Best MCAT Prep Books

[GeorgeMD2B]

I am planning on self-studying for the MCAT this August. Which books are the best for studying for the MCAT? I have heard good things about Examcrackers as well as Kaplan, which is the best of the two?

[dar2drm]

Which MCAT book is best for you? I picked up several different books due to the fact that one book is better for the chemistry portion another for the biology, etc. Kaplan and Princton are the best overall, but Barons and ARCO are also helpful.

[Andrew21]

I go tthe on-line kaplan course, it was around $400 i think. I did not like it. I thought there was going to be some level or interaction, and there was none. If you are a great self-starter, you may want to consider it though. It is basically an online version of all the books you get when you sign up for the Kaplan MCAT classroom course. Also, check ebay. I bought a huge lot of kaplan prep stuff for under $150. Those are my warnings/suggestions... good luck

Andy

[Anonymous]

Here's my LONG list of suggestions if you want to score well above a 30 for the MCAT. Or you can always skip to my summary at the bottom

Kaplan

Good:
Books are great for reviewing the material, but not very specific to "thinking MCAT." Think of the material as a condensed version of the important stuff from your textbooks. The best section is the biology portion...by far. I think the comprehensive review is VERY similar to the books they actually give you for the course (it also comes with a practice test at the end and a CD too if I remember correctly). The course has the added benefit of flashcards and they give you some practice tests and access to additional studying material. A friend of mine took the Kaplan class and scored in the 30's on his first try.

Bad:
Kaplan Comprehensive doesn't come with much practice material. If you do the course, then you'll have some access to more practice materials, but that's a lot of cash ($1400?). Alternatively, Kaplan does offer an MCAT workbook, MCAT 45 (passages harder than the real thing that are good if you're shooting for mid 30s or higher), and a book of MCAT practice tests. My friend studied with the book and scored high 30s on the first try, but he's brilliant to start with. Anyway, he said that the version he had had (2003 ed) mistakes in the Organic Chemistry portion. The pictures for physics aren't too pretty.

Princeton Review

Good:
I took the Princeton Review course. It's review books are EXTREMELY comprehensive. In fact, they probably have TOO MUCH INFO that probably won't even be tested on the MCAT. There are questions included while you read to keep you active. They also give you a Science Review question book that not too many people use, but could be helpful--feels like notecards. If you have a lot of free time you might like PR. The best part about PR is their science workbook and a verbal workbook (with a BUNCH or practice materials with explanations). This stuff is PRICELESS. If you finish the Science Review Workbook and the Verbal workbook you don't have an excuse to not score high. They also give you a book of four practice tests. It would definitely be to your advantage if you could get a hold of this practice material.

Bad:
Review course has a similar price tag to Kaplan. If you do the February-April class, you're gonna have your work cut out for ya. Lots of homework and lots of class time. If they have an early start version at your school, that'd be the better way to go. The PR books they sell at the bookstore, Flowers and Silver if I remember correctly, are crappy and NOT the same as the review course. Some people sell the review books on Ebay, but technically that's supposed to be illegal I think (some people say they include them as a "bonus" that they're "giving away" with some other mcat material--that may actually be legal). The practice tests they make themselves are supposed to be harder than the actual thing...that could be a good thing or a bad thing. Again, the books are EXTREMELY comprehensive. Good if you have a lot of time, bad because you'll be studying superflous and unnecessary info. The font they use is not pretty to look at. I think their annotation and skipping around ideas for the verbal section are worthless. They also spend WAY too much time on the writing section.

NOVA Series
The MCAT Physics book by Biehle isn't always perfectly in MCAT style, but it's an EXCELLENT book if you have a lot of time and need to work on physics. You will kick some major butt on the physical sciences section if you get through this large tome and work through all the problems. Nova also has a biology and chemistry book I think, but the physics book is the only one worth your money. The only disadvantage of the book is that it takes a lot of time and some of the material may no longer be covered on the MCAT (1999 pub date I think).

Examkrackers

Advantages:
Examkrackers is relatively new and they are VERY impressive. They help you to "think MCAT." Their books are printed on glossy paper and are printed in color (the new ones). It's more interesting to read than Princeton or Kaplan and they use a cartoon character for educational entertainment purposes. They have a website that posts any mistakes in the books. The writers themselves will answer your questions. All of their books are EXCELLENT with MCAT-style practice material in their books. Their Organic book comes with flash cards too. Their method of attacking the Verbal section, although it seems to be silly, is more effective than the crazy stuff that Kaplan and Princeton teaches you to do with annotation. If you buy the home study set they also give you a free Examkrackers practice test, which is pretty darn close to the real thing. They also have a 1001 series of books for chemistry and physics and a 101 passages book for verbal. The 1001 physics and chemistry book are good if you're WEAK in those areas or need to refresh. The 101 Verbal passages book is a must buy. I know someone who scored 40s on EK materials alone!

