MCAT Prep Course?

[chemdoctor]

Hello everyone!

I am takign a gap year and will be taking the MCAT in January 2020, (applying in May/June 2020), and was wondering how I should start prepping. I've done decently in the prerequisites (except Orgo 1), and am doing well in Biochemistry. I am taking sixteen-eighteen credits next semester and will be taking classes the first six weeks of the summer. I was planning on dedicating the second six weeks of the summer (end of June to middle of August), to full dedicated MCAT prep. The way I scheduled things, seems like I Have set myself up for a very chill senior year with very easy upper division electives! I wanted to know what advice you all have with taking this exam. I do well on standardized tests but obviously I need to study. Should I start with a KAPLAN prep course? Should I begin with CARS? Which prep courses do you recommend? I was thinking KAPLAN or Princeton Review. I was going to dedicate an entire semester and take it in January 2020. Please let me know. I feel that this is the best because it gives me ample amount of time to retake in case I have to. Thank you!

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[PapaGuava]

Hello everyone!

I am taking a gap year and will be taking the MCAT in January 2020, (applying in May/June 2020), and was wondering how I should start prepping. I've done decently in the prerequisites (except Orgo 1), and am doing well in Biochemistry. I am taking sixteen-eighteen credits next semester and will be taking classes the first six weeks of the summer. I was planning on dedicating the second six weeks of the summer (end of June to middle of August), to full dedicated MCAT prep. The way I scheduled things, seems like I Have set myself up for a very chill senior year with very easy upper division electives! I wanted to know what advice you all have with taking this exam. I do well on standardized tests but obviously I need to study. Should I start with a KAPLAN prep course? Should I begin with CARS? Which prep courses do you recommend? I was thinking KAPLAN or Princeton Review. I was going to dedicate an entire semester and take it in January 2020. Please let me know. I feel that this is the best because it gives me ample amount of time to retake in case I have to. Thank you!

Hi chemdoctor,

First and foremost, just focus on those pre-requisites and hammer those in. As for your summer, I think it would be a great opportunity for you to start beginning content review on areas you think may be the most 'cold,' memory wise. I also think it would great for you to start developing a MCAT study schedule for your following semester before taking the MCAT in January 2020.

As for prep courses, I took a Kaplan prep course and I would say it helped in terms of recognizing certain patterns on the MCAT exam and getting used to certain things, but the work inside the classroom was fairly useless in my opinion. It may be more useful for someone just starting out but I was already halfway through my studying regime when I took the course. However, the other prep course companies may be better so that is something you may have to look deeper into before committing the money.

 

[jmetaller]

I did the 7 book kaplan review and did really well. I didn't use the CARS book actually. The only deficiency for me was the psychology/sociology book. Seemed like I was constantly running up against stuff in the practice tests and real test that wasn't in that book. Other than that, solid review.

I should say though... it's good content review. You have to practice the actual test because it is not simply a test on content.

 

[chemdoctor]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the output. I'm just not entirely sure where to begin with this process. I wanna study over the second six weeks of the summer but I am unsure about it. I don't think I can self-study for this exam; I'm definitely going to have to take a course. I am looking into Princeton Review. I feel like I am very weak in CARS...

 

[PapaGuava]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the output. I'm just not entirely sure where to begin with this process. I wanna study over the second six weeks of the summer but I am unsure about it. I don't think I can self-study for this exam; I'm definitely going to have to take a course. I am looking into Princeton Review. I feel like I am very weak in CARS...

Majority of it is self-studying. The course may help guide you and give you some tips, but don't place too much emphasis on the course. I would prepare for ways you want to handle your studying and if you take a course, it can supplement some things.

 

[chemdoctor]

Majority of it is self-studying. The course may help guide you and give you some tips, but don't place too much emphasis on the course. I would prepare for ways you want to handle your studying and if you take a course, it can supplement some things.

Damn really? I was hoping the course could guide ... I really have no clue which section to start or what. Should I just take a practice test for a baseline score? It’s gonna be horrible but...

Do you think that some of it is natural limitations? I feel like not everyone can feasibly get a 515+ just through studying. It’s like the SAT

 

[PapaGuava]

The courses will offer you a guideline, certain things to focus on, patterns, and will go over some content. Some courses may be better than others, or even the instructor in the courses themselves. I took a Kaplan in-person course and from my experience, the best part was helping read the questions and prepare for the timing of the test. The rest is majority of your time going through content and studying. Granted, I took the course when I was half-way through my study regiment and maybe I felt I didn't need it as much as others who were just starting out.

Yes, I would take a baseline test so you can see where you feel the most cold content wise. Don't beat yourself up about it because you've never taken an MCAT style questions/test, and you may have not see that type of content for a long time.

 

[kfox926]

I’m staring the Princeton review self paced course next week for a Jan retake. I’ve gone back and forth about it a lot but I think it will help organize my studying and hone in on where I need the mist practice

 

[chemdoctor]

Leaning towards Princeton next year. Thanks everyone. I hope I do well!

 

[MedSun]

Yes, Princeton might be a better choice. My friend and I received a scholarship for Kaplan In-person course. Her class has been canceled twice so far and she has to take the MCAT in January. She ended up switching to their online option. It's beyond frustrating but at least we didn't have to pay almost $2500 for it.

 

[SGIIB1a]

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[hcummins]

As far as prep courses go, I took Altius and found it to be tremendously helpful. If you enjoy lecture based series, take Kaplan or Princeton. Altius is more discussion, self-study based. They really give you a lot of materials, but expect you to take control of your own studying. It also comes with a personal tutor to answer your questions. They also guarantee 90th percentile!

Ultimately, everyone will tell you that their prep course is the best. Go with what you think best fits your budget/study habits! They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Good luck with your studying, you'll kill it!

