Where’s the Competitive Edge?
OVERALL RATING:
Kaplan is one of the best-selling Schweser brand products who hold a large share in the standardized test market. Most people are more familiar with their popular CFA review course which leaves their CPA review course in the shadows. Kaplan has very few customer reviews or user comments and the ones they do have are pretty vague about the overall value this course provides.
Kaplan offers two types of courses: live online review and a self-study review. Each course format offered can be purchased for $1,399 and include all 4 parts. These materials are available for 24 months from the date of purchase. After this time, you may re-purchase anything the second time for a 50% discount. All courses come with online access to study materials and updates.
Pros
1. Industry “Experts”
Kaplan is an established name in the industry. They are well known for their standardized test preparation and have a lot of experience with the professional exams and preparatory courses.
2. Online Support
Their courses include a service called “Instructor-led Office Hours”. It allows students to ask questions about specific problems to instructors. This type of support is better than a lot of the other reviews but is still very limited. It’s good for those who need an instructor to guide them occasionally or to answer some of their questions. However, this online help is meant to answer specific questions and not to serve as a guide throughout the entire course.
Cons
1. Bad Presentation Of Information
Kaplan’s primary study materials and textbooks are presented in a way that is too complicated and detailed. While it’s a good thing to have a comprehensive textbook, it doesn’t teach the material in an effective way. They cover many topics that aren’t relevant for the exam which make it hard to find the important information.
2. Questionable Pass Rates
Kaplan doesn’t publish the pass rate of their students, which is always a warning sign. Not to mention some of their competitors (Roger CPA) claim it’s only 69%. It’s up to you to decide whether this information is correct, but do you really want to risk failing the exam?
3. Ineffective Lectures
Most lectures consist of a text and a small embedded video of an instructor talking. Many people claim this isn’t the most effective way to deliver the lectures or to stay focused. Kaplan’s video instructions are mediocre at best and fall short of their competition.
4. Very Few Practice Questions
Kaplan offers less than half of the practice questions and simulations other CPA courses have. This means you will be forced to either take the exam unprepared or to purchase additional practice questions from one of Kaplan’s competitors.
5. Students Remain Silent
It is one of the greater names in the standardized test industry but nobody talks about their CPA review. There aren’t many user comments or recommendations in the forums which is a huge red flag.
My Suggestion
Kaplan CPA course simply doesn’t have any strong features that make it stand out. With so many other CPA reviews available Kaplan seems to fall short of their competition.
It doesn’t have any attractive features and for almost the same price you can choose from a few other courses that are much stronger problem. Kaplan doesn’t offer any competitive edge to its customers and that is why I cannot recommend this product. For a couple hundred dollars more you can purchase a review course like Yaeger, Roger, or CPAexcel that absolutely crush Kaplan.
To learn more about Kaplan’s competitors click HERE.
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