Difficulty of TPR Review Books?

[PreMedSS]

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Hey guys. I started my Princeton Review MCAT prep course this weekend and I have started reading the material. Has anyone else found the reading for these books to be somewhat difficult? Especially for the Biology portion.

I find myself reading them and sometimes it just doesn't click. Has anyone else gone through this?

 

[JohnSnow]

I found that TPR provides a rather thorough explanation of most concepts.

Could you elaborate on what you're finding difficult? Is it material you've covered before?

 

[PreMedSS]

I didn't seem to have such a hard time yesterday with G. Chem, but I started the Biology today and it hit me with my weakest subjects, Cell respiration, etc. and it was hard to understand what was going on. When I had compared it to my EK bio, it was quite in depth.

Also, how many times should I be re-reading the chapters?

 

[JohnSnow]

It's different for everyone. I'm not a fan of re-reading entire chapters because you'll be wasting time going over things you already know.

Make your own flash cards of the material you don't understand. If it happens to be a whole chapter's worth then make flashcards for the whole chapter. It's the most efficient way to review. Highlighting works too but you can't really erase highlighted material once you've mastered it, you can pull a card out of your stack though!

 

[PreMedSS]

It's different for everyone. I'm not a fan of re-reading entire chapters because you'll be wasting time going over things you already know.

Make your own flash cards of the material you don't understand. If it happens to be a whole chapter's worth then make flashcards for the whole chapter. It's the most efficient way to review. Highlighting works too but you can't really erase highlighted material once you've mastered it, you can pull a card out of your stack though!

any idea on how long it should take me to cover everything in terms of material?

 

[JohnSnow]

For biology?

My goal was always to make cards for one chapter per day. The first chapter or two are really meaty so maybe give yourself a bit more time for those. Then you'll get chapters like the respiratory system that are really short and you can probably do two short chapters on the same day. So I'd guess it would take you about 10-12 days just to get all your cards made for all the material. Then another 3-4 days to know it all very well.

 

[PreMedSS]

For biology?

My goal was always to make cards for one chapter per day. The first chapter or two are really meaty so maybe give yourself a bit more time for those. Then you'll get chapters like the respiratory system that are really short and you can probably do two short chapters on the same day. So I'd guess it would take you about 10-12 days just to get all your cards made for all the material. Then another 3-4 days to know it all very well.

and what about the other subjects? i'm sorry to annoy you with these questions lol 😳😳😳

 

[JohnSnow]

and what about the other subjects? i'm sorry to annoy you with these questions lol 😳😳😳

I used TBR for the other subjects. They took a while. Probably 15-20 days per subject.

 

[saoj]

I started TPR physics. Very good I would say, but physics is my favorite subject.

Now Orgo is not that good. Probably because Orgo is a very difficult subject to explain in a clear way. I will try Kaplan and TBR. Youtube videos help a lot, but it is kind of hard to study through videos => take a long time and it is hard to organize and review the knowledge. I am also considering buying the WADE textbook.

TBR Bio is not good. I really liked KAPLAN. Short and straight to the point. For example it makes an analogy between a city and a cell to help you memorize/understand this stuff.

 

[eldeal]

Note that even in the TPR books, they tell you up-front that they are giving you too much information. Don't spend too much time hammering down all of the little details. Get down what you can and move on. You will do well to recognize your weak areas via thorough review of your practice exams.

 

[kehlsh]

I found TPR content books to be really helpful.
Every book felt like it was written in layman's term (after having gone through mcats and many passages) and I especially liked the biology book which basically includes all the information you will ever need, in more detail than EK.

Physical science books were also very good. However, I did not find orgo book as helpful =P.

 

[pernisllykon]

Princeton Review is the best, hands down. As for AP, I would say gauge it on how you study. Maybe buy AP flash cards (if that works for you). Or, if you want a concise book that's easily read, then buy one of the smaller ones. It depends, but Princeton Review in the most well known for all tests.
http://www.zimbio.com/Nutrition/articles/wDXAvMINg47/Does+Ageless+Male+Really+Work

 

[GeauxTime]

Now Orgo is not that good. Probably because Orgo is a very difficult subject to explain in a clear way. I will try Kaplan and TBR. Youtube videos help a lot, but it is kind of hard to study through videos => take a long time and it is hard to organize and review the knowledge. I am also considering buying the WADE textbook.

I'm already through 4 chapters in TBR organic, and it is outstanding. It explains concepts very clearly and only seems to cover what needs to be covered for the MCAT. I highly recommend it before you try anything else.

 

[pfaction]

Actually no. I find it easy reading. Between TBR and TPR, TPR is so easy compared to TBR. I'm getting f'n rocked at TBR.

 

[411309]

OP, I also thought the TPR bio book was intense because I started out as a bio novice knowing virtually nothing about biology. However, ive read the chapters so many times now that it clicks with me and its not too bad. Thats how you get better at it, read it again again again and again. in addiiton to w/e your study schedule is, id suggest reading two bio chapters every night to get in the habbit of reinforcing concepts and skipping what you need and adjusting to what you do need.

 

[pfaction]

I'll be up front, Ch. 5 and 6 were the hardest. Prepare to spend at least 4 hrs each on them...they were brutal. At least, Ch6 definitely is.

 

[saoj]

I can't just read the reviews book when it comes to Biology. They just spit a bunch of information that does not make any sense for the first-time reader. I am a fan of understanding and making sense of things. So my strategy:

- Text books (Campbell and Essential Cell Biology)
- Khan Academy (AMAZING)

Physics and Chemistry are easy to me. Biology and Verbal are the worst.