Is TBR really harder then the actual mcat?

[411309]

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I know theres been threads on this already but I want a current answer with what a bunch of people think. Compare TBR passages from the books to your actual thing in terms of difficulty...just curious :O

 

[valkener]

Well, that depends on specific items on the MCAT and passages in TBR. TBR definitely pushes you though, and they are great at making you do weird connections/bridge concepts which is critical for the MCAT.

 

[411309]

Overall I mean. Tbr bs passages compared to MCAT BS passages, etc. For exapmple, TBR molecular passages vs actual mcat passages.

 

[valkener]

That's a good question, I remember being really frustrated with some of their passages. Honestly, it's possible that they are a bit harder but not by much. AMCA practice tests will tell you more accurately, on average, how ready you are.

 

[MedPR]

Overall I mean. Tbr bs passages compared to MCAT BS passages, etc. For exapmple, TBR molecular passages vs actual mcat passages.

TBR Bio passages are only harder because they test content that you might not know (and don't need to know). The format and what they expect you to pull from the given info in the passage is very similar to the actual MCAT.

 

[411309]

TBR Bio passages are only harder because they test content that you might not know (and don't need to know). The format and what they expect you to pull from the given info in the passage is very similar to the actual MCAT.

I hate those stupid small random facts. You dont know the structure of some random moleculue? gggg you. Still i did love tbr bio passages..

 

[Nymphicus]

"Harder" is maybe not the right word, more like "a little different" or "sometimes oddly specific"

 

[andrewsmack05]

I think TBR is different, difficult is sort of a loose term here. A passage in TBR only have what they discussed in that chapter. The difference with the real MCAT is that there could be 4 or 5 different concepts(from other chapters) weaved into a passage. But I believe that TBRs practice is the best out there aside from the AAMC tests. 👍

 

[superdoctorman]

I have taken the Mcat twice just finished my retake on 4/5/2012 and have been using TBR to study. I would say its in the same ballpark. On my particular test the real thing was as hard or harder, other tests might be easier. I think TBR is great material but I would approach the questions with the mindset of this is how hard the real thing will be. I was told TBR was way harder but its good to have harder practice material, I dont think it was way harder.

 

[fas376]

I think TBR is way easier, at least for physics and gen chem. I would think Bio is roughly equal. I averaged 12/13s on TBR PS but am averaging 11 on AAMCs 🙁

 

[kryptonian]

Do any of you who recently took the 2012 MCAT find any correlation between TBR practice passages' scores and real deal's scores ? For example, you frequently got 75% questions correct on TBR practice passages (equivalently to an 11 using TBR scale in the book), and on the real deal did you also get an 11 ?

 

[Amba]

Do any of you who recently took the 2012 MCAT find any correlation between TBR practice passages' scores and real deal's scores ? For example, you frequently got 75% questions correct on TBR practice passages (equivalently to an 11 using TBR scale in the book), and on the real deal did you also get an 11 ?

Fwiw, I averaged around a scaled 11 on TBR physics, gen chem, and orgo. I ended up with a 14 on PS and 12 on BS. Personally, I feel if you can be between an 11 and 12 on the physical sciences in TBR, you'll be fine on the real thing.

 

[kryptonian]

Fwiw, I averaged around a scaled 11 on TBR physics, gen chem, and orgo. I ended up with a 14 on PS and 12 on BS. Personally, I feel if you can be between an 11 and 12 on the physical sciences in TBR, you'll be fine on the real thing.

This relieves me a lot from worries. Congrats on your great scores ! How do you feel about TBR BS vs real deal BS ?

 

[railgun]

Do any of you who recently took the 2012 MCAT find any correlation between TBR practice passages' scores and real deal's scores ? For example, you frequently got 75% questions correct on TBR practice passages (equivalently to an 11 using TBR scale in the book), and on the real deal did you also get an 11 ?

I got 12-13, avg probably very near 13 on TBR (spent ~54 min on every test) and a 14 on the actual one (had only 2 min left at the end... may be attributable to my sleepiness). I would probably say TBR is slightly harder just because the tests had few easy questions as compared to the mcat.
Like Bauman, i also think if you're getting 12's or so on TBR, you're good to go (I thought it was quite difficult getting even a 14 on them... but on aamc's, i got 13-14, with avg 13.5). Take a couple aamc's to make sure and you'd probably end up doing good.

 

[bananaz]

I found TBR Bio to be harder than AAMC mostly because the writing wasn't as clear - I had a much easier time understanding what the AAMC writers were trying to ask so I ended up doing a lot better on my practice tests than I did on TBR practice passages, and the real test felt a lot easier too. Also, as someone else mentioned, it seems like TBR has a higher proportion of tough questions whereas the real MCAT has a good mix of easy, medium and hard ones.

As for PS, I thought TBR was pretty similar to the AAMC practice tests I took but it was way easier than what was on my actual MCAT. I don't have my score yet though so it's hard to say whether I performed better in one vs. the other...

 

[APrioriAporia]

This is a hard question to answer. TBR might have more difficult (or same difficulty) passages, but doing the practice passages helps develop your skills for when you do the actual thing. Since you had so much practice, the actual MCAT might seem easier than when you first did TBR.

 

[mariambaby3]

I studied exclusively with TBR and EK and I did find TBR's Bio passages to be pretty hard in some subjects. Overall, I do think it's a bit harder than the AAMC and actual MCAT passages.

