How does Kaplan compare to other DAT enrichment programs?

[HardWorknMan]

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I took the DAT this past summer and didnt feel as If I scored as high as I shouldve. With that said, I would like to know how you feel Kaplan stacks up with other DAT enrichment programs? More precisely, How does Princeton Review compare to the Kaplan program? I used Kaplan this past summer studying at least 8hrs a day and kind of felt let down when I took the test. I felt that Kaplan didnt adequately prepare me for the test, especially on the chemistry sections.

 

[jigabodo]

Princeton has a DAT review course!? 😕

 

[golfer]

I took the DAT this past summer and didnt feel as If I scored as high as I shouldve. With that said, I would like to know how you feel Kaplan stacks up with other DAT enrichment programs? More precisely, How does Princeton Review compare to the Kaplan program? I used Kaplan this past summer studying at least 8hrs a day and kind of felt let down when I took the test. I felt that Kaplan didnt adequately prepare me for the test, especially on the chemistry sections.

I hope you had other materials to study from. Kaplan is good to use as a foundation but that is about it.
If you did had other books, materials etc... and you are studying at least 8 hrs a day for a whole summer and don't score well I'm pretty sure you need to look at the way you are studying.
This should be discussed in the DAT forum

 

[tryin2bepatient]

hmm...i took kaplan, but i honestly didnt find it useful AT ALL except for the fact that it provided me with extra materials. my teacher was ridiculously bad, and i didn't agree with most of their strategies.

once you have the materials, you should be able to study on your own and do just fine.

 

[Composite A2]

I took the DAT this past summer and didnt feel as If I scored as high as I shouldve. With that said, I would like to know how you feel Kaplan stacks up with other DAT enrichment programs? More precisely, How does Princeton Review compare to the Kaplan program? I used Kaplan this past summer studying at least 8hrs a day and kind of felt let down when I took the test. I felt that Kaplan didnt adequately prepare me for the test, especially on the chemistry sections.

Kaplan is not a great source to use to study, I found that out too when I took the DAT. I do not know how the princeton material is. Oh yeah and I took the online kaplan stuff too, that had a pricey tag on it.

 

[SuperDuper]

Princeton Review doesn't offer a DAT prep course. 🙂😀😉

 

[jigabodo]

Princeton Review doesn't offer a DAT prep course. 🙂😀😉

Roger that. That's what I thought too.

Anyways, to the OP: you will see that most people here are not too content about Kaplan either. You should always use it along with other sources. However, I thought Kaplan's online workshops and subject tests were quite helpful.

 

[tamkhan]

Kaplan isn't useful, period! The PAT section on Kaplan is worthless, first off. Apart from that, GC and QR are quite alright (not the review questions, though). Biology doesn't cover all the material.

 

[lindsey122]

I thought Kaplan was useful for Gen Chem because it got you to review all the formulas and stuff that you haven't used in a long long time, and the PAT practice tests were useful. They help you get used to moving stuff in your head and help you learn the complicated directs.

Other than that it is TERRIBLE and a waste of money. I would buy the Kaplan study book at the bookstore and save a $1,000 if I was you. Anyone that uses the Kaplan method on the reading section is an idiot. Another thing that would have been nice to know is that some testing centers give you a dry erase board instead of scratch paper. Not having paper lowered my math score by about 4 points.

In summary Kaplan suck, most of their strategies are stupid, and Ohio State is sweet.

 

[Imperium]

I'm studying from the Kaplan review book now. I only plan to take the DAT at the end of this Summer so I'm just trying to get some foundations down, which is what Kaplan is good for.

 

[maklan03]

Greetings everyone, God bless you for this wonderful forum!

I am starting to study for Dat, I need help here, I will be using kaplan course, DAT destroyer, Top scorer and Achiver, and I plan to take the Dat in may. So how should I study: should i started for example do kaplan a section a week, then when I finish with kaplan(all sections) go to DAt destroyer and do it all and so on, OR should I let say do bio from all sources at one time and move to a next section and do all sources at one time, Or please tell me what is the best method>

thanks

 

[Chga]

there are 6 different subjects in DAT.. no one review is going to cover them all, so you have to basically use more then one to cover all the material

 

[joeliu0112]

I really liked the kaplan book and course. I thought it prepared me really well, especially for the PAT and orgo.
That's my opinion however.

 

[curiosteph]

I liked Kaplan. It jumped me up about 5 points from my first practice test. I had been out of school for over two years when I took the DAT, so I thought the orgo was a great review. I did the online course and there were tons of practice questions and practice tests. I think any study course is what you make of it - do you use all the resources, practice tons, try the strategies, etc. Kaplan works for some, and I am one of them.

