West L.A. Locations- MCAT Prep Course

[lawestside]

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Anyone completed MCAT prep courses at the Westwood and/or Santa Monica locations? Berkeley? Princeton? Kaplan? Anyone know anything about Berkeley? I've heard that Princeton is much better than Kaplan at the Westwood location...just wanted people's thoughts🙂

 

[Street Philosopher]

I took Princeton in Westwood in 2000. It was OKAY, I suppose. I don't really learn well by listening to lectures though, so most of it was a waste of time. Their materials were top notch though. I know some people who took Kaplan... they seemed satisfied with it, I dunno. I know someone who took Berkeley Review... he seemed to like it a lot. They have a reputation for being intense & thorough. I did a few practice MCATs from their materials and while their verbal section is... not so great... the science stuff were pretty good.

I don't think you can go terribly wrong with one company over the other. It depends on your learning style. Do you study well at home, or do you need to be in a certain place? (You must do Kaplan stuff at their center). Do learn well by listening or by doing? (If it's the latter, then buying the books and practice tests on ebay might be cheaper and better for you. That's what I did the second time around.)

 

[lawestside]

thanks for your feedback. It really helped.... thanks very much!!!

 

[SM-UCLA tech]

i did berkeley review.......

in my opinion, kaplan is the worst. princeton review is better. But I found that berkeley review was the best. Their books are also amazing. I had literally over 100 people that I knew from the hospital that took the different courses, and the best responses I got were from berkeley review students.

If I were you I would only do berkeley review or princeton review.

 

[~EnnI~]

Originally posted by SM-UCLA tech
i did berkeley review.......

in my opinion, kaplan is the worst. princeton review is better. But I found that berkeley review was the best. Their books are also amazing. I had literally over 100 people that I knew from the hospital that took the different courses, and the best responses I got were from berkeley review students.

If I were you I would only do berkeley review or princeton review.

I agree... and when you get to know the ppl teaching it, you'll like the course even more.

 

[Brickhouse]

I don't know much about Princeton Review or Berkeley Review, but I did Kaplan in Westwood and I am now a teacher there. I guess I can't bad mouth them or anything, I found the teachers friendly and the materials pretty good, but I think the actual MCAT was different from what I'd been practicing, and I was hoping for a better score. I got 2-3 below what I'd been getting on practice tests. But if you go to Kaplan westwood let me know and I can tell you what classes I teach, and trust me, I'm buckets of fun!😀

 

[UCLAstudent]

I'm enrolled in Berkeley Review, but I'm not doing the Early Start program, so I can't really comment on it, yet. Class doesn't start for me until January. I have heard good things about Princeton and bad things about Kaplan. Kaplan was never a consideration for me, actually.

 

[lawestside]

great responses. I too heard bad things about Kaplan. I am leaning heavily toward Princeton, but would like to hear more on Berkeley's course from SDN'ers. Berkeley is a lot cheaper, but I'm willing to kick out the 200-300 extra dollars for princeton if necessary.

 

[fakeplaztiktree]

I took Princeton review at the Westwood center. The facilities are kinda bad, but I was very happy with the results. The key is to use all of their materials (especially the science workbook). Also the office is more than happy to provide you with extra exams if you need them. Verbal class is kind of a waste....the only way to really get better is to do every passage you can get your hands on. I went just in case I needed to take the course again (you only get to repeat for free if you do all exams and attend lectures). Also, if you're weak on physics they have an amazing teacher named Chris. I am convinced this is what saved my physical science score.