NEVER TAKE KAPLAN AS A PREP COURSE AGAIN... spread the words please

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arish

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So I have enrolled in the MCAT prep from Kaplan. I wanted to tell you guys that I have been ripped off like never before.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND TAKING KAPLAN AT ALL. PLEASE FORWARD THE INFORMATION TO EVERYONE SO THE WORDS SPREAD OUT.

Over the past 2-3 months I haven't been able to access the AAMC material that they provide when purchasing the course. I spent 2000$ on this stupid thing.
They just say there is a problem with the connection from Kaplan and AAMC. I have contacted AAMC and they mentioned nothing is wrong in their system and they haven't heard anything from Kaplan regarding this issue. Kaplan said all the students are having this issue, but I did a post and people are accessing them fine.

I have spent more than 100 hours on the phone, email and waiting for return phone calls trying to figure this out and no one addresses my problem. All I have received is an apology from the staff member. I tried getting names and contact information of the agents who assisted me so I don't have to repeat myself but they refused to give me their information.

It is interesting that all my progress from the old tests that I have took already is gone since they tried to reset my account to see if it works. So I can't even go back to review my progress.
Now I feel saddened. I feel I wasted so many hours of my time, and most importantly the effort that I should be putting for studying for MCAT. I haven't been so frustrated ever in my life and I don't like anyone goes thru this problem.

Please spread the words until justice is served.
If you have any suggestions to what to do at this point, feel free to comment.
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Last edited:
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Im serious guys
Calculate, over three months, (90 days)
every other day calling them which I called about every day almost, spending 1-2 hours each time talking, being on hold, waiting for return phone calls, that takes more than 100 hours!!!!
Plus imagine the frustration on not being able to study, your test time is approaching and all those fun stuff
Plus I postponed my exam 2 times costing me of 180$.
I'm dead serious about this!
 
hmm. well the math works out, i suppose.


I thought it was a well known fact that kaplan MCAT prep course was the worst of the 4.

I personally went with Princeton Review when I was in college and thought it was pretty decent.

I heard Berkeley review was really good.


Lesson for everyone: never use Kaplan for anything. Remember this when you're studying for Step 1, too.
 
Sorry man. I would suggest posting on MCAT thread and Kaplan specific thread.
 
arish said:
Im serious guys
Calculate, over three months, (90 days)
every other day calling them which I called about every day almost, spending 1-2 hours each time talking, being on hold, waiting for return phone calls, that takes more than 100 hours!!!!
Plus imagine the frustration on not being able to study, your test time is approaching and all those fun stuff
Plus I postponed my exam 2 times costing me of 180$.
I'm dead serious about this!
Click to expand...

Why were you unable to study? Did you not have books?
 
arish said:
So I have enrolled in the MCAT prep from Kaplan. I wanted to tell you guys that I have been ripped off like never before.

I DONOT RECOMMEND TAKING KAPLAN AT ALL. PLEASE FORWARD THE INFORMATION TO ALL EVERYONE SO THEY WORDS SPREAD OUT.

Over the past 2-3 months I haven't been able to access the AAMC material that they provide when purchasing the course. I spent 2000$ on this stupid thing.
They just say there is a problem with the connection from Kaplan and AAMC. I have contacted AAMC and they mentioned nothing is wrong in their system and they haven't heard anything from Kaplan regarding this issue. Kaplan said all the students are having this issue, but I did a post and people are accessing them fine.

I have spent more than 100 hours on the phone, email and waiting for return phone calls trying to figure this out and no one addresses my problem. All I have received is an apology from the staff member. I tried getting names and contact information of the agents who assisted me so I don't have to repeat myself but they refused to give me their information.

It is interesting that all my progress from the old tests that I have took already is gone since they tried to reset my account to see if it works. So I can't even go back to review my progress.
Now I feel saddened. I feel I wasted so many hours of my time, and most importantly the effort that I should be putting for studying for MCAT. I haven't been so frustrated ever in my life and I don't like anyone goes thru this problem.

Please spread the words until justice is served.
If you have any suggestions to what to do at this point, feel free to comment.
Click to expand...

1. What you did was an unnecessary waste of time, when you could've use that time for MCAT Prep.
2. Registering for a prep course wasn't a wise move: you willingly decided to be ripped off.
3. You didn't even follow the Sn2ed method or similar approach.

Sorry, we can't help you here. The problem rested in your actions, not Kaplan.
 
I would very simply request a refund of your money, an integral part of what you paid for is not being provided to you, that deserves your money back.

I don't know how you have let Kaplan dictate your life for so long...I would have been done with that crap getting my money back after about a week. Much less rescheduling multiple tests...
 
I am actually inclined to agree. I was not pleased with Kaplan either.
 
