Berkeley Review Questions Difficulty

[pk2016]

I'm reviewing for the MCAT with Berkeley Review. I'm stumped by the questions that they are asking because they don't (for the most part) match with the notes given for the chapter they are on. Does Berkeley Review assume a level of Biology knowledge when quizzing?I forgotten most of my Gen Bio knowledge and assumed that BR would start at the very beginning or there be a connection between the notes and the passages. Is this a good barometer for what the MCAT is really like? I just did 8 questions and only got 4 of them correct.

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[KoalaT]

Yes, TBR is very difficult when it comes to passages. Many times, the passages and answers use knowledge that is taught in future chapters.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/koalats-all-in-one-mcat-guide.1195923/

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

It can be a painful approach using our books, because every section contains questions from other chapters. So when you first start with our books, often times you get beat up by material and experiments you have not yet reviewed. But by midway through the review, these integrated questions become more of a review. By the end they are very doable and great for building confidence. It's like starting a run uphill rather than on the flats. Get through the tough start and they will pay dividends. People who work through them in their entirety have some pretty great results to show for their efforts.

 

[determined293]

It can be a painful approach using our books, because every section contains questions from other chapters. So when you first start with our books, often times you get beat up by material and experiments you have not yet reviewed. But by midway through the review, these integrated questions become more of a review. By the end they are very doable and great for building confidence. It's like starting a run uphill rather than on the flats. Get through the tough start and they will pay dividends. People who work through them in their entirety have some pretty great results to show for their efforts.

So this may be a terrible question, but what scores should we be expecting on these phase 1 and phase 2 sections of the beginning chapters of these science books? And when do we make it to the flats lol

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

For the latest books (the 2016 set), the average student was getting about 57% on Phase I, 61% on Phase II, and 67% on Phase III. The students who shared their homework scores in that data set who also shared their MCAT scores went on to average 512.3 on the MCAT. So please do not feel bad about getting 14/25 on Phase I or 15/25 on Phase II. Learn from the explanations and grow into a better test taker.

 

[determined293]

For the latest books (the 2016 set), the average student was getting about 57% on Phase I, 61% on Phase II, and 67% on Phase III. The students who shared their homework scores in that data set who also shared their MCAT scores went on to average 512.3 on the MCAT. So please do not feel bad about getting 14/25 on Phase I or 15/25 on Phase II. Learn from the explanations and grow into a better test taker.

That is very encouraging to hear!! Thanks so much for the timely response!

 

[jparsenal87]

For the latest books (the 2016 set), the average student was getting about 57% on Phase I, 61% on Phase II, and 67% on Phase III. The students who shared their homework scores in that data set who also shared their MCAT scores went on to average 512.3 on the MCAT. So please do not feel bad about getting 14/25 on Phase I or 15/25 on Phase II. Learn from the explanations and grow into a better test taker.

I'm a bit confused here. I took a loot at the Gen Chem book, which has phase 1 and 2 laid out, and I assume the exams in the back are phase 3. The Bio books do not follow the "phase" language, and instead talk in terms of "nondiagnostic and diagnostic practice sets". Am I to interpret the first 15 stand-alone questions as phase 1, the 100 end of chapter questions (passage based) phase 2, and then the exam at the back phase 3? I'm not sure where the "out of 25 questions" come from when you're discussing the phases. Would appreciate some clarification! Thanks!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I'm a bit confused here. I took a loot at the Gen Chem book, which has phase 1 and 2 laid out, and I assume the exams in the back are phase 3. The Bio books do not follow the "phase" language, and instead talk in terms of "nondiagnostic and diagnostic practice sets". Am I to interpret the first 15 stand-alone questions as phase 1, the 100 end of chapter questions (passage based) phase 2, and then the exam at the back phase 3? I'm not sure where the "out of 25 questions" come from when you're discussing the phases. Would appreciate some clarification! Thanks!

The biology author deviated from the phase arrangement used in the physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry books. The passages in those three books were designed and grouped with the phasing in mind where some were meant to be topic-specific and focused on applying the basics and others were designed to integrate other material. The biology passages were developed to fit specific topics and experiments. Most people break the 15-passage blocks at the end of each chapter into three phases of 5 passages each. The review exams at the end of the book should not be attempted until you have finished all of the chapter passages.