BERKELEY REVIEW scores/discussion

[capn jazz]

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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!

 

[AntonFreeman]

does anyone feel like taking tbr cbts makes you talk your self out of the right answer on aamcs? lol. I have gotten used to falling for traps in tbr that i end up wasting time analyzing answer choices too much on my aamc cbts. hopefully i will get used to aamcs quickly.

 

[liveoak]

does anyone feel like taking tbr cbts makes you talk your self out of the right answer on aamcs? lol. I have gotten used to falling for traps in tbr that i end up wasting time analyzing answer choices too much on my aamc cbts. hopefully i will get used to aamcs quickly.

yes.

 

[PlatinumPenny]

How representative is the Phase III passages of the AAMC test? I am getting completely nailed on them and losing all confidence. I was getting maybe minus 2-3 on Phase I and II passages and I'm getting that many correct on Phase III passages. Any input is much appreciated!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Just took the real deal today.

I decided against taking BR #7 b/c I heard it was tough and didn't want anything to blow my confidence going in. I took BR #6 and did much better on it than I did on 5. Then I did aamc 10 and got 10-12-11, but I think I may have taken this exam last year. I took all but one of the last three exams last year, but I couldn't remember which, so I chose 10, b/c I heard it was the most similar. Hope it didn't inflate my score.

BR really helped today. There was a ton of conceptual questions and even the ones that I could not do, was not because they were super hard or that I had never seen anything like them before, it was simply that I couldn't remember how. Nothing threw me. I just made the best guess and moved on. I think what helped is that I have done so many BR passages. I am not sure I did fantastic, but I can say it was me and not the quality of the prep materials. I used Kaplan and EK some, but BR is by far the closest to the real thing except for verbal.

I was fishing for a post to answer your question Platinum Penny. This isn't quite it, but it's close. I believe Dandi got a really good score (>30). The point is that it's about exposure and learning to deal with anxiety during your exam that really matters. Phase III passages are quite representative of the MCAT demands and style. Don't take the scores personally. Focus more on how you can improve. The later versions of the books mention this in many of the answer explanations, so hopefully that is helping with the lulls that hit from time to time.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm going to start studying for my retake soon. Ordered the TBR books used last week. Looking forward to getting it going again. Giving myself way more time for passages this time.

Between TBR's sciences, NOVA physics, and TPR's Science and Verbal Workbooks, I think I have my bases covered. Going to start with TBR science and TPR verbal (after I finish the 2-3 ek 101 tests I have left).

Jan MCAT, here I come. Working to improve the 30 to a 33+.

And when that happens, I'll get a "I told you so" from TBRTeach. Bleh. 🙂

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I'm going to start studying for my retake soon. Ordered the TBR books used last week. Looking forward to getting it going again. Giving myself way more time for passages this time.

Between TBR's sciences, NOVA physics, and TPR's Science and Verbal Workbooks, I think I have my bases covered. Going to start with TBR science and TPR verbal (after I finish the 2-3 ek 101 tests I have left).

Jan MCAT, here I come. Working to improve the 30 to a 33+.

And when that happens, I'll get a "I told you so" from TBRTeach. Bleh. 🙂

No I told you so will ever flow from these lips, unless it involves bad free agent signings in football or bad trades in basketball.

You are going to do just fine this time around. Your 30 was a serious fluke from the impression I had, and even without much studying you could probably get a 33 if you took the exam next week. Not sure if anxiety tooks its toll last time, but this time you should be able to pound through passages to get ready and not have to do any reading. January will be a much difference experience for you, in a good way.

 

[fneverforget]

I started studying for my retake using TBR books. The first time I studied using kaplan I ended up with a 30M: 10/10/10 🙁. I had a 25 on my kaplan diagnostic with no studying (9/8/8) so only improving 5 points after 3 months of studying was a slap in the face. I didn't do enough practice problems my first time around. TBR has tons of passages in the back which I intend on using.

***I was wondering if the scale provided by the TBR is representative of what I should expect on the real MCAT? I have worked through 10 passages in Chapters 1/2/3 in Gen Chem and I have worked through 2 chapters of TBR Bio. I have averaged 70% on each chapter. According to the scale score, a 70% is an 11.

****Or is this scale too strict?****

 

[Tots]

From my experience the scale was pretty decent. I actually scored higher than my TBR average on the real test in each section so if anything the scale was a little harsh.

