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I just took the MCAT on May 18, 2018. I won't receive scores until June 20, but I scored very, very well on the practice exams while using second edition Kaplan books, along with a packet of flashcards. I think that as long as you use materials made for the new MCAT (obviously) you will generally be fine! Maybe some topics change year to year, but in the actual exam I didn't see any material that wasn't covered in the books...it was more of a matter of whether I remembered it or not, haha.
As for Kaplan, I liked the books a lot. My friend bought Kaplan and Princeton Review and also preferred Kaplan, though he didn't have specific reasons for it. He just liked the structure and mnemonics. Kaplan is quite detailed and their concept check questions are very nit-picky, but once I took an actual practice exam I was pleasantly surprised. I think Kaplan over-prepares you, but doesn't provide extraneous information. Sometimes the nit-picky details came in handy. I got the older Kaplan books simply because I knew someone selling the entire set for $40, so I wasn't going to pass that up.
Just some random advice that I found helpful for studying while taking classes: while taking classes related to MCAT topics, I would work through the corresponding book! It helped a lot in the class and for MCAT studying; I did the general chemistry book while taking physical chemistry, and the biochemistry book while taking biochemistry.
As for Kaplan, I liked the books a lot. My friend bought Kaplan and Princeton Review and also preferred Kaplan, though he didn't have specific reasons for it. He just liked the structure and mnemonics. Kaplan is quite detailed and their concept check questions are very nit-picky, but once I took an actual practice exam I was pleasantly surprised. I think Kaplan over-prepares you, but doesn't provide extraneous information. Sometimes the nit-picky details came in handy. I got the older Kaplan books simply because I knew someone selling the entire set for $40, so I wasn't going to pass that up.
Just some random advice that I found helpful for studying while taking classes: while taking classes related to MCAT topics, I would work through the corresponding book! It helped a lot in the class and for MCAT studying; I did the general chemistry book while taking physical chemistry, and the biochemistry book while taking biochemistry.