MCAT Raffle Items

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Raffle details:
1 FREE MCAT Comprehensive Course to be raffled
1 Set of MCAT Manuals
1 Verbal Reasoning Pack (2 Books)

We will draw a lucky winner on Fri Feb. 22 after the week is over.
All participants must submit their contact information and email address when contacted with the results for us to contact them.
All SDN rules apply (i.e. must contribute meaningfully to the thread to be eligible, etc.).

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Hello,

Regarding Examkrackers' verbal review, I have heard amazing things from people who have used it and they have gone on to say that they would use this over other sources (Kaplan, Berkeley, Princeton Review). What separates and elevates your verbal strategy from the other companies?
 
Wow this is exciting, I have been using the complete Exam Krackers package for my content review, what does your course offer that can take someone to the next level?
 
Hello!

Are Examkracker books meant to be used as a thorough, comprehensive review of the material or just as a refresher?

Thank you!
 
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I really loved your books because they were so concise and to the point. But with the style of the MCAT test changing, how do you think your books will hold up? (ex: biological is more focused on experimental passages).
 
Hello,

Regarding Examkrackers' verbal review, I have heard amazing things from people who have used it and they have gone on to say that they would use this over other sources (Kaplan, Berkeley, Princeton Review). What separates and elevates your verbal strategy from the other companies?
I think what separates it is that it is not gimmicky. It teaches you to read VR passages the way you might read a novel, or an op-ed piece. You should read with interest, you should read for the point of the piece (not as if you're going to be quizzed on details), and you should read while analyzing and challenging arguments of the author. This method can take you to a 15 on the section and is meant to do so, not to just quickly bring you up to around the mean. Look at reviews online, check out used copies or our books and theirs at a bookstore and see for yourself. Thanks for the question!
 
Wow this is exciting, I have been using the complete Exam Krackers package for my content review, what does your course offer that can take someone to the next level?

Perhaps you don't need a course to take you to another level. Not everyone does. I didn't. Our materials are our best asset. They're excellent and the best, bar none. I say this as someone who always wants to give his students a leg up, and who checks out all the materials they have from other sources. Nothing else compares.

That said, if you need the structure of our very logically planned course, if you want to see how someone who has already excelled on the MCAT would do the same problems that you've practiced under timed conditions, and if you need an MCAT expert to explain things with examples tailored to you...then take the course. Best of luck!
 
Hello!

Are Examkracker books meant to be used as a thorough, comprehensive review of the material or just as a refresher?

Thank you!

Generally, they are a thorough, comprehensive review. As I tell my students, any bit of information, any skill, any formula, any type of calculation that you need to know or be able to do on the MCAT will be covered in our lecture books. But I forget at times that maybe there are things that I learned in my classes that I needed to be reminded of that aren't explained anew in our books for people who didn't happen to learn those things in those classes. So there are definitely some times here and there where, depending on your background, you might find that you have to go back to a more basic text to learn something that is rehashed in our books. For the most part, though, these books will do more than just review what's important. They will teach you these sciences better than you ever understood them. That's true even for me - and I was a very strong student who was very fortunate to have excellent instructors for each of the courses in college.
 
I really loved your books because they were so concise and to the point. But with the style of the MCAT test changing, how do you think your books will hold up? (ex: biological is more focused on experimental passages).

I certainly hope that they hold up the same as they always have. So far, though, Jon Orsay and the other people who have made Examkrackers what it is have yet to let me down, so I trust them implicitly. I would expect that the new materials will also be concise, will not try to overwhelm you, and will bolster your intuition.
 
EK Bio is by far the best bio review book i've used. I know in the book the authors claim that EK Bio alone is sufficient for the MCAT BS section, do you think this is true?
 
How do you think EK audio osmosis is best used? It's hard to focus on JUST audio while doing anything else, but I feel like if I only listen then I'm not being very efficient with my time.
 
I've been borrowing a friend's 2007 set of EK books/ Audio Osmosis as they came highly recommended from her. I've found the material to be very concise, yet thorough.

Have you put out any new material since then? If so, what and where could they be purchased? I'm especially intrigued by this "verbal package" that you're offering as part of the raffle. :)
 
How much improvement does your students get from attending your course? Do you give CBT tests in additional to the AAMC?
 
EK Bio is by far the best bio review book i've used. I know in the book the authors claim that EK Bio alone is sufficient for the MCAT BS section, do you think this is true?

