help with 2018 PCAT study materials

[lc1102002]

Hi. I want to purchase the PCAT study materials for my son who will be taking them this year.
So I'm really confused by all the options out there and it seems that so many people recommend using several since some are more valuable in certain topics then others.

Id like to get Dr Collins but I only see older versions for sale. Should i wait till 2018 edition is out?

Pearson? Kaplan? Crack the PCAT?

Please help and tell me what I should order and what guides are best for certain topics.

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[ventyx]

The 2017 PCAT format rolls over to 2018 so it it will be the same. There hasn't been any major announcements from Pearson directly about changes to the PCAT. I used the 2017 edition of Dr. Collin's and the format was very similar to the real PCAT which included the new Biology and Chemistry passages and questions. I would be weary on getting older editions of Collin's as they may not have the passage questions to practice with. I also tried studying with Kaplan, their review contained too much fluff and a lot of time studying was wasted. Kaplan's practice questions were way tougher than usual and didn't replicate the PCAT in terms of difficulty at all. Dr. Collins was more to the point and concise and most of their material you will see on the PCAT. I was able to review the materials several times over with Collin's the day before test day. I owe my score to Dr. Collin's study guide. Dr Collin's contains several study guides that are great refreshers and tons of practice tests. I personally needed to review my undergrad because I was out of school for a year and half before taking the PCAT.

 

[lc1102002]

The 2017 PCAT format rolls over to 2018 so it it will be the same. There hasn't been any major announcements from Pearson directly about changes to the PCAT. I used the 2017 edition of Dr. Collin's and the format was very similar to the real PCAT which included the new Biology and Chemistry passages and questions. I would be weary on getting older editions of Collin's as they may not have the passage questions to practice with. I also tried studying with Kaplan, their review contained too much fluff and a lot of time studying was wasted. Kaplan's practice questions were way tougher than usual and didn't replicate the PCAT in terms of difficulty at all. Dr. Collins was more to the point and concise and most of their material you will see on the PCAT. I was able to review the materials several times over with Collin's the day before test day. I owe my score to Dr. Collin's study guide. Dr Collin's contains several study guides that are great refreshers and tons of practice tests. I personally needed to review my undergrad because I was out of school for a year and half before taking the PCAT.

Thank you for the helpful advise. I've read varying things about collins. i was unsure if it was worth the money.

 

[BetterPharmer88]

Dr. Collins is the best, then the Pearson Practice PCAT. Just my opinion, but I think your son knows what is best for him because he is the one who is going to use those materials himself so why not let him choose it?

I used Dr.Collins for all science sections. For the critical reading part, the Pearson Practice comes very close to the actual PCAT in terms of the difficulty. The sciences sections in the real PCAT are easier than those in the practice though.
English is my second language so I did very bad on the reading (46%) but still ended up at 99% Composite due to my strong science background. So it's all up to the learner's learning style preference. Good luck to your son though!

 

[Pharmacy Princess]

Kaplan is hard but the biology is really good for PCAT, maybe the hardness will help you boost points!