Barrons MCAT with CD-ROM

Product Review

Completely revised and expanded, the new Barron's MCAT test prep manual with enclosed CD-ROM provides test takers with an in-depth, easy-to-use science review and a set of often-neglected but critical time-management strategies for test taking that cover reading comprehension, essay writing, and scientific problem solving. These strategies have been developed by the book's team of authors, based on their many years of hands-on MCAT training experience.

The book opens with a detailed overview of the exclusively computer-based test The comprehensive set of strategies that follows comes with advice on apportioning and focusing study time and managing stress. A special section instructs test takers in the advanced timing and testing strategies they'll need to maximize their score when they take the actual MCAT. Every part of the 4-hour and 20-minute test is explained and analyzed in detail and supplemented with sample questions. A diagnostic test follows to help students determine areas where they most need to focus their study efforts.

Six review chapters cover the test's four sections:

Physical Sciences (General Chemistry and Physics)

Verbal Reasoning

The two MCAT Essays

Biological Sciences (Biology and Organic Chemistry)
Each review chapter concludes with a test that reflects the MCAT format. All questions are answered and explained. Following the review chapters, two additional full-length model MCATs are presented with answer keys and answer explanations.

The new edition's highlights include:

Critical strategies for timing, test taking, scientific problem solving, verbal reasoning, and the test's writing sample.

Expanded science review chapters that specifically cover test topics as recommended by the AAMC. The concise and clearly written science review is designed to give students an understanding of concepts rather than merely presenting facts for them to memorize. To this end, the review uses frequent examples, practice problems, and diagrams to clarify concepts.

Practice MCAT tests that have been carefully designed to represent the specific patterns of actual MCAT questions and passages.

A comprehensive, multi-month study plan.

The CD-ROM enclosed with the book presents two additional practice MCATs in the computer-based format, thus closely imitating actual test-taking conditions and offering the added convenience of automatic scoring. All practice MCATs on the CD-ROM are specially designed to capture the underlying patterns of the actual MCAT.

This new edition of Barron's MCAT manual with CD-ROM was reviewed for authenticity of detail by an advisory team of current premed students at schools across the country.

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(18 customer reviews)

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful

Poor quality, BEWARE FAKE REVIEWS!, January 7, 2012

nick - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barron's MCAT with CD-ROM (Paperback)

Let me preface this review by saying that I went into this review book with the best hopes. I thought that this book could teach much of the material covered on the MCAT. So I began my journey through the material. To its credit, the material is well covered to a reasonable depth. That is about the only positive comment i can make for this publication. Many of the calculations contain substantial omissions. Though the answers are correct, the work is wrong, for example,

There is a question which involves using the buffer equation (see page 226 if you own this book and doubt me), and so it works out to,

pH = 3.17 + log (0.02/0.2)
according to the book the solution then goes,
pH = 3.17 - 0.1 = 3.07

soo close, but alas completely wrong, log (0.02/0.2) = LOG (0.1) = -1
and so pH = 2.17

I could understand this as a simple mathematical mistake and look the other way until I got to the after section review. The answers presented in...Read more

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Well organized, thorough and with well prepared practice tests, October 9, 2011

scienceguy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barron's MCAT with CD-ROM (Paperback)

I think that this edition is a big improvement over previous editions from Barron's. A great deal of thought has gone into the organization of the book. This includes many study and test-prep strategies which should be helpful. The review material is clear and well presented. This is not a flashy book with lots of color but the material should be what matters. There are six practice tests worth of material in the book and they do a good job of mirroring the MCAT (I have looked at five years worth of released exams to verify this). All in all, this is definitely a book worth considering if you plan to study for the MCAT. The price is most reasonable as well.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

excellent mcat helper, December 19, 2011

c.j. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barron's MCAT with CD-ROM (Paperback)

I liked the format of how the information is presented. There seems to be a decent flow of examples and definitions blended together. The information appears to be accurate. They also used students who were preparing to take the mcat to help edit the information, no better source! Great book!