Retakers - what materials did you use?

[sintheta]

I'm thinking of retaking in April '06 since my score isn't high enough for most mstp programs...but the prospect of studying for the damn test again makes me shudder. I didn't take a course the first time around and I don't think I can afford to this time either. So retakers, what materials did you use? Did you just do the AAMC Tests all over again? Did you buy more prep book? How did you stay motivated to study for it all over again? Part of me wants to retake and then part of me is like "just aim lower"... Thanks everyone

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Lebowski1000]

Good for you- those review classes give you a false sense of security, in my opinion, and you don't need to take one to do well on the MCAT. My story is proof of this. I took the April 2005 exam, after doing TPR, then re-took in August after studying alone with my school textbooks and the EK 1001 Chem, Physics, and Verbal books. I also took AAMC exams 3R, 6R, 7R, and 8 since I hadn't taken them with TPR. My score went up seven points from April to August.

In my opinion, reading the original, heavy, hard-covered textbooks is the only way to gain the deep level of understanding that the MCAT requires. The EK 1001 books are good because the questions are very conceptual, and they are a good way to gauge if you really understand a concept, like the difference between inertia and weight, or if you just know how to apply formulas.

This all being said, if you don't want to take the exam again, my advice to you is don't. You'll be miserable if you get a lower score. I told myself before the re-take in August that this would be my last MCAT, and no matter what my score was, I would accept it and work from there.

 

[sintheta]

thanks lebowski. i didn't take a prep course the first time around, so should i just buy more prep books & the original textbooks? i dunno abt the original textbooks though b/c that's something ek for example really advises against

 

[Crazy Canuck]

thanks lebowski. i didn't take a prep course the first time around, so should i just buy more prep books & the original textbooks? i dunno abt the original textbooks though b/c that's something ek for example really advises against

Although I had textbooks that covered MCAT topics, I didn't open them once. I took TPR's classroom course twice and I found their books covered the science material reasonably well. I did fine on the science and writing sections the first time, but verbal was my weakness. So, I bought the EK 101 passages and that helped immensely.
If you can get your hands on TPR's classroom course books, then you don't really need to take the course. I also highly recommend the EK 101 verbal passages book, it helped me lots! Good luck