did anyone else take the kaplan course??

[turtlepower126]

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for those of you who took the kaplan course and have already taken the DAT, did kaplan help? were the practice exams similar or waay off?

 

[blackfriesian]

I took a kaplan course and I can't say it was competely useless but I only went up like one point in each subject and I studied like a maniac!!! They make you feel really secure about everything but when you get in there it sucks majorly!!!

 

[bruinpredent]

their materials do help, because a lot of their subject tests are crazy insane hard and they really expose your weak points.

if you rely completely on the class, however...i doubt you'll improve by much or do that well. you have to pretty much read their review notes over and over, do all of their subject tests and workshops, and consult additional books (like schaums and organic edge) if you want a really good score

 

[turtlepower126]

Thanks for your responses!

I actually took the kaplan diagnostic and received a 15 overall. I've been in the class for two months now and am taking the test soon. I did all the required & recommended areas for kaplan and on practice tests, I have done better and have progressed a bit. But I don't know if kaplan is enough... any ideas? I studied like CRAZY for the first two months and now that the info is getting redundant, I'm getting really tired of studying and just want to take the test to get the thing over with. I'm really really nervous and am having such a hard time studying now... but that doesnt mean that I know EVERYTHING.. im just sick and tired of studying... my fear is that I won't do well, then I'm gonna kick myself in the ass for not studying harder...

 

[dudewhensmydat]

Thanks for your responses!

I actually took the kaplan diagnostic and received a 15 overall. I've been in the class for two months now and am taking the test soon. I did all the required & recommended areas for kaplan and on practice tests, I have done better and have progressed a bit. But I don't know if kaplan is enough... any ideas? I studied like CRAZY for the first two months and now that the info is getting redundant, I'm getting really tired of studying and just want to take the test to get the thing over with. I'm really really nervous and am having such a hard time studying now... but that doesnt mean that I know EVERYTHING.. im just sick and tired of studying... my fear is that I won't do well, then I'm gonna kick myself in the ass for not studying harder...

I agree with the people above - the Kaplan course is good in that it exposes you to your weaknesses - that's it.

After you memorize the Big book and the small book (the Lesson Book), you need to get better at PAT and QR (as I found that Kaplan did not do a good job in that) - just my opinion.

This is my 2nd time taking it and I am using Achiever and Topscore as well as Schaums for Bio and Chemistry.

 

[messenger]

Thanks for your responses!

I actually took the kaplan diagnostic and received a 15 overall. I've been in the class for two months now and am taking the test soon. I did all the required & recommended areas for kaplan and on practice tests, I have done better and have progressed a bit. But I don't know if kaplan is enough... any ideas? I studied like CRAZY for the first two months and now that the info is getting redundant, I'm getting really tired of studying and just want to take the test to get the thing over with. I'm really really nervous and am having such a hard time studying now... but that doesnt mean that I know EVERYTHING.. im just sick and tired of studying... my fear is that I won't do well, then I'm gonna kick myself in the ass for not studying harder...

kaplan is plenty....youll be fine. 👍

 

[Mackchops]

I took Kaplan and, while everyone else is discounting it as something that "only" reveals your weak areas, I believe that it was invaluable to my success. I studied the review notes some, but focused on the subject tests. Then, any questions I would get wrong I would spend serious time learning that material from another source -- mostly my textbooks. Kaplan isn't intended to teach you everything for the test, but it does a darn good job of reviewing and directing your study.

I don't know what kind of advice to give for the PAT though... I got maybe 5 wrong in all the kaplan and topscore practice so I was expecting a really high score on the real thing. But as everyone says, the PAT is much more difficult on the real test -- I would recommend Barrons for strategy, however, don't try doing any of the problems. There are so many errors in Barrons that you'll frustrate yourself to death. The strategies are invaluable though.

Those are my suggestions. I was getting %83+ on the kaplan subject tests. I got a 28 on bio. Worked for me.

Mack

 

[jkh1886]

I looked thru the teacher's edition for kaplan. they have a lot of cool little tricks I never really thought about, making test-taking really smart.

 

[dentaldentist]

I took Kaplan and, while everyone else is discounting it as something that "only" reveals your weak areas, I believe that it was invaluable to my success. I studied the review notes some, but focused on the subject tests. Then, any questions I would get wrong I would spend serious time learning that material from another source -- mostly my textbooks. Kaplan isn't intended to teach you everything for the test, but it does a darn good job of reviewing and directing your study.

I don't know what kind of advice to give for the PAT though... I got maybe 5 wrong in all the kaplan and topscore practice so I was expecting a really high score on the real thing. But as everyone says, the PAT is much more difficult on the real test -- I would recommend Barrons for strategy, however, don't try doing any of the problems. There are so many errors in Barrons that you'll frustrate yourself to death. The strategies are invaluable though.

Those are my suggestions. I was getting %83+ on the kaplan subject tests. I got a 28 on bio. Worked for me.

Mack

I also found the kaplan class very helpful. I had graduated from college a few years before applying to dental school so I had a lot to review. I studied on my own from my text books for a while and then took the kaplan class. I felt the kaplan class was very helpful because it gave structure to my studying and helped me to focus on the important areas I would be tested on. I ended up scoring above 20 on all sections and feel that can be attributed to Kaplan. While I'm sure I would have done fone without kaplan, I know I would not have done as well and I really needed good DAT scores as my undergrad gpa was a bit on the low side. Kaplan really prepared me for all sections except a few areas of the PAT section. For me, it was worth the price as I got into dental school, but it is expensive. Also, it looks like if you sign up for the class before the end of september its a hundred bucks off.

Kaplan DAT class

 

[abzirian]

Kaplan was plenty useful -- especially if you need a boost getting motivated. Having a class to go to made studying all the more easier. That being said, if you can be motivated studying on your own, i can't say if its worth paying a thousand bucks for it (for me it definitely was).