I think if you have a strong background in BS, and already have a fairly decent conceptual understanding of the major topics of biological sciences, then EK can definitely be a sufficient source of information for MCAT BS. Passage-wise, however, I think you definitely will need to supplement your learning with something more as EK materials (apart from verbal) is a bit minimalist in terms of passages. Content-wise, though, you're correct-the bio review book is excellent.
 
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The EK books I have are surprisingly high yield material. How did the makers of the review books pinpoint which of the myriad topics would be on the test?
 
So I plan on retaking my mcat to get a higher score. Do you feel like your books will be the best ones to use or find ones that are more detailed. Heard EK is sometimes low on detail
 
Hello, Examkrackers.

I have heard many good things about you all from the folks at University of Mississippi Medical School. They said all Kaplan has is a good advertising campaign. I plan on taking the MCAT around May 2014.

Good luck to everyone.
 
EK Bio is by far the best bio review book i've used. I know in the book the authors claim that EK Bio alone is sufficient for the MCAT BS section, do you think this is true?

I do. Does that mean that it has every bit of information that could or will be on your MCAT BS section? No. That would be a daunting task, to try to include all of that (though I think some still try). Even as thin as our books are, they have a lot of information that is less than "high-yield" and which I would think of as background information - things that would be helpful if you know them, but aren't essential. Nowhere is this more true than in the Bio book. As Jordan and Jon used to say when they taught and trained, our books don't have all of what could be on the MCAT, but they contain almost all of what will be on your MCAT.
 
The EK books I have are surprisingly high yield material. How did the makers of the review books pinpoint which of the myriad topics would be on the test?

By taking the test a bunch of times and paying close attention, essentially. And that's the only way to know how to adjust an MCAT course for the 2015 MCAT. Anyone who claims otherwise is fooling himself. The kind of people who have the minds to make a course like ours can look at several administrations of the MCAT and pick up what is expected of the test taker. After all, the presentations are myriad, but the essential principles and knowledge being tested is very finite, and well-disguised, and that's what we wish to teach.

For example, just yesterday I taught a class on EK Bio lecture 1 (so look at the in-class exam for that lecture at some point and you'll see to what I'm referring), in which there was a question about chaperone proteins and their role and relationship with "heat" in the cell. My bio education was not so extensive that I had any real knowledge of chaperone proteins before reading about them in the passage. The question was not, therefore, asking me to recall some bit of information about chaperone proteins, but instead to relate the information I'd just read in the passage to some basic concepts of biology that I absolutely should remember - namely, that proteins and enzymes have an optimal configuration that is changed or destabilized by changes in temperature beyond the optimal range, and what the significance of a chaperone protein might be in those circumstances. This goes beyond rote memorization to true understanding, and asks the test taker to apply a relatively small amount of knowledge to an infinite amount of newly presented ifnormation. This is what EK aims to teach its students to do.
 
So I plan on retaking my mcat to get a higher score. Do you feel like your books will be the best ones to use or find ones that are more detailed. Heard EK is sometimes low on detail

First, two points. "Low on detail" is a relative concept. I'd say that most other materials - all, really - have an overabundance of information or detail. That makes them good references, perhaps, the way that the Moore's Clinical Anatomy book will be a good reference for you when you do Anatomy in med school, but not exactly a book you will try to master. On the other hand, if you use nothing more than our lecture books, you should do quite well, and if you're lacking anything, it might be some basic points on things that are only reviewed in our books - not further, more esoteric details.

Second, how high do you want to score? If you got a 32 or above, stop. Unless you're aiming to go to one of the few schools that prides itself on having the highest MCAT scoring students in the nation, nobody cares after you've reached that threshold. If you just want to get as high a score as you can and to challenge yourself, then I'd recommend the 1001 series from Examkrackers, as it will give you greater and greater understanding, which is more important than just a lot of facts and calculations. And if you haven't hit 32 yet, you are not making the most of our books. As I tell my students, if you can correctly answer 80% of the problems in our lecture books, explain why the right answer is right and the wrong answer is wrong in those, and teach them to someone else, then you're set and should get no less than a 32. You've mastered the books, more or less. If at that point you want to move on to read other companies' materials or study out of your text books from college, by all means do so. But if you have not gotten to that point, then using any other materials will be a poor use of your time and brain space.

