Much like achieving certification for other high level trades, becoming a licensed pharmacist involves passing a comprehensive and difficult certification exam. Created by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the NAPLEX is the exam every aspiring pharmacist needs to pass in order to become licensed in the United States. Short for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination, this 250-question test consists of patient scenarios and multiple-choice prompts with a time limit of six hours.
Here’s the worst part:
With such high stakes, it can be intimidating to plan for the NAPLEX. In some cases, this intimidation can become so extreme that it interferes with the ability of the test taker to pass the exam, even if they understand the information that is being tested.
In order to both relieve anxiety related to the test and help students brush up on their pharmacy knowledge, these NAPLEX review courses are the best choices for individuals who want to pass the NAPLEX and become licensed pharmacists. We’ve compared the most popular test prep courses on the market to find the cream of the crop listed below:
Top 5 Best NAPLEX Review Courses of 2024
- TrueLearn NAPLEX Study Materials
- Boardvitals Naplex Review Course
- Varsity Tutors NAPLEX Review Course
- Rx NAPLEX Exam Study Materials
- Kaplan Naplex Classes
- Rxprep NAPLEX Review Course
TrueLearn NAPLEX Review Course
Truelearn NAPLEX Review course is a comprehensive online study program designed to help pharmacy students and graduates prepare for the NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) and increase their chances of passing the exam. With a range of features and resources, Truelearn offers an effective and efficient way to review key topics, practice exam-style questions, and assess one’s knowledge in order to excel in the NAPLEX.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Content: Truelearn NAPLEX Review covers all major topics and subject areas tested in the NAPLEX, ensuring that you have a well-rounded understanding of the material.
- Extensive Question Bank: The course provides access to a vast question bank with thousands of practice questions, allowing you to gain exposure to various question types and improve your test-taking skills.
- Customizable Study Plan: Truelearn offers a personalized study plan that adapts to your strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that you focus on the areas where you need the most improvement.
- Performance Analytics: The course tracks your progress and provides detailed analytics, allowing you to monitor your strengths, weaknesses, and overall performance. This helps you identify areas that require additional attention.
- Timed Practice Exams: Truelearn offers timed practice exams that simulate the real NAPLEX environment, helping you build stamina and confidence for the actual exam.
- Mobile Access: The course is accessible on multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets, allowing you to study on the go and make the most of your available time.
Cons:
- Limited Offline Access: While the course is accessible online, it may require an internet connection, making it less convenient for those in areas with limited internet availability.
Features:
- Comprehensive coverage
- Extensive NAPLEX question bank
- Customizable study plan
- Performance analytics and progress tracking
- Timed practice exams
- Mobile access for studying on the go
CHECK TRUELEARN NAPLEX PRICING
2. BoardVitals NAPLEX Review Course
Although it doesn’t offer quite the same level of quality as Kaplan, BoardVitals’ study package offers many appealing features that caused us to pick it as the first runner-up for best NAPLEX review course.
Pro: Questions
BoardVitals offers over 1400 questions in their study bank for students. In addition to covering many different aspects of the exam, these questions are presented in different formats in order to better test students’ knowledge of the test material.
Pro: Philanthropy
Any tier of BoardVital’s NAPLEX Review that is purchased by a student will see a portion of its profit donated for a philanthropic cause. This donation takes the form of a vaccine, given to a child in need as a donation made in the student’s name.
Con: Live Support
While it can be considered a positive that BoardVitals offers live support for students who run into issues using their prep program, this support is limited to higher-priced tiers. This means that students who only purchase one month of access won’t be able to receive support.
Con: Lectures
Although BoardVitals offers an excellent range of multifaceted questions covering the NAPLEX, they have no lecture content available at any tier of their study program. This will exclude a sizable portion of students who prefer learning through live instruction.
TAKE ME TO BOARD VITALS NAPLEX
3. Varsity Tutors NAPLEX Review Course
With Varsity Tutors, you get the best tutors and NAPLEX study materials to help you pass the exam. Even though their name suggests they only do tutoring, they now offer live-online NAPLEX classes which sets them apart from competitors like BoardVitals that do not offer the classroom experience.
