Use the Berkeley Review!! Seriously!!!

[asf503]

Hello any SDN peeps wondering what books to use,

In a previous post answering somebody's question on what review material to use, I talked about how I used Kaplan and EK to study for the MCAT. I have taken AAMC Practice MCATs 3R, 4R, 5R, and 6R, and have gotten between 36-38, so I was pretty content with my preparation.

Recently however some members have pointed out to me that Kaplan is (apparently universally) despised for their review content, and while EK is good, it is extremely dense and covers only basics (that is, EK assumes that you are somewhat familiar with all the topics so only briefly delves into them before moving on). I went to UC Berkeley and I know the store where The Berkeley Review prints their books (it's a small printing shop on University Ave. that I used to go to when I needed to make copies), so I was a little skeptical that some random test prep company startup could be better than the "big names" like Kaplan or TPR.

I. Was. Wrong.

Their stuff rocks! I'm amazed at the detailed pictures and diagrams (even in B&W they're better than Kaplan's) and the clarity of their explanations. Their review is succinct, to the point, and skips any nonsense analogies that Kaplan is so fond of using.

Anyways, I really wanted to post something like this to say "I wish I had discovered SDN sooner so I didn't waste time and money buying Kaplan."

Case in point: If you're wondering what you should use for **science** content review, buy The Berkeley Review! They're a bit pricey but they're definitely worth it.


As for Verbal Reasoning, EK 101 passages and the general EK strategy seems to be the undisputed champion 'round these parts.

Edit: 3/4/2013- I had no idea this would spark some crazy debate about what's the best materials to use, I simply wanted to put up a post commemorating the day where I discovered content review that's sooo much better than Kaplan's. EK isn't half bad either, btw, and I would suggest getting them anyways since they're actually pretty decent.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Blown Away]

Kaplan, TBR, Examkrackers ... they all present the exact same information in very similar ways. I have a hard time believing if you give your 100% best effort in Kaplan, or TPR the end result will be all that much different than giving 100% effort to TBR or EK.

I think blaming the resource is an easy excuse.

As someone who has taken the Kaplan course, switching out halfway through with a refund, and later used TBR the year after, you are sadly mistaken.

 

[Blown Away]

You're proposing a terribly stupid argument. You're taking what I said and putting it in a different context. It certainly does not matter what resource you use for the mcat, so long as the resource works for you. Please read that sentence again, as you missed the point I was making in the post you "tore apart". Everything you are saying is subjective. So was everything I said, the difference is I would never spit on your opinion regardless of how ridiculous you sound.

And it's none of your business how I spend my money. How do you know that I didn't get my Kaplan course for free?(I did.)

Every prep book is flawed. You'll find an error in essentially every piece of professionally published literature that is more than 16 pages long. I sure as hell have never claimed Kaplan to be perfect. One of my favorite resources, EK, is littered with errors. I don't see what you're getting at just yet.

I'm not quite sure who's doing the polluting...me, or your melodramatic posts. Go take a walk and chill out.

I've never told anybody what material to use. I've only told people that the "golden arrow" that SDN claims in mcat prep is more bronze for some people. Get over it.

Sorry man, I actually have read Kaplan cover-to-cover and I must say, it is no where near as good or as thorough as TBR. You did not receive your Kaplan course for free, I think you're just a bit defensive. People can disagree, it's okay!

 

[AktionPOTENTIAL]

Sorry man, I actually have read Kaplan cover-to-cover and I must say, it is no where near as good or as thorough as TBR. You did not receive your Kaplan course for free, I think you're just a bit defensive. People can disagree, it's okay!

Hey BA, my mom once taught me a very important lesson.......often times you'll run into individuals to whom you should make a statement, rather than entertain a conversation since the latter would indicate you are seeking to be understood, and the person to whom you are speaking can actually comprehend; dangerous presumption.

 

[LaughingMan]

Hey BA, my mom once taught me a very important lesson.......often times you'll run into individuals to whom you should make a statement, rather than entertain a conversation since the latter would indicate you are seeking to be understood, and the person to whom you are speaking can actually comprehend; dangerous presumption.

This is a very poor comment.

There is really no point in continuing this yall if it will degrade to personal attacks.

 

[Sub Rosa]

This is a very poor comment.

There is really no point in continuing this yall if it will degrade to personal attacks.

Yo mama is so fat that when she talks to herself, it's a long distance call.


Now that's a personal attack. AP's comment read more like a verbal passage than a flat out insult.

 

[LaughingMan]

and the person to whom you are speaking can actually comprehend; dangerous presumption.

Yo mama is so fat that when she talks to herself, it’s a long distance call.
Now that's a personal attack. AP's comment read more like a verbal passage than a flat out insult.

That seems like a personal attack to me. Stating that one cannot comprehend statements. Small as it is--it has no place here.

 

[Sub Rosa]

That seems like a personal attack to me. Stating that one cannot comprehend statements. Small as it is--it has no place here.

Agreed, as benign as it was

 

[Temperature101]

Lets not turn this thread into a playground for kids...

