What To Do If Don't Have Money For The Mcat Tbr Books

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What factors should you consider when deciding how to set for the MCAT? [Show summary]

Our guest today has been providing MCAT prep for merely nether 30 years and he's going to share his best MCAT prep advice with you!

The Berkeley Review's CEO, Todd Bennett, shares his best MCAT prep advice [Show notes]

Our guest today is Todd Bennett, whom I met many, many years agone. He is the CEO of and an MCAT instructor at The Berkeley Review, which he co-founded in 1992. Todd, welcome to Admissions Direct Talk!

How did you lot get involved in MCAT prep many moons agone? [1:22]

And then much of life is serendipity. And so, way back in 1988, I had a job instruction organic chemistry as an adjunct lecturer at UC Irvine. And one summertime at that place was nothing to teach and realizing that, hey, I need money for rent, I went to the job listing on campus. And at that place was an interesting offer tutoring chemistry and physics to postbac students trying to get into med schoolhouse, a span plan through Dave Hacker and Charles Gipson. I signed up for it and savage in love with it – greatest instruction job in the earth; motivated students, smart, dedicated, and best of all from a education standpoint, no grading. You were purely on their side in working their way through it. So that summer I wrote upwards notes and practice questions and put together a pretty adept booklet, and without even noticing it, it became kind of an hush-hush awareness around UC Irvine then Southern California. And somebody in San Diego got air current of it, who ran an Sabbatum company and said, "Hey, what do yous think about doing MCAT?"

And and then, we started something called Hyper Learning at the time. It ends up that the people I was with, honestly, I don't call up one of them had any interest other than making a quick visitor, selling information technology, another quick company, and selling it. And and then, information technology was on the selling block immediately and I thought, "No, no, I like what I'm doing. I don't desire to switch." And so in 1992 we started The Berkeley Review, grabbed one of the bio teachers, a physics teacher I knew, and just went for it. Amazingly, information technology only shot off similar wildfire. I mean, at the time it was just actually needed.

Exercise you want to bring u.s. up to date a little bit in terms of what'due south been happening with The Berkeley Review? [3:03]

Nosotros change with each exam. So since nosotros started, there've been three changes in the exam, and each one'due south brought a new challenge. I mean, I know this is probably cursing to say, because it's stressful for a lot of people, merely the MCATs are a really well-written and well thought-out examination. You can reason your way through it, and it really does test pertinent skills in analyzing information textile and getting you to work well with things you perhaps don't familiarize with at first. And in time you lot realize, "Hey, I go this. This is simple."

Nosotros continue to do classes. COVID forced us to go online. We were very antiquated for many years and got up to speed, and I realized our fearfulness of going online had a lot to exercise with losing the personal impact. Knowing each person individually has been key.

And one of the biggest godsends of going online that I never thought of in a million years, it caters to the shy student. The student can now type in a question in a individual chat. I have one detail pupil in mind who, when we were live upward until last March 2020, she never asked a question in form. She'd come after form, wait until everybody left and she'd ask a few questions. All of a sudden in the chatbox, she was typing like a stenographer. It was awesome. She came out of her shell, and I realized this is a bang-up medium for certain students and so, I've fallen in love with online didactics. A year and a half ago, if you were to ask me, I would take never, ever thought that would happen, then it'due south kind of where we're at today.

And basically at this point and so, anybody anywhere in the United states to be certain, and maybe even in the world, could take a class from The Berkeley Review, right? [iv:42]

Yep. If at that place's space. We are going to still stay small. Nosotros've had that visitor conclusion that nosotros're going to stay small.

Okay, great. Now let's turn to the MCAT itself and how The Berkeley Review recommends that students ready for it. When should pre-meds program to take the MCAT? That's probably one of the about common questions out at that place. [5:02]

At that place'southward no easy answer. It really comes downwardly to when they've mastered material in the really key subjects. You've got to have your Biochem down pat. I hateful that should be the number one thing people go by. Not "Have I taken Biochem?", but "Have I taken it at a loftier plenty level that I feel prepared for it?" Because the MCAT is going to throw a ton of Biochem at them. And in virtually curricula for most schools, past the time they accept Biochem, they've got all their OChem, their GChem, their Physics, their Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Cell. They've done well-nigh of the other classes necessary to exist ready, then I think that's their guiding calorie-free is as soon as they feel similar they've mastered Biochem, it'south time. They're ready.

