I was just wondering how pre-pods prepared for the MCAT. I know that there are a ton of threads on it in the MD forum, but wanted to get a podiatry med students opinion. Im trying to decide between kaplan, princeton and berkeley review. thanks. BTW....im gonna just buy the books study on my own so any help would be appreciated. thanks.

oooppss, wrong section...can you plz move to pre-pod forum? thanks.

I had good intentions, so i bought a a kaplan book and a book with 3 practice tests. I never got around to using them though. I took it cold and it actually wasnt that bad. If you paid attention in your undergrad courses and you use your own common sense, you should do fine.

I was just wondering how pre-pods prepared for the MCAT. I know that there are a ton of threads on it in the MD forum, but wanted to get a podiatry med students opinion. Im trying to decide between kaplan, princeton and berkeley review. thanks. BTW....im gonna just buy the books study on my own so any help would be appreciated. thanks.

Do NOT take the Kaplan course. My mom signed me up and it was a total waste of time. Also, talk to your pre-med advisor, because they usually have copies of (BIG SIGH FOR WHISKERS) old MCATs from past years. The old MCATS are more realistic than the Kaplan Tests.

I took the Kaplan course and liked it for one reason: it FORCED me to study/review. If you know you can study on your own, then dont waste the money. I also liked how they had the practice tests on Saturdays for 8 hours (didnt like it at the time though)....but now that its on computer, probably not a big deal. Good luck!

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I think that the above suggestions are great. I personally took it cold turkey and did fine. But if I had to do it all over again I would have taken a pre-course.

I agree very much with what has been previously posted. I took Kaplan just because i knew it would help me get a leg up on it in january as opposed to april, which is when i took the MCAT. the course was expense, but it was a great review. It is very possible to get as much out of it if you have the study supplies, on the condition that you are disciplined enough to study on your own. Hope this helps!

I agree very much with what has been previously posted. I took Kaplan just because i knew it would help me get a leg up on it in january as opposed to april, which is when i took the MCAT. the course was expense, but it was a great review. It is very possible to get as much out of it if you have the study supplies, on the condition that you are disciplined enough to study on your own. Hope this helps!

I am signed up to take the kaplan course is that the same one you used? If you did what helped the most in the program and what would you have done differently

I also took kaplan for the same very reasons that it helped to study/review the material. The kaplan tests were much different that the actual test except for the verbal reasoning and I suggest taking all the ones released by MCAT that have been previous tests. If you can get the books and study on your own then you dont need to take the course. Its on the computer now so it might be a little different now, but the test should still be about the same format and difficulty. Oh make sure you get your timing down because that can really impact your score.

I am signed up to take the kaplan course is that the same one you used? If you did what helped the most in the program and what would you have done differently

I was very pleased with the course. One thing that was nice was to have a class of people with whom I could ask questions and to have a teacher that knew the stuff. the most helpful thing was to have the practice tests every saturday for about a month and a half before the actual exam. with the new computerized version i'm not sure how that will work. my brother signed up for the course and he said that the practice tests you do online on your own time. i would like to know what you think of the course, so let me know!

thanks for all of the replies! this forum gives awesome info. thanks again:thumbup:

I also took kaplan for the same very reasons that it helped to study/review the material. The kaplan tests were much different that the actual test except for the verbal reasoning and I suggest taking all the ones released by MCAT that have been previous tests. If you can get the books and study on your own then you dont need to take the course. Its on the computer now so it might be a little different now, but the test should still be about the same format and difficulty. Oh make sure you get your timing down because that can really impact your score.

my test was pretty similar to the practice kaplan exams, except for the verbal. My verbal section was brutal. I did 2 points worse on my mcat verbal than on the practice tests. other than that my scores coincided almost exactly with how i did on the practice tests. Can i just express how glad i am that i don't ever have to take that test again!

I took Princeton Review 2 years before the MCAT - it made me feel like a dumb _ss. Those tests were so hard.

I took Kaplan just before the MCAT and read 3 newspapers a day. The wall street journal, NYtimes and washington post. The WSJ came free with my Kaplan subscription.

I think the reading helped the most. I read articles I was definitely not interested in and thought about the Kaplan techniques while I read (main points of paragraphs). This works because newspaper journalism is written with the main point and overview in the 1st paragraph and then each following paragraph should support or refute the 1st. and each following paragraph should have a main point to it. So it is just like the MCAT.

I also found Kaplan tests and practice materials to be a tad harder than the MCAT but not to the point that they made me feel dumb.

A good tutoring service boost your self esteem while preparing you for the test.

Best of luck.

I think the most important thing is past tests. For example, I got a hold of some kaplan books (the ones they use in their courses) and to me, it appears that most of the info is the same you learn in undergrad classes. I think if you take practice tests, they will show you where you are weak. You can then review those areas, and repeat this process. On aamc I think they have an mcat link where you can buy practice tests. And even better, they are computer tests (which the mcat now is) :)

Got a subscription to Scientific American = 11 on verbal

Moved to Pre-Pod

So i had a question regarding MCAT. Iam scheduled for MCAT on Jan29th. I have a question regarding subject scores. Do we have to get like a uniform score in all subjects or the schools dont care about it. I mean so far we have their required score we are fine.

For example, in my last practice test i got around 21, but in my PS section, iam kind of having trouble with Physics. iam scoring low in Physics like 4 or 5.

So suppose if this was my real score, do schools just see my final score or they care about all individual scores. scholl student's comments would be great as iam going to attend scholl.

Practice makes perfect! Goodluck all!

How long did everyone start for the MCAT before you took it? Do most start 3 months before or is it more like just 1 or 2? Thanks for the info

I haven't taken a review course but from talking to quite a few of my friends that have. Some say it helped, some thought it was horrible but MOST say that they are pretty much reviewing what get in the books. The MCAT is like taking all of your required science classes to get in and having a test over them and then throwing some english in for fun. The biggest thing is to READ each question because some are really easy but you have to remember little bits and pieces of class.

In the end, you have to think about how you study the best and go with it. If you need that extra motivation then shell out the money for the class, other than that, get some books, take ANY practice tests you can (one girl I know took a full length practice test every saturday for 3 months). If/when you get in to pod or med school you'll have plenty of time to find your own motivation to study on your own :laugh:

Kaplan help me tremendously. I took the summer class and spent my whole summer studying kaplan material and outside material. Reading the wall street every morning helped!! Good luck to those talking the Mcat next month.
Practice makes prefect!