Kaplan vs. Princeton book set for MCAT 2018-2019

[dreamingaboutmedicine]

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This question has probably been asking a thousand times, so sorry about that! I am planning on taking the MCAT next January (2019) and would like to self study with books. Which do you recommend for the new MCAT, Kaplan vs. Princeton and why?

 

[radian313]

Took the new and old MCAT....

Id not use them both.

TBR all the way.....(maybe not for verbal), for verbal id suggest TPR, if you need more practice the hyperlearning science workbook...then all of the AAMC practice materials.

Dont fall into the trap of just reading endless notes and books, get through the material and start doing questions. Thats where youll see the difference.

 

[workaholic181]

I used TPR and loved it. I had Kaplan for bio and wasn’t a huge fan. Here’s why;
-TPR’s end of chapter reviews were great. They basically broke down the 10-15 main take aways from each unit. Like half of them ended up being on my mcat. Conversely Kaplan just bullet points it’s whole section. There is no focus on main ideas, IMO.
-I felt like TPR’s in chapter questions were more similar to the AAMC and real mcat questions.
-Can’t speak to Kaplan’s customer support, but TPR was great when I had issues registering.

 

[edgerock24]

Both suck.

Stick to TBR/EK/AAMC materials.

 

[Doc_Ock]

Both are awful. Use examkrackers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[6754Lululox]

If you want EK, and live nearby, I can give you my books. I have a full set of used latest edition exam kracker books and 3 of their again used latest edition 101 passages (cars, chem, physics) and one older 1001 physics questions. I love these. I just got accepted so I’m ready to part with them.

 

[monty522]

Definitely Examkrackers. Slide into my DMs and maybe I can help you find a discount.

 

[rami786]

If you want EK, and live nearby, I can give you my books. I have a full set of used latest edition exam kracker books and 3 of their again used latest edition 101 passages (cars, chem, physics) and one older 1001 physics questions. I love these. I just got accepted so I’m ready to part with them.

Hi do you still have these?

 

[rami786]

Definitely Examkrackers. Slide into my DMs and maybe I can help you find a discount.

Hey! Do you still have the EK books?

 

[Kawi347]

For me the book set didn’t really matter. I spent a month on Kaplan reading and taking notes before I went on to aamc materials for the next month. I wish I would have extended my aamc studying and shortened my books studying to just a quick read through. My score was a 513, but I believe I could have upped that with more dedicated aamc time.

 

[TheLeadSeed]

examkrackers all the way! I had the Kaplan and EK set. EK is definitely more concise, easier to read, and uses more pictures/graphs. Plus, you should focus more on practice rather than content review. I also used TPR psych/soc book. got 508 on MCAT (126/124/129/129). In hindsight, wish I did more CARS practice towards the end.

 

[Kawi347]

examkrackers all the way! I had the Kaplan and EK set. EK is definitely more concise, easier to read, and uses more pictures/graphs. Plus, you should focus more on practice rather than content review. I also used TPR psych/soc book. got 508 on MCAT (126/124/129/129). In hindsight, wish I did more CARS practice towards the end.

Adding on to yours, I did a few of the free Kahn academy cars sections each day and definitely feel it helped improve my cars.

 

[brotherbanjo]

I found it very helpful to have a resource that pointed out what was high yield and what was not. I took the old test (so take this with a grain of salt), but I switched from using TPR to EK because of this. EK was very clear on what was important and what was not.

It's all personalized too, so if having more background info works well for you and you feel like you have the time to do it, then maybe TPR is a better fit. Good luck!