Yeah, prep courses are cool and all, but really SN2ed has a decent approach that's way cheaper. I didn't exactly follow it, but I sure did buy TBR along with four FLs. I feel more prepared than ever now.

I don't think I've ever read a single testimonial about Kaplan that's been positive, and that includes both their prep books and the course.

OP, while you were on hold, why weren't you reading through your prep books? Think of all the extra MCAT factoids you could have packed away! Or even the ridiculous orgo reactions.
 
I don't know why people think they need these courses, most of the instructors are your peers, such a scam
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Arbor Vitae said:
I don't know why people think they need these courses, most of the instructors are your peers, such a scam
Click to expand...

Yeah, always seemed like a complete waste of money. For $2000 you could get all of TBR, all of the EK books, and all of the AAMC FLs with plenty left over for beer and pretzels. I know the courses are great if you aren't very self motivated and I don't want to start a general anecdote-heavy debate about their value. But seriously, it's not THAT hard to prep for if you can read and force yourself to sit still for a few hours a day.
 
While I am not an advocate of prep courses myself, your one bad experience does not completely invalidate the entire company and its resources. I've had countless friends use Kaplan successfully, and they have zero complaints about the program.
 
Doctor Strange said:
While I am not an advocate of prep courses myself, your one bad experience does not completely invalidate the entire company and its resources. I've had countless friends use Kaplan successfully, and they have zero complaints about the program.
Click to expand...

This. Plus I used kaplan and had access to all the AAMC things...in fact I redid the tests 2-3 times. Don't know why you are having the problem.
 
Benedictus123 said:
Yeah, always seemed like a complete waste of money. For $2000 you could get all of TBR, all of the EK books, and all of the AAMC FLs with plenty left over for beer and pretzels. I know the courses are great if you aren't very self motivated and I don't want to start a general anecdote-heavy debate about their value. But seriously, it's not THAT hard to prep for if you can read and force yourself to sit still for a few hours a day.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say its a complete waste of money, especially if its been 5+ years since you used any of the material tested on the mcat. Its a good way to re-learn it in a classroom environment.
 
Just wanted to add that I bought a Kaplan course and decided not use the books. However, their online resources and customer service have been outstanding for me. I postponed by MCAT date due to family issues, and my online subscription expired. They gave me another 8 months for FREE.

Also, I have had no issues using their online resources and access to AAMC. It's been a big help. In fact I just finished doing some AAMC Self assessments through Kaplan.

I am not saying buy kaplan, but it's worked well for me so don't take this guys bad experience as an end all.
 
I had a very GOOD experience with Kapla's "On Demand" course and highly recommend it. n=1 but OP is not doing the Kaplan MCAT program justice at all.
 
Kaplan worked beautifully for me. AAMC tests were an important part of that though. I'm sorry you had trouble accessing the materials, hopefully they will give you a refund for that portion of the cost.
 
AdmAckbar said:
Just wanted to add that I bought a Kaplan course and decided not use the books. However, their online resources and customer service have been outstanding for me. I postponed by MCAT date due to family issues, and my online subscription expired. They gave me another 8 months for FREE.

Also, I have had no issues using their online resources and access to AAMC. It's been a big help. In fact I just finished doing some AAMC Self assessments through Kaplan.

I am not saying buy kaplan, but it's worked well for me so don't take this guys bad experience as an end all.
Click to expand...

That's basically what I used my Kaplan course for. I luckily got it for half price (still an outrageous amount of money though) and thought the lectures and books were useless, but I went through a TON of practice questions, sections, and CBT full lengths with the Kaplan online material, in addition to all the AAMC practice tests. That might not have been worth $1000, but the course was not an absolute waste.
 
AdmAckbar said:
Just wanted to add that I bought a Kaplan course and decided not use the books. However, their online resources and customer service have been outstanding for me. I postponed by MCAT date due to family issues, and my online subscription expired. They gave me another 8 months for FREE.

Also, I have had no issues using their online resources and access to AAMC. It's been a big help. In fact I just finished doing some AAMC Self assessments through Kaplan.

I am not saying buy kaplan, but it's worked well for me so don't take this guys bad experience as an end all.
Click to expand...


You didn't run in to a problem with kaplan thats why you're saying this. But I am sure you would demand a full refund ad made a pretty big deal out of this if such a case would have happened to you.
I am saying their customer care sucks and they don't communicate well in their own system. They don't care about their students cuz if they had, my problem would have been solved 3 months ago!
 
Agent B said:
1. What you did was an unnecessary waste of time, when you could've use that time for MCAT Prep.
2. Registering for a prep course wasn't a wise move: you willingly decided to be ripped off.
3. You didn't even follow the Sn2ed method or similar approach.

Sorry, we can't help you here. The problem rested in your actions, not Kaplan.
Click to expand...

