Kaplan or Princeton????????????

[mikejames]

Does anyone know which course is better the Kaplan MCAT course or the Princeton MCAT course?
Also when do people usually take there MCAT August before their senior year right?

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[.surgical.]

TPR vs Princeton is consistently debated with no real winner. I know that for me, the TPR course fit my schedule better and had more hours of classtime (by a large chunk). Either way your only gonna get out what you put in.

Most people take the MCAT in April/May of their junior year, BTW. The August test date puts you at a slight disadvantage in the application cycle. If you take the spring MCAT you can apply early (primaries start June 1st), have your score by June, and start doing secondaries as early as the summer. If you wait until August, you won't have scores until September, and your whole app cycle will be delayed.

Thats not to say there aren't a huge chunk of August people every year that do just fine with no adverse effects. But if you want to be early and ahead of the game, take it in April. ALso, that way if you do badly, you still have a chance to retake the exam for the same app cycle.

 

[stixx]

TPR vs Princeton is consistently debated with no real winner. I know that for me, the TPR course fit my schedule better and had more hours of classtime (by a large chunk). Either way your only gonna get out what you put in.

Most people take the MCAT in April/May of their junior year, BTW. The August test date puts you at a slight disadvantage in the application cycle. If you take the spring MCAT you can apply early (primaries start June 1st), have your score by June, and start doing secondaries as early as the summer. If you wait until August, you won't have scores until September, and your whole app cycle will be delayed.

Thats not to say there aren't a huge chunk of August people every year that do just fine with no adverse effects. But if you want to be early and ahead of the game, take it in April. ALso, that way if you do badly, you still have a chance to retake the exam for the same app cycle.

Sorry for being a newb, what's TPR? Is that not the princeton review

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

Does anyone know which course is better the Kaplan MCAT course or the Princeton MCAT course?
Also when do people usually take there MCAT August before their senior year right?

Neither. ExamKrackers all the way, baby! Colorful books, a focus on cutting through the "crap," and consistently high scorers. I did EK and got a higher score than my TPR and Kaplan friends.

In any case, OP, you should probably head over to the MCAT forum and ask this question over there. Those folks are more focused on this issue than we are. You get to the MCAT forum by going to "Medicine" at the top of this page, then "Premedical Students" then "MCAT Forum."

 

[Funky]

Sorry for being a newb, what's TPR? Is that not the princeton review

TPR=The Princeton Review

 

[Towelie]

Kaplan is the best, because it has test materials that are closest to the actual MCAT. Princeton review is a distant second.

Examkrackers is a complete waste of money. Their practice tests do not at all resemble the actual MCAT.

 

[stixx]

TPR=The Princeton Review

coolbeans thanks

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

Kaplan is the best, because it has test materials that are closest to the actual MCAT. Princeton review is a distant second.

Examkrackers is a complete waste of money. Their practice tests do not at all resemble the actual MCAT.

This is true, but they tell you that upfront. They've cut all the "easy" questions from their tests so that you can focus in on the harder stuff only. Thus, their study materials = awesome!

However, I'll ammend my post since I agree that experiencing the true "feel" of MCAT is important. So, ExamKrackers all the way PLUS membership to the AAMC online test bank. For ~$150 you can pay to take about 8 real, retired MCATS. These are closer to resembling the actual MCAT then even Kaplan.

 

[pedsdoc2b]

Kaplan offers FREE access to all the AAMC practice tests (well, free with the cost of the Kaplan course). I took Kaplan and I loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that I now teach for them (so yes, I am biased)...

