Hi Kristen

[Guest swimmer]

Kristen,

 

Since you took both Kaplan and Princeton, could you help me out a bit?

 

I was told that if you signed up for Kaplan, they would NOT give you the practice material and exams - instead, you would have to go to a library? and sign them out, doing them in a nearby room.

 

 

Does Princeton Review follow the same principle? Or do they give you all the practice material to keep and take home to do as you please?

 

Cheers,

 

Swimmer

[Guest peachy3]

I'm not Kristen, but I did take the Princeton Review course.

 

You get to keep all the materials - the first day (or earlier, if you drop by to sign up) they give you a backpack and a huge stack of books that doesn't fit in the backpack. They're yours to keep, along with all the practice tests that you do.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there swimmer,

 

I did take both courses but I took the Kaplan course (2 summers ago) so I'm not exactly sure of their current format. Back then, we were given some textbooks but the practise tests themselves (both unit tests and full section tests) had to be signed out of their MCAT materials library. We were not allowed to remove these materials from the test centre nor were we permitted to write on the tests themselves except in greasepencil. (Each test page was enclosed in one of those plastic protector sheets.) Kaplan's formal, full-length mock MCATs included us being given the actual test booklet however, and we wrote these exams exterior to the test centre at Sanford Fleming in UT, so those conditions were much more akin to the test day than the classroom conditions.

 

As to Princeton Review, peachy3's post is accurate: you receive all your materials up front--even the full-length mock MCATs if you wish. So if you prefer to do most of your work/studying at home, you can comfortably do so.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest swimmer]

So, in your opinion, is there any reason why I should to take the course, if I can get all the Princeton Materials from some friends?

 

Do you think you could have done just as well with the material only, as opposed to attending classes?

 

Thanks,

 

Swimmer

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi swimmer,

 

I can only speak from my own perspective, and for me, I enjoy the classes and believe that they add to my overall learning experience. One reason for this is that I like to use the class lectures as a bit of a knowledge reinforcer. That is, I complete all my readings prior to the individual classes and then while in class try to retrieve all the concepts without looking back at my book.

 

Also, I find that during most classes the teachers (and all those who I've come across at PR are very good to excellent, which I did not find at Kaplan) manage to inject different outlooks on the material which often helps to fill out my understanding of the material. For example, today our physics teacher provided a little way of helping to remember a set of the important electrostatics/electricity equations. She called them her "little friends" since each equation sounds like a short name: Vir, Ved, Feq and Pif. Similarly, until last week, I consistently forgot which AV valve sits on which side of the heart. My biology teacher nailed it for me by offering his way of remembering: "Well, I somehow remember that the right lung has three lobes, therefore likewise, the right side of the heart houses the tricuspid valve." So the second advantage for me in attending classes are receiving little bits of tacit knowledge (which do not appear in the texts) but which do help me hammer the material home.

 

Overall, everyone has their own style of learning and may benefit from different approaches, so it's tough for me to judge whether or not the large expenditure of a prep course fee would return ample dividends for you. It may be an idea to give PR a call and see if you can sit in on one of the lectures to see if it may work for you. If that is of interest, our last round of formal lectures where we actually review new material is next week.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest V]

I teach at Kaplan, and I wanted to add that you can print out all of the tests if you are a Kaplan student, and thus can do it from your own home. You also get MUCH MUCH more material to use than Princeton Review offers. I had access to the princeton stuff when I was taking the test, and I found the Kaplan stuff was closer to the real thing.

 

I took Kaplan, and the tests they had written for students plus all of the material, and the great teachers ( ) makes it a better course in my mind. I did my research last year when I was writting the test, so the stuff I'm saying is from facts rather than word of mouth.

 

If you are interested in the course you can call 1-800-KAP TEST to get more info.

 

Best of luck

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi V,

 

I'm glad to hear that someone has more recent experience with Kaplan than my experience two years ago. I'm interested in hearing more about how their MCAT course works now, as I'm sure others may who may be trying to decide between the two. If you wouldn't mind obliging:

 

a) Can you print out ALL of the Kaplan tests now, including the unit tests, discrete tests, etc.?

Does Kaplan still use their "library" system? If so, for which purpose(s)? That is, which materials may not be available to print off at home?

c) When you say that Kaplan offers much, much more material than Princeton, can you describe which and in a bit more detail? Are there more unit tests, more banks of questions, more mock exams available, etc.? (I'd be happy to list the materials that PR offers if it's of interest to anyone.)

d) Regarding the teachers, PR currently has mostly first or second year medical students teaching their MCAT courses. For example, all of my current teachers have just completed first year at UT, but other classes have some who have just completed second year at UWO. These folks all seem to have an excellent grasp on their material in addition to being motivated, energetic and supportive. Not that I feel you need a medical student to necessarily form the basis of an excellent teacher, but when I took the Kaplan course, I had a law student teaching orgo who really didn't seem that interested in the job, and a number of other teachers who had just received acceptances to medical school who, likewise, didn't really appear as thrilled, motivated or supportive in their teaching roles as the PR folk (that's not to say that they didn't appear as thrilled or motivated about entering medical school, since they certainly appeared to be!). I realize that it may be a little challenging to put forth a less subjective opinion for this particular question given your role as a Kaplan educator, and perhaps you may not have had a chance to sit in on a PR class, but can you comment at all on the folks teaching at Kaplan nowadays?

d) Has Kaplan increased the level of difficulty in their mock exams? Commonly, people have commented that in the past that the Kaplan mocks were just short of the level of difficulty of AAMC V, and the other more current MCAT exams. I certainly found this when I took their course and I'm no genius--most of the MCAT material at the time was pretty new to me.

