Relative Difficulty of EK 101 Books

[NapoleonBonaparte]

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[NapoleonBonaparte]

Bump

 

[Lawpy]

The new EK 101 CARS isn’t good because their answers make weird logical jumps that are far more convoluted than AAMC’s answers. The passages are hard but they are good practice for active reading.

The science EK 101 books are good practice for reading research and experimental passages and their difficulty is comparable to the Section Bank. I think doing well on them would help you do well in the sciences in AAMC practice tests and the real deal.

I wouldn’t try to convert raw score to scaled scores because you should use these passages to practice sharpening your reasoning and analysis skills.

 

[NapoleonBonaparte]

Thanks for the insight. Are the section banks harder than actual exam usually? Some of these passages or questions in the Science EK101 books are unexpectedly difficult.

 

[Lawpy]

Thanks for the insight. Are the section banks harder than actual exam usually? Some of these passages or questions in the Science EK101 books are unexpectedly difficult.

Section Bank is generally harder than the AAMC practice tests and the real deal, but you can expect to see some Section Bank-type passages on test day

 

[ExcitatorySynapse]

I second EK 101 being too difficult. I bought their CARS book and it required more logical jumps than the typical MCAT question does, which could set yourself up for a bad habit. If you want to review content more, I suggest the AAMC materials or UWorld.

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

I had the same experience as everyone above with the CARS book and I think it may have caused more damage than it helped. I take the real deal in two weeks so I can't say for sure how they are compared to the actual test, but I've tried nearly every CARS book I think TPR was the most helpful for me. I never looked at EK sciences because didn't need to. I used something else that was excellent.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Section Bank is generally harder than the AAMC practice tests and the real deal, but you can expect to see some Section Bank-type passages on test day

Yeah but there is always the chance of getting an SB type section. My b/b section on the real deal was essentially the biochem SB with nothing but biochem passages.

In fact, even c/p was like that but it was mostly physics passages. Like 60%.

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

Yeah but there is always the chance of getting an SB type section. My b/b section on the real deal was essentially the biochem SB with nothing but biochem passages.

In fact, even c/p was like that but it was mostly physics passages. Like 60%.

^same^

 

[PickleRickelus]

EK 101 practice passages in the sciences were more difficult than the real thing. If you're actually doing well on it then I think you are in good shape. I second everyone's opinion on CARS though. I cannot say that it helped me prepare more than the resources on Kaplan or AAMC. while you're at it I would suggest subscribing to the New Yorker and/or the Economist. Read the articles everyday under timed conditions and write the main theme.