Attention: 90+ PCAT People

[Monarch]

Those of you who scored a composite of 90 or above on the PCAT, if you feel like answering these questions, it would be greatly appreciated. That way we could avoid asking the same things over and over.
(I plagiarized this from a sticky thread in the MCAT section, and thought we needed our own, even if it is kinda late for the Oct 22 people )

Thanks!


1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

2) How did you study for each section?

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?

8) Do you have any other advice?

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[KUMoose]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Composite - 97
Chemistry - 99
Biology - 95 (or 97)
Quantative 97 (or 95)
Verbal 79
Reading Comprehension 80 something (I want to say 87, but..)

2) How did you study for each section?
I had just finished Organic 1 and 2, so I largely focused on Quantative, biology and the early parts of Chem1. For the most part I spent a day reading a Kaplan book chapter and then going back through my related texted to get more information. I'm a book horder, I haven't sold any of my non-English/Comp books back. I also took two Biology courses (91 and 2005) so I had two books to study. Ditto for Chemistry (though I had three of those).

Had I been smart (well not working full-time, taking courses), I would have used my library more for a lot of stuff.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Kaplan's 04 and 05 book
Barron's book (red and yellow cover I think)
Old text books
Internet (google is my friend)-- looked up a ton of other things, things I had forgotten, never studied or unclear about. Tried to get as many points (valid) as possible.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
This is tough, strictly for the PCAT maybe 50 hours, it's really hard to tell because I would read at night before bed and in the morning when I'd wake up. I'd do searches and read while I was on conference calls at work. I'd basically study all sorts of odd hours for just small spurts.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
After Chemistry (x4), Biology, during Micro, before Anatomy/Physiology and physics.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Technically my emphasis at school was Computer Management (AAS). Though I'm at a Community college so it's not really relevant.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
I wasn't as prepared for the Math as I would have liked. Quiet frankly I feel I got lucky and guessed well on a couple of problems as I had basically 10 or 15 left with 10 minutes to go and didn't pencil in 1 answer I think.

8) Do you have any other advice?
If you read alot, I wouldn't really worry about Verbal and RC. Focus on Chemistry, Biology and Math. If you are weak in verbal knowledge, get the GRE book or one of the 30 days to a more power vocabulary books. Understand how the reading comprehension questions works.

If you read average or below average, I would take a speed-reading for comprehension course (I've been told the EyeQ program works well too, but that's on hearsay). The faster you read the problem the faster you'll get through the sections.

For the reading comprehension section, read the questions first and mark the appropriate answers within the text. Kaplan had a good write-up on some of the questions.

Relax. The test isn't a measure of your soul or worth. Don't get frustrated, get some sleep and a good meal 3 or 4 hours prior to the test. Focus on the test and not on other things. Make a bag of stuff for the test, including the print-out, several pencils (I prefer regular pencils for standardize tests, easier to fill in the bubbles then my mechanical pencils) and erasers, tissues, advil, etc.

 

[shoppe]

I wish more people would reply this thread.
C'mon, it doesn't take a long time to fill these out.

 

[bananaface]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
99 composite. I forget my section scores. The lowest was a 92.

2) How did you study for each section?
I didn't

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
I didn't

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
I didn't

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
After I had my bachelor's

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Biology w/ a chem minor

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
How fast I finished the math. Also, I ran across campus to make it to the exam on time. That really woke me up and made me alert.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Don't try to take the exam before you have had your science prerequisites. Your best preparation is prior coursework. Review the A&P stuff in one of the study guides if you haven't had A&P. Bring plenty of pencils. Eat breakfast.

 

[DownonthePharm]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Composite - 99
Chemistry - 87
Biology - 99
Quantative - 81
Verbal - 99
Reading Comprehension - 95
Essay - 4

2) How did you study for each section?
I used a combination of study guides and pcatprofessor.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
I scanned each information section in Kaplan. I took the practice tests in the Petersons and Barrons guides. After I took the practice test on the Harcourt website I knew that I didnt need to worry so much, so I concentrated only on my weakness (math without a calculator).

