Kaplan MCAT classes-pros and cons!!!

[satfan]

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Hello everyone!!
Can someone tell me if Kalan in-class sessions are worth the money. I'm in Ottawa and am planning taking March - June classes (twice a week). I cannot study at home and thinking that taking classes might help. Any suggestions??? Any pros or cons., bad experience with kaplan etc...
Thanks in advance!!!
satfan

 

[RSAgator]

Cannot study at home as in cannot study on your own or just can't study IN your home? Kaplan isn't going to make you know the material, you're still going to need to learn/study yourself. Go to the library?

 

[fenguin]

Pros: The online material is ridiculously nice - around 19 full-lengths total including 8 AAMC tests. I'd personally buy the entire course even if it was just for the online stuff.

Cons: I learned almost nothing from taking the class, and some of the strategies they teach you are a real waste of time. Use the three hours to study on your own at the library; you'll learn quite a bit more.

 

[ahmedqman]

At my class (I took the one at the University of Central Florida),the class sessions were garbage. The real benefit is in all the online material they give you. They also give you the AAMC exams.

However, there are great Kaplan instructors that survey this forum, so I wouldn't collectively advise against going to the classes. You might get some great instructors in your area!

 

[ar2388]

im currently taking a class up at columbia in nyc and so far i like it,,, maybe i got lucky with my teacher he is currently a mt sinai first yr and gota 36 on his mcats.. eithery way kaplans online stuff is awesome but its so harddd to keep up especially when you have to worry abot normal classes and research and everything else... anyway.. i like kaplan. i kept trying to decde between examkrackers, princeton review, and kaplan and kaplan won... maybe just because of the online stuff

 

[EuroPhysician]

The online material was the most useful, especially the Kaplan Practice material, I wound up doing best in my weakest subject area. I think the classes were not so useful, the strategy sessions were especially useless.

 

[ImAMuggle]

Kaplan class - definitely worth it for the wealth of their online materials - there is so much practice material that you'll never run out and you can select topical tests to improve your weak areas. As far as the class, I found it useful only because it kept me motivated to keep studying...i tried to self-study before it and could not. But the actual strategies I found were useless - especially verbal.
My instructors were fine, but they just cover the basics and zoom through everything else...a lot of your prep should be still self-study.

 

[moto_za]

Bump! Anyone else? Pros and cons please!!😀

 

[LikeClockWork]

Pros: The online material is ridiculously nice - around 19 full-lengths total including 8 AAMC tests. I'd personally buy the entire course even if it was just for the online stuff.

Cons: I learned almost nothing from taking the class, and some of the strategies they teach you are a real waste of time. Use the three hours to study on your own at the library; you'll learn quite a bit more.

I second this. The online material is fantastic and gives you everything you need to review on your own plus it's cheaper than the in-person classes. The only problem I had at first was that there was no one to ask questions to. Of course, much later I found this forum, but you seem to have solved that problem already. 👍

 

[amar21]

the only thing beneficial about these classes is the structuring of it. if you have trouble motivating yourself to study, especially early at that... the course forces you to at least put 2-3 hrs in a day so that you arent behind for your next session. on top of that, the online material is pretty decent.

 

[moto_za]

Thanks all! Any other comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SN2ed]

Pros: The massive amount of practice material justifies the price and makes it a sound buy.

Cons: The class is a complete waste of time. All but two of the teachers I had were terrible. The two good teachers only taught for one day each. The other teachers, I have a hard time referring to them as teachers, because they read off the card Kaplan provides and weren't helpful. Then again, teacher quality varies greatly by area. Also, I didn't find the content review or strategies helpful, but this differs from person to person.




If you can afford it, definitely sign up for the classroom or online course for the practice material. The key to the MCAT is doing massive amounts of TIMED practice problems.