👎thumbdown👎thumbdown👎thumbdown

1.) You can be on hold on a phone and study at the same time... Also, if you pay thousands of dollars for a service, I'd imagine you'd be adamant about getting the proper service. That wasn't a waste of time.

2.) Some people need prep courses; some don't.

3.) That's an elitist thing to say. The Sn2ed plan and derivatives are definitely great ways to study, but you can't chastise someone for studying a different way.

Don't be mean.
 
sakabato93 said:
👎thumbdown👎thumbdown👎thumbdown

1.) You can be on hold on a phone and study at the same time... Also, if you pay thousands of dollars for a service, I'd imagine you'd be adamant about getting the proper service. That wasn't a waste of time.

2.) Some people need prep courses; some don't.

3.) That's an elitist thing to say. The Sn2ed plan and derivatives are definitely great ways to study, but you can't chastise someone for studying a different way.

Don't be mean.
Click to expand...

I'm not being mean, but realistic here. OP admitted to wasting his time and being distracted over the whole Kaplan incident, when he could've registered separately (unfortunately costing more than expected) for the AAMC practice tests. Spending 100 hours over this issue is a distraction and a waste of time (and inefficient studying).

The Sn2ed approach reflects from the self-study approach in #2 (i.e. minimizing the costs of prep courses). Sure, the OP needs structure no doubt, and he doesn't seem to have a problem in blowing out cash for the prep course. He could've resolved the problem easily by purchasing the AAMC practice tests separately. Hence, despite Kaplan's "error", OP shares much of the blame here in this case.

OP's story yet proves my point otherwise that prep courses are simply rip offs, and self-study is the best way to go.
 
I still don't understand why people spend so much money on a class for reviewing material that you have already seen once before. This goes for MCAT and step 1.
 
It's a good tool to keep you on track with your studying if you find self-motivation and scheduling difficult. I think I could've done a bit better on mine if I'd had someone structuring all of the information I needed to learn, but I'm also $2000 richer, so there's that. To each his own.
 
arish said:
You didn't run in to a problem with kaplan thats why you're saying this. But I am sure you would demand a full refund ad made a pretty big deal out of this if such a case would have happened to you.
I am saying their customer care sucks and they don't communicate well in their own system. They don't care about their students cuz if they had, my problem would have been solved 3 months ago!
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about this, but it sounds more like an individual issue. Kaplan is a highly successful company, and their customer service is supposed to be some of the best out there, as a number of people have already mentioned. Also, since no one else is reporting having this problem, then I'm sorry to say it but it sounds like a User Interface Problem (aka you). It's an identical online website all students are allowed to access, and if your identical website isn't working while everyone else's is... Hmm. I know many people who took the class this spring, and I never heard that they had issued with the online content. Actually, it was the opposite. They LOVED the online material, practice questions, Kaplan tests, AAMC tests, etc. Maybe you should ask a classmate (since you presumably don't trust Kaplan at this point) for help. Truth hurts. They probably have 5,000+ students enrolled in their classes right now, and all of them are using the same website without apparent flaw. Sorry bud.
 
Agent B said:
I'm not being mean, but realistic here. OP admitted to wasting his time and being distracted over the whole Kaplan incident, when he could've registered separately (unfortunately costing more than expected) for the AAMC practice tests. Spending 100 hours over this issue is a distraction and a waste of time (and inefficient studying).

The Sn2ed approach reflects from the self-study approach in #2 (i.e. minimizing the costs of prep courses). Sure, the OP needs structure no doubt, and he doesn't seem to have a problem in blowing out cash for the prep course. He could've resolved the problem easily by purchasing the AAMC practice tests separately. Hence, despite Kaplan's "error", OP shares much of the blame here in this case.

OP's story yet proves my point otherwise that prep courses are simply rip offs, and self-study is the best way to go.
Click to expand...

I don't really follow your logic at all... OP wanted to take an MCAT review course because he thought it would be helpful, and when he doesn't get what he paid good money for you say it's his fault since he didn't use a study method that was posted online? How is there any connection between those things? Kaplan is obviously in the wrong here, and it has negatively effected OPs very valuable study time. He has every right to complain.
 
Arbor Vitae said:
I don't know why people think they need these courses, most of the instructors are your peers, such a scam
Click to expand...

+1
I took a Kaplan course and my "instructor" was a senior in college. What made him "qualified" to be an instructor? He had already taken the MCAT and scored well. That's it. If you're paying $2000, you want someone who at least has some teaching experience. $2k for someone who is basically in your same shoes applying to med school but he did well on the MCAT?? Just because you can test well doesn't mean you should be teaching it.
👎 to Kaplan.
 
Agent B said:
1. What you did was an unnecessary waste of time, when you could've use that time for MCAT Prep.
2. Registering for a prep course wasn't a wise move: you willingly decided to be ripped off.
3. You didn't even follow the Sn2ed method or similar approach.

