Berkeley Review Bio Books -- difficult!

[MBHockey]

I'm finding the bio passages in the BR books quite difficult. I don't have much of a bio background (mechanical engineer now in post-bac with gen bio 1 and genetics under my belt) but when i was reading the review section leading up to the first set of passages (for Structure and Function in Cells and Viruses) I felt good because most of it I was very comfortable with.

Then I did the first three passages and found that I did not have the background required to do well on them. I only managed to get 10 out of 17 correct (I'm used to getting none or one wrong per passage on the other topics, but am getting absolutely destroyed on these!)

Are the bio passages 'generally' more difficult than what we'll see on the real MCAT (I surely hope so)? If not, what else can I do to ensure I'm fluent enough to be able to make sense of the information given in the passages? These are the only bio passages I've attempted, so the sample size isn't huge. But if this is any indication of how the rest of the bio passages are, I'm worried that I won't be getting much out of these bio books (if I just keep getting killed on them!)

Thanks

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[MBHockey]

Guess i'm the only one who finds them tough

 

[SiR99]

TBR's bio seems tougher than the bio on the AAMC practice exams so you shouldnt feel too bad if your not getting all of them

 

[J ROD]

I think they are tougher and not very representative of the actual test.

 

[MBHockey]

The difference I see between them and the EK Bio passages (and the one AAMC test i have, exam #3) is that the BR bio passages assume a much higher level of background knowledge whereas the others seem to be much more of extrapolating and applying information from the passages.

 

[rocketbooster]

The difference I see between them and the EK Bio passages (and the one AAMC test i have, exam #3) is that the BR bio passages assume a much higher level of background knowledge whereas the others seem to be much more of extrapolating and applying information from the passages.

which is how the real MCAT is. trust me, I've taken it twice and most of the answers are directly in the passage. I suck at critical thinking/reading passages, though, so that didn't help.

the thing is the more background knowledge you have, the easier you'll have interpreting the passages on the real thing. then, of course, there's the risk of applying your more advanced knowledge to a question when the passage is telling you something else. always go with the passage info over your own knowledge. it's easy to overthink things.

 

[basketballakev]

So what bio books would you guys recommend for content review and passages? Would Examkrackers do the job or TPR?

 

[SN2ed]

They're supposed to be very tough. I believe BerkReviewTeach's reasons were twofold. One, the harder passages better prepare you for the real deal. The second reason was that mistakes are usually remembered so the passages help to nail down key concepts. PM BerkReviewTeach if you need some help.

 

[futuredoctor10]

So what bio books would you guys recommend for content review and passages? Would Examkrackers do the job or TPR?

I have not used TPR passages or their books. Although I cannot compare TPR/EK, I would recommend EK for content review in Bio - it is amazing!!!