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!

 

[mcloaf]

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.

In TBR physics? Where?

 

[Mitalie]

its when we review the material from each part. There will be some examples that do not have any answers but I am assuming because they are review questions and not hard core mcat questions. They are just scattered examples after each section.

 

[study pray love]

yeah they don't explain example B probs in the old book, only in the new one-- totally weird-- idk why they would do that

 

[Temperature101]

TBR General Chem

Stoichiometry: Did not do it using the "phase model", but I got 78% overall, which is 11-12 on the scale.

Atomic Theory
Phase 1: 28/37 (76% = 11)
Phase 2: 18/34 (53% = 8 ) Ouch . Ran out of time...had to guess in the last passage (XIV), which was somewhat easy. Got to work on my timing.

 

[Golaso]

For General Chem, I'm doing 50 questions- 70 minutes, 2 exams each section. After, I go over every question and write notes on the once I get wrong

Stoichiometry:71/100---11/15
Atomic Theory: 80/100 ---- 12/15
Equilibrium: 66/100------10/15
AcidsBases: 67/100 10/15
Buffers and Titrations: NEXT

 

[PDXJen]

Best of luck on buffers and titrations! That section killed me.

 

[Golaso]

Best of luck on buffers and titrations! That section killed me.

The Problem is that I can't go to the questions unless I have an intuitive feeling about the material, I have that serious scary feeling when I score low......but it's killing me yah and I thought the last section will be the easiest it's taking more time than my expectation 😱 😡

 

[Wishing4MD]

Just got my butt handed to me in tbr cbt 5 for the PS!! Wahhhhh 🙁((

 

[osprey099]

Hi guys, I've recently started on the TBR set. Scores so far:

Physics Book 1 Section 1 (Translational Motion): 39/52 (12)
Chemistry Book 1 Section 1 (Stoic): 81/100 (12)

 

[Whiteshoes]

I recently started TBR bio. How do you guys manage time dong the loooonnnnggg bio passages? 9min/passage- 4 min to read & 5 for questions?? how do you divide it up? Also do you skim through the reading or critically read the passage and analyze the graphs before looking at questions.. Can someone who has figured out how to do well on these types of experimental passages sort of elaborate their approach.

So far I've tried to read carefully to understand the passage then analyze the graphs before moving to questions. This works well for EK & TPR bio passages but ever since I started working on TBR passages I've noticed that I am chewing up a lot of time and then start to feel a little anxious about the clock thus hindering my focus.

 

[Temperature101]

Best of luck on buffers and titrations! That section killed me.

I think equilibrium is more challenging than buffers and titrations.

 

[QuantumFlame]

Hello fellow BR-philes 🙂, I've been a long-time lurker and thought I'd join in. I'm following SN2ed's schedule, and I've done 2/3 of the passages in the first BR book for each section. Average percentages so far:

Physics: 76%
Gen Chem: 80%
Orgo: 84%
Bio: 73%

How am I looking?
Happy studying everybody!

 

[TwinsFan]

You're looking good, a bit lowish in BIO (since this is passages from the 1st book, for the 2nd book 70%+ is excellent) if your shooting for 12+ but very solid overall. I think it matters most if you're learning from each Q you got right or wrong about as much as the score, but scoring 80%+ always feels good for BR.

 

[ridethecliche]

Those %'s are awesome for TBR.

Have you taken any practice tests yet?

 

[Sailor Senshi Dermystify]

Are you doing the % of each Phase separately. For example, if you did 20 questions in Phase 1 of G. Chem and got a 75/100 you would rank it an 11 or a 12 correct? Or are you grading the WHOLE entire chapter out of 90?

 

[catzzz88]

i totally understand. I like there material layout. I like their questions and how they incorporate certain points from different angles, all to reinforce the knowledge base. I'll post scores as i move along. I'm almost finished with the first gen chem book. But haven't followed a strict order of passages, i usually do at least the first 3, and then any other suggested for phase i.

People, you seriously should invest in these books if you want solid scores. Ek is good, but the passages in these books are gold. gimme da gold

i want da gold!!

 

[QuantumFlame]

Thanks for the encouragement! Its funny that Bio is my lowest one, seeing that its my strongest background 😛

As far as the percentages, because I do every 3rd passage, as opposed to the phases, I just take the average of the % correct per passage (ie if I get 5/6, 6/6 and 4/6 on passages I, IV and VII, then I average and say 83%)

I didn't feel like posting my scores for all the passages for chapters 1-5 so I just took an average of all the chapters (obviously, I've had variations). If there is a conventional way people have been reporting, let me know and I'll adopt it.

