Is Kaplan overrated?

**SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN** · Jul 26, 2008

i love kaplan! i took the nclex in '06 and passed on w/ 75 questions...finished the exam in 1hr 40mins. but as previous poster wrote, alot of other factors determine your success on nclex. preparation from school, study habits, learning needs, etc...

and *confidence*!!!

cheers :cheers:,

moe

SinCityRN · Jul 26, 2008

I havent done any of the Kaplan courses or anything, just the Quiz Trainers and so far i've been very frustrated with the questions. I feel as though they don't give enough information in the question to determine the answer. Also, I dont think the rationales are helpful at all. For instance, one question asked about a chest tube that wasnt draining, but didnt give any info on how long the chest tube was in place (so how is one to determine if its because there is a kink, or reexpansion has occurred?) Right now I'm just very frustrated with these questions!

I think you need to read more about that specific content area..Personally I think before anyone should do practice questions they should master content first, otherwise answering the questions won't do you that much good if you don't know the book and have read it thoroughly. I'm practicing content right now. I've been reading and mastering it for close to a month right now. Afterwards when I'm done I plan on doing practice questions that way I have an idea why this and that answer came up right or wrong. Just my advice, Goodluck.

SinCityRN · Jul 26, 2008

Oh as with regards to the Thread, I really don't like Kaplan at all. I

think they expect you to pay way too much money for something that can

be done at home on your own. I've taken the Course Once, and I wouldn't

suggest it to ANYONE NOT COMFORTABLE with their Nursing

Knowledge yet. Kaplan is for people who have mastered the book already

and just need to brush up and learn how to answer questions. However I

did find the questions that they offer are very close to the Nclex.

For those of you who are intrested in what Kaplan has to offer here is a layout of what you will do if you enroll there: (FULL COURSE ACCESS)

First Week- They send you their book (500 plus pages roughly)

Second Week- You will be asked to come to a class with others who have enrolled in the Program and answer a Diagnostic Test to assess your level of test taking skills. Throughout that week you will be answering questions with an Instructor and the instructor will go through each question with you and answer any questions that you might have about the question being discussed. At the end of that Week you will be given the same diagnostic test that you were given the first day of class, just to see if you have improved or not. (I personally think that you can do this on your own)

Third Week- (Monday) Your results will be discussed and your weak and strong areas will be pointed out through a graph. Practice questions will be continued and discussed again. End of Program with your Instructor.

* Rest of the program YOUR ON YOUR OWN. Do questions at your own pace with the online reveiw course. Content and Questions will be Provided online.

lsvalliant · Jul 27, 2008

Thank you for all of your replies. I origanally posted this thread to help other people out who were contemplating spending the dough. For those of you that said you LOVED Kaplan... I bet you would have passed without it... And for those who failed with Kaplan, I think they have a money back guarantee so look into it and get your money back!

jujufireal · Jul 27, 2008

Thanks for the break down LVdreamer

SinCityRN · Jul 28, 2008

Thank you for all of your replies. I origanally posted this thread to help other people out who were contemplating spending the dough. For those of you that said you LOVED Kaplan... I bet you would have passed without it... And for those who failed with Kaplan, I think they have a money back guarantee so look into it and get your money back!

Oh this was what upset me in the first place...that Money Back Guarentee is a bunch of crap!! Excuse the language >.<. they telling me that since i a foreign graduate can get my money back..why didn tell in the first place when enrolled one reason why not going back to kaplan. mention had tiny room for you study with only computers at branch where was at. mean if asking students pay per student should least provide us more and decent amount of space price. guess hate kaplan much. lol. don go there stop giving them jk. src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/hungry.png.228aa4f611d0a2889148d0971c3225b4.png" alt=":p">

SinCityRN · Jul 28, 2008

Thanks for the break down LVdreamer

Your welcome jujufireal :wink2:

DMae · Jul 28, 2008

I think Kaplan is overrated. After taking the course in high school my SAT score DROPPED. For the NCLEX, I decided to invest in Hurst review which covers content and test taking skills. I know people who did the live review and the online review...we all believe it's money well spent! I passed the NclexRN in June with 75 questions in about an hour and 15 minutes.

SinCityRN · Jul 28, 2008

I think Kaplan is overrated. After taking the course in high school my SAT score DROPPED. For the NCLEX, I decided to invest in Hurst review which covers content and test taking skills. I know people who did the live review and the online review...we all believe it's money well spent! I passed the NclexRN in June with 75 questions in about an hour and 15 minutes.

Yeah I keep hearing about that Hurst Reveiw, problem is the one closest to me is like another state away, Good to know you passed though. Congratulations. :specs:

Accio · Jul 28, 2008

I used Kaplan twice. I have taken the NCLEX and failed the exam twice. The course might help with strategies??? It does work well for some. I guess we all need to assess what kind of learning style fits our own unique individualized style. The Kaplan course lacks in regards to a real content review. I do not really care for the course book. I have started to study for round three of my goal to pass the NCLEX and this time I am going to use the Saunders book and Suzanne's Plan. I have looked through the Saunders book and I really like it for a content based review. I have to try a new path since Kaplan did not work for me and I can not afford another $499.00. So I feel like it was a waste of $1000.00 for me! The Kaplan course is very expensive. The books are not really a great review book in my opinion. The on-line test/quiz are good but I am not sure that I was really learning anything from them except for maybe becoming more comfortable taking tests on the computer. Hope this helps at least a little.
Good luck and Happy studying :wink2:

I really agree with this. Took Kaplan twice. Boards three times... I'm in limbo now. hmmm... It's not just me.

Dianacabana · Jul 28, 2008

I haven't used Kaplan but I did compare them with Princeton Review when studying for my MCATs a few years ago and found them SORELY WANTING in terms of accuracy and explanations.

If Kaplan can't get it right for the med school students, then I don't see how they would be any better for the nurses.

That said, my school may force me to take Kaplan to prepare for the NCLEX (mind you, I won't be going along with that quietly...)

randomguy1972 · Jul 28, 2008

Has anyone considered how Kaplan and other review programs skew the NCLEX curve? The NCLEX is supposed to test the novice nurse on his or her skills gleaned from nursing school (classes and clinicals). However, the NCLEX test writers are aware of what Kaplan et al are teaching, so they develop new types of questions like SATA etc. to thwart a lot of the "strategies" that Kaplan teaches. Furthermore, every test taker receives 15 NCLEX questions that do not count, and how each person answers these questions is what determines how these questions are ranked in future test (easy vs. hard). Doesn't it make sense that those who took a review course such as Kaplan would skew these future test questions? Couldn't this make the NCLEX harder to pass, which is why more people are spending big money on review courses so they can avoid being that unlucky 15% who do not pass?

I'm not knocking anyone who takes these review courses--they have almost become a necessity. I’m glad I didn’t spend the money. What do the rest of you think?