PCAT study tips from "the 99%ile club"

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Well, I chose to spend my money on PharmCAS and supplementals instead of various non-essentials. The cost of not getting in for this year will be far greater than the amount of money spent on those additional applications.

i m from asia , i m new in united states, i m having hard time in verbal and reading section can u please tell me how to prepare for this 2 section. i m good in bio, chem and maths. i m going to give pcat june 2012 so i have 6 month to prepare. i have special kaplan classes books to prepare but i don't understand where to start reading and verbal section. right now i m doing 5 new word everyday.

study tips?

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Originally Posted by PharmacyWarrior

From all of my hit searches, I think it's more like loose-leaf notes that were put together as a study guide. I think you can buy it on ebay or amazon (beware of scammers). If you cannot find it, I suggest you ask people in this forum to sell it to you.

In the classifieds section only please: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=413

i need help i want to know how you studied for the pcat am very strong in chemistry and math havent taken any chemisty or math class in yrs but am confiedent i can wake up from sleep and Ace those two ...biology is ok i can excell but need to study for it ( so its kinda boring ) english is the real problem here .. i need tips on study time and hrs in order to put in to get a 90 up score

Originally Posted by KiKi1989

Thanks for your opinion, i have the same thought as yours. Unfortunately, my top school explicitly says on their website that they "prefer" the score 75 for each subtest (which i think too hard for most of people). I am trying to contact and ask them directly, but having opinion from some accepted pharmacy students are important to me too.
Here are my scores:
Verbal: 409/63
Bio: 484/99
RC: 393/34<------ still feel hurt
QA: 474/ 99 <----- i have been tutoring math for 3 years and i was shocked at the amount of work they ask us to do in this section.
Chem: 484/99
Composite: 449/99.

sorry forgot to Quote.

Originally Posted by dhrunir

i m from asia , i m new in united states, i m having hard time in verbal and reading section can u please tell me how to prepare for this 2 section. i m good in bio, chem and maths. i m going to give pcat june 2012 so i have 6 month to prepare. i have special kaplan classes books to prepare but i don't understand where to start reading and verbal section. right now i m doing 5 new word everyday.

Collines PCAT for the Verbal gets you at least score of 50 which is good enough for most of the school. But if you are looking for the score above 50, I suggest you to look into GRE vocab lists. For the Reading, the hardest part is the time limit. Practicing to how approach to each questions is a key.

Is the Biology section covered in Microbiology and A&P I and II?

The school I am currently attending only offer those classes.

Originally Posted by Coded

Is the Biology section covered in Microbiology and A&P I and II?

The school I am currently attending only offer those classes.

I'd imagine those would cover the bulk of what will be tested. You might want to brush up on some of the basics of biochem, though (basic structures of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, etc.).

Originally Posted by dhrunir

i m from asia , i m new in united states, i m having hard time in verbal and reading section can u please tell me how to prepare for this 2 section. i m good in bio, chem and maths. i m going to give pcat june 2012 so i have 6 month to prepare. i have special kaplan classes books to prepare but i don't understand where to start reading and verbal section. right now i m doing 5 new word everyday.

Read books and speak english whenever you can. A big hinderance is speaking your native language with your parents, if you live with them. Try to speak english ALWAYS. You shouldn't sit down and study off of a book all the time. Practice it! Speaking english is like a lab section for chemistry - it will help you understand it.

What exactly is a scaled score anyway, the numbers between 200-600? What exactly does that mean? Is that the number of questions that u get right? Does the score sheet give out that information?

Originally Posted by Prepharm0425

What exactly is a scaled score anyway, the numbers between 200-600? What exactly does that mean? Is that the number of questions that u get right? Does the score sheet give out that information?

Yeah, the scaled score is the three digit number next to each section. Nobody really knows how it's computed, but yes, it is dependent upon how many questions you get right. The higher, the better, obviously.

For a frame of reference, on each section a scaled score of 500+ would be a monster number and is quite rare, while a score in the 300s is weak and puts you below the 50th percentile. Upper 400s are excellent and really help the composite, and mid 400s are useful too. Lower 400s won't hurt you too much, and will generally put you around the 55th to 75th percentile.

