[Opinions] TBR BIO Passages

[FauxBlue]

I'm using TBR 2009 edition and wow. The bio passages are HARD! I'm getting at least 2-4 wrong within a passage (one time even all )

Is anyone having trouble with these passages? I know TBR is infamous for difficult passages, but am I doing really poorly?? Should I continue to trudge through these passages or use TBR for content review supplement (my main is Kaplan already)???

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[reticence]

I used TBR 2011 and I agree that the passages were tough. I'm not sure if this is true for your edition, but in mine, their passages come after they cover a specific section, which means their questions are a lot more specific than normal. For example, there'd be a chapter on the heart/lungs, then 100 questions just on that.

I did a lot of passages but I didn't put too much stock in my scores.

 

[nomdeplume1234]

5/7 is not bad. I don't think TBR passages are as hard as people make them out to be. It's sort of one of those urban myths that are passed down from generation to generation.

 

[FauxBlue]

I used TBR 2011 and I agree that the passages were tough. I'm not sure if this is true for your edition, but in mine, their passages come after they cover a specific section, which means their questions are a lot more specific than normal. For example, there'd be a chapter on the heart/lungs, then 100 questions just on that.

I did a lot of passages but I didn't put too much stock in my scores.

I agree. It seems like the passages are very specific to the details that were possibly presented in the content review (I didn't use it for content review so I wouldn't know), but would you say that in doing these passages, it has boosted your scores? Is it worth it to read their content review after I've already read through all of Kaplan's????

 

[FauxBlue]

5/7 is not bad. I don't think TBR passages are as hard as people make them out to be. It's sort of one of those urban myths that are passed down from generation to generation.

But if I consistently get 5/7 then for a total of 100 questions that's only 71%

What was your experience with TBR passages?

 

[reticence]

I agree. It seems like the passages are very specific to the details that were possibly presented in the content review (I didn't use it for content review so I wouldn't know), but would you say that in doing these passages, it has boosted your scores? Is it worth it to read their content review after I've already read through all of Kaplan's????

Hard to say. I didn't do much of the biochem-oriented passages but iirc that was more in depth than I needed. A lot of the detail that the TBR passages went into was more than the MCAT needed. I don't think extra practice can do you any harm but they're not the most useful passages.

I didn't use Kaplan so I can't really compare the two.

 

[basophilic]

I didn't find them to be too bad; grueling but doable. With thorough content review, it's not impossible to get in the 80-85% range (at least in my experience); the physiology passages were easier and the hardest ones are the pesky genetics/gene expression ones. However, my biggest annoyance is that very few of them are experimental/research-based - most of them are details you'd already know or from reading the TBR chapter.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

5/7 is not bad. I don't think TBR passages are as hard as people make them out to be. It's sort of one of those urban myths that are passed down from generation to generation.

5/7 is pretty good actually. About 10% of the questions in each book are designed to have people miss them, so that they'll read the answer explanation and get a test tip or mnemonic. I think those 10% help propagate the myth. The remaining 90% of the questions shouldn't be too much harder than the actual MCAT.

I didn't find them to be too bad; grueling but doable. With thorough content review, it's not impossible to get in the 80-85% range (at least in my experience); the physiology passages were easier and the hardest ones are the pesky genetics/gene expression ones. However, my biggest annoyance is that very few of them are experimental/research-based - most of them are details you'd already know or from reading the TBR chapter.

THIS!!! It's true for all of the science review books. A good working knowledge should lead to 80% to 85%, which is superb. Some sections are harder than others, probably due in part to feedback and in part based on the passage writer's background. The person writing some of the genetics is a notoriously difficult test writer (so his students say), while physiology was done in part by some MD-PhDs for side work.