Nope, no practice tests yet!

 

[osprey099]

Hi guys, I've recently started on the TBR set. Scores so far:

Physics Book 1 Section 1 (Translational Motion): 39/52 (12)
Chemistry Book 1 Section 1 (Stoic): 81/100 (12)

Physics Book 1 Section 1: 39/52 (12)
Physics Book 1 Section 2: 45/52 (13)
Physics Book 1 Section 3: 37/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 4: 39/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 5: 40/52 (12)

Gen Chem Book 1 Section 1: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 2: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 3: 66/100 (10)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 4: 77/100 (11)

 

[Temperature101]

Physics Book 1 Section 1: 39/52 (12)
Physics Book 1 Section 2: 45/52 (13)
Physics Book 1 Section 3: 37/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 4: 39/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 5: 40/52 (12)

Gen Chem Book 1 Section 1: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 2: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 3: 66/100 (10)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 4: 77/100 (11)

These are impressive scores especially in physics...

 

[QuantumFlame]

Organic Chapter 5, second third: 29/32 (91%)

Physics Book 1 Section 1: 39/52 (12)
Physics Book 1 Section 2: 45/52 (13)
Physics Book 1 Section 3: 37/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 4: 39/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 5: 40/52 (12)

Gen Chem Book 1 Section 1: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 2: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 3: 66/100 (10)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 4: 77/100 (11)

Nice! Looks like you have PS well in hand.

 

[osprey099]

Physics Book 1 Section 1: 39/52 (12)
Physics Book 1 Section 2: 45/52 (13)
Physics Book 1 Section 3: 37/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 4: 39/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 5: 40/52 (12)

Gen Chem Book 1 Section 1: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 2: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 3: 66/100 (10)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 4: 77/100 (11)

Physics Book 1 Section 1: 39/52 (12)
Physics Book 1 Section 2: 45/52 (13)
Physics Book 1 Section 3: 37/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 4: 39/52 (11)
Physics Book 1 Section 5: 40/52 (12)
Physics Book 2 Section 1: 36/52 (10) (did it just now (very late at night) so sleepy)
Physics Book 2 Section 3: 41/52 (12)

Gen Chem Book 1 Section 1: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 2: 81/100 (12)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 3: 66/100 (10)
Gen Chem Book 1 Section 4: 77/100 (11)

Verbal Diagnostic 1: 24/40 (~7 using EK conversion since TBR doesn't have it's own)

 

[QuantumFlame]

Anybody here doing SN2ed's every third passage method as opposed to the BR phases? I've liked doing it that way so far, but its difficult to use the score conversion. What have you all been doing?

Physics Section 5 2nd third - 18/22 (82%)
Physics Section 6 1st third - 19/25 (76%) ouch...sound is not my thing

Gen Chem Section 5 1st third - 29/35 (83%)
Gen Chem Section 5 2nd third - 28/34 (82%)

Orgo Chapter 5 1st third - 29/32 (91%)
Orgo Chapter 5 2nd third - 27/31 (87%)

Bio Chapter 4 2nd third - 30/32 (94%)
Bio Chapter 5 2nd third - 27/32 (84%)

 

[TwinsFan]

Just use the percentages and equate them to the end of chapter percentages to get your score.

I.E. Gen Chem
15 = 100%
14 = 92-99%
13 = 84-91%
12 = 78-83%
11 = 72-77%
10 = 66-71%
9 = 59-65%
8 = 53-58%
7 = 47-52%
6 = 42-46%
5 = 38-41%
4 = 34-37%
Toilet = 33% or less

The nice thing about splitting it into thirds and timing all passages is that there are quite a few tough ones that BR suggests not timing thrown in the mix with each third. This will give you a bit of a conservative score. So if you are doing all passages in the allotted time (~8.5 min or lesson average) and scoring 80%+ then that is pretty dang good. Can't wait to see how it translates on the AAMCs.

 

[Mehd School]

Can't wait to see how it translates on the AAMCs.

I'm scoring in the percentages to give me an 8 or 9, through 4 chapters of each book. Considering a 75% is roughly a 10 (give or take) on aamc's, if you're scoring above that on TBR, you're going to rape your tests. The full lengths seem so much more straight forward and CERTAINLY less detailed/calculation heavy than the TBR passages...as designed.