The composite scaled score is generated by taking the average of your 5 sectional scaled scores. This average is then compared to a previous year's national norm, which can be quickly converted into a percentile ranking. A scaled composite of 400 is right around the 50th percentile, while a 450+ is in the 99th percentile.

If you buy an earlier version of Collins will it be a big problem?

Hello all,

My plan is to be in the 90+ percentile. I'm going to take the PCAT July 18th, but I'm concerned because the only pre-requisite I will not have finished before then is Microbiology.

However, I could take Microbiology in the summer in June. OR I could just study Microbiology on my own, and then possibly become better prepared in other subjects.

Do PCAT study guides provide sufficient information for the Microbiology portion? I'm not sure if I should devote an entire month to a Microbiology course. I should note that I can retake the PCAT in September if i don't do well in July.

I was taking Microbiology while I was studying for the PCAT which worked out nicely. I remember seeing a question about gram positive vs. gram negative and I thought ... WOO HOO, I just learned this. Some of the infectious disease type questions that seem very out of place on the PCAT are covered in Microbiology as well.

Originally Posted by PrePharmy

Hello all,

My plan is to be in the 90+ percentile. I'm going to take the PCAT July 18th, but I'm concerned because the only pre-requisite I will not have finished before then is Microbiology.

However, I could take Microbiology in the summer in June. OR I could just study Microbiology on my own, and then possibly become better prepared in other subjects.

Do PCAT study guides provide sufficient information for the Microbiology portion? I'm not sure if I should devote an entire month to a Microbiology course. I should note that I can retake the PCAT in September if i don't do well in July.

I ended up taking Micro in a four week summer session prior to my July 2011 Pcat. I think it helps out by reiterating some of the basic bio info and then delves into more detailed information. I remember several PCAT questions on the test that was micro specific so I would recommend either taking it as a class or studying it individually. Although if you need motivation to really learn it, a class for a grade may be a better idea.

Yes, micro would help greatly on the PCAT. I don't think it's possible to get a 90 on Bio without having some form of knowledge on Bio. They ask really peculiar questions times.

I thought this thread is very helpful especially to the new sdners taking PCAT this cycle.

Bumping it up

There is a new book out for 2012-2013 that I got from the library. It's The Princeton Review "Cracking the PCAT." I've read about 80 pages of the 700 (ish) and it explains ways to help you during your thought process on the different sections. Anyone used or read this book? For some reason, I am finding it more helpful than Kaplan. I need a good score this time around...first attempt was baaaad.

Hello,

Do you have any suggestion for an improvement in reading comprehension section. Is there any other practice test i can use beside the pearson and kaplan one? should I look at some GRE practice test? i scored horrible on this section so i'm trying to bring it up by july test. thanks

I dont think it's worth it to take microbiology class. just study Dr. Collin's section for it.

Originally Posted by tttt14

I dont think it's worth it to take microbiology class. just study Dr. Collin's section for it.

i'd just like to join the bandwagon in advocating for the dr. collins guide. a total pcat study essential! don't think taking microbiology for the pcat is completely necessary at all.

Originally Posted by wmw

sorry about the lame title..
anyway I scored well on the PCAT, and I want to pass on my advice to as many as possible

verbal 437/92%
bio 430/88%
reading 435/90%
quant 455/97%
chem 505/99%

comp 451/99%


Sure, it helps for me to know if you are a first time taker, what your goal score range is give or take, and what areas you are struggling with, but here is what i generally did:

Dr. Collin's with Kaplan exclusively (self-studying, no class) + the 3 pearson practice tests

I began about ~30 days out and spent roughly an hour of medium-intense prep per day every day, taking one timed section (bio, chem etc..) per study session, so one timed section per day, which I scored and reviewed also. This is HUGE, I attribute my score to finishing EVERY section with over 10 minutes to spare everytime. all the time. this gives you time ro review marked questions what were more difficult. and the speed comes with practice taking timed sections, one at a time, dont worry about full length tests untill about 15 days out.
I also studied one section of material each day from either Dr. Collins/Kaplan big book. Def purchase the Dr. Collins materials now now now! if you havent already and go to barnes&noble and pick up a kaplan book

