When to Buy MCAT Review Books

[immortaltelomerase]

I'm thinking about buying the Kaplan MCAT Review Books.

1. How far in advance should I buy them? Is it beneficial to have them when you are taking the corresponding classes?

2. Does the edition matter? Or is it good enough to have any edition as long as it is for the new MCAT?

Thanks.

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[hipsnontrad]

I'm thinking about buying the Kaplan MCAT Review Books.

1. How far in advance should I buy them? Is it beneficial to have them when you are taking the corresponding classes?

2. Does the edition matter? Or is it good enough to have any edition as long as it is for the new MCAT?

Thanks.

When someone you know just took the MCAT and is unloading for cheap.

I personally think that buying them and skimming the appropriate sections when you are taking the pre reqs would be helpful.

There is probably not a huge difference in the books available now. As long as it was made for the current MCAT, the yield you will get through a book will be similar.

 

[The Unburnt]

I didn't have my books through pre-reqs and don't think it would have made any difference if I did. As long as you actually learn stuff in your classes, you really don't need to make notes in the books or anything like that like people do for Step. Because of the volume of content I didn't feel like the books went as in depth as what my courses required so it wouldn't have helped me in my courses to have the books. Just do well in your classes and buy the books before you start mcat prep.

I used the Kaplan books and really liked them. I went to the bookstore before I bought them and compared them to the other options (Princeton, etc) and talked to a few friends before I decided what I liked best. I thought the Princeton ones were a little too detailed and the examkrackers ones are good if you're low on time because they're more concise but since you're getting a head start I really liked the Kaplan ones. It's all personal preference. The one thing the Kaplan books lacked was practice passages so if CARS/reading comprehension is something you struggle with, I'd recommend supplementing with another resource.

Good luck!

 

[Blanky]

I have a very low opinion of the review books also.
Having said that just buy a second hand set thats current. Your time will be best spent on practice exams/ questions.
You can read physics for weeks but sitting down and working problems is what is going to help you solve them later.
I read the Exam Krackers which in my opinion are lighter and perfect if you did well in the classes and need a brush up.
Kaplan I read through a chemistry and biology and id say these tend to be medium in depth.
TPR/TBR I do not have experience with although a quick search will bring up tons of reviews (I know one of the two is very in depth)

 

[Groy]

The only problem I had with buying them second-hand was that many times there would be highlights, notes in the margins, and the interactive fill-in-the-blank sections would already be filled in. This meant that the during reading I'd constantly look at what the previous owner had highlighted instead of reading everything, and that the end-of-chapter assessment sections were useless.

But if you can find lightly used or unmarked used copies, that's the ticket.