My impression of an in class Kaplan course

[ocwaveoc]

---

Members do not see this ad.

If you ever have a clarification question about any subjects that goes even slightly beyond what the MCAT covers, many of these teachers can't answer those questions. All of my MCAT teachers are 1st or 2nd yr med students. They are good students. But, what do they really know about Ochem, physics and gen chem aside from the real basics? I needed to know why the removal of ovaries would remove the negative feedback of estrogen/progesterone, thus cause a continual LH/FSH production.....when you can think in a different way such as, without ovaries follicles can't grow therefore the positive feedback estrogen has on LH/FSH doesn't occur. Therefore LH/FSH would stop secreting. I wanted to know why my reasoning was incorrect. There are numerous questions I've asked which the Kaplan teachers weren't able to answer. I've decided to just use the course as a mean to keep me on a regimented schedule and to provide me with the online questions.

 

[ocwaveoc]

Here's a few other things I've noticed during the 1 1/2 week I've been involved with Kaplan in class course. Their "Review books" for Bio/ochem/gen chem/ and physics have indexes that are not updated. For an instance, I was studying and wanted to look up a certain bio topic in their book. But, the page numbers they have listed in the index don't match. This has happened about 5 of 10 times I've tried looking things up using the index.
I am very dissapointed with the in class instructors (although I was warned)....Kaplan must have a difficult time finding quality instructors. But, to have such errors in the books are inexcusable. Oh, half of the students have the old MCAT information (in terms of the numbers of passages/numbers of questions in each section) in their Kaplan books that tells you those basics about the MCAT. Just terrible.

 

[voirlesetoiles]

I've asked questions in class that weren't related to MCAT and my teachers didn't answer them.... but that makes sense, why learn more information that isn't tested.

Agreed, the out-of-date review notes can be annoying at times. But both of my teachers were awesome. Don't be so quick to generalize.

 

[McLicky]

For the most part...they don't know what they're talking about unless it's in their little Kaplan Script Book. My teacher would ask a question then get an answer from us and prolong his answer.

Example:

HIM: So what do you think the answer is to Q #2?

US: "A"

HIM: Ohhhhh....so you think it's "A" huh *copping a look at his script book*...hmm well have you guys thought about the fact it might be "B" ?

US: *puzzled looks*

HIM: *realizing he read the answer wrong* ...on the other hand, A looks better though..

ME: I paid for this?

 

[greg1184]

I see the Kaplan live class as a resource for help with MCAT related questions, and to interact with other people in the class that are also taking the MCAT. Another post mentioned that Kaplan is a great course for people who self-study. I like their course because the amount of materials they give is amazing. The online materials, Quicksheets and Flashcards are awesome. I prefer their review material over examkrakers because EK focuses too much on predicting what is not going to be on the MCAT instead of giving us detailed good background concepts we can use to apply on the test. It is just depends on how you study.

Of course, I will find out how "awesome" Kaplan is when I take the MCAT and get my MCAT score.

 

[axp107]

Its really just luck...

my Kaplan instructor happened to be someone from my HS who graduated 2 years before me. He is a GENIUS, and i mean GENIUS.. just from knowing him in hs. Seeing him in person in class just made me feel sooo good. He got a 40 something on the MCAT.. I found out later.

Plus, he teaches really well too .. and he's the one stimulating us to think in different ways. I really think its luck. The guy I'm talking about teaches PS, some VR, and Gen Chem. Our other instructor isn't that great (teaches BS and Ochem). I'm good at BS and OChem.. so I got lucky.

 

[majik1213]

Here's a few other things I've noticed during the 1 1/2 week I've been involved with Kaplan in class course. Their "Review books" for Bio/ochem/gen chem/ and physics have indexes that are not updated. For an instance, I was studying and wanted to look up a certain bio topic in their book. But, the page numbers they have listed in the index don't match. This has happened about 5 of 10 times I've tried looking things up using the index.
I am very dissapointed with the in class instructors (although I was warned)....Kaplan must have a difficult time finding quality instructors. But, to have such errors in the books are inexcusable. Oh, half of the students have the old MCAT information (in terms of the numbers of passages/numbers of questions in each section) in their Kaplan books that tells you those basics about the MCAT. Just terrible.

TPR is no better. My bio instructor once talked about his and his girlfriend's sexual life. I found the experience offensive and grueling.

 

[majik1213]

For the most part...they don't know what they're talking about unless it's in their little Kaplan Script Book. My teacher would ask a question then get an answer from us and prolong his answer.

Example:

HIM: So what do you think the answer is to Q #2?

