Why test prep companies cant provide better intructors?

[Creightonite]

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I have a horrible experience with Kaplan instructors here in Nebraska. Those people are not even remotedly qualified to teach. I think for $1600-1700 tuition for 2 month (almost like college tuition btw, they could provide us with much better intructors). I stopped going to class and just do their online prep. Our Physics instructor never finished any of the solutions on the board and completely lost herself in an accelerating elevator problem that she decided to bring up in class. The funny thing is that the instructors made a lot of mistakes when answering questions and tend to agree with the class without thinking. This issue is not with only Kaplan, but also with other test prep companies. Why none can come up with something better?

 

[medking]

The Berkeley Review over here in cali was awesome. We had great instructors. Science is a really strong point but verbal is a little weak. Overall great. I would totally recommend their review course.

 

[artaxerxes]

Kaplan instructors are just people who've taken the test before and gotten good scores, doesn't make them good teachers. Friend of mine is going to be a GMAT instructor, and I pity the fools who are being taught by him.
There really isn't anyway to solve this as extensive training would be too expensive and unsuitable for most kaplan instructor types (med students, grad students, post undergrads) who are not looking for a long term career in teaching.

If I did well on my MCAT, I might become an instructor for the extra money, and I would pity the fools that take my class🙁

 

[Schaden Freud]

Many reasons for this. Just a few off the top of my head...
-Gifted teachers tend to be teachers, not pre-meds.
-Anyone with 90th %ile scores is invited to audition, and the audition is by no means rigorous. Unless you're a complete wreck you'll most likely pass.
-Most Kaplan centers are desperate for MCAT teachers, so overlook faults.
-Teacher training is minimal.
-Most Kaplan teachers don't teach long enough to get good. Lotta newbies out there.
-Kaplan doesn't specialize people on areas of perceived strength and instead tries to get teachers to teach everything, even areas they're not comfortable in.
-Kaplan management really doesn't give a **** about the students.
-Once teachers start teaching, they really aren't evaluated except for the occasional observation. The teacher surveys are completely inaccurate because most students don't answer them- strong selection bias.
-Kaplan lessons are really poorly written and give the teacher no leeway.

I have a horrible experience with Kaplan instructors here in Nebraska. Those people are not even remotedly qualified to teach. I think for $1600-1700 tuition for 2 month (almost like college tuition btw, they could provide us with much better intructors). I stopped going to class and just do their online prep. Our Physics instructor never finished any of the solutions on the board and completely lost herself in an accelerating elevator problem that she decided to bring up in class. The funny thing is that the instructors made a lot of mistakes when answering questions and tend to agree with the class without thinking. This issue is not with only Kaplan, but also with other test prep companies. Why none can come up with something better?

 

[vicinihil]

I have a horrible experience with Kaplan instructors here in Nebraska. Those people are not even remotedly qualified to teach. I think for $1600-1700 tuition for 2 month (almost like college tuition btw, they could provide us with much better intructors). I stopped going to class and just do their online prep. Our Physics instructor never finished any of the solutions on the board and completely lost herself in an accelerating elevator problem that she decided to bring up in class. The funny thing is that the instructors made a lot of mistakes when answering questions and tend to agree with the class without thinking. This issue is not with only Kaplan, but also with other test prep companies. Why none can come up with something better?

Kaplan's methodology for teaching is interesting. They don't really do a whole lot of teaching because every teacher has the teacher manual off of which they just read.

I personally teach for Princeton Review and I feel that we are better trained (=20 hours of it) and we teach directly from the review books without any instruction of what to say. However, most teachers for MCATs teach it as a content test which isn't true. I had an instructor this weekend who didn't know ANYTHING (because he's not premed but an instructor for princeton review) for BS and got a 10 just purely from elimination and common sense.

So the quality of teachers don't just lie in what they know but how they know it. Strategy on the MCATs is just as important as knowledge.

