Please Help (which study guide to choose)!!

[DOPharmMD]

I'm officially planning to prepare for the MCAT (that intellectual beast) a year in advance!! I plan to take the MCAT either in January or April 08. I bought the New MCAT from Kaplan (2007). However, I just discovered ExamKrackers (EK), the new colorful (with graphics) book (2006). According to many reviewers, medical students, EK is more representative of the MCAT and only teaches just what is needed (as opposed to the Kaplan). I have the Kaplan and I can tell you it is a lot of information and I might as well have used my textbooks. I'm looking for review books, not as a shortcut to the MCAT, but condensed books that will tell me just what I need to know for the MCAT. I just got my Kaplan book almost two weeks ago today, should I return it? I want to start preparing (while my motivation lasts) for the MCAT. I am a huge procrastinator, and this is just one thing I will not gamble with.

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[GreyBlueEyes]

this is something i've wondered about, too. i've also wondered if someone who is good at studying alone and teaching themselves would do well enough studying for the MCAT on their own, or if the spendy Kaplan courses are really worth it.

 

[123165]

Meh, I have actually heard you can start studying too early, don't know if that is true though. Perhaps you can start to forget. If you really have the time I would consider going over all the materials, then when it gets close take a test prep. A big key in studying is taking practice exams as well. If you think you can be disciplined enough to study at home, then do it. Plenty of people have.

I have heard very good things about Examkrackers as well.

 

[cbd]

I liked EK, but I used Princeton a little bit too. I liked listening to the EK lessons on my IPOD- pretty helpful.

I did only get a 32, but my practice tests were more like 35....
My first diagnostic was something like a 28 (half length).

Make a schedule and stick to it- I started in Jan. for the April exam. Cover the material at least once- then leave 1 month for review and catch-up (if possible). The practice exams are a must- I bought them online and printed them out. I think I took 4 or 5.... Be sure to take them in a real testing environment!

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[thedelicatessen]

Even though the MCAT is now computer based, I doubt the current Kaplan book is going to be that much different from past books. I'm sure any pertinent info on the new format can be found online. I used a 1-year-old Kaplan review book and EK 1001 books to study for the MCAT, and that combo was pretty good. Kaplan is informative on a broad level, but EK seems to be more specific.

As to studying independently, I think as long as you can buckle down and study the material, you don't necessarily need an expensive review course. The main contributor to success is your own drive to succeed. I studied on my own, saved my money, and things have turned out just fine. Good luck!

 

[DF38]

This really belongs in the MCAT forum, but I took the Kaplan class and used the EK books, and I found the EK books to be vastly more useful than the Kaplan materials. As far as I know, they're not changing the material on the MCAT, just the format and timing, so for learning the materials I would highly recommend EK.

 

[JennyB]

I think the most useful thing in preparing for the MCAT is to do practice tests. I read through the Princeton Review books and made notes, and studied the notes every few days. I also listened to Audio Osmosis on my way to work. I would recommend getting the Exam Krackers 10 Verbal tests or whatever it's called. That definitely helped boost my score. For PS and BS, I would read through any MCAT review book and write notes so you can look over them later. And of course, do lots of practice questions. I didn't like the 1001 practice questions book from EK because they seemed too basic and repetitive (ex: ten very similar questions on chem nomenclature). Plus, they weren't in MCAT form, so only stand alone questions that I didn't every see on actual practice tests. I thought the practice questions from Princeton Review were helpful, but the practice tests were probably the most beneficial. I got a 34Q (up from a 28O), so I think I was pretty successful at studying.

 

[polycon7]

I 😍 salty