MCAT RAFFLE ITEM: 1) Berkeley Review Home-Study Book set 2) Berkeley Review CBT exams

[greathl21]

lol greathl21, you really want to win this don't you?

You mean I really wanna take TBR?!?!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TheCheckmate]

Hi, my question is about your website design.

Although your books are excellent, your website design makes it difficult to order your books.

Are there any immediate plans to update your website?

 

[CluelessAsian]

1.) The payment method for ordering TBR seems pretty arduous. Has Berkeley Review thought about PayPal?

Just a tip: I read from other people's post that the fastest way to order from TBR is to use money order. If you use check, it'll take a few days to clear. And if you use credit card, you'll be charged a fee. But if you're not in a hurry I would use a check so you can check if your bank has cleared the transaction.

 

[Notsobs]

There have been several mentions of office hours for the TBR prep course. What would happen if a student had a packed schedule and could not make the scheduled office hours? I'm assuming that the instructors have set hours each week that students can come in and ask for help. Is it easy to approach instructors to schedule an individual appointment that fits the student's schedule better? The reason I ask is that I would want to be able to ask for help should I need it, but I don't want to be hindered by my schedule.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

How often are CBTs and the books updated. If, for instance, I got through all of them, I don't get in during my first application cycle and subsequently need to retest a couple of years later, will there be entirely new passages to look forward to or have I used up all of my resources? That applies more to the CBTs than the books.

The updates are inspired by the trends in the exam. However, with the MCAT set to change sometime in 2014 (maybe a year later), the only two major changes slated for our books will be a major change in organic chemistry (currently in the works and likely not set for completion until Summer 2012) and a notable change in the general chemistry (rotating out of some old passages and incorporation of some new passages as well as some additional test tips).

The CBTs will get a facelift this upcoming Fall, but how much will depend on feedback between now and then.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

It seems people have already asked what I wanted to ask. Thanks BRTeach for such complete answers. I want to be in the raffle, but I honestly can't think of anything to ask and I don't want to be obvious by asking a question just answered a few posts earlier.

So I'll just ask, "do I have to ask a question to be in the auction?"

I can't begin to express how much I love your post. Needless to say, I underestimated how many one-time posters there would be for the sake of entering the raffle. The same question about CBT updates has been asked three times so far.

To answer your question, no, just a meanignful comment. Good luck in the raffle.

 

[greathl21]

The updates are inspired by the trends in the exam. However, with the MCAT set to change sometime in 2014 (maybe a year later.

Let's just pray that I'm not still looking at MCAT's!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

As someone who is somewhat unfamiliar with TBR books, can you explain the approach to teaching the content they take as opposed to other review books?

For example, I've seen books that have focused more on explaining concepts and teaching the information that might be covered on the MCAT, and others that are more similar to a collection of practice questions.

Where does TBR fall on this continuum, in your view?

For a breakdown of the books, look at the homestudy thread in this forum. That will give you the numbers if you will.

As for the philosophical approach of the books, it's a what you need varies from chapter to chpater type of book. For physics, there are several sample questions that demonstrate math tricks and test-taking strategies in the first book (chapters 1-5) and more concepts and applications in the second book (chapters 6-10). Every chapter has ten passages and 77 questions, divided into a 25-question summary exam and a 52-question practice exam. The most impressive part of our books, where no one in the continuum touches us, is our answer explanations. Our philosphy is that rather than writing one line that say "use equation X. This can be seen on page 1xx," it is far better to write a detailed explanation, even if it's redundant. This is where our students learn, so this is where we put a great deal of our efforts.

The general chemistry and organic chemistry books are similar in this sense, being that they had the same primary author. These books emphasize concepts and learning to answer questions using just a few concepts. All of these books emphasize POE whenever applicable and teach multiple ways to solve various questions.

The biology books are more about exposure to information. Again, like the other books, each chapter is a different and the emphasis varies, but overall it's about processing many terms and concepts. There are about 100 questions per chapter as well as a practice exam at the end of each book.

Our verbal book spends the first fifth of the book going over ideas and strategies and then last four fifths is passages and answer explanations.

So our books are both a review book and a passage book in one. We offer more passages in our books than any of our competitors. I hope I've answered your question.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I'm a little confused. What happens if you run out of print? Are the students who register for the course guaranteed the new edition immediately upon beginning the session or might TBR run out of books (in which case I would buy it on my own now and have the cost attributed towards the course)???

Another print run has already been ordered, so the summer students will get them while they are still warm. As far as books go, you can order them in advance and then apply that money to your course fee (not counting shipping) or you can enroll in the course early and collect your books as soon as you are officially in.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

If we take your classroom course, can we keep the books as well, more subsequent self-study?

Yes, the books are a part of the classroom materials (included in the course cost). There are about an additional 1000 pages of handouts with the course, although much of that is just more passages and explanations.

If you look at the course thread in this forum, you'll see a detailed list of the course materials.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Do you know the average MCAT score for TBR course students? Do you think that people who used the home-study materials are less prepared than those who took the course?

The average seasonal score typically falls between 30 and 31. This is based on a roughly 30% return. Keep in mind that many of our students are at schools where the average scores are above the national average (UCI, UCLA, and UCB students score high on the MCAT). Our students do quite well, I'd like to think primarily because of the course, but fully acknowledge that there are students in the high 30s who would likely have gotten there with the course or with just the books and exams.

As for course versus home-study, I think it depends on the student. For about a third of our students, the class is their salvation and without us they would have done poorly. For another third, we help in terms of motivation and providing structure. We give them a convenient way to get their questions answered and we show them tricks they might not have learned otherwise. For the last third, they could have done the same using the books and tests alone as they did in our course. They benefit from the additional materials they get from the course and the exposure to questions and insights, but the reality is that they are brilliant and would have been doing fine no matter what.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I really have to commend you guys for having the such a wholesome approach to doing things. I can't help but feel like I am working with a moms and pops shop and that definitely means a higher trust/comnfort level.

Now realizing that you don't do guarantees and such, TBR website states that your students do better on average. Are there any statistical numbers that show how your students do compared to other programs??? And how much improvement there is by taking the course?

Thanks for the kind words. Mom-n-pop really describes it well.

As for our students compared to other programs, no one seems to be releasing those scores anymore. So we compare to the national average, and then extrapolate. If you overlap our student's bell curve against the national average, it is mathematically improbable that any program being used by 10% or more of the population would have a higher average than us. The national average has fallen between 24.8 and 25.1 on the CBTs over the years. Our students, albeit most are from strong academic schools that required high SATs (and thus they have shown a propensity to do well on standardized exams), routinely break into the 30s on average. Our claim is based on the idea that if one company prepares over 50% of test takers and the national average is 25, then it's a statistically feasible estimate that their average is in the vicinity of 25.

