July 2, 2017

Highlights

• Price: $1,199 for 30 hours + unlimited live chat Q&A sessions

• Intense study schedule

• Tracking system

• 55+ 90 minute pre-recorded lectures

• In-lecture quizzes

What we liked

Content videos

Bar none, The MCAT Disciples has the best content videos on the market. The course purchase comes with over 55 90 minute, power-point style lectures based on MCAT topics. What makes us love them so much is that they have been constructed in such way as to assist in: 1) learning the concepts at an expert-level, 2) memorize the information being presented, and finally 3) integrating information across the sciences. They also present the MCAT topic list at the beginning of each lecture, so that the student knows they are covering everything they need to know for the MCAT. By a long shot, we did not find the same level of content lecture quality in our review of companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review.

Strategy

The MCAT Disciples did quite the job in developing a systematic way of approaching the biology/biochemistry and the psychology/sociology sections. They have posted it for free on YouTube, check it out here. We found it to be absolutely excellent. Their strategies for approaching chemistry/physics and CARS were, while not exceptional, seemingly on par with other MCAT prep courses.

Online Tutoring Sessions

The MCAT Disciples offers 30 hours of private tutoring packaged with their MCAT prep course at a price of $1,199. This works out to $40/hr, or $20/hr as they claim, since they charge $599 for their course materials. The 1-on-1 sessions are abit unorthodox; the first two sessions are described as *training sessions*; 10 hour sessions (per day) meant to teach the student the discipline, time management, and study skills required to do well on the MCAT. After these sessions, the student is free to schedule the remaining 10 hours at their own accord. The students are also able to contact their instructor at any time via live chat to get their questions answered. We found the first two sessions to be vital to the success of most students in preparing for the MCAT.

Price

With prices starting at $1,199, The MCAT Disciples is clear winner in the economical approach to purchasing MCAT private tutoring packages. Most private tutoring courses like The Princeton Review and Kaplan tutoring packages start at over $3,999.

What we disliked

There is no Q&A forum.

Many top companies have Q&A forums that students can post on and get questions answered, regardless of what course they have purchased. While The MCAT Disciples offers unlimited live chat Q&A periods to student who purchase their online private tutoring, they do not offer such a service for separate purchase.

Limited in-person Courses

The MCAT Disciples only has in-person courses available in Rhode Island, New York, and California. This makes it difficult for students who would like in-person preparation to obtain it.

No practice exams and the course does not come with AAMC practice materials

While The MCAT Disciples offers some online quizzes, and does several in-lecture questions, the company offers no practice exams of their own, and course purchase does not come the AAMC (R) MCAT Test Prep Bundle [Cost=$234], a vital component for anyone's preparation. Most MCAT prep companies offer at-least 5 practice exams and typically offer the AAMC (R) MCAT Test Prep Bundle at no additional cost.

No Printed MCAT Prep Books

The MCAT Disciples insists on using their lectures as there main source of learning, and so accordingly, they do not have any paper books, but instead offers comprehensive digital packets based on each of their lectures. While it saves trees for sure, it can be a hassle for students to print these out on their own.

Details

Pricing

• Tutoring Package Sessions: $1,199 for 30 Hours and live chat Q&A

General Information

• Average Class Size: 1-on-1
• Delivery Methods: On-Site, Streaming Video, Online
• Hours of content videos: 80+
• Number of Full Practice Tests: 0
• Quiz Bank Questions: 500+

Our Assessment

The MCAT Disciples Private Tutoring Package provides high quality lectures, quizzes, and scheduling for a price of $1,199. While we wish they had more practice exams available, we think that if you are looking to save some money, while still scoring well on the MCAT, this course, plus an additional purchase of the AAMC MCAT Test Prep bundle, is all you will need to get a great score on the MCAT.