BERKELEY REVIEW scores/discussion

[capn jazz]

Just like the EK Verbal 101 thread, this is a thread to talk about how you're doing with the TBR passages. I don't know how people are generally going through these, but I'm doing Phase I and II after reading the chapter, and saving Phase III for after I finish all content review.

I'm currently working on Gen Chem.

Chapter 1:
Phase I: 27/41 = 66% = 10
Phase II: 10/20 = 50% = 8 (ouch!)

Chapter 2:
Phase I: 29/37 = 78% = 11
Phase II: 28/33 = 85% = 13

So far I LOVE the book. I hated Gen Chem and I'm enjoying reading this and I really feel like it's helping me grasp the topics. Hopefully future chapters will continue this trend...

Now it's up to you guys! Keep this thread alive!

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[salsasunrise123]

What is everyone's opinion regarding the gen chem equilibrium chapter. I thought I mastered content but am getting absolutely crushed by the passages. Anyone else have similar feeling? I also feel like the explanations for this chapter do not compare to the other chapters.

 

[swivelj]

Just finished phase one of the equilibrium chapter. As you can see by the time signature it took aloonnnnng time to read the chapter and do phase 1. I was around 66% on phase one, and I felt the explanations were fine. Every time I finish the first phase and then do a quick review I usually have a much stronger understanding of the concepts. The explanations IMO are the best part of the the TBR series. However, I would say that this is probably the most difficult chapter I have done so far.

 

[ScorpioKing]

What is everyone's opinion regarding the gen chem equilibrium chapter. I thought I mastered content but am getting absolutely crushed by the passages. Anyone else have similar feeling? I also feel like the explanations for this chapter do not compare to the other chapters.

I also got destroyed...just do a solid post-game analysis, and try to learn from the passages.

 

[inasensegone]

Just finished phase one of the equilibrium chapter. As you can see by the time signature it took aloonnnnng time to read the chapter and do phase 1. I was around 66% on phase one, and I felt the explanations were fine. Every time I finish the first phase and then do a quick review I usually have a much stronger understanding of the concepts. The explanations IMO are the best part of the the TBR series. However, I would say that this is probably the most difficult chapter I have done so far.

I felt the same way after the TBR equilibrium chapter... so far however, whenever I see an AAMC equilibrium question I always answer it correctly and then laugh at how easy it is in comparison to TBR.

 

[swivelj]

I felt the same way after the TBR equilibrium chapter... so far however, whenever I see an AAMC equilibrium question I always answer it correctly and then laugh at how easy it is in comparison to TBR.

Well that's good to hear... I'm ballpark 85% on chad's quizzes and EK 1001, but then I did 2nd phase of TBR and only improved to 70%. When TBR asks questions about a change in partial pressure or equilibrium of gases in general I tend to not do so well.

 

[Baxkin1]

Just took finished reading O-Chem Passage 2, and did my 1st 1/3 of the study passages and got slaughtered.. Like bad. I feel like I have the material pretty well but when I get to these passages I get stomped. Is this from a lack of understanding or still an early unfamiliarity with answering these types of questions. (I'm on week 2 of content review and I'm panicking.)

 

[inasensegone]

Just took finished reading O-Chem Passage 2, and did my 1st 1/3 of the study passages and got slaughtered.. Like bad. I feel like I have the material pretty well but when I get to these passages I get stomped. Is this from a lack of understanding or still an early unfamiliarity with answering these types of questions. (I'm on week 2 of content review and I'm panicking.)

Meh I wouldn't worry about it. I got 65% correct on my first 1/3 passages in O-Chem chapter 2. On my last 1/3 of O-Chem chapter 2, I got 93% correct (2 incorrect out of 30). The mistakes that I did make on the last third were simple facts that I have since memorized. TBR sometimes subtly tests you on topics that they haven't yet covered. Throughout the whole series, they keep reinforcing previous topics or advancing new topics. In the end you should see some significant improvement after having done so many problems.

 

[swivelj]

Meh I wouldn't worry about it. I got 65% correct on my first 1/3 passages in O-Chem chapter 2. On my last 1/3 of O-Chem chapter 2, I got 93% correct (2 incorrect out of 30). The mistakes that I did make on the last third were simple facts that I have since memorized. TBR sometimes subtly tests you on topics that they haven't yet covered. Throughout the whole series, they keep reinforcing previous topics or advancing new topics. In the end you should see some significant improvement after having done so many problems.