 

[yankswin2011]

As you know, based on this Forum, Berkeley Review is highly regarded. With respect to your competitors, specifically Exam Krackers and the Princeton Review, what are the strengths and weaknesses of your review course compared to Exam Krackers and Princeton Review.

Additionally, do you expect to sell your books on Amazon? I purchase Exam Krackers and Princeton Review books for the simple reason that it was available on Amazon and with Amazon Prime shipping, I get it in less than 2 days. Price is not an issue. Right now, I'm on the fence with Berkeley Review for the simple reason that it appears to take a long time for shipment.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

1.) The payment method for ordering TBR seems pretty arduous. Has Berkeley Review thought about PayPal?

2.) Verbal is definitely the most difficult section for most test-takers, like me, and there appears to be a consensus against TBR Verbal study material. I still would like to purchase the Verbal workbook and would like to know if it will be updated and improved any time soon.

Thank you for addressing all of our questions.

I understand that in today's culture and marketplace, one-click shopping is a norm and expectation. I wish we had it, because from everything I can see, we are equipped to do it. But there is basically one person against it, and for everyone else it just doesn't matter enough to argue. As for Paypal, it has been brought up and voted down unanimously.

The energy of recent years for verbal reasoning has all been dedicated to the excercises in the in-class portion. The book has taken a back seat, and likely won't be on target for an upgrade until the two chemistry books are done. The truth of the matter is that we know we are in third place in terms of verbal book popularity, but at the same time know that our classroom students do fine on verbal (averaging in the 9.0 to 9.8 range).

One of our former verbal teachers (the best one we've ever had) has been working on a book of his own for a few years, and if it ever makes it to print, I'd be willing to bet it will quickly become the top book on the market. That is the one I personally hope to see make it, because I know how good of a teacher he is and thus know how good of a book he could write.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hi, my question is about your website design.

Although your books are excellent, your website design makes it difficult to order your books.

Are there any immediate plans to update your website?

Man do I wish!!!

As with any company, small or large, bartering and politicking dictate who gets assigned what tasks. The webpage fell into the lap of someone back in 1997 who put in hours and hours to learn what was current web design at that time. For twelve years now, every person in the company, thousands of students, tons of phone callers, and even a relative have strongly suggested an upgrade. I'm not sure why it's remained in the state it has for so long, but I'm guessing there's always a more enjoyable task on his plate than updating the webpage.

So we continue to lose business because of our lack of click-n-order. But when you think about it, printing a form and mailing it in adds about two to five days depending on where you are. Once that form arrives, it gets processed the same as if it had been a click-n-order submission. Those two to five days seem pretty important to some lost customers, but in the big picture it seems like a small price to pay to get the best materials available. I'm guessing that people may not like the idea of ordering like we used to do way back in the 90s, but they know it still works.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

There have been several mentions of office hours for the TBR prep course. What would happen if a student had a packed schedule and could not make the scheduled office hours? I'm assuming that the instructors have set hours each week that students can come in and ask for help. Is it easy to approach instructors to schedule an individual appointment that fits the student's schedule better? The reason I ask is that I would want to be able to ask for help should I need it, but I don't want to be hindered by my schedule.

Office hours during the school year are a mix of set weekly hours and some flexible hours that vary week to week based on student requests. Some instructors do appointments while others will set times based on requests, but have them open to anyone who can attend. In the summer, they are generally flexible for pretty much every instructor, although a few have set weekly hours.

If you need to customize your office hours from tiem to time, I'm sure it will work for the most part (not every week, but most weeks), as long as you don't pick hours like 6AM.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

As you know, based on this Forum, Berkeley Review is highly regarded. With respect to your competitors, specifically Exam Krackers and the Princeton Review, what are the strengths and weaknesses of your review course compared to Exam Krackers and Princeton Review.

Additionally, do you expect to sell your books on Amazon? I purchase Exam Krackers and Princeton Review books for the simple reason that it was available on Amazon and with Amazon Prime shipping, I get it in less than 2 days. Price is not an issue. Right now, I'm on the fence with Berkeley Review for the simple reason that it appears to take a long time for shipment.

I know essentially nothing about the Exam Krackers review course, as I don't believe they operate in the same locations as we do. Hence, I can't really compare. As for Princeton Review, I personally have a great deal of respect for their program in our areas, and see them as our most serious competitor. The office manager in Los Angeles is one of the most decent human beings you will ever meet and the Director in Orange County is an absolute pleasure to be around.

Our strengths at the moment would have to be the experience and high quality of our teachers. We have been extremely lucky to keep our teaching and tutoring staff intact the last few years. The other advantage we have over everyone is that we only do MCAT, so everything we do (all our strategies for instance) is geared 100% to the MCAT. While SAT and LSAT may be their bread and butter (and from what I understand, they do an excellent job at both), MCAT is our only meal of any kind, so we make it our job to always stay current.

I think the thing that sets us apart from everyone is that we never forget it's a multiple-choice exam that emphasizes thinking and strategies. We don't bog students down with lists of what to memorize, because that's not what the exam is about (it never has been). We teach how to think your way through questions and apply concepts to seemingly new situations.

As for ordering, I don't believe we'll be using Amazon anytime soon. I'm glad they were able to fulfill your order so quickly (I've never been so lucky as a two-day fulfillment, even with expedited shipment), and if that's the most important factor in your choice, then we will never meet your expectations. I might suggest that whatever Amazon may have for Princeton Review might be on the shelf at a local bookstore, and you could get it even faster by a direct purchase.

As for Berkeley Review books, once your order is received, it will be two days to get it to you, but there is no means to order which would facilitate us getting your order in less than two days. We fill orders as they come.

 

[E27]

Hey BerkReviewTeach,

Thanks for answering all of our questions. I have one as well, which has been a concern of mine while preparing to study for the MCAT:

Some people have said that TBR's Bio review books are too detailed,which makes it difficult to grasp all of the material presented within each chapter. How would you recommend overcoming this great amount of detail so we can better prepare ourselves for the bio portion of the test? Obviously it is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, but I was a bit overwhelmed while looking @ a friend's TBR bio book.