 

[QuantumFlame]

Gen Chem Section 6 1st third - 23/33 (70%) - 10

Guess I have some work to do in gases lol.
I sure hope the AAMC reflect BR percentages 😀 But I guess we'll see. If only I could be this confident about verbal...

 

[TwinsFan]

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-10

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13

Bio (TPRH for content, scale from 2nd BR Bio book as needed)
TPRH1 (BR 6+7): 61%-9, 68%-10
TPRH2 (BR 9+10): 81%-13, 79%-12
TPRH3 (BR 6+8): 67%-10, 94%-14
TPRH4 (BR 6+8+10): 73%-11, 74%-11 (calvin cycle lol! - 1/6)

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (~10), recent...
EK (bs if you ask me!): overall 17 passages - 67% (~8), recent 4 passages - 64%

 

[Mehd School]

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-10

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13

You, sir, are making me feel discouraged as hell. 🙁

 

[TwinsFan]

Daily update 6-11, verbal and Bio 5
kind of a crappy day, tanked a bio passage and still can't seem to figure out EKs verbal

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-10

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13

Bio (TPRH for content, scale from 2nd BR Bio book as needed)
TPRH1 (BR 6+7): 61%-9, 68%-10
TPRH2 (BR 9+10): 81%-13, 79%-12
TPRH3 (BR 6+8): 67%-10, 94%-14
TPRH4 (BR 6+8+10): 73%-11, 74%-11 (calvin cycle lol! - 1/6)
TPRH5 (BR 9+10) 68%-10 (1 passage 2/6)

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (~10), recent...
EK (bs if you ask me!): overall 20 passages - 66% (~8), recent 3 passages - 63% 🙁

 

[TwinsFan]

You, sir, are making me feel discouraged as hell. 🙁

Focus on learning from each question instead of worrying about the score too much. It's still content review time and these are not FLs. I recently worked with someone who scored doubt digits in the sciences on the real deal and they were only getting 50% or less right their first crack at the BR chapters.

Also, look for improvement between the 1st and 2nd 1/3. If you are consistently scoring about the same or lower than something is wrong. Don't be afraid to experiment. And don't get too carried away with your timing. If you can finish a passage in under 7 min that's awesome, but don't let it stop you from taking 8 min on the next. Just keep trimming it down so by FL time you have a bit of cushion (average of ~8 min per 7Q passage should suffice).

I think trying to finish all passages in 6 minutes is way too fast. Sure, you can finish the easier ones or the topics you're strong in 3-6 minutes, but the tough ones or weak areas need more time. And practice is what will help you improve your thinking and problem solving abilities. This doesn't happen if you are just guessing on boatloads of problems to hit the mythical 6 minute mark. However, limit yourself to no more than 10 minutes a passage on the toughies to keep your pace.

Another idea is to do a single passage after each chapter untimed to allow yourself to struggle through learning how to do it. Then do the rest of the passages timed.

 

[QuantumFlame]

You, sir, are making me feel discouraged as hell. 🙁

Just me two cents here: TwinsFan has some great advice (in fact, I'm going to experiment a bit on the timing, I've been sticking pretty stringently to the 6:30 to 7:30 timing and it might be hurting me). I would just say don't get too discouraged by getting similar percentages/scores on your first and second thirds. For me, sometimes a passage on the second round hits a weakness that wasn't exposed on the first run-through. Just keep your chin up and try to learn from every mistake!

Daily update 6-11, verbal and Bio 5
kind of a crappy day, tanked a bio passage and still can't seem to figure out EKs verbal

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (~10), recent...
EK (bs if you ask me!): overall 20 passages - 66% (~8), recent 3 passages - 63% 🙁

I've been having my own personal battle with EK verbal...it started out pretty good, but recently I've hit a slump. Some of the answer explanations seem to come out of left field! Hopefully we'll hit our stride by the time the test comes around.
Whats your test day TwinsFan and DocFelt?

 

[Mehd School]

I guess what I really need to improve on is consistant review of my 1/3rds. It seems really hit or miss. I've gone through a gen chem chapter, said "Man I don't feel good about this", then got 75% right on the passages.

I'm setting a new goal for myself in terms of passage review.

1/3: Review afterwards. If <60%, review intensely.
2/3: Review. If <70%, review intensely
3/3: Review. If <78+%, review intensely

I'll let you know how this pans out. As far as I'm concerned, I'm wasting my time doing the passages if I'm not giving 100% during review.

