Kaplan vs. Princeton MCAT prep

[Guest quirkytreacle]

I'm thinking of taking one of these courses, but don't know which is better. What sort of results do each of these prep courses provide? Are they worth the money?

[Guest McGillMed2010]

Hi,

 

I truly believe that there isn't a difference between both courses. It really doesn't matter which one you take. I took Kaplan and I found that it was very good. They had lots of practice material in their learning library and they had phenomenal online resources (all lectures/classes were online, there were hundreds of practice tests online and there were online practice workshops). I'm not sure what princeton review offers but it is probably comparable.

 

The actual classes themselves are ok. Both at Kaplan and PR they are taught by students (some 3rd and 4th years and a few meds students as well).

 

I find that the prep courses really are a bit of a rip off. The only thing that they are really good for is the practice material and the fact that they help you stay organized/keep on track with the preparation. The lectures/classes aren't all that useful and I probably could have learnt it on my own. I picked Kaplan because I got a $200 discount at the time (although if I was taking the course now, I would have a 50% off at Princeton Review....) and the schedule coordinated well with my work schedule.

 

LIke I said before, I find these courses are super overpriced and I think that if you are organized and motivated you could do just as well buying the practice materials from chapters/ebay/amazong/AMCAS/etc.. and saving a whole lot of money. If you really want to take a review class, either Kaplan and PR are very good. Check if your school gets you discounts. Also, if you are planning on working in the summer as well, check to see which center offers a course schedule that best fits your schedule for the summer.

 

Good luck preparing for the MCAT!

[Guest treehuggingbiologist]

I agree with McGillMed2010 - the courses are ridiculously expensive, but totally worth it for the additional test materials they give you.

 

Personally, I liked the fact I had small unit tests for each section (so i could work on my bio, which was weak) rather than having to do a solid MCAT section. I found that doing the MCAT sections as part of a full length mock exam was much more useful. I also found (with Kaplan atleast - i didn't take the PR) that the full length exam were very useful - i ended up writing the exam in the same room i did 4 full length exams in. As much as that may not bother a lot of people, knowing the intricacies of the room (ie the LHS has a draught, there's constantly emergency crews going by the building) put me at ease somewhat. It might sound odd, but it worked for me.

 

End of the day, ask around for people who have taken the course and see what they think. Assuming the courses are almost identical, the differences will be price and also the teachers. I found my Kaplan teachers to be very knowledgeable in the whole application process and pretty cool guys to boot - which was good to help you deal with the stress of the MCAT.

 

That being said, you could borrow the books from a friend, buy a few past papers online, save yourself a bundle and work at it by yourself. But that only works if you're really self motivated and very focused. And lets face it - when its beautiful weather outside and all you want to do is hit up a patio and/or a BBQ ... yeah. You get the idea.