Honest, Newer Opinions about The Princeton Review MCAT 2015 Prep?

[The One Who Knocks]

Hi all,

Although there have been threads posted about this in the past, I wanted to get the opinions of some fresh voices.

I plan on signing up for the TPR's MCAT 2015 Ultimate LiveOnline 123-hour course, and does anyone have any honest opinions about it? I've been researching online, and some people have been complaining about the TPR's 2015 books? Is there any truth to that?

Just wanted to start an honest discussion. I am planning on taking the LiveOnline course because, surprisingly, none of the Winter semester options offer any classes before 3 PM, and none really match with my schedule. From what I've heard, the LiveOnline version is pretty much the same.

Let me know what you all think!!

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[cantankerous]

I set my expectations quite low, especially when you consider how useless their SAT prep classes are.
I got my course for like $500, so it's not a huge loss for me (at least compared to other courses)

 

[flatbear]

Hi all,

Although there have been threads posted about this in the past, I wanted to get the opinions of some fresh voices.

I plan on signing up for the TPR's MCAT 2015 Ultimate LiveOnline 123-hour course, and does anyone have any honest opinions about it? I've been researching online, and some people have been complaining about the TPR's 2015 books? Is there any truth to that?

Just wanted to start an honest discussion. I am planning on taking the LiveOnline course because, surprisingly, none of the Winter semester options offer any classes before 3 PM, and none really match with my schedule. From what I've heard, the LiveOnline version is pretty much the same.

Let me know what you all think!!

Its not "bad", it just doesnt really prepare you to get really good scores. The materials can prepare you to get up to a 30 equivalent. Beyond that, you have to do a lot of your own studying outside of their provided materials.

 

[raiderette]

I self studied mainly with TPR and got a 516. I agree that the psych and soc need some work, but Khan covers that weakness. I bought extra tests, but the best were the AAMC question packs and the practice test. I would check to make sure TPR has updated their materials since the feedback came in based on the actual test.

 

[The One Who Knocks]

Its not "bad", it just doesnt really prepare you to get really good scores. The materials can prepare you to get up to a 30 equivalent. Beyond that, you have to do a lot of your own studying outside of their provided materials.

Content review is OK (but not Psych/Soc I think). Practice tests are terrible I scored 10+ higher on the real exam and they were also very different than the real exam (and the AMCAS practice materials)

I self studied mainly with TPR and got a 516. I agree that the psych and soc need some work, but Khan covers that weakness. I bought extra tests, but the best were the AAMC question packs and the practice test. I would check to make sure TPR has updated their materials since the feedback came in based on the actual test.

Would you guys say Kaplan is better? Or about the same? I have to decide soon!

 

[NonTrad16]

I liked the course as a review for material I haven't seen in a long time. You can do as much (and more) with self guided study at much less cost, but I paid for the regulated schedule to keep me on track as much as for the material itself. Also, they provided access to the AAMC tests/question packs which were great for getting in the mindset nearer test day. The full lengths were ego rattling, but the seemingly endless question opportunities (between book/online sections, TPR tests, science workbook, and aamc material) were helpful for exposure and POE practice.

I believe they recalibrated the full length scoring, but I got ~500 on the practice exams, ~70-85% on the aamc full length a week before, and a 513 final score.

I chose TPR over Kaplan because I heard (for the old one) content was better with TPR, though the interface was a bit glitchy at times. Maybe that was misguided, but happy with my choice.

 

[The One Who Knocks]

I liked the course as a review for material I haven't seen in a long time. You can do as much (and more) with self guided study at much less cost, but I paid for the regulated schedule to keep me on track as much as for the material itself. Also, they provided access to the AAMC tests/question packs which were great for getting in the mindset nearer test day. The full lengths were ego rattling, but the seemingly endless question opportunities (between book/online sections, TPR tests, science workbook, and aamc material) were helpful for exposure and POE practice.

