Which MCAT prep course was better?

I took Hyperlearning/TPR first time around. Lectures were completely useless. Practice tests were mildly useful. Had zero motivation to study or try. They weren't very motivating. That's not their fault, but it should be noted in case someone is planning on taking TPR mainly as a form of motivation.

Second time around I was self motivated. Bought all AAMC exams, 5 berkeley review exams, and had 2 TPR exams from before. I completed all but 2 of those. Practice exams are KEY!!!!!!!!! I also used TPR's science materials for review (they are EXCELLENT), and 1001 Examkrackers Orgo to supplement my weakest subject. I don't know what score to expect but I think it'll be a lot better than my first time around.

Moral of the story I think is that you MUST BE SELF MOTIVATED. I've heard people saying "study on your own if you're motivated enough." To that I respond, "only take the MCAT if you're motivated enough; kaplan or tpr won't push you, you need to motivate yourself."

Off my soapbox now.

 

I took kaplan last august and the clas was a big waste of time. But the key thing was the number of practice tests, passages. Take all tha tyou can and it doesn't matter if you've had all those upper level course, you'll do fine!!

 

i'm adding this just to save it. disregard. lol <a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/education/SOMcatalog/Students.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/education/SOMcatalog/Students.pdf</a>

 

I took Princeton Review's Hyperlearning course for this past MCAT and my impression after the real test was that Hyperlearning truly prepared me. I found my teachers to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful (though you guys should know that I did switch the sessions around myself to attend the lectures of the teachers that I thought were better or more interesting.) I felt that was one of the most important factors in my success--to be motivated and inspired by thoughtful teaching because I do agree with you guys in that some of the teachers they hire just don't give a...huh...crap! My original biology teacher was actually one of my classmates in undergrad and she would just lecture straight out of the book without any sort of interaction with the students. Lucky for me, I found another section and the teacher was a medical student and you could tell she really enjoyed teaching the class. During breaks, she would tell us stories about her clinical experiences and also incorporate relevant information into her lectures. And yeah, she also liked to call us randomly in class to answer questions which definitely kept me awake! (Preparing us for the future art of pimping!!!!) What I got out of that class benefitted me greatly in that she reminded me of the real importance about the path I've decided to take, that the ability to communicate effectively is just as important as the scholastics.
I hope this helps all you future MCATers out there. Go with either Kaplan or Hyperlearning (though I've definitely heard better things about the latter and can personally vouche for their program) but (if you personally lack motivation) find a teacher you really enjoy listening to because that's the most effective way to learn. Oh yeah, and do lots and lots of practice exams! I ended up doing 11 full length exams! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
Good Luck!!!!

 

i hate admitting this but i actually took both Princeton Review and Kaplan so i feel like i can speak pretty well about either and each of their strengths.

TPR had a lot more lectures and once i found the best teachers, they were good. so this is their strength. if it's been a while since you've taken the premed courses and think you need help reviewing the topics, take TPR.

but if you're confident about the material and think you can review on your own, take Kaplan.
because Kaplan's strength is in their practice problems library. the only bad part of that is that you have to spend time at their centers.
they have fewer lectures but their practice problems are KEY.

 

Hey

I took examkrackers and it is not on the list. I also took Kaplan a few yrs ago - waste of my time. My teachers were med students who didn't know that much more than me. I've written about EK before so I won't go into it, but EK is great! I just took the mcat last week and felt very well prepared for it.

 

If you can't take an Examkracker course, buy their material and study yourself. Their material rocks!

However, PLEASE AVOID KAPLAN, THEY SUCK MAJOR A$$.
TPR is better than kaplan, and EK is better than TPR.

Just my two cents

 

I'm surprised so many people disliked Kaplan. I took their course and had a fantastic teacher - he was a 4th-year med student had presumably been teaching for over 4 years and it showed. Since quality of teachers varies a lot, try to find out how the courses vary in your particular city. Kaplan's practice test library was good and I felt very well prepared for the real MCAT.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Imago:
<strong>If you can't take an Examkracker course, buy their material and study yourself. Their material rocks!

However, PLEASE AVOID KAPLAN, THEY SUCK MAJOR A$$.
TPR is better than kaplan, and EK is better than TPR.

Just my two cents </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">But the bottom line is, NO ONE beats Kaplan's materials. Most of my friends who took Kaplan didn't bother going to the lectures; you don't really need to. But if you go through all of their materials you're bound to improve!

 

I took Princeton Review in Irvine, CA the first time (two years ago) and I thought it was excellent. Especially for the verbal section, sorry I forgot the teacher's name, but he gave out excellent tips and worked very hard to prepare his students for both reading and writing section.

Second time around, I moved to Boston and took the Kaplan in Cambridge. I have to say even though my teacher was a current 1st HMS student; he was not fully prepared many times for teaching us. (Although he was genuinely kind and supportive).

The bottom line is: Kaplan's exams prepared me better for the biological and physical sections. I scored both 11/12 on the real mcat. (Yet, this set of score may come from my previous studying in PR as well) However, I did horribly in both verbal and writing section. (Don't even ask me what my number is).

For those who are/were ESL students, PR is much better in guiding you for the verbal section. Hopefully my ans will help someone somewhere! Good luck.

 

I took Kaplan and our verbal instructor was HOT. Still remember her name, her look and her style. Jeez, she got 11, 14, 15 (40) on her MCAT. But yup, she was hot. No offense, but that was among the things that I remember most.

<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Clappy]" title="" src="graemlins/clappy.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Imago:
<strong>If you can't take an Examkracker course, buy their material and study yourself. Their material rocks!

However, PLEASE AVOID KAPLAN, THEY SUCK MAJOR A$$.
TPR is better than kaplan, and EK is better than TPR.

Just my two cents </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The attitude of inflicting negative comments about certain institutions without adequate evidence is not going come through med school well.

 

I took TPR Hymperlearning and thought they were excellent. They have a lot of lectures which was good for be because my Physics background was seriously lacking. If you need some serious review of material take a course, otherwise just do tons of problems and practice exams(first AAMC materials, then any others).

Good luck on your studying!

 

hyperlearning=sucks from all that I've heard about it.