Thanks!
--E

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hey BerkReviewTeach,

Thanks for answering all of our questions. I have one as well, which has been a concern of mine while preparing to study for the MCAT:

Some people have said that TBR's Bio review books are too detailed,which makes it difficult to grasp all of the material presented within each chapter. How would you recommend overcoming this great amount of detail so we can better prepare ourselves for the bio portion of the test? Obviously it is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, but I was a bit overwhelmed while looking @ a friend's TBR bio book.

Thanks!
--E

There are two typical comments at SDN about the biology section. One is that our biology books are heavy on details and the other is that one of our competitor's books is missing a few things that appeared on a recent MCAT. After that, there are typically replies that the test has gotten harder and that our book helps prepare for the challenging passages really well. There are also posts defending our competitor's book that the bio sci section is like verbal in that you can get everything from the passage, and that their book was good enough. These comments are frequent enough that I strongly believe both to be true. Both books work well, but an ideal book would be a hybrid of the two. Unfortunately, that book doesn't exist. But a student with the combination of the two books can create the perfect book.

As far as BR bio text goes, I love the Nerve and Muscle chapter, the Heart and Lung chapter, the GI Tract and Kidney chapter, and the Cellular Function chapter. I thought that was the perfect amount of detail integrated with applications and concepts. I felt the Reproduction and Development chapter and the two Genetic chapters were good, but pushed a few more details than I wanted. The Metabolic Components and Metabolic Pathways chapters were the ones that made me wish for a Sparksnotes version. That's where a combination of books would help. Do the detailed chapters first and then review with the short book.

As far as passages go, BR has some that are superb. The great thing about the biology books is that the passages were written by multiple writers with a wide range of backgrounds, so you'll find a broad cross section of styles and expectations. There are some very easy passages in the books followed by complete mind twisters. I personally think that is the best apsect of the biology materials. The MCAT is a moving target, which explains why some people swear by the concise approach and others swear by the details are good approach. I think you need to balance both approaches. In the end, our book has great utility when used in conjunction with another book.

 

[greathl21]

Is the staff at TBR aware of the negative outlook that people have about the verbal book and what are they doing to rectify the situation. Every other subject is considered amongst the best in the industry and I'm curious as to what TBR is doing to reach that same level on the verbal? Why has it been a struggle?

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Is the staff at TBR aware of the negative outlook that people have about the verbal book and what are they doing to rectify the situation. Every other subject is considered amongst the best in the industry and I'm curious as to what TBR is doing to reach that same level on the verbal? Why has it been a struggle?

Very poignant question! We are well aware that premeds who do their homework know that our physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry books are the best and our biology book is in the running for best or second best. There is a deep sense of pride in this.

But our verbal is not on the same plane as our science books, and many students wonder why. I think the answer is found in two parts. This subject is discussed behind the scenes quite often. The basic gist is that (a) everyone in the company is well aware that the market place perceives our verbal book as a distant third best and (b) the mindset of everyone in the company is that we are a teaching company first and a book seller second.

We review how our classroom students do in the various subjects each year, and their verbal averages are in the 9.0 to 9.8 range. So while book buyers don't choose our verbal book, the combination of our book with the in-class handouts, exercises, and teaching is getting good results. Our conlusion is that the combination of our verbal materials and course is effective. So any changes we make are aimed at the classroom materials, some of which in time will get incorporated into our books. But as I mentioned in a reply to another question, the energy of recent years for verbal reasoning has all been dedicated to the excercises in the in-class portion and not the book.

So the verbal book gets the least love. The ironic thing is that the verbal book was the most challenging to develop, because of the large number of passage writers and the number of passages that got rejected. I personally think the problem stems from the editor, because there are some excellent passages and ideas in the book. But he set out to blend everything into a uniform voice by putting in his take. When he did this, some of the nuances of other writers were lost and some explanations became too long to stay interested in. Still, there are some great, realistic passages in the book.

I don't see that editor leaving anytime soon, so my honest answer is that the book will likely not change for a while. Someone else is in charge of the classroom material, so that will continue to evolve with feedback. The book is useful for people looking for additional passages, and there are students who find it helpful. I think it suffers from the little sibbling syndrome in that it looks bad compared to how great the other BR books are. But there is definitely utility in it if you know how to use it and can put aside any preconceived bias towards it.

 

[greathl21]

Very poignant question! We are well aware that premeds who do their homework know that our physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry books are the best and our biology book is in the running for best or second best. There is a deep sense of pride in this.

But our verbal is not on the same plane as our science books, and many students wonder why. I think the answer is found in two parts. This subject is discussed behind the scenes quite often. The basic gist is that (a) everyone in the company is well aware that the market place perceives our verbal book as a distant third best and (b) the mindset of everyone in the company is that we are a teaching company first and a book seller second.

We review how our classroom students do in the various subjects each year, and their verbal averages are in the 9.0 to 9.8 range. So while book buyers don't choose our verbal book, the combination of our book with the in-class handouts, exercises, and teaching is getting good results. Our conlusion is that the combination of our verbal materials and course is effective. So any changes we make are aimed at the classroom materials, some of which in time will get incorporated into our books. But as I mentioned in a reply to another question, the energy of recent years for verbal reasoning has all been dedicated to the excercises in the in-class portion and not the book.

So the verbal book gets the least love. The ironic thing is that the verbal book was the most challenging to develop, because of the large number of passage writers and the number of passages that got rejected. I personally think the problem stems from the editor, because there are some excellent passages and ideas in the book. But he set out to blend everything into a uniform voice by putting in his take. When he did this, some of the nuances of other writers were lost and some explanations became too long to stay interested in. Still, there are some great, realistic passages in the book.

I don't see that editor leaving anytime soon, so my honest answer is that the book will likely not change for a while. Someone else is in charge of the classroom material, so that will continue to evolve with feedback. The book is useful for people looking for additional passages, and there are students who find it helpful. I think it suffers from the little sibbling syndrome in that it looks bad compared to how great the other BR books are. But there is definitely utility in it if you know how to use it and can put aside any preconceived bias towards it.

Thank you. I think speaking on behalf of everyone else we really appreciate your honest, insightful, and straightforward response to all of our questions. It really helps eliminate any anxiety we may have about deciding on a course provider/study plan. The only bone I have to pick with anything above is that BR students generally score higher on the other subjects...but then again, everyone does worse on the verbal so that could be the simple explanation for why students do worse on the verbal.

 

[atang]

Will TBR be expanding their courses onto the east coast anytime soon? Also, is it possible to score in the 30s on the MCAT if you only use TBR to prepare?

 

[mzblue]

If you look in the 30+ thread, you'll see people who used TBR. Erskine (i hope i got the spelling right) used it and scored a 39. There are others who scored in the 30s as well. Honestly, the books are more than you need for the mcat.

