Kaplan GMAT Review

Kaplan GMAT Features

Our team took a close look at Kaplan’s features to discover why experts consider it one of the top GMAT prep courses on the market.

Coursework

The moment we first dove into the Kaplan course, we could see why it’s considered one of the best on the market. It starts off with a study plan that is broken down into four sections and then those sections are further broken down into small, digestible courses.

This platform also provides an easy-to-follow structure that ensures that the content resonates with students. Modules all include three sections that expand studies before and after the course.

That’s the structure but what about the learning content? Lessons are built around high quality videos that really stand out. We’ll go into more detail on these videos further down in this review.

Finally, each module includes an “After Class” session that is designed to ensure students learn the vital information presented in the class. Students are also given a PDF textbook and directed to the sections that should be read.

Kaplan provides over 140 hours of course work and a ton of video content to help students prepare for the GMAT.

Practice Questions

Kaplan’s question bank (Qbank) is the driving force of the overall course. It’s a custom tool that provides students the ability to create their own quizzes. Students have the ability to customize topics, question type, and even the difficulty of questions. Over 5,000 questions are stored in Kaplan’s massive database.

The biggest advantage of Qbank is that it gives students the opportunity to create practice sessions that target their weaknesses. Strengthening weaknesses is a proven method of increasing a student’s GMAT score.

Furthermore, students are able to crank up the pressure by timing these sessions. All of these tools are great for ensuring students are prepared for the actual exam.

Our overall thoughts on the question bank are that it provides an outstanding method of practice. Each question is accompanied by an explanation. Although explanations aren’t as strong as other GMAT study courses, they get the point across.

GMAT Navigator Feature

GMAT Navigator is a really cool feature that lets you find specific questions in the official GMAT guide. Students who plan on using the GMAT Official Guide will save a lot of time with this feature.

With that said, it’s a great bonus but not necessarily game changing.

Practice Exams

With 6 full-length practice tests to help study with, Kaplan flexes its strength as one of the top brands. Practice exams are a key learning feature.

Students must be able to test their study progress in a realistic environment using an accurate GMAT practice test. More importantly, these practice tests accurately reflect the real test.

In case you’re wondering, Kaplan’s navigator feature does take the results of full-length exams into consideration when determining if you need to restudy previous concepts.

Dashboard and User Interface

Given Kaplan’s reputation, we expected the dashboard and user interface to be flawless. It took a few minutes to get the hang of navigating it. Once we did, our team wasn’t disappointed.

Kaplan’s layout is incredibly organized and intuitive. The header is home to all four major features of the course. The rest of the tools are found in easy-to-navigate drop-down menu.

Now we can get into the most annoying feature of this study program. Every single resource found in Kaplan opens into a new browser tab. At first, that seems convenient.

The problem is that there are dozens of tabs open. While this might not be a concern for some students, many will find it tedious and annoying.

Video Lessons

Instructors speak in front of a digital whiteboard that Kaplan uses to ensure information is up-to-date. These videos do a decent job of breaking down difficult concepts so students are able to understand complex concepts.

Content delivery is spot-on through most videos, although they do struggle from time-to-time. That is to be expected with a massive video library like this one.

The material itself is also outstanding. Kaplan hits every topic found on the GMAT.

Students will have access to more than 35 fully interactive videos.

Score Reports

When students take the GMAT practice exams through Kaplan, the system generates a detailed score report. This report is far more advanced than just a score. It provides a detailed look at performance that’s categorized by the different types of questions.

Kaplan’s score reports provide a breakdown of the types of questions that the student answered incorrectly along with a detailed explanation.

This is a powerful tool for identifying weaknesses and ensuring that studies are focused.

Kaplan Hard Copy Prep Books

After subscribing to one of Kaplan’s tier packages, they will ship you hard copies of certain prep books. Kaplan’s prep books are designed to supplement the course and do a wonderful job of it.

Students will find high quality content matched with study strategies and practice problems.

Kaplan’s hard copy prep books are written as well as expected and are an amazing add-on. But they are not a replacement for the wealth of content found through Kaplan’s digital library.

Ebooks Included in the Course

Kaplan includes its amazing eBooks as part of its course. These books are great standalone study resources that countless students use to ace the GMAT. So getting them as part of the study course is a great value.

With that said, the biggest selling point of these eBooks is its practice questions. Since Kaplan utilizes the Qbank to provide access to countless practice questions, the eBooks are not really necessary.

The benefit of having access to these eBooks is that they are written in the same style as the study course. It gives students an additional way to access information, which is never a bad thing.

Official Test Day Experience

Kaplan gives students access to some pretty cool add-ons that work well with their program. We feel that the best one is their “official test day experience.”

Students are given the opportunity to take one of their practice tests at an official Pearson VUE testing center. It’s the most authentic practice test experience you’ll find.

Given the importance of simulating a real testing environment when taking a practice test, this is a nice add-on.

According to Kaplan, students who take advantage of this practice test two weeks before the real test will experience the best results.