NextStep 108 CARS practice book

[DesitnationMD]

I wanted more CARS practice but didn't need any more full lengths. My EK 101 is running low b/c I am not doing any of the Nat Sci passages.

On Amazon I found Nextstep has come out with a new CARS only practice book. " MCAT Verbal Practice:" The title says 108 passages and if accurate that's 12 sections of CARs only. Seems like a good fit, anyone here purchase it yet? I'm thinking of getting it b/c I need it and <$40 for what amounts to so much practice is a good deal.

I like the NS CARS strategy and practice book but sometimes I wanted more explanations for the wrong answers in the passages. Are there more explanations in this new 108 book? Feedback is much appreciated.

23 days to go!!!!!!!

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[rraidermd]

I wanted more CARS practice but didn't need any more full lengths. My EK 101 is running low b/c I am not doing any of the Nat Sci passages.

On Amazon I found Nextstep has come out with a new CARS only practice book. " MCAT Verbal Practice:" The title says 108 passages and if accurate that's 12 sections of CARs only. Seems like a good fit, anyone here purchase it yet? I'm thinking of getting it b/c I need it and <$40 for what amounts to so much practice is a good deal.

I like the NS CARS strategy and practice book but sometimes I wanted more explanations for the wrong answers in the passages. Are there more explanations in this new 108 book? Feedback is much appreciated.

23 days to go!!!!!!!

They have it on sale on amazon for $22 until June or July I can't remember. I bought it but I haven't used it yet but I'll be in contact with mcatjelly so she can add to her compilations after I finish the book.

 

[yjj8817]

Is this book different from he strategy and practice book? In terms of passages?

 

[chemiosmosis11]

Hey, I got the book (108 passages). I'll give a small review.

Typically, on aamc and exam kracker stuff I usually score around 10-11 (more on the 11 side) with a hiccup of a 12 or a 9 every 10 tests or so. I just did one verbal test from the next step 108 passages, and to put it simply, it's a mixed bag. I got a 8 (125) on it, but the score was what I was more or less feeling after I wrote it.

The positives:
-Great passages. A bit on the harder to read side (a bit harder than TPRHyperlearning), but I feel this is necessary considering what people have been saying about the new CARS section. The difficulty of reading and understanding some of these passages probably led to my lower score, but I know that practicing to comprehend these passages will be to my benefit.
- Questions are aamc like, but there are some curveballs that I've never seen aamc ever ask. Maybe this is in the new CARS?
-Some of the answers really reflect aamc logic, whereas others are kinda just meh and others are just...well I'll talk about that in the next point in the negatives.

The negatives:
-The answer choices can sometimes be VERY poorly worded and vague. Even after reading the explanations, you kinda go "huh, well wait a second...". I usually disagree with an answer choice on EK stuff for 1 or 2 questions for every full length, but on this test I disagreed with approximately 3-4 answers with some others still not being too clear. For aamc stuff, there is a very clear right and wrong answer.
-Format of the book can be disorienting....it's pretty clear that little effort was put into this department. However, having a passage and its questions right beside it without having to turn a page is extremely appreciated and helpful.

Overall, not as good as EK101 or aamc stuff, but it's still not bad. I would put it on par with TPR stuff, and thus:
AAMC>EK101>>TPR hyperlearning/nextstep 108

Nextstep 108 definitely has better questions than TPRH (TPRH questions are wayyyy too easy), but TPRH answers are very clear cut.

 

[aalamruad]

just-decided-on-my-MCAT-testing-date-SUPERBUMP

 

[TheHound]

Avoid this book - seriously stinks. The passages are too dense for what's seen on actual AAMC CARs. EK and TPR are much better imo.

 

[theonlytycrane]

Avoid this book - seriously stinks. The passages are too dense for what's seen on actual AAMC CARs. EK and TPR are much better imo.

Actually, I encourage you to at least practice some from this book to be able to cut through mind-numbing passages.

 

[TheHound]

Actually, I encourage you to at least practice some from this book to be able to cut through mind-numbing passages.

I've done more than half of it and that's the mentality I use every time. But with test day approaching it's probably best to use more representative material like EK or probably actual AAMC passages. Did you find the book helpful?

