VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3
T H E A M SA N E W S L E T T E R
M CAT E D I T I O N
MAY 4TH, 2011
MCAT BASICS – WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
THE TEST BEFORE PICKING A PREP COMPANY
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
MCAT BASICS
1
PRINCETON REVIEW STUDENT
TESTEMONIAL
2
KAPLAN STUDENT
TESTEMONIAL
2
WHICH IS BETTER
FOR YOU?
4
Before writing a check
for $2,000 to one of the MCAT
test preparation companies,
make sure to familiarize yourself with the MCAT and the
medical school application
process.
The first question you
should as yourself is, “When
should I take the test?” Since
medical school admission is
done on a rolling basis, the
earlier you turn in your application, the better. This means,
you must take the MCAT in
April, so you can send out your
application in June. Keep in
mind that the application process takes a year, so if you are
applying to medical school right
after you finish your bachelors,
you need to have your MCAT
and application done by the
end of the spring of your junior
year.
It is also important to
finish all your lower division
prep work before taking the
MCAT. The test consists of a 70
School
Harvard University
Average Verbal
MCAT Score
minute physical science section
(with 52 multiple choice questions related to math skills,
physics, and general chemistry), a 60 minute verbal section
(similar to the SAT or ACT), a 60
minute writing section (two
essays, does not affect numeric
MCAT score), and a 70 minute
biological science section (with
52 multiple choice questions
related to organic chemistry
and biology). To ensure you are
prepared for all the material
covered, it is important to finish
LS 2-4, Chem 14A, B, BL, C, CL,
and D (or through Chem 30C),
and physics 6A-C (or through
1C). It would be to your advantage to have also finished some
upper division classes, specifically Biochemistry 153A, however, it is not required to take
the MCAT. Even the best MCAT
prep course is nothing more
than a review of the concepts
you spent hours learning about
in school the first time around.
The next big question
usually is “What score do I
need?” The MCAT consists of 3,
15-point sections. Generally,
the average score of students
admitted to any medical school
is a 30. To have a good shot at
admission into some of the
best medical schools, a score
of 36 or above is desired. One
thing to consider when you start
is that it is much easier to jump
from a 21 to a 31, then it is to
jump from a 28 to a 38. According to the AAMC, a score of 42
is the 99.9 percentile, while a
score of 39 is 99.2 percentile.
35 corresponds with the 95th
percentile, 32 to the 85th percentile, 30 to the 75th percentile, and 26 with the 50th percentile. However, it is not
enough to have a high composite score. Like the SAT, it is
important to have a balanced
score. Ideally, you score above
a 10 in all three sections. Below
is a table of score breakdowns
at some of the best medical
schools in the country.
Average Biological
Average Physical
Science MCAT
Science MCAT Score
Score
Average Writing
Section MCAT
Score
11
12
12
Q
Johns Hopkins
University
11.1
11.9
11.9
Q
University of
California-San
Francisco
10.6
11.5
11.7
P
Washington
University in St. Louis
11.3
12.6
12.5
Q
THE AMSA NEWSLETTER
Page 2
PRINCETON REVIEW STUDENT TESTEMONIAL
Vivi Tran
3rd year Physiological Science Student
I
took the Princeton Review
Hyperlearning MCAT course
the summer of my sophomore
year in college. Even though
this class cost around $2000, I
found that this class is definitely worth it. The course provides over 100 hours of classroom instruction. The class
that I took was over a course of
approximately 2 months. I had
it for 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a
week. However, there are also
other classes that run for more
weeks, which only meet 2-4
days a week. The course is
taught by 5 different instructors
– each teaching one subject:
verbal, biology, general chemistry, physics, and organic chemistry. I mainly chose the Princeton Review over other test prep
companies for this reason. Some other test prep companies have one instructor
teach all of the subjects. This
was not appealing to me because I figured that I would
rather have someone who is
specially trained in a particular
subject to teach that respective
subject. In addition, in the
event that I do not like one of
my instructors’ teaching style,
at least I would not have to sit
through 100 hours with this
one particular person.