That'due south very clear guidance. How does an applicant know how much time he or she should budget for the MCAT? I'm guessing it varies from private to individual, but do yous accept any communication or guidelines for that question? [five:52]

The hardest affair to do is self-appraise. I mean, everybody is looking for this diagnostic examination that tells you what y'all demand to do, and it doesn't be, because the thing is, nearly people miss questions, non because they don't know the fabric, but maybe misread the question, misunderstood, misinterpreted what they're asking. And then, because of that, you can't really tell content-wise.

So in general, this is a very generic guideline, simply if y'all tin can invest anywhere from 40 to 50 hours of true studying per calendar week, and so 6 to eight weeks is typically enough to do your initial content review, and and then the first, of what I call phase one and stage two of your homework process. The first one is where you reacquaint, yous get trounce upwards, and that's fine. The second one is where you principal the timing, but ordinarily six to eight weeks is enough for that aspect. Then you demand 2 weeks of just unadulterated pounding through realistic questions.

AAMC releases a lot of material. It's a must. Anybody who tells you to skip information technology is crazy. Every single AAMC material is essential. Those ii weeks, everything but the full lengths, and then phase 3 of homework. And and then the last three weeks are all nigh full lengths, and not just taking them. For every hour you spend taking them, you should be spending two hours going over it. And equally I like to say in class, as you lot go through it, write a notation to your future cocky and say, "Beloved Future Cocky, yous might want to await at this equation." You might want to say, "Wait at the table commencement or divide data instead of subtract," but come with a game programme. Something you want to tell yourself on test solar day to think to do, and equally long as yous practice that, as long as yous can honestly say, "Whatever score I got, fine, but if I could go five more questions right in each department," yous've done exactly what you should exist doing. You're moving upwardly.

What almost people who prepared, idea they were preparing correctly, and they didn't get that skilful of a score, and they may exist taking the test for the second or third fourth dimension. Do you accept any suggestions for them? [seven:l]

That's a difficult 1. The reality is that for whatever reason, nearly half our students studied for it at least once before, some on their own, some with another visitor, some did something, and they come up hither. Best advice on solar day one, forget what you did before and instead analyze what you should have done. And that's really hard to exercise. It's really hard to self-assess, but I remember one of the things that people experience really confident nearly is they mind to videos and let's face it videos are really well done. They're polished. They're fantabulous. They give smashing data, and you walk out and call back, "Wow, I totally get it considering they explained things really well." People walk out of lectures feeling really stiff. I totally go it. They get this sense of confidence, then on the test, suddenly it's not in the format they're used to. It'southward in a convoluted format, tied with other things.

It's like, "Ah, what went wrong?" What went wrong is ordinarily practise. And then 2d time through, you have to change your entire arroyo. If yous emphasized review the first time, then it'southward all most exercise. If y'all just did practice tests the showtime time, and so it'south almost solidifying your content and figuring out ways to recall information technology; mnemonics. It's doing the things you didn't do the first fourth dimension. And it'due south honestly assessing where you went wrong. And honestly, some of it sometimes merely comes downwardly to confidence. I mean, I've seen people go up a second time on goose egg more than merely saying, "Yous know what? I'm tired of this examination. I want to get over and done with it." Going with the right attitude really makes a huge difference.

What about non-traditional applicants who have been out of school for, let's say, two, three, five years? [10:17]

We get a lot of that, the average age in our form is 31 correct at present. Information technology'south really high. And so, most students we take are in the same situation, and the reality is annihilation you forgot from school, yous've forgotten the first two or three weeks after the final. Whether it's been iii months or iii years, you probably are not in that much of a different situation. Whatever is going to stick will stick, any is missed, is missed. And so, yous but have to accept it like, "Expect, I accept to rebuild this puddle of information, no matter what, whether I'chiliad doing it immediately afterward schoolhouse or a long time afterward school." And the really, wonderfully, surprising matter is, the second time looking at textile, it comes dorsum faster.

You acquire how to learn as you become through schoolhouse. I think most people think they learn material, and honestly, I think they acquire how to absorb and process the material. And so the second time it goes faster, and I'thou always pleasantly surprised by how much people know who said they didn't know much on 24-hour interval one; that it comes dorsum and they employ it. And it all integrates. What you learned in GChem carries over to Biochem. What you learned in Biochem applies to Cell, and that excitement of how you lot connect things, is powerful. It's fuel. Be positive. Come back in and realize, "Yeah, I got some work to do, but it'south going to be easier this time." It'll exist easier the second time you're learning it, than the beginning time.

