Verbal Diarrhea

[ffpickle]

I'm Frustrated.

I have been trying to study the root words and memorize the vocabulary, but after knowing it, forget it after sometime. I have been using some websites and also Kaplan's book.

Any suggestions for me, since time is running out?

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[nerv12345]

i suggest you study topics you are strong at and try to perfect them so you can score as high as you can on those sections on the PCAT and then do a crash course on the vocab a few days before the exam so that at least SOME of it will stay with you a few days later. don't waste your time and energy studying for a topic that you know you might not do well in (i'm assuming)
believe it or not you can actually get a pretty good score if you don't do so well on one or two sections

 

[Farcus]

i suggest you study topics you are strong at and try to perfect them so you can score as high as you can on those sections on the PCAT and then do a crash course on the vocab a few days before the exam so that at least SOME of it will stay with you a few days later. don't waste your time and energy studying for a topic that you know you might not do well in (i'm assuming)
believe it or not you can actually get a pretty good score if you don't do so well on one or two sections

exactly. I'm just trying to do well on four of the 6 areas. If you can get 80-90 on all of those and like say 50-60s on the other two, you'll get a decent score if you got a decent gpa to go along with it.

 

[ffpickle]

i'm working on doing as well as possible in my strong sections.

but i want to do well in all the sections...

is it just a case of "either you have it or don't?"

i will study some words, know them, but then after a week confuse them all and forget them. perhaps it's all about repetition and continuing to use them in any form you can

 

[medicalCPA]

is it just a case of "either you have it or don't?"

With Verbal, yes (in most cases). Verbal reasoning skills are usually built up over time, and not something you can study for. However, keep at it. As you pointed out, repetition is key. And try using FreeRice (www.freerice.com). It's awesome.

 

[Transformer]

Keep doing practice problems for reading and verbal section.

If I were you, I focus on math, chemistry, and biology. These 3 areas are where students can find dramatic improvements in while given short amount of time to study.

I would like to study 2 subjects a day but since I have to work; I am studying one subject daily; with emphasis on 3 areas I listed above.

study hard and smart everyone

P.s. FreeRice website is awesome!

 

[nerv12345]

I would like to study 2 subjects a day but since I have to work; I am studying one subject daily; with emphasis on 3 areas I listed above.

this is the best way to do it. don't try and cram two subjects into one day. you might as well focus and perfect one subject each day.

 

[YiYaoYue]

With Verbal, yes (in most cases). Verbal reasoning skills are usually built up over time, and not something you can study for. However, keep at it. As you pointed out, repetition is key. And try using FreeRice (www.freerice.com). It's awesome.

although it is awesome to be part of WFP's program, did you guys actually use this for PCAT vocab? It is a little too easy to learn new vocabs.

 

[ffpickle]

although it is awesome to be part of WFP's program, did you guys actually use this for PCAT vocab? It is a little too easy to learn new vocabs.

Agreed. It's gratifying to feed starving kids but that won't directly help me on the PCAT, since that website is a bit too easy.

 

[ffpickle]

Great tips everyone.

Any other ideas about how to improve vocab?

 

[lizat]

Hi everyone,
How was the june Pcat?

 

[omnione]

is it just a case of "either you have it or don't?"

Well, if you ask this question one or two months before you take an exam, then that answer is more true. However, you can increase your vocabulary in the long term. It takes time and practice. I sucked on the SAT verbal back when it had analogies and sentence completions but did very well (92) on the PCAT version years later.

I think the relationship between words (for analogies) and proper contexts (for sentence completions) are more key skills than memorizing words themselves. You can get an old SAT prep book if you need practice with this concept and don't have much of a problem with vocabulary.

 

[Farcus]

Well, if you ask this question one or two months before you take an exam, then that answer is more true. However, you can increase your vocabulary in the long term. It takes time and practice. I sucked on the SAT verbal back when it had analogies and sentence completions but did very well (92) on the PCAT version years later.

I think the relationship between words (for analogies) and proper contexts (for sentence completions) are more key skills than memorizing words themselves. You can get an old SAT prep book if you need practice with this concept and don't have much of a problem with vocabulary.

yeh that or get a MAT practice book, its the grad test for critical thinking which is basically all ananlogies. They have like 9-10 practice test for MAT and GRE, and the MAT format is exactly like PCAT since its made by the same company who makes PCAT. Damn this stuff is hard, getting about 8-9 wrong out of every 26 I do and my brain is so drained doing practice on these.

 

[diastole]

I'm Frustrated.

I have been trying to study the root words and memorize the vocabulary, but after knowing it, forget it after sometime. I have been using some websites and also Kaplan's book.

Any suggestions for me, since time is running out?

It is normal to forget the words. Each time you review a word you used to know, it gets easier to retain it and eventually those words get into your long-term memory. I recommend making flashcards and reviewing throughout the day when you have a few minutes rather than just doing it in one big cram session. Keep going back to the words that you previously learned and make sure you still remember them. Repeat exposure is what will get you to learn the words.

 

[1pharmdplz]

ffpickle,
i definitely lack in the verbal region..(maybe location would be a better word there?.. no.. department! jk )
but really i studied from a lot of diffferent sources for verbal.. gre top 200.. many websites.. top SAT words.. and kaplan flashcards..

the words i saw the most on the real pcat came from the kaplan flashcards.. or there "Top 200 PCAT words" list.. but dont
assume i mean a lot.. a few? a couple maybe? no more than 6 i'd say. they say every point counts but geez i sure did study
a lot of words for not that many to show up.

in the end and after taking the test i should have study the other sections when i was actually studying verbal if i knew it would end up this way.


.

 

[diastole]

Well, there is the cost benefit ratio to learning a bunch of words. That time may be spent better elsewhere. However, if you have the time (and I mean months and months), the payoff can be huge.

In my case, I took the GRE years ago. When I was preparing, I took a practice test, and scored around the 50 percentile range in verbal. My vocabulary just wasn't strong enough to do well in that section. I found a prep book that had 3500 words and I knew about half of those already. I memorized the other half and my verbal score on the actual test went up to the 97th percentile. In my case, all that effort was worth it because the increase was dramatic and the GRE only had three sections. On the PCAT, the time might be better spent working on the other sections.