Verbal - studied collins word lists/some of kaplans - this is section that is hard to 'improve on' persay unless it is your priority, simply bc most of our vocabularies are 'set' at least 90% by now. The chance of finding and remembering one little word from studies on the real PCAT are low, and for this reason I probably spent the least time preparing for this section, however! do prepare for this section, as it can be finished very quickly with practice and provide you much time to review your verbal answers. so i high score is likely for the reason of it not taking as long. the sentence completion aspects were more challenging than the analogies for me, but with practice working many problems, they become easier.

bio-the big kaplan book has an unbelievable amount of bio info, if you knew all of it, you would get 99% on bio everytime, and probably get an honorary bio Ph.D. from a prestigious university haha... point is, there is wayy more info that is necessary to study i.e. intense details on plant vasculature.... so dont get sucked in to this massive tome of information/intimidated by it either. Dr. collins does have all the necessary information but in slightly different presentation. *important* spend time with both collins and kaplan bio info and see what presentation suits you the best. I examined one section of the kaplan bio big book every day in addition to me daily timed section, this allowed me to at least be exposed to all of the material in the kaplan big book, also it helps to review the post section quizzes in the kaplan big book. for collins bio, aim for one section every few days, bc the sections are far more dense and long.

reading comp - this is another one of those where practice taking times sections will get you the farthest. i improved alot after my first 3 or so timed sections. dr collins rc questions are too easy compared to the real PCAT by FAR. but they are good to begin studying with. Kaplans are slightly more realistic, the best are the ones in the three pearson practice tests. on the real PCAT i was blown away by the difficulty of the rc passages/questions compared to collins, which i had spent most of my time prepping with. dont do that, rely more on the kaplan rc passages and pearons practice exams

quant- collins collins collins, wouldnt mess with kaplan here, their calc prep was insufficient. i realllllly needed calc help coming in and with the collins calc, although pretty intense to get a grip on, i became a calc legend haha... maybe.. point is if you can perform well on the collins calc, then you are in good shape, id check out kaplan to but dont rely on it or feel as safe if you are scoring well on it but not collins quant sections. every once and a while there will be a integrative calc/trig word problem that would just blow my face off, but other than that this prep method helped me (97%)

chem- alot to say here. this is prob the most importnt section on the exam. based on my statistical analysis of 21 full scores ive analyzed, this is the section with the most scaled score points per percentile rank (SS/PR) what does this mean? it means there is the biggest spread in the distribution here, meaning it makes/breaks alot of ppl bc the scaled score from here typically affects the comp % a little more bc of the higher range (ppl making sub 400s to above 500). so focus on thie section, also bc it is maybe the most important for consideration by schools. its huge, and its hard. Gen chem is tested about 75% to ochem at about 25%, so first off know gen chem. collins is the best in my opinion for chem, their practice sections were excellent prep, the best prep of kaplan/collins for any discipline on the PCAT in my opinion, if anything get collins just for chem (and kaplan for bio)
i was scoring in the high 90s consistently (this is raw percentile as in 46/48 q's correct) on the collins practice tests and i beat the cutoff for the 99%ile on real PCAT chem by more than 50 points (highest scaled score ive ever seen ) so it def works and can get you there. also as an aside, beating a 99%ile cutoff for a section helps out your composite score with those extra points i.e. i had an 88%ile in bio but my comp was still 99%.... back to chem, most important gen chem concepts: thermochemistry, periodic table trends, orbital shapes/configurations, GAS LAWS!! mult. questions always!, and nuclear isotopes. these are the topics i would stress. use collins, go over a new section of material in it each day so you cover it a few times total in its entirety, take all the practice timed sections and you will be at your max im confident. for organic chemistry, you will have to know reactions, and this scares the **** out of ppl i know. but you need to. every practice section/exam ive ever seen had at least one organic reaction. know naming as well, as well as functional groups. collins does a great job with this, kaplans organic chem is insufficient when it comes to reactions, and collins is a little bit also, ive yet to come across a great PCAT organic chem reactions prep system. I was helped by the fact that ive been an ochem tutor for 2 years now, so i honestly probably cannot accurately judge how well collins/kaplan prepare one for organic chem. but the collins naming stuff looked the easiest to grasp as far as presentation style.