 

[Psyche Estrelle]

I vote Kaplan, I thought they did a great job. :>

 

[Raamy]

i'll say up front that i teach for kaplan, and also took the kaplan class when preparing for the mcat, so please take the following with your own best judgement (and grain of salt). kaplan in my estimation is by far better than princeton review, and that is the conclusion i came up with before i took a prep course when looking into which program was better. kaplan has a higher standard for minimum score needed to teach mcat classes than princeton review. the price of the class includes all aamc materials (including practice sections in addition to the practice tests) which princeton review doesn't have all of. kaplan's own practice material is more comprehensive than princeton review's. kaplan teaches you specific strategies (i'm not going to mention which ones, but i'll give you a hint, it's for the verbal section) that princeton review students haven't even heard of. in addition, if you want to get a sense of how prepared kaplan is and how plugged in they are to the system, take this into consideration: the aamc planned on making the MCAT a computer based test about 10 years ago in a closed door meeting with their executive board. you know who was sitting in on that meeting? a kaplan representative. so kaplan's curriculum has already been formatted for the last 10 years in anticipation of that change. princeton review and exam krackers obviously did not have any representative at that meeting. finally, kaplan basically writes out a whole script that the teachers are supposed to know for each class in the teacher's edition of the book. so there is less chance that they will forget to tell you something you should know because it's there in front of them. last i had checked with a friend of mine who works for princeton review, they don't do that for their teachers. lastly, to the comment about exam krackers cutting out all the unnecessary stuff...kaplan already beat EK out in that department. the material covered in the books has nothing less and nothing more than you need to know for the MCAT. they don't throw in any extra information and nothing is left out. if you know every word of the kaplan science material and *know how to apply it* you should get a 15 on each section. of course you might be able to say that about other test prep companies, but kaplan makes it the easiest because it doesn't cover any unncessary information. lastly, straight from kaplan memos...starting january 10th, kaplan students will be able to access all 8 aamc practice tests on the computer in a real testing environment interface. how many do competitors offer? "The Princeton Review may stick with offering only 3 AAMC exams. ExamKrackers offers 2 and Berkeley Review ‘…encourages students to purchase their own AAMC exams.’ Keep in mind this information is subject to change." hope that helps.

 

[Flightfire]

I am a fan of TPR. It really depends on how you study. Despite what you have heard here, the materials of both Princeton Review and Kaplan are very similar. They will both give you more MCAT questions than you can possibly ever answer. Kaplan has these cool little flashcards that they give out, but you'll retain a lot more if you make your own flashcards. The biggest difference is classroom instruction and structure. Kaplan is more of a self-study program. You have class taught two times a week by the same instructor and are provided with a ton of materials and are expected to study on your own.

Princetone Review has much more structure. Classes are four nights a week with four different instructors who specialize in their subject. There are also 5 practice tests that you are expected to take. I needed the structure while I was studying for MCAT because left to my own devices, I would much rather relax or have fun than study. Hope that helps, and good luck.

 

[alwaysaangel]

But I took and liked TPR. My main problem with Kaplan is that they have one person teach you everything. And lets face it, no one is an expert at everything. At TPR you get a separate teacher for each subject which gives you much greater expertise for each.

But when I was picking I heard that TPR is better if you need a good quick review of everything. And Kaplan was better if you already knew everything and wanted test strategies. So I took TPR because I needed the review.

 

[Sartre79]

neither. I don't think you need an expensive course...just discipline and the materials. Use Examkracker for Verbal. my $0.02

 

[BeatrixKiddo]

i'll say up front that i teach for kaplan, and also took the kaplan class when preparing for the mcat, so please take the following with your own best judgement (and grain of salt). kaplan in my estimation is by far better than princeton review, and that is the conclusion i came up with before i took a prep course when looking into which program was better. kaplan has a higher standard for minimum score needed to teach mcat classes than princeton review. the price of the class includes all aamc materials (including practice sections in addition to the practice tests) which princeton review doesn't have all of. kaplan's own practice material is more comprehensive than princeton review's. kaplan teaches you specific strategies (i'm not going to mention which ones, but i'll give you a hint, it's for the verbal section) that princeton review students haven't even heard of. in addition, if you want to get a sense of how prepared kaplan is and how plugged in they are to the system, take this into consideration: the aamc planned on making the MCAT a computer based test about 10 years ago in a closed door meeting with their executive board. you know who was sitting in on that meeting? a kaplan representative. so kaplan's curriculum has already been formatted for the last 10 years in anticipation of that change. princeton review and exam krackers obviously did not have any representative at that meeting. finally, kaplan basically writes out a whole script that the teachers are supposed to know for each class in the teacher's edition of the book. so there is less chance that they will forget to tell you something you should know because it's there in front of them. last i had checked with a friend of mine who works for princeton review, they don't do that for their teachers. lastly, to the comment about exam krackers cutting out all the unnecessary stuff...kaplan already beat EK out in that department. the material covered in the books has nothing less and nothing more than you need to know for the MCAT. they don't throw in any extra information and nothing is left out. if you know every word of the kaplan science material and *know how to apply it* you should get a 15 on each section. of course you might be able to say that about other test prep companies, but kaplan makes it the easiest because it doesn't cover any unncessary information. lastly, straight from kaplan memos...starting january 10th, kaplan students will be able to access all 8 aamc practice tests on the computer in a real testing environment interface. how many do competitors offer? "The Princeton Review may stick with offering only 3 AAMC exams. ExamKrackers offers 2 and Berkeley Review ‘…encourages students to purchase their own AAMC exams.’ Keep in mind this information is subject to change." hope that helps.

