Should I Ditch Kaplan?

[9each]

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I have the PCAT in September and I'm honestly very confused about what to study and I feel like I'm running out of time since I have two chem classes over the summer as well. I have the 2017 Collins and the 2016-2017 Kaplan book and the information in both of them are very different. Some people really hate the Kaplan book and praise the Dr. Collins so I'm just wondering if I should only focus on Collins but will that be enough?

 

[Texas_pharmD]

I have the PCAT in September and I'm honestly very confused about what to study and I feel like I'm running out of time since I have two chem classes over the summer as well. I have the 2017 Collins and the 2016-2017 Kaplan book and the information in both of them are very different. Some people really hate the Kaplan book and praise the Dr. Collins so I'm just wondering if I should only focus on Collins but will that be enough?

We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. Did you take the Kaplan practice tests, and if so, how did you do?

 

[9each]

We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. Did you take the Kaplan practice tests, and if so, how did you do?

I haven't taken any tests yet, I'm reviewing biology right now. I'm not sure if the Kaplan tests are worth the time since no one talks about them but idk

 

[dizpnoyownzyoo]

I thought the Kaplan was good for biology and chemistry. Pretty overkill in those subjects actually. Useless for reading and math, although they give some good test-taking tips for those subjects.
I never used Collin's, but I've heard very good things about it. I've seen people suggest focusing on Collin's and only use Kaplan's if you have time.

Do very very well in those summer chemistry classes! Kill them and try to get A's. A key to doing great on the PCAT is learning the material well in undergrad courses so that you're just reviewing for the PCAT. I had a strong background in bio & chem from undergrad and using just Kaplan I was able to score 99's on those sections.

Taking practice tests is important, too. I found the Kaplan tests harder than the actual PCAT while Pearson's practice tests were pretty spot on in terms of difficulty. Take one as a diagnostic to see how you're doing in the subjects and to identify things you needa work on. Try taking them under timed conditions, too.

 

[Mao263]

Kaplan has an advantage because it's a cheap book. Microbiology part is weak. What I had on the pcat it doesn't have on a book. Not a single bacteria name. I don't remember if it has bacteria morphology.

I only liked in Kaplan at the end colorful pages like review or cheat sheet. And also I read a statistic section.

 

[9each]

Kaplan has an advantage because it's a cheap book. Microbiology part is weak. What I had on the pcat it doesn't have on a book. Not a single bacteria name. I don't remember if it has bacteria morphology.

I only liked in Kaplan at the end colorful pages like review or cheat sheet. And also I read a statistic section.

Do you recommend Collins for microbiology? and by bacteria names do you mean clostridium, e-coli, staphylococcus etc? Collins briefly touched on those

 

[9each]

I thought the Kaplan was good for biology and chemistry. Pretty overkill in those subjects actually. Useless for reading and math, although they give some good test-taking tips for those subjects.
I never used Collin's, but I've heard very good things about it. I've seen people suggest focusing on Collin's and only use Kaplan's if you have time.

Do very very well in those summer chemistry classes! Kill them and try to get A's. A key to doing great on the PCAT is learning the material well in undergrad courses so that you're just reviewing for the PCAT. I had a strong background in bio & chem from undergrad and using just Kaplan I was able to score 99's on those sections.

Taking practice tests is important, too. I found the Kaplan tests harder than the actual PCAT while Pearson's practice tests were pretty spot on in terms of difficulty. Take one as a diagnostic to see how you're doing in the subjects and to identify things you needa work on. Try taking them under timed conditions, too.

Thanks for answering! and I agree since I don't have that much time it's best that I only master the Collins packets. The bio portion of Kaplan is very content heavy and I don't think I will be able to remember that much info

 

[Mao263]

Do you recommend Collins for microbiology? and by bacteria names do you mean clostridium, e-coli, staphylococcus etc? Collins briefly touched on those

Yes Collins. Kaplan doesn't have that