Kaplan Premium Online Course vs Other Online Courses??

Hello,
I 'studied' for the GMAT for approx 2 months. By studying I mean that I did 5 Practice Exams through the Kaplan Book. I generally didnt review the material very much that I had gotten wrong as I sort of tricked myself into believing that simply seeing more problems would allow me to get the score I desired. The week before the exam I spent about 2 hours per night dgoing over the common math equations/rules that the Kaplan book provides.
My objective is to get into a part time MBA Program. My practice exams were all in average range of what this school was looking for so I figured that on test day I would do as I had been doing.
I thought I went through the test fine, felt confident and then reality set in: I scored a 430. Ugh.....dejected I sent the scores off the the school and I was expectedly rejected. They told me that everything else on my application was very solid and acceptable and just want me to re take the exam.
After an initial feeling of disapointment, I have committed myself to ensuring that the variance between my practice exams and my real score is not so dramatic next time. I had been scoring in the 520-570 range on all 5 of my practice tests so to get a 430 was pretty shocking. The avg test score at the school I have applied to is a 560 and they are looking for me to score near that.

I need to develop better study habits and have conviced myself that self-study is not the best method for me. I need more structure and direction.
I work full time and live in a somewhat rural area where Kaplan classroom courses are not offered as frequently. I need to re take the exam by Nov 15th so plan to study (more appropriately) this time until then. I can't locate a course that I have the time to drive to that also finishes up in time for the Nov 15th date.

I think that a structured online envrionment would work the best for me.
I have looked into the Kaplan Premium Course as well as their Basic Online course. Preimum Online seems to be well regarded, the basic is the same info/process as the premium but with fewer CAT's, no ultimate test, and non-interactive. The price diff is $700.

Considering my situation, in that I am not looking for a 650 or even a 600. I am looking to score a 550-600 essentially which unfortunately I have already done (albeit at home)
Which online course would you recomend for me? I am more interested in learning the material as opposed to just going through more practice problems. Quant is definately my weak point but could use help on Verbal as well. MY AWA score was a 5.5 so I'm ok with that.

Any suggestions/experiences with any of the available online courses would be helpful.

Thanks.

xwhaler,

From what I've read, Kaplan is not the best option if you really want to learn the concepts as opposed to just "tricks." If you search this forum, you will find A LOT of negative reviews about Kaplan courses in general. That said, I highly recommend Manhattan GMAT on-line course. It is live and tought by the teachers who scored in the 99th percentile. In addition, MGMAT puts all of the instructors through a 100-hour training program, so they definitely come prepared for the course. I took the on-line course with MGMAT in winter, and I must say that I was very impressed with the quiality of the material offered and the instructors (we had 2). The good thing about the on-line course is that you can take in while at home in your bed and you can ask questions live (they provide the headphones with microphone). The class is highly interactive, so you will not be bored at all.
I am not affiliated in any way with MGMAT. I'm just a big fan of their teaching model and the quality of the materials. If you are interested, I've dug out a free virtual preview class posting on their web-site. The event is happening tomorrow, so you can sign up for the preview of their on-line class today and see what their program is all about tomorrow

http://www.manhattangmat.com/EventShow. ... entID=1383

Again, it's free, so you have nothing to lose if you decide that the program is not working for you. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Good luck!

xwhaler,

Here are two things I didn't see in your study materials that I'm sure would help your score quite a bit

1) OG 11
2) GMATPrep practice exams

I took the Kaplan classroom course and I didn't get much value out of it because they barely touched the basic concepts (especially in quant). Don't get me wrong, some people improved their score 100 points after the Kaplan course. For me, what works is reviewing the basics first, then applying those basics on easy GMAT questions (even though I would get them correct before) to reinforce them. Then go for the moderate difficulty questions and finally the tough ones. I can't underscore OG11 and GMATPrep enough.

Thanks to both so far. The Manhattan course does seem pretty good and I like how it is "live"
The only problem with doing Manhattan is that I am going on my 2 week honeymoon the 1st 2 weeks in October and my finacee would kill me if I tried to log in during this time!!
Do they have make up sessions or other courses I could enroll in to make up the time I will miss?

Choosing a course is tough/confusing because some people love certain companies...it all depends on what works for someone. My brother is currently enrolled in the online Kaplan premium and loves it.
With the stress I went through prepapring for, but mostly fretting about the 1st exam, I hate to go through this again but I just need to make the best of it and get more serious about studying this time.

Yes, I agree that you have to go with what works for you. As far as your question about the "make-up" sessions with MGMAT on-line course, you do get 2 options. MGMAT has a generic on-line library of all the sessions so that if you miss your class, or want to review a lesson again, you can listen to the recording and see all the on-line materials. Or you can access the recording of your class if you were not able to attend. I always chose the latter because you get used to the style and voices of your instructors

MGMAT focuses on teaching the content as opposed to tricks, so it defenitely gices you a great foundation to build on.

Thanks so much nervous gmat.
Do you know anything about the Princeton Review Online courses?
Their prices seem to be better than Kaplan---not that price is the biggest facotr in choosing by any means. I just want to ensure that I score to my potential on test day and take approx 10 weeks to do a course.

I don't know much about princeton review online course. But what I've heard, it's comparable to that of Kaplan. I'd also think about the quality of the study materials that come with the on-line course, and the quality of the practice tests that are offered to you. IMO, Princeton has better quality books and better CATs than Kaplan. But then again, Manhattan GMAT study guides and MGMAT CATs beat both hands-down.