Hey Guys,
I just wanted to know for those of you using Berkeley Review to study, are you memorizing/making notes of everything? Are you just reading and doing the passages? I'm finding there's alot of detail that I haven't even learned in my classes. I would really like to use these books efficiently so I was wondering what you guys are doing.
DON'T read everything! "Read only what you need."
Getting ready for the MCAT requires
- 1) learning to answer questions quickly with clear logic
- 2) building a glossary of science terms, equations, and concepts
- 3) familiarizing yourself with the exam
- 4) learning not to panic when you get one of those wtf passages
- 5) minimizing your careless errors.
Only the second one is accomplished by reading text. If you already know a subject well, do the questions in the text section and the passages at the end of each chapter. By far the most important thing is that you go over the answer explanations to any questions you were unsure of or that you missed. Before reading the answer explanation to a question you missed, try repeating the question a second time. That will help you to catch your careless errors. And then try working the problem out as you read through an answer explanation. The problem with just reading an explanation is that it's easy to think, "yeah, I know that." Then you don't grow. We make the mistake of thinking that the questions we miss are because we don't know something, so once you know the answer, then you're good. This isn't the case. Doing well requires learning to take a multiple-choice test under timed conditions on things that may or may not look familiar at first.
So as far as the books go, I can comment on the physical sciences first hand. In general chemistry, you should definitely read the acid-base chapter, the titrations chapter, and
especially the electrochemistry chapter. These sections have some great insights and a unique way of attacking the questions. There are a whole lot of tricks you can apply to the MCAT. The other sections are a judgement call on your part. Definitely do
EVERY question in those books.
For physics, the must sections are Fluids and Solids, Electromagnetism, and Electric Circuits. Again, read other sections if you feel uneasy about the material. But again, the main thing is to do all of the questions. Some are hard questions that will make you screw up, but in the answer explanation will be some key point to make weird questions easier down the road.
As far as the biological science sections go, I'd suggest the same basic game plan. I haven't been through the biology and organic chemistry books all the way (read "pretty much at all"), but because of the nature of those subjects, there is more detail. The one chapter in organic chemistry you should read for sure is the lab techniques section. It's well presented and there are a bunch of questions on lab techniques on the MCAT (not just orgo lab techniques, but all sorts of lab techniques).
The only notes you should probably take are an
error log, where you chart the types of mistakes you make. For instance, if you repeatedly make errors in calculations, then the log will tell you this so that you can spend more time on number crunching.
The last warning is that the first sections in each book are a little over-the-top to light a fire under students. I don't know if I agree with the stress it puts on them, but once you get used to the intensity, it gets easy after that. Best of luck in your studies!
One last suggestion is that after you've completed the books, you should randomly try passages from any and all sources you have access to so that you can make sure the techniques work across the board. For instance, it builds a great deal of confidence when you discover that the BR trick for calculating pH of a weak acid works on problems from PR, Nova, Ek, etc... Then you'll know for sure it will work on anything the MCAT people can throw.
And any time you are feeling overwhelmed in the process, put it down and take a break. Like exercising, you can't go on efficiently without taking an occassional break. After short breaks, you come back rejuvenated.
