So demoralized BR is killing me...

[gumbyj]

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Just read the Buffers and Titration chapter and did 3 passages. I only got 4 right on all 3 passages COMBINED. I didn't even find the material in the chapter difficult. I haven't gone over all of my answers because I am just so shocked and demoralized I am not even sure where to go from here.

If I just guessed "C" for every question I would have gotten almost twice as many correct... I have no idea what is going on in my head, I just feel rushed for time and I can't think clearly when answering the questions.

This is embarrassing to post, but I feel like giving up and will take any advice out there...

The only thing keeping me going is 11-13s on verbal.

 

[typicalindian]

Stop whining and go review it. The point of doing those passages is to fix your lack of knowledge. Review them, fix your mistakes and then keep plugging away until you get it. I know it's hard but wanting to give up every time you have a challenge is not the right attitude for this test.

 

[MedPR]

Stop whining and go review it. The point of doing those passages is to fix your lack of knowledge. Review them, fix your mistakes and then keep plugging away until you get it. I know it's hard but wanting to give up every time you have a challenge is not the right attitude for this test.

👍

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Just read the Buffers and Titration chapter and did 3 passages. I only got 4 right on all 3 passages COMBINED. I didn't even find the material in the chapter difficult. I haven't gone over all of my answers because I am just so shocked and demoralized I am not even sure where to go from here.

If I just guessed "C" for every question I would have gotten almost twice as many correct... I have no idea what is going on in my head, I just feel rushed for time and I can't think clearly when answering the questions.

This is embarrassing to post, but I feel like giving up and will take any advice out there...

The only thing keeping me going is 11-13s on verbal.

Go back and read the chapter again...The buffer chapter in BR is not that bad...The equibrium chapter was the one that made me cry. I think BR is harder than the real test. Dont worry too much. Keep working at it.

 

[MedPR]

Go back and read the chapter again...The buffer chapter in BR is not that bad...The equibrium chapter was the one that made me cry. I think BR is harder than the real test. Dont worry too much. Keep working at it.

I think the hardest part about the buffer chapter is the math. If you aren't good with logs and decimals you probably won't do well on TBR's buffer chapter.

 

[411309]

Go back and read the chapter again...The buffer chapter in BR is not that bad...The equibrium chapter was the one that made me cry. I think BR is harder than the real test. Dont worry too much. Keep working at it.

completely disagree. Thought equil was easy and titration chapter was intense at some parts.

 

[misplacedshadow]

Just read the Buffers and Titration chapter and did 3 passages. I only got 4 right on all 3 passages COMBINED. I didn't even find the material in the chapter difficult. I haven't gone over all of my answers because I am just so shocked and demoralized I am not even sure where to go from here.

If I just guessed "C" for every question I would have gotten almost twice as many correct... I have no idea what is going on in my head, I just feel rushed for time and I can't think clearly when answering the questions.

This is embarrassing to post, but I feel like giving up and will take any advice out there...

The only thing keeping me going is 11-13s on verbal.

One thing you can consider doing is doing the Examkrackers 1001 questions for that area. Once you have done all of them, TBR passage questions should feel as bad. Just my opinion. Could be wrong.

 

[brandonh4]

The eqm and titrations chapter are very hard in tbr.

Work through the passages, review the answers in great detail. Going back to the chapter probably won't not help, since the point of the passages is often to teach you detailed nuances you wouldn't think about.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I think the hardest part about the buffer chapter is the math. If you aren't good with logs and decimals you probably won't do well on TBR's buffer chapter.

Wow...got 80% on buffer but 62% on equilibrium...But I see what you saying. I took some hardcore math such as calculus I and II and even differential equations. That might be the reason I found that chapter and stoichiometry not that difficult.

 

[gumbyj]

In terms of the difficult of the Buffer chapter... I didn't find it that difficult and I actually even enjoy Gen Chem a lot, so I loved the chapter and could answer all of the in chapter questions without even thinking about them. It must be something going on in my head because I just can't seem to grasp what a single question is asking. I read the passage very quickly then get to the first question and literally have no idea how to apply my knowledge from the chapter to the question. Getting 0/7 wrong on a passage - I might as well have guessed! Then I go over the answers and I KNEW that concept backwards and forwards. I am hoping this is something that will improve with time and I just need to find a personal strategy.

I just don't want to waste anymore BR passages 3 months before my test getting every single question wrong and practically having a panic attack when I have 2 minutes left and haven't been able to definitively answer a single question! Haha.

 

[Temperature101]

In terms of the difficult of the Buffer chapter... I didn't find it that difficult and I actually even enjoy Gen Chem a lot, so I loved the chapter and could answer all of the in chapter questions without even thinking about them. It must be something going on in my head because I just can't seem to grasp what a single question is asking. I read the passage very quickly then get to the first question and literally have no idea how to apply my knowledge from the chapter to the question. Getting 0/7 wrong on a passage - I might as well have guessed! Then I go over the answers and I KNEW that concept backwards and forwards. I am hoping this is something that will improve with time and I just need to find a personal strategy.

