But others say that prep courses give them an advantage because of the review material they provide.

According to Ivana K. Kim, a premed tutor in Kirkland House, these courses offer students who have neither the time nor the discipline an incentive to study.

"I know how to study, but I have really hard classes and I don't think I'd make the time for studying the MCAT had I not taken the [Kaplan] class," says Sarah J. Siska '98.

Kang says that the materials to which he had access because of his review course were modelled very closely to the actual exam that he took.

"I think if money is not a problem, I would definitely recommend Kaplan because of the review materials," he says.

Carrie L. Zinaman '97, who also took Kaplan, says she believes the course prepared her for the MCAT experience more than anything else could have.

"The week before, Kaplan gave a virtual MCAT," Zinaman says. The practice exam simulated every aspect of the real thing, she says, with the exception of fingerprinting the test-takers.

After deciding to shell out the money for one of these prep courses, the question of which courses, to take is still an issue.

Kim says that more students at Harvard choose to take Kaplan over The Princeton Review because the emphasis of the former better suites their needs.

While Kaplan focuses more on a student's general fund of knowledge, The Princeton Review focuses on sharpening a student's test-taking strategies, according to Kim.

Choosing a course will often depend on what students feel they need most help with and what their friends have to say about the course.

Another major decision facing students who take the MCAT is whether they should sweat it out and take the exam the summer before their junior year in college, or whether they should take it in the spring before they apply to medical school--when they must contend with a full course load and extracirriculars.

Because a number of medical schools have rolling admissions, students are discouraged from taking the MCAT the summer in which they plan to apply since the test results would delay the processing of the application.

"It's to the student's advantage to get the application in as soon as possible," says Ben C. Sun '95, a premed tutor in Dunster House.

Nevertheless, students still face the decision of whether to take the MCAT in the summer--and get it over with--or the spring, and risk having to study for the exam with a full course load.