Ofcourse you have those bad ones that actually do only writing and no actual talking, then you have those who bs their way through class. They suck and there's no doubt. But that's Kaplan...I've had the same classroom experience so I'd just use the online part. Princeton Review teaches a lot more and does a much better job on content. I mean we have 9 Bio classes....Kaplan has 3 so go figure.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

The Berkeley Review over here in cali was awesome. We had great instructors. Science is a really strong point but verbal is a little weak. Overall great. I would totally recommend their review course.

Thank you for the kind words MedKing. Our situation is unqiue in that we also get an absolutely wonderful class full of enthusiastic and good-hearted students. It is easy to teach our students, because they are smart, engaging, and just good human beings.

That said, being able to successfully teach MCAT classes comes only after years of teaching. Twenty hours of teacher training does not compare to thousands of classroom hours.

Over time, you learn what questions to anticipate and where students have a tendency to miss the concepts. You learn what questions they fear and how to alleviate those fears. You build an aresenal of clever mnemonics, visuals, test-taking strategies, and just plain good approaches to material.

If the teachers you complain about were to keep the job for five years, they would gradually become good at it. It's like anything really. If you want better teachers, look for the company in your area where the teachers have the greatest average tenure. If the teachers have been there for five years on average, you'll get a great class.

But no matter what, the MCAT comes down to your work and energy. Find what is useful in your situation and take advantage of that. If teaching is weak, spend more time in office hours.

 

[axp107]

No prep class will be useful if you go in there expecting to totally "learn" something new. You do your homework before hand.. they do their review.

I'm taking Kaplan right now and one of our teachers is amazing. He's a genius (he went to my high school) and presents the material really well. His strong point is the PS.

He got a 40 something on the MCATs but feels more comfortable teaching PS.

He can answer pretty much any question we ask him.. and has a strong engineering background. He comes up with new ways to remember things and application questions off the top of his head.

In the end, I see the class as a way to get things cleared up.. thats all. Just do your work outside class and be prepared.. the thing is 90% of the time, the things you are unsure of in class are explained in the Kaplan/whatever books. If you thoroughly study the review books and go to class prepared, you should be fine.

Personally, I didn't got with Princeton review b/c I know the material. I don't need someone to teach it to me. I need confirmation and tips for the MCAT. Sure, TPR has 9 Bio classes and Kaplan has 3.. that's fine with me. I'd rather not have 9 Bio classes since Bio is something you memorize straight-up. There aren't too many tricks.. and the tricks are covered in class... instead of doing plain old content that you can memorize. Kaplan gets right to the point ... basically on a spectrum including EK, Kaplan, and TPR... Kaplan is in the middle, in terms of depth.

 

[Creightonite]

Hey, guys, I was not going to knock down specifically Kaplan. I am knocking on all test prep companies. Even above mentioned PR, 20hours of training isn't worth much. We had a teacher that worked at Kaplan for 5 years and she was making mistakes.

Why cant they hire real instructors? This relates to all test companies. I would rather pay more money and be taught by someone that I actually trust. I really h8 when students get screwed by receiving wrong answers to their questions.

 

[McLicky]

The honest truth is this:

Kaplan: Only hires people on a score they got two years ago, which could have been a complete fluke

Hyperlearning/Princeton: Hires TAs that have never even taken the MCAT

 

[Schaden Freud]

1. Where would these instructors come from? Most people scoring high enough to teach will go to med school, and hiring an instructor that hasn't taken the MCAT seems questionable.
2. "Real instructors" cost a lot more than the $17/hr Kaplan is willing to pay.

Hey, guys, I was not going to knock down specifically Kaplan. I am knocking on all test prep companies. Even above mentioned PR, 20hours of training isn't worth much. We had a teacher that worked at Kaplan for 5 years and she was making mistakes.

Why cant they hire real instructors? This relates to all test companies. I would rather pay more money and be taught by someone that I actually trust. I really h8 when students get screwed by receiving wrong answers to their questions.

