Boning up- supplemental material suggestions

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hey guys-


So I’m starting my first courses in march (pre-reqs for Northwestern’s post-bac) and I need to get at least a B but I want to get A’s. So I got Algebra and Algebra II (pre-calc) for dummies and the corresponding workbooks. Does anyone have any other recommendations? Math is one of my weaker subjects while Bio is one of my strongest. So I really want to bone up ahead of time. Also want to warm up on chem before I jump in, so anyone that has encountered a particularly mind blowing text, how about a shout out?

2

I used the following from Barron’s:

  1. E-Z Series

  2. The Easy way


    OR


    *** the demystified series


    I read the reviews at amazon and then picked them from the local library.


    They also have kindle editions for these books.


    Good luck to you!
3

I bought reviews for Gen. Biology, Chemistry, and Orgo before I started my post-bac this January, but I picked each one from a different publisher. Bio was a Spark Notes book of ~500 pages and it was very good. I liked the quizzes and explanations at the end of every chapter. I’m in Cell Biology now and answering questions that students who just took a year of Biology can’t answer.


For Chemistry, I picked a Cliffs Notes ‘Quick Review’ book that is relatively short, but is very well-organized and also has the quizzes at the end.


For Orgo, I picked up a Schaum’s Easy Outlines book. Also well-written, but no quizzes.


I really liked the Sparks or Cliffs publications, mainly because of the quizzes, which I found invaluable. I would strongly recommend either, but really just get a book that seems to be organized well and easy to read and, most importantly, has quizzes!

4

I also used the Demystified series for math, and found it to be really helpful. But everyone learns differently, So I’d suggest going to your local library, flipping through some different ones, seeing which seems to fit your learning style best, and then ordering it online (for the best prices).


Best wishes!

5

One of my esteemed peers on this site introduced me to an online practice area for just about any topic–but I find it especially handy for math: www.khanacademy.org


He walks through it on a whiteboard, and then you can test your knowledge with practice problems.


Since math is all about practice…I think it’s a very useful tool!

6

Eeeexcellent! Thanks guys!