Finishing

[ffpickle]

Math is prob the hardest to finish for most ppl. For me, it's chem.
For math I "just do it," but for Chem, I need to "take my time" to understand the question. Any tips on how to improve my speed in Chem?

PS- I just wrote the 2004-2005 Kaplan Diagnostic (prob similar to the current Kaplan PCAT book) and was able to finish all sections except Chem- 30 q, 15 min - I didn't even finish 15 q

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[sashagrl259]

I also have that same problem! When I took the Kaplan's 08-09 practice test, I couldn't finish neither chemistry nor math. Still, I finished more math than chemistry.

Recently, I took a different practice test, and I just decided to try and do the easiest problems first on the math section because, again, I couldn't finish chemistry. Aaaand it worked! I will definitely try doing the easiest problems in the chemistry section first next practice test.

Have you tried doing this?

 

[ffpickle]

I read that strategy but the problem I see with it is that you have to read the question to determine if it is easy or hard. If it is easy then you do it, and if it is hard you skip it. Eventually you will come back to all the hard questions, meaning you have wasted time by spending double the time on them. I think that if you want to finish all the questions, you somehow have to plow through them all and arrive at some sort of an answer for each question. If it seems like you can't get it, just guess and move on. I found the Chem for the Kaplan Diagnostic impossible to finish!

But your tip is certainly worth trying. I will give it a shot since it worked for you. In the end, I think it's about each individual's preference.

Which other practice tests are you using (other than Kaplan's), that you tried your strategy on?

 

[Transformer]

Lets face it. PCAT math section was written in a way where Not many people are going to finish. 48 questions in 40 minutes? That's 50 seconds per math problem!


I agree that one should pursue the problem that's the easiest for you and no one math problem is worth spending more than 1 to 1 and half minute on.

Doing well on math section requires stamina (since its the last section of the test) and being able to recall general math skills quickly (this is trained by doing as many practice problems under a time setting)

Good luck. about 53 more days till Aug PCAT

 

[Transformer]

Math is prob the hardest to finish for most ppl. For me, it's chem.
For math I "just do it," but for Chem, I need to "take my time" to understand the question. Any tips on how to improve my speed in Chem?

PS- I just wrote the 2004-2005 Kaplan Diagnostic (prob similar to the current Kaplan PCAT book) and was able to finish all sections except Chem- 30 q, 15 min - I didn't even finish 15 q

I know how you feel about the chemistry section. I also done the same Kaplan Practice Problems. I was finishing at about 20 out of 30 questions in 15 minutes. You'll have to average 30 seconds per question to finish.

For the real PCAT chem section it's 48 questions in 30 minutes. That's an average of 37.5 seconds per chemistry problem. Comparing the two, I say Kaplan is training us to work slightly quicker than the real exam; which is a good thing

You'll be surprise how fast you can be when you skip the problems you are clueless about at the moment because of stress or whatever. At second glance, I find myself knowing how to do the problems I skipped and I'm glad I did skip.

 

[ffpickle]

Great tips!

I feel fortunate that I don't think I will struggle with math; it's one of my strong points.

But Chem isn't, esp. Orgo. With so little time (37.5s/q), you need to know the answer almost right away!

Since "practise makes perfect," I guess the only way to increase speed is to keep doing problems. Speaking of which, do you guys recommend any practice tests in particular? Kaplan just gives one Practise Test at the end of the PCAT book.

I'm not so sure about doing the easiest problems first because if there aren't many easy problems you recognize, you may get discouraged. I'm going to try to work through them all in order, answering as best and fast as I can...

 

[Transformer]

If you haven't done so, I recommend purchasing the two new practice exams from Pearson (the company that wrote the PCAT exams).

http://tpc-etesting.com/PCATOPT/

I find the two exams to be very helpful in measuring how well you'll perform on the real PCAT exam.

good luck!

 

[ffpickle]

I plan on doing them in a few weeks. Thx though...