MCAT Berkeley Review MCAT Home Study Program Information

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Berkeley Review MCAT Home Study Program Information

The materials are designed to fit a home-study program lasting between 75 days and 135 days (depending on the amount of study and practice time available to the student). The materials consist of two parts:
  • 1) There are home-study books which cover subjects in detail and provide hundreds of practice passages and thousands of practice questions all in the same book set
  • 2) There are seven full-length CBTs that offer a wide range of passage styles and topics to expose students to the full spectrum of difficulties and wording they can expect on their actual MCAT

Home-Study Books
(All passages include detailed explanations, so that students can prepare solely by doing the passages and reviewing the answer explanations. Roughly 40% of the pages in our materials are answer explanations.)

Biology Book 1
Neurology and Muscle, Heart and Lung, Kidney and GI, Reproduction and Development, and Endocrinology and Immunology
Contains 84 passages and nearly 600 questions
Biology Book 2
Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Genetics
Contains 84 passages and nearly 600 questions
  • Many students find our biology passages challenging and a great way to assess how well they know biology. They are an excellent resource and new as of November 2010 is the inclusion of an extra practice exam at the conclusion of the books.

General Chemistry Book 1
Stoichiometry, Atomic Structure, Equilibrium, Acids and Bases, and Titration Curves
Contains 68 passages and over 600 questions
General Chemistry Book 2
Gases, Phases, Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, and Electrochemistry
Contains 63 passages and over 600 questions
  • Our general chemistry books garner high praise for their passages, answer explanations, and unique tricks for solving questions quickly. We proudly boast the best general chemistry books for the MCAT anywhere.

Organic Chemistry Book 1
Organic Structure, Spectroscopy, Stereochemistry, and Hydrocarbons
Contains 53 passages and nearly 500 questions
Organic Chemistry Book 2
Carbonyls, Carbohydrates, Amino Acids, and Laboratory Techniques
Contains 54 passages and nearly 500 questions
  • Our organic chemistry books present the material from a fundamental perspective and cover topics from the ground up. Because organic chemistry is lightly tested, many of the questions and passages are written to incorporate material from other subjects, so while studying organic chemistry you are also reviewing general chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, and physics where applicable.

Physics Book 1
Translational Motion, Forces, Work, Momentum, Torque, Periodic Motion, and Waves
Contains 50 passages and nearly 500 questions
Physics Book 2
Sound, Fluids and Solids, Electrostatics and Electromagnetism, Electrical Circuits, Light, and Optics
Contains 50 passages and nearly 500 questions
  • Our physics books are known throughout the premedical community to have the best strategies, the best passages, the best questions, and most of all the best answer explanations. We introduced a new physics book for home-study in November 2010, and there is nothing on the market that comes close to its quality. This is the only MCAT physics book you need.

Verbal Reasoning Book
includes 105 passages with full answer explanations and test strategy tips
Essay Composition Book
includes sample essays and a strategy formula for writing a strong essay
  • With so few verbal books on the market, practice passages for verbal reasoning are at a premium. Our verbal reasoning book delivers a wide range of passage types and exposes the student to both easy passages and absolute brain twisters.

Practice Exams
(7 Full-Length CBT Exams, all come with 21 Passages and detailed answer explanations)
  • TBR Practice Test I . . . . .Good starter exam (difficult PS, easy VR, medium BS)
  • TBR Practice Test II . . . . Mid-range Exam (medium PS, hard VR, medium BS)
  • TBR Practice Test III . . . .Punishment Exam (difficult PS, difficult VR, difficult BS)
  • TBR Practice Test IV . . . . Mid-range Exam (medium PS, medium VR, hard BS)
  • TBR Practice Test V . . . . .Difficult Exam (hard PS, medium VR, hard BS)
  • TBR Practice Test VI . . . . Mid-range Exam (semi-easy PS, medium VR, medium BS)
  • TBR Practice Test VII . . . .Hard Exam (hard PS, medium VR, hard BS)
note that the difficulty assessment is based on student feedback, and not everyone agreed on the exact difficulty of each exam or section within an exam

Quick facts:
  • 1) There are literally hundreds of posts at SDN by students who used the Berkeley Review materials and scored in the 30s.
  • 2) All books were written by experts in their specific field after they had attained several years of experience teaching MCAT preparation.
  • 3) The books contain over 500 unique strategies for getting a best answer.
  • 4) The books offer a perfect blend of concept and information review with the incorporation of MCAT-specific test-taking skills and strategies.

