Old books for the new mcat 2015

[Katy1213]

Hello,
Are the old mcat books worth it for a content review to study for 2015 mcat .. Only for the chem,orgo,physics,and biology ? My cousin he took the mcat last year and he is giving me all his 'Berkeley Review' books for free. I asked one of my professors and he told me it should be fine but no one knows for sure .. Anyone knows ?
Thank you

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[dyspareunia]

Nobody knows because nobody has taken the MCAT yet.

 

[s5260205]

Given the trial section of June 2013 MCAT I took, I would say old MCAT books are insufficient to properly prepare you for the exam. The trial section was similar in format (i.e. passage) but was entirely on sociology/psychology. I remembered some of the questions even specifically asked about Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

 

[Katy1213]

Given the trial section of June 2013 MCAT I took, I would say old MCAT books are insufficient to properly prepare you for the exam. The trial section was similar in format (i.e. passage) but was entirely on sociology/psychology. I remembered some of the questions even specifically asked about Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Ok thank you . I thought I might study from them only for chem/orgo/bio and physics. I'll purchase new books .

 

[Muffinho]

At the very least, you'll need biochem, soc and psych books.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

I took the trial section also and atleast for my questions I knew zero of the content that was covered. It was very confusing. I ended up getting 25% of the questions right. I should have done that by randomly guessing.

 

[Hybridezed29er]

I expressed the same concern with the advisors at my school. They said the old books ("current through spring") canbe useful, but I wasn't really satisfied with that answer. So this is what I answered back:

As one of the first students taking the new MCAT, I want to have every bases covered and I want to make no mistakes. I also want to abstain from wasting time, money, or missing important information. Therefore, with all due respect, I would like to be certain that the books I own, the ones you refer to as current, have more than just the potential of being useful. I understand I will have to purchase the materials covering the humanities section, but will the 2014 science books (chem, bio, orgo) be commensurate with the 2015 science books? Would you endorse making a 5-month study plan with them? According to the 2009 MR5 report (the report that gave rise to the 2015 MCAT), certain sections such as general chemistry and physics scored below average on an importance rating, thus making me believe that questions on those topics will become less pronounced or perhaps altered in some way. Even more concerning, the AAMC and Exam Krackers have not mentioned anything regarding using old books or buying new ones. This is why I am concerned.

What do you guys think??? Any thoughts?

 

[MetricSystem]

 

[Azmah]

Hello,
Are the old mcat books worth it for a content review to study for 2015 mcat .. Only for the chem,orgo,physics,and biology ? My cousin he took the mcat last year and he is giving me all his 'Berkeley Review' books for free. I asked one of my professors and he told me it should be fine but no one knows for sure .. Anyone knows ?
Thank you

I think the books should be ok for just those subjects that you mentioned. But there are going to be other sections as you probably know, not sure how you can really study for those.

 

[DocWinter]

For bio, physics, ochem and chem, there is consensus that the material remains very similar.
However, the key to doing well on the MCAT is to understand the exam itself, not just the material.