Has anyone else noticed errors in Kaplan's material?

[oxeye]

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I can forgive the little errors - typos, putting a single bond for a carbonyl group instead of a double bond, one physics passage that had resistances stated as one thing in the passage but labeled differently in the figure. I guess I'm a little surprised that those haven't been corrected - assuming they have used the same material in their prep courses for years and year.

But I found one where the answer and the explanation was completely wrong!! Does this seem unacceptable to anyone else? It also makes me wonder how many other times this happens in their test, but I take their word for it if I'm a little shaky on the material. The only reason I noticed this error is because it was a topic that I am extremely interested in and have devoted a lot of study to it just for personal knowledge (i.e. not just to know for the MCAT and then promptly forget after the test is over).

I'm frankly annoyed that I spent major $$$ for the prep course and in at least one case (most likely more), they are telling us the wrong answer and the wrong explanation.

I'm thinking about writing them and complaining and sharing my references for their incorrect answer/explanation to the problem. I wonder if they will even care?

 

[Mr. Tee]

Yep, noticed a few errors here and there in their materials.

 

[ismelllikepoop]

yeah that is something that happens, i remember taking one kaplan practice test and thinking that it didnt make sense, then a year later they had a full-page list of different errors on it. but there werent enough errors to significantly change my score either tho so its hard to use it as an excuse. every book tends to have mistakes here and there, TPR had their explanation of SN2 vs SN1 rules the opposite of what they should have been. I complained to kaplan about the problems i had, like proctors being 30 minutes late to diags etc, and they ended up offering me free tutoring sessions.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm thinking about writing them and complaining and sharing my references for their incorrect answer/explanation to the problem. I wonder if they will even care?

You haven't experienced frustration until you try reporting a problem like this, they correct it, and then the new TELs (teacher editions) come out with NEW mistakes that weren't in there the previous year. 🙄 In answer to your question, yes, you should definitely report the errors. Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to avoid having any errors in materials that are this lengthy (as I can appreciate better now from just seeing how many corrections I have to make to my relatively short 150-page dissertation). But it would be nice if they'd correct them for future students, and they will only do that if people report them. 🙂

P.S. Kudos to you for finding them, too; it's a good sign when you know your material well enough to catch the errors.

 

[PBandJ]

Thanks for this post (both the OP and your comments, Q). I have also found several errors and wasn't sure if i should report them or not.

It's kind of frustrating as a student b/c I spent a lot of money on the course, but at the same time, I understand that these kinds of errors are unavoidable with so much material.

You haven't experienced frustration until you try reporting a problem like this, they correct it, and then the new TELs (teacher editions) come out with NEW mistakes that weren't in there the previous year. 🙄 In answer to your question, yes, you should definitely report the errors. Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to avoid having any errors in materials that are this lengthy (as I can appreciate better now from just seeing how many corrections I have to make to my relatively short 150-page dissertation). But it would be nice if they'd correct them for future students, and they will only do that if people report them. 🙂

P.S. Kudos to you for finding them, too; it's a good sign when you know your material well enough to catch the errors.

 

[floridakppr]

I've seen obvious type-os in some of the notes but mostly in the high-yield problem solving guide. The freshest example in my mind was in the interpreting H NMR spectra portion. They listed the answer to the last question as the same as for a previouis question (B before and B later). The high-yield problem solving guide has a lot of potential to be a very time effective study tool, but having to keep a skeptical mindset while skimming it is burdensome.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

I am taking the on-line course and let me tell you, I have found multiple issues with the transcript giving the wrong answer to a question. I have been confused because during the middle of a lesson, the material switches to a problem 3pages ahead. Or the critical thinking question is 10 pages back in my lesson book.

Where is the editor on this?

 

[oxeye]

Well, I see lots of people have noticed the little errors.

Like I said before, those don't bother me that much. I know it's impossible to create such a huge course and not have some mistakes. The thing that is bothering me is the huge content mistake I found. The person who wrote the question/explanation clearly did not know the material. They used logic to work through and explain the answer choice, and it seems to make sense on the surface - but it's one of those situations where logic alone doesn't answer the question correctly.

Oh well - I better call this to their attention. Does anyone know a good way to contact Kaplan? I found a form through the online course where I can e-mail them questions. Is that the best way to contact them?

 

[PBandJ]

Yes, I've used that form to e-mail a question...sometimes it takes a few days to respond, and sometimes they don't answer the question to their best ability. I suggest calling and talking to someone in person. I don't have the number offhand but I think it's on their site (or I think you can call 1-800-KAP-TEST and they will re-direct you to tech/customer support).

Does anyone know a good way to contact Kaplan? I found a form through the online course where I can e-mail them questions. Is that the best way to contact them?

 

[Anastasis]

I found a couple small errors in the FL I just took (a structure was drawn wrong, the answer sheet had the wrong answer/letter combo, etc).

 

[Caboose]

Hey guys, I got a little tired of their errors, so I started making note of them to send them one big email at the end. Sometimes I glaze over the typos, but big things... well, that's ain't right. I've been compiling a list of errors in their pdfs, books and html documents. It's nauseating when I can't read the document.
If you find an error, I would love to know about it. This also benefits me 'cause I'm not so sure I would catch it.

Caboose.

 

[Orthodoc40]

I can forgive the little errors - typos, putting a single bond for a carbonyl group instead of a double bond, one physics passage that had resistances stated as one thing in the passage but labeled differently in the figure. I guess I'm a little surprised that those haven't been corrected - assuming they have used the same material in their prep courses for years and year.

But I found one where the answer and the explanation was completely wrong!! Does this seem unacceptable to anyone else? It also makes me wonder how many other times this happens in their test, but I take their word for it if I'm a little shaky on the material. The only reason I noticed this error is because it was a topic that I am extremely interested in and have devoted a lot of study to it just for personal knowledge (i.e. not just to know for the MCAT and then promptly forget after the test is over).

I'm frankly annoyed that I spent major $$$ for the prep course and in at least one case (most likely more), they are telling us the wrong answer and the wrong explanation.

I'm thinking about writing them and complaining and sharing my references for their incorrect answer/explanation to the problem. I wonder if they will even care?

Big time errors. At the end of the course when they emailed that survey, I let them have it, too.

 

[OctoDoc]

If you are taking a Kaplan prep course, remember that a final product does not show up in a rate equation!

The Kaplan chemistry reviewer should be flogged!

 

[Ugly Boy]

If you like errors, try doing EK 1001 series...

 

[yanky5]

I noticed TONS of errors in Kaplan's material. I even found obvious errors in one of their main review books they gave me (2 yrs ago) It's like they stopped caring. I also got frustrated and wouldn't take Kaplan again. I also didn't like that they had a one way approach to everything. There are many strategies to take the MCAT that work for different people, but KAPLAN doesn't help you at all in strategy. The verbal stuff on Kaplan also has a lot of errors in my opinion, but I sucked at verbal so I may be wrong but they definitely have lots of scientific errors and type errors all over the place.

 

[nekrogg]

i have found some errors in AAMC tests.. gramatical errors none too big. but in one of the full lengths an organic section, the electrons were all wack. if i remember correctly, the oxygen had 4 lone pairs with one bond and a charge of -1!