Seriously, thank you for the encouragement.

My test date is August 4th. My EK 101 1st score was a 6. Almost done with 2nd test, and on par to hit an 11 for it.

 

[osprey099]

Do you guys think splitting the passages in phases is really that big of a help? I've gone through more than half of all the BR books and I've done the chapter passages for each chapter in one sitting. I usually do them about 3-4 days after I read the chapter though.

 

[QuantumFlame]

Daily Update:
Orgo Section 6 30/33 (91%) - 14

I feel you on that. The schedule says review should take 2-3X as long, although I know I haven't been as diligent as I should be. Yeah, my EK Verbal has fluctuated downwards a bit, my trend was going really well (8, 10, 12) for the first three, but I got an 11 and 10 on the last two. State of mind going into the passages seems to matter a lot, so I'm going to try and work on that.

Do you guys think splitting the passages in phases is really that big of a help? I've gone through more than half of all the BR books and I've done the chapter passages for each chapter in one sitting. I usually do them about 3-4 days after I read the chapter though.

Well, I think the splitting into phases is so that you have passages to do from that section throughout your review (ie right after reading the chapter --> 1 week later --> a couple months later) and in that sense I think it is a great idea. As far as whether to do BR phases or to split it into thirds like SN2ed says...thats probably more of a preference (although I'm not sure, I've been doing thirds all the way...)

 

[TwinsFan]

Do you guys think splitting the passages in phases is really that big of a help? I've gone through more than half of all the BR books and I've done the chapter passages for each chapter in one sitting. I usually do them about 3-4 days after I read the chapter though.

I think it helps to split them up randomly because you don't get all hard or easy ones (unlike the BR phases) and you get to help your long term retention. I wouldn't burn through all the passages right away, at least save a few so you can practice them later to "keep up" your knowledge base.

I use my heavy passage days to create a "mini FL" to start building endurance and getting used to a variety of topics. For example, I may do 5 passages then a 10 minute break followed by 4 passages another 10 minute break and finish with 5 more passages. Doing this while progressively building up the passages in each block should help prevent a shock due to endurance during the FLs. Eventually each block should be as long or a bit longer than an FL (50+ questions in 7+ passages).

If you save a few passages from each chapter you can create a passage day each week with a good mix of these passages to build your own mini FLs. I find them helpful. And it is a whole lot tougher to answer those dang Bio questions after knocking out 12+ other passages over the last 2 hours than it is to do 4 or 5 fresh after reading a chapter.

 

[TwinsFan]

Daily Update:
Orgo Section 6 30/33 (91%) - 14

I feel you on that. The schedule says review should take 2-3X as long, although I know I haven't been as diligent as I should be. Yeah, my EK Verbal has fluctuated downwards a bit, my trend was going really well (8, 10, 12) for the first three, but I got an 11 and 10 on the last two. State of mind going into the passages seems to matter a lot, so I'm going to try and work on that.

Nice scores!

10+ on EK verbal is solid, other posters have scored about +1 from there EK score from what I gather on past posts.

 

[TwinsFan]

Daily update 6-12, verbal and OChem 5
Verbal improved- focused as much as I could during the 4 passages, Ochem was fairly tough but went ok

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-13
5: 78%-12

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13

Bio (TPRH for content, scale from 2nd BR Bio book as needed)
TPRH1 (BR 6+7): 61%-9, 68%-10
TPRH2 (BR 9+10): 81%-13, 79%-12
TPRH3 (BR 6+8): 67%-10, 94%-14
TPRH4 (BR 6+8+10): 73%-11, 74%-11 (calvin cycle lol! - 1/6)
TPRH5 (BR 9+10) 68%-10 (1 passage 2/6)

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (~10), recent...
EK (bs if you ask me!): overall 24 passages - 68% (~8), most recent test EK3 = 9, most recent 3 passages - 76% = 10

 

[Mehd School]

Just got blown up hardcore on buffers/titrations. 46%. There were about 3 stupid mistakes, but for the most part I found the questions pretty to the point and difficult.

Going to review hardcore and see what I missed. I still need to work on my logs, which are HEAVILY focused on I feel in Berkeley, although I really doubt it's that big of a deal on the real thing.

 

[nabilesmail]

out of all the aamc i took i dont think i ever used a log except with a number 1 in evolved like log of .000001

 

[QuantumFlame]

TwinsFan, I'm going to adopt your format if you don't mind, that way everybody can see exactly were I'm at.

