80th+ percentile PCAT advice?

[hajenkin]

Hey guys! I'm scheduled to take the PCAT on September 8. I've already purchased Kaplan, Barron's, and Dr. Collins materials. My goal is to make at least ~80th percentile in order to maintain a competitive application. I was wondering if you all had any advice on what/how to study, especially in only about a month's time?

I've spent the last week studying around six hours a day out of the Kaplan book, specifically in the biology section. I've noticed that it's incredibly detailed and was wondering what sections I should particularly focus on (ex. cellular, molecular, A&P, etc.)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Plusle]

Maybe it's just me but I always feel like there are questions about kidney function i.e. parts of the nephron. I think the Kaplan study sheets narrow the biology down pretty well.

 

[9each]

Maybe it's just me but I always feel like there is a question about kidney function i.e. parts of the nephron. I think the Kaplan study sheets narrow the biology down pretty well.

On the pcat there's lots of questions about kidney function?

 

[Plusle]

On the pcat there's lots of questions about kidney function?

There won't be "a lot" of questions on anything in the biology section since there are so many things that they can ask you. It's a commonality I see.

 

[pharmD2022]

I recommend doing the Pearson practice tests. They're kind of expensive but the most like the real test. And they'll score your tests for you. For me they weren't 100% true to the real thing but they were close and helped me figure out what areas I really needed to focus on.
I also recommend doing your practice tests in real conditions. So use a timer and basic calculator. Time is typically your biggest enemy on the PCAT particularly with the quant and reading sections. I ran out of time on Quant so I ended up guessing on a lot and I even did practice tests in the normal time frame without issue. There's a lot of strategy to the time so make sure you test it!

The bio section can be tough. Bio is so broad and it can be pretty detailed. I found that studying the questions on the Pearson practice tests as well as the Dr. Collins bio study guide prepared me pretty well. In general, I would recommend focusing on DNA/RNA, protein synthesis, mitosis, Anatomy (particularly cardiovascular and excretory systems). There definitely seemed to be at least one kidney question on almost every practice test. I also recommend focusing on microbio and vectors for disease transmission.

Dr. Collins study guide sections for chem, bio and quant are pretty accurate. If you understand the majority of those you'll do great.

The Pearson practice tests will give you a score and those were mostly true for me on the real test so they're a pretty good indicator of where you stand.

 

[hajenkin]

I recommend doing the Pearson practice tests. They're kind of expensive but the most like the real test. And they'll score your tests for you. For me they weren't 100% true to the real thing but they were close and helped me figure out what areas I really needed to focus on.
I also recommend doing your practice tests in real conditions. So use a timer and basic calculator. Time is typically your biggest enemy on the PCAT particularly with the quant and reading sections. I ran out of time on Quant so I ended up guessing on a lot and I even did practice tests in the normal time frame without issue. There's a lot of strategy to the time so make sure you test it!

The bio section can be tough. Bio is so broad and it can be pretty detailed. I found that studying the questions on the Pearson practice tests as well as the Dr. Collins bio study guide prepared me pretty well. In general, I would recommend focusing on DNA/RNA, protein synthesis, mitosis, Anatomy (particularly cardiovascular and excretory systems). There definitely seemed to be at least one kidney question on almost every practice test. I also recommend focusing on microbio and vectors for disease transmission.

Dr. Collins study guide sections for chem, bio and quant are pretty accurate. If you understand the majority of those you'll do great.

The Pearson practice tests will give you a score and those were mostly true for me on the real test so they're a pretty good indicator of where you stand.

Thank you so much! About how long did you study for and, if you don't mind me asking, what was your score?

 

[Stabler22]

99 bio
99 chem
29 reading
94 math
97 composite

Biology- study exclusively from Collins. If you are weak in something, use kaplan and youtube videos to get the correct knowledge. Also, know your microbiology. Diseases, transmission, what microbe causes what, etc. Know your basic cell/molec biology down to the core. Understand how enzymes work. BUT the biggest part imo, is a&p. I didnt have to take a&p as a prereq so I studied at will. There will be questions about the body systems. Whether its reproductive, cardiovascular, excretory, just know your basic a&p systems along with tissues, cells, immunology, etc.