I wouldn't worry TOO much about the scaled score when you're doing the chapter passages. Use them to learn, improve and identify areas that you need more time with. Use FL practice tests to gauge where your score really lies. 🙂

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

I started studying for my retake using TBR books. The first time I studied using kaplan I ended up with a 30M: 10/10/10 🙁. I had a 25 on my kaplan diagnostic with no studying (9/8/8) so only improving 5 points after 3 months of studying was a slap in the face. I didn't do enough practice problems my first time around. TBR has tons of passages in the back which I intend on using.

***I was wondering if the scale provided by the TBR is representative of what I should expect on the real MCAT? I have worked through 10 passages in Chapters 1/2/3 in Gen Chem and I have worked through 2 chapters of TBR Bio. I have averaged 70% on each chapter. According to the scale score, a 70% is an 11.

****Or is this scale too strict?****

Don't waste your time scoring yourself on those passages. You're time will be much better spent reviewing passages to track your weaknesses and fix them. You'll assess yourself as to how you are scoring when you get to the aamc FL's.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Don't waste your time scoring yourself on those passages. You're time will be much better spent reviewing passages to track your weaknesses and fix them. You'll assess yourself as to how you are scoring when you get to the aamc FL's.

Excellent, excellent, excellent point MightyBoosh!

Everyone loves to get numerical feedback to assess where they are at, but sometimes that defeats the more important purpose of learning from the passages rather than using them as a semi-valid diagnostic tool. Wait until you take FLs to judge yourself in ernest.

 

[fneverforget]

^^^ I have been reviewing each passage to see my mistakes. But I was just curious about the scales/scores.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Excellent, excellent, excellent point MightyBoosh!

Everyone loves to get numerical feedback to assess where they are at, but sometimes that defeats the more important purpose of learning from the passages rather than using them as a semi-valid diagnostic tool. Wait until you take FLs to judge yourself in ernest.

Absolutely. I'm definitely someone who can attest to this, as I spent half of last summer studying with BR's material while constantly scoring myself after every set of passages. This was a super unhealthy way to go about it, as I ended up feeling like I had no shot at getting a good score and chickened out of finishing my study plan (and taking the MCAT). I regrouped this summer and went through what was left of BR's passages along with TPR science workbook passages (without worrying about how many questions I was getting wrong) and ended up averaging 34 on my AAMC's and getting a 37 on the real thing.

Moral of the story: Don't let your practice performance shake your confidence!

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

By the way BerkeleyReviewTeach, I can't thank you enough for helping me out with random questions on the study Q and A forum... you're definitely a good rep of how awesome Berkeley Review is as a company. I still need to stop by Westwood to thank Todd for all the random help/advice he gave me as a non-student.

I'm trying to return the favor to you guys by telling everyone I meet to buy your books or take your class!

 

[TheLadyVanishes]

TBR Physics (brand new edition)
Section I Translational Motion 32/52 9
Section II Forces, Circular Motion and Gravitation 35/52 10
Section III Work and Energy 35/52 10
Section IV Momentum and Torque 36/52 10
Section V Periodic Motion and Waves 34/52 10

Section VI Sound and Doppler Effect 39/52 11
Section VII Fluids and Solids 41/52 12 😀
Section VIII Electrostatics and Electromagnetism 38/52 11

I know I have room for improvement, and I have NOVA physics too (haven't cracked it open yet). I also plan to get AAMC tests and maybe TBR CBTs. Physics HW used to take me hours to do and frustrate me so much that I would literally cry, so I'm excited to be at this point.

 

[mightymoose02]

TBR Physics (brand new edition)
Section I Translational Motion 32/52 9
Section II Forces, Circular Motion and Gravitation 35/52 10
Section III Work and Energy 35/52 10
Section IV Momentum and Torque 36/52 10
Section V Periodic Motion and Waves 34/52 10

Section VI Sound and Doppler Effect 39/52 11
Section VII Fluids and Solids 41/52 12 😀
Section VIII Electrostatics and Electromagnetism 38/52 11

I know I have room for improvement, and I have NOVA physics too (haven't cracked it open yet). I also plan to get AAMC tests and maybe TBR CBTs. Physics HW used to take me hours to do and frustrate me so much that I would literally cry, so I'm excited to be at this point.

TBR CBTs are challenging so it'd be good practice!!! You should get them!!!

I think they prepared me well for the real thing. Lots of difficult passages (just like their practice problems). So on the real deal, I didn't panic when I saw something weird or crazy-looking because I did that during practice and learned how to deal with it.

Of course, their answer explanations are as good as their books too. That really helps when you are reviewing post-test.

Btw, I also used NOVA if I wasn't confident on a certain section. I kinda used NOVA as a back-up to TBR.

