Customer Reviews

Examkrackers MCAT Audio Osmosis with Jordan and Jon

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

(Update 2011/06/07 - I increased the star rating to three, as I think, in hindsight, one was a bit harsh)

I bought these CDs for my wife, who is studying for the MCAT exam. This, along with hundreds of dollars worth of other assorted books and materials to help her prepare for it. We do not have a lot of money to spend on these materials as we are both university students (well, I just graduated) but we are willing to pay a high price for these items because we consider the benefit that my wife receives from them - a higher MCAT score - very important to our family's future success and a good investment. We feel the high price can be justified.

What I cannot tolerate is having recently discovered a list of numerous factual errors on these CDs, which I have verified myself by listening to them. This would not bother me so much if ExamKrackers had bothered to press a second edition of the CDs to correct these errors (I understand that people make mistakes, which is one of the main reasons for continuing editions of educational materials) or put a paper insert into the current CD set detailing these mistakes. The best they can do is admit to the errors on their website forums as "errata".

Maybe I'm still a little grumpy from spending so much money on numerous studying materials, but I felt the need to write this low-star review and get this information out to others so that intelligent buying decisions can be made by all.

Below is the list of errors. Note that I did not compile this list, but am simply sharing it for the benefit of others.

CD #3 Track 17: The terms 'cohesive' and 'adhesive' are reversed when Jordan says:
"The cohesive forces of water to glass are greater than the adhesive forces of water to water. The cohesive forces can cause a water column to climb the glass of a thin test tube. This is called capillary action. If the adhesive forces are stronger than the cohesive forces, like mercury in a glass test tube, the miniscus is convexed and will be pulled downward in a thin test tube."

He should have said:
"The adhesive forces of water to glass are greater than the cohesive forces of water to water. The adhesive forces can cause a water column to climb the glass of a thin test tube. This is called capillary action. If the cohesive forces are stronger than the adhesive forces, like mercury in a glass test tube, the miniscus is convexed and will be pulled downward in a thin test tube."

All other references to cohesive and adhesive are correct.

Cohesive forces are the forces between molecules within the fluid, such as water-to-water forces. Adhesive forces are the forces between the molecules of the fluid and the container, such as water-to-glass.
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CD #4 Track 2: Coulomb's law constant is 8.9x10 to the positive 9 not negative 9.

This edit is courtesy of one of our astute listeners. Thank you for the edit.
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CD #4 Track 18: When discussing the critical angle Jordan says "If the light is moving from a lower idex of refraction to a higher index of refraction..."

Total internal reflection occurs when light tries to move from a medium with a HIGH index of refraction to a medium with a LOW index of refraction and the angle of incidence is so great that all the light is reflected back into the high indexed medium.

In the same discussion, Jon says "The larger index of refraction must be on the top of the ratio." when solving for the critical angle with Snell's law. The opposite is true. The larger index of refraction must be on the bottom of the ratio, so that the ratio is a fraction less than one.
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CD #5 Track #7: Stand alone timers are no longer allowed on the MCAT. You are limited to a watch.
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CD #6 Track 5: Jon says "The equilibrium expression changes with temperature, but is not affected by a catalyst or by concentrations." He should have said "The equilibrium CONSTANT changes with temperature, but the EQUILIBRIUM EXPRESSION does not. Neither the equilibrium expression nor the equilibrium constant is affected by a catalyst or by concentrations. "
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CD #6 track #15: Jordan says that the net heat transfer rate is proportional to... ...the temperature difference between the body and the environment raised to the fourth power. net heat transfer = sigma*epsilon*A*(T^4 - Te^4).

The net heat transfer is actually proportional to

T^4 - Te^4) NOT (T-Te)^4

At low temperture differences, Newton's law of cooling says that the rate of cooling of a body is approximately proportional to the temperature difference between the body and the environment.
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CD #7 Track 2: While discussing melting Jon says "It is interesting to relate thermodynamics to the heat curve... ...But the enthalpy change is NEGATIVE"

Jon should have said "It is interesting to relate thermodynamics to the heat curve... ...But the enthalpy change is POSITIVE" Both enthalpy change and entropy change are positive during melting. Everything else in the track still applies. If both entropy and enthalpy change are positive, delta G depends upon temperature.
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CD #7 Track #8: Jordan says "Lewis acids: donate; bases: accept." This is backwards. Lewis acids accept a pair of electrons and Lewis bases donate a pair of electrons.
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CD #7 track #10: Jordan says that the pH of a solution with a hydrogen ion concentration of 3.6x10^-4 is 4.5. It is 3.5.
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CD #7 Track #11: Jordan says "The log of A times B equals the log A times the log of B." He should say "The log of A times B equals the log of A plus the log of B."
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CD #7 Track 26: Jon says "..the arteriole red blood cells contain fewer chloride ions than venous red blood cells."

