New TPR qbank

[thetkddoc]

Anyone have first hand experience with the new TPR qbank?

I saw another recent post that someone who works for TPR will be trying it out since it's brand new. I'm a retaker and completed uWorld both in 2021 and 2022 and know that BP's qbank is not good. Aiming to see new questions/perspectives rather than doing uWorld again. I tried Kaplan's qbank and it was alright, but I think paperback books like TPR's MCAT Workout are way better. Computer-based questions are just so much more efficient than paper imo.

I messaged TPR to see if they'd give me a free trial or see some questions in an intro offer 2 days ago and they haven't replied (their support has been great to me in the past, last year they extended my expired tests by 3 months so I didn't have to pay again about a year after purchasing)

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[MCAThiccy]

In general, TPR questions (from what I recall) are super tough and may test on topics that are low yield. The TPR MCAT tests are also super tough. Maybe consider Blueprint's Qbank (not sponsored, obviously)? The price is pretty steep though...

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

General response here, with no firsthand knowledge about any question banks besides AAMC.

There are at least eight different resources for online test banks. You (as in the general 'you', meaning everyone) HAVE to get AAMC materials. Those are the best in terms of realism, in particular their SBs and FLs. After that, what you choose is a personal preference more than anything else.

You need to consider (1) how realistic the passages and questions are, (2) how thorough the coverage of all MCAT topics is, (3) how useful and detailed the answer explanations are, and (4) whether you are more compatible with text-based answers or video-based answers. What you get out of the resource will ultimately come down to you, so try to see what they are like before putting money down. That is the only way you will know if they match. Some companies allow you to do a good number of sample passages and questions for free, so by all means do those. I will refrain by mentioning nay by name, but hopefully you know who they are. if not, perhaps others can mention some of the companies that allow you to work some questions for free.

Another thing to consider is that one resource may be best for a given subject, while a totally different resource will be better for another subject. For instance, one company may be known for having the best CP material, but they will have terrible material for CARS. I use that hypothetic as what we (TBR) were considered to be, before we shut down our classes and stopped all product editing and development. We were known for our chemistry and physics, but it was rare to find people speaking highly of our other materials. If we (TBR) had a question bank (which we don't), then it would in all likelihood only be good for chemistry and physics. I am using TBR as the example, because I very much do not want to mention another company and potentially offend them. {{{Fun fact: behind the scenes, some of us are friends and colleagues.}}}

To answer the OP's question, try to see a small sample of the product and decide for yourself. Most companies offer samples of what they offer. Make sure the style and quality work for you before you make any purchase.

Good luck!

 

[thetkddoc]

update: TPR wouldn't give me a free sample of any kind. bought it. pretty good, typical tough TPR material and I would say a large amount of material to get through. overall happy with it. uWorld is undoubtedly #1, but for those who need a secondary qbank, TPR is solid. some of TPR's qbank material is not insanely tough; i expected to be ragdolled by their questions, and may have gone in with not the best attitude initially, but they have a fair balance that allows you to keep moving forward at a good pace and not end up feeling like you're john snow. also, the TPR qbank P/S seems a little too easy, but the C/P and CARS are good imo.

i agree with the above poster that all AAMC material is of paramount importance.

also, i have to strongly disagree with the above poster's suggestion with getting BP's qbank. I've seen it in the past and its a mess. i read on a different forum from a supposed current BP employee that they admitted to doing a poor job in putting it together. i also was tutored by former BP employee and they also said avoid their qbank. and as i mentioned in my original post, kaplan's qbank ain't much either.

so in the end, AAMC qbank is #0, uWorld is #1, and i think TPR's new qbank is a nice supplement to do before hitting AAMC qbank as a final run before taking the MCAT, since you can get through uWorld in less than 3 weeks if you're grinding.

also sidenote: i recently found that kaplan put all their end-of-chapter review questions online, in MCAT UI format. pretty nice and i believe a good time-saving measure rather than flipping paper-back pages back and forth. has a built-in timer too. more supplemental discrete style questions for free, and if i knew about this earlier, i would've used these questions to begin my MCAT studying to serve as my content review stage.