Kaplan DAT Review Course

Kaplan DAT Review Course

Kaplan DAT Review Course

Kaplan DAT PrepRating: ★★★★★

The Kaplan DAT Prep Course is one of the most popular review courses on the market today. Kaplan has taken control of the Dental Admission Test review course industry and rightfully so. They offer one of the most comprehensive review courses that I’ve ever seen and provide a number of other hard to beat benefits.

I personally used their course when I took the DAT and benefited greatly from it. I procrastinated way too much in my undergraduate classes and didn’t have a strong science background. Kaplan gave me the foundation that I needed in order to score at a competitive level on all sections of the Dental Admission Test.

I’ll go through some of the different review courses that Kaplan has to offer later on, but first let’s take a look at the major pros and cons.

Pros

1. Exam-Identical Software

The practice exams and simulations are presented in the same exact computerized format you’ll see on your test day, including the proper time limits, break policies and rules for moving through the exam content. This familiarizes you with the Dental Admission Test format and helps build confidence so that you will crush it on your actual exam day.

2. Most Comprehensive Resource

Kaplan claims they have “the most comprehensive resource” for the DAT, and from what I’ve seen, they do. Their Review Notes book with 800+ pages of information covers every topic that will be on the DAT. This book will help you establish a solid foundation for every section of the Dental Admission Test as well as serve as an excellent resource for further understanding.

kaplan dat practice3. Practice Questions

With over 3,500 practice questions and five full length practice tests, you’ll have plenty of problems to solve and become familiar with the format that you’ll see on the actual DAT.

4. Smart Reports

Smart Reports are generated for each practice test you take and help to identify your weakest areas and how to best adjust your preparation in order to improve your scores. They analyze each section of the test by question type and provide a comprehensive performance analysis. They’ll also recommend specific assignments that you should do in order to master the content and improve your scores. Your performance will continue to be assessed as you continue your preparation.

5. Free Full-Length DAT Practice Test

You can enroll online to take a free full-length DAT practice test. I’d recommend taking this free test before you begin your studies so that you can see how well you do and identify what areas you need to improve in. Most likely you’ll have to improve in every area, but you can at least take the free practice test to have a baseline that you can compare against.

6. Variety of Learning Styles

With a variety of courses available, Kaplan makes it possible for any type of learner to receive instruction in the way that serves them best; whether that’s working alone, attending a class, or working with a private tutor.

7. Accessibility

All of the material except the Lesson Book, Review Notes book and flashcards will be accessible through Kaplan’s website (the books and flashcards are hard copies that are mailed to you). It’s not necessary to download any software in order to use Kaplan, which means that you’ll have easy access to your review course anywhere that there’s the Internet. You will have access to all of your online content for 120 days from your start date.

8. Money-Back Guarantee

Kaplan is one of the only companies that offers a money-back guarantee. Here are their conditions:

  • If you feel you’re not ready to take the exam, you can study with them again for free for the next test date or for three more months for computer-based tests.
  • No matter how many points you improve, if you’re not satisfied with your overall score, you can study with them again for free for the next test date or for three more months for computer-based tests.
  • If for any reason you don’t raise your overall score, you can study with them again for free or get your money back.

Here are the eligibility requirements that are necessary to meet in order to receive the money back guarantee:

Step 1: You are a first-time Kaplan student and enroll in a High Score Guaranteed eligible program which has been paid in full.

Step 2: You complete that program and take the official test when it is next administered.

Step 3: Within three months of completing that program, you share your official score with Kaplan and tell them whether you want to repeat the same program one more time for free OR if you didn’t score higher on the official test, you want your money back instead.

9. Customer Service

Out of all of the DAT preparation companies that I have dealt with, Kaplan has some of the best customer service. They’ve always been respectful, punctual and understanding when I’ve dealt with them. The quality of customer service is a reflection of the company and its product as a whole in my opinion. I’d be reassured that a quality company like this will give you a quality product that you can trust.