Their team of experts have over 25 years of teaching experience and includes tutors who have previously taken the NAPLEX themselves. They have a wealth of knowledge, which they share with their students, ensuring they are fully prepared for success on test day.
What we like about Varsity Tutors NAPLEX Prep Course
- u003cstrongu003eSmall Class Size: u003c/strongu003eSmaller class sizes of 6-9 people enable your teacher to offer you their full attention and address any questions you may have quickly.
- u003cstrongu003eConvenient Class Availability: u003c/strongu003eClass start times vary from early morning, to late afternoon with options on both the weekend and weekdays to fit your schedule. There’s a total of 16 hours of training, which consists of eight sessions of two hours each.
- u003cstrongu003eGuarantee:u003c/strongu003e They back their NAPLEX prep course with a 100% Pass Guarantee. This means Varsity Tutors offers you support until you pass, or your money back.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VARSITY TUTORS NAPLEX
4. Rx NAPLEX Exam Study Materials
Pro – A La Carte Pricing
Pharmacy Exam offers all their materials in separate packages with affordable price tags. This means that you only have to pay for the materials you actually want to use. This is a huge departure from most other prep courses, where you’re expected to pay hundreds of dollars for a massive package containing more materials than you know what to do with. Instead, you can pick up a handful of truly valuable learning resources for a fraction of the price.
Pro – Bundle Deals
Alternatively, some individuals studying for the NAPLEX exam may want to grab all the study materials they can get their hands on. In this case, Pharmacy Exam also provides welcome accommodations to meet this particular arrangement. Their NAPLEX Combo Pack combines just about every product in their catalog for half the cost if they were purchased separately. Furthermore, their Build Your Own Combo Pack provides smaller discounts for customized combinations.
Pro – Physical Media
Aside from their textbooks and flashcards, Pharmacy Exam also provides their other NAPLEX review materials in an optional physical format. Students who purchase their audio lectures or practice exams can access their materials through both a digital download and a physical CD. This is a pretty rare feature nowadays: mostly because it isn’t necessary for the majority of modern students. However, those students who need these materials without having high-speed internet will appreciate this feature.
Con – No Video Content
Some of the most effective modern prep courses and certification-related study tools involve video content. One of the most appealing features to many highly-rated prep courses for a variety of professions — including NAPLEX — take advantage of this technology to deliver a dynamic learning tool. However, Pharmacy Exam forfeits this strategy altogether, only offering audio content without any kind of video supplement. This is bound to alienate a significant portion of students who learn best with video accompaniment.
Con – Stringent Refund Policy
In order to accommodate students who have issues with their study materials, Pharmacy Exam does offer a ten-day return policy. However, this policy is pretty limited and only honors physical book purchases. The flashcards, posters, and anything provided in disk format aren’t covered in this policy. Additionally, students may forfeit around 15% of the cost due to “restocking fees” and will have to pay any shipping costs. For the most part, you’re going to be out of luck if you’re unsatisfied with your purchase!
Final Verdict
Students who need help preparing for the NAPLEX exam can find a lot of helpful resources through Pharmacy Exam. These resources are also highly versatile and very reasonably priced. Ultimately, however, these are little more than supplements that can provide some extra practice for students who are already enrolled in a more advanced and involved NAPLEX prep course.
5. Kaplan NAPLEX Prep Course
For its comprehensive suite of study tools provided at very flexible price points, Kaplan gets our pick for the best NAPLEX prep course of the bunch.
Pro: Question Bank
Kaplan’s Qbank for their NAPLEX review program includes over 1,000 questions that are frequently updated so they stay up-to-date with content covered on the actual exam. They also come with detailed answer explanations to help students understand the reasoning behind each one.