I'm not sure this is even possible for you to recall, but do you remember a point where you had that moment of "omg this is actually working!"....Today I had a pretty significant break through in chemistry were I missed 3 out of 33 in the 2nd phase of a chapter which is a huge improvement, but kinda feels like a fluke TBH.

 

[inasensegone]

I'm not sure this is even possible for you to recall, but do you remember a point where you had that moment of "omg this is actually working!"....Today I had a pretty significant break through in chemistry were I missed 3 out of 33 in the 2nd phase of a chapter which is a huge improvement, but kinda feels like a fluke TBH.

It was fairly variable for me from topic to topic... even more so it was super variable from passage to passage. I remember one electrostatics passage (cyclotron passage) I missed 5 out of 7 after covering that chapter (first 1/3 passages). That was fairly demoralizing. I really didn't care for TBR's presentation of that topic though and I also noticed that they completely left out the right hand rule as it applies to current in a wire. I supplemented with Wikipremed , Nova's Physics, EK Physics, TPR, and youtube, and then afterward I did really well on the 2/3 passages. I haven't done the final third of that chapter yet though. I do that in a few days. Hopefully I don't miss any on the last third, but it's TBR so you never know

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I guess I will add some of my scores for the chapters:

BR Physics:

Translational Motion: 42/52 = 13
Forces, Circular Motion: 41/52 =12
Work and Energy: 34/52 = 10 (UGH)

 

[Lamel]

I guess I will add some of my scores for the chapters:

BR Physics:

Translational Motion: 42/52 = 13
Forces, Circular Motion: 41/52 =12
Work and Energy: 34/52 = 10 (UGH)

Work and energy was tricky, but an awesome chapter to learn the subject in depth.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Work and energy was tricky, but an awesome chapter to learn the subject in depth.

Agree...I have been scoring 10 and 11 in the rest of the chapters. Is this good?

 

[Lamel]

Agree...I have been scoring 10 and 11 in the rest of the chapters. Is this good?

I think BR physics and chem correlate fairly closely with the real thing. I average ~13 for BR and so far for the AAMCs I have had 12-14.

 

[Karasu]

I think BR physics and chem correlate fairly closely with the real thing. I average ~13 for BR and so far for the AAMCs I have had 12-14.

I kinda don't believe in the predictive power of any of this stuff anymore. I think it has a lot more to do with the individual. My Physics SA was 60%, I tend to score around 10 so far on FLs. There's a young lady with a 75% who is scoring 12-14 on AAMC FL in the April 11th forums (I think). While other's who score that high on FLs made 85-95% on their SA.

Furthermore, looking over my BR Chemistry scores last night I noticed I range from 9-12 depending on the chapter, hovering mostly around 10, but my Chemistry SA is a 69%. I say screw predictive power, stay calm and aim for perfection on test day, as that will be the best predictor of how we perform. Otherwise we're just speculating. lol

 

[Lamel]

I kinda don't believe in the predictive power of any of this stuff anymore. I think it has a lot more to do with the individual. My Physics SA was 60%, I tend to score around 10 so far on FLs. There's a young lady with a 75% who is scoring 12-14 on AAMC FL in the April 11th forums (I think). While other's who score that high on FLs made 85-95% on their SA.

Furthermore, looking over my BR Chemistry scores last night I noticed I range from 9-12 depending on the chapter, hovering mostly around 10, but my Chemistry SA is a 69%. I say screw predictive power, stay calm and aim for perfection on test day, as that will be the best predictor of how we perform. Otherwise we're just speculating. lol

This is true as well, everyone's mileage varies. Some people get bad scores but learn a lot and apply the knowledge better on the real thing. Main thing is to LEARN from these passages.

 

[swivelj]

I would love to see someone smarter than me determine the actual amount of passages per topic that someone would need to do before any assessment can be made in a predictive manner. I mean I get that the SA's are great extra practice but with so few passage compared to all the possible info is that even a realistic guide? I guess there is always your AAMC full length avg. which seems to be the golden rule.