10. Discounts

Kaplan has created an exclusive deal for Crush the DAT readers. Get $200 OFF any Kaplan DAT course .

Cons

 

1. Errors

There are proofing errors throughout the Kaplan material. Every once in awhile there might be a question that has an incorrect answer response for the correct answer or has a mistake in the question itself. However, I don’t consider these errors numerous or substantial enough to make a difference in your preparation. Almost every other DAT review material on the market today has proofing errors.

2. Supplemental Study Material May Be Needed

Kaplan can provide you with a solid foundation for the Dental Admission Test and can help you to achieve 20+ scores on all sections of the DAT, however, I feel that there are other resources out there that would be more beneficial at taking your scores to the next level once you have an established foundation of knowledge. I found Kaplan’s full-length practice tests to be relatively similar or slightly easier to the actual DAT on a difficulty level.

My actual DAT scores were the same or lower to the scores I was receiving on the Kaplan practice tests. I think Kaplan does a great job at preparing you for the DAT with their materials, however,  if you use some supplemental study materials in addition to Kaplan’s DAT review course then you will definitely have a huge edge against your peers.

My Suggestion

The Kaplan DAT Course is one of the only review courses available that’ll give you an all-around solid foundation for the DAT. There are some specialized courses that do a better job at teaching certain sections of the DAT, but they aren’t comprehensive courses that cover everything on the DAT like Kaplan.

Although it’s expensive, the amount of quality study material and value that you get with Kaplan outweighs the cost.

Kaplan is great for any pre-dental student, whether you haven’t taken a college course in 10 years, or if you have a very strong science background and are just looking to familiarize yourself with DAT questions and the exam format.

Depending upon your style of learning, Kaplan can meet your needs with the variety of review courses it offers, however, I feel that there is one Kaplan course that is the best choice for all pre-dental students.

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What Is The Best Kaplan DAT Course?

My choice would be the DAT Advantage – On Demand course and I would recommend it to anyone looking to use one of Kaplan’s courses. It provides you with everything that you would get from their other packages and is the most affordable.

The Review Notes book, numerous quizzes, section tests and full-length tests that you’ll have access to will be vital to your preparation. They’ll help you establish a foundation and familiarity for each section of the DAT and serve as a resource to look to for further understanding and knowledge.

The only downside is for people who prefer learning in a live classroom environment, since this package doesn’t offer live instruction. I prefer learning with an instructor in-person, which is why I enrolled in the on-site Kaplan course. I found that I got very little extra information out of these sessions and would have been just as prepared had I not attended them.

The instructors might have some of their own tips and tricks that they’ll share with you in the live sessions, which could be helpful, however, the Kaplan tips and tricks for the DAT are all included in the lesson book that comes with any of the packages. It’s not necessary to pay extra for an instructor when you have the same information available to you in the resources you’ll be given anyway.

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Kaplan DAT Course Options

Kaplan offers a variety of different review courses to meet the needs and learning styles of all the different types of pre-dental students. Here’s a list of these courses from least to most expensive and what they include:

This best-selling paperback review guide on Amazon provides targeted training and preparation for students in order to maximize their Dental Admissions Test score. This book contains the following:

  • Science and Quantitative Review
  • Exercises and the most up-to-date questions for the Perceptual Ability Test
  • 1 Reading Comprehension practice test
  • Effective test strategies to maximize your score
  • Vivid color instructional charts and diagrams along with a 16-page pullout study sheet section
  • 2 full length DAT practice tests with answer explanations

You also have access to the following features from Kaplan with this review guide:

  • Free access to an additional full length practice test and extra science mini-quizzes online
  • A full refund from Kaplan to customers who do not increase their test scores after using this book

This review guide can be helpful, but it will not provide as many practice questions, tests and features that the Kaplan review courses provide. This is for someone that prefers studying alone without any instruction or support from an instructor. This review guide can be purchased here.

