eastcoast Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good MCAT tutor residing in Toronto? I wrote the MCAT last year, did ok, but a little weak in PS. Rather than taking an expensive course, I'd prefer to pay someone for one-on-one tutoring. Any suggestions would be knidly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UserName Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Simply put.. I'd advice you invest in the course. The tutor can't provide you with access to kaplan's online tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan0105 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 screw that. a book is like 100 bucks and you can get tons of them from used book stores for even cheaper. and combined they will have enough passages and stuff. plus with the 2000 minus 100 bucks for books you save, you can get hours of time with a tutor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UserName Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I think the most a book can get you is 4 full lengths (Princeton Review).. and they suck. I think Kaplan can get you 8 or 10 hard full lengths. you also have the option to purchase AAMC full length but i think they are generally easier than the real thing. It's definitely saving a lot of money if you don't take a course.. but if it's something you can do, and you just want to take the mcat once and for all.. then take a course. Unless you have a lot deficiencies in certain subjects... it's up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Screw the prep companies. They are a rip off. I did the MCAT twice. First time with a prep course. I got an "ok" but unbalanced score. Second time I taught for a prep course (what a joke) while I studied for the MCAT independently. I did way better on my own. My advice as a previous tutor... Skip the stupid tutors etc. Buy the EK series. Study your butt off. Grab some old AAMC tests from a friend or buy the darn things... Study 4-6 hrs a day for two three months and your golden if you have a decent science background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eng_dude786 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Screw the prep companies. They are a rip off. I did the MCAT twice. First time with a prep course. I got an "ok" but unbalanced score. Second time I taught for a prep course (what a joke) while I studied for the MCAT independently. I did way better on my own. My advice as a previous tutor... Skip the stupid tutors etc. Buy the EK series. Study your butt off. Grab some old AAMC tests from a friend or buy the darn things... Study 4-6 hrs a day for two three months and your golden if you have a decent science background. I second this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Once again the debate rages! Studying for the MCAT is something that has to be tailored to the individual person. For some the independent route doesn't seem to work - although I think the 4-6 hour a day studying is good advise. You have to work at that test! A thought - if you want a tutor you can always go to the physics office at Toronto and find out how to get a physics student to help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Once again the debate rages! Studying for the MCAT is something that has to be tailored to the individual person. For some the independent route doesn't seem to work - although I think the 4-6 hour a day studying is good advise. You have to work at that test! A thought - if you want a tutor you can always go to the physics office at Toronto and find out how to get a physics student to help you. To expand on rmorelan's thought.... When I've needed help with a certain subject, I visit my school's club for that subject (i.e. physics club or whatever it'll be called at your own school). Sometimes you can find free help (if you're just stuck on one, small thing) or find fellow students that are tutors. Maybe post an ad somewhere online/on-campus too.... Good luck! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan0105 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Once again the debate rages! Studying for the MCAT is something that has to be tailored to the individual person. For some the independent route doesn't seem to work - although I think the 4-6 hour a day studying is good advise. You have to work at that test! here's the thing about that. Classes are really good for people who don't have good habits in time management and dedication to studying. The class really forces you to go every week and even if you don't bother doing any of the material when they say to, at least you listened to some stuff and learned a bit, and then after a while the fear of being behind will push you slightly forward. However, if you are awesome at studying on your own and all you need is material, not a motivational kick in the ass by a teacher, then spending 2000 for books is outrageous. It really does come down to how you study best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 here's the thing about that. Classes are really good for people who don't have good habits in time management and dedication to studying. The class really forces you to go every week and even if you don't bother doing any of the material when they say to, at least you listened to some stuff and learned a bit, and then after a while the fear of being behind will push you slightly forward. However, if you are awesome at studying on your own and all you need is material, not a motivational kick in the ass by a teacher, then spending 2000 for books is outrageous. It really does come down to how you study best. Hehehe, that is the debate I was taking about. Your bias towards self study is coming through, although I generally do agree with you Put it in perspective - You paid to go to university and probably