 

[superman3]

I am starting TBR in earnest....hopefully we can resurrect this thread:

Chemistry
Section I: Stoichiometry
Phase I: 32/41 = 78% = ~12 (10-12 range)
Phase II: 1 (To be completed...11/6)

I didn't focus too much on timing for this section, but can tell this will likely be an issue for me. Interesting, is that while question stem was often the key to solving the questions in the bio section, the ability to characterize answer choices seems to be key here. Anybody here find the math/thinking to be a little bit insane????

 

[HerbalPlz]

Anybody here find the math/thinking to be a little bit insane????

Yes, it is at the start. There's so many shortcuts...felt kind of overwhelming.

But as you do more and more questions, you'll start feeling more comfortable with them. Seriously, just sit and pound question after question. Check where you went wrong, and see what you should have done to get the right answer. If you have EK 1001 books, they're decent for hammering the content down, so you can just focus on the convolution of passages in TBR and how to extract the ideas out of it.

 

[superman3]

Chemistry
Section I: Stoichiometry
Phase I: 32/41 = 78% = ~12 (10-12 range)

Update: Phase II: 11/20 == 55% ~ 8 (7-9 range) the timing was scary. I blame myself for being so lax on the phase I timing. I'm guessing I missed alot of shortcuts. That and maybe I'm trying to read the passage too in depth, which is necessary for the bio section , but I'm guessing not so for this section. I had to guess on 2 questions, so I already knew I was shot. wow.

 

[ridethecliche]

No I told you so will ever flow from these lips, unless it involves bad free agent signings in football or bad trades in basketball.

You are going to do just fine this time around. Your 30 was a serious fluke from the impression I had, and even without much studying you could probably get a 33 if you took the exam next week. Not sure if anxiety took its toll last time, but this time you should be able to pound through passages to get ready and not have to do any reading. January will be a much difference experience for you, in a good way.

Replying because I missed this post.

I don't think I was all that anxious, but I made 2 mistakes:
1) Getting stuck on a verbal passage and not moving on. Led to me entering the last passage with 4 minutes left. It was an easy passage as well. I would have scored atleast a 10 and probably an 11 if I had finished.
2) Underestimating the amount of organic on the BS section. My section was a lot more lab technique heavy and I didn't review enough of that.

So lessons learnt. I'm going to stick to harsh time limits on verbal (<7 min/passage) and study/practice the right things for BS. My PS was an 11 out of luck, since I didn't get the kind of questions that I'm bad at. There were a bunch of "uhhh lolwut?" passages though. I guess I just figured them out. I think the TBR exams PS sections helped with that, but I also finished TBR science sections way under the time limit so that didn't help.

Actually decided to take the April exam. I want to be able to study and still have a life this time around. Just doing practice shouldn't be too exhausting.

Anyway, I was too exhausted to start studying again right after I got my score, though I probably could have pulled it together and taken it again. It would have felt too rushed though.

I've started reading EK books again for review and I'll start hitting the TBR pretty hard starting in early-mid december.

Life seems to have worked out all the same. Instead of starting school next fall, I'll be helping run a clinical trial in Africa for a year. I have no complaints 🙂

Thanks for all your positive feedback through all of this. You certainly made this process easier with your reassurance.

 

[Reaction]

What is a phase? I just see 12 passages after each chapter?

 

[superman3]

What is a phase? I just see 12 passages after each chapter?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=8168279&postcount=55
you're welcome.

 

[Spring888]

I'm in desperate need of some encouragement! I am using the TBR books to study but I feel like I'm not far enough along. I am taking the MCAT Jan 28th (for the 3rd time). Not following the 3 month study plan because it doesn't fit into my schedule. Anyone have advice on how to get moving and feel like im making progess?? I'm beginning to feel like it's already too late for me to do anything about it and like I should give up. I know I need to turn this attitude around. HELP!!

 

[superman3]

I'm in desperate need of some encouragement! I am using the TBR books to study but I feel like I'm not far enough along. I am taking the MCAT Jan 28th (for the 3rd time). Not following the 3 month study plan because it doesn't fit into my schedule. Anyone have advice on how to get moving and feel like im making progess?? I'm beginning to feel like it's already too late for me to do anything about it and like I should give up. I know I need to turn this attitude around. HELP!!

stay focused!!! and post your progress on the forum. I found it helpful early on in my studying to post my study progress on the forum. It kind of gave me a little bit of accountability. Also constantly checking in with other people form the Jan. thread to find out about progress has also helped to keep me in gear. Someone mentioned a skype group in the jan. thread, so you could look into that as well. good luck!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Figured it might be good to bump this thread given the large number of questions about how people are doing on BR materials that are currently being asked in the forum. For some of you new to SDN, you might find an answer to your question buried here. You'll see all sorts of case studies here, including people who were getting 60% and feeling discouraged who ended up getting 30+ scores on their MCAT. It might just be the uplifting post you need to get your spirit back.

