Why does everyone think TBR Bio is too dense?

[R35]

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I just read the first chapter in TBR Bio ("nerve and muscle"), and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Some of my university textbooks were a lot denser than this material.

So what's the deal? I thought TBR bio was definitely manageable; or is it because the MCAT only tests general bio topics?

 

[brood910]

Why are you comparing it to a textbook lol?
It is manageable, but unnecessary. Why would you wanna waste your time on so many unnecessary details?

 

[R35]

Why are you comparing it to a textbook lol?
It is manageable, but unnecessary. Why would you wanna waste your time on so many unnecessary details?

Why not? The MCAT may ask you anything - a small detail could end up costing you a mark. Or am I wrong about this?

 

[Czarcasm]

I just read the first chapter in TBR Bio ("nerve and muscle"), and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Some of my university textbooks were a lot denser than this material.

So what's the deal? I thought TBR bio was definitely manageable; or is it because the MCAT only tests general bio topics?

See if you feel the same way when you get through Book II. Book I was never really an issue. Also, TBR Bio, while very detailed, doesn't do a good job presenting the information in a way that's easy to remember. I think TPRH or EK are better suited for that.

 

[Czarcasm]

Why not? The MCAT may ask you anything - a small detail could end up costing you a mark. Or am I wrong about this?

They wouldn't ask you any small detail. The content they test you on is very broad knowledge that is included on the AAMC outline. Outside of that, it would be presented in a passage. In fact, most answers to questions can be deduced from reasoning passage information.

 

[R35]

They wouldn't ask you any small detail. The content they test you on is very broad knowledge that is included on the AAMC outline. Outside of that, it would be presented in a passage. In fact, most answers to questions can be deduced from reasoning passage information.

So I'm just wasting time then, essentially. Good to know. I'll try to find an EK Bio book and hopefully it's good enough.

 

[txlonghorn2314]

The information from EK bio is literally ALL you need to know. 80% of the bio section tests your ability to follow the passage/experiment and answer questions based on that...you probably won't get a standalone that asks, "What is the structure of alpha-ketoglutarate?"

 

[23premes]

Took the mcat on May 8th. EK was all that was needed. Really.

 

[SOOyC52H1Sof]

If you are a non-science major, EK will just not cut it. I used EK, Princeton, and the first half of Berkley content. The second half of Berkley is absolutely ridiculous.

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[23premes]

If you are a non-science major, EK will just not cut it. I used EK, Princeton, and the first half of Berkley content. The second half of Berkley is absolutely ridiculous.

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Non science major here. If you took bio pre req and maybe human physiology or any upper div bio you will be fine. These are review books! You probably learned all this stuff at some point

 

[christinalouise]

I think they could have included more in the first TBR Bio because there are items on the AAMC MCAT list (like skin, liver, others I'm forgetting) that aren't touched on. The second book is major overkill I think.

 

[R35]

If you are a non-science major, EK will just not cut it. I used EK, Princeton, and the first half of Berkley content. The second half of Berkley is absolutely ridiculous.

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I'm a bio major. I just might switch to EK.

 

[SOOyC52H1Sof]

Non science major here. If you took bio pre req and maybe human physiology or any upper div bio you will be fine. These are review books! You probably learned all this stuff at some point

Okay well I took bio 10 years ago. I guess I had forgotten a good bit of it.

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[23premes]

Okay well I took bio 10 years ago. I guess I had forgotten a good bit of it.

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If that's the case, maybe something more in depth, but EK will be sufficient. Many many people have scored high on that section using just the EK.

 

[Blown Away]

Why not? The MCAT may ask you anything - a small detail could end up costing you a mark. Or am I wrong about this?

Yes you are wrong about this. I'm going to assume you are referring to discrete questions. The point of a discrete is to use what you KNOW to eliminate or choose the answer. Sure, you can get the answer correct if you luckily happened to read that factoid beforehand, but the real point of the discretes is to use information you already know to eliminate answers you KNOW the answer cannot be.

 

[mavric1298]

So would you recommend someone that's taking a TPR prep course replace the Bio with EK for all work done outside the class?

 

[Narmerguy]

Studying bio using TBR bio is the one regret that I have from my MCAT studying. The amount of time I wasted going through that dense textbook could have been spent actually enjoying life. I dreaded every single bio study day because it lasted forever. The passages are also nothing like the actual MCAT and rely way too much on recall of various details that are more commonly embedded in the passage. Stick with EK bio, and I recommend adding www.mcat-review.org for review purposes towards the end.

 

[deleted439911]

General consensus about EK is that it is lacking in material. So if you gonna use it, compare what it is lacking with the material outlined in the AAMC. If I recall correctly, their section on blood clotting (which is emphasized in AAMC outline) is pretty much non-existent, with words such as deals with platelets, and thrombin or something of that sort. So I would highly recommend you augment that with youtube videos or textbook reading whichever you prefer.

 

[Redpancreas]

They wouldn't ask you any small detail. The content they test you on is very broad knowledge that is included on the AAMC outline. Outside of that, it would be presented in a passage. In fact, most answers to questions can be deduced from reasoning passage information.

Careful, some discretes can get pretty random but chances are, reading the TBR books not helping. I recommend EK because they tell you what you need to know. If you haven't taken bio or if it's been a while, use TBR. If you're a bio major, use EK. If you've taken bio but maybe are in a different area of concentration, TPR might be a good option. The thought behind this is that when we take courses, we forgot all the details but hold the big concepts so with TBR, both are given so you can simulate the classroom experience. TPR goes into a bit more depth than EK. Sometimes though, I feel like they make things more difficult than they need be.