Beat The GMAT

LifetimesofSC · Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:19 am

All,

Please note that Kaplan's course is a rip off.

Their dianogistic test will UNDERSTATE your score. And the remaining CATS will slightly OVERSTATE your score. Basically, even if you score the same number of questions right, you will have a score that could be 140 points apart. This way, they do not have to give out refunds. Trust me on this one. Remember, they use your Diagnostic as the Baseline score so of course they will UNDERSTATE that exam score. Many students, including myself, have fell into Kaplan's trap ($1300+) which is more financially damaging than GMAC's trap ($250).

If a rep doubts me, then I'm sure they have no proof to defend their side.

Again, this tactic used by Kaplan is set up to steal your money by using a scoring metric that is unethical and unreliable.

Don't believe me?

My Diagnostic Test- I score a 440? And the next 8 CATs I took ranged from 560 to 600. The weird thing is scoring the SAME amount of questions right (0 to 2 margin), AND the SAME amount of difficulty questions right. Therefore an argument stating that the Question difficulty (weighted higher or lower in terms of Medium or Hard) will not work in this example. This example reflects my experience with Kaplan.

Rebuttals? I doubt a Kaplan Rep has the knowledge of how their scoring method works, so don't bother responding with Maybe's and If's.

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Stuart Kovinsky · Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:32 pm

I'm sorry that you haven't enjoyed your Kaplan experience. However, your allegations are 100% incorrect.

Through personal experience alone (I've taught more than 1500 students), I can assure you that your results are anomalous. In fact, roughly 50% of Kaplan students go down from their diagnostic to their first CAT. This downturn in score is both predictable and understandable, since for the first few weeks of the course students are innundated with new information and strategies, the result of which is often to slow them down on their first CAT. It's usually on the second CAT that students see their score rebound and on the third and fourth CATs that most students start to see strong improvement.

The Higher Score Guarantee is in place for two reasons.

First, to allow students who need extra time to study to take advantage of our free repeat policy. Note that there are no score requirements for the free repeat portion of the Guarantee; to qualify, students must simply show their commitment to the program by attending the classes, doing the homework and writing full length CATs along the way.

Second, to show our belief in our Program. We are so confident that our program works that we're willing to back it up with a full refund for those who commit to their study and don't an incrase in theri score. Do we expect anyone to take advantage of the Money Back Guarantee? Of course not, because the Kaplan program works and if you do put in the effort, you WILL get a great score.

One doesn't become the world test prep leader or a multi-billion dollar company by scamming one's clients. I assure you that our tests are all legitimately scaled and that we constantly review student results to ensure the accuracy of our scoring algorithms.

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LifetimesofSC · Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:43 am

Apology Accepted, however your response is insufficient to conclude that my response is 100% inaccurate.

First, your free repeat policy- Why would ANYONE want to repeat a course that doesn't reflect accurate GMAT questions? Scientists know that the rat wont eat the cheese after the shock treatment. Plus, you are just reiterating what the Higher Score Guarantee sheet says which I have discredited. I did not show any commitment? I've done ALL required work plus 80% of the suggested work, ALL CATS included the not required ones and 2 GMAT Prep exams. Also, I note that you guys use CAT questions from the Kaplan books made in 2005. That's called unethical, reuse, and lazy. Please don't respond by claiming it's a huge word bank, because the stream of questions in order is in the exact same order. Don't buy a Kaplan course, since they use books dating back from 2005 to form their CATs.
Secondly, your refund policy is eliminated with the behind the scene tactics that goes on with the grading of CATs. You guys should realize KNEWTON actually gives real REFUNDS (50 points higher guarantee or your money back). while KAPLAN states you have to show NO increase. We'll let the people decide. Of course students will show some kind of increase when the latter CATs are repeating what is learned in the class/books while the first diagnostic is a paper based exam.

''Through personal experience alone (I've taught more than 1500 students), I can assure you that your results are anomalous. In fact, roughly 50% of Kaplan students go down from their diagnostic to their first CAT. '' ....So your saying roughly 750 out of the 1500 would agree with me...that's quite a ''damage'' ratio and I'm glad your admitting to it.

''One doesn't become the world test prep leader or a multi-billion dollar company by scamming one's clients. '' Kaplan may be useful for MCAT, SATs, etc. but not for GMAT. Multi-billion dollar company is easy to obtain these days...I work for a multi-billion dollar company and not on my knees. Also, my company is reimbursing me for the Kaplan Failure (1300 USD) as part of tuition reimbursement. Not all former Kaplan students have this privilege. I am reaching out to them in the form of HTML to warm them of my experience, a harsh reality.

Also, my Kaplan teacher didn't even have a real world job - so she befriends me and adds me on Linkedin.com. I'm deleting her now since there is no possible advice she could advise me.

Takeaways:
1.) The money Kaplan charges is outrageous and does not suit the material offered (reuse, recycled)
2.) Competitors offer a better service and better cost. Most importantly, offer an actual refund guarantee.
3.) Majority of former Kaplan students agree with me, strengthening my argument and weakening your biased standpoint.

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Stuart Kovinsky · Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:08 am

This will be my last reply, since clearly you are one unhappy and bitter camper and nothing I say will alleviate that unhappiness.

The reason why about half of Kaplan students see an increase in their first CAT, rather than a decrease or no change, is because they actually learn alot during the first few weeks of the course. Our program is designed to help people with all levels of experience: some students have written the actual GMAT, some have done a bit of studying on their own, some have never even looked at a GMAT question before writing the diagnostic. Especially those in the last group see quick increases as they learn great test-taking strategies in the first few sessions.

I'm going to leave you with one final thought: you've jumped to the conclusion "the only reason why my CAT scores were higher than my diagnostic is because of a fault in the system". Isn't it possible that your CAT scores went up substantially because you actually learned valuable strategies and tips for the test and you got better at writing the GMAT, just as our Guarantee promises?

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willshu · Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:12 am

I have had a similar experience in terms of differing scores from the diagnostic to the CATs. I do not think Kaplan is a rip-off, in fact, the premium online program has been extremely helpful. The issue, I believe, is that the diagnostic is not a CAT test, whereas all the other tests are. Is that the case?

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KapTeacherEli · Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:51 pm

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