Best way to study for the PCAT?

[LEE ADAMA WILLIAMS]

So there is ALOT of pcat prep materials out there, and from what sampling ive done some of them can be REALLY bad. here is my experience so far

Kaplan, its OK, but every now and then there seems to be a question that requires alot of mental gymnastics to agree with their answer, I think they do this just to try and freak ppl out and convince them into buying their prep courses (honey I dont got 2k to spend on anything let alone a prep course) I have also looked at the practice MCAT materials and guess what? its the exact same prompt and questions for the biology MCAT as it is for the biology PCAT.


Sterling prep (mcat) this is crap horribly written, scientifically inaccurate and the structure is so bad I think they were written by a non english speaker who used google translate, instead of saying "drug X is an analog to compound Y" it would say "Enzyme Y is an analog of compound X" which is not accuate....


the official guide by Pearson: great but expensive for only 3 tests..

I have tried looking into others for test prep and it seems that Kaplan is bordering on a monopoly, the only one who has any idea what they are talking about as far as content goes

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[DagS132]

I used only chads videos for chemistry and cliff notes ap bio 3rd edition for biology along with a website that goes over microbiology. I ended up getting a 99 PR on chem and a 96 PR on bio. Cliff notes ap bio is real cheap, the rest are free.

 

[LEE ADAMA WILLIAMS]

I used only chads videos for chemistry and cliff notes ap bio 3rd edition for biology along with a website that goes over microbiology. I ended up getting a 99 PR on chem and a 96 PR on bio. Cliff notes ap bio is real cheap, the rest are free.

what year did you take it?

 

[DagS132]

what year did you take it?

2018

And actually, there are free pdf of cliffnotes ap bio 3rd edition online so everything i suggested using is all free. Ill send you a private message with the link to the pdf.

The only thing you wont have with just the things i suggested using are practice exams. Well actually, you get 3 or 4 free practice exams on nextstepprep website. I did 2 of those free practice pcat exams and the score i received on those exams were identical to the scores i got on the actual pcat. However, its only 3 or 4 of these free ones. I had dr collins study material and they give you so much practice but its pretty expensive.

 

[zona2016]

Next steps has a free PCAT test, the pearson test even if they are so expensive they are super useful and I could swear that almost the same question showed up on the PCAT from one of my practice exams. Other than that the books aren't very useful.

 

[King2440]

Best way to study for the PCAT: “Find a book on other careers, not named Pharmacy and do it.”

Good luck to you though. I am sure you have done your research on the job market.

 

[BC_89]

Best way to study for the PCAT: “Find a book on other careers, not named Pharmacy and do it.”

Good luck to you though. I am sure you have done your research on the job market.

You really had to stretch so far as to actually jump into the PCAT subforum to say that?

I see plenty of salt with no pepper happening in the open forum. Help your fellow colleagues there

 

[DagS132]

You really had to stretch so far as to actually jump into the PCAT subforum to say that?

I see plenty of salt with no pepper happening in the open forum. Help your fellow colleagues there

At this point I feel like people desperately want to be known as the funny guy. I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't the same joke. A little creativity is all I ask for but even that is too much since you get called a troll when asked.

 

[LEE ADAMA WILLIAMS]

Best way to study for the PCAT: “Find a book on other careers, not named Pharmacy and do it.”

Good luck to you though. I am sure you have done your research on the job market.

OK boomer

 

[King2440]

OK boomer

Nah I’m actually a 5 year post grad. I really love what I do in retail. It has its ups and downs BUT job security is a big question. Reading your first post, it just shows how naive pre pharmers are. A simple google search could tell you this. Have you checked the recent BLS results for pharmacists and job growth? Hint: it’s negative. The job market is trash.

Anyway, good luck on your studying.

 

[LEE ADAMA WILLIAMS]

Nah I’m actually a 5 year post grad. I really love what I do in retail. It has its ups and downs BUT job security is a big question. Reading your first post, it just shows how naive pre pharmers are. A simple google search could tell you this. Have you checked the recent BLS results for pharmacists and job growth? Hint: it’s negative. The job market is trash.

Anyway, good luck on your studying.