What makes our books the best?
Simply put, the authors are all experienced teachers in their field of expertise, and they write explanations, concepts, and strategies gleaned over years of teaching. Only experts at teaching MCAT preparation know how to write a book aimed at this level, mixing strategies, problem solving skills, and conceptual review of material. No other MCAT preparation material authors can claim to have as much teaching experience as Berkeley Review's authors. We have senior authors on staff who have been writing practice questions and review materials for the MCAT since 1988.

There's a reason our materials have a resale value at SDN that is so much higher than any other materials. Their high quality is common knowledge. Passages, questions, and answer explanations that are this good are bound to be the most popular.

Included are some sample pages to show our way of presenting topics.

Members don't see this ad.
 

Attachments

  • Titrations and Indicators Text (Gen Chem Section 5) sample pages.pdf
    116.4 KB · Views: 437
  • Electrostatics and Electromagnetism Sample Passage (Physics Book 2).pdf
    142.1 KB · Views: 300
  • Acids and Bases Text sample.pdf
    66.3 KB · Views: 393
Last edited:
I'm trying to buy the books, but I noticed that the shipping costs are rather high. Does the Berkeley Review have an office where I can pay for the books in person, or does everyone have to get the books through shipping?
 
I'm trying to buy the books, but I noticed that the shipping costs are rather high. Does the Berkeley Review have an office where I can pay for the books in person, or does everyone have to get the books through shipping?

The shipping costs seem insane to me. I personally feel the company (BR) sold their soul to the devil when choosing FedEx, but I understand they found them to be the best combination of fast delivery and reliability. So please forgive me for my rant here, but FedEx even charges for their boxes. They have crazy surcharges. The least they could do is offer a reduced rate for the loyalty and volume of business, but that's not the case

So now that I've screamed at the moon for a while, I should probably answer your question. You can buy the books directly from the office in LA and Irvine, but for some reason beyond me they no longer sell books over the counter in Berkeley. To save on shipping, you could have a friend in LA or Irvine buy them directly and send them to you. There's no sales tax (it's prepaid and included in the price).
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Is there a schedule/amount of time that TBR recommends students to follow when they buy books for home study?
 
Is there a schedule/amount of time that TBR recommends students to follow when they buy books for home study?

The schedule is an attachment in the how to self-study thread. The general idea is to spend six hours on most days with some 8 hour days when you can afford it. But, measuring yourself by hours is not as good as measuring yourself by passages completed and mini-goals achieved.

The schedule I'm taking about lists tasks rather than hours for each day, which is a better focus I think.
 
The schedule is an attachment in the how to self-study thread. The general idea is to spend six hours on most days with some 8 hour days when you can afford it. But, measuring yourself by hours is not as good as measuring yourself by passages completed and mini-goals achieved.

The schedule I'm taking about lists tasks rather than hours for each day, which is a better focus I think.


I've looked at the thread and I don't think I've seen a mention here about it. If you take the course, I know there are hundreds of passages that are handed out to the students...but if we do the home study thing then there are none. Is that right? You'd have to enroll in the actual course to gain access to the additional passages?
 
I've looked at the thread and I don't think I've seen a mention here about it. If you take the course, I know there are hundreds of passages that are handed out to the students...but if we do the home study thing then there are none. Is that right? You'd have to enroll in the actual course to gain access to the additional passages?

Yeah, home-study is the books and CBTs only. The additional handouts are a combination of lecture notes (drawings and diagrams) used in the lecture that would have little meaning without the class as well as additional passages. Some passages are used for in-class exercises, while others are there for additional homework. There are also summary exams, equation sheets, and skills packets that are timed with respect to the syllabus, so these too might not be ideal if you use them either too early or too late in your studies.
 
There are so many MCAT prep companies. What makes Berkley's Home Study Program better than their competitors?
 
There are so many MCAT prep companies. What makes Berkley's Home Study Program better than their competitors?

Tons of realistic passages and great explanations... it's really that simple.

Consider physics for instance. There are ten chapters that present both concepts and test strategies. Within the reading portion of the chapters, you get questions to test yourself as you go. Then at the end you get 10 passages (the other books have as many as 15 at the end of a chapter) with questions that range from simple recall to highly conceptual applications that invloved multiple topics.

