Kaplan ect...

[Guest Future MSFer]

What are your thoughts on MCAT prep courses such as the Kaplan course? I'm thinking of taking the Kaplan course mostly for the practice MCATs they provide every weekend the last month or two before the accrual MCAT (they simulate the real thing. That is they lock you in a room for 7 hours…lol). I think it would be valuable stamina training. The only thing is that it is expensive, $2500 Canadian. This is money I do not necessarily have. I realise that the Med school application is a costly process, but I'm in a situation were I must be VERY wise about my spending. I do have access to MCAT study books (gold standard, past Kaplan text books....) but in my impression those practice MCAT scenarios is a strong asset to have. So before I go and spend 2500$ (or borrow it form someone!!) I would like hear your thoughts on these kinds of courses. Is there anything better? Do you have any suggestions? Or are all these Prep courses just a money scam and I'm better off just studying hard on my own?

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<pagetext>It really depends on how you study and how self-motivated you are. I just used old Kaplan books which hardly change at all from year to year ( I had copies of both 1998 edition and 2002 and they were IDENTICAL, word for word, page for page). If you have the motivation to sit down every night or whatever and study for a few hours than you should be fine, if not, you might want to take the course. If you're worried about the "stamina" thing, try what I did; find out where the Kaplan courses are being held, when they are writing practice tests, and ask if you can just sit in the classroom (bring in your own test) and write alongside everyone. Most of the teachers of the courses are other students who have scored decently on a previous MCAT test and won't mind. Definitely get copies of the old REAL MCAT tests from the AAMC. They are the best predictor of the test you'll actually get. Good luck!