I just wanted to hear some opinions from people who already took MCAT and have some experience…did you take MCAT preparation class? What course did you take? Did you study on your own? would you study the same way if you were to take MCAT again? etc etc…
I was preety sure I don’t want to spend 1600$ on Kaplan class and that I can review on my own. But now when it’s getting closer I’m leaning towards taking Kaplan class. Most of my pre-med study buddies are going to do so.
Of course I’d rather not to spend the money than spend it…but I aready got student loan for this year, and I’m only going to take 8 credits in the spring (so I can make sure I have plenty of time to review)…so I’ll have some left-overs to cover the Kaplan course costs…
I’ll be grateful for any input.
Kasia
Kasia, you’ve probably heard me say this before: I paid Kaplan a LOT of money basically to babysit me - in other words, to keep me on track in my studying. If I had been left to my own devices to work out a study schedule, I would have fallen behind. I am a procrastinator and I know that’s what would have happened. (The proof: for all three of my USMLE Step exams, I did study on my own - the stakes weren’t as high! - and each time I made a demanding but do-able study schedule that I then ignored.)
So my answer is, “It depends.” If you are a person who sets yourself to a task and then follows through on it, reliably, without cheating yourself, you don’t need Kaplan if you’ve got good study materials (ExamKrackers?) and several REAL full-length MCATs to take in preparation.
Good luck!
Mary
The nice thing about the Kaplan class is the practice tests the few weeks before. After I signed up for Kaplan, another advisor recommended that people take Berkeley Review, cause the quality of the Kaplan teachers was inconsistant. Our verbal and writing teacher was wonderful and the physics person was so-so. When I attended a make-up class with another physics teacher, it was a nightmare. When he asked why people use capacitors, I answered they were used to store charge, like in a defribrillator or flash camera, and he said, no, they were really more important to keep your speakers from blowing out. When he asked what the units were for energy, I said a Newton - meter, and he said, no, that was wrong, it’s a Joule. I found out later that people had been complaining about him for several months, and they told me he would be replaced, but that’s what they told the previous classes. So, just go into a class knowing the teachers beforehand. The regular students for this Physics Nazi were about ready to drop out of the class and the test- they were so discouraged. He taught all their classes, not just Physics, I felt so sorry for them.
I couldn’t have done it without Princeton Review. And it wasn’t to babysit me, I really needed the reading material, the homework, and the weekend practice exams.
Optimal condition are committing to as LITTLE AS POSSIBLE in the semester preceding the exam. No Hard Courses. If you’re taking April, I mean the spring semester; if you’re taking August, I mean May-June-July, which are totally ample preparation time if you’re oriented correctly and not distracted.
Thank you guyz for you input.
I’m going to take the Kaplan class. I think I need pracitce + strategy hints (that’s why I chose Kaplan over Princeton)…It cost a lot, but I guess in comparison with all the money I’ve spent so far for my education (+ what I’m going to) it’s really a drop in an ocean…
Kasia