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dchan5

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I was wondering how their Home-Study materials are (ie. textbooks and practice exams). I wanted to order their materials to study for next year's MCAT. Do they have practice material included in their textbooks?

For those of you that used their material and took the MCAT, how did you guys do?

Thanks.
 
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dchan5 said:
For those of you that used their material and took the MCAT, how did you guys do?
Click to expand...

Ask me in about six more weeks. :laugh:

I liked their materials because of the large number of passages. I also liked that the answer explanations discussed not only the correct answer, but also what was wrong with the tempting wrong answers.

I would recommend their materials, although I also had the class to go with the books. The science books explain things well and offer plenty of passages. To be honest, I didn't really like their verbal book that much. The worksheets we got in class were much better.

Whatever you do, take it seriously from the start.
 
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The berkeley review was way better than princeton...i took both

they're teachers are outstanding...and their overall attitude towards the mcat is surprisingly chill. they all got insane scores on the mcat, and they tell you exactly what you need to know...which is everything.
thats what i loved about them..the blitzed us with every possible thing to know and then some, and i think it worked cause the AAMC practice tests were way easier than what they gave us...
they break down everything and if you dont understand something, they have problem sessions, review sessions, office hours...
they're also more dedicated and more personal...the guy who runs the program flies back and forth between LA and Berkeley to teach, and he knows his stuff (it also helps that he's really involved with UC Irvine medical school..he tells you how to get in to medical school if u ask him).
bottom line...if i could recommend one thing to any person weighing which course to take...it would be that TBR is simply the best
 
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i appreciate the feedback..but my concern is more about the home study material since the course is not offered at my college...do the teachers teach out of the book?
 
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While I took the course along with the books, a lot of my studying really revolved around reading/skimming the books and doing the practice passages afterwards. So I can say that the books by themselves, if you really try to get through them all, will be a big help. Good luck!
 
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dchan5 said:
do the teachers teach out of the book?
Click to expand...

Sort of. One of my instructors was the author of the chemistry books. His lectures were like the book in terms of the outline, but the examples were completely different.

I think the science books do an excellent job explaining things, with or without the lectures. Passages is where you'll do most of your learning and there will be plenty.
 
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Someone mentioned that their ochem book this past session was being revamped. I emailed BR and they said the new version of ochem won't be ready till June-ish. April mcaters won't be able to use it, but maybe the August mcaters can.
 
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N1DERL& said:
Someone mentioned that their ochem book this past session was being revamped. I emailed BR and they said the new version of ochem won't be ready till June-ish. April mcaters won't be able to use it, but maybe the August mcaters can.
Click to expand...

What we got in class was two spiral bound orgo books. They didn't have the glossy covers like the regular books, but the contents looked the same as the others. There were some typos, so I think we got the book halfway to completion. Maybe it wasn't ready for print but it was still an excellent book. I'm not sure what else they need to do to it besides edit the typos out. That can't take a year.
 
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Pramos, yeah I was thinking the same thing but this is what they wrote me:


Thank you for your interest in The Berkeley Review (TBR). The Organic
Chemistry books are currently undergoing revision and editing and
will not be available for Home Study purchase until May or June of
2005. The preliminary book that you are speaking of needs to go
through many more rounds of editing before it is finally approved for
printing. In the mean time, the Organic Chemistry books that are
currently available are still excellent reviews for the exam.

Who knows? 😕
 
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palmtree said:
The berkeley review was way better than princeton...i took both

they're teachers are outstanding...and their overall attitude towards the mcat is surprisingly chill. they all got insane scores on the mcat, and they tell you exactly what you need to know...which is everything.
thats what i loved about them..the blitzed us with every possible thing to know and then some, and i think it worked cause the AAMC practice tests were way easier than what they gave us...
they break down everything and if you dont understand something, they have problem sessions, review sessions, office hours...
they're also more dedicated and more personal...the guy who runs the program flies back and forth between LA and Berkeley to teach, and he knows his stuff (it also helps that he's really involved with UC Irvine medical school..he tells you how to get in to medical school if u ask him).
bottom line...if i could recommend one thing to any person weighing which course to take...it would be that TBR is simply the best
Click to expand...

Why did you take both courses? Which one did you take first? Where did you take TBR?
 
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Few Q's for you guys familiar with the program:

how much are the home study books?

how much are the classes?

do you get the books if you pay for the classes?

thanks guys.
 
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i was planning on taking the mcat in april 2004, so i enrolled in the princeton review...but i decided to take it in august around march...
then the summer came and i dont do well without a structure, so i said screw it and i took berkeley review...i figured it couldnt hurt, and it turned out to be the best thing 🙂
they put all their focus into developing their materials and their faculty, and its just a great program. they break down everything for you, and its awesome
 
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palmtree said:
i was planning on taking the mcat in april 2004, so i enrolled in the princeton review...but i decided to take it in august around march...
then the summer came and i dont do well without a structure, so i said screw it and i took berkeley review...i figured it couldnt hurt, and it turned out to be the best thing 🙂
they put all their focus into developing their materials and their faculty, and its just a great program. they break down everything for you, and its awesome
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I sure didn't want to fork out money for a second course but in the end, I am so glad I did. It's hard to explain the difference unless you've been in both classes. BR taught me how to think about the information while PR just told me information.

