Study materials on top of Kaplan course

[minutemen11]

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Hey guys,

I'm currently taking the kaplan mcat class and after reading all the poor reviews about kaplans content (especially the verbal "strategies", that ill be honest definitely is a joke). I am considering getting the EK 1001 series, have you guys actually found them to be helpful? I know practice makes perfect but if the EK series isnt going to significantly help me then its not worth it. I have a TPR mcat review book and my sisters really old Gold Standard mcat book from 2002 on top of all the kaplan books from the course. I am got a 27 on the first FL for kaplan (10 PS, 8VR, 9 BS). My verbal needs improvement but for me its just a matter of concentrating on exactly what the question is asking. My target is a 36....

 

[Doodl3s]

But the complete EK set and the EK 101 book. I personally didnt buy the 1001 books cause, the kaplan class is actually alot of hw and workshops and stuff outside of class. Get the EK books to review each science topic on your own (its good to do it alongside whatever the kaplan class is doing!) As far as learning what the question is asking, Kaplan actually has a pretty good class dedicated to learning question types and how to answer them... ex. deduction, inference, etc...
They're strategy though as everyone says is bullshyt, the one for taking notes and mapping. But if you're having question specific issue kaplan isnt terrible.

 

[chicago88]

from personal experience, it really depends on you. the mcat comes a lot more naturally to some than others. and a lot of people need to do a lot less content review than others either because the information is more fresh in their minds or because they can just grasp it a lot more quicker and draw necessary connections without spending hours with their nose in the books.

so, many people are very fond of kaplan and believe it is the only tool you need to use. 😛

on the other hand, for those of us to who this test does not come as naturally, as myself, i'd say that kaplan is not enough. it's not that they don't ultimately give you all the necessary information, but you need to dig a lot of it out by doing all those online problems and finding the little hints and tricks on your own. a lot of these other test makers teach you the tricks and hints directly. the fact of the matter is that the mcat does indeed test many of the tricks and exceptions to the general rule instead of just testing it in a straight forward manner.

so you need to evaluate how much time you have left and how well you have taken advantage of kaplan thus far. it is not good to switch sources midway unless you have exhausted kaplan and still don't feel prepared. that being said, only if your time and $ really permits, i would pick up examkrackers both 1001 and the textbooks just because they offer tons of practice materials and they do teach a lot of tricks and what not (but this is why i reiterate make sure you've fully finished kaplan, because these books are not enough on their own and you do need kaplan for more thorough explanations a lot of the time).

i've heard the berkeley review is great for phys/chem, i'm not speaking for personal experience but those books are on the way to me.

and this is my experience as a retaker....

 

[chicago88]

and as far as kaplan, like the previous poster said, really use ALL their resources. their is tons of online material that i feel many people overlook, and there is where all the real practice is at. don't just stick to the books.

 

[minutemen11]

and as far as kaplan, like the previous poster said, really use ALL their resources. their is tons of online material that i feel many people overlook, and there is where all the real practice is at. don't just stick to the books.

This is really good advice, I was getting worried that my score would plateau too early around 30ish. I'm aiming for a 36, that way I will really end up with around a 33. I am definitely guilty of ignoring the kaplan online problems so I will start doing those intensively and see if the score also improves. I've been doing the topical tests for all the lessons so far, what parts of the online materials do you guys find particularly useful?

I am taking the exam on aug. 21 so while I have time, I dont have a whole lot of time, I want my score around 36 by aug 5th so I can be ready to destroy the real exam. too much to expect jumping from 27s to 36s?