Kaplan in-class pros and cons???

[satfan]

Hello everyone!!

 

Can someone tell me if Kalan in-class sessions are worth the money. I'm in Ottawa and am planning taking March - June classes (twice a week). I cannot study at home and thinking that taking classes might help. Any suggestions??? Any pros or cons., bad experience with kaplan etc...

 

Thanks in advance!!!

 

satfan

[TheGoodOldDays]

Hey

I took Kaplan last summer, and probably wouldn't take it again, if I could do it over again.

The method they used for reading passages didn't really work for me.

The practice exams weren't really like the real ones (IMO), and I stopped doing them half way through and just did the ones released by the AAMC.

 

The material (books, flashcards) was okay, but I found ExamCrackers way more helpful!

 

My instructors were awesome though, and really motivated me to study. They also did a good job at making sure we all did okay for the writing sample.

Overall, I was fairly happy with my mark (10, 10, 12) 32 R, and I probably won't rewrite. I feel that I probably would have done just as well without Kaplan. Ultimately, though, it is up to you. This is just my experience with it!

[satfan]

I really find hard studying at home due to family and my work schedule. Thinking that at least by having classes i'll study for at least 6 hours a week and same time will try to do some extras. Do you think that if i concentrate on Kaplan stuff and nothing else, i'll succeed. I know about EK but what if i just concentrate on Kaplan material and classes. Are they bad enough that you can't score aything?? Did you prepare through kaplan or Ek or what you think how much kaplan helped you in scoring that marks??

 

Thanks again and would really appeciate early reply!!

 

satfan

[webshy]

I really find hard studying at home due to family and my work schedule. Thinking that at least by having classes i'll study for at least 6 hours a week and same time will try to do some extras.

 

Hi satfan,

 

Taking a course can help focus your studying. However, in no way does a course decrease the amount of studying that you have to do outside of class. Therefore, if you are thinking of taking a course just to avoid studying at home, you might want to think about just committing to going to the library for the 6 hours a week instead (or more).

 

If you are able to study independently, I recommend that. Set specific times that you will go to the library to study if studying at home isn't likely. However, if you need the motivation to stay on track with a study schedule, then a course might be helpful. That said, you will need to plan for sufficient study time between classes in order to get the most benefit.

 

Best wishes!

 

Elaine

[satfan]

Hello Elaine!!

 

Thanks for the reply. Can you please tell me that if i try to study by myself (at home or library), will EK (all the matrials including books, 1001 quuestions etc) be sufficient or i need Kaplan notes too. What i mean is... i know EK has good reputation regarding their MCAT material and am planning buying same (as i already have some of it), but what about essay writing strategies etc. I find really hard when it comes to WS. Frankly, i just go blank. I just can't think where to start and what examples to give.

Please let me know what material i really need (if other than EK) to score good in my June MCAT.

 

After reading all this replies i'm kinda losing my interest in taking classes and leaning more towards self preparation.

 

Thanks again and would appreciate if you can tell me how you prepared for MCAT (types of materials, sample exams, essay strategies etc).

 

Thank you very much!!!

 

satfan!!!

[mayantemple]

I found that the Kaplan classes didn't really help me at all, but I loved their online material. I didn't use EK, so I can't comment on that. I think if you can get the Kaplan books along with their online resources, self-prepping using that would probably work well. The sheer number of workshops quizzes tests and full-lengths would leave you very comfortable with the format of the MCAT and the speed that you need to go at, etc. For WS, which took me a long time to figure out as well, the best idea is to read the Kaplan strategies and then practice with a friend; there's a whole list of prompts online, and if you do enough of them (and get feedback) you'll get better at them.

[mbl]

My kaplan classes were terrible. The teacher was horrible - she was a third year undergrad who just memorized the info without knowing what any of it meant and simply read the book they gave her verbatim. So the class was more of a large study group where students with their various areas of speciality helped answer questions the teacher could never answer. The company as a whole is bad as well. I agree that their online materials are good, but that's the only positive thing I can say. I didn't like or use any of their test strategy, and preferred the one Princeton Review taught (my friend taught for PR). I could go on with how much I hated kaplan but you get the idea. I only got a 30 on the mcat, and don't blame that on Kaplan but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!

[never too late]

My kaplan classes were terrible. The teacher was horrible - she was a third year undergrad who just memorized the info without knowing what any of it meant and simply read the book they gave her verbatim. So the class was more of a large study group where students with their various areas of speciality helped answer questions the teacher could never answer. The company as a whole is bad as well. I agree that their online materials are good, but that's the only positive thing I can say. I didn't like or use any of their test strategy, and preferred the one Princeton Review taught (my friend taught for PR). I could go on with how much I hated kaplan but you get the idea. I only got a 30 on the mcat, and don't blame that on Kaplan but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!

 

Where did you take this class? I am in Vancouver & just wondering which location you were at if in Vancouver.