I went into the exam this time feeling like I could answer any of their questions, even if I hadn't seen the passage topic before. I felt so much better than I did in April.

Did you take the April MCAT palmtree?
 
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PRamos said:
What we got in class was two spiral bound orgo books. They didn't have the glossy covers like the regular books, but the contents looked the same as the others. There were some typos, so I think we got the book halfway to completion. Maybe it wasn't ready for print but it was still an excellent book. I'm not sure what else they need to do to it besides edit the typos out. That can't take a year.
Click to expand...

I was asked to proofread the books for errors ... I have found many more errors in the o-chem books than in the other sciences. But, the books are still good enough to study from before the revisions are made. 👍 I agree that it shouldn't take a year, though.
 
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no...i just took it in august
hopefully higher than a 30 🙂

but yea...berkeley review kicks @$$!!
after i did most of the berkeley review practice materials...i went to the princeton ones that i had left over...and wow i could tell they were crap. really they were terrible. the berkeley passages really emulate what the actual mcat is like. i bought a kaplan book for more practice and it was nothing compared to berkeley either. also, they only do MCAT prep...nothing else...so they dedicate all their resources towards knowing the mcat.
everyone take the berkeley review!!
 
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I went to berkley's site. I was thinking about trying the books out, but heres my question. Are those practice passages that come after each section really mcat difficulty level?

For example, in the biological sciences book, two of the sample passages they provide to show the potential buyer are a lot shorter then the mcat bio passages. And I'm looking for stuff I can get good practice on. The same can be said for the sample passages they provide for gen chem and phys.

But what do you all think of their practice passages that come with their review notes? Are those MCAT style or just warm ups?
 
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shaq786 said:
I went to berkley's site. I was thinking about trying the books out, but heres my question. Are those practice passages that come after each section really mcat difficulty level?

For example, in the biological sciences book, two of the sample passages they provide to show the potential buyer are a lot shorter then the mcat bio passages. And I'm looking for stuff I can get good practice on. The same can be said for the sample passages they provide for gen chem and phys.

But what do you all think of their practice passages that come with their review notes? Are those MCAT style or just warm ups?
Click to expand...


all their passages are the closest to the mcat as you can get...i just took the august 2004, and even though there is no real simulation from all of the companies, berkeley review was the closest and best at simulating the mcat. plus i highly recommend their practice tests...they also take all the data from the practice tests and curve it to be more realistic. to answer your question, the passages generally have 7-8 questions i think...but theyre really good. they have ten sections for biology and give 12-13 passages for each subject, the same with o-chem, physical chem, and physics...basically they give you hundreds of passages...if u do them all youll be in such good shape.
 
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Thanks Palmtree, I will look into that.

However, on a side note, I've already gone through Kaplan's organic, and gen chem review notes(I found the mistakes and accounted for them all ofcoarse), but do you think it is necessary for me to go through Berkley's review notes or just nail the passages??????

I'm assuming there cant be nothing too special about one company's review notes versus anothers.
 
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palmtree said:
all their passages are the closest to the mcat as you can get...i just took the august 2004, and even though there is no real simulation from all of the companies, berkeley review was the closest and best at simulating the mcat. plus i highly recommend their practice tests...they also take all the data from the practice tests and curve it to be more realistic. to answer your question, the passages generally have 7-8 questions i think...but theyre really good. they have ten sections for biology and give 12-13 passages for each subject, the same with o-chem, physical chem, and physics...basically they give you hundreds of passages...if u do them all youll be in such good shape.
Click to expand...

I agree that if you do all of the passages you'll be fine for the real MCAT ... but be warned that their biology passages in the books are VERY hard. I was getting 7s and 8s on those passages, but was getting 12s and 13s on the biology in the AAMC/Berkeley practice exams (got 11 on the real thing). Don't take your scores in the biology book too seriously! 🙂
 
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Cool. What about examcrackers 1001 bio Q's vs. Berkley Review Bio...how do those two rank up with each other??
 
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Palm, PRamos, and UCLAStudent:

Thank you so much for your kind assessment. Hopefully you drop in periodically to get the thanks. I decided to look back at the threads with us as the title and I'm glad I did. It's nice to read the comments in an open forum (as opposed to course feedback forms). It's also nice to see that when someone asks about a course and gets a reply of "do a search", this is what they get.

As a point of interest, the editting of the organic chemistry book did take a year, because we always collect data on questions before determining which ones to keep and which ones to throw away. And UCLAStudent did in fact help with the editting (along with a few other students for whom I have the deepest gratitude). I'm sorry for my temporary Hallmark breakdown, but it's really a family experience and your part is gretly appreciated. We couldn't have done it without your vital input. And congratulations on getting into great medical schools (for the two of you I recognize by username).
 
