since there is so many:

1) Examcrackers 5 vol package
2) 101 verbal passages by examkrackers
3) 1001 biology questions by examkrackers

4) Priceton review course books from a friend

5) Kaplan review course books from a friend
6) Kaplan comprehensive review


So far i have a book called "GOld standard MCAT", its really good.

Pleas provide all teh combinations possible, I have 4 months to study and i want 40.

Thanks a lot

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[Arsenic]

check out this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=46880

its our "30+" thread. its a breakdown of how people studied and what books they used, written by people who all scored a 30 or above. that might help give you an idea. good luck!

 

[Anastasis]

Hey guys,

I'm taking my MCAT this summer and hoping to score close to 40. I have started studying for it and i'm taking summer off to just study for MCAT. i just need help in which books to buy since there is so many:

1) Examcrackers 5 vol package
2) 101 verbal passages by examkrackers
3) 1001 biology questions by examkrackers

4) Priceton review course books from a friend

5) Kaplan review course books from a friend
6) Kaplan comprehensive review


So far i have a book called "GOld standard MCAT", its really good.

Pleas provide all teh combinations possible, I have 4 months to study and i want 40.

Thanks a lot

Damn. I forsee lots of hard work in your future! Good luck!

 

[psrai85]

Ha, thanks......everyone seems to be using kaplan but i though examcrackers was better????

 

[Anastasis]

I guess it's all personal preference. I like EK better personally, but then I think to get a score that high you really need to know every minute detail. Some of the other prep books may be better for that. I would suggest going to a Barnes and Noble and reading a bit in each to see which you prefer.

 

[psrai85]

I'm thinking or getting EK review 6th edition, EK 1001 biology questions and 101 verybal passages from EK.

I also have Gold standard MCAT book by Ferdinand and i'm going to do the AAMC test as well

I want to do really well and study 8 hrs a day with a day off for summer. So i wanted to cover as much as i can and do it properly.

Any more recommendations or tips???

Thank you very much for everyone's help

 

[psrai85]

Does anyone know what the latest edition for tehse books is? Amazon is preety bad in their description

a) 1001 biology questions
b) 101 verbal passages

They are both by EK, oh and if anyone is selling their princeton books please let me know

 

[DrBowtie]

I'm thinking or getting EK review 6th edition, EK 1001 biology questions and 101 verybal passages from EK.

I also have Gold standard MCAT book by Ferdinand and i'm going to do the AAMC test as well

I want to do really well and study 8 hrs a day with a day off for summer. So i wanted to cover as much as i can and do it properly.

Any more recommendations or tips???

Thank you very much for everyone's help

Im not sure there is enough material for 8 hours a day for the summer.

 

[psrai85]

Im not sure there is enough material for 8 hours a day for the summer.

Ha, sry i forgot...i'm also studying the TPR course books from a friend. I mean't i want to study a lot, not necessarily 8 hrs every day.

My GPA isn't what i'd like it to be, because of unavoidable reasons so i have no choice but to try and get close to high 30's

 

[DrBowtie]

I think a major key is to make sure you are peaking at the right time. If you start to feel burnt out take a few days off.

 

[PRamos]

There is such a thing as TOO MUCH material. Using multiple books will prove to be redundant and you'll end up wasting time. I know I went through too many books (but I had the take the test a second time). Having been through most of the materials, I would recommend a combination of BR books (for passages and a definitive answer to anything you need) and EK textbooks (for a quick gloss over). EK helps to quickly review concepts and BR books have the best passages and answer explanations. You can get them all on eBay much cheaper than Barnes and Noble. I wouldn't waste money on the audio osmosis, because I couldn't focus when using them. I tried them while driving and it just didn't work. They may be useful to some people, but I didn't get much out of them. But I was taking a course with great teachers, which made the audio osmosis a mute point.

 

[sscooterguy]

You are very ambitious. I wonder why you want to score 40? I'm know for a fact that admission committees will be wowed by a 40. However, they will have the exact same reaction to a 36, 35, even 34. If you are trying to make up for low grades, I don't think a 40 will erase anything that a 35 can't. I got a 35, and I got into the same caliber schools as my two friends who scored 39. In any case, mcat is not only how hard you work, how well it jives with your study habits, but also your potential. Go ahead and shoot for 40, I hope you have it in you, but don't be disappointed with "only" something that starts with a 3.

sscooterguy

 

[Mr. Tee]

You are very ambitious. I wonder why you want to score 40? I'm know for a fact that admission committees will be wowed by a 40. However, they will have the exact same reaction to a 36, 35, even 34. If you are trying to make up for low grades, I don't think a 40 will erase anything that a 35 can't. I got a 35, and I got into the same caliber schools as my two friends who scored 39. In any case, mcat is not only how hard you work, how well it jives with your study habits, but also your potential. Go ahead and shoot for 40, I hope you have it in you, but don't be disappointed with "only" something that starts with a 3.

sscooterguy

Another thing to consider is that if you shoot for a 40, things can conceivably go bad during test day but you will still end up for a 35+. Taking this into account, it's not a bad idea to incorporate a "protection" mechanism, if you will.

 

[physiclas87]

I think a major key is to make sure you are peaking at the right time. If you start to feel burnt out take a few days off.

I have never understood the "peak" principle. Has anyone "peaked" before in their studies? Do you aim to "peak" in April or August?

In my opinion, you can "peak" early and keep it stabalized there as long as you are constantly reviewing.

 

[DrBowtie]

Have you ever had the feeling that something is just clicking right?

There is only so many times you can look at the functions of organelles until you drive yourself crazy.

 

[physiclas87]

Have you ever had the feeling that something is just clicking right?

Of course.

[/QUOTE]There is only so many times you can look at the functions of organelles until you drive yourself crazy.[/QUOTE]

No, you can look at the functions of the organelles as many times as you want until you have them memorized. You don't just forget something if you review continually.

 

[psrai85]

Thanks everyone for yur help. I've got most of my books and starting soon. I'm just aiming for 40, but i guess anything above 35 will be good. Will inform when i get my scores.