Opinions of Kaplan's Online MCAT Course

[EconFootball]

NOTE: This question refers to Kaplan's online course, not their classroom course or the individual books.

All over SDN I have read differing opinions on what companies to use when studying for the MCAT. After looking into it I'm attracted to Kaplan's online course because their combination of online lectures and practice questions allows me to integrate MCAT prep into my schedule like I would a college class.

With that said, many have mentioned how poor Kaplan's verbal prep is. While I have no experience with this, I would think that it can't be TOO horrible, Kaplan is a huge company that has obviously been very successful, otherwise they would be out of business, no?

So I guess my question is, if I give four months to Kaplan's online prep course will that prepare me, or would I be in some serious trouble?

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[MedicineNutt]

About the verbal. Yes, their methods suck! Passage mapping takes waaaaay too long. And their questions require you to refer frequently to the passage, which is sooooo unrepresentive of the real thing. For verbal, STICK to the AAMC practice exams. Some will also include EK Verbal to the list, but I personally didn't care for it (because I didn't have too much time), though it was better than Kaplan's verbal program.

While they are a successful prep program, don't be sold on everything. It still depends on whether you study and complete their program, because it's easier said than done! The Kaplan course is hard work, because you will re-learn 8 semesters in less than 3-4 months. Kaplan has LOTS N LOTS of practice problems...and you will be challenged (which to me is a positive). Their guides/problems for Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences are pretty close to the AAMC practice...and maybe even the real thing. So yes, overall Kaplan is a great choice for anyone willing to put hard work to get the score you want.

Note: I still don't know how I did on my MCAT...but I studied really hard this summer...even though my test averages on practices sucked...however, I felt prepared (with regards to knowing the material) when I took the real thing.

Good luck to you!