took physics, chem etc. Did you actually go to lectures? If so why? If you can manage time you can just learn it faster and better at home, right? You just need the textbook... It is not a question of can someone learn it at home, it is a question of efficiency. Maybe you are best at studying at home, maybe it is more effective for you to go to lectures. Doesn't matter - do what you think is best for you. They already tried the home thing for the first time he or she took the test. Maybe it is time to do something else. Personally I just studied at home for it with the Kaplan book, and took as many AMAC tests that I could. That worked for me. Anyway the poster asked about tutors, and I would say if you think it will help go for it. It is easier to find a way to get the money than it is to deal with low scores Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoast Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hi guys, thanks for weighing in on this, I appreciate the comments. One thing I should have mentioned (I now realize), is that I haven't taken the science courses; I have an Arts degree. Does that change anyone's opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan0105 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Put it in perspective - You paid to go to university and probably took physics, chem etc. Did you actually go to lectures? If so why? If you can manage time you can just learn it faster and better at home, right? You just need the textbook... Hmm, yes I did go to class because otherwise I wouldn't be bothered to do anything. Laziness is my disease and lecture forces me to at least learn something, but that being said, when I finally do need to cram, I do quite well just learning everything from the book in a way shorter amount of time. I misread what they posted and didn't realize they already tried studying once solo. Yes, a lot of my friends who did that first and then took a course the second time ended up doing quite a bit better, so it might actually be a good idea. Its probably more costly to write another two more times than to just take the course and do it once more well. Hi guys, thanks for weighing in on this, I appreciate the comments. One thing I should have mentioned (I now realize), is that I haven't taken the science courses; I have an Arts degree. Does that change anyone's opinion? HmmmmmMmmm. Did you take Arts because you found science difficult to grasp or follow? If so, than you might want to take the course. Also, most med schools require some science classes (and its usually the same stuff thats one the mcat) so you might as well take those courses (which are cheaper than a prepclass), study hard for them and then do well both in the class and in the science sections of the mcat. I wish I knew what I wanted to do in first and second year, because if I had just put a little effort into first year phys/chem/bio it would have dramatically cut down on my MCAT studying time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoast Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 To be honest, I was planning to be a lawyer, so I started in commerce, got really bored with accounting, finance, etc, started taking psychology. Loved psychology, but wanted to have an understanding of the biological side of mental illness, so I realized I should pursue medicine rather than a PhD in psychology. Unfortunately, financial considerations prevented me from doing an extra year of undergrad for the science courses. The cost of an mcat course is a lot, but I thought taking the courses separately would be more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 here's the thing about that. Classes are really good for people who don't have good habits in time management and dedication to studying. The class really forces you to go every week and even if you don't bother doing any of the material when they say to, at least you listened to some stuff and learned a bit, and then after a while the fear of being behind will push you slightly forward. Let me let you in on a lil insiders secret... If you don't have the self discipline to study for the MCAT on your own you best sit down and do some serious thinking about your habits. This is because med school is 50% self directed learning even at a place like UofT where we have a lot of lectures. The only reason why most pre-meds go to these classes is because everyone else does and they are scared they are "missing out"... As a former MCAT student, MCAT instructor and as a current medical student I assure you the only thing you are really missing at the end of the day is $2000... You were warned. Although if you insist on enrolling that is cool. My colleagues and I love making a lil extra cash over the summer reading Kaplan/Princeton's little teaching scripts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManU Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I agree with rogerroger I teach for one of the courses and I can tell you now that if you buy the books, find a friend who is in the course and use their tests then you will be golden. Someone mentioned above just going to the physics department or wherever and finding a tutor for free that is probably the best way. It is easy to find someone who had used books and you can get them relatively cheap (even all of Princeton you can pick up for 250-300 normally) Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1234 Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 personally, I enrolled, got some books, and then quit and got everything but a $100 back. The course is brutally slow, a good half of the instructors are not even satisfactory) and its just a crappy way to spend a summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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