Pro: Lectures
In addition to offering a large pool of practice questions, Kaplan provides a premium option for students who want additional study material. Alongside two eBooks with review material, over 40 hours of video lectures are provided in the High Yield package that elaborate on complex concepts. Additionally, students can enroll in live online lectures hosted by instructors who can answer questions in real time.
Pro: Pricing
In a move that bucks the trend set by most other educational programs, Kaplan offers a range of prices for their products that allow students with lower budgets to take advantage of their study tools. Students can choose to pay a lower price for a few months of access to the Qbank, can pay a bit more for the textbooks and video lectures, or can pay the full premium rate for access to live lecture sessions.
Con: Textbooks
For the High Yield package, Kaplan includes two textbooks with additional study material alongside their video lectures. According to students who have tried studying from these written resources, Kaplan’s NAPLEX eBooks are outdated and contain numerous typos. Students who are interested in a good textbook with their study program should give this one a miss.
6. RxPrep NAPLEX Review Course
With an impressive pedigree, RxPrep offers NAPLEX study material of a high enough quality to be worth consideration despite only receiving second runner-up on our list of the best NAPLEX prep courses.
Pro: Qualified Instructors
All educational material written for RxPrep was made and reviewed by actual medical professionals and practicing pharmacists. Because of this, students can rest easy knowing that their instructors and study material are all on the level.
Pro: Simulations
RxPrep’s online course includes a large quantity of material based around teaching students to understand individual patient cases. This simulation-style instruction helps to ensure enrolled students understand core concepts of being a pharmacist in addition to preparing for the exam.
Con: Time-Consuming
Being designed and taught by professional pharmacists, it makes sense that RxPrep takes an extremely comprehensive approach to teaching students about the NAPLEX and pharmacy as a whole. However, the huge amount of study material can take up the majority of a student’s time and can also overwhelm or intimidate them.
7. NAPLEX Review Course FTP Lectures
Pro – Accelerated Learning
One of the most appealing benefits to using FTP Lectures’ NAPLEX review materials is that they’re designed to save you time. In fact, this company boasts that students can decrease their study time by 75% when enrolling in one of their prep courses— without negatively affecting their scores!
Pro: Time Management
As previously mentioned, it can be difficult for a student to squeeze in a PANCE/PANRE study session while juggling other obligations in their day-to-day life. One major benefit that is inherent to video content, including the videos on FTP Lectures, is that they can be conveniently paused and resumed at a later date if an individual’s study session is interrupted. Another fantastic benefit provided by this program that is rare among video lecture resources is the ability to speed up all videos to twice their normal pace. This cuts the time it takes to view these lectures in half, further saving a student’s valuable time.
Pro: Staff
All of the team members behind the scenes at FTP Lectures are highly qualified medical professionals who have a deep working knowledge of all things medicine. Their team features an emergency physician, a pharmacist, a cardiologist, and a general practitioner. All of these individuals bring their own experience and knowledge into this educational resource, making it one of the best PANCE review courses around.
Pro – Continuously Updated
What’s interesting about this NAPLEX prep course provider is that they offer incentives for you to keep coming back after passing your exams. In order to continually stay informed on the latest developments in professional medicine, FTP Lectures frequently updates their courses with new video content and supplementary notes.
Pro – Trial Offer
Despite all the appealing guarantees and advertised features, it’s not easy to immediately put your money down without some additional consideration. Fortunately, FTP Lectures encourages you to take the time and consider your options with their free trial offer. This gives you firsthand experience of their learning platform so you can ultimately make an informed purchase.
Con – Course Access
On one hand, the ability to sign up for lifetime access is a positive; you’ll have all the time in the world to prepare for your exam. On the other hand, it’s tough to justify purchasing lifetime access to FTP lectures when you still receive six months worth of study materials. And while they do offer updates with new lessons, these are few and far between.
Final Verdict
If you’re the type of person who wants to get their education out of the way as quickly as possible, this company should definitely be on your radar. With the aim of providing you high-quality medical education without wasting your time, this is an excellent way of giving your career a turbo boost.
