Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions

They refunded my money and continued to cancel ⁹⁄₁₀ classes that they had listed on the website.
BOOOOOOOOOOO

I actually only took a practice LSAT with Kaplan thus far, but MAN were they helpful.
Their online tools are super helpful as well, and everyone I know that has taken a class with them has been glad that they did! :]

The package: NCLEX-​RN Complete
— — SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE SJ CENTER — —
The staff here is super friendly. I’m surprised they started recognizing me by name after only a couple days. I was able to borrow one of their extra course books the first few days of class because mine hadn’t come in the mail yet… Kind of wish I’d known at the time, so make sure you pay for your class in full 2 – 3 weeks before it actually begins so you have enough time to get it in the mail and familiarize yourself with its content and layout.
The classrooms are clean but poorly designed for large groups; long tables are arranged in rows, and while students in my class tried to stagger themselves a bit to make it easier to see the board/​projector image, it’s a good idea to strategically pick your seat to avoid having obstructions in your field of vision. Also, depending on the size of your class, you may or may not have much elbow room. Luckily, the class doesn’t require you to bring much to class except maybe your brain, so I didn’t need to scatter notes/​books about as much as I normally do.
That being said, watch your drinks! Space is sort of tight between rows, so there’s a good chance someone might accidentally swing their purse/​backpack/​bag while trying to get past and knock coffee all over your notes. (Didn’t happen to me, but I got front-​row seats to the show!) Restrooms are also in short supply (2 stalls for women), making break time = standing in line for the bathroom time.
Our instructor, Veronica, was friendly and her sense of humor definitely helped to make class as painless as having to sit in class after graduating could be.
The center’s in downtown so there’s no way to get around having to pay for parking. I found the best option to be the lot next to the Diridon Caltrain station for $ 3/​day. Plenty of spots, and it’s a nice 5 – 10 min stroll down San Fernando.
— — GENERALLY ABOUT KAPLAN — —
Extensive QBank with generally helpful rationales, but some of the questions really seem like a stretch, prompting me to wonder if such obscure questions would really be asked on the actual NCLEX. Some explanations were spotty, and assume that you already know the material. However, there are well over 1500 questions to go through throughout the course of the subscription so you definitely get a good feel for what the NCLEX will be like. No surprises on test day.
Content-​wise, don’t expect to get too much of a review. The Course Review Book supposedly has all the information you need for the exam, but I often had to refer to my Saunders review book to connect the dots and make sense of it. Kaplan definitely focuses on strategy over content, although very rarely did I consciously apply said strategy. Maybe it became innate?
The greatest advantage to using Kaplan (for me) is being able to identify what you know and what you need to review by going through a billion practice questions. No matter what, you’ll need to put in the time and effort into studying whether you go with Kaplan or another review course.
I never had any problems with their 1 – 800 customer service. They were very gracious in helping me to transfer my course from Chicago to SJ while allowing me to keep my discounted rate. On another occasion (or two…), I fell asleep while taking the QTrainers and they were happy to reset them for me.
While I was highly doubtful of my success after taking the NCLEX, Kaplan must be doing something right because I PASSED!!! Money well-​spent, if you ask me.

While I had a good instructor, I dislike Kaplan.
They recently changed their program to be all online and it does not work well. Assignments often times do not show up as completed.
While Kaplan has an exclusive agreement with Pearson to take GMATs at the center, they do not link up with the dashboard so you cannt see your score nor review your answers. This defeats taking a practice exam.
Their customer service is slow and generally does not help. I’ve spent so much time on hold and then the problems I want fixed cannot be right then so they write it down. My problems gets lost in translation and is never fixed. It’s VERY frustrating.
I suggest buying several GMAT books on your own and studying. If this isn’t sufficient, higher a private tutor from a different provider.