Getting the most out of the books starts with an honest self-evaluation. When the books arrive, go chapter by chapter (38 total between the four sciences) and rate how well you know each topic.
For anything you know really well, lightly skim the chapter and do any MC questions contained within. For anything you know fairly well, skim with a little more focus and pay close attention to any diagrams and tables. Do all of the MC questions and if you run into trouble, then read that subsection. For material you feel average or less on, read the chapter and take notes using a notebook. This notebook will be your reference manual down the road, so think of it as something you'd love to bring into your MCAT for reference (if you could).
After reading, there are three homework phases awaiting you. I'd recommend following the book's recommendation as to what makes up each phase (rather than using random assignment). For the first phase, go as slow as necessary when doing each passage, thoroughly grade every question, and then review the answer explanations. There are many shortcuts to be found in the explanations. Do as many Phase I passages as you need to feel okay on the material.
Phase II involves worrying more about test timing. Force yourself to go fast enough to finish within the allotted time. When you grade the questions, don't read the answer explanations at first. Instead, try each question you missed a second time and take notes in your error journal. What is really important is that you get a feel for which questions you missed because of (a) not feeling comfortable with the concepts, (b) not understanding the question but knowing the material, (c) error where you knew the answer but brain farted, and (d) error made because of carelessness and excess speed. Knowing the types of errors you make will help you improve.
Phase III should be done at least two weeks after you finish Phase II, giving you some time to let material drift from the forefront of your memory. This is critical, because that will be your perspective during the MCAT for most passages. You will amaze yourself how much you actually recall. You should try to do a couple different Phase IIIs (from different books) in the same day so that you get exposed to material from different sections. Grading Phase III is critical. You should redo any questions you miss using blue ink (before you read the answer explanations). Then grade them a second time and if there is anything you got wrong again, read the explanation and then write using red ink what went wrong.
When it comes time for last minute review, you know that whatever your wrote in red ink on Phase III needs to be reviewed. Whatever you wrote in blue, you know, but for some reason didn't get right. Figuring out how much is due to focus issues and how much is understanding the question will help you hone your test approach during your last few weeks.
Know that it will be very time consuming the first few weeks, but it gets better. There are details in some biology sections that may seem excessive, but that's designed for the students who want every fact they can get. If that's not your style, then try not to get overwhelmed. It's okay to skim the text. Passages are not always based ion the text in the biology section. In organic chemistry, the details are included to match the difficulty level of MCATs with heavy amounts of organic chemistry. If you read feedback at SDN, you'll see comments ranging from how little O chem there was and how over-prepared BR books made them. You will also read comments about how difficult MCAT O Chem was and that they were grateful to have seen a particular reaction in the BR books. How much time you put into O chem is up to you, because it's the biggest unknown on your actual exam. You need to be prepared for a lot of organic but aware it might not be there.
I hope this helps a little in your planning. Best of luck on your path this summer.
