Kaplan PCAT : 2004-2005 Edition

Rating:
Summary: An Exact Copy of DAT
Review: This book is a word by word copy of DAT. It's sily to say this book is designed for PCAT. The Verbal part is also a copy from other Kaplan books, not directly related to PCAT.

Rating:
Summary: Get this book!!!!
Review: This book was the only one that I used for the PCAT. The first time I took it without the book I got a very low scorel After reading through the book I more than doubled my score!!!! This was a life saver. It was easy to read and it gave you what you needed to know except for organic chemistry and calculus, in my opinion. Otherwise, this was a great book and I highly recommend it, plus it is really cheap on amazon!!! Good luck!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Buy an old MCAT book instead!
Review: This is not a book designed for the PCAT at all. I mistakenly thought, if anyone, Kaplan would have a decent PCAT review. However, this book is obviously designed for the MCAT, as it mentions medical school, the MCAT format, and contains entire sections copied word for word from the Kaplan MCAT book. It is as if someone at Kaplan edited the last edition MCAT book to say "PCAT" in place of "MCAT" and changed about half the references to the MCAT exam to refer to the PCAT, but rushed it to the press before they altered all the references. If you need to know the format of the PCAT, look it up online... then buy an old edition MCAT book and review those sections and questions you need too. This book offers no direct, relevent, or benefical knowlegde of the PCAT exam. In addition, this book has several errors in answers and explinations. I gave it two stars because it contains somewhat indepth reviews of biology, chemistry and mathematics (but beware of errors!). However, one could get the same review by buying or borrowing an old edition MCAT book(not to mention save money). In summery, if you think this will provide any insight or hints unique to the PCAT exam, it won't!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Help
Review: This Kaplan book is the most in depth coverage of the material in the PCAT that I found. It has very thorough review sections and covers probably much more than you will really need to know. If you can review with this book and at least survive the questions they ask in the practice tests, then you will do fine on the PCAT. Note: Do not freak out when answering the practice questions, the questions in this book are harder than the ones on the PCAT.

Some comments that should be mentioned with this book: This book does not cover calculus, so be sure to review it also. Don't worry so much about chemistry calculations; try to get down the general concepts. Do not expect to learn everything you need from this book, there is too much info in it...instead focus on your weak points and strengthen them. Relax and follow some of the test taking tips given in the book...they really do help.

In case you care, my composite score was 99th percentile. :-)


Rating:
Summary: From one future Pharm.D. to another...
Review: Using Kaplan's PCAT Review, as well as Barron's PCAT Review, as a study guide for the November PCAT, I believe I faired well. Kaplan's review offered an actual "REVIEW" of the materials covered on the PCAT, as opposed to Barron's, which gave only an outline of what to study. The Kaplan's Biology portion was probably the most comprehensive section - as it railed through a broad spectrum of concepts in only 233 pages (a big thanks to Kaplan for making my college expenditures go down the drain – just kidding, but they did do an excellent job). Another useful portion was Chemistry, which nailed a lot of the concepts needed to do well on the test. While the practice questions were relatively more difficult than on the actual PCAT, Kaplan failed to include a thorough organic chemistry review; the people at Kaplan only concocted little more than a surface-skimming synopsis of two semesters worth of “organic blood, sweat and tears.” So a warning to all pharmacy neophytes, know your organic chemical reactions - with reactants, products, and all! The Quantitative section was probably represented in the Kaplan book the best, with the Final Exam at the end -- time allotted and difficulty -- matching fairly well with what you’re up against on the actual exam day. If you’re a little rusty on your calculus though, dust off the cobwebs on your calculus textbook because the PCAT does a good job disseminating varies calculus type questions throughout the section (remember, time is pivotal in this section, so there’s no time to be tentative about your answers).

Despite not releasing their print in time to include reviews and practices reflecting the latest PCAT updates and changes, I would give Kaplan an above average rating on their attempt to produce a calculus, as well as a sentence completion online review - which is the other big change to the PCAT (replacement of analogies with sentence completion).

Although I feel that their is not a good systematic way to study for the Verbal and Reading sections, I would definitely take Kaplan's advice on learning root words to build your vocabulary and reading a lot more on medical topics and natural science subjects (i.e. National Geographic, Science, and Scientific American). This will help you be more familiar with the passage topics on the PCAT, but I found a lot of the questions dealt with organization and development of the passage, so read more actively, and be prepared for those.

I didn't take the online practice test offered by the Harcourt Assessment, Inc. on their PCAT website for $17, but I found one question on the PCAT Candidate Information Booklet that showed up on the actually exam; so it might behoove future test takers to go ahead and pay for that online practice exam.

The only big qualm I have about the Kaplan PCAT Review is that it is filled with typos and misprints. Come on editors, you get paid for this, at least do your job and proofread what you wrote -- or copied from your other review materials (wink).

Overall, this book was a pretty sound investment, but don’t think one book is going to get you into pharmacy school. Use this book, along with notes from your classes, and even MCAT review materials, and you should be well on you way to being a “legal drug dealer” in no time. Good luck you guys and wish me luck as the results are pending -- and my fingers are crossed.


Rating:
Summary: It's better than Barrons
Review: Well, I got my score as everyone else did on 12/3 for the
10/23 test. I bought and borrowed from the library about
5 different study guides to prep for the test. The 6 months
leading to the test seems like a long time but I felt it
would take that long to really master all of the subjects.
I would say this book is one of the better ones out there and
Barrons is probably the easiest and therefore the worst one.
Since every PCAT test is different, the 10/23 test may not be
representative of future tests. So it's hard to give advice to
you all. If you want to guarantee a good score, you'll just
have to master all the subjects. THE way to do it is to use
your text books to relearn it all then take as many sample tests
as you can get your hands on and identify where your weak areas
still are. Then study those areas again and again. Don't study
the areas that you are already good at! Classic mistake. Make
sure you cover A&P as well as Biology. Yeah, also your calc and
org chem as many have told you already. Also learn techniques
of how to take std tests. Constantly review the stuff until
couple of days before the test. Turn off the TV, radio, and
those games for a couple of months to totaly focus on getting
ready for the test. You have to realize that your biggest
challenge is getting into Pharm school, not graduating once you
get in! It is SO competitive now that only less than the top
10% of the students get in. You've got to take it seriously
for you to even have a chance. I'm hoping my 3.8 GPA and the
94 percentile on my 10/23 PCAT is good enough. Good luck.