MCAT preparation course

[acca]

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I enrolled in the Kaplan course and took the MCAT last year, but I didn't do as well as I should have. Is there another prep course I should try which might help me prepare better, i.e. Berkely review or Columbia review?

 

[Tigger Tiger]

Depends. What sections were you weak on?

I found PR 'material' best for Verbal and WS, but Kaplan for the sciences. However, overall, the PR practice questions were superior.

I would see about buying the books and practice diags off of someone... as taking courses can be very expensive!

 

[A-MAC]

I took the Berkeley review and it was awsome all around. The instructors were great, and I improved my verbal reasoning schore by three points! I was very pleasedd with my experience. I think the instructors were better than some of my undergrad instructors. If you can take it I would.

 

[turtleboard]

If Kaplan doesn't work for you, why not just go with #2 in MCAT prep (TPR)? Why bother with no-name courses named after colleges lesser than Princeton (Columbia and Berkeley)?

In all seriousness, Kaplan is a great course. TPR is comparable, but weak in practice materials (quantity). Friends of mine who've taken TPR swear by it. I personally enjoyed my Kaplan experience and would choose them for USMLE Step 1 prep (which my school arranges for us anyway).

Tim of New York City.

 

[bri1856]

I was a Kaplan student and felt that Kaplan had more to offer than I ever had time to use. The home study material was excellent and the library was very good. My advice is to pay the nominal fee to retake the Kaplan course and work your butt off. I doubt that Princeton or Berkely or others would be that much different from Kaplan. I agree with turtleboard that TPR is probably not as strong as Kaplan in the library materials. I would recommend saving some money by retaking Kaplan and not taking a chance on another review company.

 

[David511]

Acca,

I took TPR (actually, they call it "Hyperlearning" out in LA) in preparation for the April 99 MCAT. In my opinion the instructors were for the most part first rate, although the Verbal seminars could have been better organized and the OChem reviews were weak (and awfully rushed!). Regardless, after reading their entire review book and completing countless hours of practice exams I felt well prepared for the actual test. Honestly after completing the test I felt that I understood EVERYTHING so much better (I kinda wish I had taken the class BEFORE taking my undergrad classes).
Anyways, after all was said and done, I was pleased with my score, a 33R (12, 11, 10). From what I've heard from other friends who've taken Berkeley or Kaplan, the techniques utilized in most of the programs are quite similar. For what its worth, I think the key to succeeding with an MCAT prep course is to get down and dirty with the material--spend so much time with it that it comes out your pores. Truthfully I spent on average ~40 hrs per week studying or attending classes for the freakin test. It killed my social life for awhile, but if your gonna spend upwards of $1K on a prep course, do it right.
Best of Luck. Contact me if you have any questions.

Take Care!!

 

[emericana]

Acca,

I took TPR (actually, they call it "Hyperlearning" out in LA) in preparation for the April 99 MCAT. In my opinion the instructors were for the most part first rate, although the Verbal seminars could have been better organized and the OChem reviews were weak (and awfully rushed!). Regardless, after reading their entire review book and completing countless hours of practice exams I felt well prepared for the actual test. Honestly after completing the test I felt that I understood EVERYTHING so much better (I kinda wish I had taken the class BEFORE taking my undergrad classes).
Anyways, after all was said and done, I was pleased with my score, a 33R (12, 11, 10). From what I've heard from other friends who've taken Berkeley or Kaplan, the techniques utilized in most of the programs are quite similar. For what its worth, I think the key to succeeding with an MCAT prep course is to get down and dirty with the material--spend so much time with it that it comes out your pores. Truthfully I spent on average ~40 hrs per week studying or attending classes for the freakin test. It killed my social life for awhile, but if your gonna spend upwards of $1K on a prep course, do it right.
Best of Luck. Contact me if you have any questions.

Take Care!!

Thats cool. I wish TPR was where I was located. Not too happy with my purchase of the kaplan class

 

[lovebat]

If you're self-motivated enough self-study with Exam Krackers. Courses are a waste of money for what you get out of them. Doing things the "Kaplan way" or "TPR way" may not even be your study style. EK gives you the info and some strategy but allows you to tailor it to suit you best. I did better on the MCAT than all but 2 of my friends who took courses and still scored fine (35+..they scored one point higher).