 

[Mehd School]

I don't understand why people have such a hard time discerning between fact and opinion here. Alas, the ignore list grew a little heavier tonight. Cheers.

 

[Chalupa Batman]

Yo mama is so fat that when she talks to herself, it’s a long distance call.


Now that's a personal attack. AP's comment read more like a verbal passage than a flat out insult.

haha yo mama jokes

yo mama so stupid she put two quarters in her ear so she could listen to 50 cent!

 

[osprey099]

in b4

 

[Mehd School]

This will be my last casual post in the mcat section, as I've caught myself getting sucked into the stupidity. It's a waste of my time.


Anyway, I was never advocating for Kaplan, as some who don't understand the bottom line are assuming. I was advocating for people to use, borrow, investigate etc any and all resource options that they can get their hands on in hopes that they will find a material they are most comfortable with. If this is TBR, Kaplan, Arco, or your old textbooks, it doesn't matter. I feel that people think this process is black and white when in reality a gray area exists. Members with whom have come across as detracting or hostile have been added to the ignore list. I'll see y'all in the 5/11 thread and maybe pre-allo/osteo. Good luck on your tests.

 

[Panther019]

I used a combo of TBR and EK when preparing for the MCAT. EK bio and then TBR for the rest because TBR bio was wayyyy too dense. Practice passages in TBR prepared me best for the actual MCAT, especially in bio and physics. I would highly recommend it.

Hello! Thanks for your comment. I am also using a combination of TBR and EK (its now 2016 and I will be taking it 2017). I use EK to quickly review content before delving in deeper. So far TBR has been excellent for gen chem. However, when I hit Organic chem it was a little frusrating (and I did very well in all ochems). So far, it seems for the new 2015 changes TBR's ochem is an overkill (so many rxns that don't seem relevant!?) I checked the AAMCAS outline and many rxns TBR appears to be no longer tested. Thoughts or comments on this? I don't want to have to take the exam again and I feel very frustated deciding how much I should study and how much I shouldn't. For example the section on hydrocarbons in the TBR book seems unesseccary as I can not find a single topic on the AAMCAS outline highlighting hydrocarbons. Am I approaching this totally wrong?

 

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

Hello! Thanks for your comment. I am also using a combination of TBR and EK (its now 2016 and I will be taking it 2017). I use EK to quickly review content before delving in deeper. So far TBR has been excellent for gen chem. However, when I hit Organic chem it was a little frusrating (and I did very well in all ochems). So far, it seems for the new 2015 changes TBR's ochem is an overkill (so many rxns that don't seem relevant!?) I checked the AAMCAS outline and many rxns TBR appears to be no longer tested. Thoughts or comments on this? I don't want to have to take the exam again and I feel very frustated deciding how much I should study and how much I shouldn't. For example the section on hydrocarbons in the TBR book seems unesseccary as I can not find a single topic on the AAMCAS outline highlighting hydrocarbons. Am I approaching this totally wrong?

I am sure these users from 2013 will help you..

/s


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

For example the section on hydrocarbons in the TBR book seems unesseccary as I can not find a single topic on the AAMCAS outline highlighting hydrocarbons. Am I approaching this totally wrong?

Thanks for the positive feedback about the general chemistry as we are very proud of how that book turned out. As for organic chemistry, I want to make sure you have the correct BR book. There is no longer a hydrocarbon chapter in the BR organic chemistry book as of December 2015. It was replaced by a Lipid chapter that absorbed a little of the material from what used to be in the older book's hydrocarbon chapter, but that is just orbitals and physical properties on page 6. Pages 7-15 cover waxes, phospholipids, and fatty acids. These are listed on Page 183 (Content Category 5D) of the Official Guide under Lipids. Pages 16-19 cover signal molecules (steroids and eicosanoids), which is also a topic found on page 183 (as well as page 103, category 2A). Pages 20-21 cover fat-soluble vitamins, which is also listed on page 183. The chapter ends with applications of lipids such as terpenes, phermones, and a few sample pathways.

All of these topics are fair game for the MCAT and an area where organic chemistry meets biochemistry. I would strongly urge that you make sure you have a good understanding of the impact of molecular structure on biological activity for all of those classes of molecules.

 

[andelJ94]

Hello! Thanks for your comment. I am also using a combination of TBR and EK (its now 2016 and I will be taking it 2017). I use EK to quickly review content before delving in deeper. So far TBR has been excellent for gen chem. However, when I hit Organic chem it was a little frusrating (and I did very well in all ochems). So far, it seems for the new 2015 changes TBR's ochem is an overkill (so many rxns that don't seem relevant!?) I checked the AAMCAS outline and many rxns TBR appears to be no longer tested. Thoughts or comments on this? I don't want to have to take the exam again and I feel very frustated deciding how much I should study and how much I shouldn't. For example the section on hydrocarbons in the TBR book seems unesseccary as I can not find a single topic on the AAMCAS outline highlighting hydrocarbons. Am I approaching this totally wrong?

For Orgo I found Princeton and Nextstep to be much better at sticking to the new MCAT material at a good level of detail. Berkley looks way out of date when I checked em out, seems like a scam to me but to each their own.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Berkley looks way out of date when I checked em out, seems like a scam to me but to each their own.