Today:
Bio: I seem to be all over the place with Bio, and I think it reflects content weakness. Lets see how book 2 goes, as I feel like I have a stronger background in molecular cell biology than physiology.

Verbal: my new strategy/focus seems to be working a bit better.

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 63% - 9, 67% - 10
2: 82% - 13, 88% - 13
3: 67% - 10, 82% - 13
4: 71% - 11, 83% - 13
5: 81% - 13, 80% - 12
6: 76% - 12
7:

Gen Chem
1: 61% - 9, 71% - 10
2: 80% - 12, 88% - 13
3: 89% - 13, 86% - 13
4: 78% - 12, 88% - 13
5: 83% - 12, 82% - 12
6: 71% - 10

O Chem
1: 82% - 12, 86% - 13
2: 80% - 12, 79% - 11
3: 87% - 13, 93% - 13
4: 85% - 12, 83% - 12
5: 91% -13 , 87% - 13
6: 91% - 13,

Bio
1: 75% - 12, 71% - 11
2: 86% - 13, 70% - 11
3: 69% - 10, 73% - 11
4: 65% - 10, 93% - 14
5: 75% - 12, 84% - 13
6: 76% - 12

Verbal
*all scores based on EK 101 score conversion chart*
EK 101: 8, 10, 12, 11, 10
TPRH: 36 passages, 81% = 11

Just got blown up hardcore on buffers/titrations. 46%. There were about 3 stupid mistakes, but for the most part I found the questions pretty to the point and difficult.

Going to review hardcore and see what I missed. I still need to work on my logs, which are HEAVILY focused on I feel in Berkeley, although I really doubt it's that big of a deal on the real thing.

I feel like the BR way to calculate logs is way over the top. If you have access to EK, look at their strategy (it basically comes down to -log(3 x 10^-x) = X.5 and then making estimations based on that).

Example: - What is the pH of a strong acid with a concentration of 2.5 x 10^-4 M?
Answer: if it was 10^-4, the pH would be 4. Because we are multiplying 10^-4 by 2.5, there is more H+ so the pH should be lower. 3 ~ 1/2 way point in logs, so if we were multiplying by 3, the pH would be 3.5. Because 2.5 is less than three, there is less H+, and thus the pH would be a bit higher than 3.5 (actual value is 3.6)

This rough estimation worked enough so that I did fairly well on chapter 5.

 

[bored]

Hey guys, just a question

How much time should I give my self per berkeley passage? I am working from the one where the physics section has 70 questions and chem has 100 questions.

Thanks

 

[Mehd School]

I feel like the BR way to calculate logs is way over the top. If you have access to EK, look at their strategy (it basically comes down to -log(3 x 10^-x) = X.5 and then making estimations based on that).

Example: - What is the pH of a strong acid with a concentration of 2.5 x 10^-4 M?
Answer: if it was 10^-4, the pH would be 4. Because we are multiplying 10^-4 by 2.5, there is more H+ so the pH should be lower. 3 ~ 1/2 way point in logs, so if we were multiplying by 3, the pH would be 3.5. Because 2.5 is less than three, there is less H+, and thus the pH would be a bit higher than 3.5 (actual value is 3.6)

This rough estimation worked enough so that I did fairly well on chapter 5.

Thanks for that. 👍

I do have the EK series, so I'm going to look over that before I trek through the 2nd 1/3 of buffers & A/B

 

[TwinsFan]

Daily update 6-14, Passage day
Verbal improving, did large groups of passages together like an FL to build endurance (7 then 10min break, 4 verbal then 10min break, 7 more), physics had a few questions on electronics (not covered yet), Chem was tough

I''m feeling pretty burnt out after 8 straight study days and am taking a day off...

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11, 81%-12

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-13, 72%-11
5: 78%-12, 92%-14

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13, 79%-12

Bio (TPRH for content, scale from 2nd BR Bio book as needed)
TPRH1 (BR 6+7): 61%-9, 68%-10
TPRH2 (BR 9+10): 81%-13, 79%-12
TPRH3 (BR 6+8): 67%-10, 94%-14
TPRH4 (BR 6+8+10): 73%-11, 74%-11
TPRH5 (BR 9+10) 68%-10, 86%-13

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (10)
EK: overall 31 passages - 71% (9), most recent 7 passages - 80% = 10
EK1 75%-10, EK2 63%-7, EK3 70%-9, EK4 80%-10

 

[QuantumFlame]

I use my heavy passage days to create a "mini FL" to start building endurance and getting used to a variety of topics. For example, I may do 5 passages then a 10 minute break followed by 4 passages another 10 minute break and finish with 5 more passages. Doing this while progressively building up the passages in each block should help prevent a shock due to endurance during the FLs. Eventually each block should be as long or a bit longer than an FL (50+ questions in 7+ passages).

