TBR, TPR, EK difficulty

[imperfectluck]

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I have the MCAT subject books for TBR, TPR, and EK. I'm planning to read all of them. Would you guys recommend starting with TBR, then going to TPR and EK i.e. hardest to easiest? or perhaps EK to TBR, easiest to hardest? Thanks

 

[maybemed2013]

I suggest you stick with one set TPR and refer to the others when needed.

 

[PocketJacks]

Depends when your test is. Reading content is only like 30% of the work. There's no point in reading it 10000x times if you can't apply it. Practice is key so don't waste that much time reading over the same content.

If you have enough time, I'd suggest reading EK first then reading either TPR or TBR (I prefer TPR but that depends on your style). This will allow you to get familiar with the basics before going into more detail. If you don't have that much time (~3-4months), then ya you should just stick with one set either TPR or TBR because they contain enough information. You can always get EK Audio Osmosis if you really want another source for content.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I felt TPR didn't prepare me well for Chem. I think the difficulty of the Physics and Bio are comparable to the test, so the claim that the material is harder is a lie. I think EK bio helped me think of bio in a different way. Unfortunately, I don't have feedback on verbal or o.chem since I didn't study for these subjects.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

Choose either TBR or TPR. Use EK as a quick reference if you need to quickly refresh something. That's what I did. There's no point in reading the same material three times over from different sources. The challenge here isn't understanding the material, it's applying it. All of this material should be review for you anyway; even if you've forgotten most of it, it should still come back very quickly to you.

 

[Narmerguy]

Choose either TBR or TPR. Use EK as a quick reference if you need to quickly refresh something. That's what I did. There's no point in reading the same material three times over from different sources. The challenge here isn't understanding the material, it's applying it. All of this material should be review for you anyway; even if you've forgotten most of it, it should still come back very quickly to you.

I would disagree slightly. The challenge is both to understand the material and to apply it. Information recall is the first step before one can attempt to apply it. Moreover, some people don't take/study the MCAT until years after they have taken these courses. For example, almost all of the physiology bio felt new (barring very general concepts) since I hadn't taken/used that information in over 3 years.

I found reading the same material from different sources very effective in helping me remember the concepts and various details for biology or occasionally for physics/chemistry concepts that I didn't feel I had completely "mastered" on the first read through. Different sources have different strengths in presenting particular concepts. So I agree, certainly not necessary (is any particular approach necessary?), but it is hardly useless and I consider it an important part of my preparation.

 

[GomerPyle]

You honestly think your actually going to be able to go through all of those review books? lol

If you happen to do that, your completely wasting your time. You can make use of your time, and learn much more, but doing practice problems. I suggest going through EK 1001 series and as many practice tests as possible. Going through review books won't get you anywhere...it is all about practice.

 

[PocketJacks]

Ya, I agree with GomerPyle. It's all about practice. Instead of wasting like 2-3hours going over other review books, you're better off using that time to practice problems and actually see where your weak points are. Trust me, you'll also learn a great deal by doing the passages in TBR.
These passages provide A LOT of background information which can (maybe) be equivalent to reading the same chapter in EK for example. It's like a win win win situation since you're learning while doing practice problems and not wasting time rereading content.
Time is really crucial so don't waste it. (I know because I procrastinated for the first 1.5months and I ended up only having like 1 week to do the AAMC practice tests :S)

 

[MDOnlyWillDo]

You need to figure out what you need to study. Step 1 is re-learning what you forgot- read EK or TPR if you're here. Step 2 is when you're ready for practice- do TBR. You cannot skip doing practice problems and TBR has the most. Or do a bunch of practice exams.

 

[imperfectluck]

Thanks guys, I think I'm just going to do EK for content, and go to TPR and TBR for lots of practice and strengthening weak areas. Will be taking the test first date in January.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Thanks guys, I think I'm just going to do EK for content, and go to TPR and TBR for lots of practice and strengthening weak areas. Will be taking the test first date in January.

The only problem I can see with this plan is that there are practice questions in the BR reading that introduce some strategies and short cuts. Before you do BR passages, do the questions in the reading (especially the ones that say "turbo method"). That will save time in the long run when you're reading through the answer explantions and they use some trick you haven't seen before. This is escpecially true for the physics and general chemistry books.