ExamKrakers vs. Kaplan?

[Edgy10]

If you only had enough funds to buy one of these sets to use for the MCAT.... which would you pick and why?

Would you seek to supplement either or due to a particular weakness in one area?

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[protego]

I only used Kaplan and it served me very well. I would supplement the Psych section with Khan Academy and call it a day.

 

[Robracer89]

I used both sets to supplement each other

 

[Go4Doc]

I only used Kaplan and it served me very well too. My biggest recommendation is that if you go with Kaplan, strongly consider buying the in-person class. While it's expensive and the class may feel slow to you at times, it's the only way to get access to their "MCAT Channel" which is a hub of both archived and live hour-long, content review sessions. It's an incredible and underused resource. The in-person class also adds a degree of accountability which can be useful if you find it difficult to motivate yourself to sit down and study. I wouldn't just buy and read through the review books and expect to nail the MCAT. It's the amount of practice and time you put towards the test that can lead to those 90th+ percentile scores.

Also of note: You might hear people complain that Kaplan practice exams are too hard and artificially deflate your practice exam score. While the latter is somewhat true, don't think of the exams as being "unfairly difficult." Rather, think of it like "strength training" for your brain. I walked out with a smile on my face on test day because it felt substantially easier than the many practice exams I had used during my "training."

 

[protego]

I took the online class and think the video review I got from that was definitely sufficient. I also second that though the Kaplan practice tests were much harder than the actual thing, it was a nice relief on test day.

 

[MareNostrummm]

P/S 131, never took a sociology class, used khan academy videos.

Kaplan has way too much detail than what you need for the MCAT, and is only ideal if you are a couple years out of your prerequisites.
ExamKrackers is light on detail and ideal if you are a recent graduate, it gets you to taking practice FLs ASAP.

Also if you've never taken Biochemistry, EK is missing way too much. Kaplan's Biochem book is comprehensive.

 

[grapples43]

Honestly, I loved ExamKrackers and hated Kaplan. Kaplan's books are so dull and ExamKrackers kept me interested. If you have trouble focusing on reading for longer periods of time like me, I think ExamKrackers is better. Also, I think their verbal book is great. I already scored slightly above average in verbal at my baseline, but I ended up scoring something like 97th percentile on the actual test, so I thought it was worth it.

 

[Go4Doc]

Honestly, I loved ExamKrackers and hated Kaplan. Kaplan's books are so dull and ExamKrackers kept me interested. If you have trouble focusing on reading for longer periods of time like me, I think ExamKrackers is better. Also, I think their verbal book is great. I already scored slightly above average in verbal at my baseline, but I ended up scoring something like 97th percentile on the actual test, so I thought it was worth it.

P/S 131, never took a sociology class, used khan academy videos.

Kaplan has way too much detail than what you need for the MCAT, and is only ideal if you are a couple years out of your prerequisites.
ExamKrackers is light on detail and ideal if you are a recent graduate, it gets you to taking practice FLs ASAP.

Also if you've never taken Biochemistry, EK is missing way too much. Kaplan's Biochem book is comprehensive.

I definitely agree that Kaplans books are dull and excessive. That's why I said take the in person class. It helps keep you accountable, focuses on strategy, and the MCAT channel is always available if you need to brush up on content or have questions that live tutors can help you out with.

 

[aldol16]

Either is fine. It's not the content review books that get you a high score. It's the practice, practice, practice. So I don't get why people make such a big deal out of companies.

I used Kaplan only and didn't do too shabby.

 

[Eleithyia]

I did EK in conjunction with a class from my university and I would have a few notes:

I agree with the poster above who said EK biochem is not sufficient if you've never taken a class. I was finishing up a year of biochem when I was prepping, so it wasn't as much of a problem, but Kaplan might be a better bet. I also ended up buying a different psych/soc book--EK didn't seem to have all the info I wanted/needed.

While I realize buying two sets might be too much money, you could potentially do a combination of the books based on the consensus here for a somewhat lower price.

 

[787593]

I only used Kaplan and it served me very well too. My biggest recommendation is that if you go with Kaplan, strongly consider buying the in-person class. While it's expensive and the class may feel slow to you at times, it's the only way to get access to their "MCAT Channel" which is a hub of both archived and live hour-long, content review sessions. It's an incredible and underused resource. The in-person class also adds a degree of accountability which can be useful if you find it difficult to motivate yourself to sit down and study. I wouldn't just buy and read through the review books and expect to nail the MCAT. It's the amount of practice and time you put towards the test that can lead to those 90th+ percentile scores.