That'due south very true. Is at that place any one department of the MCAT that tends to trip people upward? [eleven:46]

Chem/Physics has the lowest curve. It's the ane that y'all accept to have a different mindset. So for instance, the Bio section, at that place's a certain attribute of memorization and just understanding of lab logic of how things work. If yous larn what yous're doing in lab, yous're going to do well in that department. Psych/Soc yous memorize plenty terminology, speak the linguistic communication, it'south going to get a lilliputian bit better. CARS is CARS. It's a technique-based one, only Chem/Physics, you have to retrieve similar an engineer, and apply it to medicine.

And common sense… You become through school, and you're non rewarded for common sense, and so all of a sudden, here's a section of the test that emphasizes common sense. Like putting a stent into somebody's vessel. Why do you do this? Then, a lot of people volition be able to tell me all about the technique and all this, but the general reason is you've got to have a wider pipage, the wider it gets, more than fluid goes through. And just that uncomplicated thought correct there is going to get you a question or 2. And it'south changing your mindset, that a lot of people just don't. I mean, for Physics and Chemistry, it's usually: memorize all the equations you lot can, prove your work, box your answer, and pray for partial credit on your midterms and finals. On the MCAT, information technology's utilise what you lot know to some seemingly unrelated system. And it just takes a while to become used to. Not that it'south hard to do in fourth dimension, it'southward but unfamiliar at outset, and it'southward a struggle.

What are the almost mutual mistakes that you see in MCAT prep? [13:19]

The biggest one by far… And I dare say, I'd guess 80% of the people studying for the MCAT make the same fault. They emphasize content, considering what happens in higher? You lot memorize content, yous regurgitate it on a midterm or concluding, you get a good grade. So y'all've already been taught. You've been trained that memorizing equals success. The people memorize, do all their flashcards, watch all these videos. They're spending countless hours, taking notes, reading books with no questions in them, watching videos. Then, they but aren't prepared to await at things out of the context, out of their comfort zone. I mean, unproblematic phrase, "Practise, practice, practice." You hear it all the time. You play a sport, you play an musical instrument, you practice annihilation, and they tell yous, "Training and do." Well, that's exactly what it is. And likewise many people put way, way, style, manner, way too much emphasis on trying to feel similar they can memorize and call back information technology.

Flashcard learning is such a simulated sense of security of what you lot know. I recall if people would just take the confidence that, "Aye, you know what? I'1000 going to do this passage, I'm going to get ii thirds of it wrong and I'chiliad going to feel terrible well-nigh myself, simply I'one thousand going to grade information technology. I'grand going to learn information technology in context. And then when I see a passage like that next time, I'll go 50% right. Then I'll become beat upwardly a little bit and exist upset and I'll get 60%, and climb that ladder." In that location's a affair called the Dunning Kruger curve; the learning curve. It'due south wonderful. Yous spike up, you accept all this confidence considering you're reading things, like videos and all, feel similar you're doing really well. Then of a sudden, when you have to apply it, you drop and then through application and success, you climb back upwards to existence expert at it. Nobody likes this part of it. It's painful, but y'all have to become through it, and getting things wrong is and so okay. It's fine. It's office of the process.

What are your top three MCAT prep tips? Obviously exercise is something you've emphasized. [15:26]

Practice, practise, and practice are going to be all of them. But I think more than anything, y'all've got to acquire to retrieve like the test author. That'south true of tests in full general, simply particularly with multiple choice. The 4 sections are written very differently, and y'all have to figure out what is minutia and what'due south important, and that takes do. And yous can only practice it by going through the AAMC materials. Speaking of which, I think one of the things that a lot of people don't do, and they miss a golden opportunity. AAMC has put out a book, a guide to the MCAT, that has an exact listing of the topics and tons of sample questions. They are really, really transparent about exactly what's on their exam; the way of writing, what they expect. And I tin't believe the fact that the majority of our students don't look at that volume. Information technology's available to them and they don't look at it.

That'south exactly what you should be looking at. Figure out what's on the test, so study for it. Don't study, written report, study, and and so effort to figure out what'south on the test. It's the wrong order. So get that volume, that's huge. And then get good at reading graphs, tables, charts, and data. A lot of their passages are based on experiments, and they'll ask you, "What happened in this step?" It'south a matter of reading and seeing if a number went up or went down on the tabular array and so knowing what that means. It's frequently actually simple questions hidden in a actually challenging package of these numbers that are tatted, they don't recognize. And in one case you lot run across it and say, "Oh, I get it, that's simple," it goes much, much better. Then read tables, go the AAMC guideline and learn to think like a exam writer. If y'all do those, y'all're going to exist fine on this test. You're going to do actually well. It takes time, but you lot'll practise fine.