I am always checking out materials that my students use because I want to know how to give them feedback about things they wish to check out. Also, I am always excited to learn more about the MCAT so I can be a better instructor. I have not liked any of the other books out there, at least those from major companies, as they have far too much detail and calculations, and which don't keep things simple and teach for understanding. There was a DVD set of lectures that I did like, but whose name escapes me currently. I believe there's a website called Khan Academy or something similar, which I haven't had a chance to check out. And I believe there's a Wiki page dedicated to giving out free resources to MCAT (and other test) students and teachers, which excited me very much, but I haven't gotten a chance to look that up either. I keep an open mind about other materials, as I taught for Examkrackers because I love their materials, and not vice versa, and so I want us to gain from and incorporate anything else out there that could help our students. It makes it much easier for me to teach for and promote Examkrackers knowing that our materials and methods are head and shoulders above anything else out there that I've seen.
 
Hello, Examkrackers.

I have heard many good things about you all from the folks at University of Mississippi Medical School. They said all Kaplan has is a good advertising campaign. I plan on taking the MCAT around May 2014.

Good luck to everyone.

Good luck to you! I don't detect a question here, but thanks for the kind words. I think Kaplan has more than just good advertising (and their advertising is more than just good, truth be told). The biggest variable for them is the biggest variable for us and all other test prep companies, namely, the instructor, and I have certainly heard of people who loved Kaplan, and those students invariably turned out to have had excellent instructors. I can say that our materials are the best, and our class format is very logical and beneficial. Our instructors just have to not take away from that, and they'll have very happy students. Thankfully, they are not called upon to elevate or make up for the deficiencies in either materials or class format.
 
How much improvement does your students get from attending your course? Do you give CBT tests in additional to the AAMC?

The improvement varies from student to student, and there is no way I could give you a guarantee or expectation, not even if you ensured me that you are studying a certain amount of hours/days/weeks. So much depends on your attitude/outlook/approach, as well as your specific strengths and weaknesses. I can say that our materials are the best, as is our approach, for the majority of students. If you feel like you need more tailored help, you can always come to us for tutoring. We do give our students EK-made CBTs in addition to ones we provide via the AAMC, which has long been a fan of our materials and methods.
 
I've been borrowing a friend's 2007 set of EK books/ Audio Osmosis as they came highly recommended from her. I've found the material to be very concise, yet thorough.

Have you put out any new material since then? If so, what and where could they be purchased? I'm especially intrigued by this "verbal package" that you're offering as part of the raffle. :)

Despite what many will have you believe, the MCAT has not yet changed significantly in terms of the topics covered. The frequency with which those topics come up has changed (e.g. the orgo content has shrunk and some things have been taken out of it since 2000). The newer materials are better, as they fix many errors, are easier to read, and better organized, and include some improved explanations, but they are not drastically different from the materials you have, and for good reason. If it ain't broke, why fix it? The laws of physics have not changed in the past few years, and neither has the AAMC scrapped the ones it used to test in favor of more esoteric things. You're responsible for the same things as ever. So I'm always okay with people using older EK materials if they're studying on their own. If you buy, borrow, or steal EK books from other people who've used them previously, EK gets no money directly from you, but I'm happy that you're using our materials, because you're in good hands.

We will be coming out with new materials to address the upcoming changes to the MCAT at an appropriate time. This year, you'll be experiencing those changes in the experimental sections right alongside of us, but you won't be responsible for the new content. As for the verbal package, I'm not 100% sure what it iis, as I'm not involved in providing materials, and am just passing on the information from the head office, but I have a strong suspicion that it is comprised of the two verbal books we produce - the VR lecture book, and the 101 VR passages book. These are essential to mastering the VR section, and they are excellent. If you don't win them, please buy them or get your hands on them however you can (I said what I said earlier not because I don't wish EK to do well - I absolutely do - but because I understand the plight of the broke pre-med/med student/resident), and best of luck to you!
 
How do you think EK audio osmosis is best used? It's hard to focus on JUST audio while doing anything else, but I feel like if I only listen then I'm not being very efficient with my time.

