For anyone wondering...as of right now...take the review course

[rachmoninov3]

OK, So I've spent all my tuition money for this semester (and therefore am not taking classes) to take the freaking online prep course. I hated it, bitched about their stupid 'you were meant to be great doctors, not just good doctors'-mantra, but in the end, the MCAT, and woe to me for saying this, I had the dreaded form EH-was super easy, especially the PS and BS sections.

So if anyone is debating taking a prep course for april, please, you owe it to yourself to do so. I thought that those courses were cheating, but sitting here now, one of the silent few who feel good about yesterday...it's so worth it.

my two cents

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[Twitch]

OK, So I'm spent all my tuition money for this semester (and therefore am not taking classes) to take the freaking online prep course. I hated it, bitched about their stupid 'you were meant to be great doctors, not just good doctors'-mantra, but in the end, the MCAT, and woe to me for saying this, I had the dreaded form EH-was super easy, especially the PS and BS sections.

So if anyone is debating taking a prep course for april, please, you owe it to yourself to do so. I thought that those courses were cheating, but sitting here now, one of the silent few who feel good about yesterday...it's so worth it.

my two cents

which course did you take?

 

[rachmoninov3]

I took the kaplan online.

 

[Twitch]

I took the kaplan online.

Would tests would you recommend and in which order:

discretes/subject/secion/Topical/FL?

I know VR I need to pound on, the rest ehh.... I also have the EK package and am signed up for TPR. What can I say need to fill in the gap between my tv shows and video games right?

 

[NontradICUdoc]

I took the kaplan online.

I also took the Kaplan online and I have the same sentiments as you. All those damn assignments and tests that were hard out the ying yang and I must say, I felt prepared.

I liked the online course. Although I did find 3 errors that I had to alert them about.

 

[rachmoninov3]

OH, the course seemed to me to be riddled with errors, I felt like I was in high school again pointing out errors in the text book! But if the end result is feeling this good, then by all means it's worth it.

 

[tae]

I was thinking of taking Kaplan online for the April MCAT. The thing I was a little concerned about was taking the tests and working problems on the computer. Do they ship you printed material like books and practice problems\tets also or do you print stuff out?

The other reason I was considering the online Kaplan is because of my schedule. Are there suggested times for lessons but you can do them before and after if you want? Also, what are the lessons like online?

Thanks a lot for your info

Tom

 

[DD214_DOC]

I'll wait to see your scores before I decided

 

[rachmoninov3]

Kaplan ships you the books, flashcards, all the physical stuff. They also give you a step by step tutorial on all the crap you need for their course (flash, windows media player, adobe).

After that, the assignments are set up pretty much like: Read such and such chapters and do the chapter quizes, view online workshop (a quick power point), take a quiz or two, listen to a powerpoint with voice over that is their lesson, and then do a bunch of tests and such for homework. One of the things I found really helpful is that they have pre-fab online notes that you can download. I downloaded like 200 pages of their notes and used that for my main review expecially towards the end. They have 5 full lengths that you have to do, and another six full lengths after that for extra practice. i ended up only getting to full length 7.

Only thing I didn't like was that all their aamc stuff wasn't available on line, but rather at their testing center only (for copyright purposes) so I only did aamc 3r for practice.

BUT a quick note of discredit: This is the only review course I've ever taken, I can't tell you if its better or worse than others, and nor would I swear by one test prep company...aka this is not an endorsement, just my own experience. You might also want to talk to others who used TPR or some other company to see what people thought of those courses.

 

[mandy_848]

my opinion on prep courses is that if you can buy the materials off of someone and stay motivated yourself - it's just as good. i spent about $200 and bought all of the tpr books and their schedule off of a friend and thought it was a sufficient preparation. it's a hell of a lot harder to stick to your own schedule in the summer (the one thing a prep course is truly helpful in) but if you're really tight on money, it works just as well.

 

[Khanal007]

I took the Kaplan online course too, it was great and I echo what everyone is saying on here. But one more comment: I thought it was great because you can concentrate on things you need to work on. There's more flexibility in that regard in comparing the online course to the classroom Kaplan. For example, my strong point in the test was orgo, and so I could fast forward some orgo lessons just cause I didn't want to waste my time. (ps, damn this years test for having barely any orgo on it! lol)

If I had taken the classroom course I would have wanted to jab my eyes out from boredom in the orgo lessons, and then be scrambling/wishing we spent more time on subjects I was weak in. I repeated some lessons/workshops for subjects I was weak in, which is another way I personalized the course for myself.

 

[priyanka]

Would tests would you recommend and in which order:

discretes/subject/secion/Topical/FL?

I know VR I need to pound on, the rest ehh.... I also have the EK package and am signed up for TPR. What can I say need to fill in the gap between my tv shows and video games right?

I am doing the exact same thing as you.
What do you have in your EK package? I am still debating whether to take kaplan review course or TPR I think Kaplan sounds better, from all the feedback? I am not sure, someone please fill me in on this one.

