NOVA Physics or TBR Physics?

[faluri]

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Hey all
I was wondering if I could get some advice on prep books. I have heard that Nova Physical Science and TBR Physical Science prep are extremely well written and thorough. I have tried Kaplan and EK and thought it was OK - I feel like there was a lot of material that was not covered well though - so I was thinking of getting a copy of NOVA or TBR - as far as I can see - NOVA is avaialble through online sites while TBR is only available through their website - do yall recommend a specific series over the other?
Thanks!

oh and also - which company is the best for GEN CHEM?

 

[mostwanted]

I would highly recommend NOVA physics book. Each chapter is followed by 25-50 practice questions, including some with passages. The concepts are covered quite well, but I would still suggest going through the aamc list of main topics and subtopics to make sure you cover all the bases. good luck

 

[masterMood]

nova is supposed to make you understand the concepts of physics and relate eveerything well. tpr is average. but don't rely on nova for studying for the mcat, it will only give you a general understanding of physics which can then be used for practicing mcat passage questions through a diff book like exam krackers, tpr, kaplan.

 

[Wussok]

nova is supposed to make you understand the concepts of physics and relate eveerything well. tpr is average. but don't rely on nova for studying for the mcat, it will only give you a general understanding of physics which can then be used for practicing mcat passage questions through a diff book like exam krackers, tpr, kaplan.

I think he wanted to compare nova to TBR though, not TPR.

I'd also like to hear more opinions about this.

 

[0Complications]

I think he wanted to compare nova to TBR though, not TPR.

I'd also like to hear more opinions about this.

I started with EK/Nova physics and was tanking the PS section, then I recently switched to BR and feel like I am getting a much more thorough understanding of the material.

I'll have to let you know when I start taking practice exams again, but that won't probably be for another month.

I would say go with Berkeley Review. They are more thorough, have more passages, and don't assume you know things that you might not from your physics class. Also, Nova physics gives you a very simple first example, then they warp you to difficult question (some they even state require a calculator to solve...). There is simply no middle ground with Nova, it's all either too easy or too difficult. At least for me. I do agree with the above poster though, the end of chapter questions are nice, but once again, they don't compare to the BR passages.

 

[meliora27]

I was going to post this same thread, thank goodness for the search feature. Anyway...bumping in hopes of generating more responses. Thanks!

 

[Transformers]

honestly- BEST strategy---> use Berkeley review for REVIEW for the content and use BOTH BOOKS for the purpose of answering questions because both have a tremendous set of questions---NOVA-more discrete emphasis and berkeley-10 passages each section (compared to NOVAs 2 per chapter, on average)

 

[txprodigal]

i used nova to set my foundation and once my tbr books in, i used them to solidify my understanding and for the passages


nova is a little bit better if you don't have a solid grasp of physics, tbr will get you to the 13-15 range afterwards

 

[phillips101]

The OP posted the question more than 3 years ago...hopefully he already took the MCAT 🙂

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

The OP posted the question more than 3 years ago...hopefully he already took the MCAT 🙂

I'm more curious how you get banned after over 1700 posts.

BTW, I think it might be obvious which one I'd recommend, so I'll pass on responding.

 

[Will Hunting]

I'm more curious how you get banned after over 1700 posts.

BTW, I think it might be obvious which one I'd recommend, so I'll pass on responding.

mastermood was always a semi-troll but got out of hand last summer. You might remember the post he/she posted about the validity of TBR. I think what did it was the thread on EK where he/she used the word "rape" to reference the performance on of the gen chem quizzes and others found this offensive. Mastermood then proceeded to use some bad language. It spiraled down from there. I think he/she was worried about exhausting all of the resources. To those studying I would do the following: pick a source and stick to it and make sure to obtain passages as that is the most important. If you like EK or Kaplan that's fine. However, get TBR books for practice. Reading is overrated. Do problems. I have nova, it's pretty good. However, TBR passages are unreal and I have since stopped reading because if I get something wrong their explanation teaches me the concept. You get to kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Vanguard23]

Ok, I'm thinking of getting TBR for Physics and Chemistry. I have NOVA already and it's *for the most part* good. What year is a good cut off year for the most up-to-date TBR material? 2003? 2005?

