Anybody else find KAPLAN SAT prep course useless?

[JimMIA]

DD is halfway through the (very expensive) Kaplan SAT prep course, and we are very disappointed so far.

Her course is two weeks, three hours a day (supposedly), four days per week. So far, the instructor was 1/2 hour late on the first day and let the kids go 1/2 hour early on the fourth day. So this week, we paid for six hours of instruction (the other 3 hours were a practice test)...and got 5.

She took her second practice test today and her scores in both math and English went down about 15%. In addition, we were forced to buy a $30 software package in order to access the online test proctoring.

So far this course -- which our school counselor said was NOT worthwhile -- has been very disappointing.

Anybody else had similar (or hopefully better) results with Kaplan?

 

[Poohforyou]

I don't know how much you want to invest in this but I highly recommend going with a private tutor rather than a class. The tutor will focus on where your daughter needs help. For my daughter her math skills were really strong but she needed help with language and reading. It paid off in my opinion, she was a national merit scholar and got a huge merit college scholarship. Good luck.

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks. We're going to do that, but our ace tutor is spending the summer in Europe (things are tough, apparently, lol). Our DD is similar, but different, from yours -- very good student, outstanding grades, strong in language, weak in math. I think she'll be fine in the long run, but the course so far has been a waste of time and money.

 

[dotfurio]

Have you tried Khan Academy? DD has taken the PSAT twice and the SAT once and her scores have improved each time by doing the suggested topics through that website, all free.

 

[mnrose]

Have you tried Khan Academy? DD has taken the PSAT twice and the SAT once and her scores have improved each time by doing the suggested topics through that website, all free.

Agree completely. Excellent materials and flat out free.

 

[Southernmiss]

Dd and her friends tutor each other. She is strong in English and language and her friend is strong in math.

They really amaze me how the support and encourage each other and want to widen their circle and offer peer tutoring after school this year.

Eta. This spring, dd was set to take the ACT but she has not had some of her math courses. She studied with friends who had had the math classes and boosted her score by 4 points. Her friend, weaker in English boosted his score by 2 points. Both well into the 30s.

 

[Suger Mag]

LOL I vote useless... my son took the PSATs, and then the SATs, did not do so great... his school offered him a free Kaplan course, he took all the classes, retook the SATs ... and scored lower than he did his first time.

Many schools will also accept the ACTs instead of the SATs, some students (like my son) do better with those style of questions, he scored quite well on the ACTs.

 

[JimMIA]

Have you tried Khan Academy? DD has taken the PSAT twice and the SAT once and her scores have improved each time by doing the suggested topics through that website, all free.

Not YET. But that is what our school counselor suggested right from the start. We're going to have the tutor use that when he comes back from the Amalfi Coast or wherever he's grinding through the summer.

 

[JimMIA]

LOL I vote useless... my son took the PSATs, and then the SATs, did not do so great... his school offered him a free Kaplan course, he took all the classes, retook the SATs ... and scored lower than he did his first time.

Many schools will also accept the ACTs instead of the SATs, some students (like my son) do better with those style of questions, he scored quite well on the ACTs.

Wish ours was free!

We're going to probably take both. DD is in an all-magnet school in biomedical research and loves science. ACT also includes science, so she'll do well there.

 

[deedeezee]

Khan Academy is a great option, as is a one-on-one private tutor. Some Kaplan courses can be good, but it sounds like yours is not worth the money.

 

[dotfurio]

Not YET. But that is what our school counselor suggested right from the start. We're going to have the tutor use that when he comes back from the Amalfi Coast or wherever he's grinding through the summer.

It's pretty self guided. Your DD can probably get started on it until the tutor gets back.

 

[JimMIA]

Khan Academy is a great option, as is a one-on-one private tutor. Some Kaplan courses can be good, but it sounds like yours is not worth the money.

That's what I'm thinking. The "price" is supposedly $999, but I think we paid a little less than $700. Definitely a bust so far.

 

[Suger Mag]

Wish ours was free!

We're going to probably take both. DD is in an all-magnet school in biomedical research and loves science. ACT also includes science, so she'll do well there.

We were lucky that he had a pretty nice scholarship that included things like travel and extra prep classes... i was very glad we did not have to pay for it, especially as it did him no favors.

 

[JimMIA]

LOL...now, I just received an email from the instructor advising that..."due to unforeseen circumstances" tomorrow's class is canceled." We'll be on the phone tomorrow demanding a refund.

 

[mjkacmom]

One college graduate, one going to be a college junior, one a HS senior, private tutor all the way. Dd17 was strong in math, weak in English, ended up with a 35 in the English sections of the ACT because that was the focus. My 15 year olds will get tutored starting next summer, out last be was only $60 an hour. Lots of practice tests, but going over all of them really helped.

 

[JimMIA]

Brief Update:

I spoke to Kaplan customer service this morning, asking for a partial refund based on the fact that 3 of the 5 classes so far had either been shortened or canceled entirely -- and the fact that DD's practice test score actually went DOWN 130 points.

She's attended 1/2 the course (minus the hour of shortened classes), so obviously we don't expect a full refund at this point.

I was told that, since we registered 4 months ago, the refund period has expired. (Of course it has!)

But they "understand our frustration," so they are referring a "case" to a "team" and they will be in touch by the end of the day -- by phone, by email, or more likely both.

Needless to say, no contact, no resolution. $700 down the toilet.

DO NOT enroll your child in this company's classes!

 

[JimMIA]

Final Update:

I don't like to read threads and have the OP just disappear without any further info, so here's what happened with our complaint.

After my daughter attending half the Kaplan SAT Prep course ($674) and her scores going down, plus numerous scheduling changes by the instructor including canceling one class entirely (out of 8), we decided there was no point in DD attending the class any further.

Following our call on Monday, "Alexi" from Kaplan customer service sent us an email on Tuesday saying she's have an answer for us by Wednesday. Then Wednesday, we received another email saying they would have an answer within 48 hours. Needless to say, they were just stalling until the course was complete -- which should have happened Thursday, but actually finished today because the instructor canceled abruptly the Monday class.

So...since the course is now over, Kaplan has advised that they can not give us adjustment. Pretty sleazy.

We are proceeding with our credit card dispute based on the poor quality of the course, the incompetence of the instructor, and the uncooperative customer service.

If you are thinking about your child taking a Kaplan course, be sure to research all other options, and keep our bad experience in mind.

 

[JimMIA]

Filed the dispute with Citibank and the $674 charge has been credited to our account.

Now, we'll see if that gets Kaplan's attention and brings them to some sensible resolution for us.

 

[Toolulu22]

Filed the dispute with Citibank and the $674 charge has been credited to our account.

Now, we'll see if that gets Kaplan's attention and brings them to some sensible resolution for us.

My husband likes to pay cash for everything. THIS is why I like to use my AMEX. I'm so glad that you got your money back. I hope that your daughter finds some resources to guide her. As a teacher, I advise my students to use the free resources available (as others have suggested) and keep practicing questions.

Personally, I am an awesome test taker, always have been. Rocked all those standardized tests. No secret- I practiced a lot.

Good luck!

 

[rigs32]

I used to teach for Kaplan. The thing that frustrated me was that the teaching was mostly scripted. There wasn’t time in classes to get more in depth with certain topics. Things were looser for 1 on 1 tutoring, but the kids I tutored rarely did any prep or homework - they expected my presence to magically insert the info into their brains.

That said, no teacher should be shortening classes or cancelling them.