essay: zero prep. but collins has awesome prompts that seemed right in line with what i saw on the real PCAT.

overall: dont kill yourself, i was studying for max 1.5 hours a day, sometimes less, usually less but did so consistantly, HARD, every single day for about ~30 days.

everyday:
- ~30 pages in kaplan bio big book ~15 minutes
- 1 collins timed practice section, scored, reviewed, alternated topics each day to stay fresh ~45minutes
- ~2-3 various sections in the collins packets as review ~20minutes

last ~15 days or so:
-I took a pearson practice PCAT every 5 days
-stressed lingering doubts i had on specific subjects (calc for me)
-finished off all the collins timed sections until I had done all of them
-finished the kaplan big bio book
-finished all collins materials

after the real PCAT: i thought id severely bungled rc, and verbal, done not great on bio, decent on quant and ok on chem. dont be discouraged if you thought the test was savage. i did and came out fine.

please post any other questions, I will try my best to reply as soon as possible

Hope wmw sees this..

I am taking my first (and hopefully my only) Pcat this september.
I have about 3months from now, and can devote about 2-3hours everyday.
So far I've taken cell bio, org chem 1,2, gen chem, calc1,2.. but not biochem or molec chem yet.
Right now I have the 2012Kaplan big book, Rea's flashcards, Cliffnotes 5 PTs, and will purchase the Dr collins book tomorrow.
After reading through this 99%ile club thread, I kind of get which book is better for which section, but am having trouble deciding what to do first.. and in what order.
It seems that people try to finish their resources just about when they will take the test, but it looks like I have a bit more time, and I don't want to finish my stuff too quickly.

Would you devise a rough outline or any plan for me? It can be a few lines of suggestions that can help me study smarter. Thanks!

Is anyone signed up for the July PCAT?

Originally Posted by prequest

Hope wmw sees this..

Would you devise a rough outline or any plan for me? It can be a few lines of suggestions that can help me study smarter. Thanks!

I would suggest to get the practice test from pearson. Take it, and find your weakness, then start from there. Good Luck.

Does anyone know, or is there a way of calculating, how many questions out of the 48 you can miss in order to be in the 99th percentile??

Originally Posted by farmacy2012

Is anyone signed up for the July PCAT?

I am. Just about 6 weeks left to prepare!

Best of luck! I am also taking it on July 19th. How are you preparing? I have the Kaplan book and Dr. Collins. I finished going through the Kaplan book, and so far I have done one full Dr. Collins practice test. I did pretty well on all sections except math. I am kind of scared because I feel most questions in Dr. Collins are too easy, and the actual test will be a lot more difficult. However, from previous posts it seems like Dr. Collins is a life saver so I am hoping for the best. I need to be part of this 99 percentile club on the PCAT, since my GPA isn't overly wonderful. Sorry everyone if this is too much information, but I don't know anyone in real life taking the PCAT so I guess I am looking for some support and reassurance here haha.

Originally Posted by JADpharm28

I am. Just about 6 weeks left to prepare!

I'm taking it July 19th as well. Did you by any chance see the changes they are making to this year's PCAT starting with the one in July?

Originally Posted by farmacy2012

Best of luck! I am also taking it on July 19th. How are you preparing? I have the Kaplan book and Dr. Collins. I finished going through the Kaplan book, and so far I have done one full Dr. Collins practice test. I did pretty well on all sections except math. I am kind of scared because I feel most questions in Dr. Collins are too easy, and the actual test will be a lot more difficult. However, from previous posts it seems like Dr. Collins is a life saver so I am hoping for the best. I need to be part of this 99 percentile club on the PCAT, since my GPA isn't overly wonderful. Sorry everyone if this is too much information, but I don't know anyone in real life taking the PCAT so I guess I am looking for some support and reassurance here haha.

