Is the Kaplan review book worth it?

Hey Meggs,
one suggestion.. can u put something like "didnt study those", because i am sure there will be a lot of people like that..
Thanks.

Meggs..

I agree. Its simply a waste of time.. for anyone who says u need it to get more than 90, I can testify to the fact that u can get a 90+ solely with the decks and esp with past papers.. no textbooks and DEFINITELY not the Kaplan reviews.. too much detail, too little time.

Tasha

well, i still quite didnt get whther this dicussion/poll is the use of kaplan for part 1 or part 2?? for part 1 , yes! kaplan is waste of time when you are actually trying to cram up, but for the enthusiastic learner who belives in acquiring more knowldge, then kaplan is pretty good!
well, can anybody say hows kaplan for part 2?

Hello,

I too think that the Kaplan review for part I is a big waste of time and money.
Kajal, I heard from friends that the review for part II isn't really that helpful. It isnt that detailed as it should have been.
So, I wouldn't recommend Kaplan reviews for both part I or II.

HI guys,
i think i am the only person to post until now in this thread who is going to advise people to read kaplan. I did kaplan and i got a pretty OK score and all of my freinds who did the kaplan did pretty good with excellent scores. I dont suggest people to do anatomy part in kaplan if they r from india as the system of teaching anatomy is different. I give equal percentage to all the three i.e., kaplan, decks, previous papers.

Wish you all the best

Originally posted by meggs
Let me post my opinion: IT WASTED MY TIME!!! AND MONEY!!!

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Same thing for me .I wasted two monthes reading it ,and I had to be squeezed with the time left for decks and old prints.I wish if I new that from the bigining,may be I could have gotten a better Part-1 score.

about kaplan book for part 1,i wasted two months reviewing the book,afterwhich i tried to solve some questions,the result was dissapointing,i still think its only as good as a reference.

for part 2,i got this book,and again i think its emphasis based more on infection control and OSHA stuff more than anything else,it covers pharmacology so extensively than it needs to,again i think its a waste of time.

I Think i am the one who voted that it is necessary but too long. I used Kaplan and definitely found it useful but i also found it too long. i wish i had spent more time on decks and papers than what i did. But i enjoyed kaplan cos going back to 1st year and 2nd year subjects was made easy
Giffy

Hi Folks,
I did not refer the Kaplan notes and managed to get a decent score..
I think its too detailed..
Take care,

I think that part 1 Kaplan book is really useful as long as you try to understand what u are reading . If you can go through Kaplan book thoroughly, it will be very easy for you to get a good score above 90. Definitely dental decks is a bonus and realeased exams you could use to score yourself time to time. Atleast thats what I did. I hope this helps.
Good luck

i joined kaplan & read all the subjects from kaplan & found it very useful for all subjects but biochem ,it was somehow very evaporating .i used lippincott in the end & found it very good.i also referd some of my texts while reading from kaplan.so everything has to be balanced for u to score well,kaplan,decks ,papers & a good basic knowledge.

Originally posted by pearlindia
i joined kaplan & read all the subjects from kaplan & found it very useful for all subjects but biochem ,it was somehow very evaporating .i used lippincott in the end & found it very good.i also referd some of my texts while reading from kaplan.so everything has to be balanced for u to score well,kaplan,decks ,papers & a good basic knowledge.

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i disagree with the "good basic knowledge" becasue the most evaporating subjects from dental school were the part one stuff+pharmacology.

Originally posted by pearlindia
i joined kaplan & read all the subjects from kaplan & found it very useful for all subjects but biochem ,it was somehow very evaporating .i used lippincott in the end & found it very good.i also referd some of my texts while reading from kaplan.so everything has to be balanced for u to score well,kaplan,decks ,papers & a good basic knowledge.

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Hi pearlindia..

You mentioned that you joined Kaplan.. Did you attend their classes? Do they have lectures or do they just give you a series of tests? And in your opinion, does joining the course give you a great advantage (is it worth the money) or is just learning from Kaplan material independantly enough?

Tasha

Hi every one,
nice to see that the scale who mentions that kaplan is good for reaching the magic number. First i felt i am the only one who thought kaplan is good and now i can see many of them got good scores by using it.
All the best to you all

HI tre,
its not a bad book,afterall it has been designed for nbde.so its tre for a reason.even the people who re going to dental schools here in us,read from kaplan,atleast refer it.yes its long,but if u ve started studyin for part1,from jan till july,its not long.
so its worth having with u.but try to buy it from ebay,or 2nd hand from here,etc.no comments about kaplan course,didnt do that.

Hi,
Thanks guys for all your valuable inputs regarding kaplan review..book.!!!...... I would like to know if anyone tried their online .."Question Bank" for part1 NDBE ..and would they recommend taking it ??
Thanks
Toothzone

Hey till now its an interestingly tight match between Kaplan "worth it or not"
People who were confused must be still confused they go according to the poll..
Guess its an independent choice...

