Kaplan or The Princeton Review or Something Else?

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purplepancakes897

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I've decided to dedicate the whole summer to studying for the MCAT and I'm trying to find the best resources. Unsurprisingly, most of my pre-med friends are no longer pre-med and the ones that have taken the MCAT have differing opinions about the review books and classes. Plus the sample size was too small to get a unanimous answer about anything.
It seems like Kaplan is the more popular option, more bandwagon in a way, most people I know have used Kaplan as their main resource. However, I know a smattering of people using TPR. TPR was my main resource for the SAT, AP, and subject tests so I slightly more bias towards them. Based on your own experience did Kaplan or TPR help in how you studied for the MCAT and your final grade? Did you feel like one was better than the other in any way? Or did you use Kaplan for certain subjects and TPR for other subjects? Did you use a different review book and if so which ones?
Also, did anyone take the classes offered by Kaplan or TPR or did you self-study? Some people I know say the classes weren't helpful and others said they were a good review. I personally don't want to have to spend so much money on a class especially when Khan Academy exists (and if it ends up unhelpful) but if it's going to get me into med school, take everything. If you did take a class, which ones, did you take them online or in person, and what did you think about them?

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I decided not to take a class early on. They cost too much for how little you get. It seems absurd to pay $2500 for a video class when KA is free.

For materials, pretty much everyone who has scored where I'm aiming used TBR for the hard sciences, TPR for psych/sociology, and EK with TPR for CARS. I worked through problems in several books before spending any money and I have found that combination of books to be amazing so far. The thing that matters most are the questions and how they explain them. There are many things out there that work for different people, but for me that mixed set of books has been gold.

I'll start into Q banks later this summer and then AAMC exams.
 
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