Question about MCAT prep and scores

[PrePod11]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to put together an MCAT studying plan for myself and I am a little lost. I am planning on taking the Kaplan MCAT prep course over the summer from June 16th to July 28th. Is the course enough or I'm I supposed to study before starting the Kaplan course?? I feel that I don't remember anything from the prereq classes and I didn't do great in a lot of them, which sucks. So I really need a refresher. Can you please tell me if the Kaplan course enough if u have taken it or can you talk about your experiences preparing for the MCAT and how you did on it?

Any responses would be appreciated.

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[bobdolerson]

You should by the Examkracker series and spend the money you saved on a vacation...

I used the examkracker series with no other aids, about 2 years after taking the classes it tested me on. Wound up with a 31. Kaplan may not be a waste of money, but it's money you could definitely save by studying on your own and not paying someone to baby you.

Besides, it's good practice for the intense shift to the requirement of high self-motivation.

 

[DeterminedGirl1]

I bought the Kaplan books and spent two or three months reading them. I took the MCAT three years after I took the prereqs. I did not take the course bc it's so expensive and I felt I could read and take practice tests on my own. I just made a day by day schedule of what I needed to read and practice problems. You can probably do that in thee months like I did. I did really well on the MCAT, I doubled my score.

 

[heybrother]

The Kaplan course used to be $1200-1600. I think you need to ask yourself how you learn best. Are you going to adhere to their curriculum, attend their sessions, do their modules? Part of what you are paying for is the right to redo their course if you don't show significant improvement, but to get this opportunity you have to do it like they tell you to.

I don't think you indicated when you are actually taking the MCAT. Are you taking it the week after your course ends? I think you should take a gander over at the MCAT section of this forum and look at what some success stories did on their MCAT. I suspect you'll find a lot of people who spent 3 months studying. It seems to me you have quite a bit of time That said - look around and see what materials other people are recommending.

The first time I took the MCAT I bought all the materials (dumb) a month before the test. Over the course of a month I just slowly walked through 5-6 tests answering everything and studying concepts. My calibration was an 18 and my actual score was a 30. That was in 2005. I saved the Kaplan pdfs for myself. I studied them again this year leisurely over 2 months spending 1-2 hours a night and a bit more on the weekends and pulled a 29.

I would recommend beginning verbal early as its can be a tough learn for a lot of people. Do you have a strong biology background (ie. upper level courses)?

 

[PrePod11]

The Kaplan course used to be $1200-1600. I think you need to ask yourself how you learn best. Are you going to adhere to their curriculum, attend their sessions, do their modules? Part of what you are paying for is the right to redo their course if you don't show significant improvement, but to get this opportunity you have to do it like they tell you to.

I don't think you indicated when you are actually taking the MCAT. Are you taking it the week after your course ends? I think you should take a gander over at the MCAT section of this forum and look at what some success stories did on their MCAT. I suspect you'll find a lot of people who spent 3 months studying. It seems to me you have quite a bit of time That said - look around and see what materials other people are recommending.

The first time I took the MCAT I bought all the materials (dumb) a month before the test. Over the course of a month I just slowly walked through 5-6 tests answering everything and studying concepts. My calibration was an 18 and my actual score was a 30. That was in 2005. I saved the Kaplan pdfs for myself. I studied them again this year leisurely over 2 months spending 1-2 hours a night and a bit more on the weekends and pulled a 29.

I would recommend beginning verbal early as its can be a tough learn for a lot of people. Do you have a strong biology background (ie. upper level courses)?

wait so you got 30 then studied again and got 29?? that doesn't make sense.

My bio background is okay but not that good. I am planning on taking the MCATs a week after the kaplan course is over. Are you saying that studying right before is a mistake or is the time (long enough) or what exactly do you suggest. I don't completely understand what you meant.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[heybrother]

My old score (2005 expired) so I had to retake it to apply this year.

I'm saying that its December right now and that you should start sooner rather than later. You have plenty of time to begin a leisurely and relaxed approach where you begin making the material familiar in your mind. Look at these forums (MCAT section) for inspiration. Buy an MCAT book at halfprice books. Feel free to take the Kaplan course later if that's your hearts desire, but why not go into it strong. You are currently affording yourself essentially a month of class and then a week later you are taking the MCAT. Start now. You have a lot of material to learn and you are giving yourself the equivalent of a summer semester to learn biology, chemistry, physics, a smattering of biology from a dozen different classes, and tackle a reasoning section that destroys a lot of people. Practice makes perfect. Start now.