Sorry, we can't help you here. The problem rested in your actions, not Kaplan.
Click to expand...

Get off your high horse.

OP, if they reset your account and you can now access all the material, just move on and forget about what was lost. It sucks, but this won't be the last time something doesn't go your way. Do your best to forget about it and work through all the other material. You can do it.
 
I just did the kaplan online resources and it helped me a bunch. Never had a problem and it increased my score by 10 points from my diagnostic test...just like they said they would. I could have scored higher if I had postponed by test another couple of months and used their resources more.

I took the course a couple of years before actually taking the exam and it was horrible. I was going to take the test right after the course but it did nothing for me. The instructor was awful and people kept interrupting with their stupid questions. Other idiots wanted to show the class how smart they were by answering everything with a long ass answer and delaying the class. Just do the online resources and study on your own plan and that should be good enough.
 
I have yet to take the MCAT but I've been impressed with Kaplan's On Demand service. Tons of questions and tests. They've extended my subscription twice for free. I have had no problem accessing the AMAC tests either. Sounds like a personal problem.
 
Ismet said:
Wth dude. Didn't know that absolutely perfect US standard grammar, syntax, and language was a requirement for posting on SDN. 🙄
Click to expand...

Haha... I'm pointing out a first grade level grammatical error, not obsessing over the improper use of a pronoun in a relative clause. I think there's a pretty big difference in scope between the two.

Edit: but I'll tone down my inner grammar nazi. The dollar sign thing is just a big pet peeve of mine.
 
BuddyTheElf said:
+1
I took a Kaplan course and my "instructor" was a senior in college. What made him "qualified" to be an instructor? He had already taken the MCAT and scored well. That's it. If you're paying $2000, you want someone who at least has some teaching experience. $2k for someone who is basically in your same shoes applying to med school but he did well on the MCAT?? Just because you can test well doesn't mean you should be teaching it.
👎 to Kaplan.
Click to expand...

You clearly haven't spent much time thinking this through. From what I read it pays decent (only when teaching though, any out of class time is minimum wage). Classes are 3 hours each, twice a week, and sometimes ridiculous times of the day. Those teachers are definitely not juggling 6-7 courses (12-14 classes/week) just to get a full-time hours.

Who do you expect to teach it? You're not going to get some "professional teacher" with an education degree who's gone through years of teacher schooling to teach for Kaplan. Let's not forget education majors do not have the science background to teach the MCAT. Medical students certainly don't have the time. Many college grads, including the ones who have teaching experience, don't have the science knowledge to teach. Who are you left with? People who are intelligent and trying to make extra money on the side with a 10 hr/wk job that can work around their actual job or classes they're taking.

You're expecting someone with teaching experience to work max 25 hr/wk for average pay and minimal benefits? You think there are hundreds of qualified individuals vying for a hallowed role as a Kaplan MCAT instructor? Get your head out of your butt and maybe you'll remember how to use it.

These classes are clearly designed for 3 types of individuals: (A) non-trad students who would prefer someone to reeducate them, in person, the science concepts they learned a 5-10 years ago; (B) students who are poor test takers and need help learning testing strategies; and (C) students who have poor motivation/organization and desire a forced, structured environment.

If you take the course and you're not in any of those groups, I bet you'll be disappointed. That's because the course ISN'T DESIGNED FOR YOU. Stop being pissy and start using that brain of yours. I'm sure it's in there somewhere.
 
Agent B said:
1. What you did was an unnecessary waste of time, when you could've use that time for MCAT Prep.
2. Registering for a prep course wasn't a wise move: you willingly decided to be ripped off.
3. You didn't even follow the Sn2ed method or similar approach.

Sorry, we can't help you here. The problem rested in your actions, not Kaplan.
Click to expand...

Dude, seriously? Do you realize how elitist you sound by saying that? I followed sn2 plan, but I also realize and know people who did not, who took a course online, and did just as well if not better. Your claim that 'just because he didn't follow sn2's' plan just makes you sound really ignorant -_-
 
Am I the only one who liked the Kaplan course materials? I didn't like the classes, but they gave plenty of questions to play around with like their Q bank and all that.
 
Anathema said:
Am I the only one who liked the Kaplan course materials? I didn't like the classes, but they gave plenty of questions to play around with like their Q bank and all that.
Click to expand...

I think the AAMC exams were a much better representation of the exam than the Kaplan practice exams.
 
Anathema said:
Am I the only one who liked the Kaplan course materials? I didn't like the classes, but they gave plenty of questions to play around with like their Q bank and all that.
Click to expand...

No you're not. I thought Kaplan did a good job.

Edit: OP have you tried going to a Kaplan classroom and talking to someone in person? I don't know if there is one near you.
 
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