Should I Retake Kaplan?

[crzynikki]

I took the Kaplan MCAT course last year during my junior year. I was so busy with things that I didn't do the homeworks, could hardly stay awake in class, used the library less than 5 times, and went to only one of the end-of- the-course practice full-length exams. I took the real thing last August and got a 25Q (8BS, 7PS, 10V).
If I retook the course now (I will have a lot of free time) and put a super-effort into it (doing all the homeworks, paying attention at the lectures, living in the library, etc.) do you think I can pull my score up 5 points or more? I'm debating whether or not to spend the money again, but if I can bring my score up then I'll gladly do it. What do you guys think? Has anyone been in this situation before? (By the way, I recently went to one of the free Kaplan practice exams, the 4hr ones, and got a 26 on it). Should I go with Princeton the second time around (I hear they have some improvement gaurantee or something)? Please, everyone! I need advice! Thank you!

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[jhk43]

I took the Kaplan MCAT course last year during my junior year. I was so busy with things that I didn't do the homeworks, could hardly stay awake in class, used the library less than 5 times, and went to only one of the end-of- the-course practice full-length exams. I took the real thing last August and got a 25Q (8BS, 7PS, 10V).
If I retook the course now (I will have a lot of free time) and put a super-effort into it (doing all the homeworks, paying attention at the lectures, living in the library, etc.) do you think I can pull my score up 5 points or more? I'm debating whether or not to spend the money again, but if I can bring my score up then I'll gladly do it. What do you guys think? Has anyone been in this situation before? (By the way, I recently went to one of the free Kaplan practice exams, the 4hr ones, and got a 26 on it). Should I go with Princeton the second time around (I hear they have some improvement gaurantee or something)? Please, everyone! I need advice! Thank you!

not worth it. just study it yourself.

 

[crzynikki]

Thanks, jhk43! Anybody else have advice?

 

[Jonathan13180]

I have to agree...not worth it. If you have the books, and you can get ahold of practice exams, problems, etc. i suggest doing that. Plus, youve already sat through the lectures once, and repeating that is a waste of time at this point, youre better off spending your time just doing problems...I took Kaplan, and i had an awful experience with it (teacher), but im finding just studying on my own, doing problems is much better. If anything, take ExamKrackers. Goodluck.

 

[CanIMakeIt]

It is upto you .... will you feel more confident after sitting thru' the classes again then do it ..... in my opinion the only useful thing was their books and proctered exams. You will find a plenty of material after the results of this MCAT is out and if you are sincere enough, you can time ur own exams...... so I would say don't throw ur money .... use to to apply to more schools and buy AAMC material...........
You already have a 26 on their Diag., so u r on a right track.....get practice material and practice like there is no tomorrow for at least 1 month before the real deal......

 

[Wahooali]

Hey there!

I was in almost the same situation. I'll give you a quick overview before addressing your question: took Kaplan Summer 2002 to prepare for the August MCAT. I worked my you know what off and utilized everything Kaplan had to offer, but still just was not ready for the exam (maturity, didn't prepare properly, etc. etc.), fully aware of this, I went in to it on test day very nervous, freaked out, and bombed it. I am taking it again this April (hopefully to a much better outcome than before).

I had the same decision to make as you, whether or not to retake Kaplan, try another Prep Course, or prepare on my own. Since, I could not imagine trying to prepare on my own, and since you already did Kaplan, you can retake the Kaplan Course at a discounted rate, so I opted to do Kaplan again. Now that I am about to take the MCAT again, looking back I would NOT have retaken the course again and just prepared on my own. You already have the books and notes which are vital. You've already studied the material once and attended lectures, and I found that is comes back to you pretty quickly once you start reviewing. You can also use the mone you save on the course to purchase a lot of other great practice materials (ExamKrackers, AAMC tests, etc.) to supplement your old Kaplan materials.

So, coming from someone who was in your shoes and opted to retake the course, it was not worth it for me. Just my $0.02.

 

[willthatsall]

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing about the discounted rate because I know Kaplan has one. Do you know exactly what the discounted rate is, Wahooali?

 

[Wahooali]

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing about the discounted rate because I know Kaplan has one. Do you know exactly what the discounted rate is, Wahooali?

When I signed up it was $400 + cost of books if they came out with a new edition of the Kaplan books since you took it last in order to retake the course (and that is not qualifying for the higher score guarantee because I did perform better than my diagnostic). But call Kaplan and talk to them about it if you still want to take it again.

 

[willthatsall]

Yeah, and if you think about what it would cost to buy another set of books and the practice tests and all the other resources Kaplan provides, you are probably better off paying to take Kaplan again than going out and doing it on your own.

 

[IndyZX]

If you took the Kaplan diagnostic and scored a 26, it sounds like you're already on your way to a better score if you put in some hard work between now and August. Good luck.

 

[crzynikki]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I'll call up the Kaplan center and see what kind of discount I'd get...if it still costs too much, I'll study on my own. I just really want to make the second time I take the test my last.

 

[Doc Martins]

Kaplan has some sort of guarantee that you can have access to all the materials if you are not satisfied with your grade. (At least I believe so). I took Kaplan for the MCAT that I'm taking on Saturday, and if I get a poor score, I am definitely going to request access to all Kaplan materials to use before the August test.

I wouldn't suggest going to the classes.. I don't see them helping much if you've already been through one round of them.

 

[Blade28]

Hmmm...when I took Kaplan, I think they had some kind of guarantee saying, "if you aren't satisfied with your score, you can take the course again for free"...or something like that.

If that's true, score! But if not, I'd just study on my own.

 

[Wahooali]

Hmmm...when I took Kaplan, I think they had some kind of guarantee saying, "if you aren't satisfied with your score, you can take the course again for free"...or something like that.

If that's true, score! But if not, I'd just study on my own.

That is true, however, in order to qualify for that you have to attended almost every lecture and practice test, done all of the homework, and still not have performed better than your initial diagnostic score.

 

[vegangirl]

Originally Posted by Blade28
Hmmm...when I took Kaplan, I think they had some kind of guarantee saying, "if you aren't satisfied with your score, you can take the course again for free"...or something like that.

If that's true, score! But if not, I'd just study on my own.


I also think you have to sign up within 3 months of when you finished the kaplan course, but I could be wrong.

 

[theringworm]

If I had it to do all over again, I would not take a prep course. Talk about total waste of time. I scored 6 pts better studying on my own than what I scored when going to Kaplan. And yes, I went to and did every single thing Kaplan suggested. All the homework assignments, 6-7 full length practice exams. I did it all. What worked best for me was using all of the books, esp. Exam Krackers, and studying on my own. I highly recommend it. Good luck.

 

[DrSmiles]

I was in the exact same situation- too much going on, I took Kaplan, hardly did any tests, didn't go to lectures (which I thought sucked anyway)- just because someone smokes the MCAT doesn't mean they know how to come in and teach someone else how to review. Kaplan was a total waste of money. On the other hand, their review for medical licensing boards is awesome. They fly qualified professors in from all over and they really make good use of your time.
Anyway, getting back to what I did the second time around, I took the Princeton Review. One of the things I hated about Kaplan was that I had to use their center (which was 1/2 hour from my house) to do practice exams. Plus they made you use dry erase markers and tests covered in plastic, which was messy and cumbersome. I really liked Princeton Review. They gave you a ton of practice material to take home. I think the best way to succeed on the MCAT is to do lots and lots of practice questions.

 

[crzynikki]

Once again, thanks everyone! I saw an old friend of mine today and she's retaking Kaplan...I'm definitely going to call Kaplan and find out about the cost.