 

[syoung]

someone told me he was testing high (45) on the AAMC FLs and about 38 on the TBRs. Yet when he took the actual in Mar 2012, he said it was vastly different and that the study prep was "useless"
Can anyone concur if indeed the test was vastly different?

 

[bdc142]

Anyone with chem comparisons to their real MCAT? 🙂

 

[Maxine450]

Chemistry and Physics in BR are basically the same difficulty as the real MCAT. Maybe even a little easier. I would say the calculation questions are harder on BR, the theory questions are easier on BR. Don't be fooled by the easy practice aamc tests. It's a lot trickier. For example, there are tons of questions that will have familiar concepts, but will require you to manipulate equations together. I remember that I was really confused by a question and it turned out you needed to use the kinetic equation and the work equation and equal them together. Or potential, can't really remember. Or instead of using the equation for mechanical advantage, you'll have to use a ratio of Areas. The MCAT always has one of those, and they can be confusing.

BR is great because it focuses on hammering in the basic concepts of Chemistry and Physics. That's really what you need to be good in. You have to know everything inside and out.

For biology, you basically have to be good in reading comprehension. That's it really.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Br bio has a lot of random questions I feel like, stuff the real thing doesn't require you to know.

 

[ridethecliche]

Oh man. I can only dream of getting 11-12's on TBR orgo. Getting my ass totally kicked...

 

[Maxine450]

For BR Bio, I would really not read the chapters if you're already strong, or just get Princeton Review. It goes in detail about the things you need to know--which is exactly what you want. All the extra crap about the Urea cycle are only there because people have complained to them "Well I saw this on the MCAT and it wasn't in your books!" Yes, the MCAT will have stuff you've never heard before (but neither will anyone else taking the exam). Usually you have to use basic background knowledge on how proteins/fats/whatever work in the body, instead of memorizing specific details about random stuff.

I saw a strange term on an organic question on the MCAT in January. I asked my O-chem professor what it was, even HE didn't know what it was. He had never even heard of it. That sort of falls in the extreme, though. I'm sure that whole passage was just experimental. But if you see something you have never heard of before, ask yourself whether its a protein...a lipid...a whatever, and hopefully you can guess what the right answer is based on what you know about these things.

 

[AttackNME]

BR is great because it focuses on hammering in the basic concepts of Chemistry and Physics. That's really what you need to be good in. You have to know everything inside and out.

For biology, you basically have to be good in reading comprehension. That's it really.

👍

I say this frequently but a big part of the mcat is also speed-reading. I Highly recommend subscribing to scientific america magazine digital version (gives you access to huge archives and lots of passages), mcat takes passages out of there, and just read thru as many as you can.

 

[circulus vitios]

My overall average in TBR gen chem was an unbalanced 10. I did horribly in chapter 4 and 5 (equilibrium and acid-base) and decently in the other chapters. I averaged closer to an 11 in TBR physics.

My PS scores for AAMC FLs:

#3: 10 PS
#4: 12 PS
#5: 12 PS
#7: 13 PS

I think that TBR is harder than the MCAT, especially the god ****ing awful TBR equilibrium and acid-base passages.

 

[nabilesmail]

I averaged about 88% on tbr chem and 83% on physics (/except for random times where I got like 60%, I scored at 13 on real thing and averaged 14 on last few aamc

Sent from my Nexus 7 using SDN Mobile

 

[nabilesmail]

I think tpr swb for bio is better than tbr, tbr sucked for bio passage wise, I averaged 60% and got a 12 on real thing and averaged a 14 on last few aamc as well

Sent from my Nexus 7 using SDN Mobile

 

[mcloaf]

Lol, year old thread?

 

[circulus vitios]

Lol, year old thread?

Yeah I didn't even realize that. Oh well, still might be useful to someone.

 

[BillrothI]

My overall average in TBR gen chem was an unbalanced 10. I did horribly in chapter 4 and 5 (equilibrium and acid-base) and decently in the other chapters. I averaged closer to an 11 in TBR physics.

My PS scores for AAMC FLs:

#3: 10 PS
#4: 12 PS
#5: 12 PS
#7: 13 PS

I think that TBR is harder than the MCAT, especially the god ****ing awful TBR equilibrium and acid-base passages.

Glad I'm not the only one who did poorly in Ch. 4 and 5. I was doing very well up to that point, but equilibrium and acid-base killed me!

Your AAMC PS scores look fantastic, by the way. Well done!

-Bill R.

 

[dudewheresmymd]

My overall average in TBR gen chem was an unbalanced 10. I did horribly in chapter 4 and 5 (equilibrium and acid-base) and decently in the other chapters. I averaged closer to an 11 in TBR physics.

My PS scores for AAMC FLs:

#3: 10 PS
#4: 12 PS
#5: 12 PS
#7: 13 PS

I think that TBR is harder than the MCAT, especially the god ****ing awful TBR equilibrium and acid-base passages.

Do you mean ch 5 (acid /base) or ch 6(buffer/titration)? I found ch 5 easier to understand than buffers/titrations (yikes). Are buffers/titrations really going to be TBR level of difficulty on the real thing? The reading/questions are so dense in the buffer/titration chapter...

 

[rain4venus]

Lol, year old thread?

Not really sure why people complain when you start a new thread, telling you to search instead, and then complain when you search and comment on an existing thread because it's old.

 

[mcloaf]

Not really sure why people complain when you start a new thread, telling you to search instead, and then complain when you search and comment on an existing thread because it's old.

Don't worry, maybe when you're older.