If you save a few passages from each chapter you can create a passage day each week with a good mix of these passages to build your own mini FLs. I find them helpful. And it is a whole lot tougher to answer those dang Bio questions after knocking out 12+ other passages over the last 2 hours than it is to do 4 or 5 fresh after reading a chapter.

I just tried this today....wow. That was a lot tougher than doing the passages one at a time. I felt destroyed after 8 PS passages, 3 verbal passages and 9 BS passages. Next time, I think I'll break it into 2 miniFL instead of one giant one, to try and ease myself into it.
I'm reviewing tomorrow, so we'll see how it affected my scores.

Reviewed Today:
Physics: Chapter 7 - Fluids and Solids: Fluids and solids are so not my thing...lets hope they don't show up on my MCAT!

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 63% - 9, 67% - 10
2: 82% - 13, 88% - 13
3: 67% - 10, 82% - 13
4: 71% - 11, 83% - 13
5: 81% - 13, 80% - 12
6: 76% - 12
7: 64% - 9

Gen Chem
1: 61% - 9, 71% - 10
2: 80% - 12, 88% - 13
3: 89% - 13, 86% - 13
4: 78% - 12, 88% - 13
5: 83% - 12, 82% - 12
6: 71% - 10

O Chem
1: 82% - 12, 86% - 13
2: 80% - 12, 79% - 11
3: 87% - 13, 93% - 13
4: 85% - 12, 83% - 12
5: 91% -13 , 87% - 13
6: 91% - 13,

Bio
1: 75% - 12, 71% - 11
2: 86% - 13, 70% - 11
3: 69% - 10, 73% - 11
4: 65% - 10, 93% - 14
5: 75% - 12, 84% - 13
6: 76% - 12

Verbal
*all scores based on EK 101 score conversion chart*
EK 101: 8, 10, 12, 11, 10
TPRH: 36 passages, 81% = 11

Hey guys, just a question

How much time should I give my self per berkeley passage? I am working from the one where the physics section has 70 questions and chem has 100 questions.

Thanks

I shoot for 6.5-7.5 minutes per passage, although I occasionally go a bit over.

 

[Mehd School]

Well I spent 5 hours on the harmonic motion chapter today, and from the standpoint of the passages...let's just say that didn't work out as planned. I was exhausted after that long with the book. I think I could have finished the chapter in half the time I spent on it.

However, I do feel that I digested the material well. Much more so than usual. I'm comfortable with the formulas and concepts, although I wasn't getting the questions correct. A healthy portion of those questions were asking for information that was just outside the scope of what was covered in the chapter.

Needless to say, I'm frustrated, but motivated. Going to keep on chugging. I feel that the passage performance was just dumb luck, and being burnt out at the end of the day.

 

[QuantumFlame]

Reviewed Today:
Horrah for 2 point increases in Physics and Gen Chem (not a fan of fluids and solids or gases for that matter...). The miniFL didn't seem to adversely affect my scores, which is nice.

Bio has also taken a turn for the better. So glad it is the weekend, see you all next week 😎

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 63% - 9, 67% - 10
2: 82% - 13, 88% - 13
3: 67% - 10, 82% - 13
4: 71% - 11, 83% - 13
5: 81% - 13, 80% - 12
6: 76% - 12, 78% - 12
7: 64% - 9, 74% - 11

Gen Chem
1: 61% - 9, 71% - 10
2: 80% - 12, 88% - 13
3: 89% - 13, 86% - 13
4: 78% - 12, 88% - 13
5: 83% - 12, 82% - 12
6: 71% - 10, 80% - 12

O Chem
1: 82% - 12, 86% - 13
2: 80% - 12, 79% - 11
3: 87% - 13, 93% - 13
4: 85% - 12, 83% - 12
5: 91% -13 , 87% - 13
6: 91% - 13, 91% - 13

Bio
1: 75% - 12, 71% - 11
2: 86% - 13, 70% - 11
3: 69% - 10, 73% - 11
4: 65% - 10, 93% - 14
5: 75% - 12, 84% - 13
6: 76% - 12, 82% - 13

Verbal
*all scores based on EK 101 score conversion chart*
EK 101: 8, 10, 12, 11, 10
TPRH: 36 passages, 81% = 11

 

[crazedpiggy]

What's everyone's thought about TBR CBT 6? I thought it was the easiest one I've taken thus far as I managed a 37 (13-11-13), but I usually score around the lower 30's on TBRs with an all-time low of about 25-27 on CBT 5 O_O).