 

[nabilesmail]

Yeah I read through 70% of this yesterday =) it is helpful!

 

[iceman132]

I took the MCat in September and completely bombed it. I have been doing fairly well on the passages with TBR though (70% plus on most. Even the biology passages)

Hopefully the magic of TBR helps me this time along. I did Kaplan and a Examcrackers last time (FAR too little passage review). Here's hoping that the SN2 schedule brings up my score.

I will be taking the TBR tests starting on January 5th.and keep my progress posted. If I do well it will definitely be a success story (With my past scores)

 

[iceman132]

So is the consensus that TBR 3 5 and 7 the hardest?

 

[ridethecliche]

So is the consensus that TBR 3 5 and 7 the hardest?

According to the bloke that works for the company, yes.

So... What's your question again?

 

[Ssina]

So is the consensus that TBR 3 5 and 7 the hardest?

mmm I have only taken 1 and 2 so far, we will find out tomorrow how hard 3 is i guess!!!

 

[Ssina]

soo took #3 and dropped 5 points from my ave from #2 and #1! looking forward to #4 now 😴

 

[DarkJoker]

Started on Physics section of BR today, and I'm only getting 2 right. Went through Phase 1, Got 2 right for the first 2 passages, and 1 right for the third. Any ways to improve my score?

My confidence went down the drain 🙁

 

[Ssina]

Started on Physics section of BR today, and I'm only getting 2 right. Went through Phase 1, Got 2 right for the first 2 passages, and 1 right for the third. Any ways to improve my score?

My confidence went down the drain 🙁

for phase 1 and 2, I didn't even worry about how many I got right or wrong, I made a note of the % of questions I got right to just pinpoint what chapters I was struggling the most... so my recommendation is to just do the questions, even if you don't get ANY right... and spend double the time, reading and understanding their explanations line by line... then before you know it, you'll be up (with that said, there are passages that you will just miss most of the questions, while you'll get everything else right for 3 passages)

a lot of people may emphasize content review, but even if you don't understand some of the stuff they cover, don't worry it'll be back to haunt you again.... so doing their phases, it has content review built in... but you have to get through to them and not get discouraged! the hardest thing for me was to learn by doing questions, I was always the type that you have to know everything then start doing practices... well I read the chapters, but did most of my learning through doing their passages!!! you will notice that their passages, most of the time, is the explaining the topics and concepts... so you are learning from them not just for the sake of doing the questions for that passage.

soo I wouldn't even worry about it too much, I think that's one of the benefits of TBR!
all you can do for now is just to trust their methode and that it'll pay off and keep on going!

 

[chi1216]

How are you all coming up with the scores? I understand the percentages. Is there a score sheet that shows which percentages are with which score?

 

[Ost3oclast]

What do you guys think of br verbal? Ive been using a couple different sources for verbal and br seems pretty easy....

 

[ridethecliche]

Started on Physics section of BR today, and I'm only getting 2 right. Went through Phase 1, Got 2 right for the first 2 passages, and 1 right for the third. Any ways to improve my score?

My confidence went down the drain 🙁

You need to seriously look at what you're doing when you study.

Are you taking notes? Are you following the examples?

Are you reading passively or are you actively going through scenarios in your head while you're reading. Do you review your notes right before you do practice exams?

You're missing something.

Lucky for you, you have time to figure it out!

 

[study pray love]

what exactly are we supposed to be learning for TBR bio since the content you learn from doing the passages is more in depth and nitty gritty than what's actually required for the mcat? is it just for us to develop test taking skills?

 

[iceman132]

Some of these verbal passages are absolutely ridiculous. From all the AAMCs/TPR Hyperlearning I have done.... Some of the TBR FLs are making me want to rip my hair out.

 

[Aromatic Amine]

Some of these verbal passages are absolutely ridiculous. From all the AAMCs/TPR Hyperlearning I have done.... Some of the TBR FLs are making me want to rip my hair out.

i feel you, i dont know if the PS is supposed to be super hard, but i just took TBR 1 and i got a 7/9/10.

i got murdered on one of the light passages. I guess the main take away from all of this is to keep at it, learn how to deal with the hardest possible stuff so u can do well on the real deal.

 

[Aromatic Amine]

.

