Princeton vs. Kaplan Bar Prep Side-By-Side Comparison

Both Kaplan and Princeton review courses have various similarities in their study features. Both offer extensive bar prep review curriculums, exam study materials like live online and in-class lectures, printed prep books, simulated practice exams, and live video lessons with experts.

With both giants going hand in hand in various features making a better choice can take time and effort. Here is a comparison of their features and several differences that will help you decide.

Main Features Available Kaplan Bar Prep Review Course Princeton Bar Prep Review Course
Pricing  Cheaper than Princeton. Discounts available on their packages A bit expensive. Discounts available
Video instructions 50+ lessons 140+ lessons
Live class hours 18 18
Online course access Six months One year
Practice questions 1000+ 2000+
Simulated practice tests Eight tests 25 tests
Prep books Hard copy Online and hardcopy
Money back guarantee yes yes
Score guarantee High score High score
Personalized study plan Yes  Yes 
Live lectures by experts Yes  Yes 
Pros Has hard copy prep books
Several courses to choose
Question bank with a variety of practice questions
Students have access to expert instructors
Guaranteed high score
Artificial learning system
Live online expert instructors
Long course access (1 year)
Princeton has a Review App 
Cons  No Mobile App to access study materials;
Only available on their website.
Short course access period. 
Costly.
Princeton Review app is better suited for laptop use only. 

What Is a Kaplan Bar Prep Review Course?

  • Kaplan Bar Prep Review Course Features
  • Kaplan Pros
  • Kaplan cons

Kaplan is an established provider of Bar prep Review courses that offers excellent practice materials, detailed video lessons, live lectures, and more study resources. Their team of experts offers students a flexible self-study course with 160+ hours of live directives.

Kaplan courses are accessible for both live and online classes. They also have fantastic online features that enable students to track their learning progress. Their simulated online exams, online lectures, and interactive lectures keep learners engaged in their self-study.

Kaplan Bar Prep Review Course Features

  • Question Bank
  • Kaplan Bar Coursework
  • Kaplan packages Available
  • Video Lessons

Kaplan offers students moderately distinct bar review courses in every state except UBE. They have two regular prep packages, Complete Bar Review and Convenience Package.

Kaplan Complete Bar Review course is the base package offering students practice materials, video lessons, and self-study resources with 160+ hours of live instructions from their team of experts. Students can take this prep package live online through frequently scheduled webcasts or in-class lessons. Their current prices are affordable and may differ depending on your state and the promo discounts offered.

Kaplan Convenience Package is more expensive than the complete review package. The convenience package contains additional prep materials from the second state of your choice. The package also has a set of Kaplan MBE flashcards and a second course within five years.

Kaplan bar prep review course offers the following:

Question Bank

Kaplan QBank has generated a question system tailored by topics, type, and length. The questions give students ground to test their weak areas as they study.

Kaplan Qbank has various multiple-choice practice questions compiled by Kaplan’s instructors. All practice questions are similar to those in the actual exam. After completing Qbank questions, students get a report on their performance and guidance on questions requiring much concentration.

Kaplan Bar Coursework

Kaplan coursework has engaging and comprehensive lessons with excellent prep books. Kaplan’s bar review curriculum is exclusively designed by their team of licensed attorneys, internal  MBE experts, and well-educated instructors. Their study plan will is of high quality leaving you exam ready at the end of the course.

Kaplan online syllabus directs you through your tasks with adequate practice materials. These daily tasks have four main categories: Learn, Practice, Review, and Catch Up, with 5-7 hours of work across them.

Kaplan Packages Available

Kaplan offers students multiple courses to choose between Live Online, Unlimited Prep, and On-Demand prep courses. Each varies in price and study resources available to students accordingly.

With the On-Demand test prep course, students studying on a low budget get instructional videos, a few practice tests, and practice questions. Their lessons are shorter, with 30 minutes of study time a day.

The Live Online is more flexible, with  18 hours of live classes and prep books. Students can pick between schedules on how to attend course lessons depending on their available time. Students have two weeks to 2 months of Live Online classes.

Unlimited Prep has prep books and lives online classes, and students can access PSAT prep materials. They also get longer course lessons and Kaplan SAT tutoring.

Video Lessons

Kaplan’s video lessons are well created, with short videos that grab the student’s attention. Instructors use informal language which is engaging and understandable by most students. Instructors address complex topics more profoundly, using graphics and notes on the screen to keep students engaged. All video lessons are accessible through the Kaplan website.

Practice Tests

Kaplan offers practice tests similar to the official test. The number of practice tests available per student depends on their course. However, the cheapest On-Demand course has only four timed practice tests.

Kaplan Pros

  • Has hard copy prep books
  • Several courses to choose
  • Qbank with a variety of practice questions
  • Students have access to expert instructors

Kaplan Cons

  • Kaplan has no Mobile App to access study materials; they are only available on their website.
  • They have a short course access period

What Is Princeton Bar Prep Review Course?