Sure pharmacy job market is rough, but news flash its not 1970s anymore!

Idk what job market youve looked at but being a pharmacists working 70hrs a week and making 130k/year is a hell of alot better than slaving away to get a PhD and getting paid 35k/year working 80hrs a week in a university diagnostic lab that literally came to America because India (a country where 19% of the population have access to a working toiled) has more stringent safety standards. (OSHA has NO jurisdiction over university labs, even if they are a healthcare facility).

My other friend who is arguably the smartest person ive ever met, whom holds a PhD in Physics was homeless, living off of ramen noodles, and fishing in a lake for sustenance.

The job market for PhD's is horrible, the job is hazardous ( friends of mine gone blind from methanol poisoning) , and flooded with zero value.

There is almost 8 billion people on the earth, no job has security

 

[rxkrafted]

Sure pharmacy job market is rough, but news flash its not 1970s anymore!

Idk what job market youve looked at but being a pharmacists working 70hrs a week and making 130k/year is a hell of alot better than slaving away to get a PhD and getting paid 35k/year working 80hrs a week in a university diagnostic lab that literally came to America because India (a country where 19% of the population have access to a working toiled) has more stringent safety standards. (OSHA has NO jurisdiction over university labs, even if they are a healthcare facility).

My other friend who is arguably the smartest person ive ever met, whom holds a PhD in Physics was homeless, living off of ramen noodles, and fishing in a lake for sustenance.

The job market for PhD's is horrible, the job is hazardous ( friends of mine gone blind from methanol poisoning) , and flooded with zero value.

There is almost 8 billion people on the earth, no job has security

Just curious but why are you comparing jobs situations between PharmDs and PhDs?
Working 70hrs/week and making 130K/year is pretty crappy considering a 200K loan to payoff.. That's about $35/hour.

 

[Timbo]

Sure pharmacy job market is rough, but news flash its not 1970s anymore!

Idk what job market youve looked at but being a pharmacists working 70hrs a week and making 130k/year is a hell of alot better than slaving away to get a PhD and getting paid 35k/year working 80hrs a week in a university diagnostic lab that literally came to America because India (a country where 19% of the population have access to a working toiled) has more stringent safety standards. (OSHA has NO jurisdiction over university labs, even if they are a healthcare facility).

My other friend who is arguably the smartest person ive ever met, whom holds a PhD in Physics was homeless, living off of ramen noodles, and fishing in a lake for sustenance.

The job market for PhD's is horrible, the job is hazardous ( friends of mine gone blind from methanol poisoning) , and flooded with zero value.

There is almost 8 billion people on the earth, no job has security

I'm not a boomer. I actually graduated only 4 years ago. I can tell you for a fact that many of my non-pharmacists friends are way better off financially than I am. I currently have a full 40h/wk $120k/year position which is not too shabby at all but I graduated with $150k debt. I have friends with only bachelor's/master's in engineering, data science, accounting making $70k-$110k/yr with lots of room for upward mobility(unlike pharmacy) and not even a third of the debt I'm in. Now compare that to what new 2019 grads are getting paid...wages have dropped to $50/hr and under in many areas and many are still unemployed still to this day. I know this because I precept pharmacy students and have worked with recent grads as well. In a recent conversation, this new pharmacist said he only knows like 15 people in his class who have found employment and we're already 6 months past graduation. Keep in mind that only 4 years ago, ~90% of my graduating class had jobs lined up even before graduation. There's no denying thing's are going downhill fast. Maybe it's still better than your PhD friend, but I can tell you without a doubt that there are thousands of career options that are way better than pharmacy now.

 

[LEE ADAMA WILLIAMS]

Just curious but why are you comparing jobs situations between PharmDs and PhDs?
Working 70hrs/week and making 130K/year is pretty crappy considering a 200K loan to payoff.. That's about $35/hour.

Bc pharmacists that ive met have some of the most spoiled and entitled viewpoints on their circumstances. As a frame of reference for anyone with a bio/chem background, you have to have a PhD or Masters + 3 years experience to get a job anywhere in "industry" magical outliers aside.