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
An hour here and there for about three months. Spent some time at work doing pcatprofessor problems on the computer when I could spare a moment. Then about two weeks out I dedicated all the time I could to drilling math problems. Overall I would say I studied about 20 hours.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I had my Masters and was in the middle of finishing up some random prereqs.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
My BS is in Zoology, my MS is in Forensic Chemistry.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
I was surprised by the number of questions that seemed similar.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Dont freak out. A lot of people get test anxiety so they dont do as well as they should. Dont take the test once just to "get a feel", do practice tests for that. Dont be cheap, if you feel you need to buy more than one study guide do it, I got all of mine used off of ebay. Dont drink a lot of water before the test or you will have to pee a million times, I had a semi-large glass of juice that morning and had to get up twice during the test which was annoying to say the least.

 

[kyt0871]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Composite - 98
Chemistry - 94
Biology - 94
Quantative - 99
Verbal - 79 (i don't know what happened here )
Reading Comprehension - 99


2) How did you study for each section?
Kaplan. That thing had more info than you'll ever need. Get test questions from somewhere else though. Kaplan's questions needed a calculator... or at least, I needed a calculator...

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Just read through everything in Kaplan.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
A little bit here and there... I panicked over the chem at first but then realized everything came back pretty quickly Calculus was a cinch too.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
Finishing up some last prereqs

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BS Biology.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
Mmm... the calculus was a bit more involved than I expected? But still.. nothing you can't get with a lil' brush up.

8) Do you have any other advice?
I was TIIIIIRED. Your brain really takes a beating.... not because the problems are hard... but because you're constantly working under time pressure and all the concentration just wore me out after what... 4, 5 hours? By the time I wrote my essay, at the very end, I really didnt' give a f*ck about anything. haha

 

[tongiecc]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Composite - 99
Chemistry - 99
Biology - 99
Quantative Ability - 95
Verbal - 94
Reading Comprehension - 99

2) How did you study for each section?
Reviewing old lecture notes and generalized science texts proved to be beneficial, also the study guides provided by Barron's and Perterson's were useful as well as the 'cliff notes'-like books on science subjects. Essentially, it would be to your advantage to save all that you can in each of your science courses so that you may have material to cover most of the broad aspects of the PCAT. However, don't completely overwhelm yourself with an excessive abundance of material, the best way to achieve success on the PCAT (in my humble opinion) is to have a concise and to the point reference for each area of the subject matter. Thus, it may prove useful to spend a major portion of your time on the practice questions in the review guides as they are likely to have the most condensed form of the needed information.
3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
As stated above, I used the Peterson's and Barron's guides as well as several 'cliff notes'-esque crash course guides for the basic sciences. I can't recall which of the guides it was in particular, but I believe it may have been peterson's, that provided not only the reason why the correct answer was right, but also explained what the other answer choices were, hence it was like recieving four times the amount of questions provided.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
For approximately two and one half months leading up to the exam, with the most intesive studying being done in the two weeks prior to the PCAT.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I took the PCAT at around midway through my coursework, and actually I'm somewhat of an odd example here as I took the majority of my science courses in the year before I entered pharmacy school (24 credit hours in the fall, 22 in the spring), so it was to my advantage that this was fresh in my memory. I would likely say that a good time to take the PCAT would likely be after you have finished about half of the pre-req's (given that you have studied ahead on some of the PCAT material in which you have not yet had the coursework). This way you will still be capable of taking the PCAT again if you do not fair well (its not a good idea to be last minute like I was), and of course make sure you are amply prepared for the test before taking it because remember it did cost you a decent amount of your hard earned money, and will likely be a considerable factor in your admission prospects.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Education prior to pharmacy school, though while in pharmacy school I have taken several buisness courses on the side (highly recommend doing so) and hope to recieve an MBA soon after PharmD graduation.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
Yes, the Quantitative ability section, as it provided less than one minute for the completion of each answer as averaged from the time limit. This was considerably less time than other sections, and some of the problems were somewhat complex, so I would most definitely suggest not only doing a few practice tests, but also mapping out or at least being aware of how much time you will have to complete each section.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Study hard and it will be well worth it. I probably did not study as much as I should have (I'm last minute, so I probably fibbed a bit in the previous section where I stated that I had studied the the material for months before the PCAT, as it was more likely the weeks before - I can distinctly remember cramming the night before and morning of), so don't be an IDIOT like I was and assume that your inexhaustable natural intellectual capabilities will carry you merrily through the PCAT. This is for your future, and you should be as prepared as humanly possible, seriously not trying to lecture here, because in life it is often not the smartest or the strongest who succeeds, but the most determined. Each of you deserve to be at your best when you sit down for this test and I hope that you will take the time and energy to prepare for it. Even if it is merely one piece of the admissions puzzle, it is an important one no doubt. Don't squander a golden opportunity to make your application stand out from the crowd.