I used them, and tell my students to use them, in the same way I want you to use the books. First, you sit down with the books open and follow along as you listen to them once through without stopping and rewinding at all. Just listen for the big picture. Then listen to them again, following along with the books, but stop and go over and over lectures until you understand them (they go fast, so this might take several iterations with some more difficult topics) fully. Then, just play them constantly, and let your mind memorize it all in the background. You'll learn every fact and formula by heart, and even every joke and sound effect. I listened to them in the place of music, so when I was driving, working out, cooking, eating. You'll get to the point where you'll stop paying attention to much of it because you've heard it all and know where they're going - except when you don't. And it'll be at those times, like when Jordan says his mnemonic for the anterior pituitary hormones and you ask yourself, "Oh yeah, what were those again?" that you'll sit up with full attention and rack your brain to try to recall the hormones before he does. Do this with all of the lectures, and you'll be in excellent shape for the MCAT. Good luck!
 
In terms of verbal strategy, I first learned with Kaplan to map out paragraphs and main ideas (topic, scope, purpose). However, when I got to EK, I was told not to write anything at all. What makes your verbal strategy superior to other industries and why should I choose it?
 
In terms of verbal strategy, I first learned with Kaplan to map out paragraphs and main ideas (topic, scope, purpose). However, when I got to EK, I was told not to write anything at all. What makes your verbal strategy superior to other industries and why should I choose it?

There are many great things about our verbal strategy, but let me try to focus on your example in specific. When I was in college, I would often proofread my friends' papers. I'd bust out my red pen and mark up their papers the way my college english composition professor did with mine. I had a friend who'd then ask me what I thought of how her paper "flowed," and if it made sense overall, and I'd find that I couldn't really answer her question. I had focused on every word, sentence, paragraph, and every little punctuation mark, and I had missed the forest for the trees. So then she took to stopping me from taking out my pen at alll. She'd say, "I have an hour and a half to hand this in, so don't teach me how to write and fix every sentence up. Just tell me if it flows."

The lesson she taught me is the same one that EK is trying to teach each of us - read for the point, read for the "main idea." Don't focus on "key words", on summarizing paragraphs, and so on, because that takes away from your ability to pick up the main argument that the author is making. This was revolutionary in my mind, though it probably makes perfect sense to a student who is pre-law or a true humanities major. I don't need to focus on little points - I can always go back for them. Besides, as my focus improves, I will retain more of those details anyway. But I cannot just go back for the main idea. And as I read questions and answers, they will try to emphasize smaller points from the passage and may lead me astray of the main idea.

This concept, this emphasis, is what makes EK and its approach unique. More than teaching you about the MCAT, we aim to really teach you physics, chemistry, etc. better than you've ever understood them. More than just giving you gimmicks that make you feel like you're doing something, like you're getting something for the money you're spending; more than just giving a psychological tool that helps you to feel armed against the frustrations of this section, EK aims to help you to be a better reader, to listen for and examine the point of the passage, rather than to think of this as a sort of grown-up word search. EK respects the test enough to realize that it's more than that, and it will require more of you than either rote memorization or gimmicky routines.
 
I'm having a hard time memorizing all the details that are in the Biology book. I'm more of a concepts guy. Will audio osmosis do the trick for me? I happen to be more of a visual learner; not so much an audio learner.
 
Would Examkrackers help to prepare and provide a good foundation for those weak in a subject? For example, I consider myself weak with physics. Can the books help me to develop the skills and kind of thinking needed to work through physic problems?

Thanks!
 
How much improvement can your in class students expect from taking your course?
 
I'm having a hard time memorizing all the details that are in the Biology book. I'm more of a concepts guy. Will audio osmosis do the trick for me? I happen to be more of a visual learner; not so much an audio learner.

Audio Osmosis is great for people who struggle with memorization, as I do. If you're more of a visual learner, though, I'd suggest just going over and over the problems in the bio book. That will give you an applied approach to memorizing the most high yield points from that book. If you want to memorize beyond that, maybe make flash cards out of the bolded terms in that book. I have to admit that though the MCAT is not really a test of memorization, the bio section does require a great deal of it. That said, I'm exactly like you - poor memory, concepts guy - and I did just fine without trying to memorize anything in the bio book outside of the problems. Good luck!
 
Would Examkrackers help to prepare and provide a good foundation for those weak in a subject? For example, I consider myself weak with physics. Can the books help me to develop the skills and kind of thinking needed to work through physic problems?

Thanks!