US: "A"

HIM: Ohhhhh....so you think it's "A" huh *copping a look at his script book*...hmm well have you guys thought about the fact it might be "B" ?

US: *puzzled looks*

HIM: *realizing he read the answer wrong* ...on the other hand, A looks better though..

ME: I paid for this?

😆

 

[ocwaveoc]

So, for someone looking into possibly taking a Kaplan (or any other prep course) course, this is my advice.
1) Only take the course if you'd like a structured program. Some people do better knowing that they are responsible for certain numbers of chapters rather than just being on their own. This is, in my opinion the ONLY reason to take an in class course.
2) If you do not need the structured environment, you can choose to take the Kaplan online course. I believe it gives you all the online question bank, books, online AAMC tests....all the material in class people get.
3) If you only need direction on what topics to cover for the MCAT, and you are a self starter/motivator and don't need ALL the material Kaplan gives you, just go out and buy EK among other prep books.

In my opinion, if you are not a self starter, getting the Kaplan online course may be a good option. The exams, question banks, and some of the books may be a good resourse. However, the problems with the books, as I've stated above, is an issue. In class instruction is so hit and miss. If you happen to get a good teacher, you are lucky. I doubt there are many of them. And don't rely on Kaplan to tell you whether their instructors are any good. It's a business. They'll tell you how fabulous their instructors are.
In class Kaplan course SUCKS!!!!! The Kaplan method of mapping.....my instructors don't even believe in it.

 

[ocwaveoc]

I feel that this is sort of a public service announcement. I'd like people to know what they can expect before shelling out $1700 for an in class course.
Today, during my physics in class session, (taught by a student who'll start her first year med school this August and majored in Biochem....I wondered how she's qualified to teach physics) we discussed a pulley system over an incline...where a mass is freely hanging on one end and mass #2 is on the incline held together by a rope. In this problem, the freely hanging mass is heavy enough to allow it to move down, causing mass on the incline to move up the incline. Someone asked whether the tension of the string on mass 1 side is the same as the tension of the string on the mass 2 side. If I'm not mistaken, the tensions are both the same in magnitude. Her response was (and the way she answered, I could tell she didn't know...but didn't want to seem like she didn't...) that they are not the same.

Later, I asked a question out of the Kaplan green book..the "high yield book". She wasn't able to solve the problem...and stated that if you could do all the problems in kaplan, you'd get over 40 on MCAT and that it's not necessary to do such problems. My thought was that this problem came from a "high yield book".

Beware of in class teachers. Kaplan just gets whoever they can, if there aren't qualified teachers available.

 

[MSTPbound]

I took the course in New York City. I don't think it's any secret that Kaplan instructors differ tremendously in their ability to teach, regardless of any *script* they might use to follow. Kaplan instructors can range in experience from having taken the MCAT a few months ago to having a PhD in a content area or being a medical doctor - which of course may or may not correlate with teaching ability 🙄. What you can count on with Kaplan instructors is they KNOW what it takes to do well on the MCAT because they did it, often times on multiple occasions - and the fact that they don't know everything about a certain content area should also clue you in that you probably don't need to know everything to rock the MCAT.

If you are the kind of person who really benefits from learning in a classroom environment, I would shop around for an instructor. I happened to get lucky with my MCAT instructor - he was simply amazing - but I didn't realize *how* amazing he was until he was out sick for one class, and we had a substitute who was *aweful*. I would ask people at the Kaplan center, talk to students who've taken the course, maybe search around in some of their online forums, and figure out which teachers are most popular - they are usually popular for a reason

Best of to you!

-MSTPbound

 

[QofQuimica]

I took the course in New York City. I don't think it's any secret that Kaplan instructors differ tremendously in their ability to teach, regardless of any *script* they might use to follow. Kaplan instructors can range in experience from having taken the MCAT a few months ago to having a PhD in a content area or being a medical doctor - which of course may or may not correlate with teaching ability 🙄. What you can count on with Kaplan instructors is they KNOW what it takes to do well on the MCAT because they did it, often times on multiple occasions - and the fact that they don't know everything about a certain content area should also clue you in that you probably don't need to know everything to rock the MCAT.

If you are the kind of person who really benefits from learning in a classroom environment, I would shop around for an instructor. I happened to get lucky with my MCAT instructor - he was simply amazing - but I didn't realize *how* amazing he was until he was out sick for one class, and we had a substitute who was *aweful*. I would ask people at the Kaplan center, talk to students who've taken the course, maybe search around in some of their online forums, and figure out which teachers are most popular - they are usually popular for a reason

Best of to you!

