Starting to study for MCAT

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

ggrievous2005

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
I'm pretty clueless as to the resources available for MCAT preparation, especially since the changes that have been made. I'd appreciate if those that have taken the MCAT could advise as based on their experience which resources have been most valuable. For example, getting a Princeton Review vs a Kaplan review book. I've also heard of TBR but not quite sure what that is. I'd appreciate any help or resources you can direct me to. Thanks

Members don't see this ad.
 
There are actually quite a few great resources for the new test! Here's my (as unbiased as possible) summary. Of course, it's not as comprehensive as the list above, just a quick reference. I'd be happy to hear others chime in with what's been most helpful for them!

Free OR "officially sanctioned" materials - use these as much as you can:

Khan Academy passages and videos
Official AAMC Sample Test
AAMC QPacks (some is taken from old AAMCs and self-assessments, but as AAMC materials, you can't possibly go wrong)
AAMC Official Guide (both hard-copy and online, contains some passages as well as lots of general info)

Paid resources from companies:

Kaplan's 7-book MCAT Review - comes with 3 online practice tests
Princeton Review's MCAT subject review for 2015
EK 9th edition, EK practice tests
TBR is (The) Berkeley Review - content books and tests
Next Step - content, strategy books and tests

I might have forgotten some (didn't mean to!). Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I used a set of Exam Kracker books for content review and felt like they did a really good job of summarizing topics and concepts, would highly recommend those. I also used Khan academy videos to review (and sometimes just flat-out learn) things I didn't understand while going through the EK books.

Regarding practice exams, I ended up taking 5 NextStep (plus a half-length), 3 TPR, 1 Kaplan, 1 EK, and the AAMC Full length, Official Guide, and question packs. Definitely take advantage of the AAMC things if you have the time, these were by FAR the most similar to the real thing. The other exams I used mainly for content review and boosting my mental endurance. Don't pay too much attention to your actual scores on these, Kaplan and TPR both tend to really undershoot scores, and NS does a little too. You'll more than likely be disappointed if you try to get your target MCAT score on these practice exams. Try to focus on improving your scores instead.

As far as buying and pricing...
-The best deal I saw was here, from TPR , where they give you a review book and 3 FL's for a little over 20$. These exams were okay, I felt they were harder than the real thing, but 3 FL's for 20$ is an amazing deal.
-Kaplan also has a good deal here, where you get a book and a practice FL for ~20$. Kaplan is also very difficult, but again, good deal.
-EK is usually regarded as the most similar to the AAMC material, although their exams are expensive (50$/exam). I only bought one of these, but felt it was worth the money.
-The bulk of my FL's came from NextStep, where they give you 5 for I think 125$. These exams were very good, and I definitely felt like I got my money's worth. They also have a free 1/2 length diagnostic, which is cool.

I haven't gotten my score back yet, but based on my AAMC practice exam I'm predicted somewhere around 516-519, if that gives any credence to my thoughts. Good luck OP!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
There are actually quite a few great resources for the new test! Here's my (as unbiased as possible) summary. Of course, it's not as comprehensive as the list above, just a quick reference. I'd be happy to hear others chime in with what's been most helpful for them!

Free OR "officially sanctioned" materials - use these as much as you can:

Khan Academy passages and videos
Official AAMC Sample Test
AAMC QPacks (some is taken from old AAMCs and self-assessments, but as AAMC materials, you can't possibly go wrong)
AAMC Official Guide (both hard-copy and online, contains some passages as well as lots of general info)

Paid resources from companies:

Kaplan's 7-book MCAT Review - comes with 3 online practice tests
Princeton Review's MCAT subject review for 2015
EK 9th edition, EK practice tests
TBR is (The) Berkeley Review - content books and tests
Next Step - content, strategy books and tests

I might have forgotten some (didn't mean to!). Hope this helps. Good luck!
No worries appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.
 
I used a set of Exam Kracker books for content review and felt like they did a really good job of summarizing topics and concepts, would highly recommend those. I also used Khan academy videos to review (and sometimes just flat-out learn) things I didn't understand while going through the EK books.

Regarding practice exams, I ended up taking 5 NextStep (plus a half-length), 3 TPR, 1 Kaplan, 1 EK, and the AAMC Full length, Official Guide, and question packs. Definitely take advantage of the AAMC things if you have the time, these were by FAR the most similar to the real thing. The other exams I used mainly for content review and boosting my mental endurance. Don't pay too much attention to your actual scores on these, Kaplan and TPR both tend to really undershoot scores, and NS does a little too. You'll more than likely be disappointed if you try to get your target MCAT score on these practice exams. Try to focus on improving your scores instead.

As far as buying and pricing...
-The best deal I saw was here, from TPR , where they give you a review book and 3 FL's for a little over 20$. These exams were okay, I felt they were harder than the real thing, but 3 FL's for 20$ is an amazing deal.
-Kaplan also has a good deal here, where you get a book and a practice FL for ~20$. Kaplan is also very difficult, but again, good deal.
-EK is usually regarded as the most similar to the AAMC material, although their exams are expensive (50$/exam). I only bought one of these, but felt it was worth the money.
-The bulk of my FL's came from NextStep, where they give you 5 for I think 125$. These exams were very good, and I definitely felt like I got my money's worth. They also have a free 1/2 length diagnostic, which is cool.

I haven't gotten my score back yet, but based on my AAMC practice exam I'm predicted somewhere around 516-519, if that gives any credence to my thoughts. Good luck OP!
Thanks a lot I really appreciate it.
 
Top