Better MCAT course? TPR or Kaplan

[hkdude97]

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What's the general consensus on the best MCAT prep course? Kaplan? TPR? A different one?
Also, online or in-person?

Thanks

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

Neither. Altius is the best. I took Kaplan’s and it was bad.

 

[hkdude97]

Neither. Altius is the best. I took Kaplan’s and it was bad.

Really? What are some pros about Altius? Also, would you say Altius is good for all types of people or just a certain niche

ty

 

[hkdude97]

also, does anyone recommend in class TPR over the online course?

 

[Wahed]

I took the TPR "Ultimate Online" course. I thought it was pretty good. One advantage is that all of the lectures are recorded so if you don't understand something you can pause the video and back up to hear it again. Also, you can watch lectures later if the original day isn't good for you. Also, you can skip stuff if you want. I watched the first CARS lecture and decided that their approach was too neurotic for me (although I can see how it's helpful for those that struggle with CARS).

Con: no accountability. Literally no one will notice or care if you don't watch the lecture or take notes. Classroom might provide good social pressure, and there's something to be said for the classroom experience.

From what I've read from people who did Kaplan it's pretty comparable. They're a little different but I think the quality of the education and training is about equal.

 

[elsocio-premed]

I took Kaplan and I really don’t recommend it to you. It was a waste of money. Just buy the Kaplan or other company books, make sure you learn the material and do practice tests.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Can't recommend Kaplan either, but honestly I feel like it's what you make it and how much energy you have to dedicate to it.

 

[elsocio-premed]

Can't recommend Kaplan either, but honestly I feel like it's what you make it and how much energy you have to dedicate to it.

This is true, I took a Kaplan in-class course along with a heavy semester, so I actually didn’t have much time to keep up with the course pace. Then I had to basically study again on my own, so I felt like it was a waste of money. But if you have time to dedicate to the course and do the homework on time, it may be beneficial.

 

[hkdude97]

I took the TPR "Ultimate Online" course. I thought it was pretty good. One advantage is that all of the lectures are recorded so if you don't understand something you can pause the video and back up to hear it again. Also, you can watch lectures later if the original day isn't good for you. Also, you can skip stuff if you want. I watched the first CARS lecture and decided that their approach was too neurotic for me (although I can see how it's helpful for those that struggle with CARS).

Con: no accountability. Literally no one will notice or care if you don't watch the lecture or take notes. Classroom might provide good social pressure, and there's something to be said for the classroom experience.

From what I've read from people who did Kaplan it's pretty comparable. They're a little different but I think the quality of the education and training is about equal.

would you say its worth the $2500 though or would i better off using that $ on books, practice, etc. and self studying?
thanks

 

[Wahed]

would you say its worth the $2500 though or would i better off using that $ on books, practice, etc. and self studying?
thanks

To be honest I don't know. I am a little skeptical that it was fully worth the money, but thats how I studied so I don't know what would be better. If I was going to do the whole studying experience over again on a budget, I would probably base my studying around the subject list put out by the AAMC, the Khan academy videos, that 300 page document thats floating around the MCAT reddit, a list of high yield topics (that I think I saw floating around out there on the internet somewhere?), and most importantly practice problems, and most importantly of those the AAMC materials especially the section banks.

It seemed to me that the TPR lectures were basically just live versions of the Khan academy videos. Most of my instructors were really good, but one guy really sucked. TPR gives you little pieces of advice, like on which subjects are high yield and which pieces of information aren't worth memorizing. That would be the thing that maybe makes the money worth it I think, knowing what to narrow your focus to. There's SO MUCH information that could theoretically be tested on, that having someone say "study these things" can be helpful.

That said, there are probably less expensive ways to figure out what the "high yield" things are.