definitive PR vs kaplan poll?

[paco]

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Don't know if anyone's tried this before, but I was thinking if we could collect enough data from enough mcat takers so that we get a accurately representative sample of all people who took kaplan for the april '04 and all people who took princeton for april '04, we could really figure out who's better. Theoretically, with enough data, the discrepancies between bad/good instructors and anything else you can think of would be wiped out.

I know this is impossible, but worth a shot?

In all likelihood, we'd probably find both average mcat scores to be exactly the same...

 

[IndyZX]

and in all likelihood, the chances of such a poll being statistically viable are nil.

mcat prep is about you. dont be fooled into thinking that a prep company takes (1) premed and shoots out (1) 10V 11P 10B. such a request for kaplan vs tpr discussion will result in nothing but anecdotal evidence anyway, even under the best of intentions. and if its anectdotal evidence that you want, perhaps you should get that from your friends at school, or others that you trust

good luck

 

[chopper]

Indy - anecdotal evidence is all you get 99% of the time on SDN anyway. Why is this thread any different?

TPR all the way.

 

[L'elephante]

I liked examcrackers anyway. Kaplan and Princeton Review aren't even completely necessary because you can study the same material out of Shaums or any textbook. Examcrackers, however, gives a student practice on all potential problems that may be faced on the MCAT. Good stuff.

 

[gujuDoc]

Well I'm taking Princeton Review, but it isn't just like "oh I took this course, now I'm going to pass". Ultimately it depends on how much time you study and how much work you do outside of the classroom.

But here are the things that I love about Princeton Review. They are willing to accomodate you by providing you with at least 10 extra practice tests they have in their possession outside of the 5 that you take with your course.

They also have another almost full length test online which gives you yet another test.

They have great review materials, if you don't want to read through the mumbo jumbo useless details in your textbooks.

But on top of all the practice tests they also have an in class compendium full of passages as well as a huge science workbook with both free lance questions and passages and a Verbal review book for stratetgies and workbook for passages and practice verbal tests.

In other words, it isn't the in class instruction so much as the amount of material for which you have to study from and use as practice that I love about them.


However, if you find that you can study on your own well. I think you should go ahead and do it on your own.


Some of my friends, opted to instead study on their own using Princeton Review course books that belonged to friends whom took the course and then to take practice AAMC tests as well as some of the old tests their friends still had.

Exam Krackers is also a great source and has good practice materials.

However, outside of Exam Krackers, I would be aware of what kind of over the counter material I trust, cuz there are some over the counter material that are far easier than the real MCAT and don't prepare you nearly as much as you need to be prepared.

 

[VFrank]

From what I've heard, the Princeton Review and Kaplan courses have very different teaching methods. Kaplan is really heavy on giving you the books you need and letting you go home and learn them. They give you resources on everything you need to know and nothing you don't need, but their classroom components leave much to be desired. Princeton Review does a lot more classroom lectures and gives you less work to do on your own. Their practice tests are A LOT harder than the real MCAT (which can either prepare you or demolish your confidence) and they have a tendancy to teach you more than you need to know. It really depends on whether you like to learn in a classroom (PR) or more on your own (Kaplan).

 

[Ms.Doctor]

The Kaplan course I took was a lot of in class work as well as practice exams and questions. TPR in my area was terrible, so Kaplan was the only way to go....

 

[MoosePilot]

I really liked TPR and got a 5 point increase over my first real MCAT (taken with no prep beyond basic pre-req classes).

No experience with Kaplan.

 

[Stuart]

I took the LSAT w/ PR and the MCAT w/ Kaplan and from those experiences I can say I liked Kaplan's "method" much better.

 

[skiz knot]

and in all likelihood, the chances of such a poll being statistically viable are nil.

mcat prep is about you. dont be fooled into thinking that a prep company takes (1) premed and shoots out (1) 10V 11P 10B. such a request for kaplan vs tpr discussion will result in nothing but anecdotal evidence anyway, even under the best of intentions. and if its anectdotal evidence that you want, perhaps you should get that from your friends at school, or others that you trust

good luck

Now I don't have to post about how stupid this poll is, because it is all said here. But I will anyway. No one takes both TPR and Kaplan, so how can the OP think that they can be compared reliably?

 

[jpro]

I liked examcrackers anyway. Kaplan and Princeton Review aren't even completely necessary because you can study the same material out of Shaums or any textbook. Examcrackers, however, gives a student practice on all potential problems that may be faced on the MCAT. Good stuff.

