MCAT qbank

[rufio173]

Hey all,

I'm doing a little research for my little bro. I know there is a Kaplan Qbank for the MCATs. I'm trying to get some feedback on people that have used it.

I know the qbanks for the Steps are great from personal use, but not sure how great the qbank is for the MCATs... does it mimic the test, meaning does it include passages and then a bunch of questions referring back to the passage?

I personally never took the Kaplan course, but I did teach it after I took and passed my MCATs. It is a great course for those that have a hard time studying on their own, but it was too expensive back then and is still expensive now and my brother can't afford it, so I'm looking for alternatives that can be patched together at a more reasonable price point that will give similar results.

Anyways, any help would be much appreciated on this subject. Also, any other great resources would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
John

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[oxeye]

I know the qbanks for the Steps are great from personal use, but not sure how great the qbank is for the MCATs... does it mimic the test, meaning does it include passages and then a bunch of questions referring back to the passage?

Yes, it does have the passages and questions like on the real thing. There are also individual questions not based on a passage like on the MCAT.

I took the online Kaplan course and had access to the QBank but didn't use it very much. It probably would have been useful if it were the only thing I got from Kaplan, but as it was there was too much for me to do just from the course.

 

[rufio173]

Thanks Oxeye... anybody else with good or bad experiences with MCAT qbank??

 

[mdthisyear]

I bought the qbank, but did not use it extensively (tried only 60% of the questions). Just practiced a few questions/passages at the end of the day.

Verbal: The passages were good practice reading material, but their questions were not close to AAMC; moreover I couldn't/don't agree with a lot of their reasoning for their answers. (For AAMC's verbal questions, I guess, a lot of effort goes into writing them, so they are on a different plane).

Physics/Chem/OChem: Reading the passages exposes you to a lot of new science material. I learnt a few things just reading those passages. Some questions were plain math; but some were on par with AAMC.

Bio: The passages, again, were a good source of information. The questions were hard. Close to AAMC

The delivery format is pretty convenient and you can take them as many times as you want-no erasing involved. And it is not too expensive.

A good investment that you can utilise during your initial preparation.

 

[docolive]

I think it is a pretty good resource, but does not offer enough verbal practice. I finished those rather quickly. But I think it is good passage-based practice, and relatively affordable compared to the $1600 course (which I am sure offers a ton of resources)!!!!

 

[gotmeds?]

I wasn't too impressed by it. Sometimes the grading would be off and it would mark an answer wrong even thought it was right. A lot of the questions were ridiculously difficult (much more than the actual mcat). It just seemed like the qbank was a way to make more money off a bunch of questions and passages that they discarded from their books and courses. I hear the step 1 qbank is much better, but the mcat one was not worth it.

 

[docolive]

I hear the step 1 qbank is much better, but the mcat one was not worth it.[/QUOTE]

I must say that I kind of agree. The reason why I went for it was because of all the boasting about Kaplan's USMLE qbank. I think it is a decent resource, but come to think of it, also quite expensive and unlike the actual MCAT. I think people will say this countless times, but it's hard to find comparable question and passage style of the real MCAT. I believe the AAMC exams, though easier than my test day experience, are the best practice in addition to basic practice in all of the sciences.

 

[rufio173]

Once again... thank you for your honest opinions. Seems like it is getting mixed reviews, and it isn't the cheapest resource. I guess he still has time to decide so he can pick his resources a little more carefully.

In your opinions, what is the best overall resource for the MCATs... if you had only one thing to study, what would it be???

Thanks,
John

 

[mdthisyear]

Based on my experience, I would take a print out of the AAMC prescribed syllabus, go back to my texts, read/understand all concepts very well, making notes for future review. Then I would go through the weak areas again in the text. And all along I would keep reviewing my notes.

 

[gotmeds?]

I think that by far the best resource is passages -- and lots of them. I studied for the MCAT over the summer and I set a goal of doing 1000 passages. It paid off. The best way to learn is by practicing under timed conditions, making mistakes, and figuring out what you did wrong so you can fill in your knowledge gaps.

