Advice and feedback for Accepted Applicants!

[tydaddy99]

So i still have about an year till i apply to schools and im taking the PCAT in the summer and such on but im very curious about the pharmacy requirements for schools.

In pharmcas, i noticed that some schools require a letter of rec. from a specific person while not accepting some of others while other schools are vise versa. Is it okay to just get LORs from different kinds and put them on Pharmcas and have the schools only accept the ones that they require and not look at the others because i want to give them their right amount.

Also for the PCAT which is the only thing im very worried about, what is a good study guide??
i heard kaplan was the best, but does that include the whole package from the words to calc to bio and chem.
or should i get some different stuff.
I am very bad at standarized testings but i really want to get a good grade on the pcat and iam willing to study for 3 months in advace everyday for about 6 hours to get a good grade but i want to know what has helped you the most because im willing to get and do whatever; because a few of my friends said they took it and failed it twice, and they have 3.8+ and they studied alot, but their not good in english but geniuses in everything else, but i am very good at english.

Thankyou so much.

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[desklamp]

pcats are easy, less so because of the test material, and more so because of the insane curve on the exam. just repeat exercises from study books like kaplan, barrons (forget how to spell it), princeton review, etc. and study from the subject summaries they offer. if you don't want to buy them, your local library might have older versions of the guides you can use.

for verbal, just buy a GRE vocab flashcard book (i used kaplan), memorize all the words, and do reading comprehension exercises.

i honestly don't think you'll need 3 months of studying every day to do well. i think i studied like 3 weeks before, for a few hours here and there while i was at lab.

not sure about the rec letters, but i think pharmCAS forwarded all my letters to all the schools, and schools that only required 2 letters just took them off the top 2 on the list. i assume schools that require specific letters will find them from the ones you submitted to pharmCAS.

 

[tydaddy99]

pcats are easy, less so because of the test material, and more so because of the insane curve on the exam. just repeat exercises from study books like kaplan, barrons (forget how to spell it), princeton review, etc. and study from the subject summaries they offer. if you don't want to buy them, your local library might have older versions of the guides you can use.

for verbal, just buy a GRE vocab flashcard book (i used kaplan), memorize all the words, and do reading comprehension exercises.

i honestly don't think you'll need 3 months of studying every day to do well. i think i studied like 3 weeks before, for a few hours here and there while i was at lab.

not sure about the rec letters, but i think pharmCAS forwarded all my letters to all the schools, and schools that only required 2 letters just took them off the top 2 on the list. i assume schools that require specific letters will find them from the ones you submitted to pharmCAS.

Really, well that made me feel ALOT better.
and your talking about the kaplan gre vocab right?? that just comes in flashcards.
will the actual book include the comprehension excersices as well as the other subjects that will be on the test, and does it explain the info good?
and they curve the pcat forreal?

 

[desklamp]

Really, well that made me feel ALOT better.
and your talking about the kaplan gre vocab right?? that just comes in flashcards.
will the actual book include the comprehension excersices as well as the other subjects that will be on the test, and does it explain the info good?
and they curve the pcat forreal?

the exam is percentile based, so your score depends on how everyone else does. idk, i'm pretty sure i must have missed a ton of questions in biology (about trees...and leaves...that no one cares about) but I still ended up with a 95 in that section.

the study guides will have comprehension exercises i believe (i can't remember anymore). just flip through the books before you buy them to make sure. if you want, you can go to GRE verbal prep guides to get some tips on reading comprehension (once you do enough exercises you kind of can predict the answers they want)

for math and chem, my advice is to focus on speed. they don't give you much time to finish the amount of questions they give you.

if you have any more questions feel free to ask, taking standardized tests is in my blood (i'm asian )

 

[Passion4Sci]

The first thing you can do is not learn from Desklamp there and realize it's PCAT, not plural .

