Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

Choosing between Kaplan and Princeton


Guest PhantomPhoenix

Recommended Posts

Guest PhantomPhoenix

I need info on each...can't make up my mind which to take.

 

Princeton seems to be alot more hrs. Most of my friends have taken Kaplan but the few I know who took Princeton scored pretty high.

 

 

 

 

Edited the subject title to get rid of the all-capital letters. -Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest bill osborne

I am the director for Kaplan in Vancouver and I would like to update everyone on how Kaplan helps students prepare for the MCAT.

 

One major improvement made by Kaplan is to enable our students to access the bulk of our library resources online. So now students can choose to study in our centers or at home. You will have access to 11 full-length Practice exams from Kaplan plus 7 full-length exams from AAMC. 115 practice tests with full explanations, 25 online workshops and the ability to makeup a class online.

 

Bill Osborne

Area Director

Vancouver

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My experineces...

 

I took Kaplan. Class time was a waste of time (for me) so more hours shouldn't make a difference. The VR section in the Kaplan mock tests were so much easier than the real MCAT. The Kaplan mocks BS and PS were harder the the real MCAT. Class teachers basically follow the lesson plan (a couple sheets of paper given to them). However, they are very accessible (after class, e-mail) for questions about MCAT of med school. Tons of practice tests (but I ended up borrowing a friends Princeton book for more practice).

 

Princeton gives you a free subscription to Times magazine and a free backpack. My friends backpack ripped in less than a year. Thats all I really know about Princeton.

 

Resolution...

 

If you learn best from text books, the classes are basically only useful for keeping you on schedule and for giving you practice tests. If you learn best from classes, the teachers that are chosen are basically people who have done well on the MCAT. One prep course is not going to have better teachers than the other. All in all, doing well on the MCAT is not in the course, but in the effort you put in. I dont think I would have done any better or worse if I had gone with Princeton Review. I would consider things like cost, distance from their classes, etc. more than the quality of the courses.

 

Tweep

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest klukyboy

I took Kaplan as well, and for the most part I agree with tweep0. It's impossible to effectively cram all that information into a few sessions, so classes are usually a waste of time unless you have specific questions. However, the books are fantastic. Also, having 5 formal mock MCATs is great practice (although Princeton does this as well). If you write more than just the basic 5, you'll find that the Kaplan exams vary a lot in their difficulty in all subjects, some easy, some ridiculous, but the scores are all scaled accordingly. That being said, the AAMC practice tests accurately reflected the real MCAT better than any Kaplan or Princeton exam I wrote.

 

All in all, either one should be okay. I took Kaplan because it was a lot cheaper, and I increased 16 points from my initial diagnostic exam to the actual MCAT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest biomedeng

my exprience:

 

never took either of the courses, because i figured that what the instructor can teach in 1 hour i can read on my own in 10 minutes.

 

so i bought both the kaplan huge mcat review book, and the princeton extra mcat practice booklet, and went through them both.

 

in my opinion you dont need the classes. i heard that the best thing about them is the material that they give you to practice with.

 

Go on eBAY and you can buy this material for $100 instead of $1000. I paid $100 last year and got a box full of all kinds of old exam goodies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...