Should i get ALL the berk review books?

[Ari1584]

I want to order these books bc of all the positive feedback from everyone but i dont want to order them all if some are useless. I am for sure getting the chem and physics...but what about bio, orgo and verbal? Are those worth getting too? I am planning on a re-take so i am looking for some new materials.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by TheBoondocks
This question gets asked like every three days. In short, EK series are stripped down with the basics you need to know. Get EK bio, it is by far the best for bio, all the responses on SDN say this. Know this book cold. If you don't believe me, type in EK bio in the search function. Personally, you learn the best from passages, If you have time and the cash I highly suggest purchasing Berkeley Review Gen Chem and Ochem. There physics is good too, but with PR it may be redundant. You will thank me later. You'll probably want EK biology review and EK 101 biology passages and EK verbal 101. PR is good, however, if you want to kill the MCAT you have to be able to integrate material. That's what BR does better than anyone else. Like, be able to answer questions if you see the circulatory system wired in parallel series.

bio - 1. EK bio and 101 bio passages 2. Kaplan 3. PR/BR however, these don't suck, they're just detailed which turns off many people.

Physics 1. BR/Nova 2. PR 3. Kaplan I really think BR but they're are a lot of people who swear by Nova on this site

Verbal 1. Ek verbal and 101 passages 2. PR 3. BR 4. Kaplan (read stay from)

Gen Chem 1. BR by far 2. PR 3. Kaplan/EK

O Chem 1. BR by far 2. toss up between Kaplan/PR/Ek

That is a general list of what i have read on SDN for the past 4 years, i came here and lurked throughout highschool. Good luck and hopefully this will help. EK is for people who KNOW the material and want review. If you are weak in something BR is the best since it's the most detailed and PR is detailed too, Kaplan is in the Middle, and EK is the least detailed but that doesn't mean it's bad. Just depends on the person. If you can I would buy the BR Chemistry books and Physics book. If you complete the PR science workbook along with BR passages and EK bio, you will kill the sciences. Ek Verbal should help you out with verbal.

 

[yoMC]

I studied for the mcat only from TBR books. Yeah, the PS books are the bomb so definitely get those. I think some people would say that the bio books have too much detail but i'm not sure because on my bio section for the actual test, i had some pretty detailed stuff that was directly covered in the TBR bio books. I would probably say that TBR writing and verbal are their weakest.

 

[twmart]

honestly, I only used the chemistry and physics of Berkeley Review, because I heard those were the best, but they weren't really like the real test at all, I felt like they were too hard, but they might be good practice if you have time.

 

[capostat]

twmart, i'm in the same situation,

I'm using BR Chem + Physics. And I also have the EK books. I'm currently on General Chem, but I would like to ask if it would be better to compare the subjects that are covered in both EK and BR for the Chem, and only study the ones present in both. It could really save me lots of time

Wow, i already have seen how much extra stuff is being discussed. It's great cause I feel like i understand on a greater level, but if i dont need to know it....

A lot of the extra stuff in BR is easy to understand, but with me, i still have to remember why i understand it, when i'm writing that exam.

i know your post doesnt saw you've seen EK, but would it be better to use something more "general" to focus my studying on.

thanks

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

twmart, i'm in the same situation,

I'm using BR Chem + Physics. And I also have the EK books. I'm currently on General Chem, but I would like to ask if it would be better to compare the subjects that are covered in both EK and BR for the Chem, and only study the ones present in both. It could really save me lots of time

Wow, i already have seen how much extra stuff is being discussed. It's great cause I feel like i understand on a greater level, but if i dont need to know it....

A lot of the extra stuff in BR is easy to understand, but with me, i still have to remember why i understand it, when i'm writing that exam.

i know your post doesnt saw you've seen EK, but would it be better to use something more "general" to focus my studying on.

thanks

I think the essense of your question rests in the variability in the difficulty of the MCAT. For one MCAT, you will find that the BR approach is 100% right on the mark and that those quirky examples like the Balmer series (page 111) or nuclear fusion or conductivity of a titrated acid-base solution (page 268) match perfectly in style and difficulty of the exam.

Then, on the next MCAT, the passages are straight-forward and simple, making much of your study time appear to be in excess. You will feel, as twart feels, that it was overkill.

I think the best way to answer your question is to sift through the MCAT threads here and see how people felt about the difficulty of each exam.

Personally, I'm one who prefers to be prepared for the hardest questions, and be pleasantly surprised if it's easier. And from the MCAT threads I've seen here, it looks like two out of every three MCATs are difficult in terms of the physical sciences section.

Given that you feel "a lot of the extra stuff in BR is easy to understand", then that's a great sign that it's working for you. If you can relate well to the mixture of multiple topics, then the MCAT will go well when you get those weird passages that mix multiple topics.

 

[capostat]

I think the essense of your question rests in the variability in the difficulty of the MCAT. For one MCAT, you will find that the BR approach is 100% right on the mark and that those quirky examples like the Balmer series (page 111) or nuclear fusion or conductivity of a titrated acid-base solution (page 268) match perfectly in style and difficulty of the exam.

Then, on the next MCAT, the passages are straight-forward and simple, making much of your study time appear to be in excess. You will feel, as twart feels, that it was overkill.

I think the best way to answer your question is to sift through the MCAT threads here and see how people felt about the difficulty of each exam.

Personally, I'm one who prefers to be prepared for the hardest questions, and be pleasantly surprised if it's easier. And from the MCAT threads I've seen here, it looks like two out of every three MCATs are difficult in terms of the physical sciences section.

Given that you feel "a lot of the extra stuff in BR is easy to understand", then that's a great sign that it's working for you. If you can relate well to the mixture of multiple topics, then the MCAT will go well when you get those weird passages that mix multiple topics.

Thanks for the help BerkReviewTeach,

it's funny that you mention the Balmer series, and nuclear chemistry as I had those in mind when referring to the extra stuff. Truth be told, the EM spectrum actually makes sense to me. That topic was sort of nebulous to me, but the way it's explained in BR--even the fact that it's explained at all, is a little confidence booster.

I guess I'm just looking to find a good reason not to go through every page of the BR book. It would be much easier if i could take at face value the preparedness that EK feels is sufficient for the MCAT. Gives me more time...

Anyway, I'll try to find some threads about past MCATs.

 

[alibai3ah]

The BR review physics and chemistry HELPED ALOT....b/c its all reading and answering passages. It increases your speed and you learn to solve problems much faster. So my score def went up. As for Bio....i barely toucehd the book, but i didn't study too much anyways b/c bio was my strong point. But if you need help on the physical sciences it def helped me alot (much more than kaplan).