EK vs. Kaplan [Poll]

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BrownEMS

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Which is the better test prep, EK or Kaplan? I'm talking about the books, not necessarily the practice exams!

Please let me know why? Don't just answer because you are biased as you bought one of them, rather what have you been hearing around here in SDN? What have you tried and what were the outcomes?

There were questions like this asked in the past, but they were too early for the 2015 MCAT.

If neither of them are good, let me know which is best?

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EK 100%

With kaplan and tpr, I felt overwhelmed with information, most of which was useless. EK was concise and to the point. The bright, colorful pictures and charts stuck in my head and their practice questions in the books really nailed the type of research passage questions that the MCAT asks.
 
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TPR for LYFE. Just the right amount of information. Think of EK as a quick refresher.
 
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tbh I have subconsciously avoided EK solely for the goofy name
 
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Depends on how much you know and how much you need to study for. I had old TBR books and supplemented them Kaplan psych and biochem. Nothing beats AAMC though.
 
Another vote for TPR. Read each book cover to cover and was more than prepared content-wise for the MCAT. The physics review is a little overkill, but better that than too brief IMO.
 
It doesn't matter. Any test prep company's content review books will prepare you adequately for the exam, although some might go about it in a really roundabout way. Kaplan and EK I felt were both pretty good (although I mainly used only Kaplan) but the styles were quite different so this will be more of a personal learning style issue than a "which is better" issue. I liked Kaplan because I have learned to trust Kaplan from all the rest of their test prep materials so I trusted them with this. But EK does have a lot of good helpful visual aids and mnemonics to help you recall information better.

The true distinguishing factor on the MCAT will be how well you can reason - and to practice that, the AAMC materials (especially the Section Bank) are paramount.
 
The Kaplan books are second to none, but their practice exams are way too complex compared to the real exam.

I prefer the NextStepPrep tests, they're very similar to the AMCAS practice exams.
 
I used both books but if I had to choose one, Kaplan has all of the content you need and maybe a little more (thinking of the metabolic pathways in particular). In summary Kaplan is useful for a thorough content review while EK is indispensable in regards to topics which you already understand. In my opinion it would be difficult to prepare completely off of EK but I think it would be possible with Kaplan.
 
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wait, if this Q is about the books then its all subjective. Just like ANY U.S. med school will give you your basic science education, any decent prep company can make an effective MCAT science book.

If your talking exams, then its AAMC > NS > EK >>>>>>>> Kaplan & TPR
 
Could you purchase the practice exams from these companies separately or do you HAVE to buy their $2k course?
 
Seeing a lot of positive votes for Kaplan, EK, and TPR, but how does TBR compare? I know it's very thorough, so how is it compared to Kaplan and TPR?
 
Seeing a lot of positive votes for Kaplan, EK, and TPR, but how does TBR compare? I know it's very thorough, so how is it compared to Kaplan and TPR?
Kaplan > all else. haha honestly most people haven't tried every single system so everyone is bias (myself included)
 
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Seeing a lot of positive votes for Kaplan, EK, and TPR, but how does TBR compare? I know it's very thorough, so how is it compared to Kaplan and TPR?
I've used TBR, EK, and Kaplan when I was studying for my MCAT. Check out the "mcatjelly" study schedule for more detail, but essentially in thoroughness it is as follows:

EK-First pass of material. You could maybe stop with just EK if you know the material well.

Kaplan-Second pass if needed. More detailed. this may help if you need further clarification.

TBR-Used mainly for passage based practice, but if you REALLY do not understand something, (as was the case for me with Electrochem for example) you can use this, as they pretty much teach you from the ground up. The common criticism is that the books delve into too much detail, but as you can imagine it would be necessary if you are using them to teach from the very foundational level. To sum up, if needed, TBR is a good thorough resource. However, most schedules use TBR mainly for their great passage based questions.

Depending on your strengths and weaknesses, you may end up just using mainly EK, but I think the TBR books are extremely valuable for the questions themselves. Kaplan fits into the equation if you need more detail than EK (likely for most people) as they are very solid books. The TPR book I used (as encouraged by the mcatjelly schedule) was the Psychology/Sociology book and I preferred that particular book over the Kaplan Psych/Soc. Generally I would imagine TPR fills the same position that the Kaplan books do.
 
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