Best MCAT books/material?

[schmitty]

I am looking to buy some MCAT prep material but I was wondering which one everybody thinks are the best to start with.

 

Anybody use the Princeton Review "Cracking the MCAT" book? It is relatively cheap and seems to have a wealth of material.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Hoote]

It really depends on your needs and background. If you read a bit more on this forum, you'll see lots of threads where people discuss the pros and cons of each system (EK, TPR, Gold standard, Kaplan, etc.).

 

To save you a bit of searching, I've used Kaplan and didn't like it because my science background is minimal. While they do explain some things in a lot of depth, I really didn't like a lot of their examples (too much computing, and not enough focus on understanding concepts). I also hate their passage mapping strategy. It totally wasted a lot of time on the MCAT for me. EK's strategy seems better.

 

So I started using TPR books (the individual books, not the cracking the MCAT) and like it alot so far. I am also using EK for verbal because I agree with their methodology and apparently their practice exams are close to the real thing. I also bought an MCAT physics book by NOVA press. Apparently it is really good for those that need a thorough review of physics.

 

Again, search around, you'll see many comparisons of what people like and don't like.

 

Good luck!

 

Hoote

[schmitty]

hmm....thanks for the reply. I have a very strong bio and chem background...my weakest sections are physics and verbal. However, I am very good at physics (I started in Engineering), but I don't have university level exposure to the breadth of physics topics required for the MCAT. I.e. I took advanced mechanics and dynamics, but very little of any other physics topics since high school.

 

 

I have been a long time out of undergrad (I am 27 now) so i think a large comprehensive review book like the Princeton Review will be good and then I will supplement with physics and verbal specialized books.

 

I will keep searching the forums for more advice.

 

Thanks.

[Vdoon]

It seems many people here don't like the Kaplan books. Hoote made an interesting point about science background. I thought Kaplan was totally fine for science review, but I have a very solid background, so that might explain why I liked it. Additionally, I did the Kaplan course, so the classroom bits may have compensated for the book material.

 

I've never seen the EK strategy for VR, but most people seem to like it. I personally liked the Kaplan VR (and I did very well by it), but I'm an exception. It seems like EK does well by the widest variety of people.

 

Good luck!