I recently took the MCAT, and thank God it’s finally over. I’m sorry to all of you who still have to take it. It really sucks, not only because you have to study a lot, but also because you have to figure out how to study for it. You can imagine that this test is way different than any other test you have ever taken.
It is a terrible exam.
And once again, I’m sorry.
In order to perfect your MCAT study schedule, here at The MCAT Zone we write book reviews to help you figure out which MCAT books you NEED for your preparation.
Before I continue I have one disclaimer: Kaplan 528 is meant to be an additional resource that is added onto your study regime. It’s like a fine tuning of your study schedule.
That being said, this book is a must have.
Practice problems
This is possibly the most important quality of the book because the best study material you can get your hands on is practice problems. This book in particular has a good selection of problems. Quantity-wise there aren’t a whole lot of problems, but quality-wise they are great.
The book offers detailed explanations of why the correct answer is right and why the wrong ones are wrong. Quite frankly, the official AAMC practice problems don’t offer such detailed explanations. Kaplan 528 also goes into great detail of what to highlight in the text, what notes you should take, and in general how to develop a successful plan of attack.
I wrote a post recently which lists 7 additional great books with MCAT practice problems. Remember, the best MCAT prep is always going to involve practice problem after practice problem!
Refines your study techniques
As I mentioned earlier, this book should not be used as a primary study source, but an extra tool to sharpen your edge in order to get a couple extra points on the MCAT.
Kaplan 528 doesn’t have any content review, but it contains strategies on how to get yourself into the MCAT mindset. This is important because learning how to take the MCAT is a challenge of its own. So my recommendation, buy this book and use it towards the second half of your studying when you have already built up your foundation of content review.
It’s cheap
We all know that studying for the MCAT can be expensive.
Kaplan MCAT 528 Advance Prep is only $28 new, and you could easily find an old/used copy for even less.
Also when you finish studying for the MCAT, you can easily resell any books you bought. You might expect to pay hundreds of dollars on books, but if you keep them intact you can easily make at least 75% of your money back.
Increase your MCAT score and buy it on amazon.