Before I begin, the whole BR vs Kaplan topic should probably get its own thread since it is a large topic. Also, that topic is outside the type of questions associated with this guide. Yet, there's an annoying mosquito in my room keeping me up, so I'll answer anyway.
I added a bit about why Kaplan verbal is bad in the 4th post. About the rundown for all of the test companies, I'm probably not going to write one for now since it would require quite a bit of work. Furthermore, BloodySurgeon posted saying that he's in the process of writing, so I don't see much of a point in me writing one just yet. Onto the questions.
BR's classroom course is probably not much better teacher-wise in your area. I believe the owners, who are the best teachers, teach primarily in the UCLA and UCI area. So in terms of teachers, you will run the same risks using either company. What makes BR's teachers better in those areas? They're actually invested in the students doing well.
BR's claim to fame is their content review books. They are hands down the best in most subjects. The only exception would be verbal and possibly biology. In biology, with the current trend in MCAT passages, BR might become the best option there as well due to its passages which are reportedly similar to the real deal. BR's content review books provide thorough explanations which are great for most students as it helps them understand the material better than a cursory overview. However, what pushes them even further over the top are their abundant practice passages. I think if you combined all of the practice passages in BR's books to Kaplan's online course material, BR would have more passages. The key to MCAT success is practice and BR fulfills that role better than Kaplan.
A quick note about Kaplan's passages, they tend to repeat passages.
On the subject of books, Kaplan's just aren't that great. It feels like Kaplan was trying to find a balance between TPR Hyperlearning's thorough explanations and EK's concise review. Unfortunately, while walking that rope, it failed. All too often Kaplan seems to pay too much attention to small details while neglecting some of the other areas. Compounding the problem is a poor presentation of the material that's incredibly dry and textbook-like. A good content review book should be engaging enough that you don't have to fight to stay awake while reading. Lastly, the in-book problems are basically useless.
One of the biggest reasons I don't like Kaplan is its horrible verbal. For a detailed explanation check the fourth post. Verbal is typically a student's weakest point, thus, when picking a company with such lousy verbal, you place students in a bad position. I will go as far as to say that taking Kaplan's verbal alone is deleterious to one's potential to score well in VR. Finally, even IF Kaplan had good verbal practice, they don't offer you nearly enough passages. In Kaplan's defense, none of the prep companies offer an adequate amount of verbal practice.
About TPR Hyperlearning practice tests, I don't have much of an opinion on them. I have seen far too many diverging viewpoints to give a thumbs up or down.
Honestly, that rundown between BR and Kaplan wasn't very good. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I wrote it on the fly. Remember that ultimately, how you prepare for the MCAT is up to you. You don't have to take the course offered by UCD and I doubt that even a thorough argument against Kaplan would change UCD's mind.
Edit: Here's the Kaplan verbal stuff:
Why is Kaplan's verbal bad?
Kaplan is bad in verbal because it doesn't stress the same things as the actual MCAT. For the MCAT, the main idea and author's point of view/opinion are the keys to success. Conversely, Kaplan focuses more on the detail oriented questions which are easy to teach; the kind of questions which make you go back over the passage to find the minute detail being tested. On the MCAT, going back to the passages will kill your timing. Furthermore, you rarely receive such questions and when you do get them, they can typically be answered with the main idea or author's opinion.
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