Will TBR be expanding their courses onto the east coast anytime soon? Also, is it possible to score in the 30s on the MCAT if you only use TBR to prepare?

 

[mzblue]

Phase 1 seems to test the stuff you learned. Phase 2 can incorporate something from a different lecture so i feel like it tests understanding of the material.
Compared to the mcat i took last august, i'll say for the sciences, there were certain chem and physics passages that made me happy i prepped with TBR. I think TBR passages are on par with the mcat passages although some mcat passages are easier and don't require much thought. For the difficult science passages, it was deja vu cuz i'd seen similar stuff. For ochem 2 stuff, i could've sworn they looked in the TBR ochem book to make those questions. Sadly, i skimmed through the thing once.

I didn't use their bio book much last year because it wasn't recommended highly on SDN but i've been using it this year and i have to say i love it. I feel like it ties the pieces together in great way. The passages can be killer at times but i feel like i'm getting a hang of it.

Sadly, i didn't prep much for verbal. i did 3 chapters in EK 101 and i was stuck at 9. This time, i'm using different material for verbal and i haven't gone below a 12. With more practice, i'm praying to consistently score in the 14s or 15. The sky is the limit

Question: are the phase 1 and 2 passages in the book comparable to the real difficulty of the MCAT passages or are they harder/easier?

Thanks!

 

[Big Dog]

I never really understood what exactly the term "and handling" meant..

Totally off point, but S&H is not subject to state sales tax in California, where Shipping alone is....(the 'handling' part is a labor charge which companies may add and labor is exempt from sales tax).

back to regularly scheduled programming.....

 

[birdy826]

In terms of the Berkeley Review products available, can you currently download the CBT tests online or is it in CD format?

 

[Aspen D]

When we do the essays for the TBR CBT are they graded by a TBR instructor or what?

Do we have a limit on how many times we can take each CBT?

Also, does TBR do video explanations of CBT answers (similar to Kaplan)?

 

[Quester]

I really really reeeeeally want those TBR books and I've been looking for easiest ways to get a of those books but I don't know how money order works since I'm up from North. Could you tell me how I go on about doing that? Do I need actual American dollars to get the money order?

In addition, I've seen an advertisement for TBR "e-books". I checked for them on the website but couldn't find them. Do these e-books even exist?

 

[ClueBooM]

In addition, I've seen an advertisement for TBR "e-books". I checked for them on the website but couldn't find them. Do these e-books even exist?

If you ever see someone selling you TBR e-books, report them to BerkReviewTeach or email [email protected]


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=763839

 

[Gko]

That actually hasn't been asked yet, so thanks for an original question. Shipping is free. I never really understood what exactly the term "and handling" meant, but that's free too.

Well, if I'm paying you good money to ship your wonderful books to me, I'd expect them to be handled, from the printing press to the truck, with terry cloth gloves and given a shiny, freshly waxed cover, good sir!

Anyway, I'm about a year away from taking the MCAT's (Taking post-bac courses and still need to go through OChem and Bio) but I've been thinking of going over a lot of Physics and Gen Chem passages in your books so as to keep the material fresh and to make test-taking passages nearly second nature. Would you recommend this with your materials or are they made to be specifically used as a program? Thanks senor!

Cheers!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Will TBR be expanding their courses onto the east coast anytime soon? Also, is it possible to score in the 30s on the MCAT if you only use TBR to prepare?

There are no plans at this time for expansion beyond our current three locations. You figure, we've been around for twenty years and haven't expanded, so it's not likely we'll be doing it. Sorry!

As for getting a 30 with the books, if you follow a solid study regimen, there's no reason why not. If you look at the official MCAT threads for posts about thrity days after the test date, you'll see people posting there scores. There are literally hundreds of people at SDN who have gotten 30 and higher using our materials.

But the reality is that most people here that study on their own (or even some that take a review course) use a hybrid mixture of materials, many of which are from BR.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

In terms of the Berkeley Review products available, can you currently download the CBT tests online or is it in CD format?

We have a dedicated website for taking the practice exams. The site is absolutely state of the art and has not crashed in its four and a half years. Pretty much the polar opposite of our company website.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

When we do the essays for the TBR CBT are they graded by a TBR instructor or what?

Do we have a limit on how many times we can take each CBT?

Also, does TBR do video explanations of CBT answers (similar to Kaplan)?

Homestudy has no essay grading. For the classroom course, the writing instructor will grade essays you submit to him or her, which could include the essays from the CBT exam.

You can access the CBT exams as many times as you like in your 45 day window, as long as you take them from the same computer. You actually can use a second computer, but if you use a third computer, your account gets automatically frozen. It can be unfrozen if you explain to us the scenario that necessitated a third computer (which happens quite often). It's not recommended to take them more than once, given that you'll recall many of the questions. It's good to review them though, which is why your answer is stored once you complete the exam. Having an answer already selected sort of ruins taking the exam a second time.

The home-study course has no video explanations.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I really really reeeeeally want those TBR books and I've been looking for easiest ways to get a of those books but I don't know how money order works since I'm up from North. Could you tell me how I go on about doing that? Do I need actual American dollars to get the money order?

In addition, I've seen an advertisement for TBR "e-books". I checked for them on the website but couldn't find them. Do these e-books even exist?

The easiest thing to do is get an international postal money order. They're cheaper than the bank. But you're going to get nailed on the shipping tarriffs.

Also, if you could forward the information you have about the illegal e-books, it would be highly appreciated. It could be useful in a current situation if it ends up the tracer code on the e-books you mentioned matches.

It's completely illegal for people to buy, sell, or possess those e-books. Luckily most copies keep a record of where they started and every computer that has touched them. It's been interesting to say the least and has actually resulted in some strange bonding between competitors in this industry.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Well, if I'm paying you good money to ship your wonderful books to me, I'd expect them to be handled, from the printing press to the truck, with terry cloth gloves and given a shiny, freshly waxed cover, good sir!

Anyway, I'm about a year away from taking the MCAT's (Taking post-bac courses and still need to go through OChem and Bio) but I've been thinking of going over a lot of Physics and Gen Chem passages in your books so as to keep the material fresh and to make test-taking passages nearly second nature. Would you recommend this with your materials or are they made to be specifically used as a program? Thanks senor!

Cheers!

Keep in mind that we are a Berkeley-based company. All of our books are handled by Berkenstock wearing, long-haired hippies that rarely bathe using hands that recently cleaned out the composter or engaged in the processing of crops that were farmed indoors. Is that close enough to terry-clothed sweatshop employees?

