Kaplan courses...take it or not?

[bannanababy146]

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I'm trying to decide whether or not to take a Kaplan classroom course before I take the OAT. Can people who have taken it let me know if it was useful/worth the money or not???

 

[godawgs2012]

I took an online kaplan class this summer from June-July and took the OAT at the very end of July. They don't advise people to take it this soon, but 6 weeks of studying was all I could mentally take. I'll list the pros and the cons for me, then what I would change if I could do it over.

Pros: gives you a great structure and study schedule that you have to keep up with in order to keep up with the class. Also, the online resources are great giving you mini tests for each section as well as 5 total practice tests (including the mandatory diagnostic and final exam). The Kaplan book they give you is also good- i used it mostly for studying biology - 360 on that section. The reading comp tests were also helpful- 380 on it. Math practice tests were also good even though i didn't make as high as i wanted.

Cons: The class itself is a waste of time, in my opinion. The instructors are good, but the material they cover is so broad because they only have a couple hours per week to meet with you. If I would have only relied on Kaplan, I wouldn't have done as well as I did on most of the sections.

I used the DAT Destroyer for Ochem and Genchem and made a 360 on both of these. (Used DAT instead of OAT because my friend let me borrow it). This is one of the best resources in my opinion- except buy the OAT one because it has physics, which was my lowest section. Since I felt Kaplans classes didn't add up, I also used Chad's videos. It has videos covering every important topic that you will see in ochem, genchem, and physics.

So, would i take kaplan again if i could do it over? Probably not. I spent A LOT of money, but then again, I don't have to take the OAT ever again. And I have interviews this month at my top two schools. So, it was all worth it in the end.

 

[Blondiechick919]

I took the online Kaplan class. I started in late January and half assed it for the first month or so, and ended up taking my oat June 1. I can't compare it to te classroom setting but the poster above me is correct in saying that heir required "lessons" are kind of useless. You have to read a good 100pages or so before each from the 1500+ page review note book. This book is amazing and if you red it from cover to cover you will encounter basically the entirety of what CAN BE COVERED. The fraction of what information you will see on the test is marginally smaller, you may see 30 or 40% of that material, but you never know which subjects your test will show. When you walk into the testing center, you and the person next to you can both be taking the oat, but your tests will be nothing alike.

I can't comment on the classroom course but friends of mine who took DAT or MCAT classes and they loved their teachers, but dot expect to get it all from them. The homework/reading is very high, but with my experience, their practice tests are very helpful since you can know all the material and have terrible "test taking skills" and do awful. Kaplan does teach you pacing, test da skills, etc. They even guarantee a score increase or you can retake their class agin for free. I was skeptical of this, but I got a 280 on my diagnostic and on test day I got 340 TS/340AA. It is a large chunk of money but I would do it again. I never would have had access to all the materials they gave me or kept myself focused on the specific lesson plan.

 

[loveopto]

I would advise you NOT to take it. i also took it and regret it so much. now that i think about i could have done so much with that money $ 🙁
kaplans materials are excellent but im sure u can find that on amazon.
buy their big blue fat book, along with their flashcards, and quicksheets.
other than that you are better of purchasing chads videos online, and buying achiever and destroyer.

 

[Blondiechick919]

You can't buy Kaplan materials unless you enroll in the class. Or buy them from someone who has taken it, but their materials can't be bought anywhere else. And unfortunately, here isn't a lot of oat specific prep material. MCAT/DAT is helpful, bu since the scoring is all different, it makes a difference. MCAT has an essay and DAT has perceptual ability and no physics.

 

[319671]

You can't buy Kaplan materials unless you enroll in the class. Or buy them from someone who has taken it, but their materials can't be bought anywhere else. And unfortunately, here isn't a lot of oat specific prep material. MCAT/DAT is helpful, bu since the scoring is all different, it makes a difference. MCAT has an essay and DAT has perceptual ability and no physics.

yes you can buy the material. students who take the class sell it after they're done.

 

[bannanababy146]

Ok thanks! I actually already purchased the destroyer and kaplan oat books to study over winter break...just trying to decide if I should also take a kaplan course before I take the OAT over spring break...It would be a lot of money to spend if it wont even be very helpful :/

 

[jkain08]

Skip the class, but find the materials they offer for it.
Those materials were a lifesaver, but the class itself... meh.

 

[Blondiechick919]

Skip the class, but find the materials they offer for it.
Those materials were a lifesaver, but the class itself... meh.

100% agree. If anyone wants all the materials, I have them all. PM me if interested 🙂

 

[eyededicated]

i took the oat kaplan course and it was a big waste of time. they were not up on the latest changes to the OAT at all.

I studied using mcat kaplan books, oat destroyer, physics destroyer, mcat flashcards, i did buy one kaplan oat test book and was good for practice but i feel was easier than the real test. Also the crack the oat is very hard but very good practice. especially the reading. My score was raised about 40 points in reading from the practice. also topscore and oat achiever are good sources of practice. Def set aside time to study for the test esp if it has been a while since you have taken any of your foundation courses.

