Should I take a prep course?

[oregonian19]

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Hello everyone,

I’m trying to decide if I should take the MCAT prep course offered by my university. It’s reasonably affordable in the grand scheme of prep classes ($750 for 40 hrs of instruction by university professors, an Examkrackers study book set, and one AAMC full practice test).

My original plan was to take the test in mid-January and then just focus on pre-writing my personal statement and secondary questions thereafter. However, the prep class runs from late-January to early-April, meaning my new test target date would be mid-April.

I have been studying independently with the Kaplan book series for ~5 weeks. I have been relatively disciplined enough to study 5/7 days of the week (per my schedule). I haven’t taken any practice tests yet, but I consistently get 70% or better on all of the end-of-chapter practice quizzes.

What do all y’all experts think I should do? Take the class or no?

 

[I'mJustCurious]

I'm no expert, but it seems like you're doing well so far on your own. I realize those who score high tend to use third-party materials. IMO using the Kaplan book series along with Khan Academy videos and AAMC bundle should suffice. Save the money and treat yourself now and then.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

In my experience having taken the Kaplan Prep course and having used a Princeton Review book, I think PR is the way to go. Kaplan books are very dense and sometimes stray from the point and scope of what you need to know. The only redeeming fact about Kaplan books is they have lots of practice questions. So a bit of a trade off there

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Hmm this is very relative. Kaplan books (in the books themselves) only have Multiple choice questions, and 12 per chapter. Although this adds up, it isn't by any means lots of practice.

Kaplan books have 15 discrete questions per chapter (12 chapters per book/mcat section) equates to 180 discrete questions. Multiply this by 6 (O-Chem book, Gen Chem book, Physics book, Psyc/Soc book, Bio book, Biochem book [never read the CARS book so idk how it stacks up]) adds up to 1080 discrete questions if you do them all. To me, thats quite a few. The PR book I have only has about 3-7 questions per chapter (50 chapters) equates to anywhere from 150-350 discrete questions.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

For what it's worth, the average student does over 10,000 practice questions in their preparation. This is an absolute must when it comes to preparing thoroughly for this exam. I apologize for inserting a plug here, but we have over 7500 multiple-choice questions in our books because the best way to learn material is to constantly test yourself on the material.

But what many students fail to evaluate when considering the questions is the quality of the answer explanations. This is by far the most important part of any materials you consider. You do your best learning when you review questions after the fact, and you must master the material as well as develop test strategy.

 

[Baxter56]

I took my MCAT a few years ago, got a mediocre score, then took a Kaplan course, and got the same score. I didn't think it was worth it, learning how to self direct your studying will help you in med school anyways.