DAT Organic Edge ($500):

An online course that gives you access to eight lessons covering basic concepts in Organic Chemistry. This course gives you access to the material for three months only.

This is for someone that hasn’t taken Organic Chemistry in a few years and needs a lot of help with it. I wouldn’t recommend this review course due to how expensive it is and I would suggest looking at Chad’s Videos for your Chemistry review material.

DAT Advantage – On Demand ($1,250):

An online course that gives you access to:

  • 11 recorded instruction videos
  • Over 130 hours of practice and instruction
  • Over 3,500 practice items including quizzes and section tests
  • 5 full length DAT practice tests

You will also receive comprehensive materials including the:

  • Kaplan DAT Lesson Book
  • Over 800 pages of Review Notes
  • Flashcards

Kaplan’s DAT Advantage on Demand course allows you to go at your own pace and set your own schedule. This is for the person that prefers learning and studying alone. You do not have any instruction or support from an instructor with this course.

DAT Advantage – Anywhere ($1,400):

An online course that gives you access to:

  • 11 live, scheduled sessions of comprehensive instruction
  • Live access to your instructor and via email throughout your class
  • Over 130 hours of practice and instruction
  • Over 3,500 practice items including quizzes and section tests
  • 5 full length DAT practice tests

You will also receive comprehensive materials including the:

  • Kaplan DAT Lesson Book
  • Over 800 pages of Review Notes
  • Flashcards

This course gives you a set schedule of online classes and direct support from an online instructor. This is for the person that prefers learning and studying alone, yet still wants the option to receive online support from an instructor if necessary.

DAT Advantage – On Site (~$1,400):

A live course taken at a Kaplan center that will provide you with:

  • 11 live, scheduled sessions of comprehensive instruction
  • Live access to your instructor and via email throughout your class

You will also have online access to:

  • Over 130 hours of practice and instruction
  • Over 3,500 practice items including quizzes and section tests
  • 5 full length DAT practice tests

You will also receive comprehensive materials including the:

  • Kaplan DAT Lesson Book
  • Over 800 pages of Review Notes
  • Flashcards

This course gives you a set schedule of live classes at a Kaplan center and direct support from an instructor in a classroom setting. This is for the person that prefers learning in a classroom setting with an instructor present.

DAT Private Tutoring ($2,800-5,000):

You will work with a private tutor – in person or online – to build a custom study program based on your individual strengths, weaknesses and score goals. Your tutor will adjust this plan as you progress through the course to promote efficient studying and performance enhancement.

The amount of time and prices for working with a private tutor are as follows:

Hours Price
 15 $2,800
 25  $3,900
 35  $5,000

Private tutoring with an instructor that will provide you with:

  • 11 live, scheduled sessions of comprehensive instruction
  • Live access to your instructor and via email throughout your class

You will also have online access to:

  • Over 130 hours of practice and instruction
  • Over 3,500 practice items including quizzes and section tests
  • 5 full length DAT practice tests

You will also receive comprehensive materials including the:

  • Kaplan DAT Lesson Book
  • Over 800 pages of Review Notes
  • Flashcards

This course allows you to go at your own pace and set your own schedule. It provides you with live instruction and direct support from a private tutor. This is for the person that prefers learning directly from an instructor, but in a private setting rather than in the classroom.

These review courses range from $50-$5,000 in price and while they are not cheap, they provide you with different methods of learning to meet your needs.

This review is based off my experience, research and knowledge of Kaplan. Feel free to comment below or message me with any questions you may have about Kaplan DAT review courses!

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Kaplan DAT Review Course Breakdown

Kaplan
DAT Reviews
Strengths 
1. Exam Identical Software
2. Most Comprehensive Resource
3. Over 3,500 Practice Questions
4. Smart Reports
5. Full-length DAT Practice Test
6. Money Back Guarantee

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