can't you be equally prepared then by just buying the kaplan review books off someone and buy the 8 aamc exams on your own as well

 

[Dr.Watson]

But I took and liked TPR. My main problem with Kaplan is that they have one person teach you everything. And lets face it, no one is an expert at everything. At TPR you get a separate teacher for each subject which gives you much greater expertise for each.

But when I was picking I heard that TPR is better if you need a good quick review of everything. And Kaplan was better if you already knew everything and wanted test strategies. So I took TPR because I needed the review.

I agree - especially re: teaching. For my first MCAT, I sat in on some Kaplan classes and the teacher wasn't helpful b/c they just didn't know their stuff outside of their field plus it was taught by a post-MCAT student (which was my age since I took a year off) who wasn't always prepared. I also used Kaplan materials from my friends - okay for strategies, but not the best review. My score from that MCAT qualified me to teach (it's not that high) and I really didnt' know what I was doing.
For my retake MCAT, I signed up for TPR. I was much more impressed with the quality of teaching - I had people with PhDs, working on a PhD, had a MA or were heading to grad school in their respective field, all were older and more experienced (mid-late 20s and early 30s) and prepared well for class. They could answer the Why? better than Kaplan teachers. TPR review materials were more comprehensive and I needed the thorough review. My TPR practice tests were the old AAMC ones. Anyway, went up 3 points.

After the a thorough review (whatever way is best for you - for me it was TPR), it comes down to doing as many practice tests as possible - get them from your friends, AAMC, your review course, etc.

 

[Raamy]

can't you be equally prepared then by just buying the kaplan review books off someone and buy the 8 aamc exams on your own as well

you missed the part where i wrote "*know how to apply it*" this is what kaplan teaches you, and in my opinion, better than the other test prep companies (again, i teach/work for this company, so take that assertion as you will). after all, knowing the material for the MCAT will only get you so far. this is a test of critical thinking. some of this is natural ability. most of it is learning to beat the test with strategy you learn and repeated exposure. good luck to all.

 

[VandyXGirl]

kaplan has a higher standard for minimum score needed to teach mcat classes than princeton review... Finally, kaplan basically writes out a whole script that the teachers are supposed to know for each class in the teacher's edition of the book. so there is less chance that they will forget to tell you something you should know because it's there in front of them.

I want to preface this as well by saying that I teach for TPR, but I interviewed to work for both Kaplan and TPR. (When studying for the MCAT I did not take a prep course because I was moving half way through and wouldn't be able to finish. I think prep courses are useful if you really need that guidance and direction.)

That being said the requirements to teach at either Kaplan or TPR are EXACTLY the same since I qualified to teach for both with my scores for every subject. They both go through the exact same process in hiring teachers. The difference, and mind you this is really important, is how those teachers are trained. For Kaplan all teachers undergo a basic training in all the subjects (about one-two days/afternoons per subject) unless they have changed it since I interviewed there. At TPR, on the other hand teachers, undergo a weekend long training for EACH subject that they want to teach. Trust me, this weekend is intense and the trainers make sure that all the teachers are experts in that subject.

