Customer Reviews

Columbia Review Intensive Preparation for the MCAT

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This was the first study guide I bought for my MCAT review. After reading through it I thought it was very good. However, after purchasing and reading the Kaplan comprehensive review study guide, I realized that the Columbia Review book is NOT very intensive and does not thoroughly explain some scientific concepts (especially in the biology section). Specific details include the muscular/skeletal system and the nervous system. Bresnick's book is like glossary of terms with simple definitions with inadequate scientific background. Save your money. Buy the Kaplan book.

I received the Columbia Review book as part of an MCAT course I'm taking. The book is out of print, but just in case anyone is thinking about special-ordering it, DON'T!

The book provides a decent overview of MCAT science, but the subject area practice tests that follow each section are full of errors. Some of the questions don't have a single "best" answer, while others don't seem to have any correct answers at all. I'm not talking about typographical errors; I'm talking about poorly written questions that do not reflect the level of difficulty of the real MCAT.

Preparing for the MCAT is hard enough. You don't need review materials that make it even harder. Use the Kaplan Comprehensive Review, and if you want more practice on a particular subject, try the MCAT Biology/Chemistry/Physics series from Nova Press.

I don't understand how this book could get anything but a "1 star" from anyone. The questions are downright wrong! I've only done a few of the passages and found numerous mistakes where the book outright contradicts itself. You don't have to be a genius to find the mistakes, I found them in the verbal section. This book needs to be tossed - do yourself a favor and spend a little more money buying Kaplan/Princeton or basically anything else.

Hey, pre-meds! I had 4 weeks to concentrate on studying for the MCAt after my summer session last year. I have a great grasp of the concepts in the pre-med courses and just needed the STRATEGY of how to do well for the MCAt. This is THE book. If you really understood the stuff in your classes the first time around, this book gives an excellent review and supplements the stuff you didn't learn but need for the MCAT. All in all I did 1 week non-stop studying/section then a week of tests I went over with friends. With such intensive studying, I fared well [9v 11p 11b]. I know of one person who got a 37 using this alone to study! Good luck to all.

This book was a dissappointment. I found the chemistry and biology sections to be lacking in their explinations of concepts vital to the MCAT. The testing sections were full of mistakes, something I found to be quite frustrating. How are you supposed to learn from an author who has trouble with the material? I would recommend Kaplan's Comprehensive Review, and sticking to the AAMC Practice Tests. Save yourself the frustration! Good luck on test day.

In recent surveys of premed students, this book has been consistently rated the highest MCAT prep guide (it received an A-). It's a great book to use as a review- kind of thin on a few of the biology sections, but overall very good. Using this book, plus the 4 practice exams published by the Association of American Medical Colleges will do a great job of preparing you for the MCAT.

The information about the subjects may be adequate, but it does not explain it very thoroughly and the MCAT is about having a full understanding and being able to link concepts together. In addition, the tests have many mistakes! After having done a few passages, I started carefully picking through them after I had finished and found a few answers which directly contradicted the passages - these practice tests served only to confuse me. It feels as though no one proofed this book. Since then I've bought a book from Kaplan and Princeton and although they are a bit more expensive they have been used by many pre-meds with reliable results - and they don't have mistakes.

i found this book very detailed, easy to read and with great mcat sample exams and detailed soltions.

very useful...my mcat score went up 9 points