MCAT Prep

[mpa19]

So I decided to retake my MCAT. I'm going to start studying over the summer, and I plan to take it January of 2019, so I should have around 7 months of studying. I was planning on using materials from ExamKrackers, Princeton Review, Khan Academy, and Kaplan. (And of course AAMC) My friend told me she took an online course with Kaplan, and she did really well. Is the Kaplan course worth the cost? Have any of you had success with it in the past?

I would really appreciate any guidance on prepping for the MCAT. If you have any other suggestions on resources that would be really helpful!

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[freedoctor17]

The online courses are probably better than the in person ones because they give you a bunch of videos to watch that review the material. Personally I didn't wanna pay and just reviewed using the books and then supplemented with exam krackers, TBR, and khan academy. I will say I'm a very self motivated learner though so studying on my own worked well. If you don't think you're disciplined enough the class may help. Also how did you study the first time around since you're retaking it?

 

[mpa19]

The online courses are probably better than the in person ones because they give you a bunch of videos to watch that review the material. Personally I didn't wanna pay and just reviewed using the books and then supplemented with exam krackers, TBR, and khan academy. I will say I'm a very self motivated learner though so studying on my own worked well. If you don't think you're disciplined enough the class may help. Also how did you study the first time around since you're retaking it?

I used the Kaplan 7 subject books. I went through those meticulously. I watched some of the khan academy videos, and I used the question banks from AAMC. I think a big problem was I only spent around 5 weeks studying over my winter break. I’m a D1 athlete and I do a bunch of other stuff during the semester, so I really didn’t have time to study then. I’m cutting it back for next semester so I have more time to study.

 

[mpa19]

The online courses are probably better than the in person ones because they give you a bunch of videos to watch that review the material. Personally I didn't wanna pay and just reviewed using the books and then supplemented with exam krackers, TBR, and khan academy. I will say I'm a very self motivated learner though so studying on my own worked well. If you don't think you're disciplined enough the class may help. Also how did you study the first time around since you're retaking it?

Were you able to rewatch videos? Do you have to stick to the times they give you?

 

[freedoctor17]

I used the Kaplan 7 subject books. I went through those meticulously. I watched some of the khan academy videos, and I used the question banks from AAMC. I think a big problem was I only spent around 5 weeks studying over my winter break. I’m a D1 athlete and I do a bunch of other stuff during the semester, so I really didn’t have time to study then. I’m cutting it back for next semester so I have more time to study.

Yeah that doesn't sound like it was enough then. I recommend you go through the content review and do practice questions from something like the TBR books and EK books while doing content review. Then start taking practice exams like crazy and reviewing them very well afterwards. I'd say you wanna take around 10 practice exams before the real one (and make sure your AAMC scores are near or above your target score before taking the real one).

 

[freedoctor17]

Were you able to rewatch videos? Do you have to stick to the times they give you?

I didn't take the online class but I had friends who did and the videos are saved on your account and it's self paced so you can watch them whenever you want.

 

[mpa19]

I didn't take the online class but I had friends who did and the videos are saved on your account and it's self paced so you can watch them whenever you want.

Oh ok that’s awesome! They kinda make it seem like you can only watch the videos at certain times. Did you like TBR? Do you think it would be better than Princeton review? When I was searching online it seems like Kaplan and examkrackers are the most highly recommended but it gets a little iffy after that. Also do you know if you’re still able to use the Kaplan online materials after the end date for the course?

 

[freedoctor17]

Oh ok that’s awesome! They kinda make it seem like you can only watch the videos at certain times. Did you like TBR? Do you think it would be better than Princeton review? When I was searching online it seems like Kaplan and examkrackers are the most highly recommended but it gets a little iffy after that. Also do you know if you’re still able to use the Kaplan online materials after the end date for the course?

I'm honestly not sure about the course details and I'd email Kaplan specific questions about it before paying for anything.

On the topic of TBR I liked it for practice problems. I didn't read their chapters. I used Kaplan for content review and TBR and EK I just did the practice problems from them. Princeton I only used a little bit for psych and soci practice. I used the old (2009) TBR books by the way as I did not want to pay for a whole new set of books. I think the practice problems are similar enough still though.

 

[mpa19]

I'm honestly not sure about the course details and I'd email Kaplan specific questions about it before paying for anything.

On the topic of TBR I liked it for practice problems. I didn't read their chapters. I used Kaplan for content review and TBR and EK I just did the practice problems from them. Princeton I only used a little bit for psych and soci practice. I used the old (2009) TBR books by the way as I did not want to pay for a whole new set of books. I think the practice problems are similar enough still though.

Ok thanks so much! That’s super helpful!

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

On the topic of TBR I liked it for practice problems. I didn't read their chapters. I used Kaplan for content review and TBR and EK I just did the practice problems from them.

I plan on doing something like this, using Khan instead of Kaplan for review. Did you feel like you picked up all of the TBR shortcuts from doing the passages? I love their tricks and don't want to miss out on any. I bought new TBR science books figuring I'd rather spend money on the most current passage materials that waste it on books that only reviewed. With so much free content review, it doesn't make sense to pay for books that only offer review with very few questions.

 

[freedoctor17]

I plan on doing something like this, using Khan instead of Kaplan for review. Did you feel like you picked up all of the TBR shortcuts from doing the passages? I love their tricks and don't want to miss out on any. I bought new TBR science books figuring I'd rather spend money on the most current passage materials that waste it on books that only reviewed. With so much free content review, it doesn't make sense to pay for books that only offer review with very few questions.

I did not pickup on any of their tricks but I also don't like that kind of thing. For me just working through it my own way works best. Kaplan does a good job of organizing their content which is why I liked it and I like to read through at my own pace and skip stuff im good on rather than watch through video after video. I did supplement with some Khan academy especially for psych and soci though. Depends on your own learning style. The content is available everywhere in different forms so use which you like best.

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

Thanks freedoctor17! I know what you mean about videos. I think I'll find a balance between videos and reading.

What I mean by shortcuts are their equations. I have only worked through their physics book so far and it had some great techniques for saving time, especially on calculations. I used it as a supplement in my physics classes. I found their approach to buoyancy and their equation for resistors in parallel super helpful. I want to shave time off certain types of questions, and that is what I found they do best. I want to make sure that I can get what I need from their answers if I don't read their chapters.

 

[freedoctor17]

Thanks freedoctor17! I know what you mean about videos. I think I'll find a balance between videos and reading.

What I mean by shortcuts are their equations. I have only worked through their physics book so far and it had some great techniques for saving time, especially on calculations. I used it as a supplement in my physics classes. I found their approach to buoyancy and their equation for resistors in parallel super helpful. I want to shave time off certain types of questions, and that is what I found they do best. I want to make sure that I can get what I need from their answers if I don't read their chapters.

Oh I know what you're referring to with Kaplan. I used those while studying and liked them. Especially the trig and log shortcuts. I never actually needed them on my real exam though. I didn't notice anything similar with TBR but their reasoning for their answers might be close to what you mean? They have in depth reasoning for why each answer is right/wrong and they help you to start thinking in a similar way.