Is just TBR enough for MCAT prep?

[mariambaby3]

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Hi, if I go through all of the books of The Berkeley Review and do all of the passages in the book, is that enough prep for the MCAT? Or should I purchase any other study aides or review my course textbooks? Thanks.

 

[SN2ed]

BR is great in Gen Chem, Physics, and O-Chem. However, while BR has great Bio passages, most prefer either EK Bio or TPRH Bio for content review. In other words, a combo of BR and EK Bio or TPRH Bio is what's good here. For VR, you really should get EK Verbal 101 and, hopefully, TPRH Verbal Workbook. Lastly, you have to get practice FLs. Taking all of the AAMC FLs works well for that.

 

[MedPR]

Hi, if I go through all of the books of The Berkeley Review and do all of the passages in the book, is that enough prep for the MCAT? Or should I purchase any other study aides or review my course textbooks? Thanks.

Doing 60-70% of all the EK content review books (not EK 1001 or Verbal 101) was enough to get me a 28 on my MCAT. This time around I'm doing TBR Phys, Chem, Bio (for passages), Ochem, EK bio content review, Chem, Physics, Ochem 1001, Verbal 101, and as many FL as I will have time for.

It might be enough for you, but there's no reason not to do more if you have the time/money.

 

[FearlessHyena]

Hi, if I go through all of the books of The Berkeley Review and do all of the passages in the book, is that enough prep for the MCAT? Or should I purchase any other study aides or review my course textbooks? Thanks.

It's all I used. Also, buy TPR MCAT advanced 45. Those verbal passages are beast and got me my 12. Refer to this post for the power of TBR, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11679956&postcount=599. It's my score report. Trust in TBR, work their passages, and do not get overwhelmed by their detail. I had two chemistry passages that were similar to TBR passages. When I did TBR's version I was annihilated and said the mcat would never test such stuff. Without TBR, I would not have had a 14 PS.

In closing, they are enough except for biology; get TPR biology and EK. Be patient, don't just read, delve deeply into concepts and try to link topics. When you see an O-chem passage think of nucleophilicity and how it relates to rate. A good nucleophile has fast kinetics. If you do that, the MCAT becomes a much easier to tackle. I'm currently training to be an MCAT instructor for Kaplan. So, if you have any concepts or problems that trip you up, please do not hesitate to shoot me a PM.

Finally, the MCAT is about diminishing returns. Getting an 11 or 12 isn't hard. Getting a 13-14 in the sciences is difficult. You can not have any weaknesses. The key to doing well is to be comfortable with everything. Don't go too overboard because most of what you learn won't be tested. This is a mistake people make; they think they have to know every little detail and it hurts their prep.

 

[MedPR]

It's all I used. Also, buy TPR MCAT advanced 45. Those verbal passages are beast and got me my 12. Refer to this post for the power of TBR, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11679956&postcount=599. It's my score report. Trust in TBR, work their passages, and do not get overwhelmed by their detail. I had two chemistry passages that were similar to TBR passages. When I did TBR's version I was annihilated and said the mcat would never test such stuff. Without TBR, I would not have had a 14 PS.

In closing, they are enough except for biology; get TPR biology and EK. Be patient, don't just read, delve deeply into concepts and try to link topics. When you see an O-chem passage think of nucleophilicity and how it relates to rate. A good nucleophile has fast kinetics. If you do that, the MCAT becomes a much easier to tackle. I'm currently training to be an MCAT instructor for Kaplan. So, if you have any concepts or problems that trip you up, please do not hesitate to shoot me a PM.

Finally, the MCAT is about diminishing returns. Getting an 11 or 12 isn't hard. Getting a 13-14 in the sciences is difficult. You can not have any weaknesses. The key to doing well is to be comfortable with everything. Don't go too overboard because most of what you learn won't be tested. This is a mistake people make; they think they have to know every little detail and it hurts their prep.

Getting an 11 or 12 isn't hard? Getting a 33-36 isn't hard?

 

[Nymphicus]

When I studied last year, I thought BR verbal wasn't great (didn't use it at all), and BR bio text was too much (still used the passages though).

 

[FearlessHyena]

Getting an 11 or 12 isn't hard? Getting a 33-36 isn't hard?

