Hi. For anyone who’s interested in doing the Examkrackers MCAT prep, here’s a quick list of materials recommended to do the home study. So far I have found that Amazon has the cheapest prices but you can also get good deals at Overstock.com and Half.com.
- MCAT books (Bio, Chem, O.Chem, Physics, Verbal), there is
a complete study package but for some reason Amazon can
never get it out to you. It’s quicker to just order the books
seperately (except the Bio book from Amazon also takes
forever…unless you get it used).
- Audio Osmosis…haven’t listened to it yet, but I’ve heard it’s
the best part of the Examkracker program.
- MiniMCAT book…short MCAT tests to practice, practice, practice
- 1001Questions - each subject has one of these book. I personally don’t have them but I’d be interested to hear from anyone who does.
- MCAT exams - either EK’s ($20 a piece) or you can get an
online set of 4 exams from AAMC.org for $80 (normally $40 a piece), plus there is
already a free online MCAT exam at that site. There’s also
QBank, not sure of the price.
Please don’t think that you have to get all of these things. The EK study schedule just allots time for all of these options. I got everything except the 1001 questions and it ran me approximately $300…which compared to $1600 seemed GREAT to me!!! 
Hope this was useful,
Bea
Hi Bea,
I do like the audio osmosis. I am finding I remember the concepts better–because your mind has to work while you are listening. I listen to some sections repeatedly.
I have the 101 Questions in OChem, and it looked good at first, but I have to go back & study more before using it further. In fact, that’s the book that convinced me to go with ExamKrackers because I was learning & focusing on test-taking–rather than on the reading, which I have a tendancy to do (and that won’t help me on test day!).
The Kaplan QBank is about $200. I plan on getting it in Feb/March if I feel I want it.
Is it cheaper to order from Amazon.com than from ExamKrackers itself?
How do you like the mini-mcats? I’m thinking that’s the right direction for me to go–but do you have enough exercises already?
Barb
Barb
Hi Barb,
Amazon is ALOT cheaper than the Examkrackers website (plus you can find people selling their books used but w/o markings). Just don’t order the complete study package, get everything individually. I ordered the pack in August and they told me 3-5 weeks…by early Nov. they still didn’t have it in stock. I just cancelled and ordered the books seperately and got it in 5 days.
From what I can tell I like the mini-MCATs. I haven’t started the problems yet though. It’s set up to follow the lectures. For example in week 1 the lectures cover verbal, physics, and bio. So at the end of the week there are two mini-exams that are set up to mimic the MCAT, but they only cover the material that was in the lectures. You’re given 60 minutes for each exam. And in the back are answers and explanations. I think it will be extremely helpful…I’ve heard the BEST thing to do while studying is just do these kind of “practice” exams.
So is the 101 Questions book just basically a book of questions set up like the MCAT?
Bea
Bea,
Yes, the 101 questions sound somewhat like the mini-mcat. I bought ochem because it’s a week area. I also got verbal because it’s my strong area & it is so hard to get those points above 11.
I think both have detailed answers in the back as to why each answer is wrong or right – but don’t bet on that until I can look at it again to verify that.