 

[TurkSurg]

Hey all
I was wondering if I could get some advice on prep books. I have heard that Nova Physical Science and TBR Physical Science prep are extremely well written and thorough. I have tried Kaplan and EK and thought it was OK - I feel like there was a lot of material that was not covered well though - so I was thinking of getting a copy of NOVA or TBR - as far as I can see - NOVA is avaialble through online sites while TBR is only available through their website - do yall recommend a specific series over the other?
Thanks!

oh and also - which company is the best for GEN CHEM?

Read SN2ed's post on mcat prep books, you'll get some idea on what books to get for different subjects.

 

[Kinesio]

I mean no disrespect to SN2ed in pointing this out, but the MCAT prep book ranking that he (or she) continues to put up is from Boondocks, not from SN2ed.

 

[TurkSurg]

Ok, I'm thinking of getting TBR for Physics and Chemistry. I have NOVA already and it's *for the most part* good. What year is a good cut off year for the most up-to-date TBR material? 2003? 2005?

NOVA for what, physics?
I believe anything after 2005 is good.

 

[Vanguard23]

Physics, yes.
Can anyone corroborate that?

 

[BigDolla]

I am currently using NOVA. I was never really a fan of physics and barely scraped by with a B. I feel like NOVA is a good review of the basics. I'm going to supplement it with something else though like TPR just to make sure I get enough review.

 

[apc]

Anymore input on this subject???
I took physics a couple of years ago. Can't remember much from the first part, but I have some understanding of the second part.

 

[SN2ed]

Anymore input on this subject???
I took physics a couple of years ago. Can't remember much from the first part, but I have some understanding of the second part.

Both are good for content review. BR beats Nova because it contains more practice passages. Nova, on the other hand, has about a 60/40 split between passages and discretes.

Biology: 1. EK Bio (for content) + BR Bio (for passages and further topic depth if needed) 2. TPR Hyperlearning, detail oriented 3. Kaplan

Physics: 1. BR 2. Nova 3. TPR Hyperlearning 4. Kaplan

Verbal: 1. EK Verbal + EK 101 Verbal 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. BR 4. Kaplan (Avoid if possible)

Organic Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

General Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

Extra Practice Material: 1. TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook + TPR Hyperlearing Science Workbook, good source of practice passages 1. AAMC Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (most representative material available) 2. EK 1001 series, helps nail down basics

 

[apc]

Both are good for content review. BR beats Nova because it contains more practice passages. Nova, on the other hand, has about a 60/40 split between passages and discretes.

Biology: 1. EK Bio (for content) + BR Bio (for passages and further topic depth if needed) 2. TPR Hyperlearning, detail oriented 3. Kaplan

Physics: 1. BR 2. Nova 3. TPR Hyperlearning 4. Kaplan

Verbal: 1. EK Verbal + EK 101 Verbal 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. BR 4. Kaplan (Avoid if possible)

Organic Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

General Chemistry: 1. BR, by far 2. TPR Hyperlearning 3. EK/Kaplan

Extra Practice Material: 1. TPR Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook + TPR Hyperlearing Science Workbook, good source of practice passages 1. AAMC Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (most representative material available) 2. EK 1001 series, helps nail down basics

So just having BR is good enough?

 

[Vanguard23]

I have EK Physics, NOVA, TPR Hyperlearning and TBR. The way I see it is such:
EK Physics: Has some handy little tricks in there to help you figure things out.
NOVA: Great for conceptualization of the material.
TPR Hyperlearning: I found this actually a very good book. There are some dynamics to the material that are covered in ways that helped me understand the material much better.
TBR: I would rate as the flat out best. Both due to thoroughness of the material as well as difficulty of the practice problems which I consider a MUST for preparing for the MCAT.

So from all of those books, I take bits and pieces as I see fit.