what do people think of this? better than review books? any advice greatly appreciated..
Audio Osmosis
- Thread starter jon0013
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if you do a search, there's lots of threads on EK AO.
i borrowed a copy from a friend at school, and i wasn't too impressed. they're good for memorizing stuff for the bio section, but its kinda hard to "leran" physics driving in your car, for example. they devote about twenty minutes to verbal, none of which are particularly helpful.
all in all, they're a really good *supplementary* tool, but there's no chance in hell that they can replace entire review books, IMO.
i borrowed a copy from a friend at school, and i wasn't too impressed. they're good for memorizing stuff for the bio section, but its kinda hard to "leran" physics driving in your car, for example. they devote about twenty minutes to verbal, none of which are particularly helpful.
all in all, they're a really good *supplementary* tool, but there's no chance in hell that they can replace entire review books, IMO.
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Well, I ordered the whole deal...the textbooks, audio osmosis and the extra problem sets.
I have always been a visual learner, so I find cracking a textbook more productive than listening to lectures so I am biased for the texts. But I find the tapes useful when I'm away from the books for a chunk of time regularly. What I mean is, since I cook, I like to turn them on so I dont' waste time while cooking, same goes for doing household chores. I've heard others who have long commute found them a timesaver. If you are an audio learner, I think they would be good, although I still think it's good to have the text, especially in orgo and physics. But they are a good supplement to the textbooks.
I have always been a visual learner, so I find cracking a textbook more productive than listening to lectures so I am biased for the texts. But I find the tapes useful when I'm away from the books for a chunk of time regularly. What I mean is, since I cook, I like to turn them on so I dont' waste time while cooking, same goes for doing household chores. I've heard others who have long commute found them a timesaver. If you are an audio learner, I think they would be good, although I still think it's good to have the text, especially in orgo and physics. But they are a good supplement to the textbooks.
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Reiterating what has already been said, they are a great supplement to the texts. I have Kaplan Comprehensive, EK textbooks, and Audio Osmosis. I listen to the Osmosis cd's on my way to work in the mornings. I generally get more out of them AFTER I've read the associated lecture. This depends on the density of the material, but is usually the case in sections such as organic chemistry. I think I've played the organic lecture 2, three times already. Takes awhile for all those SN 1,2 E 1,2 reactions to sink in! 
I was pretty skeptical at first, and yes, Jordan and John's voices and corny jokes get OLD after awhile, but now and then I've caught myself thinking "wow, I never thought about it like that", and bingo a particular concept has really stuck. So... they are usefull, but by no means do they replace a textbook. I'd still stick with Kaplan or EK or the myriad of other comprehensive textbooks for the core of your studying. Will you be fine if you don't purchase AO cd's? Yes, you'd probably do just as well without them. I work 40-50 hours a week and can't afford to study hours and hours a day, so I primarily purchased them to maximize my "free" time by listening on the way to work. If you have plenty of time to study, I wouldn't worry about them.
I was pretty skeptical at first, and yes, Jordan and John's voices and corny jokes get OLD after awhile, but now and then I've caught myself thinking "wow, I never thought about it like that", and bingo a particular concept has really stuck. So... they are usefull, but by no means do they replace a textbook. I'd still stick with Kaplan or EK or the myriad of other comprehensive textbooks for the core of your studying. Will you be fine if you don't purchase AO cd's? Yes, you'd probably do just as well without them. I work 40-50 hours a week and can't afford to study hours and hours a day, so I primarily purchased them to maximize my "free" time by listening on the way to work. If you have plenty of time to study, I wouldn't worry about them.
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it's a fun supplement. Although I followed their books and AO, I struggled this past April on the MCAT.