If Jon had been thinking correctly he would have said "..the arteriole red blood cells contain MORE chloride ions than venous red blood cells."
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CD #7 Track 30: Jordan says "If delta G zero is positive, K is greater than one. If delta G zero is negative, then K is less than one." This is backwards. A positive delta G zero indicates a K less than one, and a negative delta G zero indicates a K greater than one.
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CD #8 Track 23: Jon says "...dragging the second tRNA to the P site, adn exposing the P site for yet another tRNA."
Jon should say: "...dragging the second tRNA to the P site, and exposing the A site for yet another tRNA."
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CD #8 track 23: DNA and RNA are read 5 to 3. Anticodons are an exception and they are read 3-5. This track says that the anticodon is read 5 to 3. This is incorrect. This knowledge is very unlikely to be tested by the MCAT.
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CD #9,Track 50: says that the oocyte undergoes meiosis 1 and 2 after penetration by the sperm.

This is incorrect for humans. The correct process is as follows:
"Oogenesis begins in the ovaries of the fetus. All the eggs of the female are arrested as primary oocytes at birth... ...Shortly before the primary oocyte is released from the follicle during ovulation, the nucleus divides by meiosis to become the secondary oocyte... ...The entry of the sperm causes the cortical reaction, which prevents other sperms from fertilizing the same egg. Now the oocyte goes through the second meiotic division releasing a second polar body. Fertilization occurs when the nuclei of the egg and sperm fuse to form the zygote."
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CD #12 Track 3: Jordan says "isn't there a way to add the halogen to the MOST substituted carbon?" and Jon says, "with peroxides... HYDROGEN adds the most substituted carbon"...

Jordan should say "Halogen to the LEAST sustituted carbon".
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CD #12 track #6: Hydroboration.

Jordan says, "Now is there a way to hydrate an ALCOHOL with anti-markovnikov addition."

Jordan should have said ALKENE instead?
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CD #10 Track 8: The track incorrectly reads: "nutrients are absorbed into the enterocytes of the small intestines mainly in the DUODENUM"

Duodenum does mostly digestion and jejunem and ileum do most of the absorption.

I'm satisfied with my 35, and I give these CDs a fair bit of the credit. I'd recommend, as another reviewer has, taking notes the first time through. It is a bit time consuming to do that, but you'll engage another learning modality. I think such an approach really helps drive home concepts later while listening over and over...and porta-lecture is the true beauty/benefit of AO CDs.

Yes, the humor and sound effects are goofy and sometimes get carried away, but generally they are welcome breathers. I'd second the call for a revision that maybe shortens some of the longer comedy bits. But after a few listens, you'll know when to hit the ">>" button.

I just can't see paying $1,000 for such a class, given resources like the AO CDs, the plethora of study books (by various companies including Kaplan), your textbooks and notes, and cold AAMC exams (be sure you self-administer, timed, several of these!!). AO CDs are broken into topical lectures so you can create a very efficient schedule of study and there is website where questions can be posted to the lecturers. Just be sure to listen frequently and actively for 3 months; don't take "osmosis" literally, you need to think...Good luck!

I used the Audio Osmosis CDs, my textbooks, and AAMC practice tests for self-directed MCAT prep. In my opinion, A.O. is a great bargain; I am very glad I "took a chance" on it rather than blowing $1K+ on a prep class. All I wanted, and what I got from A.O., was a clear, concise refresher of the science covered on the MCAT (as a post-bacc premed, my general chem and physics are about 7 years old). To boot, they also give a useful "strategy" for the verbal reasoning section - worked for me.

In short, I found Jon's description hits its mark: the CDs condense many major concepts into a series of compact, conversational lectures (and they're portable and repeatable). Dense topics are frequently leavened with humor and goofy sound effects - these also generally make factoids and rules-of-thumb stick in your head. Please note that a few errors slipped through, you'll probably catch them, but you can also check their website for the short list of errata. Finally, the authors support their product(s) personally via a bulletin board system on their website.

These 12 CDs are excellent for prep for MCAT. Because of these CDs, my score went from a 22 (6v, 7ps, 9bs) to a 26 (7v,9ps,10bs). This may not seem like its that good of an improvement, but I did almost no other studying besides listening to these CDs. The physics and gem chem sections are the best because they explain the subjects conceptually, which helps enormously on the real mcat. Very highly recommended.