I agree. Examcrackers is a great source for practice problems and strategy. Also, use all the material you can from AAMC.

http://www.e-mcat.com/mcat2/login.asp

They make the MCAT, so why wouldn't you use them to study. I think they have 7 practice tests, and after you take one they break it down to let you know what your strengths and weaknesses are so you don't waste your time studying material you already know.

As far as PR vs Kaplan? I took Kaplan, and it has good review material in the sciences. The verbal strategy they have sucks in my opinion. Examcrackers is way better in that category. Overall I think it is better to plan out your own study program using Examcrckers and the AAMC material on the web. I took the MCAT twice, and did much better the second time studying on my own. (6pts)

 

[lotanna]

Examkrackers, 4get the rest 👎

 

[jpro]

I think Examkrackers might have a class-based study program much like TPR and Kaplan. It would definitely be worth it to check them out. They are the new guys, but I think that?s what gives them the edge because they take a whole different approach. Well, at least with the verbal part. For instance, taking a five second break before and between each passage in the verbal so you can forget about it and be able to focus on the next one. They also don?t recommend picking and choosing which passage to do first like everyone else.

 

[gujuDoc]

As I said in my previous post, I think it all depends on your studying style and what you need for yourself.

I don't however, agree with the person that says Princeton gives you less study material and practice stuff than Kaplan. If anything, they have a full science workbook with passages, and a full verbal workbook with passages, separate from the in class compendium which also has passages.

On top of that they have 5 practice tests which they give you of which the last two are 5r and 6r from the aamc website.

They also have access to nearly 10 more tests which you can get from them as well as one full length online test on your account.

That's a lot of material.

Exam Krackers is also a good way to go. I have heard many many many great things about them from people who do not wish to pay 1500 dollars for a class, that is the way to go.

I however, found that in my area people who took Kaplan did much worse than people who took Princeton.

However, I don't think it is which course you took or take that depends on how well you do so much as the amount of time and effort you put into studying and disciplining yourself to prepare yourself for the big day.

 

[jdc5]

I think a good thing to do is to talk with students who've taken the reviews at your location. Both courses vary from place to place in the quality of teaching staff, and these can really affect your improvement or lack thereof.

I took PR and found that the ten hours of class each week (one of the main reasons I chose PR) was vital to improving my score. My teachers in those classes (all current med-students) taught me more than I learned in many of my undergrad classes.

However, I did find that PR's "Hyperlearning" method for verbal was crap. Started out with a good score on the first practice exam and after learning their way proceeded to drop a point on each succeeding practice test. Thankfully a week before the MCAT I decided to scrap their way and do it my own and went way back up.

Basically, there's no best method out there. It's just about finding the one that fits you best.

 

[willthatsall]

You will either find someone who does very well and loved the course or someone who didn't do very well and says it's a waste of money. In truth, it's probably somewhere in between. I don't believe it matters which course you take if you work hard at it, and don't believe for a second that your teacher is going to make or break your experience. You don't cover everything you need to know in class anyway; you have to work your ass of on your own. I'm taking Kaplan now and my teacher isn't the greatest, but I don't think it is going to hurt me at all in my preparation because everything I need is in the book or in the center or on the webpage.

 

["Electrolights"]

Well, I took the Kaplan prep course, and in my personal opinion, their classes are a complete WASTE (especially considering I lived a good distance away from the center) 😡 . However the amount of review material available is insane. Their practice tests were good indicators of my actual MCAT score, whether that was a lucky fluke or the quality of their tests. If you are going to take Kaplan....don't bother with the classes (unless you are going for their money back guarantee), because the lesson book you use in lecture is pretty much idiot proof....just read and fill in the material, which is all you do at class. The books, online materials, and practice tests are the only things worth your time IMO.

 

[willthatsall]

Well, I took the Kaplan prep course, and in my personal opinion, their classes are a complete WASTE (especially considering I lived a good distance away from the center) 😡 . However the amount of review material available is insane. Their practice tests were good indicators of my actual MCAT score, whether that was a lucky fluke or the quality of their tests. If you are going to take Kaplan....don't bother with the classes (unless you are going for their money back guarantee), because the lesson book you use in lecture is pretty much idiot proof....just read and fill in the material, which is all you do at class. The books, online materials, and practice tests are the only things worth your time IMO.

What were you making on the practice tests and what did you end up with?

 

["Electrolights"]

We had the diagnostic and 5 full lengths.