In the end make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into, as pharmacy school is a long 4 years - longer than most of us had cumulatively been in college prior to being admitted. If you know that this is what you want, go for it will all you've got, believe in your abilities and don't get discouraged by any setbacks. You can be a success if you put in the effort and believe you deserve to succeed.

To all of you about to take the PCAT, I hope that my small insight could provide you some assistance, and wish you nothing but the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.

J

 

[beccala33]

did you get your score from the october test already?

 

[DHG]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal 99
Biology 99
Reading Comp 98
Quantitative 55
Chemistry 87
Writing 4/5
Composite 98

2) How did you study for each section?
I used Barrons and Listened to AudioLearn in the car for about a month beforehand. I did not study at all for reading comp and verbal. For Bio, Chem, and Quant I reviewed with Barron's practice tests. I also pulled out all my old Chemistry I & II quizzes and reviewd them.

The week before the test, I got hold of a praxis algebra review book, and I wish I had spent all my time on that, because the Quant section was not hard, I just haven't had any of those classes in so long that I couldn't remember a lot of the algebra and geometry stuff. I wish I had spent more time reviewing basic math. I didn't have a chance to review calculus, but I should have. Just the basics, I knew what to study, but never got around to doing it.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Barron's and Audio Learn, and a praxis review

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
About three months in advance, only for about 3 hours per week, but increasing study time as it got closer to the test date.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
Last semester of my BS coursework

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Biochemistry

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
How ill prepared I was with the quant section...as mentioned before, math without a calculator SUCKS. It was a time issue. How long has it been since you've done long division? Yeah. I had about 25 questions left at the 5 min time call. Ouch. I just bubbled them in. The math without a calculator also made the chemistry section a little harder than it really was.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Study hard in your basic Biology and Chemistry classes so that you can retain the info. That's the best advice I can give. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are so you can focus your time studying what you are weak in. I agree with others who said to make sure you have already had MOST of your science prereqs done first. If you do well in them, PCAT will be like a review.
The best preparation for verbal and Reading comp are just to read a lot. It doesn't have to feel like study. Spend a few hours a week reading stuff... The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Newsweek, Short Stories... especially read about stuff that you aren't really interested in, and then think about what you read, or talk about it with a friend. Articles or stories that you wouldn't really pick for fun. Because a lot of the material in standardized test reading comp is really dry and a little boring. It helps if you are practiced in reading stuff that bores you.


Lastly, I am living proof that you can bomb one section and still have a 90+ composite!

 

[shoppe]

Thank you for replying this thread. I"m sure others in here find it as helpful as I do.

 

[that1guy]

1) Verb 461 99%
Bio 466 99%
Read 425 85%
Quant 439 93%
Chem 446 96%
Composite 447 99%
Writing 4

2) I went back through my gen chem textbook and lightly browsed each chapter to reacquaint myself with central ideas. I didn't study for any other specific section.

3) I bought a Barron's "How to Prepare for the PCAT" book, but it was useless. Truly, truly useless. The questions in this book were nothing like the actual PCAT questions, especially the quantitative section.