I have a big Kaplan book from a friend who took the class a few years ago. I also bought the Princeton Review's "Cracking the PCAT." I was reading through everything a few weeks ago, but started orgo chem I in summer school so I haven't had time to study for the PCAT really :/ I have a strong GPA, but I'd like a 70+ on the PCAT as well

Yup I saw the changes in the new PCAT. I don't have the Princeton Review book..I should probably get that too..

It's a huge book at Barnes and Noble for like $30 or something. I find it helpful because it gives you ways to take the exam. For example, it says to write down A B C D for EVERY question and physically cross off the ones you KNOW are wrong, so that you're able to focus on the answers that will possibly be correct. I think it's different than most PCAT study books in a good way, except its a brand new book so I wasn't able to find reviews on it

what are these july changes people are talking about

I'm just wondering how you guys approach the reading section? Do you guys read the entire passage then answer the questions? Do you guys just read the first and last sentence of each paragraph then answer the questions? Also, for the Biology section, do you think just the big blue/violet Kaplan book helps? Their is no microbio in the book I read at all.. so I'm curious as to what kind of microbiology will be covered.

Thank you JADpharm! I just ordered my copy from Amazon for $16. From what I see, Kaplan and Princeton are the only ones who have the updated 2012-2013 version.

Originally Posted by ChEStud

I'm just wondering how you guys approach the reading section? Do you guys read the entire passage then answer the questions? Do you guys just read the first and last sentence of each paragraph then answer the questions? Also, for the Biology section, do you think just the big blue/violet Kaplan book helps? Their is no microbio in the book I read at all.. so I'm curious as to what kind of microbiology will be covered.

I have been reading the entire passage really fast (following along with my finger or a pen) and then I go back and reread sections as I answer the questions. I have so far done reading comprehension from Dr. Collins packet, and it seems really easy to me, does anyone else think so too? I am getting 4-5 wrong per section, and I feel like the actual test passages will be a lot more difficult.

I studied all the Bio from the big Kaplan book. I thought it was a good review, but you are right it doesn't include microbiology. I went over whatever microbiology there was in Dr. Collins, and it mostly talks about different classes of micro organisms (bacteria, fungi, protozoans, parasitic warms, viruses), their general characteristics, and the diseases they cause. Hope this helps!

Hello, I am really good in class exams, test, quizzes, etc.. but when i take the PCAT, i suck at it, as soon as i go to the exam hall, my head starting to hurt and feels like throwing up. I have taken the PCAT twice already, the first time i took it, i scored 16%, paper version, then i took it this january and scored 5%. instead of going up, i went down. its a shame. my science GPA is 3.72. but still my PCAT sux, thats why i dont think i will get admitted this year to any institute. how can i study for the pcat? which books should i buy, i am just looking for a score of 60%, thats it, i dont need more, no less. any suggestion guys?

Originally Posted by farmacy2012

Is anyone signed up for the July PCAT?

Me.. Can't wait. Been studying since april using Kaplan

My composite on my last practice exam was 427 which they say is 83%~
I think with 4 more weeks of studying I should be 90+% hopefully. My GPA is decent (3.52) but I want to get into U of U and I have no idea what to expect...

Originally Posted by Rx2015

Hello, I am really good in class exams, test, quizzes, etc.. but when i take the PCAT, i suck at it, as soon as i go to the exam hall, my head starting to hurt and feels like throwing up. I have taken the PCAT twice already, the first time i took it, i scored 16%, paper version, then i took it this january and scored 5%. instead of going up, i went down. its a shame. my science GPA is 3.72. but still my PCAT sux, thats why i dont think i will get admitted this year to any institute. how can i study for the pcat? which books should i buy, i am just looking for a score of 60%, thats it, i dont need more, no less. any suggestion guys?