 

[koopa_troopa]

Unfortunately the test prep companies can get away with this easily. My problem is not really with their service, but the cost of the course. There are too many premeds (myself included) trying to get into med school and will do whatever it takes, including spending $1500+ on a course. Its unbelievable they charge so much. Thats three times the cost of a 1 semester course at my school, taught by a real professor and for a lot more hours of lecture.

Charging that much to get taught by someone who is only a year or two older than me does not make sense. The teachers were average and not really experts at anything, I ended up going to about half the classes. I could study a lot more on my own in three hours than I could in their classes.

The material they provide in their 5 or 6 books appears to be the same as the material in their 1 book sold for about $100. All the practice material is online now, so there is no real cost for printing this material. The practice material is the only part I found useful. I'm lucky that I was at least able to afford to take this course, but I'm sure many cannot and are at somewhat of a disadvantage from not having access to all the practice material. I wish Kaplan just provided their practice material for like $500, that way more people could access it without breaking the bank.

Maybe one day someone will stand up to these test companies.🙂

 

[Schaden Freud]

Standing up to the big prep companies is not likely to happen, unless we get a lot more of the Mom'n'Pop ones like the Berkeley Review opening up.
Although, as I speak, I'm sure the Berkeley people are in negotiation with either Kaplan or TPR.

Unfortunately the test prep companies can get away with this easily. My problem is not really with their service, but the cost of the course. There are too many premeds (myself included) trying to get into med school and will do whatever it takes, including spending $1500+ on a course. Its unbelievable they charge so much. Thats three times the cost of a 1 semester course at my school, taught by a real professor and for a lot more hours of lecture.

Charging that much to get taught by someone who is only a year or two older than me does not make sense. The teachers were average and not really experts at anything, I ended up going to about half the classes. I could study a lot more on my own in three hours than I could in their classes.

The material they provide in their 5 or 6 books appears to be the same as the material in their 1 book sold for about $100. All the practice material is online now, so there is no real cost for printing this material. The practice material is the only part I found useful. I'm lucky that I was at least able to afford to take this course, but I'm sure many cannot and are at somewhat of a disadvantage from not having access to all the practice material. I wish Kaplan just provided their practice material for like $500, that way more people could access it without breaking the bank.

Maybe one day someone will stand up to these test companies.🙂

 

[jochi1543]

See, that's why I didn't take a class. I studied entirely on my own and got a pretty good score of 10-10-12 T - and that's without half the pre-reqs. I have several friends who are currently taking the classes (both Kaplan and Princeton) or have taken them before, and I have to say that it doesn't seem to be worth it to me. They are all obviously at appx the same intelligence level as me, given that they are my friends, and the one who took the Kaplan class got a 34R vs my 32 T, but she had a 9 in one section....another friend is taking the class now and his scores aren't super-impressive either. I honestly think that unless you have major motivation issues (in which case, maybe med school is not the way to go, seriously) or have an extremely demanding schedule that requires you to be very structured, these classes are just a waste of money. Just read the books daily, do your practice tests, and if you really can't get your mind around some question, Google it or ask a friend for help.

 

[DrBowtie]

1. Where would these instructors come from? Most people scoring high enough to teach will go to med school, and hiring an instructor that hasn't taken the MCAT seems questionable.
2. "Real instructors" cost a lot more than the $17/hr Kaplan is willing to pay.

#1 is the biggest problem I think. Most people who get a score good enough to teach are accepted into medical school and quit the teaching gig to concentrate on medical school.

Therefore most teachers would only have 1-2 years of teaching which isn't enough to become a great teacher.

The other thing would be taking existing TAs and make them study and sit for the MCAT for experience sake. Company going to pay $210 for that when they can hire someone cheaper? Nope.

 

[BrokenGlass]

Kaplan instructors are just people who've taken the test before and gotten good scores, doesn't make them good teachers. Friend of mine is going to be a GMAT instructor, and I pity the fools who are being taught by him.
There really isn't anyway to solve this as extensive training would be too expensive and unsuitable for most kaplan instructor types (med students, grad students, post undergrads) who are not looking for a long term career in teaching.

If I did well on my MCAT, I might become an instructor for the extra money, and I would pity the fools that take my class🙁

Nice Mr. T reference.

 

[ATP Synthase]

I have a horrible experience with Kaplan instructors here in Nebraska. Those people are not even remotedly qualified to teach. I think for $1600-1700 tuition for 2 month (almost like college tuition btw, they could provide us with much better intructors). I stopped going to class and just do their online prep. Our Physics instructor never finished any of the solutions on the board and completely lost herself in an accelerating elevator problem that she decided to bring up in class. The funny thing is that the instructors made a lot of mistakes when answering questions and tend to agree with the class without thinking. This issue is not with only Kaplan, but also with other test prep companies. Why none can come up with something better?

The Examkrackers I took in CA and NY is the same😡

 

[Creightonite]

I am one of those people who are willing to pay up if the service is way up. I mean they could get full time university faculty to do this. Trust me that it is easier to teach a person who knows physics good test taking techniques, than good test taker physics. Those companies are underminining themselves.

I have seen Kaplan class 4 years ago and they had to rent a large auditorium, but now all of us fit into a tiny classroom (about 25 people). They actually had to cancel two scheduled classes because they did not have enough people. Again, I am not knocking down any particular company. It seems like all the companies are plagued with it. Should be start an anti-deliquent instructor movement on SDN?

It will be an addition to my anti-junk mail compaign when I just mail their empty envelopes with prepaid postage.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Why cant they hire real instructors? This relates to all test companies. I would rather pay more money and be taught by someone that I actually trust. I really h8 when students get screwed by receiving wrong answers to their questions.

You know nothing about us and yet you are indicting us in a blanket statement. It would be like me saying that all people from Nebraska complain too much and aren't willing to take personal responsibility for their learning. Can I really say that based on my one interaction in cyberspace? No. It would be completely unfair to the others in your state I haven't interacted with.

While you may be having a bad experience with a company in your area, there are others having a great experience at other locations. It's a crapshoot, much like many aspects of this process. I agree that teachers should be real teachers, but what does that mean? Who is a real teacher?

Let me describe our staff (which covers three sites total). We have a former UC Irvine adjunct professor, a current Pepperdine professor, a former UC Berkeley lecturer, a current medical student at UC Irvine, a current lecturer at UC Irvine, and a jack-of-all-trades former bartender/teacher/copy editor. Not a single one was chosen because of their MCAT score, although the few that have taken the MCAT have great scores (it's just not a criteria in their hiring). They have been with us for anywhere from a year to sixteen years. One has nineteen years of experience total.

I apologize if I'm a bit amped up, but you struck the wrong chord. Comment on companies in Nebraska if you wish, but please do not make a general statement and claim it fits us if you know nothing about us.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Not something anyone would care much about.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

1. Where would these instructors come from? Most people scoring high enough to teach will go to med school, and hiring an instructor that hasn't taken the MCAT seems questionable.
2. "Real instructors" cost a lot more than the $17/hr Kaplan is willing to pay.

Let me be candid in that I am asking my questions for a self-serving purpose of trying to better understand our marketplace.

Why is it that most consumers think that a good MCAT score is a valid indicator of one's ability to teach the MCAT? I will admit that we have started mentioning instructor scores at those "come one, come all" test prep infomercials that premed clubs sponsor and charge about $400 a company to attend. We do it to stay up with the Jones, despite our heartfelt belief that good teacher is innate. Our very best teachers have had a similar resume: (a) a history of tutoring starting at a young age, (b) won teaching awards as both/either a TA and/or lecturer/professor, and (c) exhibit a great enjoyment of puzzles. This eclectic skill set has resulted in some of the most amazing teachers I have ever seen, not just for MCAT, but anything. But, if we were advertising to you that our teachers kicked but at Jumble and Sudokus, had won a campuswide teaching award, and had privately tutored when they were sixteen, would you think "hey, now that's going to be great class with great teachers?" I doubt it. To a large extent, because the consumer thinks that high MCAT scores equate to good teaching and further believe that a twenty-hour weekend seminar on teaching ideas and filling out paperwork can train a teacher, that is exactly what you got. SHOP WISER.

Like one poster said, he didn't need a course. You don't all need a course. I can honestly say that a third of the students who take our program could have just as easily studied on their own. Likewise, about a third would have been lost without us, and we quite possibly are the main reason many of them got into medical school. But I probably shouldn't even mention this, because every time I say such a thing in a public forum, one of the corporate program's trained salespeople claims that they help 100% of their clients and we end up looking bad. But screw it... the honest truth is that a great number of you could do it on your own. You just choose not to for whatever reason.

 

[ocwaveoc]

I can tell you this. The instructors at the Hawaii Kaplan are not good. The only good one is the Ochem one. We have a biochem major premed teaching physics. She made some very incorrect statements. I had to hold my tongue. My opinion is that you may get lucky and get good teachers time to time. I'd say those are very very hard to come by. Also, it seems that IN the class room, we only go over maybe 20% of what we are expected to know for the MCAT if that. So, do the math, inside the classroom we get about 20% of what we need to know for the MCAT AND the teaching is horrible. In class instruction is TOTALLY useless.

As I mentioned before, and you can take my word on this, the ONLY reason to purchase the in class room course is if that keeps you motivated and structured. Knowing you've got to show up somewhere and be expected to have read certain chapter may help you. Otherwise, buy the online Kaplan course....you have access to all the quizzes, tests, full lengths, AAMC full lengths AND what the instructors are supposed to go over in class room on an audio media. They are much better than the real instructors.

I must say this....at least it makes me feel better after having wasted a lot of money on the in class course:
KAPLAN HAWAII INSTRUCTORS SUCK. (EXCEPT FOR THE OCHEM ONE)

 

[greg1184]

I think I may have lucked out but my 3 teachers for the most part are pretty good. The teacher for verbal is absolutely outstanding. I believe she is an actual professor. She really sold the Kaplan method to me so far. I need to practice it. The second teacher is really really good as well. And the third teacher is good, but he makes mistakes sometimes.

 

[BeatrixKiddo]

I can tell you this. The instructors at the Hawaii Kaplan are not good. The only good one is the Ochem one. We have a biochem major premed teaching physics. She made some very incorrect statements. I had to hold my tongue. My opinion is that you may get lucky and get good teachers time to time. I'd say those are very very hard to come by. Also, it seems that IN the class room, we only go over maybe 20% of what we are expected to know for the MCAT if that. So, do the math, inside the classroom we get about 20% of what we need to know for the MCAT AND the teaching is horrible. In class instruction is TOTALLY useless.

As I mentioned before, and you can take my word on this, the ONLY reason to purchase the in class room course is if that keeps you motivated and structured. Knowing you've got to show up somewhere and be expected to have read certain chapter may help you. Otherwise, buy the online Kaplan course....you have access to all the quizzes, tests, full lengths, AAMC full lengths AND what the instructors are supposed to go over in class room on an audio media. They are much better than the real instructors.

I must say this....at least it makes me feel better after having wasted a lot of money on the in class course:
KAPLAN HAWAII INSTRUCTORS SUCK. (EXCEPT FOR THE OCHEM ONE)

FLORIDA KAPLAN TUTORS SUCK AS WELL. BOO ON THEM.

I think I could have studied better on my own those 3 hours wasted in class, the only good they did was successfully depressing me and making me want to die more.

 

[Karen12345]

See, that's why I didn't take a class. I studied entirely on my own and got a pretty good score of 10-10-12 T ]

I wish I had done that. Too late now.