Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Jeff, UG2 Date:***1/14/2001 12:20 am*PST * Has anyone here taken an MCAT Course offered by The Princeon Review, Kaplan, Richardson, etc.? How useful was it, particularly in preparing you for the verbal and writing sections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Ian Wong, MS2 Date:***1/14/2001 10:02 pm*PST * In talking to my classmates, some of them took the above courses. For the ones who'd finished the MCAT pre-reqs some time ago, it was a good refresher. Others found it not so useful. I didn't take a prep course, relying instead on prep books. My personal feeling is that it is entirely dependant on your learning style. If you are comfortable busting out a book, and teaching yourself, then a prep course isn't going to do much for you, beyond providing sample test materials. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person that never misses a lecture, and finds it difficult to understand material if it isn't being presented by an instructor, then a course might be helpful. One common pearl I've heard on the internet, is that since the quality of instruction varies greatly depending on the instructors (for example: this term I could have been an instructor, despite not having done Physics in 4 years) the biggest benefit of these courses is the access to sample tests. I found I learned the most after I studied a section, wrote a couple practice tests, bombed a certain type of question, and then put in the effort to learn that area especially well. In fact, I found it so useful, that I recommend that every person write at a minimum 3 full MCATs, with 10+ practice MCATs being optimal preparation. For the English sections, your best bet is to work on your reading speed, in addition to practising various test-taking strategies to find out which work for you. In the English-section, time management and speed are crucial, more so than the other sections for the typical science major. I don't think a prep course can help you much with these parts. You can't teach a person to read better. That's something they have to do for themselves. Ian Can, MS2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Doug Mah Date:***1/14/2001 10:24 pm*PST * I didn't take the Princeton review, but a lot of my classmates did. I don't think it really helped. in fact, they teach you so much that you have difficulty concentrating on what's important: practicing the actual tests! In fact, a lot of my friends in the Princeton Review got worse than I did... So that's not worth the $1500 it cost them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Capt. Japan, Cda MBA Date:***1/25/2001 8:58 am*PST * I took the Toronto-based Kaplan prep course last summer and aside from being pained studying orgo while the summer-loving, sun-kissed passersby revelled outside my window, found it quite beneficial. Again, as previously stated, you have to have a decent understanding of your optimal study plan. In that regard, an MCAT course may or may not be a good idea for you. If nothing else, if you have trouble becoming motivated in the summer, being around all of those other people watching videos, taking tests and swotting away diligently may help to stimulate your work ethic. Some Kaplan-specific points: yes, some instructors may be more talented than others, but Kaplan offers the flexibility of allowing you to switch classes in order to take/re-take certain lectures with whichever instructor you prefer (provided adequate class space is available, and more often than not, it is). The classroom also provides an excellent arena for listening to the questions/answers on the various topics with which you may be having trouble. There are a number of features in the Kaplan programme that I found especially helpful: a) The on-line (internet-based), self-timed topic tests with instant feedback--there are many of them in each of the major categories: physics (e.g. optics, waves), orgo (amines, carbonyls), gen. chem (thermochem., mechanisms), and biology (genetics, the digestive system). In addition, there are broader, longer tests grouping many topics. You take the tests on- or off-line, and then your marks (as well as your history with other tests in that section) are displayed for review. For those questions or topics that you had problems, the feedback provides suggestions for topics to pay special attention to. The flashcards: for each broad subject (physics, gen. chem., orgo, bio.) Kaplan provided ~100-130 flashcards containing 3-4 questions each. It makes for a large stack of flashcards (~500 in total), but they are an excellent, quick and very portable way to test your knowledge and reinforce concepts and formulae. c) Most valuable were the staged, full-length mock exams. These were held in the Sanford Fleming Building at UT, in the actual rooms where the MCAT exams are officiated. I took a total of five, full-length exams with Kaplan and for the first, was jittery and nervous. By the fifth, it was old hat. By time test day came along, I wouldn't say I felt as comfortable as I did in my fifth dry-run, but I certainly didn't feel as on edge as I did during the first. Kaplan tries to replicate exam day activites exactly too--they provide two breaks, as well as a lunch break, and have proctors on hand to give the events that extra official edge. One major caveat however: as you may have read in the Kaplan site, although the science sections of the MCAT seem to be easier than those on the exams offered by Kaplan (ridiculously so, I found) the VR sections of the MCAT have become increasingly more difficult. In the five mock exams that I wrote, only one came close to the difficulty of VR on test day, (the AMCAS tests are even further from VR reality), and even then, it fell shy. Positively though, you become a minion on the normal distribution curve, so if you're not the only person who finds it difficult, chances are, you won't be alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Jeff, UG2 Date:***1/25/2001 3:22 pm*PST * Hi, thanks for the replies everyone. I have a question concerning Kaplan: how important is it to use their study centre/library? If I do end up taking their course, I wouldn't have time to go down to their library until the begining of August, just two weeks before the MCAT... also, I heard that The Princeton Review gives better preparation in verbal and writing (however, it's $250 + tax more expensive). Has anyone heard about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Ian Wong, MS2 Date:***1/28/2001 1:42 pm*PST * Hey there, I think I've said it before, but in case I haven't, I'll reiterate it here. I think the actual review course is most beneficial for people who have been out of school for a few years, and who need help therefore in covering the Physics/Chem/Biology basic sciences. This would include grad students as well as those people that graduated, worked, and are now returning to pursue their med school dream. For those premed students who are still in their undergrad, the science details should be relatively fresh. Therefore, the biggest advantage here is the use of each review course's "test bank" of simulated MCAT questions. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to do several of these exams to teach how to pace yourself, and to practice different exam techniques to find out which works best for you. Also, these practice exams help you focus on weaknesses, and gaps in your knowledge base so you can correct them. Therefore, for yourself, I'd pick whichever course gave me the best access to test materials. I assume you already have a fairly solid foundation in the basic sciences. I'm also going to be replying a little less for the next few weeks; I'm buried past my ears into Neuroanatomy at the moment. I'll get back to everyone, but it'll take a little longer... Ian Can, MS2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Capt. Japan, Cda MBA Date:***2/1/2001 6:59 am*PST * I cannot comment regarding Princeton Review (never having been part of one of their programs). I took Kaplan courses for both, my GMAT and MCAT exams and found them to be very helpful. I agree with Ian regarding the actual facts that are learned: if you are fresh out of an undergraduate program that has included the science staples of the MCAT then, knowledge-wise, you will be fine. However, the beauty of the Kaplan prep course lies in their ability to impart test-taking strategies. (Listening to what I'm writing, it may smack of it, but I actually do not work for Kaplan!) Kaplan assume that you have a knowledge of the science basics. However, if you do not, they provide, from their resource library, a "Fundamentals" series of video lectures and tests so that you may reinforce your knowledge in these areas. (It had been a while since I had been exposed to orgo, so I opted to watch the Orgo Fundamentals lecture series and found it helpful.) If you are beyond the basics, then Kaplan begin by taking you through general and subject-specific strategies for writing the MCAT. For each major sector of the MCAT, Kaplan provide a separate workbook. The initial lectures cover the most important concepts within each subject (although the texts and flashcards cover the accompanying, fleshed-out minutiae). Each workbook is accompanied by a text which details each subject and reads similar to a textbook, but contains some bonuses not found in typical textbooks. Dotted in the margins of the text and workbooks are handy mnemonics as well as "pitfalls" and "MCAT favourites". These help to secure important concepts, alert commonly-made errors and highlight topics or concepts commonly covered on the exam. For each subject-specific lecture, Kaplan begins early on, testing your ability to answer MCAT-style questions. They will offer passages and have you answer 5-8 associated multiple choice questions for each, in addition to discrete questions, as per the exam structure. Therefore, from the beginning, you become attuned to the MCAT style. As the course progresses, the lectures become broader. Therefore, the first number of lectures are specific, e.g., general chemistry, physics, but become more MCAT-centric, e.g. physical sciences (grouping gen. chem. and physics), biological sciences (grouping bio. and orgo). The accompanying passages reflect this broadening. The resource library is an important part of the Kaplan offering. It houses myriad section exams which are very useful for testing both, knowledge and exam-taking ability. Unless you spent a large amount of your two weeks prior to the exam in the Kaplan center (the resource library materials may not be removed from the center, and cannot be photocopied), I would imagine that it would be challenging to effecitvely use all that it has to offer. Besides, the two weeks prior to exam day tend to be mayhem within the Kaplan center (at least it was in Toronto). The "quiet" rooms (where students may go to take tests and study) are filled from center opening to closing. I found Kaplan's approach to the Verbal Reasoning and Writing Sample sections of the MCAT helpful--most especially VR. Again, their are lectures specific to VR and WS and Kaplan teaches specific strategies for attacking both sections of the exam. (Their WS flowchart I found particularly helpful.) Similar to the sciences, Kaplan offers passages with associated questions which are covered in class. They highlight common pitfalls, common question types, and strategies for quickly, efficiently and accurately reading VR passages. In addition, they offered many VR tutorials where full-length VR section tests were staged, and the answers were taken up afterwards. Finally, if you're finding that you're need more VR work, Kaplan also offer an additional sub-course--"Verbal Edge". This costs extra, but consists of 5-8 additional lectures, and additional tests/practise questions. (Incidentally, Kaplan offer a similar sub-course--"Organic Edge"--for those in need of extra orgo help. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Ian Wong, MS2 Date:***2/1/2001 10:39 am*PST * Wow! What a great post Capt. Japan. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. I hadn't thought about the space of the actual prep course venue; that's definitely something to consider. My personal feeling on studying is that I can work in crowded environments like a library 2 weeks before finals. Some of my classmates can't study if there is another person within a hundred meter radius. Therefore, consider your personal preferences when choosing a prep course. If those practice exams can't be removed from the test hall for use at home (and it sounds like they can't to prevent piracy), then you really need to decide how beneficial they will be if you'll only have access to them when it's noisy, crowded, and filled with other stressed-out individuals. Ian Can, MS2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted March 25, 2001 Report Share Posted March 25, 2001 Author:*Kirsteen (Capt Japan), Cda MBA Date:***2/1/2001 1:12 pm*PST * Hello, Further to the discussion regarding crowded MCAT study classrooms... Prior to taking the MCAT course, I too preferred stepping into a cone of silence for studying purposes. However, during the course, a friend astutely observed: "Hell, if you can't study effectively without other people milling around, coughing, sneezing and shuffling their papers, how on earth are you going to do it on test day." Excellent point. Thereafter, although I still preferred to absorb formulae and concepts in relative silence, I found it quite helpful to get into the Kaplan center and execute the practice problems while surrounded by the coughing, sniffling and scratching. By training the brain and ears to block out these hazards and continue to work undisturbed, I felt better equipped for test day. A timely lesson too, as I took the two days prior to the exam off work in order to complete more problems at home, only to discover that my building had scheduled those days for a small reconstruction project involving the use of a pneumatic drill two floors directly below my study area. Furthermore, during the VR section of the actual exam two days later, I and many of my fellow test-takers observed a potentially annoying "POING, POING" noise which occurred every 10-15 seconds or so within the exam room. I reckon that I would have scored lower than I actually did on VR had I not been able to largely ignore the din and plow on. Kirsteen (Thank you for the pseudonym mention, Ian. It's since prompted me to decloak from my StarCraft alias!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.