Your plan is a good one if... (1) you do the chapters and the questions within the text portion, but save your passages until you're actually studying and (2) you set a schedule even for your light reviewing period. Perhaps you could do a few of the passages in each chapter, but you should save two-thirds of them for later use.

I'd also suggest using the bio and o chem books concurrently with your classes, because there are some useful tricks in them that might just help with the recall of the mammoth amount of random facts they'll be throwing at you in those classes.

 

[greathl21]

It's completely illegal for people to buy, sell, or possess those e-books. Luckily most copies keep a record of where they started and every computer that has touched them. It's been interesting to say the least and has actually resulted in some strange bonding between competitors in this industry.

These ebooks remind me of the pdf solutions manuals that used to get passed around in my undergrad courses.

 

[Wolfman89]

Yes, the books are a part of the classroom materials (included in the course cost). There are about an additional 1000 pages of handouts with the course, although much of that is just more passages and explanations.

If you look at the course thread in this forum, you'll see a detailed list of the course materials.

Thank you!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Thank you. I think speaking on behalf of everyone else we really appreciate your honest, insightful, and straightforward response to all of our questions. It really helps eliminate any anxiety we may have about deciding on a course provider/study plan. The only bone I have to pick with anything above is that BR students generally score higher on the other subjects...but then again, everyone does worse on the verbal so that could be the simple explanation for why students do worse on the verbal.

Thank you so very much for your kind words. They mean a great deal. Admittedly, I have read through some of the Test Prep Week postings for the other companies. As I read some of them I thought to myself, "I hope we (our company and everyone who works there) never, ever sounds like that." The arogance and/or blatant focus on sales makes me cringe, and I sincerely hope we never come across like that. I think because the owners still teach and thus know every student personally, it's not really possible to adopt that corporate feel. We have been very lucky in our twenty years in this business, and have been blessed with the chance to work with some incredible human beings. The list of what some of our former students have accomplished as doctors and community leaders is astounding, and it's an honor they let us play a small role in their path. We are proud and competitive in what we do, but I also hope we remain honorable and appreciative of you, the students. Without you, we don't exist.

But I digress. You have a valid bone to pick. The average score in verbal reasoning is always lower than the two science sections on all of the released AAMC data, so you are right that its the hardest section. Our scores have always matched this. Perhaps it's in part due to the large percentage of our students that are ESL, but that still eats at our competitive side. Nothing hurts me as a teacher as much as hearing from a student who got great science scores (teens or so) and an 8 or 9 in verbal reasoning. I guess any combination of two teens with a single digit hurts us, because we live the anxiety with our students.

I really want to thank you for your input, questions, and sincere comments. They help drive this thread in the right direction, and it's obvious you are here for more than just the dropping of your name in the raffle. I really appreciate that.

 

[yankswin2011]

Does the Berkeley Review sell their books at the Westwood office and if so, what are the operating hours and days of the Westwood office, thanks.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Does the Berkeley Review sell their books at the Westwood office and if so, what are the operating hours and days of the Westwood office, thanks.

You can buy books directly from the Westwood location, which will save you the outrageous FedEx shipping charges.

It's by appointment, because although the office may be open, if there is a class going on or it's a teacher's office hours, then they don't do book sales. I'll PM you the email address of the office manager, and you can contact him directly. It's not that it's terribly private, but I'm one of those sticklers for rules who actually read some of the membership agreement at SDN and knows I'm not supposed to post email addresses. At least I think that's what it said.

 

[CluelessAsian]

For someone who hasn't finished taking all the premed *prerequisite courses, would the books be sufficient enough to understand what would be on the MCAT? I'm asking because I haven't taken the ochem 2 and physics 2 but planning to take the MCAT April next year. Thank you.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

For someone who hasn't finished taking all the premed *prerequisite courses, would the books be sufficient enough to understand what would be on the MCAT? I'm asking because I haven't taken the ochem 2 and physics 2 but planning to take the MCAT April next year. Thank you.

My kneejerk response is yes, keeping in mind that the level of understanding for the MCAT is less than the level needed for college classes. However, the answer is generic and the true answer depends on you. If you took high school physics or you have an innate feel for physics, then the books will be ideal for you. If you haven't taken high school physics and struggle in general with physics, then you really should wait until you've finsihed that class to worry about the MCAT.

As for second semester organic chemistry, the material varies so much from college to college. You need a good working knowledge of carbonyl reactions and o chem intuition when it comes to mechanisms and sysnthesis. You also need to get the basics of biochemistry down (amino acids and sugars). Those are the topics from the second semester that are MCAT tested (going by the syllabus I recall). Again, the feasibility of learning from the books comes back to you. The books are certainly detailed enough and clear in presentation to work, but it will take time. The second semester of organic chemistry is a mountain of information, so make plenty of time.

 

[mzblue]

Ochem 2, yes. The material is all in there. Sadly, most people tell you mcat test the basic ochem 1 stuff but pretty much most of the ochem stuff i saw where stuff i'd seen in TBR ochem book 2. Problem is i went through it once and was fuzzy on some of the stuff. You'll definately need to go through it more than once. Physics 2? not sure. i did use TBR to help me understand sound when took physics 2 online and that was after desperately looking into other books. I haven't gone through their electricity and magnetism chapter yet so it's hard to make a complete judgement.

if you're taking the mcat next year? i suggest you finish up the classes this year. While I took physics 2 long ago and while i didn't remember much when i took it recently, some things did come back. Don't rush into the MCAT, it'll always be there. Make sure you're ready before you take it.

For someone who hasn't finished taking all the premed *prerequisite courses, would the books be sufficient enough to understand what would be on the MCAT? I'm asking because I haven't taken the ochem 2 and physics 2 but planning to take the MCAT April next year. Thank you.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Ochem 2, yes. The material is all in there. Sadly, most people tell you mcat test the basic ochem 1 stuff but pretty much most of the ochem stuff i saw where stuff i'd seen in TBR ochem book 2. Problem is i went through it once and was fuzzy on some of the stuff. You'll definately need to go through it more than once. Physics 2? not sure. i did use TBR to help me understand sound when took physics 2 online and that was after desperately looking into other books. I haven't gone through their electricity and magnetism chapter yet so it's hard to make a complete judgement.

if you're taking the mcat next year? i suggest you finish up the classes this year. While I took physics 2 long ago and while i didn't remember much when i took it recently, some things did come back. Don't rush into the MCAT, it'll always be there. Make sure you're ready before you take it.

