MCAT study resources question

[fiaseanna]

Hey Everyone. I will be applying for medical school for the next cycle. I am targeting the University of Iowa for medical school. I took the MCAT once. I got a score of 508 with a 129/122/128/129 breakdown. I am planning to retake the MCAT in the spring. For my first trial, I studied Kaplan books and completed practice tests using online question banks. For my second try, I would like to use other online study packages such as BluePrint, Princeton Review, Berkely Review ...

I would like to increase my score for Chem, Bio, Psy sections to 131. My lowest score was from the CARS section. I would like to have a decent score on CARS. English is my second language. I have difficulty finishing the CARS section on time and understanding the passage's main idea.

Which resources would you recommend for me to study? Thanks for the suggestions in advance.

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[Mr.Smile12]

What AAMC resources did you use, including Q-banks, practice tests?

Prepare for the MCAT® Exam

Prepare for the MCAT exam with official test prep resources written by the test developers at the AAMC.

students-residents.aamc.org

Did you try the Khan Academy free course?

Khan Academy

www.khanacademy.org

A Road Map to MCAT® Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills in The Khan Academy MCAT Collection

A free resource created to help you understand and prepare for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) of the MCAT.

students-residents.aamc.org

 

[wysdoc]

Hey Everyone. I will be applying for medical school for the next cycle. I am targeting the University of Iowa for medical school. I took the MCAT once. I got a score of 508 with a 129/122/128/129 breakdown. I am planning to retake the MCAT in the spring. For my first trial, I studied Kaplan books and completed practice tests using online question banks. For my second try, I would like to use other online study packages such as BluePrint, Princeton Review, Berkely Review ...

I would like to increase my score for Chem, Bio, Psy sections to 131. My lowest score was from the CARS section. I would like to have a decent score on CARS. English is my second language. I have difficulty finishing the CARS section on time and understanding the passage's main idea.

Which resources would you recommend for me to study? Thanks for the suggestions in advance.

Berkeley Review books are floating around out there, but they are no longer an active prep company or publishing updated materials
Another fairly affordable practice question source is UWorld

p.s. disclaimer I am not endorsing any particular company

 

[fiaseanna]

What AAMC resources did you use, including Q-banks, practice tests?

Prepare for the MCAT® Exam

Prepare for the MCAT exam with official test prep resources written by the test developers at the AAMC.

students-residents.aamc.org

Did you try the Khan Academy free course?

Khan Academy

www.khanacademy.org

A Road Map to MCAT® Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills in The Khan Academy MCAT Collection

A free resource created to help you understand and prepare for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) of the MCAT.

students-residents.aamc.org

So far I used BluePrint question bank, AAMC FLs, and I watched a few videos from Khan Academy.

 

[Joe Here]

Hey Everyone. I will be applying for medical school for the next cycle. I am targeting the University of Iowa for medical school. I took the MCAT once. I got a score of 508 with a 129/122/128/129 breakdown. I am planning to retake the MCAT in the spring. For my first trial, I studied Kaplan books and completed practice tests using online question banks. For my second try, I would like to use other online study packages such as BluePrint, Princeton Review, Berkely Review ...

I would like to increase my score for Chem, Bio, Psy sections to 131. My lowest score was from the CARS section. I would like to have a decent score on CARS. English is my second language. I have difficulty finishing the CARS section on time and understanding the passage's main idea.

Which resources would you recommend for me to study? Thanks for the suggestions in advance.

If you're a visual learner, try Draw it to Know It for Biochemistry and Physiology. The videos are high-yield and short. They also have short quizzes to test your application. They currently have a one-month free access. Active Learning for the Medical Sciences

 

[JimKimSlim]

Back when I was prepping for MCAT, I used a mix of UWORLD and Kaplan with few AAMC FL’s.

Looks like your CARS score needs the most improvement, which is often the hardest to improve on. IMO, AAMC FL’s is the best source for CARS and really understanding what the exam maker wants you to do (which is different from simply reading the passages, reading questions, and answering to your best abilities).

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Berkeley Review books are floating around out there, but they are no longer an active prep company or publishing updated materials
Another fairly affordable practice question source is UWorld

p.s. disclaimer I am not endorsing any particular company

THIS ^^^

You can find used TBR books fairly cheaply these days. My name declares my bias, but I try my best to be a straight shooter. You will read great things about our chemistry and physics books, mixed things about our biology books, and not very positive comments about our CARS and PS books. Take that for what it's worth, but I think our CP materials are the best kept secret these days. We were the top choice until around 2017 without any advertising for a reason. If you look around, you can probably find 2018 books for under $100.