Kaplan MCAT course

[GOLDenKatie]

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I need some advice on how to study for the MCAT. I reserved a seat for the Kaplan MCAT course but I'm not sure if it would be worth it since the avg. mcat score for podiatry is around 21. I have a 3.3 gpa (3.1 science) and I have been taking all of the prerequisites for the past 2 years. I am taking 12 credits this semester so I will have time to study on my own. I just don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a course when I only need a 25 mcat score. I haven't taken any practice tests though. I just wanted to know how you studied and if anyone took a kaplan course and do you think it would be worth spending that much just to try to get in to pod school? I'm not applying to MD or DO schools. Do you think it would be smarter to just purchase EK books? Also, how difficult is it to get at least a 21 out of 45 on the MCAT? Please help!
Thanks in advance!

 

[347932]

I took the MCAT in the early 1990's and found the Kaplan course to be a huge waste of time and money. It didn't really help me much. The only thing it did do was give me the texts, so I could study on my own. I imagine at this point, there should be plenty of study books out there online.
Good luck!

 

[GOLDenKatie]

Thanks for the info. I will be taking the mcat in January..
Anyone else??

 

[deleted285117]

I cannot stress enough how much a waste of time and money the Kaplan course is. I took it, and we were going through the material so fast it was pointless. Not only that, but I recieved my books 4 weeks late. I suggest reading MCAT practice books and taking AAMC practice tests. 👍

 

[itswiggles]

- Exam Krackers 1001 questions Bio, Physics, Gen Chem, Orgo = success on MCAT & and you can get all 4 for like $100

 

[dyk343]

I agree. Dont take it (I never actually did but it seems like a waste of money)

My main reason for telling you not to take it?

If you payed attention at all in undergrad and studied at least a moderate amount from the prep books a 23+ should not be at all hard to obtain.

I think the average is a 24 (?) for all test takers nationwide.

 

[GOLDenKatie]

Thanks for the advice (and for saving me money!) 👍 I was curious to know the avg. mcat scores because I would imagine getting atleast a 21 would be attainable as long as I studied a few hours a week.
I will look into Examkrackers!

The only issue I have is organic chemistry. I am in a fundamentals course (4 credits w/ lab) which is a course to prepare you for biochemistry. Icouldn't get into the regular org. class so I am hoping this class will help me understand the concepts of organic chemistry and I will also use EK to study for the mcat. Has anyone taken the mcat with no or little organic chem background?

 

[dyk343]

Thanks for the advice (and for saving me money!) 👍 I was curious to know the avg. mcat scores because I would imagine getting atleast a 21 would be attainable as long as I studied a few hours a week.
I will look into Examkrackers!

The only issue I have is organic chemistry. I am in a fundamentals course (4 credits w/ lab) which is a course to prepare you for biochemistry. Icouldn't get into the regular org. class so I am hoping this class will help me understand the concepts of organic chemistry and I will also use EK to study for the mcat. Has anyone taken the mcat with no or little organic chem background?

I also recommend taking as many of the online official MCAT practice tests that you can. Really helps in breaking down time/formats/what to expect.

For me, the online exams got harder as I got closer to the end of the list so dont just take the lower numbered practice exams.

 

[pacpod]

It can definitely be a good resource, but you only get out of it what you put into it. In my personal opinion, I think you would be fine with self study (stand alone kaplan books, exam krackers, etc ...). If you are wanting to really work hard and give it your all to destroy the MCAT, you may consider it. But fact of the matter is, entrance MCAT scores for podiatry school doesn't necessarily warrant the time and money for a traditional Kaplan course.

Best of luck.

 

[Sig Savant]

But fact of the matter is, entrance MCAT scores for podiatry school doesn't necessarily warrant the time and money for a traditional Kaplan course.

Kaplan Course is about $2,000. The difference between a score of 22 and a score of 28?

$30,000 in scholarship money.

If you want to get into school, score whatever you want. If you want to be a high quality applicant, put some time in. Schools treat high quality applicants much differently than a student with 21 MCAT. Schools want the students with good numbers and thus will sell the school to you in the interview, as opposed to grilling you with hard questions.

 

[PodSquad7]

I agree with Sig Savant. If you want to get into school just pick up ExamKrakers MCATS books and get your 21 and get in.

However, I know some schools base their scholarship money off a GPA and MCAT scale. I missed out on extra scholarship money because I didn't get a 25 MCAT even though my GPA was 3.7

EX. 3.3 GPA and 21 MCAT might get you $4,000 while a 3.6 GPA and a 25 MCAT might get you $7,000-$12,000.

Worth the investment? That's up to you!