How most tips for the solar day before or the week earlier or the twenty-four hour period of the test itself? I mean, should they be cramming like crazy at that time? Or should they take a twenty-four hours off? What should exist happening? [17:21]

I'm so glad y'all asked this because honestly, my stance on this over the years was ambivalence, whatever somebody did. And I'm trying to say this in the right way, but I had the amazing fortune of condign very good friends with somebody who's in their sport, a v-fourth dimension world champ, and they coach a US team. Through him, I know another Olympic gilt medalist, and existence able to have lunch and sit down and talk and figure out what these guys exercise. And to my surprise, I got more than helpful insight from what they talked well-nigh, of what they did to railroad train, than all the years I'd gone to classes and seminars. Of course, they're the greatest at what they do. So they're going to have some good insights, simply both of them independently had the verbal same thing to say about preparing: the concluding 24 hours are the most important, not to train just to go in the right mind frame.

Y'all've trained all this time. You know the test, yous know the questions, it's fourth dimension to stop second guessing yourself. Information technology'southward fourth dimension to start trusting your training. You're going to experience stress. You lot're going to feel anxiety. If you don't, something's incorrect. And both of them independently said, "Encompass the moment. Let your torso tell you what's going on and do what it says." Do a test run. Go to the center, make sure yous have a backup plan, have a backup ride in mind, take care of all the periphery things. Know where the centre is, know how yous're going to think, visualize what you're going to do. Go back and read all the notes you wrote to yourself of what y'all want to exercise on examination day. Merely use that 24-hour interval to just become your listen confident in the correct spot.

Don't report new material. Review and coordinate and organize other material and have care of yous. You're training for four to v months. That'southward all you needed. Merely believe it, believe in yourself. And it was empowering. I mean, it was wonderful to sit and listen to some of what they had to say.

In that location are lots of MCAT prep options out there, exam prep companies and not-commercial options. How is The Berkeley Review different? [20:03]

Nosotros're small and personal, we're boutique-y. Over the years, we had the chance to definitely expand and become big. And this was a decision nosotros made lots and lots of times at meetings, every three or four years, when information technology would come upward again. We simply don't desire to be corporate. We don't want to be big. We take pride in the fact that we know every student past proper name and I mean, thirty years later, if I run into a student, I will still know who they are. And information technology's squeamish. It'south a really practiced feeling, and nosotros emphasize teaching. We're the just MCAT merely company. The typical course, the typical approach would be have a examination and build down. So test logic fed downwards. I don't think it works that style. I call up it's better to accept the test itself, contrary engineer it, and build back upwards. Enquire "what skills exercise you need to do well on this test?" And make them MCAT specific, not what is good in general most test taking, and let'southward apply it. So, I recall we're simply completely contrary of all of them. And honestly, information technology doesn't work for everybody. The truth of the matter is, some people merely want to exist told, "Memorize this, memorize this, memorize this," and it's great. For the right student, it'due south the perfect method. The person who's willing to remember and work hard and gets excited in a geeky style when something you lot learn in CARS really helps y'all in Psych/Soc, or something you learn in Psych helps with your Neuro, which helps with your Physics. So I mean, be nerdy and excited, and nosotros're a perfect match for you.

Yous have some in-person classes now, don't you? Or are they all airtight at this signal? [21:48]

They're closed at this signal in time, but considering we're in some pretty high risk zones. Our plan was to become back live this summer, but student opinion was merely so few wanted it. So we will do some part hours in-person. Nosotros're going to practice some things, but all the classes are going to be online at this point.

And you also have lots and lots of self-study material. So my question to you would be, to whom would you lot recommend the self-written report material and to whom would you recommend the classes? Or exercise you like a combination of both? What's the fit there? [22:12]

The best communication for annihilation, similar, "What car should y'all get?": I don't know, test bulldoze them. Meet the one that fits and feels right. I recollect that's honestly what too few people do. Sit in a lecture, considering for some people, lectures are crawly and they organize everything. You have a adventure to enquire questions. Office hours, I mean, I become regulars at office hours every single fourth dimension, with good questions, or they're in that location to hear other people's questions. For them the course is perfect, but we always get a student who simply comes in, checks in at the offset, checks out at the end and we never hear from them. They might take been better off doing information technology on their own.