 

Overall, I'm not attempting to elicit a PR/Kaplan slugfest; rather, I'd like to pull some objective information together so that I can gain a better personal understanding of the current similarities/differences of the two courses, and perhaps provide some useful pieces of information for others in the process.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi again V,

 

Just noticed from one of your other posts that you're currently in S. America. Are you teaching the Kaplan course down there? If so, our apples may not be apples and oranges may not be oranges! My Kaplan experience was in the downtown Toronto location.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest V]

I am in South America, but I tought Kaplan in Toronto. My last class was just last week....

 

In terms of the number of test and so forth, there are 7 full length tests now, 6 AAMC tests, and still about 100 or so topical and sectional tests. This does not include the passages you get in class.

 

As of now, you can print off all topical and sectional tests except any AAMC stuff, because that stuff is copyrighted material. It would be nice for my students to have everything in one booklet, rather than having to print the stuff out all the time, and I think Kaplan is aiming to change this for future sessions.

 

As for the teachers, most are either incoming medical students or present medical students. To be a Kaplan teacher you needed to do very well on the test sections you wish to teach. For example, the all the physical sciences teachers I know have at least 12's on the section.

 

At the end of the day, Im sure there are pro's and con's to both courses. Princeton and Kaplan are both great courses, and in the end, I think the individual student should see what suits him/her best.

 

 

V

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there V,

 

Thanks very much for your insights. It's nice to see things evolving over at Kaplan.

 

Do you have family down in S. America, or are you down there to chill out and check out the wild scenery before heading to Ottawa? No matter which it is, I hope you're having a fab time.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest V]

I'm here doing volunteer work for the Red Cross in Guyana. I'm working in hypertension clinics and giving talks about what it means and what they can do to curtail the problem before it gets worse.

 

Its really nice down here, and I hope that everyone gets a chance to explore this side of the world.

[Guest steak]

Hi Kirsteen,

 

I recall you mentioning that you also had an MBA. I'm just wondering - did you write the GMAT?

 

While I realize there are a few sections that are very similar (VR & writing), and a few completely different (BS & PS), just wondering how you felt about the two.

 

If you wrote both, would you mind sharing your scores in context (eg: relative preparation times for each)?

 

Hoping a strong GMAT narrows the amount of prep I'll have to do to BS & PS.

 

Thanks,

Steak

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi steak,

 

Yes, I did write the GMAT (one of the last paper and pencil versions, in 1997) and I wrote my first MCAT in 2000. Most probably due to the interval between the writing of the exams, I did not find that writing the GMAT conferred any great strength for attacking the MCAT. One smaller positive aspect of writing the GMAT prior to the MCAT, however, is that the GMAT helps to familiarize you with the process of writing a marathon exam requiring skills from different sectors of the brain, and under strictly-controlled conditions.

 

I'm not sure if you're asking for my personal opinion on the VR/WS versus PS/BS sections of the MCAT? If you are, I don't think they'd be of much use to you as it's largely subjective, however, one thing I can add is that you may find certain sections of the MCAT to be a little easier due to your exposure to the MBA experiences. What I mean is that I often encountered (and welcomed) VR passages centered upon issues of economics, big business, etc. Additionally, the WS section often offers prompts on commerce, business, etc., and I don't think I can count the number of times I included tidbits about Nortel in the Roth era.

 

How I did on the exams is wholly subjective as it depends on the strengths of the test writer as they enter the exam and I cannot compare your strengths/weaknesses relative to mine at the time of writing the exams. I did end up spending more time on MCAT preparations compared to GMAT preparations and I received a relatively decent score on the GMAT, although I cannot recall my specific performance on the individual sections. Then again, I had to spend much more time removing much more rust from my chemistry/physics/biology concepts than I did my mathematical concepts. Overall I would say that the MCAT includes much more minutiae and if you have a good grasp on all of the biological and physical science factoids covered by the exam then you will be in a superior position to someone who does not possess them. However, MCAT success also hinges upon a battery of skills surrounding time/stress management and test-writing, among others.

 

What I would recommend is that you get a hold of some previous MCAT exams (AAMC V and VI are a good start) and look them over to gain a feel for the depth and breadth of information required to do well on the MCAT. Next I would try writing an exam so that you can get a better handle on your ability to function within the confines and specifications of the exam. Also, I would visit the AAMC site for the latest updates and refinements to the MCAT, as it will be different from this year forward.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest steak]

Thanks for the advice. That was more or less how I figured I'd go about it too.. I'm just getting a good chunk of the required material under my belt this term (orgo, microbio, etc.) and will have a busy summer.. =)

 

Guess I'm just trying to convince myself that respectable scores on the GMAT written/verbal sections (and the LSAT too, btw ) would mean sufficient prep on the BS/PS will "ensure" a good score overall..

 

At least I've got lots of time to get a good score though.. I think I'll write it this August, and will still have next Apr/Aug to brush up, if need be..

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi steak,

 

That sounds like a good plan!

 

Good luck and cheers,

Kirsteen