Also, TPR teachers are given, not scripts, but guidelines for everything that we have to cover. TPR is big on giving teachers freedom to put in their own personality/teaching style into the class. We also get more classes to cover the material. For example in one 2.5 hours class at TPR I will cover all of Electrochemistry whereas in one Kaplan 2.5 hour class they will cover Electrochemistry and Thermodynamics.

What sold me on TPR as opposed to Kaplan was the teachers and how they seem to make the class fun and as enjoyable as you can make an MCAT class. I got a much better "vibe" from TPR in that they were more laid back, personable, and approachable as people in general.

I think if you are interested in taking a course ask the centers at Kaplan and TPR if you can sit in on a couple of classes to get a feel for the teachers, because they will vary from city to city. In my opinion the teacher can make or break the class, so if the teachers are fun and willing to help out before and after class, it can make your prep a lot easier! I'm sure most centers will say that you can sit in on a class or at least meet the teachers if you would like to do so.

 

[Trevethen]

i'll say up front that i teach for kaplan, and also took the kaplan class when preparing for the mcat, so please take the following with your own best judgement (and grain of salt). kaplan in my estimation is by far better than princeton review, and that is the conclusion i came up with before i took a prep course when looking into which program was better. kaplan has a higher standard for minimum score needed to teach mcat classes than princeton review. the price of the class includes all aamc materials (including practice sections in addition to the practice tests) which princeton review doesn't have all of. kaplan's own practice material is more comprehensive than princeton review's. kaplan teaches you specific strategies (i'm not going to mention which ones, but i'll give you a hint, it's for the verbal section) that princeton review students haven't even heard of. in addition, if you want to get a sense of how prepared kaplan is and how plugged in they are to the system, take this into consideration: the aamc planned on making the MCAT a computer based test about 10 years ago in a closed door meeting with their executive board. you know who was sitting in on that meeting? a kaplan representative. so kaplan's curriculum has already been formatted for the last 10 years in anticipation of that change. princeton review and exam krackers obviously did not have any representative at that meeting. finally, kaplan basically writes out a whole script that the teachers are supposed to know for each class in the teacher's edition of the book. so there is less chance that they will forget to tell you something you should know because it's there in front of them. last i had checked with a friend of mine who works for princeton review, they don't do that for their teachers. lastly, to the comment about exam krackers cutting out all the unnecessary stuff...kaplan already beat EK out in that department. the material covered in the books has nothing less and nothing more than you need to know for the MCAT. they don't throw in any extra information and nothing is left out. if you know every word of the kaplan science material and *know how to apply it* you should get a 15 on each section. of course you might be able to say that about other test prep companies, but kaplan makes it the easiest because it doesn't cover any unncessary information. lastly, straight from kaplan memos...starting january 10th, kaplan students will be able to access all 8 aamc practice tests on the computer in a real testing environment interface. how many do competitors offer? "The Princeton Review may stick with offering only 3 AAMC exams. ExamKrackers offers 2 and Berkeley Review ‘…encourages students to purchase their own AAMC exams.' Keep in mind this information is subject to change." hope that helps.

Lol, take this with a SHAKER of salt. Examkrackers offers 5 full length AAMC CBTs last I checked. Also, the changes for the CBT that Kaplan had the 10 year jump on? Were talking format and timing differences. The science stayed the same. Each question is weighted more, and that plays into EKs strategies quite well. The general concensus is that Kaplan books and EK books aren't so comparable. Even so, around here the EK materials are far more lauded.

Different strokes for different folks though. Check 'em all out. Ask your peers. Lets just say that I had been involved with Examkrackers classes, you would be suprised how many students (and teachers) turned to EK after participating with an unnamed competitor.

The closed door meeting (love to see the photo) of Kaplan's role in our dystopian future sounds exciting. I would believe it based on hearsay alone too though!

Kaplan also has a HUGE role to play in our wonderful and failing 'no child left behind' elementary system. Where kids aren't learning, but are being trained to take these awesome tests. I wonder how many congressman had closed door meetings with Kaplan reps?

 

[League54]

I took TPR because of the extensive classroom instruction. I also supplemented with EK. The only reason I did this is because I hadn't taken Physics 2 or Orgo 2, and needed the extra instruction. After taking the class, however, I would recommend not taking a class at all, and simply purchasing a study package (I'm partial to EK). Also, take at least 5 of the AAMC's. If I had taken Phys and Orgo 2 prior to taking the exam, I'm sure I would have been fine with EK and the AAMC's alone.

