How are the Berkeley Review books for MCAT preparation?

[Zee10000]

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[whiteshadodw]

Hey all
I've tried a little bit of Princeton Review, which I thought emphasized math too much. I'd sit and stare at a problem for quite awhile wasting my time. I tried EXAMKRACKERS, and I did like the quick to the point content review, but the questions were too hard sometimes, and they definitely shot down my confidence sometimes. Anyways, just sticking to those 2 I ended up getting a 21 on my first practice aamc (after studying). The thing is, I used wikipremed lectures as well, and before studying, my diagnostic was a 17. By the way, I haven't done any verbal prep. I saw my Bio increase, and that's about it. Not much of a physics increase. So anyways, I thought I should try something new for the physical sciences, and what does everyone think about the Berkeley Review. These are just my opinions from personal experience. Thanks guys!

TBR is nothing short of amazing for gen chem, ochem, and physics. practice makes perfect. if you want to maximize your score, you need to practice.

 

[unhappytnt]

BR passages are the best you'll find. They are really similar to their MCAT counterparts. I wouldn't use it for review though. Too detailed for me.

 

[whiteshadodw]

BR passages are the best you'll find. They are really similar to their MCAT counterparts. I wouldn't use it for review though. Too detailed for me.

some questions in the passages are too difficult for the mcat, most of the mcat is really straight forward stuff and no 'teasing'/aha i tricked you questions. however, other than that i think its amazing. don't get too flustered.

 

[ak21]

Hey all
I've tried a little bit of Princeton Review, which I thought emphasized math too much. I'd sit and stare at a problem for quite awhile wasting my time. I tried EXAMKRACKERS, and I did like the quick to the point content review, but the questions were too hard sometimes, and they definitely shot down my confidence sometimes. Anyways, just sticking to those 2 I ended up getting a 21 on my first practice aamc (after studying). The thing is, I used wikipremed lectures as well, and before studying, my diagnostic was a 17. By the way, I haven't done any verbal prep. I saw my Bio increase, and that's about it. Not much of a physics increase. So anyways, I thought I should try something new for the physical sciences, and what does everyone think about the Berkeley Review. These are just my opinions from personal experience. Thanks guys!

berkeley review is the ****...but i'd recommend NOT trying to do a whole bunch in one day👍

 

[PingPongPro]

If your biggest complaint about EK was that the questions were too hard then BR is going to be a very rough ride. The BR questions/passages are considerably harder. With that being said, you should embrace the difficulty of whatever company you use because that is what will prep you for the test the best.

 

[Zee10000]

Thanks guys, BR it is!!!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I think the thing most people need for practice more than anything are the "what the heck are they asking me?" type of passages. It's rarely a case that the passage or questions are that hard, but it takes a while to realize what they are asking. You have to read it a few times before you get a clue as to what they are trying to ask. These passages and questions can make you panic and rush too much. That was the hardest part of the MCAT for me. Most of it seemed easy except for one or two that made me scratch my head. If you get used to those type of questions in your practice, then you can do great on the test.

Like Whiteshadow said, there are plenty of straight forward questions on the MCAT. The BR books over emphasize the weirder questions, and if you take their passages as being indicative of the MCAT, you'll think there aren't as many easy questions as there really are. But for me I needed practice with weirder questions more than the easier questions, so it worked. Just don't let it get you down.

 

[CodeBlu]

TBR will kick you up and down the MCAT playing field. It will make you cry, it will make feel like a little bitch.

But... so will the real MCAT.

1. Sign up for MCAT date.
2. Use TBR
3. ?????
4. Become doctor.

 

[Hotshy]

Use EK for Biology and O-Chem, you won't regret studying less and getting a high score in the BS section 😀

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

TBR will kick you up and down the MCAT playing field. It will make you cry, it will make feel like a little bitch.

But... so will the real MCAT.

Both BR and most actual MCATs have a few passages that will make you feel like they're written in a foreign language. It's not a large number that do this, but all it takes is one to throw you off your game and mess up your head for the rest of the exam.

Training for the MCAT involves not only reviewing and applying the concepts, but doing it under timed and sometimes stressed conditions. You'll get exposed to the full range of passage and question dififculties, although most of us only tend to recall that which beats us up. Whatever you do for practice, it has to involve passages and about 20% of them should be weird. And as so many people advise, you need to do a thorough postgame analysis of every homework set and practice exam. Going over the answer explanations to find a better way of doing certain questions is one of the most beneficial things one can do. It takes work, but that work becomes fun after a while.