Last chance...Kaplan class?

[closertofine]

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OK, my Kaplan diagnostic is on Monday, and right now I'm pretty sure I'm going to go the path of the Kaplan class for preparing for the April MCAT....along with other studying on my own, of course. I still have a lot to study...and feel like I'm behind all you guys here!

Anyway, I ordered a sample CD from Examkrackers and found it really useful so far...though I don't have a portable CD player, so I have to listen to it in my room. I was thinking about the possibility of getting the full CD set and just studying on my own... though I don't know if I could keep the Kaplan books and just pay for those if I don't take the class.

I know there have probably been a lot of threads discussing this issue, but I'm having a little trouble finding them. The cost of the Kaplan course isn't a huge deal for me (well, it was my Christmas present!)...but I could get the EK set and some other studying material for much less.

What do you think? Any opinions on Kaplan vs. self-study? I've heard that if you change your mind about Kaplan before the diagnostic, you can get your money back, but otherwise you only get some back.

Thanks!

🙂

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

Originally posted by karen44
OK, my Kaplan diagnostic is on Monday, and right now I'm pretty sure I'm going to go the path of the Kaplan class for preparing for the April MCAT....along with other studying on my own, of course. I still have a lot to study...and feel like I'm behind all you guys here!

Anyway, I ordered a sample CD from Examkrackers and found it really useful so far...though I don't have a portable CD player, so I have to listen to it in my room. I was thinking about the possibility of getting the full CD set and just studying on my own... though I don't know if I could keep the Kaplan books and just pay for those if I don't take the class.

I know there have probably been a lot of threads discussing this issue, but I'm having a little trouble finding them. The cost of the Kaplan course isn't a huge deal for me (well, it was my Christmas present!)...but I could get the EK set and some other studying material for much less.

What do you think? Any opinions on Kaplan vs. self-study? I've heard that if you change your mind about Kaplan before the diagnostic, you can get your money back, but otherwise you only get some back.

Thanks!

🙂

Hi,

I had the same exact feelings after I put a deposit down with the princeton review. A lot of people told me on this board that self study is definately a good option if you can keep disciplined and such. Some of my buddies said to go for it, while a couple of my premed friends said that they would stick with PR since it is "proven" to work for people. I thought about it a lot and decided to go the self-study route. So far, I think its been a good decision, especially since PR takes up quite a bit of time with their classes, and I think those hours for me would best be put to studying and practicing. I have stuck to my schedule pretty well, doing 4 lectures out of the EK set a week and listening to AO in conjuction. Two things that will be beneficial to my prep are SDN of course, I mean you can ask anything on here and somebody out there should know it and contribute! The other is EK's online assistance...I have already asked a couple of questions and they respond that day or the next...and it has helped me with understanding. Hopefully, when I take practice tests, all this self studying will start to pay off...but as far as that goes, I can't tell you yet! Oh, and also I will be attending the EK weekend seminar in boston...I am hoping I will learn more about knowing the MCAT during this. Anyways, each to his own...good luck with your decision.

 

[2003Applicant]

I took the MCAT last April and studied on my own. I am very glad that I did self-study because I learned what I needed to learn as opposed to what others in the class needed. Make a schedule for yourself from now until April -- decide when to take which tests, ,when to study which chapters -- figure out what you'll do every day between now and April, and stick to that schedule. Study as many hours each day as you need to learn everything necessary on that given day.

Best wishes!

 

[LoneCoyote]

Okay, I'll weigh in on this one. I'm glad I'm doing Princeton Review right now. But I must say its mostly just because I know I will procrastinate until it is too late to study on my own. So far I dont think I'm getting as much out of the actual classes as just having a lot of homework due the next class. That forces me to do it. From what I have heard from a friend who is in Kaplan now the virtue of it is the access to their testing center. She's not thrilled with the classes themselves. So if you dont really like the classes you're essentially paying for the access to the materials. I say take the class if you need structure to get studying like I do, or study on your own if you've got the motivation to do it.