 

[Twitch]

I am doing the exact same thing as you.
What do you have in your EK package? I am still debating whether to take kaplan review course or TPR I think Kaplan sounds better, from all the feedback? I am not sure, someone please fill me in on this one.

I have the complete EK package with all 1001/101 question books. Obviously we're not hurting for test questions. Ideally one should go through as many tests as possible, but it sure would be nice to know which test(s) gives you the biggest bang for the buck and in what order. The TPR is more for structure than anything. Anyone prepping in the Dallas area. I've also got a prep thread up for next year in the non-trad area. Feel free to contribute, if you like.

 

[priyanka]

I have the complete EK package with all 1001/101 question books. Obviously we're not hurting for test questions. Ideally one should go through as many tests as possible, but it sure would be nice to know which test(s) gives you the biggest bang for the buck and in what order. The TPR is more for structure than anything. Anyone prepping in the Dallas area. I've also got a prep thread up for next year in the non-trad area. Feel free to contribute, if you like.

yep I wanna do as many tests/questions/discretes/etc as I can. If you take TPR, where will you get the kaplan material from? A friend? but what if your friend wrote all over their tests?

 

[perfectmoment]

ahem. i'm not advocating anything. but uhhhhh, look on ebay. i've heard there are pdfs floating around.

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

this guy i know got a ton of kaplan full lengths, verbals, discretes, section tests etc online. also found the whole biology section of the TPR workbook complete with solutions. i think this is illegal though.

ahem. i'm not advocating anything. but uhhhhh, look on ebay. i've heard there are pdfs floating around.

 

[juiceman311]

I actually told my sister not to take any courses. I thought Kaplan was a great waste of time - but their material was great. I saved ALL their resources for my sister (and hopefully not for myself). My advice is just to bust your butt, save a couple of your old textbooks (I used my Physiology text ALL the time, and referred to my old Bio, Chem, and Ochem books as well).

If I had this to do over again, I would have invested in Princeton's texts (they run marathons around Kaplan's in my opinion, especially the PS book) and "bought" Kaplan's online resources (they're all over the p2p programs), and just studied on my own. I felt the class itself was a great waste of life.

 

[Twitch]

I got my Kaplan stuff from a compassionate SDNer who donated he's stuff to me. Now if only I can get he's score!

TPR - I'm decided on. Spoke to Chaey about it. Don't know if Shrike is teaching my class yet.

Wow - can't believe I'm next in line to take the MCAT ...yikes It seems so far away right now. More than anything I'd be happy if I can pull up on Verbal.

Lhheeaarniinngg toooh rheaaad ahnnd wriihhhtee

 

[LSJST5]

OK, So I've spent all my tuition money for this semester (and therefore am not taking classes) to take the freaking online prep course. I hated it, bitched about their stupid 'you were meant to be great doctors, not just good doctors'-mantra, but in the end, the MCAT, and woe to me for saying this, I had the dreaded form EH-was super easy, especially the PS and BS sections.

So if anyone is debating taking a prep course for april, please, you owe it to yourself to do so. I thought that those courses were cheating, but sitting here now, one of the silent few who feel good about yesterday...it's so worth it.

my two cents

I would like to know how important is it to know all your subjects before taking the MCAT? Should I take my post bacc then take my MCAT or will KAplan review a bit of the subject matter with me?

Thanks

 

[Dr Trek 1]

I'd just like to say that I took the Kaplan classroom based course, and it was the biggest waste of money/time. I do not feel that their strategies really helped me, if anything, they hurt. I never thought that their Full Lengths were that great either. Also, the class gives you way too much homework, I feel almost as if Kaplan saved a lot of time and energy by simply giving you all the possible material that could be tested in lots of detail, this way, they do not have to go to the trouble of becoming MCAT experts, like EK.

I found EK to be much, much more helpful by basically giving you the bare content you need to score a 40, and the confidence and strategy to score a 45. EK wasted no time with any "fluff" as I think Kaplan does.

My advice? If an EK course is not in your area, buy the EK home study kit, do not waste time or money on any other prep. company.

However, not all prep. companies work well for everyone, but I think that EK works best for most people.

 

[Scrub MD]

I'd just like to say that I took the Kaplan classroom based course, and it was the biggest waste of money/time. I do not feel that their strategies really helped me, if anything, they hurt. I never thought that their Full Lengths were that great either. Also, the class gives you way too much homework, I feel almost as if Kaplan saved a lot of time and energy by simply giving you all the possible material that could be tested in lots of detail, this way, they do not have to go to the trouble of becoming MCAT experts, like EK.

I found EK to be much, much more helpful by basically giving you the bare content you need to score a 40, and the confidence and strategy to score a 45. EK wasted no time with any "fluff" as I think Kaplan does.

My advice? If an EK course is not in your area, buy the EK home study kit, do not waste time or money on any other prep. company.

However, not all prep. companies work well for everyone, but I think that EK works best for most people.

I agree. But wait until my scores come out.