I'm having trouble picking a review course

[jv00927]

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I already enrolled in a Princeton Review course to prepare for the August 2006 MCAT. However, taking this review course means I'd have to live away from home since the course is located about 80 miles away from where I currently live. Commuting 80 miles constantly is not really an option since my car is on the verge of breaking down. What will happen is, I will be staying at a friend's house during the summer.

My problem is, Kaplan just posted online that they are going to have a review course in the city where I currently live. The course's location is about 3 miles from where I live which is definitely much closer than the TPR's course location and would not necessitate me moving to another place during the summer. Should I withdraw from TPR and register for Kaplan, since its much closer?

I really like that TPR has more classroom time. Although I have taken the pre-reqs fairly recently (in the past 2 years), I think I'd benefit from a comprehensive review of the material in a classroom setting. Right now, I'm just having a hard time deciding which really to pick. Also, how do I get information about the quality of the TPR course in a certain location? I registered for the TPR course in Champaign, Illinois. For those of you who have taken the TPR course there, I'd appreciate your comments. Some of my friends are currently taking the Kaplan course so I can get their comments on that matter. If you've taken or are currently taking TPR for MCAT review, I'd appreciate your comment on the course as well.

 

[JohnyWalker]

I already enrolled in a Princeton Review course to prepare for the August 2006 MCAT. However, taking this review course means I'd have to live away from home since the course is located about 80 miles away from where I currently live. Commuting 80 miles constantly is not really an option since my car is on the verge of breaking down. What will happen is, I will be staying at a friend's house during the summer.

My problem is, Kaplan just posted online that they are going to have a review course in the city where I currently live. The course's location is about 3 miles from where I live which is definitely much closer than the TPR's course location and would not necessitate me moving to another place during the summer. Should I withdraw from TPR and register for Kaplan, since its much closer?

I really like that TPR has more classroom time. Although I have taken the pre-reqs fairly recently (in the past 2 years), I think I'd benefit from a comprehensive review of the material in a classroom setting. Right now, I'm just having a hard time deciding which really to pick. Also, how do I get information about the quality of the TPR course in a certain location? I registered for the TPR course in Champaign, Illinois. For those of you who have taken the TPR course there, I'd appreciate your comments. Some of my friends are currently taking the Kaplan course so I can get their comments on that matter. If you've taken or are currently taking TPR for MCAT review, I'd appreciate your comment on the course as well.

I have taken the MCAT twice and the first time I prepped with Kaplan and the second time with TPR. I think that TPR is much better for the following reasons. Their books are much better written and their material is much better organized. Each section (physics, verbal, gchem) gets 25 hours of class time instead of 9(Kaplan). The teachers for TPR teach only one section, the one that they are really good at. Also, if you take Kaplan, you have to study at a Kaplan office to take advantage of their practice problems. With TPR you get a whole book of problems that you can take with you anywhere. They also give you an additional book of practice exams that you can take at your own leisure. Personally, I liked TPR the best.

 

[thatslife]

I already enrolled in a Princeton Review course to prepare for the August 2006 MCAT. However, taking this review course means I'd have to live away from home since the course is located about 80 miles away from where I currently live. Commuting 80 miles constantly is not really an option since my car is on the verge of breaking down. What will happen is, I will be staying at a friend's house during the summer.

My problem is, Kaplan just posted online that they are going to have a review course in the city where I currently live. The course's location is about 3 miles from where I live which is definitely much closer than the TPR's course location and would not necessitate me moving to another place during the summer. Should I withdraw from TPR and register for Kaplan, since its much closer?

I really like that TPR has more classroom time. Although I have taken the pre-reqs fairly recently (in the past 2 years), I think I'd benefit from a comprehensive review of the material in a classroom setting. Right now, I'm just having a hard time deciding which really to pick. Also, how do I get information about the quality of the TPR course in a certain location? I registered for the TPR course in Champaign, Illinois. For those of you who have taken the TPR course there, I'd appreciate your comments. Some of my friends are currently taking the Kaplan course so I can get their comments on that matter. If you've taken or are currently taking TPR for MCAT review, I'd appreciate your comment on the course as well.

I think I may be able to offer some direction here. I used to be a Kaplan teacher (took the course myself and then went on to teach for the past three mcat seasons). There are a few things to consider:

1. Class time:
Kaplan has less class time. Like all things, it depends on how exactly you learn. Personally, I like to figure things out on my own and find class wasteful at times. That being said, it is also good to have a resource to depend on -- you teachers. Most Kaplan teachers are well prepared, especially if they have been teaching for more than one season. However, if you like the many hours of class a week, Review might be right for you.

2. Review material
I cannot speak about Review's material, but I can about Kaplans review material. They provide you with ample material. Most students I have encountered, cannot possibly finish all the material offered by Kaplan. I have observed that the students who succeed do many many practice questions. So to tie into the first point, if you are sitting in class for so many hours a week, thats less time that you can be doing practice sections and tests.