  • Princeton Bar Prep Review Course Features
  • Princeton Pros
  • Princeton Cons

The Princeton Review is a well-established bar prep course provider. They offer questions published exclusively by the Law School Admission Council. Princeton is committed to updating its prep programs with new materials, including digital test materials, as soon as they are available.

Princeton Bar Prep Review Course Features

  • Live Instructors
  • Dashboard
  • Access to ACT and SAT Prep Course
  • Course Access Time
  • Artificial Learning System

Princeton Review course has four-course formats self-spaced, essentials, SAT 1400+, and SAT 1500+ tutoring, each with different features and prices. The Princeton Self-Paced course package runs at low than $300 for SAT or ACT each or around $500 for both SAT/ACT dual packages.

For the reference package, students get video lessons, practice tests, and practice questions with no live classes and books. Here are more features of the Princeton review course:

Live Instructors

Princeton Review has excellent instructors who are experts. Each instructor goes through 37 hours of Princeton Review training before they start to tutor students. Most of them have years of Princeton review course experience. They offer knowledgeable video lessons and live instruction with systematic strategies similar to the SAT.

Dashboard

Princeton Review has an intuitive dashboard that offers students online access to all required resources. It is adaptable and easy to navigate. The dashboard displays students’ daily assignments, goals, and weekly and monthly reviews.

Princeton dashboard allows students to keep tabs on their goals and attempt daily practice questions and lessons. They have a  navigation bar at the top that takes students to coursework, practice tests, and reports. Princeton Review offers an easy-to-use and apprehendable dashboard to users.

Access to ACT and SAT Prep Course

Princeton prep course gives you free access to the single section of ACT course after purchasing the full length SAT course. When you purchase Princeton Review SAT course you will have access to 377 online drills, 3200+ online practice questions, and 280+ video lessons from expert tutors.  The self-paced course ACT prep that has 10 hours of on-demand tutoring with videos, questions, and practice tests.

Course Access Time

You can access the Princeton Review course for a whole year. This applies to all available courses, which is quite a generous offer. Students can retake the test questions with adequate time to study using their materials to try their abilities.

Artificial Learning System

Princeton Review course uses an artificial learning system in all of its courses. The system adjusts the next question after every practice question and practice test a student does concerning levels.

SAT prep students have customized study plans for each course with live instruction from Princeton experts. The study plan is generated depending on their goals and the study time they have.

Princeton Pros

  • Have a guaranteed high score
  • They have an artificial learning system
  • Have live online expert instructors
  • They have long course access(1 year)
  • Princeton has a Review App

Princeton Cons

  • Princeton Review’s courses are costly.
  • The Princeton Review app is better suited for laptop use only

What Princeton Does Better Than Kaplan

Both Kaplan and Princeton have more similarities; the main difference is that Princeton Review prep courses offer more course options, more practice questions, more course access time, and more video lessons.

  1. Princeton offers free ACT review course access once you buy the SAT package.
  2. Princeton live in-class lessons have a knowledgeable team of instructors who deliver fully detailed content review with current testing strategies.
  3. Princeton Review’s books have detailed and comprehensive content.
  4. Princeton has at least three times more practice tests and questions than Kaplan.

What Kaplan Does Better Than Princeton

  1. Despite Kaplan having few study materials, the quality is excellent and has a promising pass score.
  2. Kaplan has more affordable course options than Princeton.
  3. Kaplan’s video lessons are well-planned, with detailed explanations covering each study course.
  4. Kaplan has a well-detailed online portal with an intuitive user Experience and Interface than Princeton.

You can get both Princeton and Kaplan review courses at their respective websites.

What Does Kaplan Review Do Better Than Barbri?

Kaplan has adequate practice materials and well-planned daily lessons in their coursework and curriculum, while Barbri has a customized study plan and challenging coursework. In addition, Kaplan’s Complete Bar Review course is much cheaper and more accessible than Barbri’s.

Do Princeton And Kaplan Review Course Offer Free Trials?

Both Kaplan and Princeton courses offer free review course trials. Princeton offers a 14-day free review course trial, while Kaplan offers a 7-day free review course. Princeton’s free review course contains more study content than Kaplans.

Which Course Is Better, Princeton Review Or Kaplan?

Although Princeton provides more inclusive course options, Kaplan’s pricing is affordable with each package level. On curriculum and Study Materials though expensive, Princeton has adequate access to every package.

Does Kaplan Write Their Own Bar Review Course Questions?

Kaplan prepares most commercial bar exam review courses instead of redoing past questions. Most of their MBE questions are written by their in-house experts.

Does Princeton Write Their Own Bar Review Course Questions?

The Princeton Review Assessment tests are created by their team of experts to help students advance in their exam prep. All their Live Online lessons are recorded and suitable to re-watch and review complex concepts during your study period.

About the author

Colin is a practicing CPA with over 14 years of experience in various accounting and finance roles. After reaching the Sr. Manager level at a Big-4 firm, he now works as a freelance consultant while helping others pass their professional exams.

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