 

[theonlytycrane]

I've done more than half of it and that's the mentality I use every time. But with test day approaching it's probably best to use more representative material like EK or probably actual AAMC passages. Did you find the book helpful?

Yeah I did, but I totally know where you're coming from. The passages are fairly dense, but keep grinding away with it. If you can chug through those passages, dense stuff won't seem as scary. Remember to stick to the details of the passage as much as possible. Mix in other materials, but if you go with only easier passages, you will be more overwhelmed by dense stuff on the test. After doing 108 NS passages, I never really think "oh **** this passage is scary!" anymore. They all just start sounding the same.

Have you done the AAMC q-packs?

 

[TheHound]

Yeah I did, but I totally know where you're coming from. The passages are fairly dense, but keep grinding away with it. If you can chug through those passages, dense stuff won't seem as scary. Remember to stick to the details of the passage as much as possible. Mix in other materials, but if you go with only easier passages, you will be more overwhelmed by dense stuff on the test. After doing 108 NS passages, I never really think "oh **** this passage is scary!" anymore. They all just start sounding the same.

Have you done the AAMC q-packs?

I agree. But getting a score of 35/53 is quite annoying lol. Not yet. I have about 20 days to my test so I will get to those soon. I did the Official Guide questions and did well on those (87%).

 

[andelJ94]

I love the fact that it's so tough. I wanted to supplement my AAMC CARS tests and this has worked out well. I agree some of the answers are like "huh, ok if you say so" but I have the same experience when looking at the AAMC questions too.

Think of this book like a worst-case-scenario. By training on 12 tougher than average sections for the next few months, I figure that by the time I take my real exam, the real CARS will seem like a cakewalk. I would rank this as the best resource I have for my prep (I suck @ CARS) since I am good on science and I really need help with reading skills. Most of the other CARS stuff I looked at was not as dense or as up-to-date for the exam.

The low scores are a learning opportunity, it's just a practice test. I like the explanations from nextstep overall. Much better than 95% of other cars material, save for the aamc.

How does the new CARS compare to the old CARS from AAMC? I am looking to get the old pre-2015 mcat's to do their verbal sections. I know the aamc did a lot of recycling of old material, did they do the same for verbal?

@TheHound have you taken the AAMC Q packs? I read they are just old AAMC stuff you can find for free elsewhere. You have any experience with it?

 

[TheHound]

I love the fact that it's so tough. I wanted to supplement my AAMC CARS tests and this has worked out well. I agree some of the answers are like "huh, ok if you say so" but I have the same experience when looking at the AAMC questions too.

Think of this book like a worst-case-scenario. By training on 12 tougher than average sections for the next few months, I figure that by the time I take my real exam, the real CARS will seem like a cakewalk. I would rank this as the best resource I have for my prep (I suck @ CARS) since I am good on science and I really need help with reading skills. Most of the other CARS stuff I looked at was not as dense or as up-to-date for the exam.

The low scores are a learning opportunity, it's just a practice test. I like the explanations from nextstep overall. Much better than 95% of other cars material, save for the aamc.

How does the new CARS compare to the old CARS from AAMC? I am looking to get the old pre-2015 mcat's to do their verbal sections. I know the aamc did a lot of recycling of old material, did they do the same for verbal?

@TheHound have you taken the AAMC Q packs? I read they are just old AAMC stuff you can find for free elsewhere. You have any experience with it?

Yes they did. I just started going through it and the first 7 or so passages are definitely from old AAMC tests. I hope that's no the case with volume 2 as well... -.-

Edit: I just checked volume 2, and the first 2 passages are also from old AAMC tests. Kind of disappointed about that

 

[andelJ94]

Yes they did. I just started going through it and the first 7 or so passages are definitely from old AAMC tests. I hope that's no the case with volume 2 as well... -.-

Edit: I just checked volume 2, and the first 2 passages are also from old AAMC tests. Kind of disappointed about that

Dang. that sucks. I guess the AAMC are not so "non-profit" after all. I'll keep using the NS 108 book and then switch out to the old AAMC VR sections closer to my test.