 

[kfox926]

As far as prep courses go, I took Altius and found it to be tremendously helpful. If you enjoy lecture based series, take Kaplan or Princeton. Altius is more discussion, self-study based. They really give you a lot of materials, but expect you to take control of your own studying. It also comes with a personal tutor to answer your questions. They also guarantee 90th percentile!

Ultimately, everyone will tell you that their prep course is the best. Go with what you think best fits your budget/study habits! They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Good luck with your studying, you'll kill it!

Thank you! And everyone for your advice! I chose to go with next step. I felt like it had more to offer with lectures/videos and live staff/faculty to help with questions.

 

[PapaGuava]

Thank you! And everyone for your advice! I chose to go with next step. I felt like it had more to offer with lectures/videos and live staff/faculty to help with questions.

Good luck with everything moving forward! Be sure to stick around SDN!

 

[chemdoctor]

As far as prep courses go, I took Altius and found it to be tremendously helpful. If you enjoy lecture based series, take Kaplan or Princeton. Altius is more discussion, self-study based. They really give you a lot of materials, but expect you to take control of your own studying. It also comes with a personal tutor to answer your questions. They also guarantee 90th percentile!

Ultimately, everyone will tell you that their prep course is the best. Go with what you think best fits your budget/study habits! They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Good luck with your studying, you'll kill it!

Guarantee 90th percentile?

 

[Altius Premier Tutor]

@hcummins was referring to this: Blog | Altius Test Prep GUARANTEES Students a 90th-Percentile MCAT Score | Altius

 

[chemdoctor]

I personally used Altius. I had initially planned to use the study material from Kaplan. I did really well in my undergrad courses, but I was really nervous about not developing the strategy to conquer the test. I felt that Altius was going to cover all the bases and they certainly did. Their exams were awesome, the study material was great, the group sessions were superb, and the 1-on-1 tutoring was invaluable. Ultimately, I wanted a program that was going to help me get it right the first time. I didn't want to worry about having to retest. It kept me responsible and pushed me the entire time. I would definitely toss them in the mix if you are serious about wanting to know which program to use. Good luck!

Yeah I heard they guarantee a 90% score! That's what I'm considering honestly... I have some extra money to spend so looking into spending money on a private tutor doesn't seem like a terrible idea...

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

I didn't see a student commenting on the Altius program for six months and now there are five brand new posters in just the past two weeks.

 

[philthyj]

Hello everyone!

I am takign a gap year and will be taking the MCAT in January 2020, (applying in May/June 2020), and was wondering how I should start prepping. I've done decently in the prerequisites (except Orgo 1), and am doing well in Biochemistry. I am taking sixteen-eighteen credits next semester and will be taking classes the first six weeks of the summer. I was planning on dedicating the second six weeks of the summer (end of June to middle of August), to full dedicated MCAT prep. The way I scheduled things, seems like I Have set myself up for a very chill senior year with very easy upper division electives! I wanted to know what advice you all have with taking this exam. I do well on standardized tests but obviously I need to study. Should I start with a KAPLAN prep course? Should I begin with CARS? Which prep courses do you recommend? I was thinking KAPLAN or Princeton Review. I was going to dedicate an entire semester and take it in January 2020. Please let me know. I feel that this is the best because it gives me ample amount of time to retake in case I have to. Thank you!

Chemdoctor,
Sounds pretty busy but that's great. My advice to you is to start CARS as soon as you can. I was never a big reader growing up and so CARS was really tough. I wish I could have gone back and got a magazine subscription and started reading the newspaper EVERY day to enhance my argumentative reading skills. Another thing I'd recommend is to get a study book (I used the Altius program but had friends use Examcrackers and Kaplan) to just get a sense of the material on the MCAT, then make flashcards as you go through your prerequisites. Like I said, I used Altius, and I liked their program's access to a tutor and to full length practice exams, but I wish I had more CARS and PS training. Of course, it wouldn't be too bad to use all the AAMC material and self study, if you're that kind of person. Either way, a summer and fall semester should be plenty of time if you're taking the test in January. Just remember your flashcards!

 

[Billius]

The courses will offer you a guideline, certain things to focus on, patterns, and will go over some content. Some courses may be better than others, or even the instructor in the courses themselves. I took a Kaplan in-person course and from my experience, the best part was helping read the questions and prepare for the timing of the test. The rest is majority of your time going through content and studying. Granted, I took the course when I was half-way through my study regiment and maybe I felt I didn't need it as much as others who were just starting out.

Yes, I would take a baseline test so you can see where you feel the most cold content wise. Don't beat yourself up about it because you've never taken an MCAT style questions/test, and you may have not see that type of content for a long time.

I agree with this. I did the Altius course, and it served as a productive guideline, but by far the most helpful part was how it acutally prepared me to prepare for timing and how to figure out how to think about the MCAT. The Altius course was much more helpful for this than it was for purely reviewing material. That being said, I tried to self-study with Kaplan books starting out, and felt so lost that I jumped ship from self-studying and went with the Altus program. Either way, a hybrid of private materials adn self-studying will probably be needed to do your very best preparation.

 

[chemdoctor]

OK so... I think I'm going to spend the $135 on the new Princeton Review MCAT books. They come out in the end of December, and I think I'm just gonna buy them and start studying over the Winter Break. Couldn't hurt to review. I have a few amazon gift cards saved up 🙂

I'll probably look into a prep course as I get closer to the exam...

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

OK so... I think I'm going to spend the $135 on the new Princeton Review MCAT books. They come out in the end of December, and I think I'm just gonna buy them and start studying over the Winter Break. Couldn't hurt to review. I have a few amazon gift cards saved up 🙂

I'll probably look into a prep course as I get closer to the exam...

I really liked TPR for P/S. It is a great resource to use in tandem with the 300-page doc.