Thanks so much for your input. Exactly what is covered on each MCAT is so unpredictable, and the more feedback from specific experiences people have, the more they are able to realize this. The O chem is hardly tested comments that frequently appear can be detrimental if taken too seriously. The O Chem on the MCAT, like everything else, is a scatter plot of easy to difficult material, ranging from the early material in the first semester to the latest material in the last semester. It's all fair game.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Totally off point, but S&H is not subject to state sales tax in California, where Shipping alone is....(the 'handling' part is a labor charge which companies may add and labor is exempt from sales tax).

back to regularly scheduled programming.....

Thanks for the insight. I was being a smart aleck at the time, and low and behold I learned something. So basically the sweatshop labor force that assembles our book sets don't add to the customer's price.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Thank you!

Thank you for your question. They are all appreciated.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

These ebooks remind me of the pdf solutions manuals that used to get passed around in my undergrad courses.

I guess there will always be dishonest people. I tend to think that in the premedical and medical community honor has a higher premium (people dealing with lives have a greater respect for humanity), and it's rare that these cases pop up. But when they do, they are a pain.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

If you ever see someone selling you TBR e-books, report them to BerkReviewTeach or email [email protected]


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=763839

Thank you so much! The integrity you and so many others show is inspirational.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Thread Summary​

Thanks to so many of you for your great questions. I had no idea that the Berkeley Review thread would hit a third page (maybe fourth). It says a great deal that the next three closest competitor threads combined have about the same amount of posts as the BR section. I knew BR was popular, but this is quite an honor and we thank you.

There have been some repeat questions, so it seemed like a good idea to offer a summary of the highlights from that thread so far. I assume many people won't want to read through three pages of posts, so here are the key messages that have been posted so far (minus duplicate questions). They are in no particular order (actually, they are in a semi-particular order because I started to group them by topic before getting bored and stopping half way.)

As someone who is somewhat unfamiliar with TBR books, can you explain the approach to teaching the content they take as opposed to other review books?

For example, I've seen books that have focused more on explaining concepts and teaching the information that might be covered on the MCAT, and others that are more similar to a collection of practice questions.

Where does TBR fall on this continuum, in your view?

For a breakdown of the books, look at the home-study thread in this forum. That will give you the numbers if you will.

As for the philosophical approach of the books, it's a what you need varies from chapter to chapter type of book. For physics, there are several sample questions that demonstrate math tricks and test-taking strategies in the first book (chapters 1-5) and more concepts and applications in the second book (chapters 6-10). Every chapter has ten passages and 77 questions, divided into a 25-question summary exam and a 52-question practice exam. The most impressive part of our books, where no one in the continuum touches us, is our answer explanations. Our philosophy is that rather than writing one line that say "use equation X. This can be seen on page 1xx," it is far better to write a detailed explanation, even if it's redundant. This is where our students learn, so this is where we put a great deal of our efforts.

The general chemistry and organic chemistry books are similar in this sense, being that they had the same primary author. These books emphasize concepts and learning to answer questions using just a few concepts. All of these books emphasize POE whenever applicable and teach multiple ways to solve various questions.

The biology books are more about exposure to information. Again, like the other books, each chapter is a different and the emphasis varies, but overall it's about processing many terms and concepts. There are about 100 questions per chapter as well as a practice exam at the end of each book.

Our verbal book spends the first fifth of the book going over ideas and strategies and then last four fifths is passages and answer explanations.

So our books are both a review book and a passage book in one. We offer more passages in our books than any of our competitors. I hope I've answered your question.

How much more effective are your products as compared to other review sets?

Reply from mzblue

• Great books for content review and practice especially if you're like me who's been away from the material for 8years. Their material is in-depth and covers all the basics and more. They have tons of practice passages at the end of each chapter.

Reply from TXKnight

• To answer a question or two posted here regarding the effctivity of BR books. I will start by saying that even though i have not taken the MCAT yet i can tell you that my grasp of the topics has increased dramatically. I have been out of school for several years (aprox. 9) and these book helped me remember and understand (in occasions better) the topics as well as develop test intuition. This is work in progress since I am almost done with my content review and will be taking the test in April but so far, a great experience.

Your question could get the generic one sentence answer or a detailed reply that could take ten to fifteen pages. I'll stay to the less is more philosophy here. To do well at the MCAT, there really are only two things you need to. First, practice with plenty of realistic passages. Second, review those passages in detail as you read through the answer explanations and make adjustments to either your test-taking skills or you knowledge base to assure that you'll get questions like those correct in the future.

Our materials are built with those two ideas in mind. Our books come with more passages than anything else on the market, BY FAR! Our explanations are detailed, often explaining a question from a straight-forward use your information to find a right answer mentality as well as a POE (process of elimination) mentality that applies several test-taking strategies. Our answer explanations are second to none.

That said, might I suggest you take advantage of some of the other forums at SDN to read about materials. You'll find that the majority of older posters here will suggest using a mixture of different materials. During this week, I endorse just one product. But the reality is that there are several great materials out there, and we are a part of a package that includes materials from three to four vendors.

How many passages would you say the TBR comes with compared to other companies?

What makes our books quite different is that they are not textbooks; they are workbooks. They have review material, but it's integrated with several multiple-choice sample questions. You need multiple-choice questions rather than fill-in-the-blank questions. Our review section is followed by ten to fifteen passages at the end of every chapter (for the exact number in each book, consult this thread). Everything is contained in one book. I know most other companies have a separate textbook and question book. Because we are run by teachers, we have a very different philosophy to business and learning. That's an easy way to tell which books were designed and written by teachers as opposed to designed by a business manager and written by someone else.

So to answer your question, there are more passages in our books than the review books of any two companies combined. The other key point is that roughly 85% of our questions are associated with a passage, which is essential given that about 82% of the questions on the MCAT are associated with a passage.

Asking for CBT only:

With the CBT, how much have the TBR exams undergone changes in recent years? I know that the books have constantly been revised, and as someone who used old TBR books on the first time and the new one now, there are definitely differences. But what about CBT? Have the questions been revised to reflect the topics emphasized in the recent MCAT (i.e. very integrative and less on rote memorization)?

Great question. The honest answer is that we've sat on our duffs since January of 2010. We made changes to the exams every Fall (2007, 2008, and 2009) to some extent (changed out a passage here and there, threw out some questions, and expanded some explanations). We actually have about eleven and a half exams worth of passages on that server but only nine CBTs at any given time (seven for home study and all nine for in-class).

