Princeton Review MCAT Review

Princeton Review MCAT Features

Since most of these courses include cross over between features, we will review all of those features and what they look like below.

Coursework

Princeton Review offers very comprehensive coursework. All of the courses above contain 500+ detailed video lessons, 2500+ practice questions, and 16+ practice exams.

The “coursework” tab is where all of your learning will take place. The course is divided into 6 sections. Each of those 6 sections is further broken down into specific topics. The course follows a great flow.

Each of those specific topics has the following:

1. Before Class – Prepare for the class/lesson. This usually includes instructions on which chapters to read, some primer questions, and more.
2. Class – This includes the actual class and online videos.
3. After Class – This includes practice questions and quizzes to reinforce the concepts taught.

The on-demand video lessons are usually shorter in duration – lasting between 5 and 20 minutes. The instructor uses a digital whiteboard to make notes and annotations. Users will find these lessons are straight and to the point. They are relatively un-engaging and can be dry at times.

With that being said, the lessons get the job done and teach the concepts. These videos lessons are strictly business.

The before class aspect is unique and helpful. The primer questions, diagnostic questions, and sample passages help you develop a base of knowledge that will help you better follow along during the actual lesson.

The after-class portion is also a nice feature. The material in this portion includes drills, passages, and questions to ensure that you grasped the material that was taught.

Overall, the way Princeton Review organizes their content is very helpful and makes logical sense. Having a before-class, class, and after-class section for every topic is really great. The videos are a little dry and boring, but you will learn what you need to learn from them.

Practice Tests

Every option Princeton Review offers includes 16 full-length practice exams. Princeton Review values their practice exams, which is why they include 16.

Princeton Review matches the feel of the actual exam with their practice tests. The exams match the questions, format, structure, and feel of the actual exam. It is a very underrated feature that the format and structure matches the actual exam.

After each practice test, you will be given a detailed score report. These reports break down each section and each question. The report is super detailed and allows you to review every single question which includes an answer explanation and the concept that it is testing (so you can review if you want).

The score reports are well-designed and should be utilized by everyone who takes these practice exams. You can learn more by reviewing the questions and why they are wrong than by taking the actual practice exams.

LiveOnline Classes

The LiveOnline classes are included in every option besides the self-paced course. Students will receive 90 hours in the LiveOnline course, 123 hours in the 513+ course, and 195 hours in the 515+ course.

These LiveOnline classes really give you a sense of being in a classroom. The classes are taught by subject matter experts, not one specific instructor. This is an underrated feature as you are being taught by someone who strictly focuses on that specific MCAT topic.

There are typically 4-6 subject matter experts at any given time. TPR MCAT does a great job of finding and training these subject matter experts. You can rest assured that you are getting the best of the best with these subject matter experts.

The instructors we had when we took the course seemed very engaged and like they actually cared about the other students in the course. They took time to explain complex concepts and ensured that everyone understood the material.

Students were asking questions in the comments and sidebar conversations were had. The instructor would answer any questions that arose during the lessons. Finally, personalized homework was assigned after the lesson which included readings, passages, and questions.

User Interface

The Princeton Review user interface is easy to navigate and very simple. To be honest, we like the simplicity of it, but it is not the most modern interface we have seen. You can easily navigate everywhere you need to be and find what you are looking for.

The navigation bar at the top is broken down into the main portions of the course, so you can easily navigate to different parts of the course. The organization of the course content makes sense and it is easy to see what you have completed.

The dashboard gives you a summary of your current test scores and what your goal scores are. You can edit your goals from the dashboard as well. The dashboard is very simple and does not have as many features as some of the other dashboards we have seen from other MCAT prep classes.

The only issue we have with the user experience of these courses is the quality of the videos. The videos are a little outdated and not the highest quality. However, they present useful information and help you learn the material, so we give them a pass on this.

Books

Every course includes physical textbooks that are shipped to you when you purchase a Princeton MCAT prep product. The books are made and published by Princeton Review. You will be given chapters to read throughout your courses.

Once you read the chapters, you can mark them as “in-progress” or “completed” within your prep course so you can keep track of your progress. The textbooks are classic textbooks and are very in-depth.