I believe they recalibrated the full length scoring, but I got ~500 on the practice exams, ~70-85% on the aamc full length a week before, and a 513 final score.

I chose TPR over Kaplan because I heard (for the old one) content was better with TPR, though the interface was a bit glitchy at times. Maybe that was misguided, but happy with my choice.

Thanks for your input! Was this the LiveOnline TPR? Would you recommend it for a diligent student, who won't get sidetracked?

 

[NonTrad16]

Thanks for your input! Was this the LiveOnline TPR? Would you recommend it for a diligent student, who won't get sidetracked?

Yes, the live online version.

And even the most diligent student can fall behind if they are juggling other responsibilities while working towards a long term goal. I'm a nontrad applicant (surprised?) so I didn't have anyone in real life that was going through that delightful process with me, meaning work/sleep/my SO/classes could easily sidetrack me without anyone keeping me accountable; studying for weeks/months in isolation is hard. The course helped provide outside support. I also approached it thinking a minute of planning was a minute less of studying/doing anything else, so the course prescribed reading/questions kept me moving forward. If I had less going on, or laser focus, I could have studied without it -- lots of people do well without a formal program -- but it made sense for me.

That said, you need to make it work for you. It's a tool, you need to make sure you're actually learning and not doodling through lectures only to fail quizzes, etc. If you need to read before lectures, and review in lecture: do it. If you like to get an overview in the lecture, followed by detailed reading, do that instead. It's a lot of material if you're trying to read, watch lectures, do questions/tests, while also having a work/school/social life, but (most of the time) the lectures were focused, so it's on you to keep up and do what you need with the rest to to retain it and test well.

 

[restlessdriven]

I'll preface this by saying that I'm 4 years out of undergrad, 6 years from my last physics class. I used the Princeton self-paced online course after I had done some physical science refreshing with old BR books. I liked the books personally and felt the depth of material was on point. I agree with what others have said regarding soc/psych. It was my lowest subsection score by all of one point though. The highest I scored on 5 PR practice tests was 505. Personally, I would rather be lowballed by practice tests than have my ego artificially inflated. My AAMC practice avg was 87% and my actual MCAT score was 512. I thought PR prepared me well for how to think about the questions but I wouldn't say that the tests were similar to AAMC. I would recommend supplementing with the AAMC question packs. I did all this while working full time so I'm pretty happy with my choice.

I took the old MCAT a number of years ago and prepped with Kaplan because it was cheaper and I had access to a live class. I never felt satisfied with the depth of the material or the question strategies. Later, I heard that if you wanted a 30, Kaplan was the way to go but if you wanted to destroy the MCAT, PR was a better idea. Hope this is helpful!

 

[The One Who Knocks]

Yes, the live online version.

And even the most diligent student can fall behind if they are juggling other responsibilities while working towards a long term goal. I'm a nontrad applicant (surprised?) so I didn't have anyone in real life that was going through that delightful process with me, meaning work/sleep/my SO/classes could easily sidetrack me without anyone keeping me accountable; studying for weeks/months in isolation is hard. The course helped provide outside support. I also approached it thinking a minute of planning was a minute less of studying/doing anything else, so the course prescribed reading/questions kept me moving forward. If I had less going on, or laser focus, I could have studied without it -- lots of people do well without a formal program -- but it made sense for me.

That said, you need to make it work for you. It's a tool, you need to make sure you're actually learning and not doodling through lectures only to fail quizzes, etc. If you need to read before lectures, and review in lecture: do it. If you like to get an overview in the lecture, followed by detailed reading, do that instead. It's a lot of material if you're trying to read, watch lectures, do questions/tests, while also having a work/school/social life, but (most of the time) the lectures were focused, so it's on you to keep up and do what you need with the rest to to retain it and test well.

I am fortunate in that I will have nothing else going on (except a couple of mild ECs) during my MCAT studying. I appreciate your input!