Absolutely! Physics is my favorite subject and I thought I understood it extremely well, and I still learned so much from the book. I would suggest that you go beyond just reading it and use the forum on the EK website to learn from the struggles of previous students with concepts and problems in the book. If you use the book and the forum and still feel you need more help, buy the 1001 Physics problems book from EK and do all the problems in sections that are difficult for you. Or, if you're not sure which sections are your weak points, do every fifth problem in the 1001 book, look through the explanations for those problems, and wherever you feel you still need work, do all the problems around the difficult problems. That will be the best way for you to get targeted, thorough help on a difficult subject for you. Good luck!
 
How much improvement can your in class students expect from taking your course?

They can expect to do very well if they work very hard. I got a 30+ on my first exam, and went up four points the second time I took it, even though I just used the EK materials at home. It's up to the student and what he or she makes of the materials, the class, and the resources, especially the instructor. Unfortunately, no matter how much I tell my students that they need to make the MCAT priority #1 if they're spending time and money on a course, many still learn that lesson for themselves only after juggling many things, not studying long/hard enough, underperforming on the real test, and having to drop extracurricular activities as they study for a second test. Take your studying as seriously as I take my teaching, and the sky's the limit. Best of luck to you!
 
From my experience with EK books, they really suit my learning style. I'm a slow reader and tend not to do well with extraneous or wordy explanations, but at the same time I thoroughly enjoy gaining a strong understanding of the theory behind the facts. EK seems to have developed a good balance in this regard.

I'm currently still over a year from my expected MCAT date, but I'm also planning to spread out my study time (with some intensive study immediately prior to test day). My question is whether or not the EK series should be supplemented with other materials (other than practice tests), or whether it's best to spend more time reinforcing EK material.

Thanks for your feedback!
 
Do you recommend using EK books alone or in supplement with something else? Also how do you suggest using audio osmosis in order for it to be most helpful?
 
Hello!

From my fellow pre-medical friends I have heard the Examcrackers offers some of the best, quick, to the point materials.
How long do you expect it takes to go through your entire set? Which books should we focus on most?

Thanks!
 
Do you recommend using EK books alone or in supplement with something else? Also how do you suggest using audio osmosis in order for it to be most helpful?

Please see my response to ahstern's question above, as well as my next response below. Good luck!
 
Do you recommend using EK books alone or in supplement with something else? Also how do you suggest using audio osmosis in order for it to be most helpful?

For the most part, I recommend you use the books alone - as in, without any other company's materials or any text books. If you have audio osmosis, definitely use that with the books - it makes a great companion. The books are meant to be and truly are comprehensive. If you find that there are some basic concepts that perhaps you were never taught properly, and which are reviewed, but not explained in full in EK books, then use a textbook as a reference to understand THOSE CONCEPTS, or use the EK forums to see if someone else has had similar questions (or you could just post your questions on there if no one already has). But my advice in general is to have students master the EK lecture books first before moving on to any more detailed resources. EK lecture books will give you all you must know for the MCAT. Other resources might be helpful for more information that could be tested on the MCAT, but you should consider them as a supplement once you've already mastered the much more high-yield and much less overwhelming EK lecture series. 1001 books can be used as a supplement too, though we only recommend this when you are truly weak in a subject (see my responses to nomer and mdreapplicant for more on this set). As much as we'd love for you to send us more money, our goal is to keep you relaxed while you prepare for the MCAT. Using every one of our materials, let alone all the other stuff that's out there, regardless of whether it's useful or necessary for you, is not the best use of your time, patience, or money. Best of luck!
 
Hello!

From my fellow pre-medical friends I have heard the Examcrackers offers some of the best, quick, to the point materials.
How long do you expect it takes to go through your entire set? Which books should we focus on most?

Thanks!

If you're talking about the lecture books - the comprehensive set - you should focus on them all. Granted, Orgo is much less high-yield than the other sections, so perhaps you can focus less on that. How long it takes you to go through them depends a lot on your schedule, your previous knowledge, and how you learn. As a rule of thumb, I'd say that it will take you at least four weeks to go through the books thoroughly twice. From that point on, I'd want you to use all of your time reviewing problems in the books and in diagnostic exams, and using the lectures themselves only as reference. Reading the books more than twice in a standard MCAT study period (let's say ~3 months) is not generally beneficial. Good luck!
 
Hi,
Do the review books include practice passages or discretes only?
Thanks!
 
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