The best part, and by far the most critical part of any review material, is the answer explanations. We treat each answer explanation as if you had not reviewed it yet, giving detailed conceptual insights and test tricks where applicable. Our books are thick because of our explanations.

If you want a good test of how great BR is compared to the other materials, go to the SDN classifieds section and see what the prices are for used books. BR homestudy materials sell for over what other materials sell for. I'd say that pretty much tells the tale.
 
There are so many MCAT prep companies. What makes Berkley's Home Study Program better than their competitors?

It's the books!

I think one tough thing about doing the home study is when you get stuck understanding a difficult subject you have no one to turn to. This occurs more frequently when the books you use don't explain the topics well or they don't go into sufficient detail.

What sets TBR apart from all the other competitors is their content level. They go into great detail in explaining the sciences...and so for those who are rusty in the sciences that is a great feature to have.
 
what edition of the BR are the ones listed in the examples pages below your post?



Berkeley Review MCAT Home Study Program Information

The materials are designed to fit a home-study program lasting between 75 days and 135 days (depending on the amount of study and practice time available to the student). The materials consist of two parts:
  • 1) There are home-study books which cover subjects in detail and provide hundreds of practice passages and thousands of practice questions all in the same book set

  • 2) There are seven full-length CBTs that offer a wide range of passage styles and topics to expose students to the full spectrum of difficulties and wording they can expect on their actual MCAT

Home-Study Books
(All passages include detailed explanations, so that students can prepare solely by doing the passages and reviewing the answer explanations. Roughly 40% of the pages in our materials are answer explanations.)

Biology Book 1
Neurology and Muscle, Heart and Lung, Kidney and GI, Reproduction and Development, and Endocrinology and Immunology
Contains 84 passages and nearly 600 questions
Biology Book 2
Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Genetics
Contains 84 passages and nearly 600 questions
  • Many students find our biology passages challenging and a great way to assess how well they know biology. They are an excellent resource and new as of November 2010 is the inclusion of an extra practice exam at the conclusion of the books.

General Chemistry Book 1
Stoichiometry, Atomic Structure, Equilibrium, Acids and Bases, and Titration Curves
Contains 68 passages and over 600 questions
General Chemistry Book 2
Gases, Phases, Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, and Electrochemistry
Contains 63 passages and over 600 questions
  • Our general chemistry books garner high praise for their passages, answer explanations, and unique tricks for solving questions quickly. We proudly boast the best general chemistry books for the MCAT anywhere.

Organic Chemistry Book 1
Organic Structure, Spectroscopy, Stereochemistry, and Hydrocarbons
Contains 53 passages and nearly 500 questions
Organic Chemistry Book 2
Carbonyls, Carbohydrates, Amino Acids, and Laboratory Techniques
Contains 54 passages and nearly 500 questions
  • Our organic chemistry books present the material from a fundamental perspective and cover topics from the ground up. Because organic chemistry is lightly tested, many of the questions and passages are written to incorporate material from other subjects, so while studying organic chemistry you are also reviewing general chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, and physics where applicable.

Physics Book 1
Translational Motion, Forces, Work, Momentum, Torque, Periodic Motion, and Waves
Contains 50 passages and nearly 500 questions
Physics Book 2
Sound, Fluids and Solids, Electrostatics and Electromagnetism, Electrical Circuits, Light, and Optics
Contains 50 passages and nearly 500 questions
  • Our physics books are known throughout the premedical community to have the best strategies, the best passages, the best questions, and most of all the best answer explanations. We introduced a new physics book for home-study in November 2010, and there is nothing on the market that comes close to its quality. This is the only MCAT physics book you need.

Verbal Reasoning Book
includes 105 passages with full answer explanations and test strategy tips
Essay Composition Book
includes sample essays and a strategy formula for writing a strong essay
  • With so few verbal books on the market, practice passages for verbal reasoning are at a premium. Our verbal reasoning book delivers a wide range of passage types and exposes the student to both easy passages and absolute brain twisters.