I think Kaplan's Psych/Soc book is better I don't think their FLs are good either.
Also, you can still use BR for the physical sciences stuff. It's sort of low-yield because that section is a clusterf--- but there are some shortcuts that BR talks about. For example, there was some Henderson-Hasselbalch shortcut or something that I used on the real exam. There's a thread in the MCAT section where some former BR tutor lists pages with these shortcuts.

Thanks for the response! If I do go with the Princeton Review LiveOnline version, do you think I should ditch their Psych/Soc materials and get Kaplan's, even though I will have TPR's books and lecture material? Is it really that bad that I would have to do something like that to do very well on those sections?

I'll preface this by saying that I'm 4 years out of undergrad, 6 years from my last physics class. I used the Princeton self-paced online course after I had done some physical science refreshing with old BR books. I liked the books personally and felt the depth of material was on point. I agree with what others have said regarding soc/psych. It was my lowest subsection score by all of one point though. The highest I scored on 5 PR practice tests was 505. Personally, I would rather be lowballed by practice tests than have my ego artificially inflated. My AAMC practice avg was 87% and my actual MCAT score was 512. I thought PR prepared me well for how to think about the questions but I wouldn't say that the tests were similar to AAMC. I would recommend supplementing with the AAMC question packs. I did all this while working full time so I'm pretty happy with my choice.

I took the old MCAT a number of years ago and prepped with Kaplan because it was cheaper and I had access to a live class. I never felt satisfied with the depth of the material or the question strategies. Later, I heard that if you wanted a 30, Kaplan was the way to go but if you wanted to destroy the MCAT, PR was a better idea. Hope this is helpful!

Hi! Thank-you for your input, it was very helpful! Congratulations on your score, that's great! Did you take the LiveOnline version of The Princeton Review? If so, was it difficult to follow? I am having trouble visualizing how the class works, does the instructor lecture and essentially write on your screen in real time? This version is the best option for me in terms of my schedule, but I don't want to miss anything important If I opt for the online version instead of the in-class version.

Also, sorry if this is a silly question, but what do you mean by AAMC question packs? Can I buy MCAT prep material written by AAMC to supplement my TPR prep material? Or are you talking about something else?

 

[YCP Pre-Med]

Took the in-person course and I definitely recommend TPR. Obviously, the instructors are very area-dependent, but I had an excellent experience. The important point to understand is that regardless of what company you use, it's a lot of self-directed study. Princeton Review adds structure to the schedule, but it can only take you as far as you are willing to go.

I recieved a 517 on the new MCAT, but studied 450+ hours. Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help, these things do cost money...

 

[restlessdriven]

@The One Who Knocks, I paid for the self-paced package. I had initially wanted to go for the in-class version myself but all the ones in my area were cancelled due to low enrollment. I had access to recorded lectures but I didn't really find myself using them as I really found it more valuable to target problem areas rather than sit through another sermon on mitosis. I only had about 3 hours to study a night so I was reluctant to spend an hour of that on lecture. I pick up a lot more studying on my own. You'll also have access to quizzes that go along with each reading and mini assessments for each subsection, I think. PR also provided, I believe, several study schedules of varying lengths, for example, 5, 10 and 14 weeks. I condensed the 14 down to 12. They were easy to follow and told me when to add in material from the supplemental books PR sent me when I signed up. PR has no shortage of questions.

Oh and the self paced package is a lot cheaper! You just have to exercise discipline.

As for the question packs, you can buy them online at AAMC. It's 720 questions across all topics. I would do maybe 30 questions from two sections each day after I was well into my review. They're formatted like the actual exam and you can play with the settings to time yourself, hide solutions etc. They're actually old MCAT questions pulled specifically for 2015. You can also buy the packs separately by topic if you want to. For me, going through the packs was good affirmation that I actually was retaining and understanding what PR was giving me.

 

[raiderette]

Would you guys say Kaplan is better? Or about the same? I have to decide soon!

I got the Kaplan books for free, but I still ended up using TPR.