I want to qualify where my post is coming from before commenting. As someone who was part of the revision team from late 2014 through early 2016, I am probably (definitely is more like it) a little sensitive to comments like this. So please forgive me if I am a little passionate in my response. I very much like the company I work for and appreciate their philosophy in terms of teaching material, motivating and helping students, and making thorough answer explanations.

We all have product loyalty for whatever reason. I prefer iPhones over Galaxies, but the honest truth is that I really don't know much about Samsung products. I just really like Apple products and have formulated my opinion without all of the facts. Over my years doing MCAT preparation, I have seen that product loyalty based on a N=1 is common as well. Sometimes BR benefits and other times we don't. It's true for every company. Many posts here will be adamant about a company based on limited (minimal) information. This is why I tend to pay closest attention to comments from people who used (actually went through) material from multiple sources and who have taken the MCAT. You will rarely read someone who used multiple sources saying all books are the same. There are many differences in style, test suggestions, answer explanations, expertise, bias towards certain subjects, and so on.

So I am genuinely curious how you formulated your conclusion. As someone (one of several) whose task was to make sure every topic in the BR books (for the subjects I was working with) matched up to the AAMC Guideline and all the information we had at our disposal, I feel strongly that not only are our newest books 100% up-to-date, but there is no way anyone could be as up-to-date.

I am wondering if your opinion was formulated from looking at our absolutely crappy website or from a look at our older books. Our newest books have only been out six months and they are not for sale in bookstores, so to have seen them would have required knowing someone who had the latest books studying for the MCAT this past summer. The majority of our materials floating around the premedical community are older BR books, so I have no doubt that there are more people working from our pre-2015 books than our 2016 materials.

We released them late because we were a bit anal about wanting to release them after at least fifteen real MCATs had been given. We screwed ourselves from a purely business perspective, but as our terrible website, lack of advertising, and archaic business model attest, we have never been about maximizing revenues or expanding the business. We know we could be a lot bigger with some easy web-based changes, but doing things the way we do them leads to classes filled with great students who really want to be there. It leads to highly loyal patrons who call and email after they get their scores back to share them like we're a family member. Our terrible website and atypical approach may seem like a scam to some, but for people who sift through the obstacles there is a great sense of satisfaction.

Again, please forgive my lengthy reply. I am extremely proud of our new books, especially the organic chemistry book. It is a nice blend of traditional organic chemistry and applications to biology and biochemistry. I think it's awesome what the MR5 committee did to the exam in the sciences. I think their original ideas for the new section were great, but something got lost in the translation. The MCAT is definitely better today than it was two years ago. You can't really study for it anymore; you have to prepare for it. To do well you need to do and review tons and tons of practice passages and questions rather than reading and memorizing facts. The science sections require a streamline thinking process and the ability to connect different ideas to solve questions. It is wonderful!

 

[featherdelights]

I want to qualify where my post is coming from before commenting. As someone who was part of the revision team from late 2014 through early 2016, I am probably (definitely is more like it) a little sensitive to comments like this. So please forgive me if I am a little passionate in my response. I very much like the company I work for and appreciate their philosophy in terms of teaching material, motivating and helping students, and making thorough answer explanations.

We all have product loyalty for whatever reason. I prefer iPhones over Galaxies, but the honest truth is that I really don't know much about Samsung products. I just really like Apple products and have formulated my opinion without all of the facts. Over my years doing MCAT preparation, I have seen that product loyalty based on a N=1 is common as well. Sometimes BR benefits and other times we don't. It's true for every company. Many posts here will be adamant about a company based on limited (minimal) information. This is why I tend to pay closest attention to comments from people who used (actually went through) material from multiple sources and who have taken the MCAT. You will rarely read someone who used multiple sources saying all books are the same. There are many differences in style, test suggestions, answer explanations, expertise, bias towards certain subjects, and so on.

So I am genuinely curious how you formulated your conclusion. As someone (one of several) whose task was to make sure every topic in the BR books (for the subjects I was working with) matched up to the AAMC Guideline and all the information we had at our disposal, I feel strongly that not only are our newest books 100% up-to-date, but there is no way anyone could be as up-to-date.

I am wondering if your opinion was formulated from looking at our absolutely crappy website or from a look at our older books. Our newest books have only been out six months and they are not for sale in bookstores, so to have seen them would have required knowing someone who had the latest books studying for the MCAT this past summer. The majority of our materials floating around the premedical community are older BR books, so I have no doubt that there are more people working from our pre-2015 books than our 2016 materials.

We released them late because we were a bit anal about wanting to release them after at least fifteen real MCATs had been given. We screwed ourselves from a purely business perspective, but as our terrible website, lack of advertising, and archaic business model attest, we have never been about maximizing revenues or expanding the business. We know we could be a lot bigger with some easy web-based changes, but doing things the way we do them leads to classes filled with great students who really want to be there. It leads to highly loyal patrons who call and email after they get their scores back to share them like we're a family member. Our terrible website and atypical approach may seem like a scam to some, but for people who sift through the obstacles there is a great sense of satisfaction.