Next to that, the AAMC tests are good, but expensive, and even the newest ones are a few years out of date. I found that there was a lot more mo bio on this last MCAT than any of the old (even the most recent) AAMC tests would have led me to believe.

 

[IckeyShuffle]

kaplan's q bank for the mcat is terrible. There are many mistakes and some of the passages are waaaay too hard. It isnt very representative. That being said, some of their other materials are great. The topicals are good and so are the subject tests. I would use the qbank only if you have used the other material first. Take practice tests 1-8 as those are good too.

 

[docolive]

Based on my experience, I would take a print out of the AAMC prescribed syllabus, go back to my texts, read/understand all concepts very well, making notes for future review. Then I would go through the weak areas again in the text. And all along I would keep reviewing my notes.

I agree with this.

 

[rufio173]

Once again, thanks for everyone's info. and advice on the subject. I will certainly pass it along.

When I took my MCATs, I just went over a review book and did like 8 full length tests and I did fine, but my brother wants to do really well on his exam (I think he just wants to beat my score so he can hang it over my head... Haha).

Peace,
John

 

[1Path]

Just bumping this thread hoping for additional comments. So far, I find Kaplan Qbank MCAT EXTREMELY helpful and accurate. The Science IS harder, but I'd rather feel OVER prepared than under.

 

[exmissionary]

It is now 2010 and I figure the qbank has probably gotten better as time has progressed. Any new updates? People like the mcat qbank?

 

[RSimon]

I was not happy with Kaplans materials and didnt think it was very representative of the actual tests. If you just want some questions to get your mind working they are fine.

 

[mzblue]

bump. Any recent experiences with kaplans qbank? I have the EK 1001s and i'm wondering if getting the qbank is worth it. Thanks.

 

[SN2ed]

bump. Any recent experiences with kaplans qbank? I have the EK 1001s and i'm wondering if getting the qbank is worth it. Thanks.

Here's what I posted a couple days ago on the QBank:

The QBank is a collection of practice passages and questions. The good thing about it is that you can kind of make your own FLs. You can do this with either random passages or passages from topics of your choosing. Unfortunately, your pre-made FL will usually be slightly off in terms of passages and timing. Not to mention Kaplan's weakness in verbal. So while the QBank is a decent resource, it cannot replace FLs.

Additionally, the QBank is smaller than you might think with probably 150-180 passages. One BR book set alone, such as Physics, contains 100 passages by itself. You could also pick up both TPRH Workbooks (Science and Verbal) and get FAR more passages and questions. Both workbooks combined have around 360 passages and 800 discretes. Now if each passage has 7 questions, that's a total of 3300 questions.

In your case, your best bet will be to hunt down the TPRH Workbooks (typically found in the For Sale forum or on auction sites and sometimes Amazon) and pick up some FLs.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Q bank is extra terrible.

 

[mzblue]

thanks for the replies.
I have TBR books except for their verbal. i have TPR set and i have the EK set with the 1001 along with kaplan's sectionals, topicals and FL. i started with EK but i found it too be insufficient of a review for me in some subjects. i plan on going thru TBR set and buying their FL and supplementing with TPR workbook and verbal + EK 101 verbal.
I guess i'll save my money.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

I'm curious... for those who found the kaplan qbank to be full of mistakes, would you say this was consistent throughout all the subjects? I'm planning on focusing on the bio questions.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

I'm curious... for those who found the kaplan qbank to be full of mistakes, would you say this was consistent throughout all the subjects? I'm planning on focusing on the bio questions.

bump

 

[nym9631]

DO NOT WAIST YOUR MONEY ON KAPLAN MCAT QBANK!!!!!!!!!!

The questions are nothing close to the real exam and it does not have the accurate timings to allow you arrange questions in blocks like the real MCAT. I made the mistake and purchased it, then I called for a refund and they told me that if you answer EVEN 1 question, they will not make a refund!!!! How ridiculous is that?!! How am I supposed to know that I like the course or not if I do not even answer one question?!!!

Just save your money please, spend it on AAMC practice tests instead, which are very close to the actual exam.

 

[SN2ed]

Thread closed. Please do not bump years old threads.