Originally posted by pinktooth
Hey till now its an interestingly tight match between Kaplan "worth it or not"
People who were confused must be still confused they go according to the poll..
Guess its an independent choice...

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Hi every one
i think this poll is going to give a result by which no one can take any decision. As pinktooth mentioned. it is true that , studying kaplan is based on individual interest. I have one suggestion, we can ask sdn members who got more than 90 and what books they read. And asking less than 90 scorers the same question. If some one can design and post a poll like it might be very helpful. I am posting an imaginary poll as i dont know how to post the poll in these threads. And in the following questions reading kaplan means , reading it with a effort and not superficially as just for the sake of it.

EXAMPLE:
1. Scored above 90 and read Kaplan.
2. Scored above 90 and didnt do Kaplan.
3. Scored between 90 and 85 and did Kaplan.
4. Scored between 90 and 85 and didnt do Kaplan.
5. Scored less than 85 and did Kaplan.
6. Scored less than 85 and didnt do Kaplan.

All the best to you all

Hey,
This sounds like a perfect idea, it would be a huge help to all the part 1 takers.. even i cannot figure out a way to write polls.

i got 90 + and i was completely dependant on dental decks+asda papers krishhh,kaplan worked well for you,it dident for me,thats why we got into this controversy.

Originally posted by toothlord
i got 90 + and i was completely dependant on dental decks+asda papers krishhh,kaplan worked well for you,it dident for me,thats why we got into this controversy.

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Hi ,
congrats and i think if some one posts that thread might be helpful and i think the score 90 is based on many factors.

It is very difficult to find out but we r trying to find out by doing a survey research.

all the best

the kalpan notes for part 1 are definetly worth it ...but you also have to do the dental decks ..dont just rely on the book..the book is very detailed.. and straightforward. the decks have 95% ofthe same material as the books, but they prepare you for twisted questions...i found kaplans excellent and i studied biochemistry completely from there... as for part 2 kaplans is definetly not worth it.. those notes have nothing....
in the end it depends on your method of studying...if you want to really understand the subject and at the same time not want to go thru 10thousand books.. then you have all the info i one book and thats the kaplans notes for part1... if you dont want to spend 500$ or 1000$ here on the books...becuase the classes are not worth it.. you only need nothe notes...then you can buy them cheaper from the kaplan centres in india ..there is one in mumbai..it cmes to about 13000/- rs
hope this helps..

HI!!
this sounds like a perfect idea!!!!!
it would be real help to all the people who r planning to give part 1 ........
even i cannot figure out ,i was really confused to join the course or not!
But now i decided not to go for it ........i don't know it is a right desion or wrong

bye n take care
dent_ist

dent_ist said:

HI!!
this sounds like a perfect idea!!!!!
it would be real help to all the people who r planning to give part 1 ........
even i cannot figure out ,i was really confused to join the course or not!
But now i decided not to go for it ........i don't know it is a right desion or wrong

bye n take care
dent_ist

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hey dent_ist,
the best thing u can do is to go and check out urself. if u call kaplan and tell them u are trying to decide whether to join the course or not and that u wanted to try it for 2 days then they will surely allow u to(without actually registering and paying for the course).
they do not have a lot of material for the nbde as such, but they do have a few tapes and also previous question papers with explanations.( it does help to have the explanations for the question papers, as it saves u time to go back and look fer something u did not understand). also they have an assessment test which u need to take when u join. that will determine the areas u are weak and where u need to put more effort. also some centers allow u to access the usmle tapes and books. and i found the biochemistry tapes very good. ofcourse we dont need that much in detail but some of the topics are excellent. and i heard that the immunology and physio tapes are also good.
also, when u go to kaplan, u have an atmosphere where everyone is preparing for similar exams.
all of us can give u opinions and each one of us might think differently. the best thing wud be to go n check it out urself. also it depends on how good u r with ur basics.
good luck with ur decision.

hi guys

i hardly did any kaplan since it was too detailed and more from a medical point of view. it also loses track from one paragraph to another in some topics. basically too much info. if u have like 6months to study...then go ahead and read kaplan. if u do have it, then consider reading up on the DADH from it. its pretty good (if u have the time). the decks more than cover what u need to know for part 1.

i stuck to decks and papers. scored above 90.

Hi...I joined kaplan for both part 1 & part 2....i found it very useful...i would strongly recommend their course .The videos & question papers with explinations in kaplan library are also very helpful.I think decks are just for reviewing subjects.

Hi Guys

I dont know what the review book is? but i took online QBank for part 1 from Kaplan for 1 month,Its very useful and provides lot of key facts to remember,i dont know whether its worth for part 2, and also i have to mention that i never know something called dental decks existed until i finish my part 1 exam,so the decks may be worth than kaplan.But i got 90+ with only previous ada papers and online kaplan course.hope this helps.

Hi...Dhee, i am also of the same opinion...taking online Q bank for 1 month was helpful for me too.