stressedbunny Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Hi everybody! I just finished my first year of undergrad and I'm starting to think about taking the MCATs during the summer of my second year. I've been researching the best books and study resources and I have come down to purchasing either 1) The Princeton Review, or 2) the Kaplan books. Alongside one of those book packs I am also thinking of buying the AAMC complete mcat prep bundle. I would love to know what everyone else used and what they thought was the most helpful resource. Also I will be very thankful for any tips and tricks that can help me tackle this exam so that I can hopefully manage a competitive score! Thanks for all of your help again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych Posted April 28, 2020 Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 I used Kaplan and found them absolutely wonderful! They cover the material super thoroughly and come with online quizzes and 3 full-length practice tests. I prepped with only those books plus I did the three AAMC practice exams, and I scored super high on my first try. Feel free to message me with any other questions about the Kaplan books! bekind and DrOtter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeanbun Posted April 28, 2020 Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 Imho if you have decent science background (ie. are in a science program), then Kaplan > TPR any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotatoPotato Posted April 28, 2020 Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 I would agree. If you have a science background, TPR was too detailed for what you need, it's content overkill. I used TPR for my first MCAT write, but struggled to finish the content on time and definitely did not practice questions enough (lol why it was my first write bahahaha). I did not personally use Kaplan, but heard good things. At the end of the day it's about having a solid enough foundation and applying, applying, applying it. 1000% get the MCAT bundle, it is the best prep/practice you can get. Somewhere on the second page of my comment history in 2018 is some advice about FL resources + tips from when I was preping the second time. It is likely still relevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stressedbunny Posted April 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 Thanks for the tips, I think I'll give Kaplan a shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bekind Posted May 7, 2020 Report Share Posted May 7, 2020 On 4/27/2020 at 8:00 PM, Psych said: I used Kaplan and found them absolutely wonderful! They cover the material super thoroughly and come with online quizzes and 3 full-length practice tests. I prepped with only those books plus I did the three AAMC practice exams, and I scored super high on my first try. Feel free to message me with any other questions about the Kaplan books! Hi, kind of random, but did you ever feel like you had a gap in knowledge with the Kaplan books? Like did you have to self study with another resource to make up where you felt Kaplan lacked? I have the book set, but I am always nervous I may miss on some amazing resource Psych 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych Posted May 7, 2020 Report Share Posted May 7, 2020 1 hour ago, bekind said: Hi, kind of random, but did you ever feel like you had a gap in knowledge with the Kaplan books? Like did you have to self study with another resource to make up where you felt Kaplan lacked? I have the book set, but I am always nervous I may miss on some amazing resource I personally did not! I found Kaplan super comprehensive, they covered every topic that came up on my MCAT (and all the practice tests I did), and they even covered low-yield topics. They really thoroughly study past MCATs and update the books every year with new content, and they even say what % of questions are likely to be on a certain topic. I only used Kaplan (and AAMC practice tests) and did not find them lacking at all! bekind, LB31 and PTtoMD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bekind Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 On 5/6/2020 at 8:06 PM, Psych said: I personally did not! I found Kaplan super comprehensive, they covered every topic that came up on my MCAT (and all the practice tests I did), and they even covered low-yield topics. They really thoroughly study past MCATs and update the books every year with new content, and they even say what % of questions are likely to be on a certain topic. I only used Kaplan (and AAMC practice tests) and did not find them lacking at all! Thank you so much for the reply!! I appreciate it! I am curious, did you use the online class at all? Or self study w the books and online materials given? I am hoping to score okay my first try DrOtter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 4 hours ago, bekind said: Thank you so much for the reply!! I appreciate it! I am curious, did you use the online class at all? Or self study w the books and online materials given? I am hoping to score okay my first try I just self studied with the books and online material that came with it, plus I bought the 3 AAMC practice exams. That was it though! I didn’t do any courses or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweaterweather Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 For CARS I would suggest JW/EK For Sciences TPR/Kap/TBR are all great TPR and TBR can get super content heavy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medschoolhope Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 I've been out of my science undergrad for 8 years and am now considering writing the MCAT. It looks like Kaplan seems to be a good choice. I will definitely be backfilling some knowledge gaps given my time away from school. The Kaplan course has a DIY bundle for $1799. @Psych What book/bundle did you use from Kaplan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych Posted August 27, 2020 Report Share Posted August 27, 2020 On 8/21/2020 at 11:14 AM, Medschoolhope said: I've been out of my science undergrad for 8 years and am now considering writing the MCAT. It looks like Kaplan seems to be a good choice. I will definitely be backfilling some knowledge gaps given my time away from school. The Kaplan course has a DIY bundle for $1799. @Psych What book/bundle did you use from Kaplan? I just used their 7 book pack that comes with 3 online full-length practice tests plus online quizzes, a few videos, and things like that. I'm not 100% sure how much it cost but I think it was only around $200! LB31 and Medschoolhope 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownBeachBum Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 Hello does it matter if I bought the 2019-2020 Kaplan and not the 2020-2021? For MCAT. Not a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 On 9/9/2020 at 3:00 PM, BrownBeachBum said: Hello does it matter if I bought the 2019-2020 Kaplan and not the 2020-2021? For MCAT. Not a big difference. I don't think it would make much difference! I'm sure a quick google search/search on the AAMC website could tell you if any of the content topics changed, but I doubt there were any major changes (if any) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.