Kaplan or Princeton?

[ellemarii]

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I'm hoping to hear some feedback from those of you who have taken either the Kaplan or Princeton Review prep courses...any information would be helpful, i.e. teaching materials, instructors, etc. I'm debating which one to choose and any input would be helpful!
Thanks.

 

[md_student10021]

you don't need a prep class. Save the money for a vacation.

TPR and Kaplan are pretty much the same, as far as I know, and instructors vary based on course location, so you might have a very good, or very bad instructor, depending on the class.

I used various prep books I bought off of Amazon.com and direct from the AAMC, didn't bother with a course, and did well. [And I know plenty of others who did the same.] So a prep course is definitely not necessary.

Good luck.

 

[coredump]

One thing that I have to comment on is the availability of Kaplan's material - it rocks. ALL of their prep material is available online - which means you don't have to spend countless hours in their [sometimes] cramped center. This is especially good for those that live far away from the center, or are lazy (such as myself). Something to consider if access to course material is a factor in your decision.

I have no experience with Princeton - but I heard you can take their material home (not sure if it's online yet).

 

[LukeWhite]

The other thing to consider is the quality of Kaplan's material, which is unparalleled. Some people seem to dislike it for its difficulty, but there's definitely value to overpreparing.

Though some people get by without taking a course, I know that I at least would have been lost without one. Knowing what you have to do at every step of the way and having the materials to do it with was worth the investment. I tend to shamelessly hype Kaplan on this forum, but I'm convinced that I wouldn't have gotten into med school (at least not for a very long time) if I hadn't taken the Kaplan course.

As a teacher, I can also say that as good as the Kaplan course is, this next time around it's going to be that much better. The people in charge of the course are manic in their devotion to improving it constantly.

If I can answer specific questions for your elle, let me know!