 

[NonTrad16]

Thanks for the response! If I do go with the Princeton Review LiveOnline version, do you think I should ditch their Psych/Soc materials and get Kaplan's, even though I will have TPR's books and lecture material? Is it really that bad that I would have to do something like that to do very well on those sections?

Honestly, TPR didn't feel great for psych/soc, but if you use the book and supplement with Khan academy you can be ok. Some info is a bit out of left field and it's a lot of disconnected material, but a lot is also pretty doable by process of elimination/common sense. I got a 128 in the section and only took one psych class 5ish years ago, and started using Khan at the very end, so I didn't reap much of the possible reward from that resource.

I'd estimate that other publishers (Kaplan, etc) will have a similar transition with a clunky issue or two because they didn't have much time. A lot of the info is there, and if you have a background in it then it may serve as a good review, but it's not much of a resource to learn from. They may improve the cohesiveness with time, allowing it to stand on its own better. Similarly, now that we're a cycle in, they will likely have changed the lectures, which also seemed a bit... In the works.

 

[williameb23]

If you're willing to pay for the prep course, then the time and commitment you put in will outweigh any differences between TPR, Kaplan, etc. I took the TPR online course over the summer (9 weeks) and got a 510 on the Aug 22 MCAT - just for reference, I scored a 25 in Aug 2014. It was about 25-30 hours of time per week, which I can say from experience is pretty darn tough if you have a full-time job.

For the online TPR course, expect about 2 hours per night on reading text and self-testing, then 6 hours on Saturday and Sunday for the scheduled courses. They haven't figured out a way to prepare you for Psych/Soc, so I went alternative routes for that (Khan, other online sources). I took 5 of TPR's full practice exams and ended with the AAMC full-length exam. I have also taken practice exams for other testing services and none have been spot-on with what to expect for the real thing. The only remedy for that is to take a lot of tests and spend your content-review time drilling down on what you missed.

None of the prep services know how to give you a reasonable, matching score yet and I assume that is just because they don't have enough data. I spent an embarrassing amount of time looking at statistics and found that applicants generally scored about 9-10 points higher on the actual MCAT than their average on TPR practice exams (n=~50) and I created an MCAT "Score Predictor" here where you can calculate an expected score based on your AAMC full-length (n=118).

All of that being said, I think the best prep includes more than 1 source of information but I was pleased with TPR. Their schedule is reasonable, instructors were knowledgeable and helpful, and their work material is both plentiful (you'll never use all of the practice exams/questions they supply you with) and gives a broad range of difficulty.

 

[The One Who Knocks]

If you're willing to pay for the prep course, then the time and commitment you put in will outweigh any differences between TPR, Kaplan, etc. I took the TPR online course over the summer (9 weeks) and got a 510 on the Aug 22 MCAT - just for reference, I scored a 25 in Aug 2014. It was about 25-30 hours of time per week, which I can say from experience is pretty darn tough if you have a full-time job.

For the online TPR course, expect about 2 hours per night on reading text and self-testing, then 6 hours on Saturday and Sunday for the scheduled courses. They haven't figured out a way to prepare you for Psych/Soc, so I went alternative routes for that (Khan, other online sources). I took 5 of TPR's full practice exams and ended with the AAMC full-length exam. I have also taken practice exams for other testing services and none have been spot-on with what to expect for the real thing. The only remedy for that is to take a lot of tests and spend your content-review time drilling down on what you missed.

None of the prep services know how to give you a reasonable, matching score yet and I assume that is just because they don't have enough data. I spent an embarrassing amount of time looking at statistics and found that applicants generally scored about 9-10 points higher on the actual MCAT than their average on TPR practice exams (n=~50) and I created an MCAT "Score Predictor" here where you can calculate an expected score based on your AAMC full-length (n=118).