 

[amethystdoc]

Finished the Organic Chemistry books today, woo!!
1. 84% 77% (11)
2. 84% 77% (11)
3. 84% 75% (11)
4. 88% 81% (12)
5. 88% 67% (9)
6. 80% 85% (12)
7. 84% 79% (12)
8. 76% 69% (10)

I have the 2012 version, the first % is for the 25Q set, the second % is for the 52Q set. The Carbonyl and Alcohol section was definitely the toughest, so gonna keep reviewing that. Will update with the physics and chemistry score when I finish both books

 

[goft20]

Bumpity bump bump others post your scores!


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[orangetea]

I find myself getting anywhere from 65-95% on chapters.. I do feel like their scale is REALLY lenient though. But on average I miss about 2 per passage and on those topics that I REALLY understand I miss 1 to 0.

I felt like the lights/optics section was the most difficult in all the Physics books

 

[sillyjoe]

I find myself getting anywhere from 65-95% on chapters.. I do feel like their scale is REALLY lenient though. But on average I miss about 2 per passage and on those topics that I REALLY understand I miss 1 to 0.

I felt like the lights/optics section was the most difficult in all the Physics books

The scores are really more of a way to see if you conceptually understand the topics and apply them. Don't give too much credence to your score in any predictive manner aside from that. Wait until your FL's. That is the indicator.

 

[goft20]

I find myself getting anywhere from 65-95% on chapters.. I do feel like their scale is REALLY lenient though. But on average I miss about 2 per passage and on those topics that I REALLY understand I miss 1 to 0.

I felt like the lights/optics section was the most difficult in all the Physics books

Yeah me too I got a 71 percent on the optics chapter lol..


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[an aspiring doctor]

For those who have taken the fourth Berkley Review full length what is your feedback? The full length turned out to be most lowest score.

 

[lumpyduster]

Hey so I'm using TBR for bio right now and I feel like I'm getting slaughtered. I've been using a combination of EK/Khan Academy for content review and I feel ok for the most part, but on the TBR practice exams for each topic I get 50-70% of the questions right. I'm feeling pretty demotivated because of it - I don't know if I'm just not thinking things through, if TBR is just asking me details that I couldn't get from the passage, or if I genuinely need more content review.

I'm spending soooo much time on bio because of this. I thought that if I had a somewhat okay foundational knowledge on each topic, I would be okay since I'm usually pretty good at extrapolating what I do know to things I haven't seen before, but I haven't really been able to do that with TBR passages and so I'm getting a little worried that I'll feel the same way on the actual MCAT. Maybe I just don't know it as well as I thought? I'm the kind of person who usually just has a working knowledge of how things work and I never really focus on details.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Hey so I'm using TBR for bio right now and I feel like I'm getting slaughtered. I've been using a combination of EK/Khan Academy for content review and I feel ok for the most part, but on the TBR practice exams for each topic I get 50-70% of the questions right. I'm feeling pretty demotivated because of it - I don't know if I'm just not thinking things through, if TBR is just asking me details that I couldn't get from the passage, or if I genuinely need more content review.

I'm spending soooo much time on bio because of this. I thought that if I had a somewhat okay foundational knowledge on each topic, I would be okay since I'm usually pretty good at extrapolating what I do know to things I haven't seen before, but I haven't really been able to do that with TBR passages and so I'm getting a little worried that I'll feel the same way on the actual MCAT. Maybe I just don't know it as well as I thought? I'm the kind of person who usually just has a working knowledge of how things work and I never really focus on details.

TPR bio has too much details... You should use TPR instead....

 

[GlennGuglia]

I was happy with my performance in Gen. Chem and Organic Chemistry, for the most part. As far as physics, I got absolutely slaughtered on Periodic Motion and Waves and the Fluids chapters (50%) - some were careless errors on my part but others were just plain brutal. Overall, passages could be tricky but fair. BR Biology was medicore - the Genetic Information and Metabolic Pathways passages were brutal (50%, if I remember) but overall I liked it for content review having been out of biology for close to seven years. But I agree with some people that it's not the best overall predictor. My feeling is that if you were strong to begin with in these areas that you are going to obviously score well in the intended areas. But for someone who is struggling a bit, I would not panic over a low score. If you learn from the mistakes early on and use SN2's way of breaking up the passages, I think you'll be just fine if you've improved by the last 1/3.

