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I'm about to start a job teaching MCAT classes for Kaplan, and was wondering if anybody else out there was doing this (or for P-ton Review, I guess)? Is it a good job/worth it, etc? Thanks
teaching for Kaplan
- Thread starter Benjo
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my friend did the physics portion for berkeley review and its good cause he already graduated. it makes you decent money and as long as you are competent in your teaching skills and fun then the kids will like you. sure you will have that one guy that asks you the most insane questions but outside of that it will be a good experience.
but i assume if you are gonna start it you already know all this or else you wouldnt have taken the job.
plus you get the offer your special tutoring sessions to the singles that will be attending
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Go for it, its a great job for someone at school (low hours but high hourly wage). Its also nice to help influence fellow premeds about how to go about applying. I tell all my students about this site each time I teach.
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i used to teach for kaplan. i taught SAT, GRE, and MCAT physical science. overall, i enjoyed the experience and made some good money. i would reccommend it with the following disclaimer: although the MCAT paid a few dollars more per hour, i didn't really think it was worth it. pre-meds are just way too stressed out and are quick to challenge anything you tell them. think about how catty people can be on these forums and then imagine trying to teach a class of 20 of them. they ask obscure questions that aren't relevant to the test and then flame you for not knowing the answer. it just wasn't my scene. i liked the SAT and GRE classes better cause the students were more laid back.
I taught Kaplan's MCAT course for the August test and I'm teaching it again now. It's been worth the time so far, as long as you make sure to bill the maximum out-of-class hours. The students can be pretty needy, but I have really had a good time with my classes so far. If you have any questions let me know.
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I just passed an audition to teach @ Kaplan so my understanding is that I am in for training if I want to do it. They said the class that I'd be able to teach is in a city that is like an hour away, not considering winter driving... Don't really know why they auditioned me. Would they pay me for driving expenses, anyone know? I don't think I'm going to do it anyway, too much hassle.
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What would Kaplan or PR think if you were teaching MCAT and then decided to retake the MCAT yourself? I got 11 on some of the MCAT sections, but was thinking of retaking if I didn't get in this year to raise my verbal score. I would like to teach MCAT, but would that look bad if I retook the test at the same time? Also, is 11 a high enough score to teach?
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What do you have to do at the audition for Kaplan. I know that it is supposed to be a five minute interactive lecture on any topic, but what I wanted to know was what kind of topics people went over at their auditions.
DoctorWannaBe: The only problem that I can see with re-taking the test while you teach is explaining this to your students. As far as my experience with Kaplan, they mostly rely on student comments and evaluations, and the students will ask exactly what you got, if you are applying etc. As long as you seem like an authority to the students, it shouldn't matter. I think a 12 is 90th percentile for the April 2003 MCAT for Physical Sciences, which is what is required for Kaplan, but I've heard of them being a little flexible if you are a good teacher.
Xega: I auditioned a while ago, but I still remember many of the speeches. We had about 10-12 people auditioning (3 were cut), and they talked about everything from "What to pack for a backpacking trip to Europe" to "How to be a successful karaoke singer." I think the key is to show how you will be enthusiastic and will develop rapport with the class.
Xega: I auditioned a while ago, but I still remember many of the speeches. We had about 10-12 people auditioning (3 were cut), and they talked about everything from "What to pack for a backpacking trip to Europe" to "How to be a successful karaoke singer." I think the key is to show how you will be enthusiastic and will develop rapport with the class.
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First off, you are not allowed to tell students your score if you are teaching for Kaplan because it puts a limit into their minds as to how well they can do and Kaplan wants to avoid that. All you can say is that you got above the 90th percentile.
Also, if you are planning on taking the MCAT after you have taught the course, it would be considered a conflict of interest, don't you think? Think about it, you might see your students on test day and how would that look?
Also, if you are planning on taking the MCAT after you have taught the course, it would be considered a conflict of interest, don't you think? Think about it, you might see your students on test day and how would that look?
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Doctorwannabe:
As far as taking the MCAT while teaching the MCAT goes, the only thing that matters is whether or not you're qualified to teach. Since you aren't even required to take the official MCAT once to teach it (you can qualify through practice tests) I'd have to disagree that retaking would be a conflict of interets. An 11 gets you past the score screen to teach a section, however, you're on the low end so you must ask yourself if you think you are in fact qualified and how much work you want to put into prepping. Hell, if you spend alot of time prepping and teaching and really getting to know the material, you may well get good enough to get a really high score. Why on earth would you not retake the MCAT if you were confident you could vastly improve your score? 29+36 = 65 65/2 = 32.5
However, I certainly wouldn't tell people in class that you're retaking. I probably wouldn't tell the Kaplan people either. You only need prove yourself though you teaching skills.
