Is this just a Coke vs. Pepsi difference, or is one company consistently a better resource? It seems like it's the luck of the draw either way, and just depends on the instructor you get. I've gotta sign up for one of them soon though, so I'd appreciate any advice from all you veterans out there.

for me, i prefer kaplan than princeton for their practice tests.

i don't know about their classes, but the way i think, most of the stuff they go over in class is review anyway and can be done by just reading the review books yourself

shouldn't this be in mcat forum?

Kaplan, hands down.

IMO it's basically a preference choice, like coke v. pepsi. However, if you're not limited to the two, I'd go EK. I took Kaplan, and now I wish I did EK instead.

I took both... thought Kaplan bit a big one (some of the teachers were my classmates). Princeton Review was better.

this really depends:
1. The teachers in your area. Talk to your friends who have taken one or the other. See how they feel about their instructors. This can make a big difference, if you learn well in class.
2. Are you more of a classroom learner or a practice-makes-perfect learner? PR gives you more classes while Kaplan gives you more practice material.

In the end, it's not a huge difference. But I still prefer coke. ;)

yeah, not a huge difference.

I took princeton review, though, because I figured I could just buy all the kaplan materials whereas materials from princeton are made exclusively for their course. It's up to you how much you use class time, etc, so I felt like more class time was better than less, and I could just decide how much time I invested in them.

I did the PR course, using Kaplan review materials also, and I felt like Kaplan Chemistry/Organic was quite good. I felt like their Physics sections were similar enough. I thought PR Verbal was especially bad, but didn't feel like Kaplan was any better. I really recommend ExamKrackers 101 Verbal passages though. PR is AWESOME at the bio section, really everything you need to know if you're willing to sit down and remember it all. I scored 15 there. Kaplan people never seem to have taken a real AAMC MCAT until they sit down for the real thing (correct me if I'm wrong, this is from talking to ppl on test day), which I thought wasn't so good.

Anyway, don't think too hard about pepsi vs. coke.

this really depends:
1. The teachers in your area. Talk to your friends who have taken one or the other. See how they feel about their instructors. This can make a big difference, if you learn well in class.
2. Are you more of a classroom learner or a practice-makes-perfect learner? PR gives you more classes while Kaplan gives you more practice material.

In the end, it's not a huge difference. But I still prefer coke. ;)

excellent advice; especially number 1.

i took kaplan, but looking back on it, i think maybe EK alone would have been a better choice...

for me, i prefer kaplan than princeton for their practice tests.

i don't know about their classes, but the way i think, most of the stuff they go over in class is review anyway and can be done by just reading the review books yourself

shouldn't this be in mcat forum?
interesting----
I thought Kapalan's tests were completely unlike the actual MCAT, but I thought their review book was very good. Were it me I'd not waste the money on a class, just give up your social life, buy the old tests from aamc and hit the books untill it makes you cry.

yeah, not a huge difference.

I took princeton review, though, because I figured I could just buy all the kaplan materials whereas materials from princeton are made exclusively for their course. It's up to you how much you use class time, etc, so I felt like more class time was better than less, and I could just decide how much time I invested in them.

I did the PR course, using Kaplan review materials also, and I felt like Kaplan Chemistry/Organic was quite good. I felt like their Physics sections were similar enough. I thought PR Verbal was especially bad, but didn't feel like Kaplan was any better. I really recommend ExamKrackers 101 Verbal passages though. PR is AWESOME at the bio section, really everything you need to know if you're willing to sit down and remember it all. I scored 15 there. Kaplan people never seem to have taken a real AAMC MCAT until they sit down for the real thing (correct me if I'm wrong, this is from talking to ppl on test day), which I thought wasn't so good.

Anyway, don't think too hard about pepsi vs. coke.


just a fyi: kaplan gives you a ton of material with their classroom course that you can't buy in the bookstore. You also have access to AAMC MCAT's in addition to the Kaplan MCAT's in their test centers.