I purchased this book shortly before I took the PCAT in October of 2004. I read the whole book and I also took the two practice tests and timed them. I have read some of the other reviews of readers who expected to see actual PCAT questions in the book - I personally did not expect that. I knew that the actual PCAT would be more difficult and I also knew that I needed to review my General Chemistry (based on my scores in the practice tests). I reviewed my Gen. Chem., kept up with my current Organic Chem, and then took the test. I found the math section to be the most challenging; most of the people who tested where I did failed to complete the section in the time given. I thought the book was great though; the practice tests look an awful lot like the real one. And this is coming from someone who scored in the 95th percentile and was accepted into a College of Pharmacy.

Seriously. Don't expect too much from this book or you will be
greatly disappointed. As per other reviews, it's just good for
practicing more problems to prepare for the exam; that's why it deserves only 1 star -- it serves just that purpose but doesn't go beyond that. But keep on your toes -- I'ved noticed several errors in the answer sections. This should not be considered a review book be/c it does not contain any review of all the subjects you should know. It's just a slew of questions (not even definitively PCAT questions) and that's what I bought it for -- to adapt myself to a greater range of test questions. Find it at your local library if you can.

One complaint, the verbal section is different on the real test. The analogies are the same, but the instead of antonyms, the actual test uses fill in the blank sentence completion. The other sections are pretty good though. Combined with one offical PCAT practice test I scored in the 93rd percentile (got my scores today).

Hey previous reviewer, who are you kidding!!!
This book ranks low as a study guide for the PCAT IMHO.
Who is going to believe that someone actually got
100% on all sections of the PCAT. And you used
this book to get that? Sure. How much money
did you get to write that!

People, listen to me who has gone thru this before and has
been accepted to Pharm school for fall 05. Don't just buy
one book, get your hands on ALL of them and do the practice
tests. You need to know your subjects, that's a given. You
have to practice on your speed and learn HOW to take these
standarized tests.

These tests don't just measure what you know.
They also measure your IQ indirectly with carefully designed
questions. If you are a "A" student, you failed yourself if
don't get 90+. Same goes with a "B", "C", student. Schools
look for that. If you're GPA is 3.7 and you get 80% on the PCAT
that doesn't look good for you. What I'm basically telling you
is that your expectation should closely match your grade. That
is a 3.0 student should expect to get in the 80s, IF YOU PREPARE
WELL FOR THE PCAT. It's not realistic for that 3.0 student to
expect to get 90+ on the PCAT. You can, but you had better
put in 150% effort to prepare for the PCAT.

PCAT is difficult. It's a tool to find out who are the top
students; students who are serious, dedicated, and committed.
I see lots of students who want to be, but aren't willing to
work for it. Those are the ones who won't make it here or
anywhere. Who are you?

I decided to go to pharmacy school at the last minute so I was behind in studying for the PCAT. I should say, though, that I have a B.S. in Biochemistry, so I'm not a fresh-out-of-high-school kid wanting to blame a book on my bad score and not my lack of practical scientific knowledge.
This was the only resource I used to study for the PCAT. I bought the book and then I went to the library every night for a week. I read everything in the book, then did every single practice test twice using separate paper copies. I went to the test and finished before everyone else. I am bewildered by anyone doing bad on this test and blaming this book. If you can't take responsibility for your own grade, how do you expect to take responsibility for patient care plans and treatment options?

I'm not a genius. But even I know when to blame myself for a bad grade and not a book well-designed to help me.

I got my scores back and recieved perfect scores in every area. I have recommended this book to everyone I know preparing for the test, and they liked it as well.