Should I take Kaplan DAT course?

[mambo22]

Kaplan recently posted the dates for a summer course close to home. I'm now in the debate of whether or not to take the course. I've read your posts that say Kaplan is a waste of time and money..and have found few positive comments. But since I'll be studying the whole summer for the exam, I feel like the course will give me some structure to keep me in gear and help me not slack off. I really want to rock this test, and I am willing to do whatever will help me. If you've had experience with the course, please give me your feedback. Thanks!

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[KSDDS]

I took the Kaplan online class and I thought the materials and practice tests were great. I've heard a lot of people say the class room class is only good if you get a really good instructor - otherwise its a waste. The online class is still expensive, but I felt the materials they provided really helped me. If you've got some extra money and you feel you need the extra structure of a class, then go ahead and take the class. At the very least you get some good study materials and practice tests out of it.

That being said, you can really do it on your own with other resources like the Kaplan blue book, Topscore Pro DAT, Schaum's outlines, and DAT Destroyer. If you can work on your own, save some money and get some of these study guides and dedicate yourself to studying and skip the class.

 

[Christine Kao]

I have not taken the course, but I can assure you that good study habits are much more valuable than a course which costs several hundred dollars.

Don't pay for your own lack of discipline. You have already paid your university to teach you the material; I see no reason to pay Kaplan as well. Now, your goal is to review this material. You can buy the Kaplan book, which from my experience is a good predictor of DAT questions. I strongly suggest using it.

With this book, you will be reviewing the same material that Kaplan will teach you. What is the only remaining difference? With the course, you will be paying someone to tell you to study. I really don't think it's worth the money. Furthermore, you are not forced to devote specific amounts of time to particular topics; with your own schedule, you are free to allocate your time and money to study your weak points.

While I studied for the DAT, I worked full time. I studied evenings and weekends, translating into about 30 days of available study time in four months. With a disciplined study schedule, I scored 21 in Academic Average and PAT.

There were several new topics I had to learn all by myself. Perhaps, for some people, there is so much unfamiliar material that trying to learn by themselves would be counterproductive. In those cases, I would suggest the Kaplan course, which would be akin to paying a university to teach. For me, that was not the case.

If you are also familiar with most of the material in the Kaplan book but simply need a review, the course may not be worth it.

 

[Christine Kao]

oh hey...I didn't mean to imply you weren't disciplined. Sorry if it sounded that way!

I'm just saying if you are focused, it might save you money in the end.

 

[koochooloo]

exactly..i agree w/ kao..the only thing kaplan helps you do is force you to study...i wouldn't pay ~1000 bucks for that...unless you know you absolutely cannot do that on your own but i'm sure you can

 

[mambo22]

Thank you for your comments! They are all very helpful.

 

[Divineimpetus]

Take the Kaplan course. The hardest part about studying for the DAT was trying to stay focus and the best way of doing that is being with people who are focused on the same things you are. The Kaplan centers create that environment and I think SDN does a great job of supporting that environment but can't be a substitute. I understand it costs over a thousand dollars to take the Kaplan prep course, but it's much better to nip that test in the butt the first time than have to retake it. For example, one of my good friends has a great GPA (3.8), great letters, speaks spanish fluently (2 years missionary), and is very mature but did not have the test scores to even get a foot in the door at dental schools this year. Now that same great applicant has to wait a whole year to reapply. That's a hundred-thousand dollar opportunity cost (the year lost not working as a dentist.)

Be aware, some of the smartest people applying for dental school read and write on these forums. Although they are great people, they are not the average student applying for dental school, so there advice is not for the average student. So ask yourself before taking advice on these forums - Are you an average student or are you a gunner?

 

[slashnroses19]

i have topscore, destroyer and all the kaplan materials from a friend. what i do is just milk the free kaplan events. they offer free exams every 2 weeks and i just take those. i'm getting 17's and 18's after 3 weeks of studying. if you still want structure you could always take the princeton review; its cheaper.

 

[trent]

I say if you can find the $1000, take it. It's not like taking the course would hurt, it could only help you. I see it as a decision of how to spend your time and money. I think it's nice to have the structure to keep you on track with your studying. I find some financial value in that.

 

[styler5555]

I took the kaplan online course and found the books, practice tests, etc. very helpful but the course for $1000 is a waste of money. The online lectures were also a pain to use.....but I can't comment on the classroom course.

To be honest, it all depends on what your background is....if you were a bio major and have a good chem. background, then the kaplan course wouldn't be as much help to you. If you have a weak background or feel rusty, it may be a good program to get you going. IMO, as a bio major w/ what I consider a strong science background, the course materials were a great review, but the videos and rest of course weren't worth the $1000....

and by the way, it's easy to find the course material online if you search. You can easily buy all the course material and practice tests for relatively cheap, if not free with some patience. The blue book sells at any bookstore, but try ebay and get the courses white book....little more detailed plus questions.

PM me if you need any other info...I took the course and DAT last summer and would be more than happy to answer any questions....

 

[Law0830]

Hey i took the Kaplan DAT course and honestly it was a waste of time and money as logn as you have their materials you have the same advantage as someone that took the course. Good Luck

 

[siba]

I took the kaplan online course and found the books, practice tests, etc. very helpful but the course for $1000 is a waste of money. The online lectures were also a pain to use.....but I can't comment on the classroom course.

To be honest, it all depends on what your background is....if you were a bio major and have a good chem. background, then the kaplan course wouldn't be as much help to you. If you have a weak background or feel rusty, it may be a good program to get you going. IMO, as a bio major w/ what I consider a strong science background, the course materials were a great review, but the videos and rest of course weren't worth the $1000....

and by the way, it's easy to find the course material online if you search. You can easily buy all the course material and practice tests for relatively cheap, if not free with some patience. The blue book sells at any bookstore, but try ebay and get the courses white book....little more detailed plus questions.

