Customer Reviews

Kaplan PCAT 2008-2009: Pharmacy College Admission Test

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book by Kaplan is the most comprehensive PCAT review book out there. It includes a complete review of the Math, Biology, and Chemistry. There are plenty of sample questions for you to work on. It has a smart PCAT diagnostic test in the beginning to test your current knowledge before using the book. After you take the test, you know the areas that you still need to work on to improve your score. I also like how the book tells you about the invaluable PCAT test techniques, the real purpose of the test, how to approach each section, etc. The only thing I think it somewhat lacks is the verbal ability part. I would like to see more practice questions and some sample questions of frequently used words on the PCAT. I have no complaint for the writing and reading comprehension reviews.

The bottom line is this book is a MUST-HAVE for PCAT test takers who want to significantly improve their score.

The book's fine as one in a set of books to use as reference as you prepare for the PCAT. But beware, it *IGNORES* organic chemistry, which is at least 50% or the chemistry test. Otherwise the book is OK.

no real difference between this and previous edition (2005). The review section is excellent for those who have been out of school a few years and need a broad review in chemistry, math, and biology. The review questions are obscure, fraught with errors, and simply frustrating when reviewing for the test. This really hurts the overall effectiveness of the book-Use Cliffs test prep-5 PCAT practice tests instead

Over the summer of 2008 I prepared for the PCAT mainly with the Kaplan 2008-2009 PCAT test prep book. The chapters of the Kaplan book covering the verbal, reading, writing and biology sections are all great review with lots of good information and great tips for performing well on those sections. The two practice tests at the end were also fairly helpful overall for extra review and getting acclimated to the actual length of the PCAT.

That being said I felt that the Kaplan book did a somewhat poor job with the math and chemistry review. The organic chemistry chapter in the Kaplan book is a joke and does not go into enough detail. It merely covered basic functional group identification, simple IUPAC naming, and basic molecular orbital theory (sigma/pi bonds, bond order). The actual PCAT asked a good number questions pertaining to aromaticity and predicting products of basic organic transformations like SN1 reactions, hydride reductions, oxidations, and addition-eliminations. However, the Kaplan book did NOT even mention ANY actual organic reactions. And although the general chemistry review is good preparation, the math chapters fail to cover a small portion of calculus and trigonometry. Kaplan's review of calculus like basic derivatives, integrals, and limits is helpful but it did not address implicit derivatives and integrations by parts--both of which were on the actual PCAT. Although, there were only two or three trig questions on the actual PCAT, I feel that a small trig review would have been useful. Despite those faults, the Kaplan book does a great job reviewing statistics, algebra, and pre-calculus. The majority of PCAT math questions tested knowledge of the latter math topics, which Kaplan reviewed very well.

Overall I would recommend purchasing this book for PCAT preparation--especially if you're in need of a great biology review. However, I would take the official PCAT practice tests to prepare for the math and chemistry sections and treat the Kaplan review of these topics as more of a supplement to your main studies.

This book was the basis of the my studying for the PCAT and it was extremely helpful. I read the book cover to cover and scored in the 89th percentile on the test. There were a few typos, but this book really prepared me for the test. I would recommend it to anyone taking the test. It was especially useful in areas I needed extra help with, such as biology and chemistry. The math was the only area I felt ill prepared for when I took the actual test. There was a lot of calculus on the test that was not in the book. Other than that I would say this is the best book on the market to prepare yourself for the PCAT.

By far the best PCAT book on the market. In depth review in all subjects except for verbal ability (wimpy little section). Lots of sample questions and a handy diagnostic test to help you figure out what to study.

The biology review is missing a lot of important basic information and the calculus review doesn't cover what was on the real PCAT test.

My recommendation is to take the practice pcat test from the pearson website. It was very similar to the real test. Then after that, you'll know what you need to review.

This Kaplan test was helpful, but the material wasn't quite the same as what pcat tested on. My weak spots were chemistry and calculus and I don't feel the Kaplan review improved either for me. Vocab review was ok, and essay section didn't give any practice subjects, only tips on how to write an essay. That info could be found online for free...

Overall, I think this review may have been helpful if you are taking a test from 4 years ago, but things have changed. The review is no longer current.

Cons:
1- There are many errors in this book. The most glaring of all is an advice box that directs you to online calculus review. However, the website doesn't exist. According to Kaplan's Academic Services it's a printing error. There are also answer key errors in the chapter reviews and the practice tests.
2- Math, Essay, and Organic chapters aren't thorough enough for the test
3- The book's tests cover less organic chemistry than the actual PCAT

Pros:
1-Best study guide I own (I have 4 books)
2-Gen. Chemistry and Biology sections are thorough
3-Very accurate reading comprehension practice

Despite lacking in the Math, Essay, and to a lesser extent the Organic Chemistry chapters, it is the best and most comprehensive book I have used (reason for the 4 star rating). It has 1 pre test, 1 practice final test, as well as chapters on verbal, reading comprehension, math, bio, chem, the essay, general test taking tips, and changes in the new pcat. Finally, each test prep chapter has review questions at the end. There are roughly 35 content review chapters.

The review chapters are comprehensive and for the most part, well explained. However, there are LOTS of typos and errors that are starting to get very annoying especially mixing up subscripts and superscripts. Also lacks a periodic table which surprised me but those are easy to find. Question explanations are pretty good.

This book needs more information on the "tough stuff". There's not nearly enough review on calculus or advanced chemistry. The english review sections (reading comp and verbal) were pretty decent. I absolutely hated the practice tests in this book for several reasons. First, they were full of errors; I answered questions correctly in the final practice test and the answer key had the incorrect answer letter (correct answer was B and key said it was C, but had the correct information with it). Second, the practice tests had five answer choices, whereas the actual PCAT only had four. Third, the answer sheet for the test had four bubbles (A through D) and five answer choices (A through E). I got a much better test review by paying for a practice test from the company that writes the PCAT. I would not buy this book again.