How long after taking an MCAT prep course should I take the MCAT?

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bensherman

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I plan to take an MCAT prep course that ends on May 14th. Should I take the one of the May tests (21, 22 or 27) or the June 17th test?

I know it depends on how I feel after taking the review class, but do these classes generally prepare you to take the test right after the class is completed?

Thanks =]

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Bump.... So I signed up for a PR course that ends Dec 15 so I can have 6 wks after my content review to do practice exams... is that too long.... should I switch to a course that ends in Jan so that I have 2 wks to do of spare time and if I dont have enough time I can always switch my mcat date.... I do plan on doing everything in the course as planned.
 
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Bump.... So I signed up for a PR course that ends Dec 15 so I can have 6 wks after my content review to do practice exams... is that too long.... should I switch to a course that ends in Jan so that I have 2 wks to do of spare time and if I dont have enough time I can always switch my mcat date.... I do plan on doing everything in the course as planned.

I did a class that ended in January last time. We had 3.5 weeks off of school during Christmas break and the TPR classes that run from October to January actually have a 3 week break too so we all studied hardcore then. Worked out well. (I wouldn't say my retake is at the fault of that at all).
 
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We actually get this question a lot from students. Here is our take on the matter:

We understand that when you embark on your MCAT test prep you are concerned that you will not be ready when the course finishes to sit for your exam immediately, BUT, The Princeton Review's Hyperlearning MCAT program is set for you to succeed on your MCAT from the moment the course is over. Many students make the mistake of actually taking the exam a month or two after the course ends, and that usually leads to disaster because students are not working as hard as they did when they were in the MCAT course. During the program you are constantly learning (content, strategy and techniques), taking full length MCATs and getting your scores analyzed (by you and your teachers) so you actually know how you're scoring throughout the program and can see you steady improvement.

You should have the content knowledge, strategy and techniques to take your MCAT right after the course ends (provided you attended class, did your homework and took your practice exams). So we tell students to go for it. The only time we may tell them to postpone or delay would be with some unfortunate circumstances with either family, work, or in your preparation.

Just make the commitment during your preparation and you will feel more confident and ready for your exam.
 
Good read. Too bad this will fade into obscurity before the next wave of MCAT'ers flood these forums... :
 
We actually get this question a lot from students. Here is our take on the matter:

We understand that when you embark on your MCAT test prep you are concerned that you will not be ready when the course finishes to sit for your exam immediately, BUT, The Princeton Review's Hyperlearning MCAT program is set for you to succeed on your MCAT from the moment the course is over. Many students make the mistake of actually taking the exam a month or two after the course ends, and that usually leads to disaster because students are not working as hard as they did when they were in the MCAT course. During the program you are constantly learning (content, strategy and techniques), taking full length MCATs and getting your scores analyzed (by you and your teachers) so you actually know how you're scoring throughout the program and can see you steady improvement.

You should have the content knowledge, strategy and techniques to take your MCAT right after the course ends (provided you attended class, did your homework and took your practice exams). So we tell students to go for it. The only time we may tell them to postpone or delay would be with some unfortunate circumstances with either family, work, or in your preparation.

Just make the commitment during your preparation and you will feel more confident and ready for your exam.
Not sure I agree 100% with this. I finished my TPR course 8/01 and my exam is 8/23. Those 3 weeks have been invaluable because i've been taking a practice test every other day. With the TPR course, you get access to 19 FLs. I did about 5 TPRs during the course, which are more content-heavy. If you need help you can ask for help regarding specific subject material. By the end of the course, your content review should be solid and then you have 2-3 weeks to get in the zone of taking tests and developing test strategies on the AAMCs (especially the later ones).
 
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