tickytacky23 Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 Do you need the newest study guides from Kaplan/Exam Krackers, etc. to study for the MCAT? How different is the material between editions? Might sound like a dumb question, but I'm just wondering b/c I can get an earlier edition of Exam Krackers for a lot cheaper than the newer one, but if it's better to use the newer one than I'll just suck it up and pay more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 Hey tickytacky, I wish you all the best in your MCAT studies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhc911 Posted August 18, 2010 Report Share Posted August 18, 2010 well, there are a few slight concerns... First, if you get a really old one, it might prep you for the wrong format of test. The test used to be of a different length, with different numbers of passages etc... you dont need to prep for 9 passage verbal tests when its now 7 for example... but I guess using AAMCs practice tests will be a good enough indication of what the real format is. Second, there have been some changes in what material is covered. I think one of the biggest areas is orgo. I keep hearing that there has been a defocusing on orgo in the bio section. Less complicated reactions, less passages, less overall orgo death. So if you grab an older book, it might tell you to look over alkyne reactions, when maybe they aren't covered by the test anymore *just an example*. Third, older editions could potentially have errors in them... which may or may not be a problem depending on how religiously you believe their results, and whether or not you would think to look for records of the mistakes online. My recommendation? If the price difference is small... get the newer one. If price is really an issue, then just augment the older ones with the MCAT content information that AAMC gives. Find out what is and is not covered before you spend too much time covering it. And look online for records of the mistakes contained in the material. You don't want to spend hours trying to figure out how they did something... if they did it wrong in the first place. But really... medical school is an expensive, and long process... I personally would just get the newer material because I am risk adverse and don't want to accidentally waste time, or learn something incorrectly... But that's just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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