Studying MCAT Content Using Only Kaplan materials?

[j9260]

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Hi guys! I finished a Kaplan class and am at the end of finishing my content review. I've been averaging in the early 20s after two FLs. I will be using EK 101/1001 and Kaplan Online Resources (including for all subjects to practice, TPR/EK/Kaplan for verbal passage practices, and Kaplan/AAMC for FLs.

I want to improve my scores to 30+ on my test date Nov. 7th. Can anybody testify to immense score improvement using primarily Kaplan? Do you guys recommend me invest in any other company for content when I do specific topic-studying for my weakness areas?

 

[labqi]

I would invest in TBR. They've helped me immensely and if I were to study again I would use TBR as my starting point.


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[Shirafune]

I started supplementing my classes with Kaplan resources and found that Kaplan for content is no bueno. I switched to TPR for this summer and found my practice test scores to improve immensely, compared to my diagnostic anyways. I have friends that have also cautioned against Kaplan.

I highly recommend TPR for content and possibly TBR. In my opinion, I have been getting 13 and 14 consistently in the sciences, with the occasional 12, by only using TPR. TBR is definitely expensive and I regret buying it. It is a great resource, but it is not worth the cost.

 

[j9260]

I started supplementing my classes with Kaplan resources and found that Kaplan for content is no bueno. I switched to TPR for this summer and found my practice test scores to improve immensely, compared to my diagnostic anyways. I have friends that have also cautioned against Kaplan.

I highly recommend TPR for content and possibly TBR. In my opinion, I have been getting 13 and 14 consistently in the sciences, with the occasional 12, by only using TPR. TBR is definitely expensive and I regret buying it. It is a great resource, but it is not worth the cost.

Just curious, have you been using AAMC practice tests to gauge yourself? Thanks for your reply!

 

[j9260]

I would invest in TBR. They've helped me immensely and if I were to study again I would use TBR as my starting point.


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Hi! Thank you for your response.

Because I have almost finished all of my general content review (reading from A-Z and doing Kaplan chapter practice problems), do you think I should restart my content review from the beginning with TBR, or should I just use the book for specific topic studying...meaning like topics that I identify from my practice test that I am weak in? I feel like the latter option is the way to go, but a part of me (being a typical Pre-Med) is wondering if I should just restart everything since I am looking for a huge score jump...

I have two months left--I want to say that can be a short time left or a long time left depending on how it's used and the individual.

 

[j9260]

I think I'm going to go ahead and buy Chad's videos this Monday. One month subscription to supplement my studies!
I'm also learning towards TBR & TPR to help supplement specific content studies. Thank you all!

Any additional comments are welcomed!

 

[Shirafune]

Just curious, have you been using AAMC practice tests to gauge yourself? Thanks for your reply!

Yep! I did AAMC 3 as a diagnostic after finish 50% of content from TPR. I did AAMC 4 right after I finished all the content from TPR. I have been using the rest steadily as practice exams.

I would not use AAMC 3 or any of the earlier tests right now to gauge how well Kaplan has prepared you. However, one way to see how you measure up is to look at the questions found at the end of the chapters in TPR. I feel that these questions are very similar to the type of discrete calculation questions on the AAMC tests, if only a bit harder. If you can do the TPR questions, then you can definitely do the AAMC ones. I believe TBR set is almost twice as much as the TPR content review set. If I were you, I would purchase the content review book for the subject you feel the weakest in and see how you do on the questions. If you are doing great having used only Kaplan, then you will definitely not need the rest of the TPR books. And I wouldn't even consider TBR by that point. Not sure if the FLs you've taken are AAMC ones, but here's just what I have to say about the AAMC ones.

Take AAMC 3 after being solid in content. You can expect your score to improve ~5 points as you take more and more AAMC tests. And as many have said on this forum, your actual MCAT score should fall within 2 points of your AAMC average, with the later tests (9, 10, and 11) being the best predictors.

In my opinion, low 20s indicates a fundamental problem in content. So....

tl;dr: Start with TPR content review -> Take AAMC FL to gauge process -> Buy TBR if necessary.

I personally work with information provided in the passages to answer questions. Others use knowledge from content more. If you're more the latter, might as well buy TBR. It will be very obvious after you take your first AAMC.

 

[labqi]

Hi! Thank you for your response.

Because I have almost finished all of my general content review (reading from A-Z and doing Kaplan chapter practice problems), do you think I should restart my content review from the beginning with TBR, or should I just use the book for specific topic studying...meaning like topics that I identify from my practice test that I am weak in? I feel like the latter option is the way to go, but a part of me (being a typical Pre-Med) is wondering if I should just restart everything since I am looking for a huge score jump...

I have two months left--I want to say that can be a short time left or a long time left depending on how it's used and the individual.

I would personally go through every chapter. Not the content but the passages at the end. Those are the real deal. I found them much more difficult than the real mcat.


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