The course is definitely intense. The Princeton
Review provides a very structured and organized syllabus
for the topics to be covered. Along with those topics is
homework, which consists of
passages and freestanding
questions that are similar to
those of the actual MCAT.
I
really liked the organization of
the class because it definitely
kept me focused. In addition,
the Princeton Review also provides approximately 15 practice
(Continued on page 3)
KAPLAN STUDENT TESTEMONIAL
Danh Dinh
4th Year Biology Student
I
was pretty pleased with my
MCAT test prep at Kaplan. I
took my prep there the spring of
my junior year. There are a lot
of online practice test and subject quizzes to help you hone
your skills. Their large test bank
allows you to determine what
subject and type of question is
giving you the most trouble (like
titration questions for physical
science, genetics for the biological science section, etc.)
The class I took was 6pm-9pm
every Monday, Wednesday, and
Sunday for about two or three
months. I tried to take three
relatively easy classes at the
same time, so that I could dedicate the majority of my efforts
to preparing for the MCAT. If I
could do it all over again, I
would recommend studying the
summer between your sophomore and junior year. I would
also recommend not taking any
summer school classes, that
way, you can dedicate three
whole months just to MCAT
preparation.
The instructors are
also very helpful. I cannot
speak for Princeton Review
instructors, but at Kaplan, we
got one teachers, usually a
UCLA med student/faculty, who
aced the MCAT and is now
teaching you the tricks of the
trade by teaching some of the
techniques that made them
such good MCAT test takers.
Obviously the advantage with
having only one instructor is
you build a bond with this person over the two months of the
course, so you feel more comfortable approaching the instructor or emailing them. Kap-
lan instructors also hold office
hours, so if you ever have any
questions about anything, they
are usually available. However,
I found that most of the questions I had during office hours
were not about the subject
material, but rather about medical school admissions. Since
this person is most likely a
UCLA medical student, they
have some insight as to how to
get into the best medical
school. To my knowledge,
Princeton review employs grad
students in each subject, so
they are not able to offer any
sort of mentoring or medical
school advice. My instructor,
Kyle, was taking some med
school physiology classes, so
when we came to the biological
science section of the MCAT
prep, he was able to teach us
(Continued on page 3)
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3
Page 3
PRINCETON REVIEW (CONTINUED)
(Continued from page 2)
exams that the company made to
mirror
the
ac tual
MCAT. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the Princeton Review
exams were representative of the
actual MCAT. The Princeton Review’s exams seemed to be much
more difficult. However, they were
useful to take in order to familiarize myself with the computerized
formatting of the MCAT. The most
beneficial resource that the Princeton Review provides is definitely
the unlimited access to all of the
current AAMC practice exams. These tests are very repre-
sentative of the actual MCAT because they are actually old MCAT
exams! Each test comes with a
detailed score report, which was
essential in reviewing wrong answers.
The Princeton Review
provides a warrantee that enables
you to retake the course for free if
you are unsatisfied with your exam
score or if you feel like you are
unprepared for the exam at the
end of the course. Because I was
unhappy with my score on the actual exam, I decided to retake the
course. The Princeton Review upheld their warrantee and was very
helpful in scheduling me to retake
the course. I decided to take the
course online due to conflicts
within my schedule. The online
class was very interactive. It was
basically a chat room where you
could hear your instructor
talk. There are functions such as
“raise hand” for you to stop the
instructor to ask questions
too. Honestly, I felt as if the online
class was just like being in the
classroom. The online course is an
excellent option for those with busy
schedules.
All in all, I would highly recommend
the Princeton Review.
KAPLAN (CONTINUED)
(Continued from page 2)
some of the pneumonic he was
using the study the same material.
Kyle also saved a lot of the flash
cards he made when he was studying, and was able to help us make
our own. This kind of assistance is
something you will only find at Kaplan.
The structure of the class
is mainly a review of the material
on the test, combined with Kaplan’s test taking strategy. If you
feel like you have a pretty strong
grasp of the material, then Kaplan
is probably for you. If you feel like
you need more time relearning all
the physicals, organic chemistry,
physical chemistry, and biology,
then perhaps Princeton Review is
better for you.
