For those who used Kaplan and did well on the PCAT....

[Pharmwannab]

I'm just about finished studying the bio section of the Kaplan and noticed that they pretty much only go over the basics. There's a lot of details that they leave out. Do those who studied the Kaplan all the way through feel that it was pretty comprehensive *for* the PCAT or did you find that you needed a lot of knowledge from your classes in order to do well? I've heard that Kaplan over-prepares you. Granted, it is a pretty thick book and at least touches on just about every topic it seems, but as I stated there's just a lot of details under each topic that they don't touch on. I kind of loathe to go back and re-read my bio. book as it would take a lot of time I just don't have, but I suppose I'll make time if I must.

So, thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[rxlynn]

I'm just about finished studying the bio section of the Kaplan and noticed that they pretty much only go over the basics. There's a lot of details that they leave out. Do those who studied the Kaplan all the way through feel that it was pretty comprehensive *for* the PCAT or did you find that you needed a lot of knowledge from your classes in order to do well? I've heard that Kaplan over-prepares you. Granted, it is a pretty thick book and at least touches on just about every topic it seems, but as I stated there's just a lot of details under each topic that they don't touch on. I kind of loathe to go back and re-read my bio. book as it would take a lot of time I just don't have, but I suppose I'll make time if I must.

So, thoughts?

What you might do is use the diagnostic and practice tests in Kaplan to point out where you have problems/questions and then use your textbook just to supplement those areas. I personally went back and read my whole bio textbook, but it had been a very long time since I took biology so I needed more review. In terms of the chemistry, I felt Kaplan focused too much on computational questions compared to the actual test. I had a lot of time problems on all the practice tests, but no problem on the actual chemistry PCAT. Also, I do not think there is enough organic review in Kaplan compared to the actual test. Be sure you know nomenclature. There were more of those than I expected, including a pair of questions that were so related if you missed one you probably missed the other.

 

[calrx]

Kaplan prepares you well for the bio and general chem subjects on the PCAT. I think the Kaplan book is plenty sufficient for those two subjects... no need to go back and re-read your entire freshman year bio book (unless you are like rxlynn and have been away from the material for a substantial amount of time). If you didn't take one of Kaplan's prep classes and/or don't have the workbook, then I recommend supplementing the organic section with another book or old class notes. The main Kaplan review book is definitely lacking in organic chem but the workbook goes into much more detail and I found it to be a really good review. Hope this helps...

Happy Studying

 

[Pharmwannab]

Nice. Thanks guys.