Diagnostic: 24
Full Length 1: 28
Full Length 2: 31
Full Length 3: 30
Full Length 4: 32
Full Length 5: 30

MCAT: 32

Like I said, it might have been a fluke but I showed fairly constant improvement and my MCAT score was in the ballpark range of those practice exams.

 

["Electrolights"]

If nothing else they gave me confidence going into the actual exam, regardless if they were anything like the real thing.

 

[VFrank]

Well, I took the Kaplan prep course...Their practice tests were good indicators of my actual MCAT score, whether that was a lucky fluke or the quality of their tests.

I think taking Kaplan is a great idea. The practice tests they gave you were (for me) a lot harder than the actual MCAT. The physical science and verbal passages/questions were a lot longer (or at least took a lot longer to complete) than the actual MCAT, so you really get your timing down well with time left to spare. My scores went something like this:

Test 1: 32
Test 2: 36
Test 3: 29 (really hungover -- bad idea)
Test 4: 34
Test 5: 35

And then my real MCAT skyrocketed to a 42. So I thought the course prepared me very well. The only thing I would be worried about is the small changes made to the MCAT recently that Kaplan hasn't taken into account. For example, a lot of the more complicated organic chemistry has been removed (I think they took out alkynes) to make way for a LOT more genetics. Just find out what changes have been made and study them on your own (because Kaplan doesn't emphasize them as much as they should).

 

[PostalWookie]

I took Kaplan, and now I teach MCAT prep for them. It's definitely the best program for very motivated students because of the resources (11 full lengths besides AAMC, plus tons and tons of stuff for the sections). The classes, just like with any review company, depend on the teacher and the kids you're studying with. One inquisitive idiot can ruin the class by bogging down everyone else. If you're really advanced, the classes are also of limited help. The Kaplan books cover exactly what you need, nothing more, nothing less. The Kaplan full lengths are considerably harder than the real thing.

If you want to be babied and have material spoonfed to you, Princeton Review is good. Their material review is supposedly excellent, with specialist teachers for each section (as opposed to a generalist covering everything for Kaplan courses), but when I looked through my friends' books, there was a lot of stuff in there that would never ever show up on the MCATs, so it's definitely overkill.

Examkrackers - well, do you want to stake your future on a company that's very new and deliberatley misspells stuff in the name? Experience counts, and they don't have it.

This is my somewhat biased opinion. I like Kaplan, but it may not be the best fit for you. Just keep in mind that they've been doing MCAT prep since the MCATs were first created, so unless you're a lazy idiot, you'll benefit tremendously.

 

[willthatsall]

Yeah I wish they would knock off about 500 bucks and take away access to the classroom. I would rather pay for just the materials, online stuff, and proctored tests. I am positive I could teach the material better than my teacher. Part of that is that I am studying it now and she isn't and the other part is she doesn't prepare well enough. But I also like Kaplan thus far.

 

[Childe]

If you want to be babied and have material spoonfed to you, Princeton Review is good. Their material review is supposedly excellent, with specialist teachers for each section (as opposed to a generalist covering everything for Kaplan courses), but when I looked through my friends' books, there was a lot of stuff in there that would never ever show up on the MCATs, so it's definitely overkill.

Examkrackers - well, do you want to stake your future on a company that's very new and deliberatley misspells stuff in the name? Experience counts, and they don't have it.

I used examkrackers. I currently teach for kaplan. If I were to study again, I would use ek and aamc tests, but thats partially a monetary decision. I agree with the above poster that TPR has many subjects in their review books which will NOT be required knowlege on the mcat. Their rationalle is that it 'might show up on a passage' so it helps to know about it. Think about that for awhile. Brevity is the main draw of EK materials as well.

As for the poster above praising TPR for their extensive review materials, just be advised that kaplan also has many, many more tests than you could/should do. Aside from full lengths there are 'topical tests' for various specific subjects, like sn1/sn2 etc. Just posting for clarity, I cant really tell you if TPR or Kaplan has more material. I do think kap's is somewhat (importantly) more brief, however..

The only people who could really answer this are those who took both courses. If anyone ever has. And thats also pretty location dependant..

 

[willthatsall]

If anyone ever took both courses, I don't think I would trust his or her judgement of the two anyway. After all, who would be stupid enough to take a course twice?

 

[Run]

i took kaplan. during the exam, i felt relaxed and that kaplan prepared me well for the experience. my actual mcat score was higher than the practice exams. frankly, if i had to do it over again, i'd take kaplan again. best of luck!