Our materials are the best MCAT preparation materials anywhere. There are others that do a very good job and will help students attain a score they desire, but ours are the best. The reason we can say this becomes apparent when browsing the classified section of SDN or searching for materials polls. If you look at the resale price and the incredibly fast turnover rate of BR materials, you'll see they sell for pretty much what they cost new. And while some will consider the theory of supply and demand, there is plenty of supply so the demand must be attributed to quality of product.
So what makes BR books so sought after? There are a few factors.
1) The most important part of any preparation book are the answer explanations. Most students do a little learning during their recall phase when they read through review text. They do a little more learning during the passages when they read through and apply the concepts to questions. But the biggest growth and improvement occurs when reviewing questions after you have actively thought about them. This is where you learn how to apply the material and how to take the test more efficiently. Berkeley Review takes great pride in writing quality explanations that address both the concepts and the test skills needed to quickly choose a best answer.
2) We update our books frequently. If you look at our physics books from 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, and today, you'll see the evolution. If you look at our organic chemistry book over the last decade, then you'll also see the changes. We adapt to the changing test. When they removed benzene and alkene chemistry from the MCAT in 2004, we omitted that chapter and replaced it with a chapter that emphasized biological applications of organic molecules. Whenever they made minor changes to their list of testable topics, we changed our books accordingly. Because we only do the MCAT, we take it very seriously.
3) We focus on test-taking and process of elimination (POE) throughout our materials. Knowing a concept is only good if you can apply it. We incorporate strategies and shortcuts throughout our materials. Our books are designed to make you able to take a thinking test, not a regurgitation test. The math tricks you learn in the first chapter of a book are repeated all the way through. The mnemonics build as you go through the book.
4) Our books are thorough, but filled only with what you need. If you were to remove the questions and answer explanations within our books and then compare them with the text for the other materials that are commercially available, then youd find that ours are about 10% longer. That ten percent can be attributed to explaining key concepts in more depth, presenting a strategy only found in a BR book, or mixing a concept from a different discipline. What you wont find is fluff or any claims that this will never be on the MCAT or this is always on the MCAT. Those are bold statements that often prove to be wrong. If you were a test writer and some commercial book claimed to know exactly what was going to appear, wouldnt you want to do the opposite?
5) Our books are written by experienced teachers. After teaching the material in the classroom and hearing questions during office hours, you learn where students traditionally have trouble and what tricks they appreciate. For years we taught the glucose trick for recalling the hydroxyl positions on a monosaccharide. Eventually, after weighing morality concerns versus mnemonic quality, we incorporated it into our books. Its a fantastic way to recall the Fisher projections and Haworth projections of many sugars. And its also a surefire way to figure out who are Berkeley Review students, like a secret handshake. Authors with over twenty years of MCAT teaching experience know a thing or two about how to best deliver information, and you get that with Berkeley Review books.
The quality of the Berkeley Review books is no accident. Its the result of twenty-plus years of revisions and improvements based on classroom feedback. It makes a difference, and its what makes them the preparation treasure they are.
So what makes BR books so sought after? There are a few factors.
1) The most important part of any preparation book are the answer explanations. Most students do a little learning during their recall phase when they read through review text. They do a little more learning during the passages when they read through and apply the concepts to questions. But the biggest growth and improvement occurs when reviewing questions after you have actively thought about them. This is where you learn how to apply the material and how to take the test more efficiently. Berkeley Review takes great pride in writing quality explanations that address both the concepts and the test skills needed to quickly choose a best answer.
2) We update our books frequently. If you look at our physics books from 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, and today, you'll see the evolution. If you look at our organic chemistry book over the last decade, then you'll also see the changes. We adapt to the changing test. When they removed benzene and alkene chemistry from the MCAT in 2004, we omitted that chapter and replaced it with a chapter that emphasized biological applications of organic molecules. Whenever they made minor changes to their list of testable topics, we changed our books accordingly. Because we only do the MCAT, we take it very seriously.
3) We focus on test-taking and process of elimination (POE) throughout our materials. Knowing a concept is only good if you can apply it. We incorporate strategies and shortcuts throughout our materials. Our books are designed to make you able to take a thinking test, not a regurgitation test. The math tricks you learn in the first chapter of a book are repeated all the way through. The mnemonics build as you go through the book.
4) Our books are thorough, but filled only with what you need. If you were to remove the questions and answer explanations within our books and then compare them with the text for the other materials that are commercially available, then youd find that ours are about 10% longer. That ten percent can be attributed to explaining key concepts in more depth, presenting a strategy only found in a BR book, or mixing a concept from a different discipline. What you wont find is fluff or any claims that this will never be on the MCAT or this is always on the MCAT. Those are bold statements that often prove to be wrong. If you were a test writer and some commercial book claimed to know exactly what was going to appear, wouldnt you want to do the opposite?
5) Our books are written by experienced teachers. After teaching the material in the classroom and hearing questions during office hours, you learn where students traditionally have trouble and what tricks they appreciate. For years we taught the glucose trick for recalling the hydroxyl positions on a monosaccharide. Eventually, after weighing morality concerns versus mnemonic quality, we incorporated it into our books. Its a fantastic way to recall the Fisher projections and Haworth projections of many sugars. And its also a surefire way to figure out who are Berkeley Review students, like a secret handshake. Authors with over twenty years of MCAT teaching experience know a thing or two about how to best deliver information, and you get that with Berkeley Review books.
The quality of the Berkeley Review books is no accident. Its the result of twenty-plus years of revisions and improvements based on classroom feedback. It makes a difference, and its what makes them the preparation treasure they are.
Last edited:
