Barron's...useless?

[whiskeysour]

---

Members don't see this ad.

After looking through a copy of the Kaplan blue book and reading the postive comments about it, I purchased it through SDN. I plan on using this as my primary study aid. The one thing I didn't like about the Kaplan book was the the study information was just kinda thrown out there, very illogical, and overwhelming. Anyone else feel this way also?

I was looking over the Barron's book at borders tonight and found their outlines more helpful because they were outlined and offered ways to attack the material.

I understand that the Barron's review is riddled with errors in the practice exam answers, however, how is the review overall? Anyone use the Barron's book and do extremely well on the DAT? I still plan on using the Kaplan book, but am looking for a supplement.

I have already searched the forum, and many claimed that the Barron's book was "useless" except for the PAT section. Any truth to this?

 

[xxxTheDonxxx]

After looking through a copy of the Kaplan blue book and reading the postive comments about it, I purchased it through SDN. I plan on using this as my primary study aid. The one thing I didn't like about the Kaplan book was the the study information was just kinda thrown out there, very illogical, and overwhelming. Anyone else feel this way also?

I was looking over the Barron's book at borders tonight and found their outlines more helpful because they were outlined and offered ways to attack the material.

I understand that the Barron's review is riddled with errors in the practice exam answers, however, how is the review overall? Anyone use the Barron's book and do extremely well on the DAT? I still plan on using the Kaplan book, but am looking for a supplement.

I have already searched the forum, and many claimed that the Barron's book was "useless" except for the PAT section. Any truth to this?

I used Schaum's bio and combine it with kapplan's bio, i studied the chem section for kapplan back and forth, same with orgo. In general, I give Kapplan blue book a B+. Barron's is good for PAT but there are alot of mistakes in that book. Other than Barron's PAT, I think it's a piece of junk. well that's just my opinion, good luck!

 

[philicity]

After looking through a copy of the Kaplan blue book and reading the postive comments about it, I purchased it through SDN. I plan on using this as my primary study aid. The one thing I didn't like about the Kaplan book was the the study information was just kinda thrown out there, very illogical, and overwhelming. Anyone else feel this way also?

I was looking over the Barron's book at borders tonight and found their outlines more helpful because they were outlined and offered ways to attack the material.

I understand that the Barron's review is riddled with errors in the practice exam answers, however, how is the review overall? Anyone use the Barron's book and do extremely well on the DAT? I still plan on using the Kaplan book, but am looking for a supplement.

I have already searched the forum, and many claimed that the Barron's book was "useless" except for the PAT section. Any truth to this?

The Barron's book was the only DAT-specific study aid that I used to study (AA21). I mostly used it for the practice tests. Even though there were a few errors, it was still good practice for me to just get familiar with the test and timing.
That being said, I used Barron's because I was cheap and it was available at the library. If I could go back, I would invest in Topscore or some other computerized study aid that provides a bunch of practice tests that can be taken on the computer. Barron's is pretty useless, especially if you already have Kaplan or some other book and there are definitely better sources for practice tests out there.
Good luck with studying!

 

[KOM]

I agree with most everyone out there. There are better sources than Barron's...again lots of mistakes in Barron's and if you're reading the bio sections for rote memorization then it's rather annoying to try and "unlearn" something. Plus I don't think there is enough "pertinent" detail in Barron's. The PAT section is useful!

 

[tinman831]

Barron's book is good at explaining the PAT section, but its pretty much limited to that. 🙂

 

[beannaithe]

So call me weird, but I *liked* Barrons. Yes, there are a lot of errors but to ensure that you are right you need to actually sit down and go through the material and figure out what the right answer actually is. I found that really helpful because instead of just breezing over the answers and not knowing if I was right or not, I actually took the time to check.

Plus it is one of the only good PAT tests out there.

I 😍 😍 😍 😍 Kaplan book though. Got me my 21. 😀

 

[lafootdoc]

I think you should use barrons only for the sections that you are really strong in. So if your really good at gchem, then maybe you want to use that for reviewing it. I liked the practice diags that it had, however, there were alot of errors. The math was pretty good to, to be honest. My advice is, if your spending all this money on kaplan, topscore etc, whats another 20 bucks if you spend it on barrons.

 

[Typo]

I didn't go through Barron's study materials, but I can confirm what you said - their tests are crap. The number of errors is absolutely ridiculous. A friend of mine and I each had a copy of the Barron's book, and took the same test side by side. When we graded it, we realized that the answer keys in each book were completely different from each other, and even the two answers that were given were dubious in some cases! Also, since there are no explanations, you are left in the dark about how to improve or what you did wrong. Don't waste your time with their tests, unless you've scoured everything Kaplan has to offer, including explanations.

So, that being said, I believe that the errors in their tests cast doubt on all their other material. If they're careless about their test keys, who's to say that they're not careless about checking their facts elsewhere?

The Barron's PAT section is useful because it is more difficult than what you'll find in Kaplan's book or on TopScore Pro. Even still, beware of incorrect answers on the PAT sections, because they're there.

Kaplan alone was enough to get me (and countless others) a solid score. If you can afford it, pay for their online course as well, because the questions and explanations are worth it. I always felt like 90% of the information Kaplan has to offer is found in the book, while the last 10% is found buried in the explanations (there's definitely info in there you won't find in the book - and, at times it's explained better than in the book). This is yet another reason why Barron's simply is not useful, because you will receive zero feedback on why your wrong answers were wrong.

Finally, to conclude my long (and probably unnecessary 😛) rant, anyone who tells you that Kaplan alone isn't enough is wrong. I performed poorly in my college courses, and studied purely Kaplan, and performed very well on the test. In the end, your score is going to be mostly a reflection of your hard work, both in terms of memorizing the material and learning how to take multiple choice tests.

Study the big Kaplan book, take as many tests as you can, and don't waste your time with Barron's (except the PAT section).