Importance of MCAT course???

[Doc.Holliday]

trying to figure out if i will be adequately prepared for the MCAT next august.

i will have completed:
diversity of life (survey of all life forms etc), cell bio, genetics, molecular bio, advanced cell bio
Gen chem I and II, organic chem I and II
Physics I and II

i plan on starting to specifically study for the test at the start of summer. I will be volunteering a bit and doing research in a lab, but nothing else i need to study for etc. i could get at least a few hours in a day, sometimes a lot more and occasionaly less of course.

i will buy all the kaplan review books etc and all the aamc tests etc i can get my hands on. i'll spend a considerable amount of time taking practice tests.

is a class necessary? i cant afford that sort of cost. Id be forced to take out loans if i do (im on a full scholarship, so 2k in loans isnt that big of a deal, but surely an annoyance).


are there any real benefits to taking the class? aside from making yourself go to the classes b/c you just dished out 2 grand? i suspect the practice tests in a realistic setting would be a big plus, but i dont consider that worth 2 thousand dollars....

opinions please

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[HistoRocks]

trying to figure out if i will be adequately prepared for the MCAT next august.

i will have completed:
diversity of life (survey of all life forms etc), cell bio, genetics, molecular bio, advanced cell bio
Gen chem I and II, organic chem I and II
Physics I and II

i plan on starting to specifically study for the test at the start of summer. I will be volunteering a bit and doing research in a lab, but nothing else i need to study for etc. i could get at least a few hours in a day, sometimes a lot more and occasionaly less of course.

i will buy all the kaplan review books etc and all the aamc tests etc i can get my hands on. i'll spend a considerable amount of time taking practice tests.

is a class necessary? i cant afford that sort of cost. Id be forced to take out loans if i do (im on a full scholarship, so 2k in loans isnt that big of a deal, but surely an annoyance).


are there any real benefits to taking the class? aside from making yourself go to the classes b/c you just dished out 2 grand? i suspect the practice tests in a realistic setting would be a big plus, but i dont consider that worth 2 thousand dollars....

opinions please

The class can't hurt you. Although, of course, to a certain extent, it depends on the person . A classroom setting provides structure and discipline, which works well for some ppl but is unecessary for others. Isn't that the standard argument?

 

[Lindyhopper]

It does, of course, depend on the individual, but for the great majority of aspirants a review course is very worthwhile. For a little antedoteal evidence, I for one loved my EKs course.
My June diag were running about 21. I got a 32O on the August real deal. No way would I have broken 30 without a course.
My entirely unscientific estimate is that a review course is on average worth 3-4 points.
Finally, the stakes are high. Remember it is called the medical college ADMISSION TEST.

 

[CaptainJack02]

as the above poster said, it's all dependent on you and what kind of studier you are. i would NEVER take a course for ANY standardized test, since the fear of the test was enough to park my ass down and study.

the one indisputable advantage is the access to the exam library at kaplan(some of which i bought on ebay) and the timed exams on saturdays. they don't teach you anything new and you can do EVERYTHING on your own, with a healthy dose of fear and the proper materials. but honestly, this is a relatively straightforward test - get the AMCAS practice tests, buy the kaplan books, sit down for 5 weeks and study 9-5 5 days a week and take practice exams on saturdays, and go back over *all* your answers, even the ones you got right. chill saturday nite and sunday, and get back on track. Simple, right?!

save the 2 grand for your eurotrip once you get back your 34!

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I didn't take a course. I studied. I saved $1000 bucks. For a poor person, that's pretty good. I got a good score. I'm accepted.

Do you trust yourself?

 

[Lindyhopper]

Hey Congratulations! Become a great doctor.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

Hey Congratulations! Become a great doctor.

Thank you, very much. I'll try my best, I really will. I won't take my success for granted. I've been very fortunate, standing on the shoulders of giants...

I hope to keep a humble attitude throughout my career.

(Trying not to hijack the thread. )

 

[CaptainJack02]

I hope to keep a humble attitude throughout my career.

(Trying not to hijack the thread. )

that's the attitude!

i hope to keep this perspective too, but something tells me that my take-successes-for-granted history will propel me into tool-dom. god help me.

 

[ishaninatte]

I say take a practice test first. If you feel like you are missing a lot of the basics and you get a pretty low score, a class is a good way to ensure that you cover everything.

If you get a decent score and you feel really comfortable with a lot of the material, save the money.

I took a class, (only $1200) and the thing I enjoyed most about it was the access you are given to so much practice material. Learning in the class setting wasn't so helpful really, but going over questions in groups was beneficial.

Just get ahold of lots and lots of practice tests. Thats the key.

 

[fever5]

honestly, the Kaplan course was only good because of the practice materials... the books were so-so (just segregated version of the big kaplan book)

Practice exams were helpful. Buy all the AAMC ones. you probably can do well without the course.

 

[Datko]

Lots of good practice material on ebay.

And if you want a large (10 books + about 28 cd's, audio[great for car] and video[not great for car]) set of practice material including all the AAMC tests, kaplan review and Kaplan tests PM me. I took the MCAT in April= 26 got some more study material and took it again in August=33

The classes are good because it makes you study and gives you something to study. And 1200 really isn't very much money when looking at the big picture of acceptance.

 

[dca_55]

Probably the biggest advantage of a class is the huge amount of practice material. I'm a believer that doing lots and lots of MCAT style practice is the best way to improve. Although, there are tons of books on the market, not all of them are great. The MCAT has gotten more difficult in recent years, so I've found that some of the books out there are too easy. Other books have very little explanations in the physical sciences sections or only one or two example/review questions per topic. The main commercial test prep companies probably have good materials at the bookstore, but to get the amount of practice material you can get in a course, you will be spending hundreds of dollars anyways.

Although I definitely believe it is possible to score high studying on your own, taking a course will make the process much more streamlined and easier. I went the prep course route this summer, and although it cost me $1500; I think my summer would have been a lot more miserable if I tried to do it on my own. Most of us will be in six figure debt after med school, so whats $1500 in the big scheme of things?

 

[Lindyhopper]

If you do have the organization & disclipline to do it solo, I would check out EKs materials. I found them excellent. They were concise. And hit the nail on the head sentence after sentence. What I really liked was that they had PhDs on their website who would give detailed answers to any questions you had anything in their review books or 1001 question books.
But (& I realize few seem to agree) I really liked having lectures. In pretty much every course I've ever taken, I benefitted from a balance of banging my head against my books in the library and then having a lecture on the material. Of course, for MCAT review I was fortunate to have two great teachers, including Jordan Zaretsky . He was one of the founders of EKs & teaches their PS in New Brunswick and for their online course.