The median MCAT score for accepted students is 33. Getting an 11 or 12 on an absolute scale is good. Compared to applicants, it's mediocre. So, that's what I was referring to. Also, consider that most people suck at verbal. I did NOT say getting an 11 or 12 verbal is easy. That's what limits most people. If you get a 12 PS, 11 Bs, 9 BS, that's not an impressive score for top schools. A 33 puts you in the bottom tenth percentile at most top 20 schools. So, take it for what it's worth.

 

[m2k]

BR is great in Gen Chem, Physics, and O-Chem. However, while BR has great Bio passages, most prefer either EK Bio or TPRH Bio for content review. In other words, a combo of BR and EK Bio or TPRH Bio is what's good here. For VR, you really should get EK Verbal 101 and, hopefully, TPRH Verbal Workbook. Lastly, you have to get practice FLs. Taking all of the AAMC FLs works well for that.

I already have TPRH bio, 2007 edition... should I invest $30 in EK Bio?

Also when you talk about EK Verbal, do you mean "ExamKrackers MCAT Verbal Reasoning & Mathematical Techniques"

Thanks,

 

[Erythropoietin]

I already have TPRH bio, 2007 edition... should I invest $30 in EK Bio?

Also when you talk about EK Verbal, do you mean "ExamKrackers MCAT Verbal Reasoning & Mathematical Techniques"

Thanks,

No there's another book by EK called examkrackers verbal 101
google it you'll see, its about $30

 

[m2k]

No there's another book by EK called examkrackers verbal 101
google it you'll see, its about $30

Is this you're talking about..

http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-Passages-MCAT-Verbal-Reasoning/dp/1893858553

There is another one also:

http://www.amazon.com/ExamKrackers-...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324492745&sr=1-1

 

[GeauxTime]

BR is great in Gen Chem, Physics, and O-Chem. However, while BR has great Bio passages, most prefer either EK Bio or TPRH Bio for content review. In other words, a combo of BR and EK Bio or TPRH Bio is what's good here. For VR, you really should get EK Verbal 101 and, hopefully, TPRH Verbal Workbook. Lastly, you have to get practice FLs. Taking all of the AAMC FLs works well for that.

• TBR Full Set
• EK Bio
• EK 101: All excluding Bio
• TPR Verbal Hyperlearning
• EK Verbal

 

[MedPR]

The median MCAT score for accepted students is 33. Getting an 11 or 12 on an absolute scale is good. Compared to applicants, it's mediocre. So, that's what I was referring to. Also, consider that most people suck at verbal. I did NOT say getting an 11 or 12 verbal is easy. That's what limits most people. If you get a 12 PS, 11 Bs, 9 BS, that's not an impressive score for top schools. A 33 puts you in the bottom tenth percentile at most top 20 schools. So, take it for what it's worth.

Whether or not that's accurate (33 = median for matriculants) I don't know, but I don't doubt it. That said, the mean mcat last year was 25.1. If it was easy to get 11-12 on PS and BS, the mean would be much higher. Matriculant median/mean is not indicative of the ease of the test, but the quality of matriculants.

 

[FearlessHyena]

Whether or not that's accurate (33 = median for matriculants) I don't know, but I don't doubt it. That said, the mean mcat last year was 25.1. If it was easy to get 11-12 on PS and BS, the mean would be much higher. Matriculant median/mean is not indicative of the ease of the test, but the quality of matriculants.

Good point. I should not have said getting an 11 or 12 is easy and should have said the following, that getting a top-notch score requires a 13-14 in the sciences for most people, which is exceedingly difficult. This is assuming mediocre verbal skills of course. If you can hit 12+ verbal then 11 or 12s will give you a solid score. I have a source. I bought the online MSAR. If I post it, I will be in violation of copyright.

Here is a thread discussing this issue, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=811023

 

[grapepopsicle]

It's all I used. Also, buy TPR MCAT advanced 45. Those verbal passages are beast and got me my 12.

Is this the book you're taking about? (Helped you on VR)

http://www.amazon.com/MCAT-Elite-Ad...797X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324881005&sr=8-2

 

[varsityblue]

I'd add that it's probably a good idea to exhaust most standard resources before turning to a book like the MCAT 45. Like the SAT/ACT, advanced books will only work once you've mastered all the basics.

 

[grapepopsicle]

I'd add that it's probably a good idea to exhaust most standard resources before turning to a book like the MCAT 45. Like the SAT/ACT, advanced books will only work once you've mastered all the basics.

Definitely, but I'll take all the practice on VR I can get! I already have EK 101 passages, so this may be a good supplement.