 

[swolebrah]

Fluid section of TBR physics was brutal. Ripped me a new one. srs

 

[sharkbyte]

I was happy with my performance in Gen. Chem and Organic Chemistry, for the most part. As far as physics, I got absolutely slaughtered on Periodic Motion and Waves and the Fluids chapters (50%) - some were careless errors on my part but others were just plain brutal. Overall, passages could be tricky but fair. BR Biology was medicore - the Genetic Information and Metabolic Pathways passages were brutal (50%, if I remember) but overall I liked it for content review having been out of biology for close to seven years. But I agree with some people that it's not the best overall predictor. My feeling is that if you were strong to begin with in these areas that you are going to obviously score well in the intended areas. But for someone who is struggling a bit, I would not panic over a low score. If you learn from the mistakes early on and use SN2's way of breaking up the passages, I think you'll be just fine if you've improved by the last 1/3.

Yeah I got destroyed on the periodic motion and waves passages...I felt like the presentation of the material wasn't bad but then the passages just seemed to ask the most random and difficult questions. I think there was a fluids passage too where I went 1/7 or 2/7

 

[GlennGuglia]

Yeah, I have to say I was happy with the presentation in both chapters but the passages were just on another level. Made the TBR Hyperlearning questions look like cake after dealing with it. I remember one about a hydraulic press that made me question whether or not my book was missing pages. lol

 

[goft20]

Yeah, I have to say I was happy with the presentation in both chapters but the passages were just on another level. Made the TBR Hyperlearning questions look like cake after dealing with it. I remember one about a hydraulic press that made me question whether or not my book was missing pages. lol

Yeah I think the point of the passages is to teach you extra material that was not covered in lectures. I also think that it helps to develop your intuition.


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[GlennGuglia]

Yeah I think the point of the passages is to teach you extra material that was not covered in lectures. I also think that it helps to develop your intuition.


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Without a doubt. I am certainly not denigrating it in any fashion. Explanations were certainly helpful. I just found that the final 1/3 of my performance on the chapters were more indicative of my overall score on the actual MCAT than taking every chapter and score at face value, which collectively would have lowered my score in some cases, by at least a couple of points.

 

[goft20]

Without a doubt. I am certainly not denigrating it in any fashion. Explanations were certainly helpful. I just found that the final 1/3 of my performance on the chapters were more indicative of my overall score on the actual MCAT than taking every chapter and score at face value, which collectively would have lowered my score in some cases, by at least a couple of points.

I agree..did you go through all the books? I only used physics, gc, and organic chemistry.


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[QueenJames]

There will be some passages I do well on... then there will be passages that I get raped on.

Honestly dudes/dudettes IDK how the EFF I will do on this test. According to the scores for TBR my scores have been in the 7-9 region for all those end-of-chapter passages. I really hope I can improve man.

 

[jebelali]

I am getting really frustrated with TBR physics. For O-chem, I started to see some improvement after completing the first book and even though I still hit the same "score" my percentages were higher. For physics, I am stagnating in the 69 - 77% range. I've already done Chad's videos and I followed his logic, read through TPR and now doing a sort of second review using BR chapters. The very first set I did I got 55% because I didn't bother to read the chapter well. After that, I started reading the BR chapters before passages. I already feel like I am forgetting all I learnt in the orgo passages and that if I were to do them today I would probably not do well. I need to move forward but I am feeling really demoralized and become anxious while doing the passages.

I should mention that I chose to do thorough content review before attempting any passages/questions and only used Chad's quizzes and the in-chapter questions during my first TPR review. I am 9 years removed from physics and had to re-learn it all. Is it gonna be this bad with Gen Chem? I had only used TPR for reviewing/learning the material and I am terrified.

 

[DocKingh]

I am getting really frustrated with TBR physics. For O-chem, I started to see some improvement after completing the first book and even though I still hit the same "score" my percentages were higher. For physics, I am stagnating in the 69 - 77% range. I've already done Chad's videos and I followed his logic, read through TPR and now doing a sort of second review using BR chapters. The very first set I did I got 55% because I didn't bother to read the chapter well. After that, I started reading the BR chapters before passages. I already feel like I am forgetting all I learnt in the orgo passages and that if I were to do them today I would probably not do well. I need to move forward but I am feeling really demoralized and become anxious while doing the passages.