-MSTPbound

Agree with all of this.

OP, I've had many students who know way more bio than I do, which is understandable since they're bio majors and I wasn't. I flat out tell them that some of this stuff hasn't even come up in my med school classes. If *I* don't have to know it for the boards, *you* definitely don't need to know it for the MCAT. My personal opinion is that as it is, Kaplan covers WAY more science than is necessary to do well on the test. You don't need to understand the menstrual cycle in excruciating detail for the MCAT; no one learns this stuff in freshman bio, and that's all the test covers. Second, I think you may be expecting too much of your instructors. If you want to be an endocrine biologist, you go to grad school, not med school. Kaplan's goal is to teach you to ace the test, not to make a scientist out of you. Likewise, most of the instructors are not PhD scientists; I'm the exception that proves the rule. Finally, I think you should talk to your center manager and let him/her know that you aren't happy with your instructors. You've paid a lot of money for this course, and maybe there is something they can do to improve your experience.

BTW, in answer to your question, your reasoning is wrong b/c LH and FSH are produced by the anterior pituitary, not the ovaries, and their secretion is controlled by the hypothalamus via GnRH, not just estrogen from the ovaries. Estrogen feeds back on the hypothalamus and affects GnRH secretion as well as the anterior pituitary. (The feedback can be positive or negative, depending on conc. of estrogen.) You remove the ovaries, then estrogen is gone, you screw up GnRH secretion so that it's not cyclical any more, and you screw up LH and FSH secretion so that it's not cyclical any more either. It is not known what causes GnRH secretion to become cyclical; it happens around the time when you hit puberty and stops when you hit menopause. Though yeah, of course, if you don't have ovaries, you won't have follicles either, and then LH and FSH wouldn't be very useful even if you had them. 😉

Edit: here is a picture that shows the GnRH pulsation:

 

[Schaden Freud]

I think Kaplan's major weakness is their tendency to force teachers to teach all the subjects, rather than allowing them to specialize. If I as an instructor only had to worry about preparing OChem lessons, for instance, I would be much more thorough about it and look beyond the basics of what's written in the Lesson Book. On the other hand, even someone who is an expert in a given subject will still have moments when they can't answer a particular question. I mean, nobody's a walking encyclopedia. Another thing to consider is the time constraint faced by the instructor. Some lessons BARELY fit into the three hour time slot as they are and do not allow any wiggle room for superfluous questions and thought experiments. Rather than fault your teacher for the occasional imperfection, focus on the big picture of what you're learning. If your teacher is consistently bad, discreetly find another class that's more to your liking.

If you ever have a clarification question about any subjects that goes even slightly beyond what the MCAT covers, many of these teachers can't answer those questions. All of my MCAT teachers are 1st or 2nd yr med students. They are good students. But, what do they really know about Ochem, physics and gen chem aside from the real basics? I needed to know why the removal of ovaries would remove the negative feedback of estrogen/progesterone, thus cause a continual LH/FSH production.....when you can think in a different way such as, without ovaries follicles can't grow therefore the positive feedback estrogen has on LH/FSH doesn't occur. Therefore LH/FSH would stop secreting. I wanted to know why my reasoning was incorrect. There are numerous questions I've asked which the Kaplan teachers weren't able to answer. I've decided to just use the course as a mean to keep me on a regimented schedule and to provide me with the online questions.

 

[jochi1543]

I'm not surprised that you are not having the greatest experience...I'd be qualified to teach PS under Kaplan's standards here (you need to have an 11+ and I had a 12), but seriously, I still have no freaking clue how I scored 12 - I think it was nothing but luck in terms of getting a section that was easy based on my prep. I had never scored more than 10 on a practice AAMC exam, after all. I suck at Physics and there were major areas of chem that I had a hard time understanding during my prep. I would probably prepare and teach well, just b/c I have years of tutoring experience and enjoy teaching, but I'd definitely be one of those teachers who couldn't answer an unrelated question. Honestly, I feel that there's a lot of luck involved in scoring 12+ on the MCAT.

 

[xucardsfan08]

The Kaplan classroom course is purely to "force" people to study. If they just gave you the $1700 worth of material (the online package), you have to rely purely on self motivation to study the material. In the classroom course, by driving to the center, it makes you study for the 6 hours each week.
That being said, since all of the material is review, people expect to be taught in depth on material. However, they are teaching you the material taught in genbio, gen chem, etc., no advanced material.

A personal note: I would recommend just the online package as you get all the same material as the classroom course without having to go listen to some potentially ******ed person "teach" you basic material.