Hey guys! 1T9 here and I thought I would give you some tips and what I got accepted with!
PCAT
Bio: 97
Verbal: 52
RC: 56
Quant: 95
Chem: 99
Comp: 95
Writing: 4
cGPA: ~3.7 ( 2 years of Undergrad
@McMaster)
MMIs: Its really hard to tell here but I thought I bombed 2 stations, really well in 2 and the rest were okay.
Tips for PCAT:
Materials used: Dr.Collins, 3 Pearson Practice Tests, Kaplan Textbook, EK MCAT Verbal 101 Passages
I wrote the PCAT in January and studied for 2 weeks after December Exams
Studying for Biology
Dr. Collins covers practically all the topics for biology except a few which I will touch upon. However the study guides (collins) cover only 40% and the remaining 60% come from the practice tests themselves so you must go through the tests multiple times and understand all the terms tossed at you. You must know A) B) C) D) for every question and not just the answer itself. Also go through the solutions to get a full grasp of everything you need to know and read your old undergrad notes if you ever need a better explanation or simply go on google. As for diseases which is a new section since last year, I advise you remember and know very very briefly about all the diseases that are mentioned in all the biology practice tests. These are all common diseases that do reappear on your exam so highlight them when you come across these terms. As for the rest of the stuff collins doesn't cover, I suggest you open up the Kaplan book to go through 5 more sections. This includes: auditory system, visual system, renal system, endocrine system, and embryology. In general, you should patch up on human physiology sections if you have not already taken human physiology in undergrad. Also I suggest you read up on 5 types of major drugs just off wikipedia: antihypertensives, antibiotics, diabetic drugs, anticholesterols, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (such as sertraline)
Studying for Chemistry
DR.COLLINS. THATS IT. 100% everything there and same level of difficulty and same type of questions. Dr. Collins couldn't have made it better. Very basic biochemistry, thermochemistry and organic chemistry so don't worry too much. Mainly high school level. You do not need to refer to any other resources to prepare for chemistry. For organic chemistry, its not as tough as people say it to be, very straightforward stuff and everything is laid out in the study guides and also in the practice tests. As long as you are able to recognize certain patterns in organic chemistry you will be fine.
Studying for Quantitative
Basic high school grade 12 stuff and a little bit of integration. Trigonometry is also included in the exam. Hardest parts probably doing rates and finding maximum and minimum with time restrictions. The only statistics questions is finding quartiles, mean, median, and using z score equation. You may have learned multiple equations for z score but just know that one equation that is provided in the study guide. The test allotted for quantitative is 40 minutes and it will take 40 minutes just because some questions are very tedious and is time consuming. You may be asked to find the average of 8 numbers or find the 3rd quartile of 21 numbers. Of course, to save time you must use approximate numbers instead of fractions. For instance, multiply with 4 instead of 3.84 and simply pick the answer closest to the answer you got. Also quantitative tests may vary in terms of difficulty. I personally had a very difficult test but my friend had a very easy quantitative test. What I am trying to say here is that you should not panic. Even though I felt like I got about 10+ questions wrong, I still did well because each question is weighted. A difficult test will mean that you can sacrifice more errors than others who may have an easy test.
Studying for Verbal (ONLY DR COLLINS has a comprehensive list of words and analogies thus it is so awesome!) Remember that since your grade is comparative to others who write the exam, by having Dr. Collins package and having words and analogies that reappear year after year, it helps out a lot by giving you an advantage. Even knowing a couple more words than everyone else will be very beneficial and will separate you from someone else. The extra few questions will distinguish if you are going to achieve a 90 versus a 70. You must memorize all the provided words and analogies provided in the Dr. Collins package. If you have spare time then and only then do I suggest you go on google and search MCAT, GRE word lists for more words. You can also go onto Dictionary.com (
http://Dictionary.com) and use their dynamo app and search up PCAT word lists too. The lists provided by Dr. Collins is essential and nearly always reappear.
Studying for Reading (MOST DIFFICULT)
I would recommend using MCAT Verbal (CARS) prep books I found them the most useful. Try to maybe do 2-3 passages a day and you will see gradual improvements. Make sure you allot the time correctly for the actual PCAT because I remember I had maybe 1 minute to do the last 5 questions lol.
Studying for Essay
Come up with a structural approach. Intro + Body + Conclusion. For the body always approach it with a list of perspectives: health care, educational, political, environmental perspectives just as an example. I tell you this because all PCAT essay questions are always "here's a societal problem suggest some solutions". For that reason you should always write 3 body paragraphs with those perspectives in mind. Aside you got 30 minutes and it's typed out so it isn't too time restrictive.
Tips for MMIs:
Once again not really much here except just google up MMI questions and do mock interviews with a friend who is also applying. Just go in and be confident!
General Tips for UofT:
You must have good scores in either 2 out of the 3 things to be competitive: GPA, PCAT or MMIs, as they are weighted 1/3 each for final acceptances. They are not primarily concerned about your extracurricular activities (unfortunately, but your opinion may depend how you think about it). U of T their application does not ask for any personal responses whereas Waterloo does and tries to understand your reasoning behind applying to pharmacy.
Cheers guys!