Second thing you can do is pick up both the Kaplan PCAT study guide but also I have seen a lot of people invest in the Mcgraw-Hill Schaum outlines. They're not PCAT specific, but they're subject specific, and are really taxing. If you don't know your stuff, those will definitely let you know.

The bottom line though, is that if you're a poor test-taker, the PCAT will be pretty rough.

As far as LoRs go, you shouldn't have too much trouble isolating what kind your school(s) want, and just secure those. You can never go wrong with, say, an Orgo professor you did well with and who can write a glowing letter about you and any other subject cogent to the practice of pharmacy (MCB, A&P, etc). I have yet to find a school that will not even conditionally require a letter from a professor. I'm sure it's out there, but that's really the best bet. And ensure that a teaching assistant doesn't write it, because that is something that isn't even conditionally required at all (flat out rejected at many schools). The biggest exception I've seen is that, in CA especially, LoRs from RPhs are required, and that can be difficult if you have zero exposure to pharmacy.

Every school I applied to wanted refs sent directly to PharmCAS.

 

[desklamp]

The first thing you can do is not learn from Desklamp there and realize it's PCAT, not plural .

Second thing you can do is pick up both the Kaplan PCAT study guide but also I have seen a lot of people invest in the Mcgraw-Hill Schaum outlines. They're not PCAT specific, but they're subject specific, and are really taxing. If you don't know your stuff, those will definitely let you know.

The bottom line though, is that if you're a poor test-taker, the PCAT will be pretty rough.

As far as LoRs go, you shouldn't have too much trouble isolating what kind your school(s) want, and just secure those. You can never go wrong with, say, an Orgo professor you did well with and who can write a glowing letter about you and any other subject cogent to the practice of pharmacy (MCB, A&P, etc). I have yet to find a school that will not even conditionally require a letter from a professor. I'm sure it's out there, but that's really the best bet. And ensure that a teaching assistant doesn't write it, because that is something that isn't even conditionally required at all (flat out rejected at many schools). The biggest exception I've seen is that, in CA especially, LoRs from RPhs are required, and that can be difficult if you have zero exposure to pharmacy.

Every school I applied to wanted refs sent directly to PharmCAS.

does it really matter if i colloquialize a standardized test name on an unofficial forum, mr. passion4sci -_- you've been like on my metaphorical nuts about it since that last post. i just want you to understand that underneath this rough cowboy exterior beats a heart of gold and also an inclination to make everything plural.

y u mad?

 

[PharmTech8241]

Just get this guys study guide packet for the pcat:

http://www.pcatprepclass.com/

and supplement it along with the kaplan book and you'll do fine...I have some Kaplan practice test if you want...pm me if your interested...

 

[Passion4Sci]

does it really matter if i colloquialize a standardized test name on an unofficial forum, mr. passion4sci -_- you've been like on my metaphorical nuts about it since that last post. i just want you to understand that underneath this rough cowboy exterior beats a heart of gold and also an inclination to make everything plural.

y u mad?

Hey, if you want to make yourself look stupid, go for it.

I just don't want OP to start thinking "pcats" is appropriate and make himself look stupid.

 

[desklamp]

Hey, if you want to make yourself look stupid, go for it.

I just don't want OP to start thinking "pcats" is appropriate and make himself look stupid.

lol. pretty sure the only one who feels that calling the PCAT "pcats" has any measure of said person's intelligence is you.

but seriously. lets talk this out, friend. y u mad? i was just trying to give the guy advice. did your mother not teach you anything growing up or something ? you ought to pick on someone your own size. i have no legs so i am like maybe 3' 2" at most. some days when i wear my robot legs i am taller, though.

 

[docss26]

lol. pretty sure the only one who feels that calling the PCAT "pcats" has any measure of said person's intelligence is you.

but seriously. lets talk this out, friend. y u mad? i was just trying to give the guy advice. did your mother not teach you anything growing up or something ? you ought to pick on someone your own size. i have no legs so i am like maybe 3' 2" at most. some days when i wear my robot legs i am taller, though.