Part of not changing this last Fall had to do with a focus on upgrading the system to be more compatible with multiple browsers (before it was Firefox pretty much exclusively) and part was the realization that we had arrived at the place we wanted to be with our exams. Our tests have a full range of passages now, from easy to hard, weird to completely predictable, and straight-forward to wild mixtures of topics. Students last year said they felt quite prepared for the exam, so based on that feedback we decided to sit out this cycle of change.

The great thing about the people at AAMC is that they've written an exam that rewards thinking and only to a small extent a large knowledge base. It's an excellent exam, that you can't study for in traditional ways. If you read the AAMC's Official Guide to the MCAT, it says it as plain as day. That is an absolutely fabulous book that EVERYONE should get. It demystifies the exam by presenting an honest perspective of exactly what the test is about. We completely trust their wisdom.

If we take your classroom course, can we keep the books as well, more subsequent self-study?

Yes, the books are a part of the classroom materials (included in the course cost). There are about an additional 1000 pages of handouts with the course, although much of that is just more passages and explanations.

If you look at the course thread in this forum, you'll see a detailed list of the course materials.

Do the Berkley Review CBTs provide detailed content analysis, similar to the AAMC practice tests, to help identify weak areas for review?

Not at all. We stopped using exams to identify weak areas years ago, because it was causing our students to panic and focus in areas they shouldn't have focused. Often times students would get a question incorrect (like a graph question for instance) not because they didn't know the topic, but because they didn't read the axis right. So they'd get feedback that they didn't know the material when in fact they did. What we count on is the best feedback system around, and that's the test taker. Only you know why you missed a question, and whether you know the material well. That's where the answer explanation becomes huge.

What our exams provide better than anyone is detailed answer explanations that include tips on either the material, test taking strategies, or both. So rather than you concluding from a missed question that you don't know buoyancy well and then you going back to your review text to read more about buoyancy, our answer explanation talks about buoyancy, relevant concepts and equations, and then addresses how to answer the question time efficiently. There is then no need to go back to your study materials unless you failed to recognize the terminology in the question and answer explanation.

The score reports are a pretty gimmick, but when you think about it, wouldn't it be far more time efficient to have an answer explanation that fills any gaps you may have than simply telling you that you have a gap?

What do you mean by at least 45 days? Do you lose access to them at some point?

The accounts are set up to be open for a minimum of 45 days and likely around 50 days. Access is lost at some point. You can change that opening date if you feel it is necessary, but by having a window of usage time, it forces a test taker to use the exams seriously and not waste them by using them like a practice book. Why would anyone need to access practice exams longer than 45 days? If the answer is because you postponed your exam, then postpone your access window too. But if the answer is because you want to do one exam early as a diagnostic exam, it's not a good move. We as a company completely disagree with the utility of starting with an exam and feel that diagnostic exams are misleading.

Here is a blurp from another post that explains this philosophy:

• An effective plan starts with honestly assessing what YOU need. Not all of us come from the same educational background, have the same intuition and logic, and pick up concepts at the same rate. Knowing yourself is the first step to establishing the perfect study plan. Counting on a diagnostic exam to determine your strengths and weaknesses is crazy, yet many people do this. For an exam to be truly diagnostic of all of the concepts, equations, and terms on the two science sections of the MCAT would require well over a thousand questions. The other problem with diagnostic exams is that we often miss questions on material we know (and know well) because of the style of the question, not the content. The result is that diagnostic feedback based on one or two questions in a subject area is misleading. Lucky guessing or low question difficulty could give you a false sense of understanding in a trouble spot as much as a careless error or high question difficulty could give you a false sense of need in a strong subject. The bottom line is that you need to assess your abilities, because you know yourself better than anyone. No matter what the one question involving a titration curve on a commercial diagnostic exam tells you about your understanding of titrations (either you know it 100% or 0%), you know best whether or not you know that subject well.
  
  So rather than starting with an exam, start with either the table of contents in the review books or the list of topics from the Official MCAT Guideline released by AAMC. Go through the lists for each subject topic-by-topic and identify areas that have traditionally bothered you, decide how much content review you need (most students overestimate this), consider how good you are at multiple-choice exams, and figure out how well you learn from doing practice exams. From there you can layout a personalized schedule.

There have been several mentions of office hours for the TBR prep course. What would happen if a student had a packed schedule and could not make the scheduled office hours? I'm assuming that the instructors have set hours each week that students can come in and ask for help. Is it easy to approach instructors to schedule an individual appointment that fits the student's schedule better? The reason I ask is that I would want to be able to ask for help should I need it, but I don't want to be hindered by my schedule.

Office hours during the school year are a mix of set weekly hours and some flexible hours that vary week to week based on student requests. Some instructors do appointments while others will set times based on requests, but have them open to anyone who can attend. In the summer, they are generally flexible for pretty much every instructor, although a few have set weekly hours.

Some people have said that TBR's Bio review books are too detailed, which makes it difficult to grasp all of the material presented within each chapter. How would you recommend overcoming this great amount of detail so we can better prepare ourselves for the bio portion of the test? Obviously it is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, but I was a bit overwhelmed while looking @ a friend's TBR bio book.

Thanks!
--E

There are two typical comments at SDN about the biology section. One is that our biology books are heavy on details and the other is that one of our competitor's books is missing a few things that appeared on a recent MCAT. After that, there are typically replies that the test has gotten harder and that our book helps prepare for the challenging passages really well. There are also posts defending our competitor's book that the bio sci section is like verbal in that you can get everything from the passage, and that their book was good enough. These comments are frequent enough that I strongly believe both to be true. Both books work well, but an ideal book would be a hybrid of the two. Unfortunately, that book doesn't exist. But a student with the combination of the two books can create the perfect book.

As far as BR bio text goes, I love the Nerve and Muscle chapter, the Heart and Lung chapter, the GI Tract and Kidney chapter, and the Cellular Function chapter. I thought that was the perfect amount of detail integrated with applications and concepts. I felt the Reproduction and Development chapter and the two Genetic chapters were good, but pushed a few more details than I wanted. The Metabolic Components and Metabolic Pathways chapters were the ones that made me wish for a Sparksnotes version. That's where a combination of books would help. Do the detailed chapters first and then review with the short book.

As far as passages go, BR has some that are superb. The great thing about the biology books is that the passages were written by multiple writers with a wide range of backgrounds, so you'll find a broad cross section of styles and expectations. There are some very easy passages in the books followed by complete mind twisters. I personally think that is the best apsect of the biology materials. The MCAT is a moving target, which explains why some people swear by the concise approach and others swear by the details are good approach. I think you need to balance both approaches. In the end, our book has great utility when used in conjunction with another book.