 

[TwinsFan]

Daily update 6-16
Went a bit slowish in physics + verbal (just under 8min/passage) being very careful with my answer choices. Feel much better than Thursday, the break was needed. I am pretty excited to take my first FL (40 days) and officially over halfway done with content review!

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11,81%-12
6: 89%-13

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-13,72%-11
5: 78%-12, 92%-14

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13, 79%-12

Bio (TPRH for content, scale from 2nd BR Bio book as needed)
TPRH1 (BR 6+7): 61%-9, 68%-10
TPRH2 (BR 9+10): 81%-13, 79%-12
TPRH3 (BR 6+8): 67%-10, 94%-14
TPRH4 (BR 6+8+10): 73%-11, 74%-11
TPRH5 (BR 9+10) 68%-10, 86%-13

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (10)
EK: overall 34 passages - 71% (9), most recent 3 passages - 77% = 10
EK1 75%-10, EK2 63%-7, EK3 70%-9, EK4 80%-10

 

[MedPR]

I'm scoring in the percentages to give me an 8 or 9, through 4 chapters of each book. Considering a 75% is roughly a 10 (give or take) on aamc's, if you're scoring above that on TBR, you're going to rape your tests. The full lengths seem so much more straight forward and CERTAINLY less detailed/calculation heavy than the TBR passages...as designed.

Not necessarily. I was scoring about 11-12 on TBR physics and 13-14 on TBR gen chem. On the AAMCs I was averaging the same in physics and a 14-15 on gen chem.. Ended up with an 11 on the real test.

 

[nabilesmail]

Agreed. TBR Chem is similar to AAMC EXCEPT the curve is super easy for TBR-also averaged 13-14

TBR Physics can be tougher, but not enough to justify the easy curve.

 

[TwinsFan]

Daily update 6-17
Went slow on 1st verbal passage, flew on the next 3, headed in the right direction. My goal is to eventually get to 90%+ accuracy and 7 or less min per passage. Chem was calc heavy, last passage toasted me.

Did daily passages as a mini FL (5 Chem + 4 discretes, 10 min break, 4 verbal passages) I think I might switch to this for regular days. It's a bit harder to always sit for over an hour of passages but long term it should really condition you to it.

Hopefully these logs can be useful to future studiers, with all this data on how we perform in BR, I will include the practice AAMCs and then the real deal. It will hopefully provide some good references to help estimate where you might score.

If you are a fellow BR user I would encourage you to post your info as well, even if it is just overall percentages by subject and AAMC scores. More than a couple data points could be very helpful.

Format:
chapter: 1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, last 1/3

Physics
1: 79%-12, 90%-13
2: 79%-12, 90%-13
3: 71%-10, 90%-13
4: 68%-10, 95%-14
5: 75%-11, 81%-12
6: 89%-13

O Chem
1: 83%-12, 87%-13
2: 84%-13, 89%-13
3: 93%-14, 91%-13
4: 90%-13, 72%-11
5: 78%-12, 92%-14

Chem
1: 79%-12, 87%-13
2: 83%-12, 88%-13
3: 92%-14, 83%-12
4: 78%-12, 83%-12
5: 86%-13, 79%-12
6: 81%-12

Bio (TPRH for content, scale from 2nd BR Bio book as needed)
TPRH1 (BR 6+7): 61%-9, 68%-10
TPRH2 (BR 9+10): 81%-13, 79%-12
TPRH3 (BR 6+8): 67%-10, 94%-14
TPRH4 (BR 6+8+10): 73%-11, 74%-11
TPRH5 (BR 9+10) 68%-10, 86%-13

Verbal
TPRH: overall 48 passages - 76% (10)
EK: overall 38 passages - 73% (9), most recent 4 passages - 91% = 12
EK1 75%-10, EK2 63%-7, EK3 70%-9, EK4 80%-10, EK5 85%-11