Kaplan vs. Berkeley Review

[BillrothI]

Hello, everybody.

I'm about a third of the way through the Kaplan content review and seem to be doing fine. However, after spending a couple hours cruising around SDN, it appears that many of you are not at all happy with Kaplan and recommend BR or TPRH instead.

I am scheduled for the 04/27 MCAT and am now considering purchasing the BR or TPRH books. It would be a pretty big chunk of change, but I only have one shot at this test and don't want to find out too late that the Kaplan books were insufficient.

What would you recommend? Should I change course immediately and get on the BR or TPRH books for the next two months or would it be advisable to stick it out with Kaplan?

Thank you for any advice.

-Bill R.

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[mspeedwagon]

I'm NOT speaking from experience taking the MCAT, but I have experience with most of the books (hell, I own all the PR, Kaplan and EK books... a little overkill).

Here is my take based on the books:
EK is great if you just finished courses and need a refresher. The 1001 series is great if you are scoring below a 10 in a section (suggesting you are deficit in the knowledge).

The Kaplan books and course have been good so far and I think are just about right for average pre-med student that is a year or two out of classes. Online resources are great. I'm not a fan of the Kaplan Anywhere format, but they cancelled the weekend course in my area and I didn't have a choice.

I'd say there are two books that are worth getting a hold of from TPR. The big science workbook and the hyper learning verbal book. The other books are mostly redundant to Kaplan.

I don't own the BR books but have looked over them. They are overkill and can be frustrating (note I only looked over o-chem and bio). If you a targeting a 35 or higher get them. Given the amount of folks on here that seem to have very high MCAT scores, I'm not surprised by their popularity on here. Get them if you are breaking 30 easily and looking for an edge. Otherwise, stick with what you are doing.

Again, I have not taken the MCAT so take my words with a word of caution. Though, I may be one of the few people that has worked with books from all 4 publishers.

What would you recommend? Should I change course immediately and get on the BR or TPRH books for the next two months or would it be advisable to stick it out with Kaplan?

Thank you for any advice.

-Bill R.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Should I change course immediately and get on the BR or TPRH books for the next two months or would it be advisable to stick it out with Kaplan?

The answer to your question depends on how you are doing and how you want to do. if you are on target and a few points away from your desired score, then why change course? But if what you are doing now isn't working for you, then cutting your losses and upgrading might be just the thing you need.

What you might want to do is check out this thread, and see where you're at.

As far as what makes the BR books so popular, it's the fact that the passages are outstanding and that the answer explanations are clear and thorough. They have many techniques and great test tricks, especially in the physical science books. Hopefully a few people who used them will offer an opinion.

 

[AktionPOTENTIAL]

BR is classic, Kaplan is trash for content IMO. I used Kaplan the last time and it was inadequate in so many ways. However, if you are doing fine w/ Kaplan, you probably shoud stick to it.

 

[Mehd School]

People on here will tell you to jump ship and go TBR. Just understand that not every material will work for every person. I tried TBR and didn't like it. I like Kaplan. The opposite exists as well, as you're about to hear the flood gates open.

I've read (currently re-reading) Kaplan Books, TBR (sans 2nd bio book), and EK. They all teach the same things. They are all very similar. Kaplan is more similar to TBR than anyone on here will give credit. It shouldn't be surprising; they're teaching the exact same content. There are only so many ways to explain buoyant force and redox reactions.

 

[BillrothI]

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. I feel very fortunate to have found such an active, helpful forum.

I have not finished all the content review yet so I am holding off on taking a full-length AAMC practice exam.

I figure that, best case scenario, I can get through all of the Kaplan content by the end of this month. I do reasonably well on the Kaplan practice questions that follow each chapter, but I am not sure that they indicate how well I might do on real AAMC passages. I am concerned that I will get through the Kaplan content review and find myself unprepared with only a month and a half left until the exam.

The area where I am having the most trouble is physical sciences. Perhaps I can pick up the BR book for that section alone? Do the BR passages mirror the actual exam? I like the Kaplan passages, but my scores on the AAMC practice exam and the Kaplan diagnostic exam were flip-flopped, which makes me a bit nervous (specifically, I did okay on the AAMC PS and terrible on the AAMC BS while I did okay on the Kaplan BS and terrible on the Kaplan PS).

Thanks again for all your help.

-Bill R.

Edit: Follow-up question regarding BR: are the CBTs a must?

 

[Mehd School]

The area where I am having the most trouble is physical sciences. Perhaps I can pick up the BR book for that section alone? Do the BR passages mirror the actual exam?

You'll receive subjective answers for the bolded part. My subjective answer is no, they don't mirror AAMC passages. TBR is harder. Some times this is great, but I found that often enough the passages were harder in a bad way. They can be detracting or test on completely irrelevant, useless information.

Truth be told, only aamc passages mirror aamc passages. Use other sources as "learning tools" and not "diagnostic tools". AAMC exams are proven time and time again to be the best diagnostic tool. If you're using Kaplan full lengths or TBR full lengths to predict your score, you're doing yourself a disservice.

Hope this helps. TBR physical science is excellent, for what it's worth. It's the only thing I think it's the best at. Kaplan will give you the tools to score 11+ on the PS section if you have what it takes.

 

[BillrothI]

You'll receive subjective answers for the bolded part. My subjective answer is no, they don't mirror AAMC passages. TBR is harder. Some times this is great, but I found that often enough the passages were harder in a bad way. They can be detracting or test on completely irrelevant, useless information.

Truth be told, only aamc passages mirror aamc passages. Use other sources as "learning tools" and not "diagnostic tools". AAMC exams are proven time and time again to be the best diagnostic tool. If you're using Kaplan full lengths or TBR full lengths to predict your score, you're doing yourself a disservice.

Hope this helps. TBR physical science is excellent, for what it's worth. It's the only thing I think it's the best at. Kaplan will give you the tools to score 11+ on the PS section if you have what it takes.

Thanks. I think I will order the TBR physical science book, then, since that is the area where I feel least confident. Incidentally, I did score a 10 on the PS section of the free AAMC practice test (I think it might be #3?), but that may have been a fluke. I am really shooting for a 35+, so I'm hoping to get 12+ on each section.

I believe I have access to all eight AAMC practice exams through Kaplan. Would it be advisable to take one per week for the eight weeks leading up to the exam?

Thanks again.

-Bill R.

 

[Mehd School]

I believe I have access to all eight AAMC practice exams through Kaplan. Would it be advisable to take one per week for the eight weeks leading up to the exam?

Thanks again.

-Bill R.

You do.

That would be an alright plan. I intend to do about 2 per week, but maybe 1 per week for the first two weeks and spread it out over a total of 6 weeks. It really does't make that big of a difference.