I should mention that I chose to do thorough content review before attempting any passages/questions and only used Chad's quizzes and the in-chapter questions during my first TPR review. I am 9 years removed from physics and had to re-learn it all. Is it gonna be this bad with Gen Chem? I had only used TPR for reviewing/learning the material and I am terrified.

Keep in mind that TBR passages tend to be difficult in general. Not ALL passages on the MCAT will be like TBR passages. They give you a hard time so that once you take the real deal it doesn't seem as bad. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the real test doesn't have hard passages. However, IMO the TBR passages tend to be more concentrated in difficult scenarios while the real test is more spread out in terms of difficulty. Have you taken any other passages (non-TBR)/FLs? Maybe take a FL and see where you are. If might give you a sense of confidence that will help you battle through TBR

 

[jebelali]

Keep in mind that TBR passages tend to be difficult in general. Not ALL passages on the MCAT will be like TBR passages. They give you a hard time so that once you take the real deal it doesn't seem as bad. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the real test doesn't have hard passages. However, IMO the TBR passages tend to be more concentrated in difficult scenarios while the real test is more spread out in terms of difficulty. Have you taken any other passages (non-TBR)/FLs? Maybe take a FL and see where you are. If might give you a sense of confidence that will help you battle through TBR

I've taken the TPR end of chapter ones and I did horrible on those as well. I did better towards the end but timing was a huge issue. I've given myself an extra 3 passages per chapter of physics and hope to do them all before the exam as well from TBR. I also have TPRSW and may use it. I plan to do FL and SAP only when I've read through all my notes so I don't "waste them". I am not sure anymore though!

 

[TheMightyTexan]

Are you guys following pretty strict timing with the passages? I find that i know some are going to take a while, and i would like to take the extra time to work though them, but will end have to take the utilitarian approach and guess in order to complete everything. I figure even though it would be nice to learn the question first hand the shortness on time forces someone to learning time management and alternative strategies. Is this assumption correct or do most people give themselves a bit more then 7 min per passage? (I feel like 6 minutes is ridiculous, except for some of the easier passages)

 

[valkener]

TBR is great but it's not the end of all means. I benefited from their materials but I also recommend supplementing them with other, more concise study books (like EK). However, they're great at making you improve but partially insanely hard. Don't despair.

 

[TBRBiosadist]

Scores, It piece meal because After my 2/3s I changed things around and it was easier just to paste my current 3/3s on an older image

 

[goft20]

Scores, It piece meal because After my 2/3s I changed things around and it was easier just to paste my current 3/3s on an older image

Damn, you are gonna kill this test

 

[TBRBiosadist]

Hopefully, my aamc average right now is about 43.5, and that is only because I only got a 40 on #3

 

[HCHopeful]

Whew. I was cruising in Gen Chem...

Section I : Phase 1: 33/41 = 12. Phase 2: 12/20 = 9 (Okay. Meh.)

Section II: Phase 1: 32/37 = 13. Phase 2: 24/33 = 11

Section III: Phase 1: 29/41 = 10.

So all is fine and dandy. Then BOOM. Section III: Phase 2: 15/34 = 6. Yikes.

Needless to say, rushing through the re-read just to get to the problems before I went to bed was a bad idea. I've got some serious post game to do tomorrow.

 

[Mavs88]

Gen Chem I book:
Section I - 68/100
Section II - 71/100
Section III - 69/100
Section IV - 64/100

I'm in the BR "10-12 range" for most of these. Should I be a little concerned or am I doing okay? The math in TBR for gen chem is ridiculously intensive....especially with some of the acid/base stuff...there was one passage where I got like 1/8 :/

Is the actual MCAT gen chem require this much mental math?

 

[tdod]

My scores were like:

TBR:
–– bio: 8-12
–– Gchem 12-15
–– physics: 9-12
–– ochem: 10-12

EK/TPRH:
– verbal: 8-10

AAMC:
– BS: 12-15
– PS: 12-15
– V: 11-12

thus, I concluded that practice materials are harder. but i'll admit, it could have been that i was more focused on my FL's... with the exception of TBR bio. TBR bio is very helpful but stupid hard.

 

[Mavs88]

Parts of the Titration section test killed me...overall 62/100.