Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
  A Good Prep Book September 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Over the summer of 2008 I prepared for the PCAT mainly with the Kaplan 2008-2009 PCAT test prep book. The chapters of the Kaplan book covering the verbal, reading, writing and biology sections are all great review with lots of good information and great tips for performing well on those sections. The two practice tests at the end were also fairly helpful overall for extra review and getting acclimated to the actual length of the PCAT.
That being said I felt that the Kaplan book did a somewhat poor job with the math and chemistry review. The organic chemistry chapter in the Kaplan book is a joke and does not go into enough detail. It merely covered basic functional group identification, simple IUPAC naming, and basic molecular orbital theory (sigma/pi bonds, bond order). The actual PCAT asked a good number questions pertaining to aromaticity and predicting products of basic organic transformations like SN1 reactions, hydride reductions, oxidations, and addition-eliminations. However, the Kaplan book did NOT even mention ANY actual organic reactions. And although the general chemistry review is good preparation, the math chapters fail to cover a small portion of calculus and trigonometry. Kaplan's review of calculus like basic derivatives, integrals, and limits is helpful but it did not address implicit derivatives and integrations by parts--both of which were on the actual PCAT. Although, there were only two or three trig questions on the actual PCAT, I feel that a small trig review would have been useful. Despite those faults, the Kaplan book does a great job reviewing statistics, algebra, and pre-calculus. The majority of PCAT math questions tested knowledge of the latter math topics, which Kaplan reviewed very well.
Overall I would recommend purchasing this book for PCAT preparation--especially if you're in need of a great biology review. However, I would take the official PCAT practice tests to prepare for the math and chemistry sections and treat the Kaplan review of these topics as more of a supplement to your main studies.
 More to be desired- but best out there September 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Cons:
1- There are many errors in this book. The most glaring of all is an advice box that directs you to online calculus review. However, the website doesn't exist. According to Kaplan's Academic Services it's a printing error. There are also answer key errors in the chapter reviews and the practice tests.
2- Math, Essay, and Organic chapters aren't thorough enough for the test
3- The book's tests cover less organic chemistry than the actual PCAT
Pros:
1-Best study guide I own (I have 4 books)
2-Gen. Chemistry and Biology sections are thorough
3-Very accurate reading comprehension practice
Despite lacking in the Math, Essay, and to a lesser extent the Organic Chemistry chapters, it is the best and most comprehensive book I have used (reason for the 4 star rating). It has 1 pre test, 1 practice final test, as well as chapters on verbal, reading comprehension, math, bio, chem, the essay, general test taking tips, and changes in the new pcat. Finally, each test prep chapter has review questions at the end. There are roughly 35 content review chapters.
 Kaplan Pcat Review September 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was a big help for my son. With summer school he only had limited time to study for test
Great Study Material July 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was the basis of the my studying for the PCAT and it was extremely helpful. I read the book cover to cover and scored in the 89th percentile on the test. There were a few typos, but this book really prepared me for the test. I would recommend it to anyone taking the test. It was especially useful in areas I needed extra help with, such as biology and chemistry. The math was the only area I felt ill prepared for when I took the actual test. There was a lot of calculus on the test that was not in the book. Other than that I would say this is the best book on the market to prepare yourself for the PCAT.
Pretty good review but with lots of errors June 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The review chapters are comprehensive and for the most part, well explained. However, there are LOTS of typos and errors that are starting to get very annoying especially mixing up subscripts and superscripts. Also lacks a periodic table which surprised me but those are easy to find. Question explanations are pretty good.
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