2.5 All of Kaplans material is online. When you register, you get a user id which gives you access to all practice tests.

Finally, as far as location goes 160 miles is a hell of a long way to drive every day for class. Spending 2 to 3 hours driving every day may take a lot of you. When you're studying for months, you'll need all the energy you can muster.

I would say take the Kaplan coures. Ultimately, you have to decide. I hope this helps.

 

[chintu]

From asking so many people I know, I think kaplan vs PR is like comparing apples and oranges. I think they both are good courses and in the end I think it boils down to the instructors at your location. I took PR and while some of the instructors were great, there were some who had no experience at teaching and just sucked...Ask around and find out if Kaplan is good at your location. I don't think its a very good idea to move to a different location just for the PR course.
Another suggestion is to take kaplan at your city and buy PR books online so you can have both without moving out.

 

[MattD]

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Kaplan teacher.

I'm not going to argue the merits of one system over another, as I don't really know anything about TPR's course. However, I really don't think any MCAT course is worth moving to another city for, nor driving 160 miles round trip. If I were you, I'd go with the Kaplan course, simply for geographical reasons. If it were the other way around, I'd recommend TPR.

 

[JohnyWalker]

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Kaplan teacher.

I'm not going to argue the merits of one system over another, as I don't really know anything about TPR's course. However, I really don't think any MCAT course is worth moving to another city for, nor driving 160 miles round trip. If I were you, I'd go with the Kaplan course, simply for geographical reasons. If it were the other way around, I'd recommend TPR.

To be completely honest as well, I am a PR teacher. However, my preference for TPR over Kaplan is not based on this. I liked TPR from the very beggining. I agree that not all teachers for TPR are great but neither are the teachers for Kaplan. The thing about Kaplan is that one teacher teaches all of the sections while in PR the teachers are specialized. For example, I teach physics but I cant even touch Ochem or Verbal. I also agree that the courses work differently for different type of people. If you re the type of person who needs class time and needs a thorough explanation of everything then I would recomend TPR. I know that when I teach physics I use up all 25 hours of my class and I can't even imagine how Kaplan teachers have to cover this material in 9 hours. Yes, there is more class time and that does take away from studying. However, from personal experience, you don't take advantage of all of the study time in the first few months of the course, so being forced to go to class is a good way of staying on top of things. My advice would be to call TPR and tell them about your concerns and they will probably let you sit in on the classes to see if the teachers and style fits your learning. Finally, TPR questions and parctice tests are harder than Kaplans, so when you take the real test your scores actually go up (for the most part)

 

[thefafo]

I'm a kaplan teacher, but I really don't think you can say one course is better than the other - it really depends on the student. I can say that even in the 9 hours of class I taught for each subject (there were specialists at my center - this depends on each center, so 3 different teachers) there were students who could really care less that they were in class, they were just going to work on it on their own later. There were some students who were really active in class. If you think you can stay focused through all of the class time, TPR might be right for you, but if you're like me, you are more focused when you're studying on your own, and then kaplan is just fine. That's a whole lot of driving though - over the summer I had an hour commute to my part time job - definately factor in the drive as a potential stress. Good luck either way!

 

[gujuDoc]

I tend to agree with different aspects of what the above posters said.

1. I agree that you should find out more about the quality of instructors.
2. Ask yourself if you are a self learner or someone who needs someone to reteach the material to you.
3. Do you need more help with strategies/timing or material.

If you need more help with relearning the material, then TPR is the way to go. If your issue is solely strategy and timing and needing practice materials, then Kaplan is better.

But again, quality of instruction also matters.

 

[notdeadyet]

Some will argue there's huge differences between TPR and Kaplan. Others will argue there aren't. But even if you have a preference, I don't think anyone has so strong a preference that they'd move. No way.

How well you do on the MCAT will be determined by this, in this order:

1. Your aptitude and how hard you work
2. Your instructors
3. Your class

Disclosure: I took TPR but had access to Kaplan and TPR manuals. I found them both too dense for realistic study. Might have been handy had I not taken the classes already or taken them recently, but too in depth for a refreshers. I studied primarily off of Exam Krackers and all tests I could get my hands on.

 

[DolfinGrl11]

You don't necessarily need a professional review course to do well on the MCAT. I did just fine (30) and only used the Exam Krackers complete book set and CD set. It was simple, straightforward and easy to understand/remember. The book set and the CD set combined came out to $300 and lovely amazon.com delivered it all to my door. I didn't have the money for a prep course and working 3 jobs during school made having materials I could study on my own time when I had time a godsend. The book set came with 2 full length practice tests and then I just got my hands on all the free practice tests I could via websites, books at the library, etc. If deciding on the course crap is stressing you out, just take a deep breath and relax.....half of doing well on the MCAT is staying calm 🙂 Hands down, the ExamKrackers set is the best one out there for independent study - I highly recommend it! Good luck on the test and I hope you do well and get in! 👍