Well, you might be an OPMer if you ask for the complete MCAT Examkracker set for your birthday…mua ha ha! My mom had this delivered to my house last week, and I am VERY excited! Hard to believe that it’s not too early to start studying, but I’m prepared to devote increasingly larger amounts of time to MCAT prep over the next several months, so I can be ready for next April! Wo hoo!
Gen Chem II starts in 2 weeks… it’s been a nice month off, but I am eager to get back into the swing of things. I don’t want to lose my momentum!
Good luck to all who are starting a summer term any time soon!
Happy Birthday!
I just got the complete examkrackers MCAT series as well, so far I really like their approach! Seems like we’ll be sitting for the MCAT at the same time so we have to keep each other motivated!
Good luck!
Dan
Thanks, Dan–and absolutely…I think there are a number of us applying for next year’s cycle, so it will be awesome to have (and provide) that support for each other!
I haven’t opened the books yet–I am enjoying one more week of break. But it’s right back to it next week, so I’ll let you know what I think of it! =) Good luck!!
Here’s a beginner’s question, guys:
I have only heard of the ExamKrackers system but do not know about it. Can you possibly explain its advantages, and why you all have chosen to use it, say, over Kaplan or the other classes and online methods? Thanks
- Dr. Quinn of the Mountain Medicine Lady Practice
I only ever got the 101 series, but its main advantage is that the style of the problems were very similar to the real thing, and it covered all the topics reviewed in other books. Using the EK 101 made it possible for me to find all the areas I was weak in, so I knew what to focus on leading up to the exam.
DrQuinn - When I was first looking for MCAT materials, I read a lot of good reviews online for EK. I did not read other companies’ books so I can’t compare but I think the allure of EK is that they are very straight to the point, only tell you what you need to know for MCAT, and assume you already have a good foundation of knowledge. I’ve heard that other books go deeper into subjects since some people learn better that way.
Everyone learns differently but EK worked for me. I used them as my primary source for studying and was very pleased with my score.
I’m with Pixie–I like it for highlighting the areas that I really need to dig further into. I haven’t gotten too deep into MCAT prep yet, but I can already tell that EK will be my primary starting point. However, I will use other tools when I start delving into specific topics for further help. With the EK guides, I just like the way things are laid out, and I like that it seems to be (so far, at least) pretty free from fluff, if that makes sense.
DrQuinn, I like your name and your signature quote 
I liked the EK AudioOsmosis CDs a lot. I also found their 101 verbal questions to be helpful; they were similar in style to the actual MCAT, though their answers were more… debateable.
I did not find their “1001 questions” series (bio/chem/physics) to be very helpful at all. That said, my purpose may have been different from yours. If you are using it as a quick, general survey to identify issues in those subjects, they may be useful. As actual MCAT study, though, I don’t put much stock in them.
I don’t know much about any other books they may offer. Good luck to all!
Dr Quinn-I have both Kaplan and EK. I mainly used EK. But I felt that on some of the topics EK didnt give me the info or the explanations I needed so I would suppliment with Kaplan. EK are awesome; they tell you what you need to know and get to the point. And I thought their methods for solving problems were quick and simple.
I did not get audio osmosis and did fine without it. However, if I had the time to listen to the cds I may have invested in that as well.
I thought Kaplan tended to be wordy, but still provided excellent examples and explanations-which is why I used them when EK didnt explain well enough. Also in the EK books, there are end of chapter tests that are 30 min. I thought these tests were helpful-they helped me gain better understanding of the material (in a MCAT way) and also made me aware of the time I was taking on each problem.
I feel for me that both Kaplan and EK were helpful. But I think either one would work just fine. What study materials you buy should be best suited to your study habits.
And I bought my books on ebay. I saved money that way which allowed me to purchase more practice tests online.