Hi there,

Two of the biggest and most popular MCAT prep courses are through The Princeton Review (TPR) and Kaplan. If you want more details about the TPR course, feel free to check out this blog post. Although there are different variations of these classes, TPR is generally known to be more content-heavy while Kaplan tends to focus more on strategy. There is also a price difference between the two, with Kaplan being slightly less expensive. Another consideration to keep in mind is timing – there are usually more classes total with TPR than Kaplan (e.g. 3 days vs. 2 days with 3-hour classes). If you are taking a prep course during the school year, you definitely want to figure out which course fits better with your schedule.

Ultimately, your choice in prep courses should come from what you want to focus on more; neither course is necessarily better than the other. For example, if you want a thorough rundown of MCAT content with an instructor, then you may opt for TPR. If you feel alright about content, or prefer to study it on your own time, but want to focus on how to tackle types of questions on the MCAT, then you might choose Kaplan. Of course, you could also choose a different prep course altogether. VarsityTutors and ExamKrackers, for example, also offer MCAT courses. Our board cannot speak to these as much, as we are not as familiar with these courses, but feel free to browse their sites and see what they offer!

Good luck!

Best,
PMH Board