hey my name is Dan and I just completed the kaplan mcat course this past april. After studying for another month, and scoring in the 27-29 range consistently I took the MCAT may27 with high hopes. Unfortunately I did aweful, neting a score of an 18R!!! Im under the beleif that I just sort of spazzed out on the exam. I dont know what I was thinking, I finished all my sections early and was a complete wreck!

Anyways, I am definitely considering doing the Kaplan 1 on 1 tutoring for 35 hours and I wanted to see if anyone out there had done the tutoring and seen good results?

Thanks for listening and good luck with your studies!

Dan

hey my name is Dan and I just completed the kaplan mcat course this past april. After studying for another month, and scoring in the 27-29 range consistently I took the MCAT may27 with high hopes. Unfortunately I did aweful, neting a score of an 18R!!! Im under the beleif that I just sort of spazzed out on the exam. I dont know what I was thinking, I finished all my sections early and was a complete wreck!

Anyways, I am definitely considering doing the Kaplan 1 on 1 tutoring for 35 hours and I wanted to see if anyone out there had done the tutoring and seen good results?

Thanks for listening and good luck with your studies!

Dan


Hey Dan, based on what I've heard from my tutoring students as well as what I've read online, the benefit of any package heavily depends upon the effort you put in as well as the quality of the instructor/tutor who guides you. If you opt for tutoring (whether with Kaplan or anyone else), ensure you end up with someone who is knowledgeable about the MCAT, i.e. you want someone who is equipped to teach you the ins and outs of kinematics as well as someone who can direct you on how to prepare for the exam (which resources to use when). The major criticism I have heard from students with other tutors is that their tutor isn't sufficiently familiar with the resources offered by the company. Once you are paired up with a qualified tutor who can guide you on how to prepare for the test, take full advantage of the opportunity.

One quick question -- when you were scoring in the 27-29 range...was that on the Kaplan FLs or the AAMCs?

hey thanks for the response. yeh when i was scoring in the 27-29 range i was using the kaplan exams mainly. I did use TPR and hit 26 and 27... Oh well, guess I just need to relax a little bit before the next go round!

hey thanks for the response. yeh when i was scoring in the 27-29 range i was using the kaplan exams mainly. I did use TPR and hit 26 and 27... Oh well, guess I just need to relax a little bit before the next go round!

Based on my experience, I have found that the best resource to use for diagnostic purposes is the AAMC PTs. Although these exams "feel" easier than the actual MCAT administration, the majority of the students I have worked with tend to report back that their real MCAT score was in line with their performance on the AAMC exams.

If you still have access to your Kaplan account I would recommend you use those exams to diagnose your performance. Use the FLs from the other companies as extra practice material, but don't put too much stock in their scaled score results. Developing true standardized tests require a lot of time and effort, and it is impossible for the tests offered by Kaplan, TPR, EK, etc to test their test questions to the level that the AAMC can. Still, the tests offered by other companies can be quite useful, especially in light of the fact that the prep companies make an effort to make the tests difficult to help students prepare for the true "feel" of the test.

Although it appears to be a bit of a cat and mouse game between the AAMC and the test prep companies, the reality is that the AAMC is way ahead of the test prep companies. The test prep companies do the best they can, but the AAMC is extremely tight-lipped with respect to their test questions. That is a GOOD thing though. The validity of the MCAT lies in the fact they are ahead of the game.

Ultimately then, keep in mind that the resources provided the test prep company are there to help you develop your thinking abilities. Helping you learn the content is, of course, critical...but that's merely the first step in getting ready. The next step is to accept the fact you will encounter material on the MCAT that is simply way "out there"...how you learn to think through those challenges will play a key role in helping you break through to reach your target score.

Good Luck!

I am taking private tutoring right now with Kaplan, and not very impressed. They had one tutor that was excellent, I talked to him couple times but he is moving away for medical school. Present tutor is his student. Hard to coordinate timings.

Would you suggest using the private tutoring in comparsion to classroom?