Is the staff at TBR aware of the negative outlook that people have about the verbal book and what are they doing to rectify the situation. Every other subject is considered amongst the best in the industry and I'm curious as to what TBR is doing to reach that same level on the verbal? Why has it been a struggle?

Very poignant question! We are well aware that premeds who do their homework know that our physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry books are the best and our biology book is in the running for best or second best. There is a deep sense of pride in this.

But our verbal is not on the same plane as our science books, and many students wonder why. I think the answer is found in two parts. This subject is discussed behind the scenes quite often. The basic gist is that (a) everyone in the company is well aware that the market place perceives our verbal book as a distant third best and (b) the mindset of everyone in the company is that we are a teaching company first and a book seller second.

We review how our classroom students do in the various subjects each year, and their verbal averages are in the 9.0 to 9.8 range. So while book buyers don't choose our verbal book, the combination of our book with the in-class handouts, exercises, and teaching is getting good results. Our conlusion is that the combination of our verbal materials and course is effective. So any changes we make are aimed at the classroom materials, some of which in time will get incorporated into our books. But as I mentioned in a reply to another question, the energy of recent years for verbal reasoning has all been dedicated to the excercises in the in-class portion and not the book.

So the verbal book gets the least love. The ironic thing is that the verbal book was the most challenging to develop, because of the large number of passage writers and the number of passages that got rejected. I personally think the problem stems from the editor, because there are some excellent passages and ideas in the book. But he set out to blend everything into a uniform voice by putting in his take. When he did this, some of the nuances of other writers were lost and some explanations became too long to stay interested in. Still, there are some great, realistic passages in the book.

I don't see that editor leaving anytime soon, so my honest answer is that the book will likely not change for a while. Someone else is in charge of the classroom material, so that will continue to evolve with feedback. The book is useful for people looking for additional passages, and there are students who find it helpful. I think it suffers from the little sibbling syndrome in that it looks bad compared to how great the other BR books are. But there is definitely utility in it if you know how to use it and can put aside any preconceived bias towards it.

Does TBR's CBT package include any of the actual AAMC 3-11 practice exams like some of the other companies like Kaplan offer with their online practice products.

No, our $100 to $200 CBT package does not include the seven AAMC practice exams included in Kaplan's $1749 online package [the eighth AAMC exam is free to anyone through AAMC]. We figure students can buy AAMC exams 4, 5, and 7-11 on their own and not pay us a middleman fee. BTW, AAMC gives exam 3 away for free and exam 6 has been removed from their listing. So to buy all seven of our exams and the seven AAMC exams available from the AAMC website, you need only spend about $450.

BR has a different business philosophy and your comparison question has triggered some thoughts. In addition to not offering AAMC exams or a $1700+ online program, there isn't a tutoring program charging well over $100 per hour for private tutoring. Instead, BR has a small class with a ton of office hours included in the course cost (which ironically enough is cheaper than the online package you mentioned above.) If a student wants private one-on-one tutoring rather than the BR course, they work it out directly with a BR teacher or tutor, so that they don't have to pay some crazy $150 or so an hour for tutoring and the teacher can make all of the money without BR taking a cut for not doing any work. BR is a business no doubt, and their reason for existing is to both provide a service as well as make money. But hopefully there is a good balance.

Have there been any recent update/s to the home-study books in comparison to last year?

Yes. Physics is new and improved (sounds like a laundry detergent) as of November 2010. It has several new passages, includes more questions than before, has answer explanations to the B-questions (as well as the A-question) in the text, has several new test startegies incorporated into the text and answer explanations (especially in terms of math and), has a vastly improved electrostatics and magnetism chapter, has an incredibly simple and brilliant approach to fluids and lenses/mirrors, and basically is an easier book to use. The reviews for the new physics book have been through the roof, and the printing that was suppose to last until September 2011 is on pace to be completely bought out by April because it's been so popular.

Also, the two biology books now contain practice exams at the end (thus they are larger because of the additional passages and answers).

2 questions I have:

1) Are there plans for a 3rd phase in the next set of BR Physics books?

2) Are there other ways of obtaining (purchasing) the in-class passage sets and such? Add'l practice materials and the like?

There are plans, which are actually in motion. The 3rd phase will consist of either four passages and some free-standing questions or five passages, depending on the section. Some of the passages slated for Phase 3 are currently being used in the course and once they have been revamped and ran through a beta run one more time, they will become part of the books. It will be similar to the latest biology book, which has a summary exam at the end.

At this time there are no plans to sell the in-class materials, given that those change with every new administration of the course. There are plans to add several sectional practice exams to the on-line portion of the course. Once we have enough CBT data points from those exams, the best of those summary exams will be available for home-study. I know it's lame to have no time estimate, but assuming there will be some passages thrown out at the different stages of development, it will take a couple cycles before it will be ready.

Question: are the phase 1 and 2 passages in the book comparable to the real difficulty of the MCAT passages or are they harder/easier?

Reply from mzblue

• Phase 1 seems to test the stuff you learned. Phase 2 can incorporate something from a different lecture so i feel like it tests understanding of the material.
  Compared to the mcat i took last august, i'll say for the sciences, there were certain chem and physics passages that made me happy i prepped with TBR. I think TBR passages are on par with the mcat passages although some mcat passages are easier and don't require much thought. For the difficult science passages, it was deja vu cuz i'd seen similar stuff. For ochem 2 stuff, i could've sworn they looked in the TBR ochem book to make those questions. Sadly, i skimmed through the thing once.
  
  I didn't use their bio book much last year because it wasn't recommended highly on SDN but i've been using it this year and i have to say i love it. I feel like it ties the pieces together in great way. The passages can be killer at times but i feel like i'm getting a hang of it.
  
  Sadly, i didn't prep much for verbal. i did 3 chapters in EK 101 and i was stuck at 9. This time, i'm using different material for verbal and i haven't gone below a 12. With more practice, i'm praying to consistently score in the 14s or 15. The sky is the limit.

Phase I are typical not realistic, not because of difficulty though. These questions are all (or close to all) coming from one basic theme or topic, where the MCAT mixing things up in their passages. These are meant to review and relearn information. And yes, they are generally difficult, because when you miss them, the answer explanations are there to teach a mnemonic or strategy to use on future questions (in phase II and phase III).

Phase II is meant to incorporate a few more outside (but related) concepts as well as stress you for time. The purpose of Phase II is to develop good timing and to apply the tricks you learned in Phase I.

Phase III is all about the realism of mixing random topics and presenting some bizarre and quirky experiments and applications.