Has anyone taken any Kaplan MCAT courses in your area?? If so, did it help? I am thinking about taking one this summer and plan on taking the MCAT in spring of 2010. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks 
Kaplan MCAT course
- Thread starter mizzou11
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Keep in mind that this is just one experience with a particular area. Your area could have amazing Kaplan teachers. The best thing you can do is sit in on a class and talk to students that have taken the Kaplan course in YOUR area.
I took the Kaplan course located in the Southern California area and it was absolutely horrendous. I'll get the only positive out of the way right now. The sole factor that didn't make the course a complete waste of money was the abundant resources provided (AAMC FLs, Kaplan FLs, and plenty of practice problems). Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to how bad this class turned out.
First off, we were told that we would get the best teachers they had across the various topics. Unfortunately, ALL three teachers (one teacher taught Bio and Verb, one taught Physics, one taught Chem) stopped teaching a little less than half way through the course. Oh but don't worry, we didn't miss much. We never saw the original Physics teacher. I think we had one lesson with the Chem teacher. The Bio and Verb teacher pretty much read off the Kaplan sheet provided to her. Although she did know her stuff, she wasn't a good teacher. Later on we got a substitute "teacher" to finish the entire class. Not only did this person simply read off the sheet, she didn't know the material that well. Whenever anyone asked her a question that was not part of the day's lesson, she messed up and had to be corrected by a student. On top of that, she gave us some bad advice which was detrimental to our MCAT score. She said if we were scoring well on verbal, we should stop practicing so we don't burn overselves out. That was the worst advice I got while studying for the MCAT. My verbal score never recovered.
Furthermore, several times (5 or 6) the class was cancelled without telling us. A couple of those times we had no idea that the class had been cancelled. None of us got a call from the Kaplan center in charge. While we were sitting outside waiting for the teacher, one of the students called them to see what was going on. The center went, "sorry, we forgot to notify everyone of the chage." Gez, thanks. For the other cases, Kaplan didn't know either. The teacher just didn't show up and didn't call in to Kaplan. Fortunately, I lived close to the classroom site unlike some of the other students (some drove 2 hours). By the last third of the class, only a small handful of students showed up. The reason we still came was because we felt bad about paying so much. We all felt like we were cheated out of our money. As a consolation, Kaplan did say we could take the course again regardless of our reasons, even if we didn't fulfil the guidelines they set.
As you can no doubt tell, I didn't like the class at all. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have taken it. Actually, I know I said earlier that it wasn't a complete waste of money, yet thinking back, it was a waste.
I took the Kaplan course located in the Southern California area and it was absolutely horrendous. I'll get the only positive out of the way right now. The sole factor that didn't make the course a complete waste of money was the abundant resources provided (AAMC FLs, Kaplan FLs, and plenty of practice problems). Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to how bad this class turned out.
First off, we were told that we would get the best teachers they had across the various topics. Unfortunately, ALL three teachers (one teacher taught Bio and Verb, one taught Physics, one taught Chem) stopped teaching a little less than half way through the course. Oh but don't worry, we didn't miss much. We never saw the original Physics teacher. I think we had one lesson with the Chem teacher. The Bio and Verb teacher pretty much read off the Kaplan sheet provided to her. Although she did know her stuff, she wasn't a good teacher. Later on we got a substitute "teacher" to finish the entire class. Not only did this person simply read off the sheet, she didn't know the material that well. Whenever anyone asked her a question that was not part of the day's lesson, she messed up and had to be corrected by a student. On top of that, she gave us some bad advice which was detrimental to our MCAT score. She said if we were scoring well on verbal, we should stop practicing so we don't burn overselves out. That was the worst advice I got while studying for the MCAT. My verbal score never recovered.
Furthermore, several times (5 or 6) the class was cancelled without telling us. A couple of those times we had no idea that the class had been cancelled. None of us got a call from the Kaplan center in charge. While we were sitting outside waiting for the teacher, one of the students called them to see what was going on. The center went, "sorry, we forgot to notify everyone of the chage." Gez, thanks. For the other cases, Kaplan didn't know either. The teacher just didn't show up and didn't call in to Kaplan. Fortunately, I lived close to the classroom site unlike some of the other students (some drove 2 hours). By the last third of the class, only a small handful of students showed up. The reason we still came was because we felt bad about paying so much. We all felt like we were cheated out of our money. As a consolation, Kaplan did say we could take the course again regardless of our reasons, even if we didn't fulfil the guidelines they set.
As you can no doubt tell, I didn't like the class at all. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have taken it. Actually, I know I said earlier that it wasn't a complete waste of money, yet thinking back, it was a waste.
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Good advice. I strongly recommend doing this. Even though in my area, the Kaplan instructors were/are good, I still wish I had gone to Kaplan / TPR / EK to sit in on classroom lectures and judge each one since they all cost about the same.
I had an entirely different experience. My Kaplan instructors were very knowledgable, taught concepts well, and did not just read off the sheet. They would add in their own tips on how to remember something (mnemonic) or how to reason through a concept. These things might have been on their sheets [which my instructors had], but I wouldn't have known because they did not read off the sheet.
The course was very helpful - primarily for the massive amounts of practice materials (11 kaplan FLs, access to all 8 AAMC exams, topical tests, quizzes, section tests, flashcards, quick guide study sheets). The classroom lectures were also helpful but I would not take the course solely for these lectures. Again it depends area to area.
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To be perfectly honest, even if the teacher's are good, I'd say study on your own, and buy the online material only. The classes are just rehashes of what you read before you go into the class. So, nothing new for the most part.
My teacher was great. But he didn't really tell me things I didn't know. If you read the books, and do the online, you'll be golden.
My teacher was great. But he didn't really tell me things I didn't know. If you read the books, and do the online, you'll be golden.