Practice Exams
(7 Full-Length CBT Exams, all come with 21 Passages and detailed answer explanations)
  • TBR Practice Test I . . . . .Good starter exam (difficult PS, easy VR, medium BS)

  • TBR Practice Test II . . . . Mid-range Exam (medium PS, hard VR, medium BS)

  • TBR Practice Test III . . . .Punishment Exam (difficult PS, difficult VR, difficult BS)

  • TBR Practice Test IV . . . . Mid-range Exam (medium PS, medium VR, hard BS)

  • TBR Practice Test V . . . . .Difficult Exam (hard PS, medium VR, hard BS)

  • TBR Practice Test VI . . . . Mid-range Exam (semi-easy PS, medium VR, medium BS)

  • TBR Practice Test VII . . . .Hard Exam (hard PS, medium VR, hard BS)
note that the difficulty assessment is based on student feedback, and not everyone agreed on the exact difficulty of each exam or section within an exam

Quick facts:
  • 1) There are literally hundreds of posts at SDN by students who used the Berkeley Review materials and scored in the 30s.

  • 2) All books were written by experts in their specific field after they had attained several years of experience teaching MCAT preparation.

  • 3) The books contain over 500 unique strategies for getting a best answer.

  • 4) The books offer a perfect blend of concept and information review with the incorporation of MCAT-specific test-taking skills and strategies.

What makes our books the best?
Simply put, the authors are all experienced teachers in their field of expertise, and they write explanations, concepts, and strategies gleaned over years of teaching. Only experts at teaching MCAT preparation know how to write a book aimed at this level, mixing strategies, problem solving skills, and conceptual review of material. No other MCAT preparation material authors can claim to have as much teaching experience as Berkeley Review's authors. We have senior authors on staff who have been writing practice questions and review materials for the MCAT since 1988.

There’s a reason our materials have a resale value at SDN that is so much higher than any other materials. Their high quality is common knowledge. Passages, questions, and answer explanations that are this good are bound to be the most popular.

Included are some sample pages to show our way of presenting topics.
 
can someone describe the covers on the newest edition of the BR?
 
I'm hoping someone can answer a question I have regarding shipping for the BR books - I am going to order the Biology I & II, Physics I & II,Organic Chemistry I & II, and General Chemistry I & II. According to the Shipping Table, the 5-6 business day shipping would cost $18, 17, 17, and 17 respectively, totaling $69.

However, if I ordered all 10 books, the cost is only $34. I do not see how this makes sense. Am I supposed to be using the shipping costs from the "Book Combinations" section instead?

Please help! Thanks!
 
I'm hoping someone can answer a question I have regarding shipping for the BR books - I am going to order the Biology I & II, Physics I & II,Organic Chemistry I & II, and General Chemistry I & II. According to the Shipping Table, the 5-6 business day shipping would cost $18, 17, 17, and 17 respectively, totaling $69.

However, if I ordered all 10 books, the cost is only $34. I do not see how this makes sense. Am I supposed to be using the shipping costs from the "Book Combinations" section instead?

Please help! Thanks!

Click on the listing for BGOP to get the price you're interested in. I'm guessing FedEx would charge around $30 for that.
 
Hey berkreviewtech,

I was planning to pm u these questions but I thought it would benefit more people if everyone could read your response.

I'm debating whether to take the MCAT in march or April, so I'm going to begin studying soon... it seems the updates are sporadic. Some books get updates in January, some March and others in October. I just wanted a rough estimate for the planned updates in 2013. If there are going to be any updates in January, I would rather wait until then to order them and take the exam at the end of April.


My other question involves shipping, is there any way we could suggest "media mail" via usps? I'm not cheap but I believe its a waste of money to send it via Fedex for up to $34, I'm sure the same weight with media mail would run around $8-10 with the same shipping time.

My last question is a request for any updates regarding an online payment form? I read earlier that u mentioned an update soon. (I also have a side question regarding printing the form, does it matter whether it's black & white or does it have to be in color?) My biggest concern is all the warnings of making mistakes, for me its not like ops let me send u an updated E-mail, rather a mistake will probably lead to another physical letter (and I live in Washington dc) which is probably 4-5 days of transit time thus a mistake will cost me 2 weeks before they even ship the books.

Thanks!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using SDN Mobile
 
Why does NO one answer the phones at the (510) phone number?


I've called and called to get help with shipping and no one answers


Your books might be great but your customer care bluntly sucks


Huge turn off

Getting my MCAT books shouldn't be this difficult nor stressful!
 
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