anyone do the kaplan courses for ~$1,000

[Glowwyrm]

I was wondering if anyone has taken the Kaplan prep courses for the PCAT. The price is pretty steep so I was looking for some input from anyone that has taken the course. If you took it, do you feel like you learned a lot more than you would have if you had just read the kaplan prep book?
Thanks.

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[p-rog]

I took the Kaplan course and I got a composite score of 95% my first time around. The course was great, but in the end it really comes down to self motivation. I studied about 40-50 hours a week for at least 6 weeks for the test. One thing is for certain; if it is on the PCAT it will be covered in the Kaplan course, but so will a bunch of extra material. In my opinion, the course was worth the $1000. Not because of the actual classroom instruction, although that does help, but because of the all the quiz, online workshops, review tests, and full length mock PCATs. Yes, a $1000 is a lot of money and someone who is very self motivated could do fine by just buying the $50 PCAT book, but the course is still a really good investment. Not to mention, if you don't score as high as you were hoping, you can always talk to the Kaplan people and they are usually very understanding and willing to let you retake the course for the next PCAT for free, although if you thought the course was worthless the first time, it probably won't be much conciliation.

 

[Utterdevotion]

I don't think the Kaplan thing is worth it. I didn't take the course, but like p-rog said - it's about self-motivation. You can JUST as easily buy a lot of books - Kaplan, Barron's, the online practice tests, and even use the MCAT books to practice...etc. I used Kaplan's book mostly and even used their questions at the end of each section as a practice (timed myself with them too). I didn't get the score I wanted (an 80) but I did get a 79. All I did was study INTENSELY for a month.

Plus, the application process already makes you feel broke!

 

[Glowwyrm]

Thanks for your responses. Both were very helpful.

 

[foroneaudience]

It is worth it!!! I had a 53 on my first test, so I took the Kaplan course and it raised it to a 91. I would not have been able to do it on my own.

 

[butterfly18]

Hey foroneaudience,
are u in pharmacy school already?

 

[foroneaudience]

Sorry it took me a while to answer. No I'm not, I'm applying right now

 

[DimZum]

taking it this Sept-Oct right before the PCAT. I don't think $1200 is much if you care about your future. It's a good investment. It's about the same cost for a summer course at my university.

 

[Lnguyen1231]

Anyone else has the course material for sale?? please let me know asap..thanks!!!

 

[cherryblo]

I think it all depends how dedicated you are to studying. Kaplan classes are basically just reviewing their book...I mean 1000 just to review your book with a bunch of people and get extra quizes and test.

I also think Kaplan is not realistic with pcat material because Kaplan is much harder and much more in depth and lacks the general view that the pcat focuses on.....in Kaplan I got a 95% on our exams for Biology and then I took the actual pcat and got a 55%...on Kaplan Reading Comp I got a 50% and on the actual pcat scored a 90%...so I didn't think that is was that great of an assement.

But, it did help me do better on time I actually had about 5 mins to spare in each section on the pcat because Kaplans problems are so difficult, but I was expecting difficult problems and forgot the easier stuff.

 

[gpak]

If you are willing to dedicate the time for the class, then it WILL be worth it. The course forced me to learn the material and if you follow along in class and understand, that means thats one less thing you have to study hard-core around test time. They send you a great review book and a lesson book that you go over with during your lessons in class. Also, if you DO keep up with all your coursework and come to all classes and you're still not satisfied with the score you get, they will let you take it over again for free!! The tutors are very knowledgeable and the other ppl in the class made me really want to pursue pharmacy.

 

[domer621]

my brother took the course and it was definetely worth it, at least the books were..if anyone is interested i have the Lesson book and review notes from the Kaplan course(2004)

 

[pedro411]

I forked over 1k to Kaplan. In my area they didn't have the course, they only had video tapes. Regardless, I wasn't too impressed. With a little motivation you can do equally well (and save your moolah).

Pedro

 

[George Rivello]

Anyone have any experiences with private PCAT tutoring from Kaplan? It seems like this would be a great way to focus on your weak spots with a tutor, but it might be expensive. Would love to hear your stories.

 

[Kemistree]

If you go with Kaplan prep, ask about their discounts. If you haven't already looked into this, they offer company and alumni discounts with certain schools.