Opinion about Kaplan -- Please give input.

[CardaRx]

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I think my other thread was too long….so to get help. I shorten it.

Okay, I was just informed that PCAT is NOT CBT. As I was informed incorrectly by Kaplan. -- Misinformation is very SAD...

BUT, I heard that the only think Kaplan is good for is some test taking strategies. But, I'm not sure what that means. For example, I read a thread that mentions Kaplan had good analogy strategy. Still not sure what this means…… Can someone clarify?



I've read that Kaplan has:

• Good Analogy strategies –
• Overkill Bio section
• Bad Sample Test
• Bad O'Chem but Good G'Chem
• Bad Quant
• Bad Writing

But they provide, really good test taking strategies...... But is it worth $1400. Should I still buy it anyways, for basic materials?I don't want to pay $1400 if it can be substituted for something else.

Please Help.

 

[xMav]

Hi, I've read all 3 of your threads. First off, when people recommend studying with Kaplan, I think most of them are talking about the Kaplan PCAT book which costs significantly less than the course itself. I wouldn't recommend taking the course unless you consider yourself to be undisciplined and need someone there who is going to encourage you to study every week or so.

For the PCAT, I just used the Kaplan book to study and I ended up doing pretty well. My university has pretty high academic standards though so I had already been exposed to most of the material on the PCAT even before studying. You should probably take a diagnostic test before studying to see how your current knowledge of the subjects in the PCAT hold up. Then you can have an idea of where to focus on your studying.

 

[Rcu]

I used the Kaplan book to study for the PCAT. It is a much better value than the Kaplan PCAT course if you are willing to put in the time, no less than one hour daily for about two months before the test is what I would recommend.
The Kaplan book does teach test taking strategy, which is important, but the main focus is to teach the material that has been on previous tests and most likely will show up on future tests. I would have to agree that the writing section is weak, but overall I was pleased with the rest of the book.
Pearson offers two practice PCAT exams for around $50. They can be taken under simulated test conditions or not; it is your choice. I highly recommend taking advantage of that. The Kaplan book also includes a diagnostic PCAT and a full length PCAT.

 

[sugarxoxo]

I'm going to be taking the classroom course in the summer I signed up in march because of their $150 rebate. Anyway I looked through their syllabus and then went through the course work on the website.. Ill write a review about how I do on my 2nd pcat .. I feel it is much more helpful to take the course if u have the money because they have it all organized for you and you get all the practice tests and provided all the material to study for the test.

 

[diastole]

If you decide to study on your own with the Kaplan book, you will need to supplement your organic chemistry and math. I didn't bother to study for writing because it seemed like most people got 3s anyway.

I'm looking at my Kaplan book and it doesn't seem to offer a great strategy for the analogies. You just make a sentence that relates the two words and apply it to the other pair. Work backwards if you get stuck. When I was an SAT tutor, we actually taught the relationships you were likely to encounter. Kaplan seems to be lacking that. Maybe they offer more details in the actual course. Perhaps you can find that info in a SAT or GRE prep book.

 

[CardaRx]

So far it looks like I should buy:

• Kaplan PCAT for -- some strategies, basics, BIO and Gen. Chem
• Dr. Collins -- b/c of review, although no one would tell me if the material is lacking anything... ie. Verbal, Writing, Ochem, Reading, Writting or Quantitive ability?
• Pearson Practice Exams

Haven't seen anything specific to Verbal, Writing, Ochem, Reading, Writting or Quantitive ability yet....

But if you used something and it helped you tremendously on the PCAT, please let me know.

Feel free to PM me also.

 

[ValeRx]

It's funny.. I see all these "smart" people taking the PCAT. They are in the 80s and 90s for their sciences, yet in the 20s for reading comp and verbal. Why is that?

 

[diastole]

It's funny.. I see all these "smart" people taking the PCAT. They are in the 80s and 90s for their sciences, yet in the 20s for reading comp and verbal. Why is that?

Maybe English isn't their first language? Or maybe they don't read much as science majors? I know when I was taking the GRE years back I took a practice test for the verbal portion and scored around 50 because I didn't read much so I didn't have the vocabulary that was required. I had to learn lots and lots of words to get those scores up.

 

[JURGIS]

Kaplan PCAT book: best overall prep book. If I only had one book to buy this would be it. Great on Bio, weak on Orgo and okay in math, verbal and reading comp. Good pointers for how to write your essay.

MCAT AudioOsmosis: Overkill for PCAT prep. However, I just popped the CDs in my CD player and listened to them as I drove from home to school and back. Great review of key terms and concepts. Attempts to be funny to keep you entertained and engaged, mostly just annoying. Worth getting if you can afford it.

McGraw Hill: no better than Kaplan for all sections except verbal. If you struggle with verbal, McGraw Hill book has multiple pages of word roots to memorize that I think would be very beneficial.

Schaum's Outlines for College Algebra / Precalculus (2 separate books). Great books for those struggling withcompleting the math section. June PCAT, had to guess on 25% of the questions b/c I ran out of time. I spent about 75 hours working a ton of problems in these two books and I completed the math section with a couple minutes to spare. Moved up from a 62 to a 91% in this section because of these books.

Cliffnotes 5 PCAT Practice Tests: Riddled with errors. Reading comprehension passages were painful to read they were that bad. I would not recommend unless you just want to get some practice on test taking. Do NOT trust the answers.