Also of note: You might hear people complain that Kaplan practice exams are too hard and artificially deflate your practice exam score. While the latter is somewhat true, don't think of the exams as being "unfairly difficult." Rather, think of it like "strength training" for your brain. I walked out with a smile on my face on test day because it felt substantially easier than the many practice exams I had used during my "training."

This x 1000

Kaplan FTW

 

[Eleithyia]

I definitely agree that Kaplans books are dull and excessive. That's why I said take the in person class. It helps keep you accountable, focuses on strategy, and the MCAT channel is always available if you need to brush up on content or have questions that live tutors can help you out with.

This x 1000

Kaplan FTW

I agree that the in-person class is always going to be more helpful than the books, but I figure someone deciding between two book sets because they can't afford both probably also can't afford an in-person class that starts at ~$2300

 

[CoomassieBlue57]

ExamKrackers is more summary and mnemonics while Kaplan is more concept. What do you need help with more? Basic concepts or review?

 

[MilaKunisDoe]

TPR

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

EK is great if you already know what you are doing.

I supplemented with Khan Academy for P/S because it is seriously lacking there and I also agree that it may be lacking in the biochemistry department a bit too; supplemented with Khan Academy.

100% agree that it is sufficient if you have conceptualized the material already.

Save yourself the 2 grand or whatever Kaplan's insane price tag is and get the EK bookset. Supplement with Khan Academy and you'll be golden.

 

[aspiringmd94]

Kaplan Kaplan Kaplan. Especially for the chem and physics. EK was absolutely horrible for these subjects. TPR was 15x more detail than you will ever need and a huge waste of time if you try to learn all of those unnecessary details. That said, the Kaplan class is definitely not necessary. Just try and find a used set of books.

NextStep tests were also by far the most realistic. TPR were so discouraging they had me second guessing my career choice. I didn't try Kaplan so I can't give any firsthand opinions on them.

 

[JoaoMoutinho]

I only used Kaplan and it served me very well too. My biggest recommendation is that if you go with Kaplan, strongly consider buying the in-person class. While it's expensive and the class may feel slow to you at times, it's the only way to get access to their "MCAT Channel" which is a hub of both archived and live hour-long, content review sessions. It's an incredible and underused resource. The in-person class also adds a degree of accountability which can be useful if you find it difficult to motivate yourself to sit down and study. I wouldn't just buy and read through the review books and expect to nail the MCAT. It's the amount of practice and time you put towards the test that can lead to those 90th+ percentile scores.

I'll 100% agree with this. I actually took the online class, which was a little bit cheaper (I think), and I felt like it had the best of both worlds. I didn't even use anything even close to all of the material in the Kaplan books, but the online resources and practice questions/tests were amazing. I felt like it let me stay accountable for the first 6 weeks of studying, and then I had the routine down by the time the class finished and I had ~4 weeks left before taking the test.

I actually ended up studying for a few weeks with somebody who had used Altius, and we used resources from both when we studied together. I generally felt like the Kaplan materials were clearer and better organized, and just all-around better (Kaplan does have the resources to polish their stuff quite nicely). However, if you live in a state with Altius, the whole tutor thing that they have isn't a bad setup--and it's a lot cheaper than you would get for one-on-one tutoring with another company.

 

[JoaoMoutinho]

Also of note: You might hear people complain that Kaplan practice exams are too hard and artificially deflate your practice exam score. While the latter is somewhat true, don't think of the exams as being "unfairly difficult." Rather, think of it like "strength training" for your brain. I walked out with a smile on my face on test day because it felt substantially easier than the many practice exams I had used during my "training."

I also agree on this. I felt like the CARS section was a breeze when I took the MCAT compared to the Kaplan tests. I was unpleasantly surprised by the C/P section on the actual test (I felt like it was way harder than any of my practice tests), but it ended up being my best section. I did 2-3 points better on my AAMC full-length practice test when I took it about 10 days before the test, and then I did another 3-4 points better than that on the actual test. I don't know if it was good luck, good preparation in the last week, or both, but I did end up being a lot happier than I expected to be when I got my scores back.