Chem- like 70% of my test was gen chem as highlighted in the blueprint (I think it says 50%). Know your periodic table very well and its' trends. Know how to quickly do stoichiometry and conversion problems, as well as dilutions. Know your basic thermodynamic and gas laws. Understand spontaneity. For organic chem, understand basic reactions. Sn1/2,E1/2, dehydration, hydrolysis, etc. Understand that "Like dissolves like". Understand Forces (intermolecular and intramolecular) and how they apply to reactions. Biochem was mostly involved with passages, but there were a few standalones that were simple.

Reading- cant really study for this. just have to be a decent reader in a very short amount of time.

Math- Collins was the best preparation. Understand that most of this section is basic algebra. Dont let that fool you though, MANY problems in fact most are word set-ups. They arent really "Solve for X" type of problems. Collins is mostly simple short problems and thats where I got tricked up on the real thing. Practice word problems. As for trig, I had maybe one easy question. Calculus was maybe 1-5 questions, nothing hard. Really though, if you don't take away anything else from this section, BRUSH UP on any math thats basic - even simple algebra rules, logs, etc and know how to apply it to word problems.


Message me if you have any questions because I was in this boat at one point!

 

[maddyscientist]

I scored a 92 in reading and I'm absolutely terrible at reading, I'd recommend study off of as much MCAT CARS materials as you can for that section. They really made a difference for me!

 

[dizpnoyownzyoo]

Stabler22’s pretty spot on with what topics you need to study and emphasize so I’ll just add anything I recommend. Kaplan was the only thing I studied with. I’ve heard great things about Collin’s, but I didn’t want to spend the money. The “Test Strategies” chapter of Kaplan was particularly good to read.

Buy the three Pearson practice tests!! Yes, a little pricey, but well worth it. I found the Pearson exams were of similar difficulty to the real thing. Preferably take them under normal timed conditions. Take 1 when you start studying (if you haven’t already) and use it to identify your weaknesses. Then I’d take the last 2 after you’re done reviewing your materials to practice test-taking skills. Speed and timing are super important to be good at.


Bio: Kaplan’s really detailed for this section. But if you can get through it all you’ll do really well. I thought the test’s coverage of bio was very broad, but not too in-depth. I felt Kaplan was lacking in microbio and common diseases/nutrient deficiencies.


Chem: No need to waste time reading the passages. All of the questions I was given referred to just a table/diagram/equation with no reading necessary. Calculations in this section will be very easy. Be comfortable with scientific notation (e.g. 5.0x10^2 * 2.0x10^2 = 1.0x10^5).


Reading: Probably the most difficult to improve on. You have to read fast. I found it really helpful to create super short outlines of the passages. For each paragraph I’d write a couple words to remind me of the main points, topics, tone, etc. Stuff to give an overview. Creating a map of each passage helped answer comprehension questions, many of which refer to specific parts of the passages e.g. “The purpose of paragraph 3 is to ______” or “In the final paragraph, the author does blahblah primarily to _____”. I basically didn’t look while writing these outlines cause I was so busy reading so my outlines were probably illegible to anyone but me lol. Speed is important! It’s really easy to run out of time here. Take about 3-4 minutes to read the passage and 4-5 minutes to answer the questions. I tried to be done with passage 1 by minute 8, passage 2 by minutes 16, etc etc.


Math: Another section that’s easy to run out of time on especially after just taking the bio, chem, and reading right before. Because I was mentally exhausted a couple times I had to use the calculator, which is like the simple one you get on a Windows computer. I tried to answer all of the easy questions first, skipping the ones I thought would be too time-consuming. Feel free to flag those and come back to them if you have time. Kaplan’s math section wasn’t enough, but I do recommend reading their Quantitative Strategies chapter.


I took it January 2017.
Bio 484/99
Chem 486/99
Reading 419/87
Math 423/85
Composite 453/99

Goodluck!

 

[hajenkin]

Stabler22’s pretty spot on with what topics you need to study and emphasize so I’ll just add anything I recommend. Kaplan was the only thing I studied with. I’ve heard great things about Collin’s, but I didn’t want to spend the money. The “Test Strategies” chapter of Kaplan was particularly good to read.

