BR or SN2ed

[zoner]

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Hi everyone

I will be taking my MCAT in the beginning of my 2011 summer and wanted to know whether to follow SN2ed's 4 months prep schedule or take a BR class.

I am a very good disciplined student and I like studying on my own. However, I know from taking these science classes that there is nothing like teacher being able to explain tricks here and there and explain hard concepts in a sentence or two. I have been doing very well in my pre-reqs and I believe I will continue to do so next semester when I will be done with all my pre-reqs except for statistic (4.0).

SN2ed's schedule seems more than doable during my spring of 2011 semester when I will only be taking biochem and maybe stats or english class. WIth that said, I am bit afraid that I might be missing out on tricks and tips by not taking the class at BR or princeton review or etc.... Also, it will take me 30 minutes to drive to either a princeton review or BR class, so 1 hour roundtrip which I could use to rest or study.

Any suggestion?

Also,,, what does TPR mean and do I have to take the princeton review class to purchase TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook? and when SN2ed saids that we need EK 1001 series, does that mean all of them?

Also what are Full Length (FL) #3-10? Are these tests? if so are 7 tests enough?

Thank you.

 

[Damia]

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[alopathik]

yo, sn2ed guide is just guidelines. develop something that works for you.

 

[Latuza]

Hi everyone

I will be taking my MCAT in the beginning of my 2011 summer and wanted to know whether to follow SN2ed's 4 months prep schedule or take a BR class.

I am a very good disciplined student and I like studying on my own. However, I know from taking these science classes that there is nothing like teacher being able to explain tricks here and there and explain hard concepts in a sentence or two. I have been doing very well in my pre-reqs and I believe I will continue to do so next semester when I will be done with all my pre-reqs except for statistic (4.0).

SN2ed's schedule seems more than doable during my spring of 2011 semester when I will only be taking biochem and maybe stats or english class. WIth that said, I am bit afraid that I might be missing out on tricks and tips by not taking the class at BR or princeton review or etc.... Also, it will take me 30 minutes to drive to either a princeton review or BR class, so 1 hour roundtrip which I could use to rest or study.

Any suggestion?

Also,,, what does TPR mean and do I have to take the princeton review class to purchase TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook? and when SN2ed saids that we need EK 1001 series, does that mean all of them?

Also what are Full Length (FL) #3-10? Are these tests? if so are 7 tests enough?

Thank you.

Ek = examkrackers; 1001 series I think are the question books.
FL I think are Kaplan's tests. 7 seems enough to me, but be sure take AAMC 7-10

PR have the AAMC tests included in the course that you can access online. Also PR offers 10 of their own tests, for a total of 18 (10 PR + 8 AAMC). BR offers only their own tests, about 10. I think BR is about $400 cheaper though.

I think it's okay traveling 1 hr each day for class. Both the PR and BR books contain the tricks for the tests. The instructors' tricks are the ones they personally developed for the tests in addition to the official ones. If you can do simple math (log, square root, sin/cos, fraction to decimal) quickly, you'll be fine. If you're willing to retake the MCAT, then you can try studying on your own and if that doesn't work sign up for a class.

I think the answer is if you're that type that studies alone or with a study group class

 

[zoner]

one of my classmate just told me today that BR was awesome with last minute handouts, tons of extra passages not in the books and fun and unique ways to teach MCAT.

Anyone else found this to be the case?

 

[NickNaylor]

yo, sn2ed guide is just guidelines. develop something that works for you.

+OVER 9000

You have to figure out what works for YOU. Adhering to a system just because it's stickied on the MCAT Forum of SDN is an absolutely horrible choice. Use it as a source of ideas and create a plan that you think will work for you.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

one of my classmate just told me today that BR was awesome with last minute handouts, tons of extra passages not in the books and fun and unique ways to teach MCAT.

Anyone else found this to be the case?

It depends completely on the teachers. I agree the extra handouts are amazing, but if you are in an area where they have a classroom course, you could probably buy them used. It comes down to how the teacher will help you and your learning style. If Todd is teaching, then I would definitely suggest the course. If not, then I think you could do it on your own and save the money. You should also check to see if Cecile or Dale are teaching.

 

[Don Draper]

+OVER 9000

You have to figure out what works for YOU. Adhering to a system just because it's stickied on the MCAT Forum of SDN is an absolutely horrible choice. Use it as a source of ideas and create a plan that you think will work for you.

Agreed here.

And while I enjoy BR, they will go over way too much info.

EK is more succinct and direct but won't explain things well.

So, chose between: Spending 3 times extra time with BR or spending 1/3 the time but less clarity.

Best of both worlds would be using EK and somehow patching up their poor explanations.

BR Ochem is very in depth and very good, but probably a waste of time. I did the Ochem book and had a single passage of Ochem on my test (and I believe the last handful of exams are only having 1 ochem passage). So becoming excellent at Ochem is worthless. Genetics and micro bio is time better spent.

I would say to not take a class, maybe get BR's Physical sciences and then use EK for the rest. EK is fine, use online khan academy to help when things aren't clear.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

BR Ochem is very in depth and very good, but probably a waste of time. I did the Ochem book and had a single passage of Ochem on my test (and I believe the last handful of exams are only having 1 ochem passage).

You are one of the posters I most respect around here (there are several excellent posters, but you stand out because of your level head and pragmatism), so I thought I'd ask your opinion here.

Roughly how many passages on the BS section would need to be organic to make it worthwhile to learn it in depth? I think the problem isn't so much the quantity on the exam as it is the randomness. One exam will have only one orgo passage and it's really easy (they feed you the reaction or it's a simple reaction). BR depth is a waste there. Then another exam will have three passages where one or two require quick insights and a mechanistic understanding, and then BR is golden.

So would you advise someone to study the bare minimum and if they get an unlucky version with hard o chem and multiple passages, void the exam and try their luck later? Or would you say overstudy (as you basically do for the entire test anyway) and make sure the o chem you learn helps with biology?

I honestly don't know how to answer this question, as it depends on the individual and their starting point in terms of o chem. But I would say that if someone starts with good knowledge, they should try the full grasp approach.