Dr. Collins : As I mentioned, I bought this second hand. Perhaps it was not the most up to date version. The math section included stuff on trig and geometry which is no longer on the pcat. The bio section was helpful but not as indepth as Kaplan. Chem was a good review. Verbal mostly just practice tests. Same with reading comprehension. I liked Dr. Collins b/c it was more concise than some of the other resources but also had a good number of practice tests for each section (most had 8 practice tests). Would not spend the full price of $300 for it. However, the used priced I paid of $150 was worth it. Plus there is sufficient demand that you can normally sell it when u r done for what you paid for it (range of $125-$175).

By Section:

Verbal: McGrawHill and Dr. Collins

Reading Comprehension: ExamKrackers 101 Reading Passages (or some similar name)

Chemistry: Kaplan for Gen Chem. ExamKrackers 1001 Organic Chem Problems for Orgo

Biology: Kaplan is all you need for this. Taking a cell bio course can only help but Kaplan is enough on its own. If you want, supplement this with ExamKrackers Audio Osmosis CDs.

Math: Buy both Schaum's OUtline books mentioned. And Practice, Practice, Practice. All the other sections you can get by by knowing the concepts but math, you have to be able to put it into practice quickly. I did over half of the problems in each book to get comfortable and faster. Also, it sounds stupid but practice you multiplication tables. It will shave a couple seconds off each question and decrease the chances of making a simple math error.

Writing: Kaplan has some good pointers. I would suggest getting together a list of topics, writing 30 minute essays and then going to your school's writing center to have them evaluated and get pointers on how to structure your essays better.

Hope this helps.

 

[CardaRx]

Thanks so much for all your generous opinion and tips!!!

I took calculus a long time ago, so all my math is very weak. Thanks for the tip.

 

[later2pharm]

Kaplan PCAT book: best overall prep book. If I only had one book to buy this would be it. Great on Bio, weak on Orgo and okay in math, verbal and reading comp. Good pointers for how to write your essay.

MCAT AudioOsmosis: Overkill for PCAT prep. However, I just popped the CDs in my CD player and listened to them as I drove from home to school and back. Great review of key terms and concepts. Attempts to be funny to keep you entertained and engaged, mostly just annoying. Worth getting if you can afford it.

McGraw Hill: no better than Kaplan for all sections except verbal. If you struggle with verbal, McGraw Hill book has multiple pages of word roots to memorize that I think would be very beneficial.

Schaum's Outlines for College Algebra / Precalculus (2 separate books). Great books for those struggling withcompleting the math section. June PCAT, had to guess on 25% of the questions b/c I ran out of time. I spent about 75 hours working a ton of problems in these two books and I completed the math section with a couple minutes to spare. Moved up from a 62 to a 91% in this section because of these books.

Cliffnotes 5 PCAT Practice Tests: Riddled with errors. Reading comprehension passages were painful to read they were that bad. I would not recommend unless you just want to get some practice on test taking. Do NOT trust the answers.

Dr. Collins : As I mentioned, I bought this second hand. Perhaps it was not the most up to date version. The math section included stuff on trig and geometry which is no longer on the pcat. The bio section was helpful but not as indepth as Kaplan. Chem was a good review. Verbal mostly just practice tests. Same with reading comprehension. I liked Dr. Collins b/c it was more concise than some of the other resources but also had a good number of practice tests for each section (most had 8 practice tests). Would not spend the full price of $300 for it. However, the used priced I paid of $150 was worth it. Plus there is sufficient demand that you can normally sell it when u r done for what you paid for it (range of $125-$175).

By Section:

Verbal: McGrawHill and Dr. Collins

Reading Comprehension: ExamKrackers 101 Reading Passages (or some similar name)

Chemistry: Kaplan for Gen Chem. ExamKrackers 1001 Organic Chem Problems for Orgo

Biology: Kaplan is all you need for this. Taking a cell bio course can only help but Kaplan is enough on its own. If you want, supplement this with ExamKrackers Audio Osmosis CDs.

Math: Buy both Schaum's OUtline books mentioned. And Practice, Practice, Practice. All the other sections you can get by by knowing the concepts but math, you have to be able to put it into practice quickly. I did over half of the problems in each book to get comfortable and faster. Also, it sounds stupid but practice you multiplication tables. It will shave a couple seconds off each question and decrease the chances of making a simple math error.

Writing: Kaplan has some good pointers. I would suggest getting together a list of topics, writing 30 minute essays and then going to your school's writing center to have them evaluated and get pointers on how to structure your essays better.

Hope this helps.

do u know anything about this series of self teaching books?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

its the best selling and reviews seem to be the most positive.

 

[UES Girl]

It's funny.. I see all these "smart" people taking the PCAT. They are in the 80s and 90s for their sciences, yet in the 20s for reading comp and verbal. Why is that?

I know this is an older post but it really rubbed me the wrong way. You tried to be sarcastic with your 'smart' people remark, but your sarcasm is very unoriginal. The fact that individuals score low on the verbal, but high on the sciences, comes from a simple fact that they are either bilingual or trilingual or ESL, and hence verbal section can present a serious challenge. I had 80s and 90s on my sciences and 22 on my verbal. Didn't prevent me from scoring a bunch of interviews.

 

[WhiteSnows]

I know this is an older post but it really rubbed me the wrong way. You tried to be sarcastic with your 'smart' people remark, but your sarcasm is very unoriginal. The fact that individuals score low on the verbal, but high on the sciences, comes from a simple fact that they are either bilingual or trilingual or ESL, and hence verbal section can present a serious challenge. I had 80s and 90s on my sciences and 22 on my verbal. Didn't prevent me from scoring a bunch of interviews.

I scored 29 on verbal first time and 40 on second time. I have improved 11 points- for me it is a huge improvement for a short time of study.