I also took the PCAT practice test on the Harcourt website. I highly recommend taking this test for three reasons. First, it has questions exactly like those on the actual test. Second, it should give you a good indication of which sections you need to work on. Third, it will show those of you who are math deficient exactly how little time you are going to have to complete the quant. section. This was a shock to me. When I took the practice test I finished less than half of the quant. section in the allotted time. This showed me that one of the keys to doing well in the quant. section is simply to finish.

4) About a couple of hours a week starting in August all the way through the October testing date. But I'd recommend studying as much as possible, especially if you're worried about a particular section. Every extra minute you study can only help you.

5) Still an undergrad. Chem: through Org II. Math: enrolled in Calc. I. Bio: through midlevel Gen Bio.

6) Biology major, English minor

7) There was a lot more Org. Chem. than I expected, but it was pretty basic stuff, like name this alkane, etc.

8) My advice is to take the PCAT practice test on the Harcourt website. It helped me immensely. It allowed me to form a strategy for the test, specifically the quant. section. If I hadn't taken that practice test, I might have gone into the actual test and tried to work out every single problem in the quant section. That would have been a serious mistake. If I had done that, I honestly believe I wouldn't have finished half of the section. Instead, by taking the practice test, I realized that it would be better for me to go through the section as fast as I could, not bogging down on any one question, answering everything that I could and guessing at everything that was time-intensive or beyond my math skills, then going back and reworking the ones I guessed on if I had time. Of course this only applies if you're weak in math, like me.

Besides that, my advice is to study as much as possible. Study like you want a 90+. Open those books, buckle down, learn it. Go into the test knowing that you have done everything you can possibly do to prepare.

Good luck.

 

[usi]

I am so proud to be able to post here... Because I have been out of school for more than 8 years, and I am changing careers.

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal 95
Bio 94
Reading 79 (Brain F#rt here?)
Quantitative 87
Chem 87
Composite 93
Writing 4/5 (My hardest subject)
2) How did you study for each section?
6 h a day for 3 months. Study 1000+ Vocab words
I am a non-native speaker but 15 years on the making.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
All of the above and PCAT Professor

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
6 h a day for 3 months.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
8 years after

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BS Chem/ Minor in Bio
7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
Reading I think Barron was too easy, and Kaplan was too hard. No good way to do it really.
Calculus

8) Do you have any other advice?[/QUOTE]
Practice. Is not easy...I don't care what MCAT people say...

 

[ndearwater]

1)
Verbal: 99
Biology: 99
Reading Comp: 90
Quantitative: 82
Chemistry: 90
Writing: 4
Composite: 98

2)
When I took it last year I enrolled in a course three months in advance to prepare you for the PCAT. It was offered, for $1000!!!, at my undergraduate school. I ended up getting an 86. So when I went into it this year I had a pretty good foundation but I supplemented it with the Kaplan book (newest version) and The PCAT Professor website that gives you quizzes etc.
Kaplan was a better study guide than PCAT professor but everything you do helps!
As far as specifics...
Verbal: looked at top 1000 tested words and tried to memorize what I could or at least be familiar with more words in general. Months prior to the exam, if I heard or saw I word I didn't know, I looked it up.
Biology: Read Kaplan book front and back and committed everything to memory that I possibly could. Used materials and notes given to me by my tutor person from last year. Most of the material he gave us came from general biology text books or anatomy/physiology books.
Reading Comprehension: I didn't study for this section at all really. But what I learned from taking it last year and doing sort of poorly in this particular section is DON'T CHANGE YOUR ANSWERS and of course, pace yourself. This is about being able to speed read and still understand what you're reading. Practice reading quickly and then being able to paraphrase what you read.
Quantitative Ability: The most dreaded section for me! I practiced problems in Kaplan and I was missing a lot of them so I thought I'd do horribly! But the main thing with math, again, is pacing yourself. It's a long section. I made sure that I could do the math problems I was comfortable with QUICKLY. I learned all the basic formulas so I wouldn't have to waste time thinking. (Rememorize your multiplication tables... sounds stupid but how quickly can you answer "9 x 12?"... buy yourself some time this way!!) If you honestly have no clue on one, move on and come back to it later!
CHEMISTRY: I used notes from the tutor and Kaplan. I felt that the Kaplan was a little more in depth than it probably had to be but of course it's much better to be overprepared than underprepared! I concentrated on understanding trends and theories, basic calculations... just made sure I was comfortable with each section in Kaplan, even if I didn't know it front and back.
WRITING: I didn't rush... you really don't need to. I came up with a basic essay format and didn't brainstorm/rough draft. I just started writing and tried my best. No studying beforehand. This requires a little creativity cause it's on the spot!

