Has anyone taken this course? Was it helpful?
Im planning taking this course plus going through Dr. Collin's study guides.
Im planning taking this course plus going through Dr. Collin's study guides.
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Kaplan On-Site Course
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I thought it was decent.It covered pretty much all the sections pretty well except biology.On the July PCAT, I found myself completely unprepared for the bio section with the questions they were asking, most of which I had never seen before so I was a little ticked off about it. Ended up making a 51 on that section but I still managed a 90 composite. I used the Kaplan class along with old class notes so its not the perfect class but I feel like it did help me.
I thought the course was helpful since it forced me to study certain concepts I didnt particularly care fore-- such as VA, RC, and the writing portion. However, there were a couple workshops that weren't really needed, and certain concepts were never discussed (like nutrition, and drug MOA). The PCAT is a comprehensive, STANDARDIZED test though, so every study aid is bound to miss some concepts.
Overall, if you need a structured study plan and "motivation," I would recommend taking this course. There are over 16K practice questions, and a lot of practice exams for each category so you can work on your timing. Plus, Kaplan offers a money back guarantee if you dont get a higher score than your initial diagnostic exam. However, if your a motivated studier that will focus on your weaknesses, and not so much on your strengths, then i would study your old notes, and use Dr. Collins instead.
Overall, if you need a structured study plan and "motivation," I would recommend taking this course. There are over 16K practice questions, and a lot of practice exams for each category so you can work on your timing. Plus, Kaplan offers a money back guarantee if you dont get a higher score than your initial diagnostic exam. However, if your a motivated studier that will focus on your weaknesses, and not so much on your strengths, then i would study your old notes, and use Dr. Collins instead.
I took the course in 2011 and took the PCAT that year, and I have heard the exam has changed some, so take my advice with a grain of salt. In my case, I had at that point already received my undergrad in 2008 and got a master's in 2009. As a result, I was a master of signal transduction and very specific science subjects, but was many years removed from the basic freshman and soph level courses the PCAT comprises.
I am a procrastinator by heart, so the course gave me structure and a proper pace to cover the proper amount of material each week. The effectiveness of the course heavily depends on the quality of instructor you receive that is unique at each site; in my case, I had a pretty decent instructor. There were some classes that seemed pointless to me and its class schedule seemed a little off at times....such as devoting several weeks to reading comprehension and writing, while having only one class to pretty much cover all of organic chem or calculus jumped out in my mind as being a little silly.
Kaplan's bio, at that time at least, is excellent, if not excessive. If you knew all of the bio material they gave you very well, you are going to score in the 90s. For chemistry, the basic chemistry was pretty good overall, but the organic chemistry was lacking. I recommend getting additional materials for organic. The math section was pretty good as well, up until calculus. The calculus is not good at all...I bought pre cal and calculus for dummies and used that. The reading sections were ok, but those sections are kind've hard to study for; you either are good at it or not at this point in your life.
To sum up, the course really helped provide me structure and made me study a lot more than I would have on my own. If you need some discipline and the structure, it is def worth it. However, find other study materials to look at as well covering the general subject matter of each week's course and look at those as well, especially pre cal, cal, and organic chem. I think it played a big role for me scoring in the 90s, as well as getting into pharmacy school. But if you are disciplined on your own, it may not be worth the money.
I took it and it was not very helpful. I wouldn't say it was completely useless but definitely not worth the cost. They go over super main concepts during the class times but its mostly about taking the time to study on your own. I guess it is helpful to have someone there you can ask if you have any questions but, like I said, not worth the price. The poster above me is correct that it gives you a schedule to run on which may be helpful but I found that people in my pcat class didn't stick tot he schedule anyway.