 

[League54]

Although I have heard that if you use EK material, it's good to supplement the physics and gen chem with Kaplan

 

[killinsound]

Lol, take this with a SHAKER of salt. Examkrackers offers 5 full length AAMC CBTs last I checked. Also, the changes for the CBT that Kaplan had the 10 year jump on? Were talking format and timing differences. The science stayed the same. Each question is weighted more, and that plays into EKs strategies quite well. The general concensus is that Kaplan books and EK books aren't so comparable. Even so, around here the EK materials are far more lauded.

Last time I checked there were only 3 AAMC MCAT's converted to CBT. Furthermore, most of the people here have aced all their classes and are in the upper echelon of their class. This makes for a skewed representative, and most of them only need a light review of the course.

For others who have not had the background in years, struggled to do well in their undergrad courses, or just don't remember anything, I firmly believe Kaplan and TPR are much better. (their books). I think both classes suck.

 

[ssquared]

My main problem with Kaplan is that they have one person teach you everything. And lets face it, no one is an expert at everything. At TPR you get a separate teacher for each subject which gives you much greater expertise for each.

That's not necessarily true. Many Kaplan centers exclusively use "specialists" who only teach one or two subjects. If you score high enough across the board they'll let you teach all of the sections, but only if each individual section was above the 90th percentile. I teach for Kaplan and they would never dream of letting me teach physics....because I'm pretty bad at physics. Nor would I feel comfortable teaching physics. For bio, though, I feel very confident in my ability to teach the material.

Just a thought.

 

[iheartrain]

can't you be equally prepared then by just buying the kaplan review books off someone and buy the 8 aamc exams on your own as well

maybe- but for me the Kaplan $ was worth it for the 8 online full-length exams (which are the same length as the current test) + online old AAMC tests + online tutorials and tests for each topic. You can't get that from just buying the old books. I actually think the Kaplan books are not that helpful- the pictures are in black and white so for diagrams like the heart/blood flow it's hard to tell what's going on. For those topics I looked at my EK books. Also, Kaplan has ALOT of minutae detail in its books. Maybe some people have time to memorize it all but I don't, that's why I like the EK books better. But Kaplan online resources- worth the money!

 

[palbsss]

I would just like to share my experience with the KAPLAN/Princeton thing. I took KAPLAN and really had no complaints. I think the only thing that sucked about was the supplemental tests and materials were laminated, so you could kinda see what the previous person wrote and had to erase it afterwards, which gave you an arm workout(could be a good thing if one is ignoring physical activity ). But as far as the content of the materials and the instruction, it was quite good. I think the instructor makes all of the difference in the world. The cool thing about KAPLAN(I am not sure if PRINCETON has this) is that if you dont like the teacher assigned to you, you could go to another class time with a different teacher, so if you like one teacher for certain subjects, you can do that. Most importantly, after taking the KAPLAN tests, the real MCAT was surprisingly easy. I remember having about 20 minutes for the biology section on the real MCAT while barely finishing on the KAPLAN tests. Also, it may have been the material, but I ended scoring higher on the real MCAT than in the KAPLAN tests. I also had some friends that took princeton, and thought that the MCAT we took was the hardest test they have ever seen, while to me it was almost the easiest. Well, that's my experience. Hope this helps.

 

[hb2998]

I took TPR and EK (both the full course). I liked TPR better if you have tons of time to study. They go in depth. EK's verbal sucks (maybe their 101 passage book is good), but during their course their verbal blows.

Your experience of the course with TPR and EK will largely depend on your instructor. From what I've heard, Kaplan is less teaching more practice. I wish I went that route. TPR is definitely made to allow you to learn/relearn the material, very boring to relearn Cell Bio when you could be hitting up Magnetism, Genetics, etc.

If I were to rank them, I would go: Kaplan (because of the place they provide for you to do your studying!), TPR, and then trailing far behind is EK's books (their course would not even rank anywhere near TPR/Kaplan).