studying from textbooks

[doc227]

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Are there any mcat prep books that contain practice tests only? I was also thinking about doing questions from textbooks if I do not have enough tests to do...is this ok? Also, how many test should I do before the aug mcat in order to get a good score. Right now, I am almost done with reading the review material in the Barrons review book.

Thanks in advance! 😎

 

[chopper]

As far as books with tests only, yes I think there are a few out there. Go to the local B&N or Borders and you'll see a selection.

I would NOT recommend doing problems out of your textbook. They are not the kinds of problems you will find on MCAT. Especially for phyiscs and GCHEM, you won't find mulitple choice problems in the textbook.

I would recommend a combination of practice tests and practice 'MCAT' problems. You can probably get both in one of those big comprehensive MCAT reveiw books. Shop around.

As far as how many tests you have to do well . . . that is all dependent on you. Could be 'none' to 'lots and lots'. Read the 'Taking MCAT cold' thread to see the views on that one.

-chopper

 

[wylie313]

i agree with chopper 100% about not using your textbooks. the mcat tests basic knowledge, and frankly for the mcat those textbooks can get too in depth with material you wont need. so you will just be wasting your time memorizing useless facts. as far as mcat questions examkrackers has books called "1001 physics problems, 1001 chem problems" etc.... you get the idea. those are great i def suggest you looking into those. also as far as the practice tests, youre gonna wanna look at the AAMC practice tests, especially 5-7 4 is pretty good too, but i found that the most indicative tests are 5-7, 7 being the most recent, and very similar to the style and difficulty of the real thing. but all in all i think AAMC has tests 3-7, so there are definitely enough practice tests out there to get yourself ready for the real thing. if you do well on these you know you are ready. if not, then you need to take more time and review. good luck!!!

 

[Cerbernator]

I disagree with everyone. Use your books and use them liberally. The MCAT expects you to understand the material fairly well as it is an "understanding" test. That doesnt mean to go through your book memorizing but do go through it looking for better insight. For example, it is important to really understand physiological processes, the prep books usually just give you cursory info though. I looked through my bio book to understand better Ca+ involvment in action potentials ect.

 

[wylie313]

if youre just looking up something for clarification, or to get a deeper understanding i think thats fine then, but waht im saying is that he/she shouldnt study exclusively from the textbooks, when the review books focus on whats going to be tested. theres enough material that you need to know for the mcat already, theres no reason to burden yourself with unimportant (with regards to the mcat, everything in those books are important 🙂 info. it will just slow you down. stick to the review books, theyre there for a reason.

 

[wylie313]

i just thought of something. the examkracker books are very comprehensive, so if you were looking for a review book that might go the extra mile to explain something or go more in depth into the workings behind certain physiological functions those books would be good to use.

 

[ChemMN]

Are there any mcat prep books that contain practice tests only? I was also thinking about doing questions from textbooks if I do not have enough tests to do...is this ok? Also, how many test should I do before the aug mcat in order to get a good score. Right now, I am almost done with reading the review material in the Barrons review book.

Thanks in advance! 😎

Studying from textbooks will not be very helpful. You need to be comfortable with the kinds of questions you will see on the actual test. I have said this before, but I will say it again: Buy the online AAMC exams, they offer the best preparation. If you are looking for books with only exams, check your local public library; don't waste your money buying books that you can only use once.

 

[Cerbernator]

i just thought of something. the examkracker books are very comprehensive, so if you were looking for a review book that might go the extra mile to explain something or go more in depth into the workings behind certain physiological functions those books would be good to use.

Did you think so? I really didnt care for EK aside from their verbal tips (which I didnt necesarilly follow but found to be infinitely better than Kaplan and TPRs). They were just too goofy for me and they seemed to miss a lot of details. They push that it isnt details that are important but rather the bigger picture which is true but to truly understand the bigger picture you need to understand the details.

 

[wylie313]

Did you think so? I really didnt care for EK aside from their verbal tips (which I didnt necesarilly follow but found to be infinitely better than Kaplan and TPRs). They were just too goofy for me and they seemed to miss a lot of details. They push that it isnt details that are important but rather the bigger picture which is true but to truly understand the bigger picture you need to understand the details.

i hear what youre saying, but compared to kaplan i feel they provided much more information that was useful in seeing the big picture. when i read the kaplan books i often found myself asking the questions " but why? or but how?" and after i read the EK books, and listened to AO, i was able to answer those questions. BUT THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.....you must review with what you are most comfortable with. everyone has their own opinions and reviews about all the books-some good and some bad, but when it comes down to it, youre the one (doc227) taking the test, so you should really get first hand experience with them all before making a decision. what i suggest is that if you have any friends who have taken the mcat and uised the review books, borrow all of them, and then compare which books you find more useful to you. if you dont have any ways of getting these books short of buying them, im sure some people on this board will be more than willing to send you a book to check it out. i have the kaplan ones, and ill know after tuesday if i need to use them again. lol if i dont youre more than welcome to borrow.