I also have lots of material; all of the above. if you need them, PM me.

 

[EyeWonder]

I apparently am the only one with this opinion... But I took the online Kaplan course and would highly recommend doing so. Yes, the book has all the information you need, but I have a lot of difficulty getting myself to just sit down and read, so the online lessons were really helpful to me. Plus, they not only teach you the material in the lessons, but also good strategies to help you get through the sections on time.

I got really good scores in all but one section, and I attribute that to Kaplan.

 

[optoapp2012]

I apparently am the only one with this opinion... But I took the online Kaplan course and would highly recommend doing so. Yes, the book has all the information you need, but I have a lot of difficulty getting myself to just sit down and read, so the online lessons were really helpful to me. Plus, they not only teach you the material in the lessons, but also good strategies to help you get through the sections on time.

I got really good scores in all but one section, and I attribute that to Kaplan.

I agree with the previous poster! I am SO thankful that I took the Kaplan course, although I will agree with other people that the classroom part wasn't really that helpful. I took the class itself back in February, and then finally took my test at the end of August this year. I don't remember my diagnostic score, but I think it was around 320, and I got a 380 AA and 390 TS on my actual OAT.

Here are my pros/cons:

Pros: You can't get access to the online materials without enrolling in the course (for those of you just planning on buying the books). The online materials were super helpful. For example, multiple practice tests got me familiar with the interface and the timing of each section *on the computer* (that was key! The reading section is so much easier on paper). There are some online workshops, quizzes, and subject tests that go a little beyond what you are asked on the OAT, so it really forces you to have a deeper understanding of things. The hard copy resources are great too - for physics I just memorized the flashcards (and didn't read the chapters or do the online workshops, because I was out of time) and I got a 350 on that section. I was getting like 290 or 300 before Kaplan. The big huge "Lecture Notes" book is incredibly helpful too. I read every chapter for both biology and gen chem and scored 400 in both of those sections (also did every online thing at least once, and often multiple times for those sections). Their strategies for the reading section were helpful for me, so that's the one thing from a "class" that I thought was beneficial. Other than that, other posters were right about the information just being way too general. My teacher did give us extra pages of information of concepts he thought would really help us (like listing the important enzymes, short cuts for the math section, etc.).
From what I remember, my point boosts from my diagnostic to actual OAT were:
Bio +100 (used Kaplan a LOT for this section)
Chem +80 (used Kaplan a LOT)
Ochem +60 (used Kaplan a little - online workshops, a couple book chapters, and some of the flashcards)
Physics +50 (used flashcards only)
Math -40 (*tear* lol...didn't prep for this section at all)
Reading +70 (used Kaplan strategies and practice tests, did not use any other materials from Kaplan. I think this was WAY easier on test day in comparison to the Kaplan materials...so that point boost is probably mostly just the fact that the Kaplan test is harder than the OAT)

Cons: It's really only useful if you have a lot of time to devote to it. I spent basically the whole month of July and most of August studying for multiple hours every day. Admittedly, I didn't use the Organic Chem material THAT much, but I also felt like I needed to supplement it anyway, and used another book (don't remember the title, but it was a book put out by a chem professor and it's organized by chapters with just sample problems and then explanations for them. All the answers are handwritten. SO helpful!). I also didn't really use the math materials that much, because I was always scoring 400 on the Kaplan practice tests for the section. Yet on test day, I had a bunch of problems with multiple steps that took more time than I ever used on the Kaplan practice tests...and I ran out of time and got a 360 on my actual OAT for that section. If you are only planning on studying for a week or two, you won't have time to make use of all the resources Kaplan has, and then you just skim the surface of it all and are wasting your money.

Yes, it's costly, but I think $1500 will be pennies by the end of Optometry school. Plus, lots of schools' scholarships are based at least in part (if not solely) on your OAT score...so getting a point boost might get you as much as $1500 (or more) in scholarships, effectively paying for the class.

 

[janedoe88]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to take a Kaplan classroom course before I take the OAT. Can people who have taken it let me know if it was useful/worth the money or not???

I regret taking the classroom class. I should have just bought a kaplan book. It didn't raise my score AT ALL and I couldn't get my money back since I decided to retake the course. I studied on my own and improved WAY more than taking the class. It's really about how much effort you put into it on your own.

 

[epalacios]

Kaplan online is totally worth it, if you have the time to put in. Cost me $1200, but really was helpful. My actual OAT score was about 50 points higher than the Kaplan practice tests, which was nice. It's definitely the most expensive prep, but very comprehensive.
Loved the note cards, and all the the practice tests gave me the computer interface for test day. When I sat down in front of the actual OAT screen on test day, I was like "hey, I've done this before!" Was not a bit nervous on test day.