Apply at schools that don't require PCAT scores.. There are a lot of them:
California Northstate
Touro-California
San Diego
Pacific
Western
Florida A&M
Idaho State
Massachusetts-Boston
Northeastern
St. Johns
Findlay
Toledo
Oregon State
Pacific (Oregon)
Rhode Island

I'm sure at least one of those is close to you, but if you can't handle the PCAT how on earth will you handle NAPLEX? I don't know what to tell you dude... I'm sure NAPLEX is way harder than PCAT

Originally Posted by moonwake

Apply at schools that don't require PCAT scores.. There are a lot of them:
California Northstate
Touro-California
San Diego
Pacific
Western
Florida A&M
Idaho State
Massachusetts-Boston
Northeastern
St. Johns
Findlay
Toledo
Oregon State
Pacific (Oregon)
Rhode Island

I'm sure at least one of those is close to you, but if you can't handle the PCAT how on earth will you handle NAPLEX? I don't know what to tell you dude... I'm sure NAPLEX is way harder than PCAT

From what I read somewhere, the pass rate for the NAPLEX is 93%. Also while you are timed, most people finish the NAPLEX with an hour left to spare. And lastly you are tested on pharmacy stuff that we learn in Pharmacy school, and not stuff like reading comprehension and verbal crap and multiple science subjects that exposes people's weeknesses.

Originally Posted by Prepharm0425

From what I read somewhere, the pass rate for the NAPLEX is 93%. Also while you are timed, most people finish the NAPLEX with an hour left to spare. And lastly you are tested on pharmacy stuff that we learn in Pharmacy school, and not stuff like reading comprehension and verbal crap and multiple science subjects that exposes people's weeknesses.

True, I guess it depends if it's the timed aspect that makes him freeze or whatever the reason is. I have to admit most people could get a 90%+ on the PCAT if given more time... but you get around 50 seconds per question. Stressful? Yeah... especially if you aren't good at timing yourself. I think taking practice tests and pacing yourself is the best thing you can do for sure.

Thanks for the tips. I bet everyone taking the pcat wants to join this club.

Hey guys I just want to make sure this is the right book. I was looking online and there seem to be a lot of Dr. Collins pcat stuff. I just want to make sure that Im not buying a fraud.

Is this the link to get Dr. Collins book thats been talked about through this thread?

http://pcatprepclass.com/index.html

Thanks!

Originally Posted by nyc76

Hey guys I just want to make sure this is the right book. I was looking online and there seem to be a lot of Dr. Collins pcat stuff. I just want to make sure that Im not buying a fraud.

Is this the link to get Dr. Collins book thats been talked about through this thread?

http://pcatprepclass.com/index.html

Thanks!

Yes!!!

Is anyone else as freaked out that PCAT is 14 days away as I am??

yes... and I'm burning out... I don't want to study anymore! lol

Originally Posted by farmacy2012

I have been reading the entire passage really fast (following along with my finger or a pen) and then I go back and reread sections as I answer the questions. I have so far done reading comprehension from Dr. Collins packet, and it seems really easy to me, does anyone else think so too? I am getting 4-5 wrong per section, and I feel like the actual test passages will be a lot more difficult.

I studied all the Bio from the big Kaplan book. I thought it was a good review, but you are right it doesn't include microbiology. I went over whatever microbiology there was in Dr. Collins, and it mostly talks about different classes of micro organisms (bacteria, fungi, protozoans, parasitic warms, viruses), their general characteristics, and the diseases they cause. Hope this helps!

I was thinking the same thing about the Dr. Collins reading comp. practice tests! I found them to be way too easy, especially after taking a practice pcat online with Kaplan. It was definitely a wake-up call. I also found that reading the passages off a computer screen made it a lot more difficult. The passages seemed a lot longer and I wasted a lot of time scrolling through the paragraphs trying to find answers to some of the questions I couldn't answer off the top of my head. Has anyone else experienced the same thing/have any advice on how to best approach the reading section?

Well two things that Kaplan suggests are read the first paragraph and phrase in your mind what the paragraph is about in one sentence (since a lot of questions refer to the main subject of the passage), they also say that you can figure out the tone after reading the first paragraph as well (which is good to notice while your reading instead of going back).

Originally Posted by moonwake

yes... and I'm burning out... I don't want to study anymore! lol

I'm so sick of it too! But my scores are not where I want them to be sadly