I understand that nationally, Kaplan's teacher cutoff is 90%. The Princeton Review's (TPR) cutoff is 95%, 13 (or better) on each single subject. The cutoff plan is different because the courses are different. It's because TPR took over a company that was cleaning both Kaplan and TPR's clock in California called Hyperlearning. The reason so many folks preferred to prep with Hyperlearning over TPR or Kaplan, is that Hyperlearning has a teacher for each of five different MCAT concentrations: Verbal, Physics, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Biology. And they have a bunch of class hours devoted to each section of the MCAT.
So TPR bought them out and took over their course model. I don't think anyone will disagree that it's generally a bad idea to have a great science student teaching you how to take the verbal part of the test, which is pretty universally acknowledged to be the distinguishing factor for MCATs for most applicants. When most folks in the applicant pool are science majors, a standout verbal is very important. I imagine that you can find classes that are taught by great teachers that cover everything well, but on the whole, I think I'd rather be reviewing with a teacher who's really good at one section instead of just above average on the whole thing.
Of course, I am paid to think that--I run the TPR office in Tempe, AZ.
And don't forget something else. It doesn't mean a thing if you don't audition your teachers. If they can't teach, they can't teach. Doesn't matter if they know the material cold. If they're gonna read out of the book and mumble, they'll be boring and won't impart a thing to the students.
If you want to see the difference in teachers at TPR and Kaplan--drop by each of their local offices and ask if you can apply to become a teacher. See what the requirements are in person. And you'll find out what the training requirements really are.
