Kaplan Digital SAT Prep Course Review: Is It the Right Choice for You?
The SAT is a crucial component of college admissions, influencing not only acceptance but also scholarship opportunities and placement in special programs. As the SAT evolves into a digital format, choosing the right prep course becomes even more critical. Kaplan, a well-known name in test preparation, offers a range of Digital SAT prep courses. This review will thoroughly examine Kaplan's offerings to help you determine if they are the right fit for your needs.
Kaplan's Digital SAT Prep Course Options
Kaplan offers several course options to cater to different learning styles and budgets, including On Demand, Live Online, Bootcamp, and Unlimited Prep. These packages vary significantly in price and the level of study resources and access they provide.
- On Demand: This is Kaplan's most basic and affordable course, priced at around $200. It is designed for students who need only the essential resources for Digital SAT prep or are on a budget. The on-demand track is divided into nine sessions, each starting with a roughly 10-minute video lesson, followed by short practice exercises and a quick quiz, with occasional full-length practice tests. The program is designed for students with tight schedules, who don't need much student support.
- Live Online: Kaplan's flagship Live Online class is a more traditional prep course option, costing around $700. It includes 18 hours of live online instruction spread over 5-6 weeks. Students can sign up for classes that run frequently and in various time slots. Kaplan’s live classes use a dual-instructor model. One expert teaches while a second instructor handles questions in chat, so lessons run fast without stoppages.
- Bootcamp: For students on a time crunch, Kaplan offers a Bootcamp course for around $800.
- Unlimited Prep: This deluxe package provides access to all of Kaplan's SAT, PSAT, and AP resources until December of your senior year of high school, including unlimited use of live classes. Unlimited Prep is available for $1,999.
Kaplan also offers Private SAT Tutoring, with packages starting at 10 hours for $1,999.
What Kaplan Does Well
Kaplan's Digital SAT prep course has several strengths:
- Comprehensive Curriculum: Kaplan provides a comprehensive curriculum in terms of both content and structure. The online coursework consists of five levels of work, with each level containing subject-based modules that cover essential topics.
- Engaging Video Lessons: Kaplan's video lessons are a standout feature, utilizing engaging graphics, high production value, and a conversational style to make complex topics relatable and understandable. The video lessons are short, never more than 10-12 minutes long.
- Effective "Learn It, Drill It, Prove It" System: Kaplan's "Learn It, Drill It, Prove It" system provides a structured approach to learning, with each module including a lesson, drill, and quiz component.
- Robust Practice Tests: Kaplan provides rock-solid practice tests that mimic the test-taking conditions on the College Board's Bluebook app. The practice questions are designed to mimic the new Digital SAT.
- Flexible Scheduling: Kaplan offers flexible scheduling options, with Live Online classes held at various dates and times. The On-Demand option allows students to access the course whenever they want.
- Affordable Options: Kaplan offers more affordable options compared to other top-rated test prep providers. The On Demand SAT course is priced at $199.
- Payment Plans: Kaplan's payment plans make their SAT prep courses more accessible to families.
- Kaplan’s SAT Channel: Kaplan’s SAT Channel offers students the chance to squeeze in some extra lessons. In total, there is around 16 hours of recorded SAT Channel lessons, and they are generally excellent.
- Free Trial: Kaplan’s free trials make it easy to try out their products before you buy them. The On-Demand course comes with a 7-day free trial.
- Higher Score Guarantee: Kaplan does offer its students a higher score guarantee for any of its live SAT courses.
A Deeper Dive into the Curriculum
The On Demand course curriculum is structured into nine sessions, each following a "Learn It, Drill It, Prove It" flow. Each study unit begins with a video lesson, followed by short practice exercises and a quick quiz.
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- Video Lessons: These engaging videos are typically around 10 minutes long and employ a conversational approach to explain concepts, using analogies and stories to make difficult topics more understandable. Instructors often demonstrate points with example problems, marking up the onscreen practice problem with notes and equations.
- Drills: The drill portion of each module tests your understanding of the video lesson in various ways. Most commonly, you are given a list of possible answer choices and must select all that apply to the given question.
- Quizzes: The quiz section presents 4 or 5 exam-like questions to test your knowledge under test-like conditions. After each question, a video solution is provided, where the instructor works through the problem on a digital whiteboard, explaining the most efficient way to arrive at the correct answer.
- Qbank: Beyond the core coursework, you are given access to Kaplan’s Qbank. This is essentially a library of 1,000+ realistic multiple-choice questions, although you do not get video solutions with each of these practice questions. Each is thorough and covers the problem from a few angles. Each explanation provides a “strategic advice” section that covers high level suggestions, “getting to the answer” which shows step-by-step how to get the right answer choice, and a wrap-up “takeaway” section.
Where Kaplan Could Improve
Despite its strengths, Kaplan's Digital SAT prep course has some weaknesses:
- Insufficient Practice Material: Some users find the amount of Digital SAT practice material to be lacking.
- Short Access Period: The self-paced course has a shorter access period of 6 months compared to competitors.
- Weak Score Improvement Guarantee: Kaplan's "Higher Score Guarantee" does not promise a specific number of points increase compared to competitors.
- Lack of Instructor Support Outside Live Classes: Kaplan does not provide access to on-demand instructors for assistance with the SAT curriculum or live office hours.
- No Study Plan: Kaplan’s SAT prep has a much more rigid structure, so you’ll need to either customize a study plan for your child or rely on their more general program structure.
- Qbank Lacks Video Solutions: While Kaplan's video lessons and quiz solutions are excellent, the Qbank practice questions only have text explanations.
- No Mobile App: Kaplan does not offer a mobile app for its students.
- Customer Service Issues: Some users have reported issues with Kaplan's customer service and technical support.
Alternative SAT Prep Books
In addition to Kaplan's prep course, several other SAT prep books are available:
- Kaplan's SAT Prep Plus: This book offers a broad overview of the exam and includes over 1,500 practice questions.
- The SAT Prep Black Book Second Edition: This book provides insightful advice, strategies, tips, and tricks for approaching the SAT.
- Barron's SAT Study Guide: This guide includes four complete practice exams in the book and access to two more online.
- The College Board's Official SAT Study Guide: This guide contains eight full exams taken from actual past SATs.
- Princeton Review SAT Premium Prep: This comprehensive guide offers thorough explanations for each question and an online scoring tool for practice tests.
Is Kaplan the Right Choice for You?
Whether or not Kaplan's Digital SAT prep course is right for you depends on your individual needs and learning style. If you value engaging video lessons, a structured curriculum, and affordable options, Kaplan may be a good choice. However, if you need more practice material, a longer access period, a stronger score improvement guarantee, or more personalized support, you may want to consider other options.
Other Options
If the need for a budget SAT prep course is the most important factor to your family, you could get some value from Kaplan's affordable SAT prep course packages. If you're looking for more personalized attention, smaller class sizes, and instructors who scored in the top 1% on the SAT, PrepMaven’s SAT Masterclass might be a better fit. For families on a budget, Khan Academy’s free SAT materials created in partnership with the College Board are an excellent resource.
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