what do we think of kaplan classes

[hockeydentist]

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I want to get an opinnion on the kaplan class. is it worth it or not.

I took the DAT in July and it was not good.

I studied the Kaplan books
including the Blue kaplan book
the white kaplan book that comes with the class
I took the topscore TESTs
BARons test as well as studied the barons book
I made did flashcards for all the subjects and studied those aswell.
I studied the GRE math workbook for the math.
I did the two online tests at Kaplan.
I studied 2-3 hours a day for 2.5 months.

I have heard a lot of praise on the testkrackers, are they good is that worth the investment and addition to my library of DAT prep stuff.

any adivce would be appreciated

 

[marshall]

The dat is memorization except for PAT. I took the Kaplan class and thought it was a waste. My girlfriend teaches DAT (among others like MCAT, etc) and she thinks it's stupid. It seems like you studied a lot maybe you can figure out what you did right and wrong and focus on that.

If you like classroom learning then it's probably the best bet. Personally I hate it.

 

[rsweeney]

BOO Kaplan

 

[rsweeney]

The class that is😀

 

[Grumpy Bear]

The problem is that Kaplan doesn't really invest as much in keeping the DAT materials up to date and test realistic as it should. Kaplan has a lot of content available, but doesn't really help you sift through to find the most important ideas. Since the DAT is so heavily focused on memorization, you can probably learn most of it by brute force, but it's a shame that a huge test prep company that gets lots of money from you can't be more helpful.
I would say that Kaplan is most lacking in the PAT secton, an area that most people need most guidance in. Their strategies are frustratingly simplistic (and often seem irrelevant to the task at hand) and I've heard that their test materials are much easier than on the actual DAT.
The classroom aspect is, in most cases, fairly inadequate. At most centers, you will get an MCAT teacher with extra time on his or her hands. While an MCAT teacher is probably fairly well versed on some of the content, they may not be as much of an expert on some of the DAT-specific material, such as non-human bio material and all of PAT. In addition, they often have little insight about the administration of the test itself, having never taken it.
The main advantage to kaplan is the amount of material offered, and any motivation you can glean from going to class on a semi-regular basis. It's hard to get a hold of that quantity of materials otherwise, and since it's pretty important to get lots of practice, the training library is a good asset.

 

[cgt3477]

more posts on this topic can be found at:

http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=689811#post689811

 

[Mangocat]

I took a Kaplan class, and found that the material I could have learned on my own. My class was not that helpful. The positive thing about Kaplan is their resources for practice tests and workshops, although they are somewhat out of date. It was helpful for me though to take at least 3 or 4 full lenghts just from Kaplan on a computer. Hope this helps!

 

[drPheta]

It also depends on the teacher. A lot of teachers (as mentioned before) are MCAT teachers. So their knowledge of DAT material and the DAT itself is very limited. There are those teachers who actually do things beyond the book. They will sit with you and teach you "Kaplan strageties" as well as their own. Those are the classes that will help you out.

Before shelling out your money, sit in a class for 20 or so minutes. Figure out if this teacher is really gonna help you out. Also, sit in on random classes...not just lesson 1 or 2...this way you can tell if this guy/gal is consistent. Otherwise, spend your money on the materials only, and perhaps access to the center. I'm sure you can negotiate with the center manager on that. Used Kaplan materials are very helpful...even if outdated. The topics and questions asked are still very similar.

My perspective...Most DAT teachers suck. But that doesn't mean that there aren't many good ones. In fact, there are many good ones.

BTW...I scored way higher on the real DAT than the Kaplan tests. So it's all relative as to which exams are harder. Cause I know people who bombed on the real DAT while spanking Kaplan tests.

 

[mcataz]

The problem isn't finding bright teachers at these centers. Kaplan always has some genius who scored in the 99% that teaches one or two classes per week. Granted, most of the teachers at these centers will be okay at best. But there is always that one teacher who the staff and former students know is great.

The problem is that you will rarely if ever get one on one time with these teachers. Kaplan knows this which is why the offer private tutoring at a signficantly higher cost. Any person can lecture for 3 hours. But lecturing won't help you. The one on one help is what will benefit you. Unfortunately, that $1000 doesn't cover private tutoring.

I enrolled in the MCAT class for TPR AND Kaplan a long time ago and this is exactly what happened. Our instructor was awesome. The problem is that every student fought for that teacher's attention. Everyone wants to score well. And everyone has a question that they worked on from the night before. You had to wait until you received help. It got irriitating.

And then you always have students who don't study outside of class. They feel that the class will do all the work for them. And they need to have their hand held on easy problems. So you have to sit through their problems as well.

In short, the course is useless because you are essentially paying for the lectures. I think the only reason people should invest in the course is if they aren't disciplined to study on their own. The guilt of paying over a grand for the course will motivate most people to study. And people will just go to the centers to use their materials.


You would be suprised though. There are a lot of people who enrolled in these programs and are itching to get rid of their materials. Not only do they consume a lot of space. They are probably worth as much as 1/3 of the course on the open market.