Kaplan Course Advice for MCAT
Just graduated from UW–Madison and starting MCAT prep this summer with the goal of taking the MCAT in January. I had a Kaplan advising call today and now I’m really torn between two prep options and wanted honest advice from people who have actually gone through this process.
Option 1: Regular Live Online Course
- 14 live online classes (3 hrs each)
- Meets 2x/week during June–July
- Includes AAMC materials + 21 FLs + study calendar
- Teacher is Steve Moody (heard amazing things about him)
- Seems more manageable/sustainable for a January MCAT timeline
- No score guarantee
Option 2: Kaplan 515+ Course
- Meets 3–4x/week over the summer
- More live instruction hours
- Includes accountability coach + structured pacing
- 515 score guarantee OR +15 point increase from baseline (or refund if requirements are met)
- Feels much more intense
The score guarantee is honestly one of the biggest things making me hesitate. On one hand, it sounds reassuring because the MCAT is such a major exam and obviously expensive/stressful. But I also know there are probably requirements/conditions tied to it, and I’m wondering how realistic or meaningful it actually is in practice.
My biggest hesitation overall is that I’m NOT taking the MCAT until January, so part of me feels like doing an extremely intense summer course could lead to burnout too early. I honestly like the idea of using the summer to build a strong foundation/content understanding and then ramping up independent practice + FLs more heavily in the fall.
At the same time, the accountability coach and guarantee are definitely attractive because this exam is obviously a huge deal.
For context:
- strong science background
- just graduated
- first time taking MCAT
- haven’t taken a diagnostic yet
- not working a whole lot to focus on studying
Would love honest thoughts from people who did Kaplan (especially Live Online vs 515+) or anyone who studied over a longer timeline for a January MCAT. Did you regret going too intense too early? Was the score guarantee actually valuable/realistic? Was accountability coaching worth it? How important was the actual instructor quality?