I just don't want to waste anymore BR passages 3 months before my test getting every single question wrong and practically having a panic attack when I have 2 minutes left and haven't been able to definitively answer a single question! Haha.

The in chapter questions for BR are jokes...they are not challenging

 

[ridethecliche]

BR is tough.

That's a good thing. Seriously.

You will read passages for BR and read the questions and go "WTF?"
Then you'll sit down and try to figure it out and it'll take you a while to get it, but you'll get it.

I honestly think phase one should be done untimed, and phase two on should be timed. Why? Because making those associations the first time takes a lot more time than it does the 2nd time. You should solidify understanding the first time through. After reviewing that, rereading the chapter, and starting phase 2, you'll be in a better place to do things timed and have some increased stress.

If you don't 'get it' you're just wasting practice passages. Put in the time now. Re-read the chapter, go through the passages and redo them taking your time. THEN review them.

More 'WTF is this talking about' now = less of that on the real test.

I did okay last year, but a few PS passages really really confused the heck out of me. I feel way better prepared already and I'm a month and a half away.

 

[gumbyj]

I honestly think phase one should be done untimed, and phase two on should be timed. Why? Because making those associations the first time takes a lot more time than it does the 2nd time. You should solidify understanding the first time through. After reviewing that, rereading the chapter, and starting phase 2, you'll be in a better place to do things timed and have some increased stress.
.

👍

Did the first phase untimed last night and got 75% correct. Guess I need to do this first, solidify the concepts and then time the rest of the phases to get the timing down.

Thanks for everyone who had constructive advice

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Because of college experience, most students have this belief that reading a chapter provides you with a pool of information that can answer every question, and anything less than 90% correct is failure. This is not at all how the BR books are designed, and that I think catches some people off guard. The passages are designed as learning tools, not diagnostic tools. Quit worrying so much about what you got on a passage set and worry more about what you'd get if you saw questions like those again. If I get a 3/7 on a passage, review it thoroughly, learn a few tricks, better understand a concept, and get exposed to an experimental insight, then the passage has done exactly what it should have done: put me in a position to get 7/7 on a future passage on that topic.

Preparing for the MCAT is about learning to think you way through a problem and apply information from the passage. Passages give you tons of information, often too much, and your job is to sift through it to find what is pertinent and then use that information to answer questions. If you're learning to do that, then all is well.

BR books are not meant to be a feel good experience; they're meant to prepare you for the hardest possible MCAT. They wouldn't be as popular as they are if they weren't very good at doing just that. Get angry at them as necessary, but absorb the hints. In the chapters mentioned in this thread, there are many little shortcuts and mnemonics that are very helpful. If you get those and learn to think clearly and quickly, then you're doing great.

And anyone who is feeling a little down should check out the Berkeley Review performance thread that makes it to the front page every now and then. You can read stressed out words from people over the last three years who went on to get some very good scores. It might help take the sting off a 2/7 or 3/7 passage.

 

[Mintberry]

BR is tough.

That's a good thing. Seriously.

You will read passages for BR and read the questions and go "WTF?"
Then you'll sit down and try to figure it out and it'll take you a while to get it, but you'll get it.

I honestly think phase one should be done untimed, and phase two on should be timed. Why? Because making those associations the first time takes a lot more time than it does the 2nd time. You should solidify understanding the first time through. After reviewing that, rereading the chapter, and starting phase 2, you'll be in a better place to do things timed and have some increased stress.

If you don't 'get it' you're just wasting practice passages. Put in the time now. Re-read the chapter, go through the passages and redo them taking your time. THEN review them.

More 'WTF is this talking about' now = less of that on the real test.

I did okay last year, but a few PS passages really really confused the heck out of me. I feel way better prepared already and I'm a month and a half away.

I am on day 25 of S2N, and I have stopped timing my self on the first ones. I found my self just guessing and not really absorbing anything.

 

[ridethecliche]

I am on day 25 of S2N, and I have stopped timing my self on the first ones. I found my self just guessing and not really absorbing anything.

Yup that's what I've found as well.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Just read the Buffers and Titration chapter and did 3 passages. I only got 4 right on all 3 passages COMBINED. I didn't even find the material in the chapter difficult. I haven't gone over all of my answers because I am just so shocked and demoralized I am not even sure where to go from here.

If I just guessed "C" for every question I would have gotten almost twice as many correct... I have no idea what is going on in my head, I just feel rushed for time and I can't think clearly when answering the questions.

This is embarrassing to post, but I feel like giving up and will take any advice out there...

The only thing keeping me going is 11-13s on verbal.

Don't worry. Like people have said, BR is tough. Honestly if you know the info and do bad, don't get upset, instead review it thoroughly to see why you are messing up. The point isn't to ace these BR passages but to learn from them.