I would also like to point
out that Kaplan is best for students
who are very self-motivated. Since
the in-class instruction is only
around 60 hours, you will have to
do the majority of your review on
your own, at home. To aid you in
this process, Kaplan has a very
interactive website that keeps
track of your reading, subject quizzes on each chapter, question
banks, and interactive chapter
reviews to supplements your inclass time. The website also keeps
track of all your scores, so you can
see how your score is progressing
for each subject, so that you can
determine which area you need to
devote more time to, and which
ones you can spend less time on.
Kaplan also offers a satisfaction guarantee. If you complete the course and do all the
homework and practice test (six in
all), but your score has not increased, or you just do not feel
ready, they you are able to retake
the class for free, no questions
asked. I ended up retaking the
class because I was not satisfied
with my progress. This was a lifesaver because I invested around
$2,000 into the program and could
not afford to pay for another class.
My final recommendation
would be to enroll in Kaplan if you
have a pretty good grasp on the
material and just need to learn test
taking techniques for the MCAT.
Kaplan is also best suited for students who are self-motivated. The
class structure is very loose to
accommodate for a pre-med student’s busy life, but this means
that you have to dedicate a big
chunk each day to studying, or else
you will fall behind, since not everything is taught in class.
THE AMSA NEWSLETTER
Page 4
WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOU?
Question
Kaplan
Princeton Review
What is the financial investment? Why is
it so expensive? What will you be paying
for?
AAMC estimated that on average medical students spend a total of $137,000
for medical school. Medical school is a
big investment. Kaplan is the largest
preparatory company. They prepare
more successful students. The course
costa $1,749, but AMSA members get a
$200 discount.
The course is $1999 for materials and
online and classroom instruction. The
course breaks down into 9 hours spent
on biology, 9 hours on physics, 9 hours
on verbal, 8 hours on general chemistry,
and 6 hours on organic chemistry with a
total of about 102.5 hours of in class
instruction. There are 5 teachers per
course each specializing in a particular
subject area.
What are the qualifications and credentials of their instructors? How are they
trained?
Instructors scored within top tenth percentile on MCAT. They have 40 hours of
training and then more training that is
standard and prepared by “superexperts.” They go through an application, credential check, interview, and
audition before being hired. Students
can choose to attend different classes
with other instructors.
All instructors scored within the top tenth
percentile on MCAT. They have 5 teachers that specialize in biology, physics,
verbal, general chemistry or organic
chemistry per class. They have an audition where Princeton Review is looking
for their teaching styles. Then they train
for 20-25 hours in each section with a
total of about 100 hours and then gain
certification. They have 100% confidence in their instructors.
What types of students/test-takers are
best suited for this programs?
The key is to practice and become better
MCAT test-takers, meaning to accustom
you to the format of the MCAT. The
course is set to help all types of students
and test-takers improve. Kaplan focuses
on remediation: fixing problem areas
before moving on.
Anyone can take course and benefit.
Anyone can learn the strategies to become better test-takers no matter
strengths and weaknesses.
What are the average scores and score
gains reported by either company?
Princeton Review boasts a 10 pt. increase. At high scores of 33-45 there is
not a big difference in percentile. Having
a score of 28 and going to 38 is almost
impossible. A score of 20 to 30 is fabulous, but also hard to promise. Kaplan
does not think that an average score
improvement means much. Students
who take Kaplan get into medical school
and that is what is important.
There is always an average, and the
Princeton Reviews average increase is
10 pt.’s. Not everyone starts at a 28.
Princeton Review asks their students
how they did after the test to quantify
this.
What are the key benefits of each test
prep programs?
18 sessions and an orientation for 54-57
hours of instruction. You already took
the classes and have busy schedules.
Kaplan targets your studying to give you
only what you need to know. They are
specific for your needs and focus on
critical thinking, crisis prevention, and
content.
Princeton Review’s strength is in the
number of hours of instruction. Each
session is 2.5 hours. 102.5 total hours
of instruction. Very rigorous preparation
that gives you what you need to know.
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