Again, please forgive my lengthy reply. I am extremely proud of our new books, especially the organic chemistry book. It is a nice blend of traditional organic chemistry and applications to biology and biochemistry. I think it's awesome what the MR5 committee did to the exam in the sciences. I think their original ideas for the new section were great, but something got lost in the translation. The MCAT is definitely better today than it was two years ago. You can't really study for it anymore; you have to prepare for it. To do well you need to do and review tons and tons of practice passages and questions rather than reading and memorizing facts. The science sections require a streamline thinking process and the ability to connect different ideas to solve questions. It is wonderful!

I've heard that the new books still have a great deal of the classical science passages but lacks in the experimental nature of the passages given on the new exam; would you say this is true?

 

[FueledByRamen]

I want to qualify where my post is coming from before commenting. As someone who was part of the revision team from late 2014 through early 2016, I am probably (definitely is more like it) a little sensitive to comments like this. So please forgive me if I am a little passionate in my response. I very much like the company I work for and appreciate their philosophy in terms of teaching material, motivating and helping students, and making thorough answer explanations.

We all have product loyalty for whatever reason. I prefer iPhones over Galaxies, but the honest truth is that I really don't know much about Samsung products. I just really like Apple products and have formulated my opinion without all of the facts. Over my years doing MCAT preparation, I have seen that product loyalty based on a N=1 is common as well. Sometimes BR benefits and other times we don't. It's true for every company. Many posts here will be adamant about a company based on limited (minimal) information. This is why I tend to pay closest attention to comments from people who used (actually went through) material from multiple sources and who have taken the MCAT. You will rarely read someone who used multiple sources saying all books are the same. There are many differences in style, test suggestions, answer explanations, expertise, bias towards certain subjects, and so on.

So I am genuinely curious how you formulated your conclusion. As someone (one of several) whose task was to make sure every topic in the BR books (for the subjects I was working with) matched up to the AAMC Guideline and all the information we had at our disposal, I feel strongly that not only are our newest books 100% up-to-date, but there is no way anyone could be as up-to-date.

I am wondering if your opinion was formulated from looking at our absolutely crappy website or from a look at our older books. Our newest books have only been out six months and they are not for sale in bookstores, so to have seen them would have required knowing someone who had the latest books studying for the MCAT this past summer. The majority of our materials floating around the premedical community are older BR books, so I have no doubt that there are more people working from our pre-2015 books than our 2016 materials.

We released them late because we were a bit anal about wanting to release them after at least fifteen real MCATs had been given. We screwed ourselves from a purely business perspective, but as our terrible website, lack of advertising, and archaic business model attest, we have never been about maximizing revenues or expanding the business. We know we could be a lot bigger with some easy web-based changes, but doing things the way we do them leads to classes filled with great students who really want to be there. It leads to highly loyal patrons who call and email after they get their scores back to share them like we're a family member. Our terrible website and atypical approach may seem like a scam to some, but for people who sift through the obstacles there is a great sense of satisfaction.

Again, please forgive my lengthy reply. I am extremely proud of our new books, especially the organic chemistry book. It is a nice blend of traditional organic chemistry and applications to biology and biochemistry. I think it's awesome what the MR5 committee did to the exam in the sciences. I think their original ideas for the new section were great, but something got lost in the translation. The MCAT is definitely better today than it was two years ago. You can't really study for it anymore; you have to prepare for it. To do well you need to do and review tons and tons of practice passages and questions rather than reading and memorizing facts. The science sections require a streamline thinking process and the ability to connect different ideas to solve questions. It is wonderful!

It is not often to have a company easily accessible for responses as TBR. But to be fair a lot has to be done to understand what was updated in your new books. I had to dig up a lot of your old post and ask fellow students what the format of the new book is. I think it would be good to have some sort of post that explains what was updated and what was the goals in each update were. How is it different from the older books and was there any added emphasis to anything? Experimental? Application for a biological stand point? Is there any updated self study schedule according to the new books? I notice that a lot of your replies also explain some parts to the updates. But to sort of put it to rest, maybe have a dedicated post in TBR sdn section and link it to anyone that gives an opinion based on the old versions.

 

[Panther019]

Thanks for the positive feedback about the general chemistry as we are very proud of how that book turned out. As for organic chemistry, I want to make sure you have the correct BR book. There is no longer a hydrocarbon chapter in the BR organic chemistry book as of December 2015. It was replaced by a Lipid chapter that absorbed a little of the material from what used to be in the older book's hydrocarbon chapter, but that is just orbitals and physical properties on page 6. Pages 7-15 cover waxes, phospholipids, and fatty acids. These are listed on Page 183 (Content Category 5D) of the Official Guide under Lipids. Pages 16-19 cover signal molecules (steroids and eicosanoids), which is also a topic found on page 183 (as well as page 103, category 2A). Pages 20-21 cover fat-soluble vitamins, which is also listed on page 183. The chapter ends with applications of lipids such as terpenes, phermones, and a few sample pathways.