 

[hightower]

One thing to know is that the MCAT is a critical thinking passage based test. There are discrete questions that just test your knowledge but most of it is passage based questions. You have to know what information to extract and what info is useless or irrelevant. Verbal reasoning can be tricky for many people. I did take the Kaplan course and the biggest thing it did was teach me testing strategy, or the plan of attack. Maybe this can be found in those books too. Since I paid a lot of money to take the course it forced me to take it seriously and show up for each class and take lots of practice tests they provided in order to get my money's worth. If you can discipline yourself and start early enough you can definitely prepare well on your own. If you take the independent route just take a lot of practice tests in order to know what you are up against and see how much you need to study and improve your score. I just wanted the structure of a formal course hence I shelled out the big bucks. As has been said a $2000 investment might pay off very well in the long run. I felt it paid off for me. Just my 2 cents.

 

[sorham]

I didn't take any course and did just fine. There was no way I was going to shell out the money, I just didn't have it. You just have to be disciplined in studying regularly and take LOTS of practice tests. Real practice tests where you actually put aside four hours and go through the whole thing multiple times before the real thing. Get a Kaplan book and read through it, that's what helped me most. When it comes to scholarship money it depends where you want to go to school. Arizona doesn't give money out at all, and DMU only gives up to 4000 (which is something I'm not saying it's not and I'm glad I got it) however it's no 7 to 12 k either. Although DMU is cheaper tuition to start with than most. Just do what is righ for you, if you feel it would be beneficial to you, and you need a structured program then do it (this is a very important test and you do need to do well on it) if you feel you study well on your own and you are disciplined enough to do it, then go for it alone. Only you know yourself and what you need best.

 

[royalmarquis]

Kaplan Course is about $2,000. The difference between a score of 22 and a score of 28?

$30,000 in scholarship money.

If you want to get into school, score whatever you want. If you want to be a high quality applicant, put some time in. Schools treat high quality applicants much differently than a student with 21 MCAT. Schools want the students with good numbers and thus will sell the school to you in the interview, as opposed to grilling you with hard questions.

scholarship money? I don't understand what you mean by that? Which scholarship are you referring to?

 

[dtrack22]

Every program (except AZPOD) has merit-based scholarships available. Most of those programs will give at least a 1-year scholarship to just about every incoming student. The better stats you have, the more money you get, and the greater chance you have of getting a renewable scholarship.

They range from $4k to half tuition...depending on the program.

 

[emericana]

I am taking the kaplan mcat course with the hope of getting into pod school.

i am 2 year out of undergrad and the chemistry and physics classes I took were years on end back (5+ years ago). Organic and Bio are much fresher in memory.

Decided to take the kaplan course for that very reason... to spice up the chem and physics.

biggest waste of money in my life. the kaplan books are abysmal, and I have ended up purchasing exam krackers and princeton review to learn the materials from because I do not learn crap from the awful kaplan books (except maybe the biology).

Their online resources are great however for what it is worth.

 

[itswiggles]

- I also took Kaplan, and I think it did help. The material is good and their teaching method is fair - I think the Verbal strategy is the best one they teach. However, the question that always comes up when deciding to take it is the cost of the class usually around ~$2,000. Therefore, with that price tag I don't think the class is it worth if it will be a financial burden for you.
- My Kaplan Teacher told me that that he used Exam Krackers 1001 questions for his preparation for his MCAT test. He scored in the 99th%. Ironically he changed his mind and wanted to go Dental (for personal reasons). He studied EK 1001 questions again, and guess what, he got a 99th%. Again.
- He told me to study them and I thought they really help. Not the books that teach you the material, but with 1001 questions and just grinding out 100 a day, you really build endurance for the test and also learn what you REALLY know. Not what you think you know.
- You can get all 4 Books: Bio, O-chem, Gen chem, and Physics for ~$100 - great deal.

 

[SN3]

Every program (except AZPOD) has merit-based scholarships available.

Does anyone know why AZPOD doesn't give out scholarships? Does Midwestern give scholarships to students in their other programs?

 

[dtrack22]

Do you want the real answer or the BS reason that you'll get from a 3rd year during your interview??

 

[SN3]

Do you want the real answer or the BS reason that you'll get from a 3rd year during your interview??

Oh, wow, I didn't know that it was a big deal. I thought that maybe they just didn't give any of their students scholarships or that maybe they didn't have enough money for the podiatry students because it is a newer program. 😕

 

[dtrack22]

You are basically right. They are a new program and most likely don't have the funds/financial support to offer them. But your tour guide will tell you how the school feels like they don't need to "throw money at students to get them to matriculate like other programs".

I don't care if you don't give scholarships, but don't pee down my leg and tell me it's raining. Too many programs flat out lie to incoming students or don't give you all the facts (especially on their websites). I was sad to see AZPOD pull that on our interview group.

 

[SN3]

Yeah, that would piss me off too. I hope they are straight with the students about other things. I am constantly frustrated at my undergraduate institution because of bs like that.