The job market may be rough, but its not any different than any other

 

[LEE ADAMA WILLIAMS]

I'm not a boomer. I actually graduated only 4 years ago. I can tell you for a fact that many of my non-pharmacists friends are way better off financially than I am. I currently have a full 40h/wk $120k/year position which is not too shabby at all but I graduated with $150k debt. I have friends with only bachelor's/master's in engineering, data science, accounting making $70k-$110k/yr with lots of room for upward mobility(unlike pharmacy) and not even a third of the debt I'm in. Now compare that to what new 2019 grads are getting paid...wages have dropped to $50/hr and under in many areas and many are still unemployed still to this day. I know this because I precept pharmacy students and have worked with recent grads as well. In a recent conversation, this new pharmacist said he only knows like 15 people in his class who have found employment and we're already 6 months past graduation. Keep in mind that only 4 years ago, ~90% of my graduating class had jobs lined up even before graduation. There's no denying thing's are going downhill fast. Maybe it's still better than your PhD friend, but I can tell you without a doubt that there are thousands of career options that are way better than pharmacy now.

Lets just assume that since this is a healthcare based forum site that most ppl got undergrad degrees in biology or chemistry. I have no knowledge of the market for accountants or engineers but can provide anecdotal evidence of similar problems ie unemployed engineers, ppl with CS degrees making 50k/year stressed out and going blind. etc.

Getting an accounting degree is really not a viable option for anyone with a bio/chem degree bc you cant get student loans for a second bachelors and realistically how many biologist or chemists have an aptitude for accounting or data management?

When a data scientist wins a nobel prize ill consider it a valid area of study and not just some made up cash grab administrative calk job.

So realistically I honestly want to know what can someone with a BS in bio or chem do other than go into pharmacy ?

 

[rxkrafted]

Bc pharmacists that ive met have some of the most spoiled and entitled viewpoints on their circumstances. As a frame of reference for anyone with a bio/chem background, you have to have a PhD or Masters + 3 years experience to get a job anywhere in "industry" magical outliers aside.

The job market may be rough, but its not any different than any other

Yes the job market right now is different from other fields.
I have family members in many different areas of the healthcare system who have no problem finding jobs: nurse, physicians, PTs, dentists, PAs, ARNPs. It is much more difficult to find jobs as a pharmacist nowadays unless you have really tight connections. I'm not here to argue with you but I'm very confident when I say that the job market is terrible for pharmacists compared to other healthcare professionals right now.

 

[Timbo]

Lets just assume that since this is a healthcare based forum site that most ppl got undergrad degrees in biology or chemistry. I have no knowledge of the market for accountants or engineers but can provide anecdotal evidence of similar problems ie unemployed engineers, ppl with CS degrees making 50k/year stressed out and going blind. etc.

Getting an accounting degree is really not a viable option for anyone with a bio/chem degree bc you cant get student loans for a second bachelors and realistically how many biologist or chemists have an aptitude for accounting or data management?

When a data scientist wins a nobel prize ill consider it a valid area of study and not just some made up cash grab administrative calk job.

So realistically I honestly want to know what can someone with a BS in bio or chem do other than go into pharmacy ?

If you just want to focus on healthcare, then I can say with confidence that nearly every other healthcare profession are a better financial choice than pharmacy right now. While many are saturated, none are even close to what pharmacy has become. As far as I can see, pharmacy is the only healthcare profession for which BLS predicts negative job growth. The decline in job opportunities is unprecedented as well with Rite Aid closing 600 stores, Walmart laying off 40% of its pharmacy staff, CVS and Walgreens continuously closing stores, several smaller chains closing, etc in just the past couple years. Wages dropping by almost $10/hr for new grads in just a year is scary - who knows when it will bottom out?

Even if you went back for a second bachelor's, it would cost considerably less and take about the same amount of time as going through pharmacy school. As for data science, I know a couple of friends who have pursued a master's in informatics or data science after getting their bachelor's in biology. They now make $70-80k working in the private sector. One was recently offered a $100k position in a larger metro. They're not administrative jobs but more about project management, statistical analyses, and pretty coding intensive. Data science has applications in things such as genetics, healthcare, or environmental studies - so could be a step forward from a bio degree. Probably one of the fastest growing fields right now too.