All of these topics are fair game for the MCAT and an area where organic chemistry meets biochemistry. I would strongly urge that you make sure you have a good understanding of the impact of molecular structure on biological activity for all of those classes of molecules.

Oh my, no I don't appear to have the correct book(s). I had no idea TBR updated their books. I purchased TBR on amazon along with EK after doing loads of research on what prep books are the best. My EK books are the latest but I had no idea TBR updated their books. Now I am having a freak out moment....I have been studying for 3 weeks. I dropped from full time work to on call just to study for this exam 6/days a week. I studied Gen Chem 1 and EK aligned very well with TBR (well for the most part). I have been on orgo for a bit now, I really really like TBR and EK is more a reference material but the brunt of my studying (what I got wrong ect why, passage problems, inlecture problems) are from TBR. I paid for all my things out of pocket and can't afford to buy anymore books especially considering I will be buying EK's 1001 passages. Before I turned pre-med after I graduated, I was studying for the GRE with Kaplan. Horrid, abysmal. Switched to Manhattan prep after tons of research. anyway when the MCAT came around I knew that choosing the right books would be absolutely critical. Knowing that kaplan sucked for the GRE I could only imagine how terrible it would be for the MCAT. My friend is an MCAT tutor and received top marks on the MCAT- when I confirmed with him my study materials he immediately replied "EK and TBR." He warned me that TBR might be overly detailed however I am aiming for a high percentile I hope to score 512- so I am going through TBR regardless. I am using the 2013 copy I guess. Please tell me it isn't largely different? I have already been through your Ochem part 1 book and gen chem eq part 1 (not gen chem 2 stuff). I checked of AAMCAS outline topics with ease using EK and TBR. Got to Orgo and now I paranoid that topics in orgo aren't aligning. EK is not sufficient enough for organic (IMO).

Yes, Thanks so much for your detailed comment. Is it just the orgo chem book you guys updated? Can I still manage to study with your 2013 books if I keep looking at the AAMCAS outline? Organic and biochem are very strong subjects for me so I am not terribly worried but I have heard extensively that where biochem meets organic it is very heavy on the exam now- which is exactly why I am making sure to study biological applications in both TBR and EK. thoughts? For example, in the TBR you guys in 2013 go over the "wolf-kishner Reaction" which is not listed on the 2015 AAMCAS outline- does this mean I can skip it? Thanks for all your help, it is much appreciated.

 

[Horse Apiece]

Oh my, no I don't appear to have the correct book(s). I had no idea TBR updated their books. I purchased TBR on amazon along with EK after doing loads of research on what prep books are the best. My EK books are the latest but I had no idea TBR updated their books. Now I am having a freak out moment....I have been studying for 3 weeks. I dropped from full time work to on call just to study for this exam 6/days a week. I studied Gen Chem 1 and EK aligned very well with TBR (well for the most part). I have been on orgo for a bit now, I really really like TBR and EK is more a reference material but the brunt of my studying (what I got wrong ect why, passage problems, inlecture problems) are from TBR. I paid for all my things out of pocket and can't afford to buy anymore books especially considering I will be buying EK's 1001 passages. Before I turned pre-med after I graduated, I was studying for the GRE with Kaplan. Horrid, abysmal. Switched to Manhattan prep after tons of research. anyway when the MCAT came around I knew that choosing the right books would be absolutely critical. Knowing that kaplan sucked for the GRE I could only imagine how terrible it would be for the MCAT. My friend is an MCAT tutor and received top marks on the MCAT- when I confirmed with him my study materials he immediately replied "EK and TBR." He warned me that TBR might be overly detailed however I am aiming for a high percentile I hope to score 512- so I am going through TBR regardless. I am using the 2013 copy I guess. Please tell me it isn't largely different? I have already been through your Ochem part 1 book and gen chem eq part 1 (not gen chem 2 stuff). I checked of AAMCAS outline topics with ease using EK and TBR. Got to Orgo and now I paranoid that topics in orgo aren't aligning. EK is not sufficient enough for organic (IMO).

Yes, Thanks so much for your detailed comment. Is it just the orgo chem book you guys updated? Can I still manage to study with your 2013 books if I keep looking at the AAMCAS outline? Organic and biochem are very strong subjects for me so I am not terribly worried but I have heard extensively that where biochem meets organic it is very heavy on the exam now- which is exactly why I am making sure to study biological applications in both TBR and EK. thoughts? For example, in the TBR you guys in 2013 go over the "wolf-kishner Reaction" which is not listed on the 2015 AAMCAS outline- does this mean I can skip it? Thanks for all your help, it is much appreciated.

I recommend checking out the website reddit, under the subsection MCAT, they have a sidebar with a bunch of reviews of the different materials, along with other frequently asked questions, and details of the exam. Google "mcat reddit review of TBR" or something along those lines.


During my studying I used the updated books and from what I read, several things have been removed, the order of materials in the books has been rearranged, and questions have been added. Pretty vague I know, but if you're supplementing with EK I would definitely not worry. The old passages for TBR are still very good, and will prepare you well! Most important though is to buy everything the AAMC releases for prep materials. Section banks, practice exams, question packs, flash cards. All really good material and will be the best indicator of what you'll see on exam day.


