Kaplan vs. Berkeley Review + Questions about Online Kaplan Course

[plzhelpmeh]

I'm thinking about taking the online Kaplan MCAT course this summer, but I can't really find any information on the material covered or what it offers over the books alone. Is the Kaplan course basically the books + classes with test-taking strategies + MCAT practice exams? Does anyone have a copy of a schedule used by their online Kaplan course that I could see?

I was also considering using the Berkeley review books to learn the material instead because I'd rather be able to do practice questions relevant to what I just read instead of taking the Kaplan course and reading a few chapters and then taking a practice exam in which I don't even know half the material. The only problem is I'm not sure if I can stick to a study plan if I'm not part of a course.

If anyone could answer my questions about the Kaplan course/give advice about which option to take that'd be great!

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[sweetdreamzzz14]

I've taken both the Berkeley Review course (for the old exam) and the Kaplan Live Online course (for the new exam).

Kaplan has many different types of online MCAT courses. I preferred the Live Online because it has access to MCAT Channel where you have webinars of different subjects with various instructors (and can type in the public chat or private chat with questions during the session). In this regard, I think Kaplan gives audio-visual learners more resources than just the 7 book set.

(My opinion for Berkeley Review is based on the materials for the old MCAT) I'm assuming you are thinking of only using the Berkeley Review books and not the course. Have you seen the Berkeley Review books? They read like a textbook... Even during the course we were advised not to read cover to cover. What I got out of Berkeley Review is great passage-based questions.

Kaplan has sample schedules online (click Time & Details): http://www.kaptest.com/mcat/mcat-prep-course/mcat-prep-live-online-schedule

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Sdreamz: I was hoping to PM you, but your account settings appear to be private. I wanted to get feedback on the 9 book set compared to the in-class handouts, the summary exams, and the skills seminars (like the ones on graph reading, experiment logic, and math skills). Where did you take the course, because the materials vary slightly from one location to another?