Buy the three Pearson practice tests!! Yes, a little pricey, but well worth it. I found the Pearson exams were of similar difficulty to the real thing. Preferably take them under normal timed conditions. Take 1 when you start studying (if you haven’t already) and use it to identify your weaknesses. Then I’d take the last 2 after you’re done reviewing your materials to practice test-taking skills. Speed and timing are super important to be good at.


Bio: Kaplan’s really detailed for this section. But if you can get through it all you’ll do really well. I thought the test’s coverage of bio was very broad, but not too in-depth. I felt Kaplan was lacking in microbio and common diseases/nutrient deficiencies.


Chem: No need to waste time reading the passages. All of the questions I was given referred to just a table/diagram/equation with no reading necessary. Calculations in this section will be very easy. Be comfortable with scientific notation (e.g. 5.0x10^2 * 2.0x10^2 = 1.0x10^5).


Reading: Probably the most difficult to improve on. You have to read fast. I found it really helpful to create super short outlines of the passages. For each paragraph I’d write a couple words to remind me of the main points, topics, tone, etc. Stuff to give an overview. Creating a map of each passage helped answer comprehension questions, many of which refer to specific parts of the passages e.g. “The purpose of paragraph 3 is to ______” or “In the final paragraph, the author does blahblah primarily to _____”. I basically didn’t look while writing these outlines cause I was so busy reading so my outlines were probably illegible to anyone but me lol. Speed is important! It’s really easy to run out of time here. Take about 3-4 minutes to read the passage and 4-5 minutes to answer the questions. I tried to be done with passage 1 by minute 8, passage 2 by minutes 16, etc etc.


Math: Another section that’s easy to run out of time on especially after just taking the bio, chem, and reading right before. Because I was mentally exhausted a couple times I had to use the calculator, which is like the simple one you get on a Windows computer. I tried to answer all of the easy questions first, skipping the ones I thought would be too time-consuming. Feel free to flag those and come back to them if you have time. Kaplan’s math section wasn’t enough, but I do recommend reading their Quantitative Strategies chapter.


I took it January 2017.
Bio 484/99
Chem 486/99
Reading 419/87
Math 423/85
Composite 453/99

Goodluck!

Thank you so much for the great advice! About how long did you study for?

 

[dizpnoyownzyoo]

Thank you so much for the great advice! About how long did you study for?

I studied for a little over 3 weeks, the amount of time it took me to thoroughly go through Kaplan's. I was able to dedicate 8 hrs/day, though. While going through the book I also created my own sort of cheat-sheet as notes (similar to what the Kaplan book gives). Making cheat-sheets helps me solidify my memory and it's useful for quickly referencing to.
Have you taken all of your pre-reqs? I was able to get away with not studying for too long since everything was just review.

 

[hajenkin]

I studied for a little over 3 weeks, the amount of time it took me to thoroughly go through Kaplan's. I was able to dedicate 8 hrs/day, though. While going through the book I also created my own sort of cheat-sheet as notes (similar to what the Kaplan book gives). Making cheat-sheets helps me solidify my memory and it's useful for quickly referencing to.
Have you taken all of your pre-reqs? I was able to get away with not studying for too long since everything was just review.

I've taken all the pre-reqs with the exception of orgo II and micro. So far I've found most of the biology to be review. However, it's been a couple years since I've taken calc or general chem, so I'm trying to play catch-up there.

 

[BRIGGSQUAD]

Do not write off the math section. A lot of ppl bomb this section because they run out of time. Do word problems involving basic algebra until your brain hurts and then do some more (also probabilities, dimensional analysis, ratio's, logarithms, basic statistics, etc). If you don't know an answer when under the gun sitting for the test, at least mark something and keep moving.

I'll echo some of the comments above and also add that the hardest problems in the bio section were the passage based questions. Read the actual question first, skim the answers and then draw what you need from the passage. The answer won't be obvious, however you'll hone in easier on what you need to help you solve the question. With the chem, do the same thing for the passage based questions. In the chem section the passages are mostly there to waste your time reading (at least that was my experience).

86 Composite (I'll take it)