Need some help with MCAT decision

[shadowy onion]

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Hello everyone,

Can I please ask for input about taking the Kaplan MCAT prep course along with a very heavy course load.
Should I do the longer version of the prep course while balancing my classes or do the shorter more intense version?
Which might be more beneficial assuming my work ethic is stable throughout the year.


Thanks people!


p.s. I cannot cut down on the course load since I graduate at the end of the year.

 

[akimbo]

Hello everyone,

Can I please ask for input about taking the Kaplan MCAT prep course along with a very heavy course load.
Should I do the longer version of the prep course while balancing my classes or do the shorter more intense version?
Which might be more beneficial assuming my work ethic is stable throughout the year.


Thanks people!


p.s. I cannot cut down on the course load since I graduate at the end of the year.

Tzalli: I think if you have a heavy courseload, do the shorter more intense version. You don't want to burn out by the time the MCAT rolls around. Also, depending on your learning style, you might think about just doing the online version. If you are at all self-motivated, this is just as good as the classroom sessions and you can self-schedule. That can be very helpful if you're really busy. Of course, if you are prone to blowing things off, that might not be for you...

Good luck!

 

[sunflower79]

actually, I would suggest neither. Buy books off someone because any instruction time is time better spent studying. I don't know anything about the kaplan format but taking tpr was not worth it in time or $. You'll need all the time you can get.

good luck!
~sunflower

 

[MeowMix]

It depends a lot on which courses you are taking, how hard you have to work on them, and whether you are going to have to work hard on your MCAT prep (based on your score right now on AAMC 3 or another free test).

Every student I have had in an MCAT class who had a simultaneous heavy course load was miserable and overloaded. For the April MCAT, one of my students was in the same position as you, but it took about a month for him/her to realize that what they were trying to do was impossible and drop out. They wasted the money on the prep course and they wasted a lot of time.

Take the MCAT seriously and allocate plenty of time. There is nothing wrong with taking the summer to study for the August MCAT, or delaying non-essential courses to the summer and graduating later.

 

[jpro]

I would use everything that AAMC has on there website, but print out the practice tests instead of taking the tests online. Also, another good resource is ExamKrackers. The verbal reasoning review and prctice tests are excellent. I took Kaplan, and did't get much more than a refresher course. The methods they used just didn't click with me. I had a much better time planning out my own study program with ExamKrackers and the AAMC stuff. But that's just me.

 

[shadowy onion]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[anitat]

i agree with sunflower. i took kaplan and didn't find the classes too helpful. it's the material that kaplan provides in its centers that is helpful. so i would recommend just borrowing/buying mcat study books and doing lots of practice problems & tests. but if you think you learn better in a classroom than on your own, then maybe the class would be good ...