Guest The Law Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I'm going to be writing the MCATs next year and I was wondering what people thought of the courses they took (i.e. Princeton, Kaplan, etc). Do they reccomend these courses? Would it be better if I just studied for it alone? If I do decide to go it alone, any advice you'd have to offer? Which books should I look at for review? Any hints on how I can best prepare? The reason I'm hesitant to study alone is because I know the courses will teach me how to approach the test, and I want to be sure I review everything. However, I do have really good study habits... and I think that I'd probably be able to focus on the stuff I'm having trouble with, rather than going along with what the program is stelling me to focus on. Thanks for any advice you have to offer! LK :eek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shetland23 Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 i revised on my own with the Gold Standard. but my friends went through Kaplan. If you have the money and the time I would recomend you to go for the course... it wouldnt hurt. and coupled with your own study time. the reason why ppl didnt do well on a prep course is that they dont put effort into it after the classes. but i was living in whistler, which had no kaplan class. i am pleased with my result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Law Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 The only reason I'm hesitant to do the course is I'm not sure, do they really cover everything? Also, what if they spend too much time on something I'm already confident in? I could have spent that time studying something I wasn't that good at (grr physics ). Do you find there is enough time to go to the prep classes and focus on your weaker areas? I think it would be good to have the guidance of a prep course, and I know I'll be working hard to get ready for the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treehuggingbiologist Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I'll speak about Kaplan (as thats where my experience is) and I can say they really do prepare you well for the MCAT. Prep course rely heavily on word of mouth and so if they don't do their job, they don't get customers. So they do prepare you. Personally, I found the classes and homework to be useful, but not key. What I found the most important was the old exams and practice full length's they gave. Plus their help in the writing sample (where a lot of students fall short) was incredibly good - the AAMC doesn't give much guidance there, and if you scroll through the previous posts, people complain about their Verbal and Writing Sample marks the most. If you can afford it, I'd say do the course. Even if you don't, if you went ahead and bought the old AAMC exams, they work out to $600+ or some ridiculous amount. And then factor in books and stuff, and its really not that much more for the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Law Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Thanks for the tips guys, yeah I think I'll do the course then. I'll probably also look at some prep books too for more material. I've been reading people's posts and most people think that practice exams are the best prepartion. I'm a bit worried about physics because the physics class I took didn't do every section of physics on the mcat, that's where I know I'll have a little trouble. I read a lot so I think I'll do okay on verbal reasoning, and I love chem... I guess it'll just be prep, prep, prep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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