The question about the 'wolf-kishner rxn" is kind of indicative of a potential flaw in your studying. Memorizing all of the minute details is not enough/potentially a waste of time, and the only organic reaction mechanisms I'd know would be E1/E2, Sn1/Sn2 and the stereochemistry that goes along with those. Also peptide bond chemistry, some basic nitrogen chemistry, and basic oxygen stuff. Make sure you know all the AA's and their relevant pKa's. Biochem kinetics are highly emphasized on the MCAT now, so I would remember all things competitive, noncompetitive, and uncompetitive for enzyme inhibitors and their associated lineweaver burk plots. Know glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and the krebs cycle very well, and then just general stuff for the pentose phosphate pathway, and glycogenolysis. Oxidation reduction should be memorized. EM Spectrum should be memorized, and also different forms of energy emission or absorption (along with the why; aka d-d transitions, and conjugate ring systems).


I kind of just went off on a tangent of "things to memorize," but really from what I have seen and heard relative to the updated TBR books I went through over the 2016 summer; the old books will serve you just fine and the best use of them is the tips and tricks in each section, and the stellar practice problems. I would focus on EK and then do associated problems from both EK and TBR. If still hazy on things, then go through the TBR sections with an understanding that much of it is "overkill" in the sense that memorizing obscure ochem reactions will not get you a better score.

 

[Panther019]

I recommend checking out the website reddit, under the subsection MCAT, they have a sidebar with a bunch of reviews of the different materials, along with other frequently asked questions, and details of the exam. Google "mcat reddit review of TBR" or something along those lines.


During my studying I used the updated books and from what I read, several things have been removed, the order of materials in the books has been rearranged, and questions have been added. Pretty vague I know, but if you're supplementing with EK I would definitely not worry. The old passages for TBR are still very good, and will prepare you well! Most important though is to buy everything the AAMC releases for prep materials. Section banks, practice exams, question packs, flash cards. All really good material and will be the best indicator of what you'll see on exam day.


The question about the 'wolf-kishner rxn" is kind of indicative of a potential flaw in your studying. Memorizing all of the minute details is not enough/potentially a waste of time, and the only organic reaction mechanisms I'd know would be E1/E2, Sn1/Sn2 and the stereochemistry that goes along with those. Also peptide bond chemistry, some basic nitrogen chemistry, and basic oxygen stuff. Make sure you know all the AA's and their relevant pKa's. Biochem kinetics are highly emphasized on the MCAT now, so I would remember all things competitive, noncompetitive, and uncompetitive for enzyme inhibitors and their associated lineweaver burk plots. Know glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and the krebs cycle very well, and then just general stuff for the pentose phosphate pathway, and glycogenolysis. Oxidation reduction should be memorized. EM Spectrum should be memorized, and also different forms of energy emission or absorption (along with the why; aka d-d transitions, and conjugate ring systems).


I kind of just went off on a tangent of "things to memorize," but really from what I have seen and heard relative to the updated TBR books I went through over the 2016 summer; the old books will serve you just fine and the best use of them is the tips and tricks in each section, and the stellar practice problems. I would focus on EK and then do associated problems from both EK and TBR. If still hazy on things, then go through the TBR sections with an understanding that much of it is "overkill" in the sense that memorizing obscure ochem reactions will not get you a better score.

Hi Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions and you have been very helpful! I actually disagree that I have potential flaws in my studying- I was utilizing that rxn as an example of how I could get caught up in nitpicky details( memorizing everything; extraneous info). I actually asked that question so that I WOULDN'T fall into that flaw in studying Since asking that question and waiting for responses I decided to suck it up and trudge forward with the material trying to ignore overly detailed rxns by using EK as a guide (if Ek didn't mention it, chances are its not impt/ too detailed). I proceeded with the Nitrogen chapter of TBR keeping it in mind that the exam is very biochem heavy and using EK as a guide. The chapter went very well and I moved form inlecture problems to passages with ease (I scored quite well).

What my mind keeps saying is like you said "focus on EK" and just supplement with problems- the issue I have been facing with this is I feel like when I read EK it is poorly organized, each page is loaded with information and there is a lack of flow of information. Once I started reading the TBR (for example doing the nitrogen section from front to finish) I felt I had a far better grasp on the material. I still appreciate EK as a guide and summary (their charts/ tables / ect are quite good) but I just feel very blindsided by EK by say only learning/reviewing material from them exclusively and then only doing problems in TBr. I also feel that I was driven mad by trying to match passages of EK to TBR as it is not obvious what topics TBR is testing when I did gen chem 1 (I relied on EK for content review for gen chem 1). I guess my question is what do you mean by "focus on EK" as I feel I get alot out of going through the TBR chapters and then reffering back to EK.......... ugh MCAT lol Also your comment on reddit info is quite helpful! I will be looking into that!

