Ill go ahead and give you my two cents. It depends on how much time you are willing to put into a course.
I took the Kaplan live course, and I thought it was outstanding. I had a really good instructor teach most of the classes. They give you so much online practice material. 11 Kaplan practice tests, unlimited access to ALL EIGHT AAMC tests. You have an online syllabus with preview work to be done before class and review work done after class. The review work are topical exams that are like mini MCATS. You get Q-bank with another 1000+ MCAT style questions. They also give section tests so you can practice individual sections like Biological Sciences and physical sciences in full length size. Most importantly, all of the practice is computer-based. You will be used to the CBT test. I never fathomed they would give you this much material to practice when I first studied for this.
Kaplan offers an online course that is like the live course but without the live classes. You have access to all of the materials.
One thing though, their verbal method did not work for me. I follow ExamKracker's verbal strategy. I attest to Johnathan's recommendation of the 101 passages in verbal reasoning. That is the closest thing to the AAMC tests you can get.
If you are not going to take a class, I recommend the Kaplan's Comprehensive book. Its a big fat purple book. It has the same review notes as the class but only 2 practice tests and few online materials. Supplement it with the ExamKrackers set. For verbal, obviously the 101 Verbal Passages.
Is it absolutely necessary to take a course? Nope. Johnathan did amazing without taking one. If you feel like you need a class like environment, ample practice, or a set schedule then go for it if you can afford it.
I took the Kaplan live course, and I thought it was outstanding. I had a really good instructor teach most of the classes. They give you so much online practice material. 11 Kaplan practice tests, unlimited access to ALL EIGHT AAMC tests. You have an online syllabus with preview work to be done before class and review work done after class. The review work are topical exams that are like mini MCATS. You get Q-bank with another 1000+ MCAT style questions. They also give section tests so you can practice individual sections like Biological Sciences and physical sciences in full length size. Most importantly, all of the practice is computer-based. You will be used to the CBT test. I never fathomed they would give you this much material to practice when I first studied for this.
Kaplan offers an online course that is like the live course but without the live classes. You have access to all of the materials.
One thing though, their verbal method did not work for me. I follow ExamKracker's verbal strategy. I attest to Johnathan's recommendation of the 101 passages in verbal reasoning. That is the closest thing to the AAMC tests you can get.
If you are not going to take a class, I recommend the Kaplan's Comprehensive book. Its a big fat purple book. It has the same review notes as the class but only 2 practice tests and few online materials. Supplement it with the ExamKrackers set. For verbal, obviously the 101 Verbal Passages.
Is it absolutely necessary to take a course? Nope. Johnathan did amazing without taking one. If you feel like you need a class like environment, ample practice, or a set schedule then go for it if you can afford it.
Hope this helps,
Greg
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