All of that being said, I think the best prep includes more than 1 source of information but I was pleased with TPR. Their schedule is reasonable, instructors were knowledgeable and helpful, and their work material is both plentiful (you'll never use all of the practice exams/questions they supply you with) and gives a broad range of difficulty.

I really appreciate your input! I am leaning towards the TPR LiveOnline course. Would you say you were satisfied with how the class was set up online? Did you feel like you were missing out significantly from not being in a classroom? I am hoping I will like it, since the TPR LiveOnline version is just about the only viable option for me.

 

[williameb23]

I really appreciate your input! I am leaning towards the TPR LiveOnline course. Would you say you were satisfied with how the class was set up online? Did you feel like you were missing out significantly from not being in a classroom? I am hoping I will like it, since the TPR LiveOnline version is just about the only viable option for me.

I went the online route because the in-class session I had enrolled in didn't have enough students to warrant the class, so TPR gave me a nice discount to switch to online, haha. The hardest thing about TPR LiveOnline is discipline. I have a couple friends that did some online instructing for TPR and my own personal experience with the instructors was great. Each of the instructor's personalities were different but I thought their knowledge extended much further than needed for the MCAT, and that's a good thing. They pause for questions, stay after, hold office hours, make sure you're engaged on the chat-board all through the 3-hour class (with a halftime break) - all that good stuff. We worked through practice sets and discussed all of the answers after, just as you would in a classroom setting. In all of my classes I would say there was some sort of audio/video glitch a total of 5 times, but the issue was quickly resolved and class resumed within a few minutes.

It largely depends on your learning style. It works well if you learn well at home and are honest with yourself about where you need to be throughout the studying process. I usually went somewhere quiet to take my practice tests on the weekends, mostly because 7 hours of testing at home made me sleepier than anything else, but also to try and mimic the "MCAT experience" of going to a test location. In retrospect, with my full-time job and doing a lot of daily independent content review, I'm glad I chose online so that I didn't even have to budget the time for driving/getting settled in the classroom/etc. But I took a pretty utilitarian-esque time management approach: I wanted to "log on," review the information I read during the week, test it, get my questions answered, and be able to "sign out" and just move on in the material.

 

[piii]

I had free access to the 2015 TPR MCAT in class and online (class video, practice) material through my grad school. I scored in the 90+ %.

Honestly, I thought the classes were BS. I disliked how they were taught. I wanted to learn on my own pace. I studied mostly from TPR books, which I thought were sufficient. A little from EK psych/soc and supplemented with Khan videos. The most helpful thing to me were the practice materials from TPR (2015 science workbook, CARS workbook, online practice passages/amplifire, practice tests). You can get a good 5000 practice problem question bank from that alone.

I guess it comes down to preferred method of study.

Are you someone that needs a scheduled video course to really push yourself to stay dedicated? You can maybe justify getting the course. But I bet you could use the free khan videos and it would be just as good.

 

[theonlytycrane]

Also interested in PR so I am hoping to refresh this post 🙂

OP- did you end up signing up / starting PR?

 

[williameb23]

I guess it comes down to preferred method of study.

Are you someone that needs a scheduled video course to really push yourself to stay dedicated? You can maybe justify getting the course. But I bet you could use the free khan videos and it would be just as good.

I wouldn't say that I needed a scheduled video course to "push myself to stay dedicated" - studying for the MCAT alone and the application process requires enough dedication as it is. But I would say that I benefited from TPR's schedule because it kept me from getting behind or spending too much time on one subject over another. It also set me on a schedule that allowed me to finish content review with enough time to take practice exams and go back and re-focus on my weaknesses, but didn't force me to finish so early that I forgot week 1 material.

It's also important to note that when you sign up for any of these prep courses, you should view them as a skeleton to your overall MCAT prep strategy. Once you identify the type of MCAT-taker you are from practice exams you will have to alter depth and frequency of content review to fit your needs. That being said, I would take TPR again if given the chance. But don't waste your money if you're not going to make the most of it.