What do you think of my new plan? It goes like this in a 3-day split. First day : familiarize- this encompasses going through a chapter a day of a given TBR and taking notes on most impt information in the form of a study guide; day 2: study and implement- this includes taking inlecture questions on related chapte rin EK and doing hard inlecture questions in TBR and memorizing/studying day 1 note ( I found that studying wa very short after going through the chapter I learned quite a lot quickly). This allows me to start applying info and seeing what is really imp and how i should be thinking about say amino acids( I quickly learned that knowing he pkas would be essential ect); day 3- integrate; this includes hard passage from TBR e/o questions. Everday I try to do a short review of the previous day, and do 3-5 EK 101 verbal reasoning passage questions. I work once a week so 5 days a week of raw studying and on the 6th day I would do a full review/problems of previous subjects to constantly review the info I painstakingly learned. 7th day I work and do independent research. I also volunteer with AD association and attend a minimed school program once a week with my alumni. I keep telling myself I should only study EK but TBR has been amazing and I really want to achieve a score like you did!

Thank you very much for your help and I also looked up your post about how you studied for the MCAT as well as you point on AAMCAS material. You score is very impressive and I would love to get a score like that!! My plan about 3.5 months from now in the 3-day split schedule I listed is to aggressively move to FL pq's in as many prep companies I can get my hands on. AAMCAS of course as well as EK, and princeton and KHAN. I am also buying the 10001 passages in all subjects for EK to nail down basics if I feel I need it.

 

[Horse Apiece]

If you prefer TBR I would use that then. The TBR chapters bore people I've heard (maybe not enough color and diagrams in the book?), but I really did get great use out of the chapters and enjoyed the read, which explained things better in many cases than my professors did.
Sounds good if that works for you. I would shift to more practice problems and less content as your test approaches. Also maybe about a month out look over the AAMC content guide on their website (it is really just a list of topics) and find out if there are any you are unfamiliar with, then go read Wiki, or youtube them, or whatever you need to get familiar with the topics.
Good luck!

 

[Panther019]

If you prefer TBR I would use that then. The TBR chapters bore people I've heard (maybe not enough color and diagrams in the book?), but I really did get great use out of the chapters and enjoyed the read, which explained things better in many cases than my professors did.
Sounds good if that works for you. I would shift to more practice problems and less content as your test approaches. Also maybe about a month out look over the AAMC content guide on their website (it is really just a list of topics) and find out if there are any you are unfamiliar with, then go read Wiki, or youtube them, or whatever you need to get familiar with the topics.
Good luck!

yes I have heard that as well. Personally I could not care less if something is colorful to me what its imp is that it is presented in an articulte, organized and no bull **** method. I agree that it explains tough concepts even better than my old proffs. It's really a GREAT prep book.
Thanks so much for your advice I will be sure to follow. exactly what I was planning to do! I predict I will be done by end of Jan based on study plan with content review then feb and march I will doing aggressive full lengths problems and problems in weak areas. Thanks for the advice on AAMCAS content outline I actually I already have that and have been checking off topics and subtopics as I go through each subject Its really good to know that I seem to be doing what you suggest- especially getting over a freak out phase. First month of studying was the roughest and now with your advice and my approach it has really gotten way better.

thanks so much and I might bother u if that's ok if I run into some issues.

Thanks!

 

[Panther019]

If you prefer TBR I would use that then. The TBR chapters bore people I've heard (maybe not enough color and diagrams in the book?), but I really did get great use out of the chapters and enjoyed the read, which explained things better in many cases than my professors did.
Sounds good if that works for you. I would shift to more practice problems and less content as your test approaches. Also maybe about a month out look over the AAMC content guide on their website (it is really just a list of topics) and find out if there are any you are unfamiliar with, then go read Wiki, or youtube them, or whatever you need to get familiar with the topics.
Good luck!

May I ask how you got started in your interest in med? Just love to learn how everyone chose this long but hopefully rewarding path!

 

[Horse Apiece]

Sure, for sake on anonymity I will keep it brief and nondescriptive. Early childhood experiences with family in the hospital often. Love of science in high school fueled by a great teacher, but a lack of stimulation/interest/teen agnst for most everything education. Medicine off the table. Going for a Bachelors of science in college, after lackadaisical high school performance. Finding I was able to excel as I had hoped. Medicine back on the table, sought to make myself the best candidate through healthcare experiences, campus involvement, and grades.

BTW, if that is you in that picture, I would change it, since this is a public forum and maintaining anonymity is in your best interest as a candidate.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

I started by purchasing the shiny Kaplan books. I found them to lack value generally because of apparent hurried organization and presentation of information, while totally lacking in MCAT-relevant prep.

I moved on to TPR material and found it much better - it presented information in a more sensible fashion and has MCAT related questioning at the end. Their psych/soc book is probably the best I've read.

I previewed EK and found it somewhat hurried in its presentation of material.

Berkeley's content for o-chem and physics is clearly excessive and unbalanced for the amount of content that is on the exams; neither are heavily tested on the exam, and TBR goes into considerable "overkill" on o=chem. Moreover, I got their psych book and its inferior to even the Kaplan text, as about half of it centers on biological foundations of psychology (about 5% of the exam covers similar material) and their mastery of psychology is somewhat doubtful. And they don't touch sociology, which is substantially tested.