I call back sitting in on a course before you drop two, three, four grand… I hateful, a few classes out in that location, I retrieve, are 11 grand or something crazy like that. Sit in, test it out, endeavor it out, make sure information technology'southward for you before committing the time and the money. I think people are pretty good at knowing what works for them, and they'll effigy it out. Absolutely, we go a lot of people who try to study on their own and it doesn't work. That's fine too. They're going to do fine. They're going to get into medical school, it's just going to be an extra year, or the journeying is going to be a little different, merely I mean, it works. I recall information technology actually comes down to the person.

Is there any offer at TBR that's peculiarly pop? [23:49]

Pretty much everybody has a full course. I hateful, I get a lot of requests for private tutoring, and for years I sort of resisted that. But I call back this twelvemonth we're going to start doing a little more of that, but generally, I call up nearly people just want to sit downwardly and be told what I should practise and a whole package. And so they figure it out every bit they go where they need the aid, which part hours they need, where they're feeling strong and weak.

What do you see in your crystal brawl for the MCAT going forrard for MCAT prep? [24:21]

You know, MCAT going forwards, some of the things that I'm really curious about, and COVID is going to force this result – there's some med schools that supposedly are going to starting time weighing the MCAT less, during this menstruation and some schools are ignoring it for now. It'll be interesting to see how the admissions procedure goes. And so the MCAT coming out of COVID is going to exist different. And your guess is as good as anybody's. In that location'll be schools that'll still keep it, some schools that might apply it every bit optional, some that will ignore it, and nosotros'll see. Every bit far as prep companies become, as long equally in that location'due south a test, there's going to exist people wanting to take it. And I call back nosotros all demand to conform to the fact that most students, nearly of their learning is with thumbs and a screen, and not reading a volume these days. So, nosotros have to adapt to that. It's been a very interesting personal year. I hateful, I'g the concluding one standing of our entire visitor that started it out, now. And then, it's going to become in any direction the people need, basically. Then more private tutoring, some dissimilar offerings, fewer classes, smaller classes in the sense that maybe scientific discipline but, but I mean, nosotros'll invent ourselves as we go. We kind of have to.

Is there annihilation you would accept liked me to ask y'all that I haven't asked? [26:00]

I retrieve the only thing, that badge of accolade, that pride we wear, is how our students do, and what the cost is; because those are the two things that nosotros really stand out in. The two statistical features that hateful so much to me is our course boilerplate is over 510. Nosotros as well cater to people that are serious about it. So I mean, there's a lot to that. It's also a selectivity procedure but if you're committed and yous work really hard, you can get a not bad score. The numbers are there, there are a lot of people, 520 and above. And I have pride that every year I've done this, I've had at least one and oftentimes very many people in the superlative one%, and it's an attitude. It's a way of looking at the test, and there's people who take it, merely aren't confident enough to utilise information technology. And I'yard hopeful that's what nosotros're sharing, and there'due south other people who just didn't realize you tin look at things a little differently and they have information technology to heart and do really well. And so, I dearest the results we go.

Can you lot define the mental attitude? [27:22]

Yep. A cockiness of, "You lot know what? I know this material well enough and I'm going to be able to effigy it out in context, and I don't intendance what graph or data or chart they give me, I'm going to practice merely fine on this."

Conviction is so central on this examination. And then the cost. I think anybody who does the math thinks most it. We're non corporate. For the companies that are corporate, they take shareholders and everything, then of course, you lot're paying $3,000, probably $one,500 is paying a CEO and their staff salary. We don't take that. Then y'all get then much more for your money. We're under $2,000 and you actually become more for your money.

Information technology's funny, because in business nosotros're told, "No, you should raise your price to await comparable to everybody else." And I know, it might wait sketchy. Somebody goes on and says, "Wow, why are they cheaper?" We're not going to enhance information technology just to play the business game. If nosotros're getting somebody signed up because information technology'southward a concern game, we don't want them. We'd rather have the person who knows we're adept and is here, because we're good. So I'm proud of that. I'm proud that nosotros're reasonably priced and just get stellar scores.

Where can listeners and MCAT test takers larn more about The Berkeley Review? [28:51]

Two means to practise it. We're modest plenty, email me if you have questions, similar content questions or something at toddbennettmcat@yahoo.com. And then our website is berkeleyreview.com. Achieve out – we're pretty small and pretty good about getting back!

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