Rating: 
Summary: Kaplan is the ANSWER to the TEST question
Review: I used the Kaplan MCAT books and I brought my score from a pathetic 3,6,7 to a 9,10,12. I FIRMLY BELIEVE that if you STUDY HARD with the KAPLAN books, LEARN THEM COLD! . . .and THEN do hundreds or even thousands of questions, you CAN'T go wrong. Let's be honest here --> KAPLAN knows the MCAT like nobody else, their material is EXACTLY what is on the MCAT, no more, no less. THESE BOOKS, and many many practice questions is the formula for success, TRUST ME.
Rating:
Summary: adequate review book
Review: Covers the topics needed for the MCAT quite well. Occasional factual errors, but that's probably to be expected in any review book. The practice problems are much more difficult than the problems on the actual MCAT, so don't let them dishearten you. Do problems from the practice MCATs put out by AMCAS instead.
Rating: 
Summary: OH WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY
Review: Do not buy this book. I REPEAT. DO NOT!! This was a waste of my time. The book was very vague and introduced things that would never be tested on the Real Mcat. Stay away Kaplan. You lowered my score!
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but to do well on the MCAT there is more to it...
Review: Don't get me wrong, this book is good. It reviews the four major subject areas tested on the MCAT, and does it well. The information is there and pretty well organized. But for me the key to doing well (I scored in the mid 30's) was working through the past MCATs provided by the AAMC (not the exercises provided by Kaplan). My advice would be to read this book, but to leave yourself at least two weeks prior to the exam to just work through the past MCATs. I bought all the practice exams..., but they were worth EVERY PENNY. I suggest you time yourself as if you were taking the actual exam, it helps A LOT. I thought the MCAT was a relatively long exam given the time alloted. Working through the practice exams helped me work on my time management skills, which helped me tremendously on the day of the exam. Also, the exams helped me understand the style of questioning on the MCAT. Although I never found the same question repeated on any of the exams, the type and format of the questions were similar. CONCLUSION: Read this book, it is a good review book providing the needed backgound information. But I suggest you spend at least a couple of weeks working through the AAMC practice exams, under timed conditions, and reviewing their answer booklets.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Start
Review: First I'll introduce myself- I'm a 37 year old with a BA and MAT in biology who is planning on returning to school next year. I am using this as a study guide for the OAT, since 1) the OAT books are not well reviewed, and 2)they say if you can 80% the MCAT, you'll 90% the OAT. The MCAT covers several years worth of material. This book- hefty as it is - is only a good starting point for studying. It outlines the material covered on the MCAT with some depth, but that's it - it's only an outline. If the material is somewhat familiar to you, you'll need no other resource, but when you get stumped, you will occasionally have to seek more detail elsewhere.
The book also does not have many practice problems- which again will cause you to open old text books. There is a single test in the rear, but I always feel like saving that to the end. The CD is ok. It also contains a test and some handy flashcards. The flashcards are nice, but you can't work with them by subject. Again- this book is only a beginning. I purchased this book because I trust Kaplan and, with my limited expectations, I have not been disappointed. Some of the other MCAT prep-books had "reviews" which read suspiciously like planted advertisements. Some of the other MCAT prep-books had " review opinions" which were posted with near-identical wording on different web sites. ANY book which claims to have ALL the answers to your MCAT needs is lying, unless the tome is over 2000 pages, or has a font size of 8. So, suspicious of the competition, I bought this book and I have not yet been disappointed. P.S. Being Kaplan, there are a lot of helpful hints and strategies as you read along, but, if you are familiar with Kaplan, you'd already expect that.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Start
Review: First I'll introduce myself- I'm a 37 year old with a BA and MAT in biology who is planning on returning to school next year. I am using this as a study guide for the OAT, since 1) the OAT books are not well reviewed, and 2)they say if you can 80% the MCAT, you'll 90% the OAT. The MCAT covers several years worth of material. This book- hefty as it is - is only a good starting point for studying. It outlines the material covered on the MCAT with some depth, but that's it - it's only an outline. If the material is somewhat familiar to you, you'll need no other resource, but when you get stumped, you will occasionally have to seek more detail elsewhere.
The book also does not have many practice problems- which again will cause you to open old text books. There is a single test in the rear, but I always feel like saving that to the end. The CD is ok. It also contains a test and some handy flashcards. The flashcards are nice, but you can't work with them by subject. Again- this book is only a beginning. I purchased this book because I trust Kaplan and, with my limited expectations, I have not been disappointed. Some of the other MCAT prep-books had "reviews" which read suspiciously like planted advertisements. Some of the other MCAT prep-books had " review opinions" which were posted with near-identical wording on different web sites. ANY book which claims to have ALL the answers to your MCAT needs is lying, unless the tome is over 2000 pages, or has a font size of 8. So, suspicious of the competition, I bought this book and I have not yet been disappointed. P.S. Being Kaplan, there are a lot of helpful hints and strategies as you read along, but, if you are familiar with Kaplan, you'd already expect that.
Rating: 
Summary: Great tool for mastering the MCAT, invaluable to premeds.
Review: I am a premed and will be starting med school in August 2001. This book was great for me for several reasons. First, it covers really all the science material on the test. This book essentially had everything I'd learned from a year of general chem, a year of organic, a year of physics, and countless biology courses. So the scientific review is great. But I think the best part about the book is the large section that really prepares you for the rigorous format of the MCAT. This book actually teaches you Kaplan's proven method of how to take the MCAT - from strategies on how to move through the questions, to how to write the essays... The book really prepared me for the test. I only had to take the MCAT once, but without this book I probably would have had to take it again ..., so this book more than paid for itself for me. Kaplan also knows the areas that the MCAT really likes to cover and lets you know - several of these tips paid off for me on the test. The book also has full length practice tests and half length tests on the CD that analyze your performance and time you and let you know where you're weak and how you can adjust yourself timewise. I would really recommend this book to anyone that needs to excel on the MCAT to get into med school....
Rating:
Summary: Great Book at First Glance
Review: I bought the book yesturday, At first glance it seems to be a great book. It is over 1000 pages of true MCAT material. It comes with a CD that has sample tests on it. All and all, it seems like a good purchase.
Rating:
Summary: This book really helped
Review: I bought this book because some of my friends were taking the Kaplan MCAT course. I couldn't take the course, but this book was really, really helpful. I'm taking the test in August and I feel really prepared thanks to this book.
Rating:
Summary: I can't compare it to others, I didn't need any other books.
Review: I can't compare this book to other MCAT Prep books, because I didn't use any other one to study for the MCAT. I didn't need to. I sat down with this book for 4-5 days a week from December to April studying for the April 2001 MCAT. I didn't have enough money to take [an expensive] course, so I just bought [an inexpensive] book and scored in the mid-30s. You don't need to waste all that money on a course. You just have to keep your ultimate goal in mind, (which I presume is) doing well on your MCAT to get into med school.
After completing all of the premed courses, except biochemistry, I studied with this book for the MCAT and it provided a good review for the science subjects. The verbal sections also provided good practice, but I also reviewed plenty with AAMC's MCAT tests.
Don't waste [a lot of money]. Just budget your time.
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