However, their biology text is very clearly the "gold standard" for the most important and heavily tested contents of the exam - biology and biochemistry. They have the most lucid and detailed content review, and a huge amount of highly-relevant practice material. Biology and biochemistry are about 40% of the exam.

TBR also has an ordering system that belongs to the 1930s - you fill out an order form from their online catalog, mail in payment, and about a week later someone from Berkeley mails it. I presume this is chargeback-driven but that's really lame - figure out a way to manage them like every other online retailer does. They sent mine to the wrong address but fortunately I was able to work with Fedex to resolve.

I'd rank the quality of material as: Kaplan (nearly worthless)<<<<<Berkeley Review other than Biology (unfocused for ochem and physics, very inadequate generally in psych)<<<<<<<The Princeton Review (generally adequate-strong all around)<<Berkeley Review Biology (strong in every respect)

BR allows you to just order their biology texts, which is what I recommend.

If you prefer TBR I would use that then. The TBR chapters bore people I've heard (maybe not enough color and diagrams in the book?), but I really did get great use out of the chapters and enjoyed the read, which explained things better in many cases than my professors did.

People don't like TBR because its not shiny. Its just damned effective.

 

[Panther019]

I started by purchasing the shiny Kaplan books. I found them to lack value generally because of apparent hurried organization and presentation of information, while totally lacking in MCAT-relevant prep.

I moved on to TPR material and found it much better - it presented information in a more sensible fashion and has MCAT related questioning at the end. Their psych/soc book is probably the best I've read.

I previewed EK and found it somewhat hurried in its presentation of material.

Berkeley's content for o-chem and physics is clearly excessive and unbalanced for the amount of content that is on the exams; neither are heavily tested on the exam, and TBR goes into considerable "overkill" on o=chem. Moreover, I got their psych book and its inferior to even the Kaplan text, as about half of it centers on biological foundations of psychology (about 5% of the exam covers similar material) and their mastery of psychology is somewhat doubtful.

However, their biology text is very clearly the "gold standard" for the most important and heavily tested contents of the exam - biology and biochemistry. They have the most lucid and detailed content review, and a huge amount of highly-relevant practice material. Biology and biochemistry are about 40% of the exam.

TBR also has an ordering system that belongs to the 1930s - you fill out an order form from their online catalog, mail in payment, and about a week later someone from Berkeley mails it. I presume this is chargeback-driven but that's really lame - figure out a way to manage them like every other online retailer does. They sent mine to the wrong address but fortunately I was able to work with Fedex to resolve.

I'd rank the quality of material as: Kaplan (nearly worthless)<<<<<Berkeley Review other than Biology (unfocused for ochem and physics, very inadequate generally in psych)<<<<<<<The Princeton Review (generally adequate-strong all around)<<Berkeley Review Biology (strong in every respect)



BR allows you to just order their biology texts, which is what I recommend.



People don't like TBR because its not shiny. Its just damned effective.

I really agree with the majority of your assessment. Ek is far too rushed- its great for summarizing concepts and has some good presentation of difficult concepts but it's a very poor primary study material. I think anyone could do really well with TBR solely or TPR but not just EK. I have read however, that people have done very well with just EK- I am sure they are not detailed all the extra work they did. for me, I feel like it would be alot of unesseccary confusion t ojust study from EK though it could be done with some headaches which I am not willing to get. I am not familiar with TPR but I didn't buy them bc I dont trust comercial/mainstream prep companies. I am sure it's good but I never researched it. Kaplan is incredibly weak in everything you should have seen their GRE bk, wow that was bad. When it came to the MCAT I knew I couldn't trust kaplan! Totally agree with the pysch as I have heard alot of the same critique. I got very lucky and happened to get a TPR psch book with the TBR books bc the seller made a mistake- she initially was supposed to give me 2 diff books but didn't have them so gave me that instead!

I am SO glad you posted this bc I was going to only do EK's biology books and not TBR's. REALLY glad you said that. I guess I have gotten alot of mixed advice bc on a medical students forum she said that going through TBR bio was too long and winded and to just to EK-bc its" far superior." However, she took the MCAT before the changes so perhaps that is why. Nonetheless, now that I think of it, it would be very silly to not be comprehensive on bio and biocehm like in the TBR bio's when the majority of the exam emphasizes this (*face palm*).

What do think I should do for TBR's physics? I still have read that pepole recieve exams that have alot more physics, gen chem, and organic than they anticipated. I only have EK and TBR.

thanks so much and your point about the online TBR ordering was hilarious and true. WHAT A JOKE! I didn't want to order their 2016 update for ochem bc it seemed really ridiculous to order it on paper. WOW. haha.

 

[Panther019]

I think if your undergrad was more challenging than what you will see on the MCAT you are best off with EK due to time saving - EK is about half the length. That said, if your undergrad bio was pushover and you need detailed content review TBR is better (by a lot)

TPR is solid throughout, but they fall short of TBR's depth and amount of practice.

Also TBR's bio stuff is extremely accurate - I found a number of hard errors in their psych book, but am abut 2/3rds of the way through their bio books and have yet to catch an error.

good advice thanks!!