 

[UNR.Grad]

I used Kaplan only. To study I basically sat down with the big blue book for 3 weeks, about 5 hours a day,with weekends off. I had the book pretty well memorized and did decent on the science sections. I did best on the sections I never practiced outside of the practice tests (QR, RC, and PAT). There were lots of things I saw on the test that were completely new to me that Kaplan did not cover. As others have said, it should be used as a base only; I looked at it like it was the DAT and did not use anything else. I wish I had researched the test more, not trusted Kaplan so much, and used some other materials. I would suggest using multiple materials, they will overlap some but also cover most everything you'll see.

I did like their practice tests a lot, they do prepare you well.

 

[gnarkill]

IMHO the most helpful part of the kaplan course were all the "recommended" test sections in the online syllabus....

 

[jaaneman2]

Is it a good thing to have a new DAT destroyer book or will a 2007 book also work? And also what is the best way to prepare for DAT? How late can we take the DAT exam if we are applying for the 2009 school year? Is september 2008 ok?

 

[jrf271psu]

If you take the Kaplan course, the amount you get from the course (unfortunately) depends a lot on your teacher. My Kaplan teacher sucked, but we did have an AMAZING substitute one day. He memorized the names of every one in the class (in the first 5 minutes) then gave an awesome lecture that made the 3 hrs fly. We told him about some complaints we had about the course, and he took them up with his boss the next day (!). So if you get a good teacher, it really helps.

Other than that, Kaplan should be used as a supplement to studying. Yes, it is expensive and a lot of the classes are worthless. But if you have not taken gen chem/organic in 1-2 years (like me), it does a pretty good job of organizing and pulling together info. Kaplan also gives you a ton of test-taking practice (I think I took 7 practice DATs between class and online practice exams) so you can learn your rhythm and get used to staring at a computer screen for 4.5 hrs straight.

Things I wish I had known prior to taking the DAT, and stuff that Kaplan did not tell me (my fault for not researching better, but FYI in case...):

- Kaplan stresses that you get 2 blank sheets of scratch paper (more if you need it) Actually, I got two yellow dry-erase boards and markers. This sucked because obviously you can write smaller with pencils, and my 'scratch-paper' setup ended taking up an entire side of one of the dry-erase boards (periodic table trends, equations, formulas, etc). That was more of a nuisance than anything... the problem came during the QR. With these stupid boards you have to write huge, thus can't save math work (drawn pictures, calculations). So you cant save your drawings OR calculations (ie. you can't go back to check your work when you're done!). Check my QR score in predents (I had not scored below a 20 during practice exams in this section)

- Proctors were there... but in an adjacent room! I wanted to get paper instead of the boards, but I was 10 mins into my exam before anyone came walking around. Was not happy about this - as you know, even 2 or 3 wasted minutes trying to get someone's attention is huge, not to mention you will look like an idiot, flailing your arms around trying to signal someone through a glass door from your assigned computer.


Other than these minor things, Kaplan was OK and the DAT wasn't too bad. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

 

[mrniceguyny75]

Hello, my name is Oleg.
I live in Brooklyn,NY and very interested in finding study partner or partners who may be also interested in studying together for the DAT! I have knowledge on some topics more than on the others, but currently study on my own from the DAT Test Prep Books. As we all know, "two heads better then one" and " the more, the marrier". I figured studying with someone else will make the time go by more interesting and fun at the same time. Please let me know if you are interested or know someone who may be interested.
My email: [email protected]
Thank you very much, in advance!
Sincerely, Oleg

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Hello, my name is Oleg.
I live in Brooklyn,NY and very interested in finding study partner or partners who may be also interested in studying together for the DAT! I have knowledge on some topics more than on the others, but currently study on my own from the DAT Test Prep Books. As we all know, "two heads better then one" and " the more, the marrier". I figured studying with someone else will make the time go by more interesting and fun at the same time. Please let me know if you are interested or know someone who may be interested.
My email: [email protected]
Thank you very much, in advance!
Sincerely, Oleg

 

[dr bojangles]

kaplan worked for me. raised me 4 points from first practice test. i think it prepared me well for sciences, maybe overprepared (i'm a science major......). the PAT i think it led me on, cause i was getting 25's on practice, but did a few pts below on test day. regardless, you might have to look at your study habits, study smarter not harder. but to each his own, you may want to save your money.

and what is the deal with "Oleg" on every thread??