Kaplan vs Princeton

[Fade2Black]

Don't know if this topic was discussed elsewhere...feel free to direct me.

 

question 1 - I've heard from some people that Princeton prepares you for a harder MCAT, but incorporates more fluff/basic material b/c of the different backgrounds of students in the course. Does anybody have any recommendations that will help in choosing a program.

 

question 2 - Secondly I'll be doing summer research and was contemplating between either taking the MCAT prep or the 2nd orgo course...is there anyone who has done either of these two combos and can give some insight?

 

Thanks

[EllieGee]

I did the second option, working and doing Princeton. I loved it, it really helped and I know I wouldn't have had time to study without it! I felt that even the fluff was ok, because it was a fluff refresher. My instructors were awesome, and I did really well on the MCAt so it was worth it for me.

 

Cons: I think it's more expensive.

A random pro: one of my instructors used to work for Kaplan, and said he switched to Princeton because it was so much better.

 

I have no experience with Kaplan, so I'm sure insight from someone else would be good? Hope this helped anyway

[aquaman]

THe only experience I have with Kaplan is the way they teach the writing sample. And trust me their way is pretty good, alot of people I know who were taught by Kaplan killed the writing (S or T)...not too sure about the other sections though

[Athina021]

I took a Kaplan course and loved it. Their strategies were very helpful and I raised my score significantly (no, I don't work for Kaplan!)

 

A 2nd orgo course could really be helpful. Two people in my course were taking it during the course and found it helped.

[Orchid]

Kaplan gave me an S. great on WS

 

sucked for verbal though

[futuredoc]

Which program is best for what? Is Kaplan better for writing and Princeton better for sciences?

[AdamP]

What I've heard

 

Kaplan = less class better for more self directed learning

Princeton = more class and more sturctured better for people who like more instruction

 

In the end they probably aren't too much different I chose kaplan becuase it was less class per week and i prefer to learn on my own, plus i've heard positive things from all the engineers i've spoken to who took it ( >36(S,R,T))

 

Although i can't really give you any first hand input until the summer is over just my rational.

[lansky]

I found Kaplan to also be really good for the written section, English is not my first language and I am not a great essay writer to begin with. Kaplan has their main study center down town on Boor street and I spent the last one month prior to writing the mcat there, practicing my written section. What I liked most is that they had instructors who were there the whole day and were able to help me beyond the help of the instructor in my actual scheduled class. Not to say that my instructor was not helpful but he was only available during class time, and when the classes ended there was still a month left till my scheduled exam date. With that said, I know a few people who took Princeton and liked it as well, mostly because of their comprehensive science review. I also took Kaplan because it was cheaper, but i think that now their prices went up.

[Jamer]

My friend took Princeton and he said it wasn't anything special. I took Kaplan and it isn't worth the money at all.

 

If you have a ton of disposble money, Kaplan isn't bad. The classroom instruction is a total waste of time but their books are concise and well written + their writing sample instructions are awesome. The only thing I liked about taking a prep course was being able to submit several of my essays to my excellent instructor for review. I thought one of my essays went terribly and I still got an R, so that says enough.

 

My personal opinion (along with many others I know): Unless you have a lot of disposable income, prep courses are overall a waste of money. If you're very self-motivated, buying the $100 kaplan book + 6 or 7 AAMC practice tests would definitely suffice. The only advantage to kaplan, like I said, is the writing sample feedback. If you're a strong writer to start with and you write a bunch of practice essays to get a feel of the format of the WS, you'll be fine.

[xylem29]

If you are the type that can keep a disciplined work/study schedule, I'd recommend you just get the Princeton Review books and find a way to get ALL of the AAMC practice tests. For Verbal - I recommend you get the EK 101 Passages in VR and follow their method.

 

For all other strategies and tips - just browse the SDN MCAT forums.

 

The fluff in the TPR books are nice for understanding concepts and I felt were the perfect balance between review and "learning for first time". I was essentially relearning the physics and general chemistry material, so the TPR books were great for that.

[Big Baller]

Kaplan is best for Sciences and PR for VR. period

[Deanis]

I keep hearing how Kaplan is cheaper, but when I looked into prices, Princeton Review was actually 150$ cheaper (250$ with earlybird special) than Kaplan for over double the amount of instruction.

 

Sometimes having difficulty focusing and being a bit of a cheapskate, I registered for a PR course starting in April.

[TheBoondocks]

Kaplan is best for Sciences and PR for VR. period

 

That's actually wrong. ON SDN, it's almost universally agreed that TPR is the best for PS. biology varies, and is probably a wash. EK biology is the best biology book. However, it's good to supplement with either Kaplan or TPR.

[medisforme]

I took a Kaplan course and loved it. Their strategies were very helpful and I raised my score significantly (no, I don't work for Kaplan!)

 

A 2nd orgo course could really be helpful. Two people in my course were taking it during the course and found it helped.

 

i haven't taken the mcat yet (1 month to go) but others have told that the amount of material on the mcat from orgo 2 is basically negligible. So don't take the course solely for the purpose of the mcat.

[zfield]

I keep hearing how Kaplan is cheaper, but when I looked into prices, Princeton Review was actually 150$ cheaper (250$ with earlybird special) than Kaplan for over double the amount of instruction.

 

Sometimes having difficulty focusing and being a bit of a cheapskate, I registered for a PR course starting in April.

 

more class time does not equal better performance

 

Taking a class is inane, but important for knowing WHAT is on the test. Chances are you won't learn anything new, or even relearn anything effectively.

 

More work on practice tests will help as much if not more than the classes themselves.

[Deanis]

I'm currently enrolled in a TPR course and I'm already regreting spending the money. The classroom instruction is basically useless - imagine a 2 and 1/2 review of basic material for 4 days a week. For 1700$.

 

The pluses are that you get a ton of books with the material and practice passages as well as 9 computer based TPR diagnostic MCATs as well as the AAMC tests 3-10. They will mark all your essays that you submit online (up to 50*2 essays for the tests available). Of course, the essays really are the least important part of the test for med school, and the tests you can buy and write yourself.

 

I would recommend buying the (ExamKrackers) EK complete study package along with their 1001 questions in physics, 1001 questions in chemistry, 1001 questions in biology, 101 verbal passages, and the 16 mini MCATs. Then do their 10-week self study schedule to keep you on track. If you shop around online you can get all this for about 300$ or so - in any event, far cheaper than a prep course.

 

This is actually what I'm doing. I'm still attending my TPR course, but I'm doing the EK work and just ignoring the TPR homework since the EK stuff seems so much better designed.

 

Hope that helps.

[Kirby]

I couldn't find anything posted on this but please direct me if I'm wrong...

 

Has anyone taken/conisdered the online Kaplan course? I have tons of free time at work and it would work really well for me to be able to work there. Is this a relatively new course?

 

I'm strongly considering enrolling in this and would appreciate some feedback from anyone! It's a lot of money to spend before getting some honest opinions!

 

Thanks all,