<p>What are some good MCAT review books to start off with? I am a first year undergrad.</p>
<p>None, do not review course material until you have taken the courses. If you are planning to use MCAT study materials to prep/study for your classes, I would recommend buying materials that are specifically focused on those courses rather than picking and choosing what is on the MCAT. As far as in the future, a lot of people swear by Exam Crackers. I used the Kaplan materials myself.</p>
<p>^ Totally understand, but I ask this because my freshman year consists of two of the pre med requisites (Bio and Chem), so I was like why not start studying things for the MCAT, for those two subjects.</p>
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<p>Because it won’t help you… wait until a few months before the test to study</p>
<p>^Why would it not help? I’m not trying to be rude or anything haha, I’m just curious. I’m real serious about this, so I want to start as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Because the content is not what makes the MCAT hard. It is not a test that is trying to see if you remembered everything that you were taught for all of the pre-reqs. If you have to review for the MCAT starting your freshman year in order to get into medical school you will fail out by September of your first year as a medical student. </p>
<p>Further, it is a common mistake of new pre-meds to put too much emphasis on the MCAT. While important, it is not the sole determinant of your future. Extracurriculars, research, community service, Letters of Rec, and let us not forget GRADES (studying for an A is a far better use of your time than even 30 minutes of MCAT studying a day/week/month/year at this point) are all things that should take precedence until at least your Junior year. If you study at all for the MCAT before a few months ahead of the exam and you get a single non-A or A+ grade, then you have short changed yourself.</p>
<p>It’s useless to study years in advance for the MCAT because the MCAT is not a test of how many facts you know. It’s a test of your ability to apply what you know. Studying books years in advance doesn’t help because it doesn’t let you practice the set of skills and techniques you need to succeed on the MCAT.</p>
<p>What you can do now to prepare for the MCAT involves doing well in your science and English coursework and working on your reading comprehension and speed. Read the NYTimes or the Economist, and think about what you read. Why is the writer saying this? What evidence do they use to back up their claims? Are there alternate ways to interpret the facts they present? What is their tone? How do they view their subject? Those are just examples of the things you should think about as you read.</p>
<p>MCAT review books and other review materials such as old exams should be saved for a 3-6mos (6 mos being really too long) before the test. One reason for this is that you don’t want to have exhausted all the good stuff for when you really need it. And just by being in class and learning the material you are studying for the MCAT. As someone who took the MCAT just a few mos ago, I can tell you that the MCAT will not require you to relearn all you premed classes. The MCAT barely scratches the surface of what you learn in class. Review books will help you refresh the material when it is time for the test, and if you learned the material properly the first time this is more than enough. I thought the MCAT was almost a reading comprehension test. </p>
<p>The one thing I would actually strongly strongly suggest you do for the MCAT now is start studying for verbal. The best way to do this is as Shades suggested, start reading critically. If you read a lot already (and I don’t mean textbooks) then start reading. I think the New York Times is an excellent idea since it has a broad range of topics. Verbal passages on the MCAT are all over the place, from ones more medicinally related to anthropology to fiction.</p>
<p>Got it, I’ll pick up the NYTimes, especially since I live in NY. Anything else? Loving the advice.</p>