Which Bio Passages: 4 weeks before test

[kimicurtis]

Hey,

I have a bit less than 4 weeks left. Which bio passages are at the best at this point to increase my critical thinking for the real deal? I have Kaplan sectional tests, TBR, and TPRH SW and ICC. I have done some passages from each of these sources throughout my prep. I more so would like to know what source should I spend more time on. Thanks!

 

[miss chievous]

Hey,

I have a bit less than 4 weeks left. Which bio passages are at the best at this point to increase my critical thinking for the real deal? I have Kaplan sectional tests, TBR, and TPRH SW and ICC. I have done some passages from each of these sources throughout my prep. I more so would like to know what source should I spend more time on. Thanks!

Section Tests and TPRH SW passages, definitely. Don't bother with TBR and ICC.

I honestly think if I had done those before my exam, I would have gotten a 12 or 13 on the BS.

 

[kimicurtis]

Section Tests and TPRH SW passages, definitely. Don't bother with TBR and ICC.

I honestly think if I had done those before my exam, I would have gotten a 12 or 13 on the BS.

Thank you!

 

[kimicurtis]

.

 

[AlabamaPop]

I thought TPRH ICC were praised.

 

[miss chievous]

I thought TPRH ICC were praised.

They have no explanations, so they're useless. Reviewing and understanding why you missed a question is important.

 

[bear2roo]

maybe try coming up with your own explainations? I did that for a handful of passages.....I think I learned something lol

 

[Platonic]

They have no explanations, so they're useless. Reviewing and understanding why you missed a question is important.

I don't agree with this. Thinking for yourself without being spoon-fed the logic behind the answer is valuable too.

 

[aspiring20]

Section Tests and TPRH SW passages, definitely. Don't bother with TBR and ICC.

I honestly think if I had done those before my exam, I would have gotten a 12 or 13 on the BS.

are the TPRH SW passages THAT good? i have them and i know they are good, but i always get a feeling that the actual test is 1000x different/harder than all the practice materials.

 

[eatprayloverun]

are the TPRH SW passages THAT good? i have them and i know they are good, but i always get a feeling that the actual test is 1000x different/harder than all the practice materials.

Yes, the TPRH SW passages for Bio (and Orgo for that matter) really are that good. They most closely resembled those on the AAMC practice tests and on my actual exam (5/30). Unlike TBR, they have a ton of experiment based passages and some of the ones that are "high difficulty" were definitely on par with the "ebola passage" on practice test 11. I agree with miss chievous re the ICC. I never touched this book because without sufficient explanations, the passages really are useless. One of the best ways to learn something really is to get the question wrong and then understand why you got it wrong (gap in content, incorrect logic, etc..), and with just an answer key, you cannot learn from your mistakes... So, if I were in your position, I would do all the "high difficulty" TPRH SW passages (usually the last couple passages for every chapter). Just my 2 cents! Good luck!!

 

[miss chievous]

maybe try coming up with your own explainations? I did that for a handful of passages.....I think I learned something lol

I agree with your method. However, for biology, I think it's useless. I did that for the Verbal ICC passages and I felt like I got stronger. With biology, it's a little different since it's content based. It's your call, but anyone on SDN will tell you that reviewing thoroughly is the most significant way to increase your score. If you have nothing to review with, then what's the point?

are the TPRH SW passages THAT good? i have them and i know they are good, but i always get a feeling that the actual test is 1000x different/harder than all the practice materials.

The actual test isn't harder. It's your nerves, the pressure, and the fact that the computer may be formatted a different way.

Yes, the TPRH SW passages for Bio (and Orgo for that matter) really are that good. They most closely resembled those on the AAMC practice tests and on my actual exam (5/30). Unlike TBR, they have a ton of experiment based passages and some of the ones that are "high difficulty" were definitely on par with the "ebola passage" on practice test 11. I agree with miss chievous re the ICC. I never touched this book because without sufficient explanations, the passages really are useless. One of the best ways to learn something really is to get the question wrong and then understand why you got it wrong (gap in content, incorrect logic, etc..), and with just an answer key, you cannot learn from your mistakes... So, if I were in your position, I would do all the "high difficulty" TPRH SW passages (usually the last couple passages for every chapter). Just my 2 cents! Good luck!!

Agreed. The experimental passages killed me on my actual exam. I was averaging 13s in BS before my exam, and then bombed the one on the real thing because of 2 experimental passages (AAMC just doesn't have enough of those). TPRH SW has plenty of those.