As far as taking the MCAT while teaching the MCAT goes, the only thing that matters is whether or not you're qualified to teach. Since you aren't even required to take the official MCAT once to teach it (you can qualify through practice tests) I'd have to disagree that retaking would be a conflict of interets. An 11 gets you past the score screen to teach a section, however, you're on the low end so you must ask yourself if you think you are in fact qualified and how much work you want to put into prepping. Hell, if you spend alot of time prepping and teaching and really getting to know the material, you may well get good enough to get a really high score. Why on earth would you not retake the MCAT if you were confident you could vastly improve your score? 29+36 = 65 65/2 = 32.5
However, I certainly wouldn't tell people in class that you're retaking. I probably wouldn't tell the Kaplan people either. You only need prove yourself though you teaching skills.
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I am teaching MCAT prep for Kaplan, and I really like it, but I enjoy teaching in general. It can be high stress, and you'll never have all the answers to their questions at the ready, but the key is not to let the students fluster you. I've been an aerobics instructor for years, and nobody gets ripped apart worse than we do, so MCAT is relatively low stress in comparison. If someone asks me a left-field question, I just tell them it's not important to know for the test, or if it is something relevant I tell them I'm not 100% sure, so I'll check and get back to them. As long as you say it with authority, they'll generally let it go after that.
As for not being allowed to disclose our test scores, I don't think Kaplan has a formal rule against it. In training we weren't specifically forbidden to do so, but we did discuss why it's generally better not to.
As for not being allowed to disclose our test scores, I don't think Kaplan has a formal rule against it. In training we weren't specifically forbidden to do so, but we did discuss why it's generally better not to.
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I taught while I was studying for my first scored MCAT (I had taken one and voided). I was honest with my students about it and it didn't seem to bother them at all; they understood exactly why I was doing it, and I knew the material well enough that they didn't have any problems with my teaching.
I teach the MCAT at a Kaplan center. I'm a generalist, which means that I teach all of the subjects on the MCAT. I think it's a great job. The pay is excellent, and the interaction with students is a lot of fun.
In regards to the announcement of actual scores on the MCAT, teachers at my center are encouraged to do so. When I introduce myself to a class, I ALWAYS reveal my overall score. The rationale for this disclosure is simple: high scores open doors. When students see that their instructor has earned a top score on the MCAT, they are more inclined to trust him/her and, more importantly, ask the instructor for help. Credibility is very important.
In regards to the announcement of actual scores on the MCAT, teachers at my center are encouraged to do so. When I introduce myself to a class, I ALWAYS reveal my overall score. The rationale for this disclosure is simple: high scores open doors. When students see that their instructor has earned a top score on the MCAT, they are more inclined to trust him/her and, more importantly, ask the instructor for help. Credibility is very important.
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I am a Kaplan mcat teacher as well as the mcat teacher trainer (i train the incoming mcat teachers) at my center. To answer a few questions:
If your score qualifies (>90th percentile) you'll be invited for an audition. The audition is a five minute presentation on any topic that's not test prep related. It doesn't even have to be academic in nature. In fact, the more successful auditions are usually not academic at all. If you pass the audition, you'll be invited back for 5 weeks of training (one night a week for about 4 hours). Depending on the center, you may teach as a generalist ( all of the sections) or you may be a specialist (either bio sci, physical sci or verbal). So even if your overall score isn't in the 90th percentile but one or two of your section scores are, you can still qualify to teach as a specialist.
About revealing scores to students, we discourage it at our center. One reason is because we want students to set their own goals for their score and we don't want their expectations to be influenced by their teacher's score. Also, since we have many teachers who are specialists, it's possible that their overall score was not absolutely stellar, but they did really well in the one section that they're teaching. If students hear about the not so stellar overall score, that might reduce the teacher's credibility in the students' eyes.
If your score qualifies (>90th percentile) you'll be invited for an audition. The audition is a five minute presentation on any topic that's not test prep related. It doesn't even have to be academic in nature. In fact, the more successful auditions are usually not academic at all. If you pass the audition, you'll be invited back for 5 weeks of training (one night a week for about 4 hours). Depending on the center, you may teach as a generalist ( all of the sections) or you may be a specialist (either bio sci, physical sci or verbal). So even if your overall score isn't in the 90th percentile but one or two of your section scores are, you can still qualify to teach as a specialist.
About revealing scores to students, we discourage it at our center. One reason is because we want students to set their own goals for their score and we don't want their expectations to be influenced by their teacher's score. Also, since we have many teachers who are specialists, it's possible that their overall score was not absolutely stellar, but they did really well in the one section that they're teaching. If students hear about the not so stellar overall score, that might reduce the teacher's credibility in the students' eyes.
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I took Kaplan as a premed and taught for PR. I taught for five years, all through medical school.
I was certified in all sections for MCAT though I eventually, through seniority, stopped teaching physics. My specialty became g-chem/o-chem/verbal but I also taught biology and essay.
Don't do it unless you love to teach and make sure you are well prepared.
I was certified in all sections for MCAT though I eventually, through seniority, stopped teaching physics. My specialty became g-chem/o-chem/verbal but I also taught biology and essay.
Don't do it unless you love to teach and make sure you are well prepared.