 

[The One Who Knocks]

Also interested in PR so I am hoping to refresh this post 🙂

OP- did you end up signing up / starting PR?

Haven't signed up yet, but since I am hearing pretty good things, I think I am going to sign up soon.

I wouldn't say that I needed a scheduled video course to "push myself to stay dedicated" - studying for the MCAT alone and the application process requires enough dedication as it is. But I would say that I benefited from TPR's schedule because it kept me from getting behind or spending too much time on one subject over another. It also set me on a schedule that allowed me to finish content review with enough time to take practice exams and go back and re-focus on my weaknesses, but didn't force me to finish so early that I forgot week 1 material.

It's also important to note that when you sign up for any of these prep courses, you should view them as a skeleton to your overall MCAT prep strategy. Once you identify the type of MCAT-taker you are from practice exams you will have to alter depth and frequency of content review to fit your needs. That being said, I would take TPR again if given the chance. But don't waste your money if you're not going to make the most of it.

I appreciate the vote of approval for TPR LiveOnline course, I am hoping it will be a good choice. Do you know if we need a certain number of students to sign up for the course in order for it to actually be held, or does that only apply to in-classroom courses. I'd hate to sign up and plan on the course only to have it cancelled or something last second due to a low number of students.

 

[DrHart]

Content review and practice tests are well below par. Kaplan is about the same.
I will say that Kaplan has a strategy book called MCAT 528 which is very cheap and worth every penny.
Your best bet at this point would be to take the official practice tests (I think there are 2 now). You can use old exams for CARS practice.

 

[restlessdriven]

Haven't signed up yet, but since I am hearing pretty good things, I think I am going to sign up soon.
I appreciate the vote of approval for TPR LiveOnline course, I am hoping it will be a good choice. Do you know if we need a certain number of students to sign up for the course in order for it to actually be held, or does that only apply to in-classroom courses. I'd hate to sign up and plan on the course only to have it cancelled or something last second due to a low number of students.

There's a minimum number of signups required for the in-classroom courses. Not sure about the video-based lectures. To give you an idea of whether or not your class will fill up, I know that there have been at least two instances in the last year where a course was cancelled due to low enrollment in my area. I live in a city with a pop. of about 850,000. For my course, I received about 3 weeks notice that it was going to be cancelled. I had some time to switch to the online only and I might have gotten a discount, can't quite remember.

OP, also be aware that most of these prep companies require full payment by the start of the class.

 

[enchantediris]

There's a minimum number of signups required for the in-classroom courses. Not sure about the video-based lectures. To give you an idea of whether or not your class will fill up, I know that there have been at least two instances in the last year where a course was cancelled due to low enrollment in my area. I live in a city with a pop. of about 850,000. For my course, I received about 3 weeks notice that it was going to be cancelled. I had some time to switch to the online only and I might have gotten a discount, can't quite remember.

OP, also be aware that most of these prep companies require full payment by the start of the class.

I think Kaplan lets you make payments (maybe 3 installments?) but Princeton makes you pay up front. Those credit card points though... 😱 And yes, in my online class (we started with 38 people but the number of people logging on to classes seems to decrease over time) many people mentioned that they had signed up for an in-person class that was canceled due to low enrollment.

I will say that I'm happy with my TPR course so far. The first month was a bit meh because all the classes were going over things that I already knew, but the past couple of weeks have been great because we got into topics that I hadn't covered since my AP classes in high school. I am personally an auditory learner so listening to lectures is more helpful to me than simply reading the books. It is very challenging (I won't say impossible because I'm sure someone out there has done it) to have a full time job and try to keep up with the pace of the class. They assign a lot of homework (1-4 amplifire modules -- discrete questions, and 5+ passages) per class, in addition to reading the chapters for the next class. However, I'm slogging through the homework and passages at my own pace and doing okay.

 

[theonlytycrane]

Any opinions on the PR course in-person vs. live online? I'm starting to lean towards live online but I was hoping to hear any opinions!