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shaq786 said:
Cool. What about examcrackers 1001 bio Q's vs. Berkley Review Bio...how do those two rank up with each other??
Click to expand...

I would recommend TBR over EK1001. The thing with TBR is that the bio book's review aspects are not all that great, but its passage based questions are very good. EK's questions are relatively easy and though they are in the passage style, most do not require you to actually read the passage. I found I could answer almost all of their questions w/out reading the passage. TBR had very hard questions and most are not based on a priori knowledge. Thus, TBR is a better tool to develop critical thinking, while EK1001 is better for review of basic concepts. EK1001 would work well if the MCAT reflects the past AAMC tests, but from what I've been reading, the real MCAT is much more difficult (esp. recently) and TBR prepares you much better.
 
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Where in the hell is this place? All the website says is that its in Westwood, CA. Does anyone have the address? Or can you tell me is it next to Whole Foods or some other store? I would really appreciate it. Thanks
 
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it's on UCLA campus. i think you're better served by e-mailing the berkeley review themselves for the exact class location (which building, etc.)
 
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It's actually held on the second floor of the Tom Bradley Complex near one of the residence halls. It's about a block from the Gayley and Charles Young Dr. intersection.
 
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How much is their class compared to Kaplan, how much do you save and do they vary with scheduling, have discounts?
 
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angli524 said:
I would recommend TBR over EK1001. The thing with TBR is that the bio book's review aspects are not all that great, but its passage based questions are very good. EK's questions are relatively easy and though they are in the passage style, most do not require you to actually read the passage. I found I could answer almost all of their questions w/out reading the passage. TBR had very hard questions and most are not based on a prior knowledge. Thus, TBR is a better tool to develop critical thinking, while EK1001 is better for review of basic concepts. EK1001 would work well if the MCAT reflects the past AAMC tests, but from what I've been reading, the real MCAT is much more difficult (esp. recently) and TBR prepares you much better.
Click to expand...

More and more, it looks like when they went to a CBT exam exclusively last year that they decided to also make the test more of a logic exam. It just sounds like the eye-opening passages are more abundant than they were in the past.

Almost all of the MCAT feedback threads in 2007 and 2008 seemed to discuss more than just a few of these weird passages. I guess they did more than just go to a computer-based format; they also decided to make the exam less memorization and more application-based.
 
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What do you mean by a passage being "weird"? Does that mean it was unexpected and something they usually don't ask or does it mean that it's a normal topic that they make strange--like every physics midterm I ever took?

Is there anywhere I can go to know what is supposed to be tested?
 
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Guys if I wanted to buy all ten books from the berkeley site, it says it costs 250.00 including shipping but in their shipping pdf its listed as $31.00.

If I select buy all ten books do I have to make out a check for 250.00 and thats it?

Im sorry Im asking but they dont pick up their phone
 
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harkkam said:
Guys if I wanted to buy all ten books from the berkeley site, it says it costs 250.00 including shipping but in their shipping pdf its listed as $31.00.

If I select buy all ten books do I have to make out a check for 250.00 and thats it?

Im sorry Im asking but they dont pick up their phone
Click to expand...

Add the S/H...

For a total of $281...or you will be waiting a long time for them to come.

I would also recommend sending it by money order because you will get them a couple of weeks faster usually.
 
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J DUB said:
Add the S/H...

For a total of $281...or you will be waiting a long time for them to come.

I would also recommend sending it by money order because you will get them a couple of weeks faster usually.
Click to expand...

Agree. I sent a cashier's check to them with the exact amount of money and correct name this monday, they received on wednesday and the books arrived my address in CA today.

If you're sending personal check, it should be longer.
 
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BerkReviewTeach said:
More and more, it looks like when they went to a CBT exam exclusively last year that they decided to also make the test more of a logic exam. It just sounds like the eye-opening passages are more abundant than they were in the past.

Almost all of the MCAT feedback threads in 2007 and 2008 seemed to discuss more than just a few of these weird passages. I guess they did more than just go to a computer-based format; they also decided to make the exam less memorization and more application-based.
Click to expand...

I know this is an unusual question, but were you a teacher back in August 2004? Please PM me if you were, because I have a personal question. I'm in a weird situation. After wandering aimlessly the last few years, I'm finally ready to go hardcore on my medical school quest. My MCAT score is long outdated, so I need to take it again. I absolutely loved your class when I took it (it raised my score 7 points), but I'm pretty scrapped for cash at the moment. My current plan is to get the current books and study on my own. I plan to buy the AAMC CBTs and the BR CBTs. Do you know when Todd is around LA? I tried to email him, but I don't think he uses that email address anymore.
 
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Hi!
Is anybody selling their used berkeley homestudy materials? I am very interested in purchasing them. Just looking for a cheaper alternative than getting new ones.

I have looked at previous threads with the same topic.. but it looks like they're all pretty much sold.

Thank you very much.
 
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