 

[deleted366342]

I swear by TPR (The Princeton Review). If you get the book set that is given with the courses you have the materials to get a great score. I don't like EK at all. They try to cut down on information but it comes at the price of a thorough understanding. Additionally the main books are lacking in the way of practice questions and the 1001Q series they offer is a bad representation of the real MCAT questions. The 101 reading passages aren't too bad, but verbal is only a 1/3 of your score.

Score with mainly EK: 30 (P11 B10 V9)
Score with only TPR: 39 (P14 B12 V13)

I will admit that I am normally a verbal guy so I can't really say that TPR cause the big jump in verbal, more likely the lower one was a bad day for me/not enough test simulation (causes test day jitters = drop in score)

 

[runrunrudolph1]

has anyone taken the EK course? Thoughts on it?

 

[hopki099]

Acca,

I took TPR (actually, they call it "Hyperlearning" out in LA) in preparation for the April 99 MCAT. In my opinion the instructors were for the most part first rate, although the Verbal seminars could have been better organized and the OChem reviews were weak (and awfully rushed!). Regardless, after reading their entire review book and completing countless hours of practice exams I felt well prepared for the actual test. Honestly after completing the test I felt that I understood EVERYTHING so much better (I kinda wish I had taken the class BEFORE taking my undergrad classes).
Anyways, after all was said and done, I was pleased with my score, a 33R (12, 11, 10). From what I've heard from other friends who've taken Berkeley or Kaplan, the techniques utilized in most of the programs are quite similar. For what its worth, I think the key to succeeding with an MCAT prep course is to get down and dirty with the material--spend so much time with it that it comes out your pores. Truthfully I spent on average ~40 hrs per week studying or attending classes for the freakin test. It killed my social life for awhile, but if your gonna spend upwards of $1K on a prep course, do it right.
Best of Luck. Contact me if you have any questions.

Take Care!!

That was 11 years ago, so I would hesitate to contact him now.

 

[Venc]

has anyone taken the EK course? Thoughts on it?

I'm going to take one course that is based on EK books and I been told by two people that it is excellent, raising score by 10 or more (at least in practice).

Look around, I don't like Kaplan at all

 

[bony]

hi I am looking for study material for MCAT.please let me know if anyone can provide the material.and also please can anyone has priceton and exam crackers study material.if so please let me know if u can lend me for my preparation.thank u

 

[UpQuark]

I swear by TPR (The Princeton Review). If you get the book set that is given with the courses you have the materials to get a great score. I don't like EK at all. They try to cut down on information but it comes at the price of a thorough understanding. Additionally the main books are lacking in the way of practice questions and the 1001Q series they offer is a bad representation of the real MCAT questions. The 101 reading passages aren't too bad, but verbal is only a 1/3 of your score.

Score with mainly EK: 30 (P11 B10 V9)
Score with only TPR: 39 (P14 B12 V13)

I will admit that I am normally a verbal guy so I can't really say that TPR cause the big jump in verbal, more likely the lower one was a bad day for me/not enough test simulation (causes test day jitters = drop in score)

I feel the same way about EK. I felt when I prepped with EK, a lot of it was "fill in the blank" sort of thing. Although I got the main idea, I felt that they should have gone into more detail, especially in the Physical Sciences. I am enrolled in TPR course and glad to hear that it was worth it!

 

[UpQuark]

By the way, I highly recommend EK Audio Osmosis. More helpful than the books IMO

 

[lovebat]

Score with mainly EK: 30 (P11 B10 V9)
Score with only TPR: 39 (P14 B12 V13)

Are these practice test scores or real test scores (and if practice, TPR practice??)

EK tells you what you need to know. Too much detail can be confusing and overwhelming.

 

[sn0w 72]

By the way, I highly recommend EK Audio Osmosis. More helpful than the books IMO

Audio Osmosis made me want to claw my eyes out, but I guess it depends on what time of learner you are. Kaplan's materials were great when I really took advantage of all they provide. I think alot of my learning came from when I reviewed FL's. The class was so-so, I think it depends on who your instructor is. And they were def the weakest for PS, I wish I had something else I could have used for that.

 

[UpQuark]

Audio Osmosis made me want to claw my eyes out, but I guess it depends on what time of learner you are. Kaplan's materials were great when I really took advantage of all they provide. I think alot of my learning came from when I reviewed FL's. The class was so-so, I think it depends on who your instructor is. And they were def the weakest for PS, I wish I had something else I could have used for that.

Haha, I can see why. I like the corny jokes they had. It mostly helped when I couldn't pick up a book to study (i.e workout, walk to classes)