Kaplan MCAT Biochemistry Review: Created for MCAT 2015

by Kaplan Test Prep

The MCAT is changing in 2015. With the addition of three semesters’ worth of material, more advanced critical thinking skills, a longer duration, and changes in Biochemistry content, the new exam requires even more diligent prep with resources from Kaplan Test Prep.
 
Kaplan's MCAT Biochemistry Review

UNPARALLELED MCAT 2015 The Kaplan MCAT team has spent years studying every document related to MCAT 2015 available. In conjunction with our expert psychometricians, the Kaplan team is able to ensure the accuracy and realism of our practice materials.

THOROUGH SUBJECT  Written by top-rated, award-winning Kaplan instructors. All material has been vetted by editors with advanced science degrees and by a medical doctor.

NEW PRACTICE QUESTIONS   Brand-new end-of-chapter questions and the introduction of Interactive Concept Checks, which allow students to identify their strengths and areas of opportunity in real time.

MORE PRACTICE THAN THE   With questions throughout the book and access to three full-length practice sections, Kaplan's  MCAT Biochemistry Review has more practice than any other MCAT Biochemistry book on the market.

ONLINE Access to online resources to augment content studying, including three full-length practice sections. The MCAT is a computer-based test, so practicing in the same format as Test Day is key.

TOP-QUALITY   With dozens of new images and full-color, 3-D illustrations, charts, graphs and diagrams from the pages of  Scientific American , Kaplan's  MCAT Biochemistry Review turns even the most intangible, complex science into easy-to-visualize concepts.

KAPLAN'S MCAT  Kaplan gets more people into medical school than all other courses, combined.

UTILITY : Can be used alone or with other companion books in Kaplan's  MCAT Review series.

Genres: Science

480 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2014

Reviews

[Irene Kwon]

my ranking of the amino acids:
1. tyrosine - polar polar polar bear
2. phenylalanine - love me a nice benzene ring
3. alanine - i could name my daughter this
4. serine - OH is my fav functional group
5. glycine - nice and simple
6. valine - v is such a cute letter
7. threonine - cute and unproblematic
8. methionine - what tf is sulfur doing here
9. cysteine - the name gives me the ick but disulfide bonds are cool ig
10. leucine - basic b
11. isoleucine - basic b 2.0
12. aspartic acid - why is this D
13. proline - tough to draw AND problematic in alpha helixes
14. tryptophan - too much junk in the trunk
15. glutamic acid - aspartic acid but longer
16. lysine - i just don't like positive residues v much
17. arginine - so complicated for what
18. histidine - literally you're doing the most
19. asparagine - asparagus??
20. glutamine - get an original name, don't just copy glutamate

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book was so good I decided to read it twice!

[Abbi Bertocchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a great starting point to MCAT studying, coming off a banger of a Biochem 320 grade was lightwork. Mrs. Kovalenko would be so proud of me. Lots of memorization so not 5/5. Was shocked to find out so much of Gen Bio and genetics is considered Biochem. Huge shout out to Mearls and Becky for this one

[Catalina Ordonez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hated this book, but it was so necessary for the MCAT so it's nothing personal against the book. I will say, biochem and reading don't go together. I just ended up looking for a video explanation for lots of things.

[Ali Crist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love me some amino acids

[karishma]

dont look at me if i dont do this im not gna hit my reading challenge goal this yr. Leave me aloen

[Elari]

If you, like me, happen to be studying for the MCAT years after you've obtained your bachelor's degree, here's a word of advice: don't start with biochemistry because it has "bio" in it and bio is nice. Note that -logy (Logos) has been nibbled by the Ministry of Che. Run away, then come back prepared. What I mean to say is, go from general chemistry to biochem to organic.

[num · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good book ! had some really dumb questions but overall it's been nice. again the university of western ontario really primed me for this section.

i don't think i'm going to review the psych/soc + physics book so this is my last kaplan review good luck everyone.

[od · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite in the Kaplan series -- literally taught me everything I know about Biochem and I am a biochem major

[mg · Rating 3 out of 5]

ruined my life <3

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing I can say about is that it's done

[Claire Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

at least this section was more interesting

[aya]

so unbelievably s*icide inducing

[Isaac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Khan academy was better for the hard stuff. They should give mnemonics for metabolism instead of bad pictures and paragraphs explaining what is happening.

[soph · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHEN WILL I BE FREE

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've decided I deserve Goodreads credit for reading these hideous prep books.

Review:
I feel like for biochem this book is very hit or miss. I thought the explanations in the first half (enzymes, genetics, etc) were pretty good, but the metabolism sections were confusing, especially lipid metabolism. The diagrams were limited in number and not that helpful (molecules were long and flat and it was hard to tell what to focus on). I also didn't like that all the bioenergetics stuff was stuffed at the very end, I thought it would have suited being distributed throughout more. And it was really hard to parse sometimes what we ought to memorize vs. just have a good sense of. Lots of enzyme names were given that I suspect are useless to commit to memory (like the individual enzymes of the PDC) and there were no mnemonics or suggestions for how to remember anything. This was one of the worst books in the series by far.

[Logan Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the subject of biochemistry as a whole, this text leaves much to the imagination. Heavy on memorization of key players in the human biochemical game and light on how these players influence an individual as a whole. Interesting cameos inject some life to the text, but too infrequently to make this one a must read. Avoid unless you plan on writing the MCAT.