PM me if you need any other info...I took the course and DAT last summer and would be more than happy to answer any questions....

Hi! I got a question! I'm 2nd year pre-dent and is gonna finish w/ basic science on DAT before summer. I plan to take DAT within...8 weeks...this summer and take it in August. Do you think Kaplan will be helpful for me? Could you give me any advise on how to structure my time in order to do my best on it? Or do you think I should wait till my 3rd year or later b/c I won't be applying in two year. THANKS a lot! I'd love to hear other comments and advise too!

 

[burton117]

After taking the class, I would recommend just taking the online course as the videos online are decent and the classes weren't that great.

In retrospect, the only reason I should have taken the Kaplan Class instead of the online course would be if the instructor personally was known to actually take the DAT, rocked it, and had just as many tips and tricks (if not more) than SDN, Destroyer, Achiever and Topscore combined. IF this instructor had these tips and was willing to mentor you, answer your questions by phone anytime, and essentially hold your hand and walk you through the DAT prep, then it would be worth it... The classroom component was wasted time in my opinion. The online tools were quite valuable though, I thought. All the practice tests helped quite a bit, although you get two or three more practice tests with the class showing up on the online syllabus.

My instructor was a caribbean med student graduate MCAT teacher currently in residency - why she was teaching - I have no idea. She didn't know some pretty basic stuff like your brain can run on ketones during ketoacidosis and that gulcose isn't the ONLY source of fuel for the brain. (Ketones being the one exception - Physiology 101). My PAT teacher was awesome though as he was the only actual pre-dental student I had as an instructor. He had some good tips and was pretty motivating! Anyway, that was my experience with the instructors, but the advice I gave above about the Kaplan Classroom would still apply regardless of instructor.

 

[medlife]

She didn't know some pretty basic stuff like your brain can run on ketones during ketoacidosis and that gulcose isn't the ONLY source of fuel for the brain. (Ketones being the one exception - Physiology 101).

The DAT covers general biology, not physiology. Why are you asking her about material not covered on the exam? It's not basic if it's not covered.

 

[dds_sdc]

The DAT covers general biology, not physiology. Why are you asking her about material not covered on the exam? It's not basic if it's not covered.

doesn't general biology cover or atleast a brief overview of all the different types of bio, micro, cell, physio, etc.

atleast thats how my general bio class was done.

 

[burton117]

The DAT covers general biology, not physiology. Why are you asking her about material not covered on the exam? It's not basic if it's not covered.

the point is that she didn't even know basic stuff that someone in her position should have known.

In this case, a MD should have known this basic physiology.. What she was doing teaching a Kaplan class I have no idea...

 

[Toothygirl39]

When others warned me about Kaplan, I didn't listen. I decided to give them a chance anyway because of their higher score guarantee or money back policy. I did not get the scores that I wanted at all, and when I called Kaplan to ask for my money back, I was rejected immediately. I was told that I would need to be qualified in a few things before they would consider refunding the money. My problem with Kaplan is that they didn't bother to inform me on this before??? There was no small prints anywhere. I am beyond disappointed in Kaplan. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that maybe they would do the right thing, but I should have known better than to believe your "guarantee".
Kaplan- If you make a promise to others, the decent thing to do is to honor it. When you are deceiving others, it brings the integrity/value of your company down. I will make sure that I spread my horrible experience to others as much as I can because your company deserves it. SHAME ON YOU, KAPLAN!!!!!

 

[predentalgirl]

See my stats, and my DAT.
I got that without Kaplan.

I feel like Chad does a really really good job hitting on main key things that you WILL see on the DAT. Like replica questions.
And DAT Bootcamp.

My friend wasn't even in school for a semester, took the Kaplan class course and said the it wasn't worth it.

I self-studied, and got the same AA as her.

I feel it is in yourself to make the score you want.

So I say don't do it!

Up to you though!

 

[TN-predent]

When others warned me about Kaplan, I didn't listen. I decided to give them a chance anyway because of their higher score guarantee or money back policy. I did not get the scores that I wanted at all, and when I called Kaplan to ask for my money back, I was rejected immediately. I was told that I would need to be qualified in a few things before they would consider refunding the money. My problem with Kaplan is that they didn't bother to inform me on this before??? There was no small prints anywhere. I am beyond disappointed in Kaplan. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that maybe they would do the right thing, but I should have known better than to believe your "guarantee".
Kaplan- If you make a promise to others, the decent thing to do is to honor it. When you are deceiving others, it brings the integrity/value of your company down. I will make sure that I spread my horrible experience to others as much as I can because your company deserves it. SHAME ON YOU, KAPLAN!!!!!

I am so sorry that happened to you. I too took a Kaplan course. I did get the refund, but it was because I cancelled before the course even ended. My instructor clearly didn't know much about the DAT. He kept referring to it as the "MCAT." When the people in my class talked about the PAT, he didn't know what was going on. He later told us that he had applied to medical school... He also cancelled three of our class sessions -- and I was commuting an hour and a half to attend the course. When we called with these complaints, they had no choice but to allow a full refund. Again, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. The customer service for me was great, but my teacher just was sub-par.

To the original poster: NOOOOO Kaplan for the DAT. Their guarantees are enticing, but its not worth $1200-1400. It's extremely surface level (for example, we spent maybe 2.5 minutes on colligative properties in General Chemistry -- and that's a guaranteed question or two on the DAT). My best studying was on my own, Chad, and Destroyer.