Disadvantages:
Their review courses aren't offered in as many locations as Kaplan and Princeton. Sometimes I favored the presentation of Kaplan and Princeton's tables and mnemonics over the Examkrackers. Examkrackers also has an Audio Osmosis audio CD product which is probably great for commuters and people who learn well by listening. This definitely doesn't apply to me and apparently there's also quite a bit of mistakes. To EK's credit, all the mistakes are addressed on their website. So it's your call. The 1001 series is good to refresh and even better if you're weak in certain areas. However, MCAT questions are not typically written in the style used in those books. Very little time is spent with the Writing section. Examkrackers doesn't feel that it's as important, but some med schools DO take the section into quite a bit of consideration.

Berkeley Review

Advantages:
No personal experience with it, but I heard it's great stuff and if you take the course they guarantee a 30. I think the course is only offered in California though, so not too many people know about it. They do sell their books online though.

Disadvantages:
Courses only in California.

AAMC Practice Tests

Advantages:
These are MUST BUYS! What better to practice on than the real thing? They offer them on their website in print and pdf files.

Disadvantages:
They're pretty darn expensive, but worth every penny. If you're taking a review course, they might be administering some of these to you as their practice tests. BEWARE of people who try and sell them on online auctions (e.g. Ebay). Not only is this probably illegal, but some of them don't even give you any explanations. Also, do not buy the unrevised versions (e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6), they are next to WORTHLESS. Only use the 3r, 4r, 5r, 6r, and 7r revised exams.

Annual Editions: Global Issues

I know what you're thinking: "What the heck is this?!" Well, let's put it this way, if you enroll in Kaplan or Princeton they're gonna send you some newspapers and magazines so you can write about international current events for the writing section. Lovely. But honestly, that time could probably be spent studying for the more important numerically scored sections. Global Issues is a book put out every year that includes major news articles about politics, economics, ethical issues, technology, etc. Some of these articles would give you all sorts of stuff to write about in the writing section (easier to buy this then search for good articles in the newspapers every day). Of course, if you keep up with the news in all those fields, political, economic, ethical, technological, scientific, etc. then you don't need to get this.

ARCO, Columbia, Peterson, Gold Standard and other random junk:
Save your money, this stuff is NOT good!!!

Summary

Obviously, you probably won't be able to spend or obtain all the books above. So here's what I'd suggest to you:

Biological, Biology:
Kaplan Comprehensive, EK Bio, PR or Kaplan Workbook

Biological, Organic:
EK O-Chem, PR/Kaplan Workbook, Kaplan or EK flashcards

Physical, Chemistry:
Kaplan Comprehensive, EK Chem, PR/Kaplan Workbook

Physical, Physics:
EK Physics and Nova Physics (Biehle), PR/Kaplan Workbook

Verbal:
EK Verbal & Math, EK 101 passages, PR Verbal Workbook

Writing:
Kaplan Comprehensive or Kaplan 45 (better), Global Issues, free list of MCAT practice prompts on AAMC's webpage

Tests:
AAMC 3R, 4R, 5R, 6R. EK if you need more general practice, Kaplan 45 if you're trying to score extremely high.

GOOD LUCK!!! [/b]

[MikeM]

Hey, I am planning to retake the MCAT in August of 04. I took it the first time in April 03 and did horrible. I studied using all of Kaplans books available at local bookstores including the comprehensive review. Curently, I am using the Exam Krackers materials and Audio CD's. In my opinion, I think that Exam Krackers materials are more thorough and the strategies seem to be more practical. Kaplans comprehensive review to me was meerly just an outline of basic premed sciences. EK goes into a little more explaination, which has helped me refresh what I forgot from premed classes I took 2 years ago. I plan to use only the EK Materials to review for the August 04 MCAT. Check them out, at www.examkrackers.com Keep in mind that everyones learning styles and expectations can vary. It just seems to me so far after 1 month using EK's materials that their methods and explainations appeal better to my MCAT study endeavors. Good luck.