I would not recommend "studying" straight from these audio CD's, though it can be done. Instead, it is very helpful to REVIEW the topics you're uncomfortable with. I listened to them in the car, in my lab job, before bed. They offer great flexibility to one's studying and the jokes help you relax a bit and not be so tense. The topics are covered with depth and help you become more INTUITIVE with the science.
Because the audio CD's go closely with the Examcrackers books, it feels like you can supplement a "lecture" with the great books. These guys are the best hands down on MCAT materials and have an online message board to answer any questions (very quickly too).

I strongly recommend the MCAT audio Osmosis CD's to anyone who is preparing ot take the MCAT. Whatever intellectual level you are on, these CD's are incredibly helpful. They are very explanatory about all the concepts that will be addressed on the MCAT, and they review them in a creative, interesting way. It is practically impossible to become bored while listening to these because they do a lot of sound effects, real life examples, give insight on the thought process behind the MCAT and how you should approach it, and they approach the hard concepts addressed on the MCAT with a more intuitive approach. In addition, by having two different people teaching it, it is so much more engaging and exciting to listen to. I have personally met Jon Orsay, and trust me, not only does he know what he's talking about, he can communicate his knowledge effectively, and is definitely worth the money.
Also, the convenience of the CD's are very valuable. I listen to them in my car, as well as sitting down and taking notes on them. they fully cover all areas of the MCAT, and I am going to use this solely as my test prep (in addition to some practice MCATS), because it covers al the topics so well. I strongly recommend this product, especially if you don't want to take and expensive prep course.

Audio Osmosis was very helpful to me as a secondary tool for reviewing, but you should definitely get the regular Examkrackers books as well. I found the jokes to be a useful memory tool and only mildly distracting the second time around. I guess if you're going to listen to these CDs for a year then the humor would get obnoxious, as some of the other reviewers have mentioned, but at that point maybe you should just take the test...

The only complaint that I have about these CDs is that they are ridiculously overpriced. I could not justify blowing the $125 on

9 CDs, and I was able to get them off of Ebay for around $60, which was worth it. I'm not really sure why they have inflated the price so much, but if you can get them cheaper, then do it. They are a good study tool and really help with memory recall, in my opinion.

These guys were great. They covered everything that was on my MCAT in
April. They discuss the science concept rather than give lectures. They
aren't nearly as funny as they think they are, but I have to admit that I
did laugh occasionally. Anyway, their jokes and sound effects definitely
helped me remember the material. And there is no way that I would have
listened to 13 hours of straight lecture. If you really think 5 hours is
better than 13 hours, and dry and boring is better than interesting, then I
suggest Audio Learn instead. Unfortunately, I tried Audio Learn before I
found Audio Osmosis.

These cds are great. I spent $1300 on a MCAT prep course and these cds are much more useful then the prep class material. I have actually stopped going to the prep class and just use this material and I feel like I am making more progress than I was while I was going to class. If I had known about examkrackers before I signed up for the course I would have just bought these cds and saved [a lot of money].

AudioLearn and Audio Osmosis seem to get to the same place in their own ways. Neither is perfect. Both are helpful. Both CDs were created by highly credentialed people. They cover the same information, which bolsters the faith you can have that you're studying the proper material.

I bought AudioLearn a year after the jokes on these CDs became unbearable. Audiolearn lacks these distractions, however suffers from a problem that I hadn't anticipated: AudioLearn is as stiff as AudioLearn is corny.

AudioLearn:
-- Lectures are quite long (up to 18 minutes)
-- -- One track discusses several topics, thus making it difficult to locate specific information
-- No track listing is enclosed
-- Stiff (No contractions, no pronouns, repetitive word use)
-- -- For instance, when discussing the naming of alkanes:
-- -- -- "If the number of carbons is one, you say meth, if it is two you say eth, three you say prop, four you say but, five you say pent, six you say hex, seven you say hept, eight you say oct, nine you say non, ten you say dec."
-- Narrator sounds like Mr Sulu
-- No jokes, no sound effects
-- Mnemonics...sort of
-- -- To remember the signal that causes heart contraction: "just think of the letters SABP"... 'cause that's catchy.

AudioOsmosis:
-- Short lectures make it easy to find a particular topic
-- The jokes, gongs, applause, & laughtrack distract
-- -- They account for 20% of the lecutres
-- -- I can't stress enough how distracting they are
-- Jordan & John's co-narration makes listening more intersting
-- MAMA: Mnemonics Are Memory Aids