Which study set would you recommend for MCAT?

[The Man of The Planet]

So I found two types of review set for MCAT on Amazon from Kaplan. Which one would you prefer and why. I'm planning on taking the MCAT around 2019-2020. I'm a Sophomore.
1. amazon.com/Complete-7-Book-Subject-Review-2018-2019/dp/1506223958/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503198292&sr=1-1&keywords=kaplan+mcat
2. amazon.com/MCAT-Complete-7-Book-Subject-Review/dp/1506205593/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503198018&sr=1-4&keywords=kaplan+mcat
3. Any other companies beside the two, or mixture of...? (I would like to know if you'd prefer 1 or 2 as well)
Thanks in advance

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[DrHart]

Either looks fine for content review. Kaplan is good, and TPR is about the same in my opinion. Practice exams are iffy though. I personally recommend Exam Krackers for extra practice passages and high-yield review.... and then AAMC materials for practice exams and question banks.

 

[Welshman]

You can undoubtedly find some really cheap second hand Kaplan books, everyone who takes the course gets them included in the price and I'm sure would love to be rid of 30 pounds worth of MCAT material. I'd advise posting in you schools premed group or class group after a spring semester. You'll get em cheap.

Another note about Kaplan, their books are thorough, a bit too thorough. They teach you way more than you need to know for the mcat and it'll take you forever to get though them all. I stopped about 2/3s of the way and did well on my test.

 

[elitehacker1337]

You can undoubtedly find some really cheap second hand Kaplan books, everyone who takes the course gets them included in the price and I'm sure would love to be rid of 30 pounds worth of MCAT material. I'd advise posting in you schools premed group or class group after a spring semester. You'll get em cheap.

Another note about Kaplan, their books are thorough, a bit too thorough. They teach you way more than you need to know for the mcat and it'll take you forever to get though them all. I stopped about 2/3s of the way and did well on my test.

I heard Kaplan is not thorough enough?

That's why people refer to more thorough books like TPR and TBR?
Or am I mistaken? I heard Kaplan jumps to the chase and prepares you for the test instead of teaching you. (not necessarily a bad thing).

Can someone who used multiple sets confirm the most comprehensive review set for a elementary knowledge of pre reqs?

 

[Welshman]

I heard Kaplan is not thorough enough?

That's why people refer to more thorough books like TPR and TBR?
Or am I mistaken? I heard Kaplan jumps to the chase and prepares you for the test instead of teaching you. (not necessarily a bad thing).

Can someone who used multiple sets confirm the most comprehensive review set for a elementary knowledge of pre reqs?

I've only used Kaplan, but it is a 7 book set that are like 100+ pages each and I know my sentiment has been echoed elsewhere on the forum and by some people at Kaplan too lol. I also wouldn't say Kaplan jumps to the chase, I would say it will take you from knowing nothing about a topic to just about everything your college intro course would cover, which is simply too much for a 'review book'. It's no help to get mired in details that never show up on a test.

 

[Ad2b]

I would buy a used set of books from TPR or Kaplan. Then I would buy the full bundle pack from AAMC and work through that. At least twice including the flashcards using the books as reference if needed.

 

[rabbott1971]

I'm selling my books cheap, take a look in the For Sale thread. Buy from an SDN'er, not some random mega-book seller on amazon or ebay.

 

[Zenabi90]

So I found two types of review set for MCAT on Amazon from Kaplan. Which one would you prefer and why. I'm planning on taking the MCAT around 2019-2020. I'm a Sophomore.

Thanks in advance

MCAT in the summer of 2019 right?

Best advice of all. Read the SN2ed megathread and then WAIT.

Why? The MCAT2015 is only 2 years old. TWO. TBR doesn't even have Sociology material out yet. The new EK stuff has mostly bad reviews. We're still recommending EK1001 from 2005 for discretes because in the last decade, there hasn't been anything better. In two years, there's going to be two new editions of review materials, and if you buy it now, you'll be back in Jan of 2019 saying "I bought these back in 2017, are they still good?" And we'll say "probably" and you realize you could have bought it in 2019 at 1/4 the price of new, or we'll say "nope outdated" and you realize you wasted cash because you didn't channel your energies right.

I love your attitude. I love that you want to do it early, and do it right. Here's what you do to prep for the MCAT right now.
1. MASTER your prereqs. You should be able to know the stuff forwards, backwards, sideways, upside down. Once you can do that, you don't have to worry about your grades because guess what, mastery of the knowledge leads to a mastery of your grades.
2. Daily CARS practice. WSJ and New Yorker. Read and analyze every article of every issue.

Do this, and you'll come back in 2 years saying "I did pretty well in my prereqs, ~3.8-3.9 sciGPA. How do I prepare for this exam?" And then we'll all yell at you to get your smart ass out because we're jealous you did it right the first time around. Then you realize you don't need content review books because you have thorough material from your well-studied college classes. Then you'll be one of those "I just spammed FLs and passages and got a 520" success stories that everyone finds so obnoxious because they wish they could be just like you.

Snarkiness aside, really, just wait. Focus on the now, your prereqs, and you'll be happy you did. Because 3.8s only need 505-510. Us 3.1s need post-baccs and 520s.