 

[iceman132]

i feel you, i dont know if the PS is supposed to be super hard, but i just took TBR 1 and i got a 7/9/10.

i got murdered on one of the light passages. I guess the main take away from all of this is to keep at it, learn how to deal with the hardest possible stuff so u can do well on the real deal.

How did you do on the AAMCs (If you did them)

I was doing 28-30 on the AAMCs. I just got destroyed by TBR 4.

Don't even know if I wanna look at my score.

 

[Ssina]

How did you do on the AAMCs (If you did them)

I was doing 28-30 on the AAMCs. I just got destroyed by TBR 4.

Don't even know if I wanna look at my score.

lol TBR4 was my lowest out of all of them, so far taken till TBR7!
don't worry just look at it and go over it!
btw I haven't been doing too hot on their verbal either 8-11 (ave 9!!!) with that said, I suck at verbal so expected... my ave for AAMCs' verbal is also 9 so

 

[iceman132]

Wow, just terrible

AAMC 3: 10-11-9 30
AAMC 7: 10-8-10 28

TBR 4: 7-7-7 21

Damn, I didn't take the TBR as seriously .... Gotta make sure I concentrate for the other TBRs.

 

[Aromatic Amine]

I'm a retaker iceman, so i used up all my AAMC's, only got 10,11 left. I hear TBR is much harder, and you shouldn't worry about their scoring, but rather learning on how to approach those problems. For me, i found the TBR color/light passage to be a bit crazy. i mean i have never encountered something like that before, got all of them wrong.

Just going to keep doing TBR tests and passages and eventually my scores will improve (hopefully) lol.

 

[Ssina]

Wow, just terrible

AAMC 3: 10-11-9 30
AAMC 7: 10-8-10 28

TBR 4: 7-7-7 21

Damn, I didn't take the TBR as seriously .... Gotta make sure I concentrate for the other TBRs.

yeah my verbal is all over the place too, I kinda gave up on that (still doing practice passages everyday) but I put more emphasis on PS and BS cuz I knew I could bring those up easier! def suxx

idk when your taking the test, but if in 2 weeks, then I would ONLY concentrate on the areas that give you the most trouble and are more likely to show up on the test e.g. for PS electromag, fluids, etc... and you can decide if you want to go for it or void once you take the actual test or maybe AAMC11/10 2 days before your actual one

I'm a retaker iceman, so i used up all my AAMC's, only got 10,11 left. I hear TBR is much harder, and you shouldn't worry about their scoring, but rather learning on how to approach those problems. For me, i found the TBR color/light passage to be a bit crazy. i mean i have never encountered something like that before, got all of them wrong.

Just going to keep doing TBR tests and passages and eventually my scores will improve (hopefully) lol.

couple of my friends got exactly their ave from TBR on their real MCAT, and plus form ppl that posted, they are maybe 2 pts higher or so. my overall ave on TBR is 0.4 points lower than AAMCs ave so they can't be all that apart!

I'm pretty sure Todd (one of the TBR Gods!!!) said don't worry about your score so much once your consistently doing mid 30s and use the tests for practice (since there maybe daily fluctuations that will mess with your nerves more than being helpful!)

with that said, keep pushing ahead your score will def improve 🙂

 

[Aromatic Amine]

couple of my friends got exactly their ave from TBR on their real MCAT, and plus form ppl that posted, they are maybe 2 pts higher or so. my overall ave on TBR is 0.4 points lower than AAMCs ave so they can't be all that apart!

I'm pretty sure Todd (one of the TBR Gods!!!) said don't worry about your score so much once your consistently doing mid 30s and use the tests for practice (since there maybe daily fluctuations that will mess with your nerves more than being helpful!)

with that said, keep pushing ahead your score will def improve 🙂

Yeah i am doing the passages from the TBR books along with my tests, hopefully i can improve a few points before my test. Verbal is one of those things that for me atleast has been all over the place too. its one of those things depending on the types of passages u get on test day.

 

[iceman132]

Taking my third and last TBR test today (6). Been a long ride.

 

[Ssina]

Taking my third and last TBR test today (6). Been a long ride.

good luck.. 6 was a kind test to me, unlike many others!

 

[Mitalie]

How is everyone breaking their scores down between phase 1, 2 and 3 passages? I mean I don't see a scale out of 15 in each book. Do they sent a score guide for each subject because the books do not have it. Please let me know!!

 

[Ssina]

I personally went by the % I got right, but I know physics second set at the end of each chapter had a scale since those are 52 questions (vs. 25 for the first sets)

Idk about the rest!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

 

[Mitalie]

For the physics review book, are there some examples within the review material that do not have solutions or is it just my book? Does anyone know where the answers would be as I tried looking through the entire book for them.