Advice for PCAT Math section

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MikeS95

MikeS95

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Hi guys, just wanted to ask what you guys would recommend i do to prepare for the math section of the exam. I have limited knowledge of pre calc/ calc because i took the classes 3-4 years ago and most of what i learned slipped my mind already. What is the best way to make sure to ace this section given the circumstances?
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MikeS95 said:
Hi guys, just wanted to ask what you guys would recommend i do to prepare for the math section of the exam. I have limited knowledge of pre calc/ calc because i took the classes 3-4 years ago and most of what i learned slipped my mind already. What is the best way to make sure to ace this section given the circumstances?
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I used my college books and notes
 
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MikeS95 said:
hey marina thanks for answering, you took the pcat already right? how heavy was it on pre-calc/ calc and what other type of math was on it if u dont mind me asking
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Mine was very heavy on calculus and algebra, a little bit of statistics but simple statistics
 
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Answer the easy math questions first, and after going through the entire section come back around to do the hard ones. I guessed randomly on many calculus problems that looked too lengthy (ones with complex integrals, trig identities, optimizations, etc) and still got a decent 85 in math. Word problems are good ones to come back to later since they require you to interpret the text.

Sometimes plugging and chugging the multiple choice answers into problems works well.

The calculator they give is time consuming to use so try not to rely on it. Getting good at estimating and mental math helped me a lot. Math is the last section of the test and I was brain dead by then so I had to use the calculator a couple times lol.

I saw a lot of algebra (polynomials, piece wise functions, systems of equations, inequalities) and basic calculus (derivative/anti derivative). Couple basic stat questions like probability, calculating standard deviation, mean, median, mode.
 
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MikeS95 said:
Hi guys, just wanted to ask what you guys would recommend i do to prepare for the math section of the exam. I have limited knowledge of pre calc/ calc because i took the classes 3-4 years ago and most of what i learned slipped my mind already. What is the best way to make sure to ace this section given the circumstances?
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I'm in the same boat as you,

I graduated in 2015 with a bachelors science in biochem and took my precalc/calculus courses (7-4) years ago. I remember the basics, (product rule, chain rule, product rule, quotient rule etc), but I found out it wasn't enough based on the two Kaplan practice tests I took. I have been reviewing precalc and calculus from KhanAcademy videos. It's a great website for both review and practice. There's also algebra and statistics sections in the website, you should check it out.
 
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dizpnoyownzyoo said:
Answer the easy math questions first, and after going through the entire section come back around to do the hard ones. I guessed randomly on many calculus problems that looked too lengthy (ones with complex integrals, trig identities, optimizations, etc) and still got a decent 85 in math. Word problems are good ones to come back to later since they require you to interpret the text.

Sometimes plugging and chugging the multiple choice answers into problems works well.

The calculator they give is time consuming to use so try not to rely on it. Getting good at estimating and mental math helped me a lot. Math is the last section of the test and I was brain dead by then so I had to use the calculator a couple times lol.

I saw a lot of algebra (polynomials, piece wise functions, systems of equations, inequalities) and basic calculus (derivative/anti derivative). Couple basic stat questions like probability, calculating standard deviation, mean, median, mode.
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Thank you for the reply, appreciate it. im focusing on the chem/bio sections for now and will get to math hopefully after my finals this sem
 
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Texas_pharmD said:
I'm in the same boat as you,

I graduated in 2015 with a bachelors science in biochem and took my precalc/calculus courses (7-4) years ago. I remember the basics, (product rule, chain rule, product rule, quotient rule etc), but I found out it wasn't enough based on the two Kaplan practice tests I took. I have been reviewing precalc and calculus from KhanAcademy videos. It's a great website for both review and practice. There's also algebra and statistics sections in the website, you should check it out.
Click to expand...
thanks for reply, i was just trying to get a gauge of how in depth of a review i would have to do
 
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MikeS95 said:
thanks for reply, i was just trying to get a gauge of how in depth of a review i would have to do
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No problem. IMO the best way to gauge where you're at in all subjects, is take either a Kaplan practice test or one of the Pearson practice tests before you start any reviewing.
 
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I used the Kaplan books, which came with some online practice tests (I also called them and had them reset the tests so that I could take them again, lol)

For the test, know your log functions, know derivatives and integrals, but focus on questions you know first and then go back and do the ones you know how to do, but will require some time, and then go back and fill in the ones you don't know how to do.

My first test, I tried to take it start to finish. I ended up with a 7th percentile... The second time, I did easy questions first and then went back to do the harder questions and scored in the 77th percentile. The timing is the hardest part!
 
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Take practice tests and time yourself every day. Go over any questions you get wrong and really understand why you got them wrong. Learn to skip hard questions and get all easy ones out of the way first. This is the last section of the test and you're gonna be tired. If you have extra time during reading comprehension, take your time and relax. Breathe. Practice will help tremendously because the timed section is super short.
 
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Pearson practice tests and Dr. Collins, can't stress it enough. I first took a Kaplan course; went through the sections in the main book and completed all of the questions (in the book and online). Didn't do well in the pcat exam. Then I did Dr. Collins packets and pearson practice tests back to back, and reviewed them. I also timed myself in the math sections; skipped hard or long questions and did the short or easy questions first. Did well in my second try. You should roughly have 10-15 minutes left for each section to go back and review/complete skipped questions.
 
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