3)I used the Kaplan book, old notes from the tutor... if I saw something in Kaplan or my notes that was unclear I referred to an old textbook.

4) Last year I started in August. After taking it in October '04, I didn't study again until this past summer (2005). From about June to August I studied very sporadically, a little here and there. In August and September I probably averaged 3 hours a week. For the three weeks of October, before the exam, I studied at least an hour a day, on weekends up to 8 hours straight! I got a little hardcore there at the end! I didn't study for 5 days prior to the PCAT with the exception of like 2 hours the night before. Stopped completely around 9pm.

5) I took my second PCAT after I had finished all my pre-requisites except Microbiology (which I was in the middle of taking this semester). Although, Microbiology is not supposed to be on the PCAT, there were a few questions on the test that I did not know prior to starting that class this fall.

6) BS in Psychology

7) What caught me by surprise, was that I didn't need to rush so much. Even though time is short, if you rush to finish and didn't think through each questions you won't do as well as if you pace yourself, watch your time, but calm down and concentrate. That's the main thing I changed between this year and last year. Particularly in reading comprehension.

8) The PCAT is not an easy test but it's not impossible. I think you should study for it a few months in advance, even if it's only for an hour here and there. Don't procrastinate! Also, being nervous and pent up is only gonna stress you out and hurt your score. When I took the 10/22/05 test, I had already been accepted to one school, and interviewed at my first choice. What I got on this score wouldn't keep me out of pharmacy school and since I knew that, I took a few days off from studying and I relaxed the night before had went into the test calm and collected. If you can bring yourself to relax and not be nervous, it will work wonders

 

[nerdystar]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

Verbal: 97
Biology: 96
Reading Comp: 85
Quantitative: 92
Chemistry: 96
Composite: 97


2) How did you study for each section?

I didn't.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)

None...I bought the Peterson's book and worked like 20 problems out of the Quantitative Ability Section. That's about it.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

30 mins one day when I was bored.


5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

I've taken all of my pre-reqs except for Anatomy and Physiology.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?

I am a Chemistry major with a minor in Business Management

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?

Mmm...just the Quantitative Analysis. It was harder than I expected.

8) Do you have any other advice?

Really pay attention to what the questions are asking. This was my second time taking the PCAT. The first time around I made 87. I kind of breezed through the test and didn't look into the real meaning within the questions. I didn't study at all this time, and my score was raised 10 percentile points. I feel like this is mainly due to the fact that I really took time and paid attention to what each question was actually asking. I was also more conscious of time during the Quantitative Analysis section since I didn't finish it the first time I took the PCAT (made a 55 that time). I made sure to answer each question as quickly as possible and skip the ones that I didn't know and came back to them later.

Hope this Helps!

 

[donflo79]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

Verbal: 83
Biology: 77
Reading Comp: 85
Quantitative: 90
Chemistry: 96
Composite: 92


2) How did you study for each section?

Studied a total of 2months, 2-3days a week, maybe 3 hours in those days. (I work graveyard shift as an RN). Studied out of the only the Kaplan book, but did some of the tests in the Petersen & Barron books.

Verbal - Read the kaplan review part a total of twice in those 2 weeks. Did the online kaplan sentence completion section maybe twice. Didn't read anything extra (newspapers, journals, etc) like people had suggested. But studying the word roots part really helps.

Biology - I actually aced bio I & II last fall/spring & considering my nursing background, I only read the whole bio section once. This was the section I had the most confidence in so I have no idea how I went so wrong with scoring.

Reading - Just read the passages in all 3 review books.

Quant - Read the kaplan review & online calculus review a couple times cuz it was the shortest review but had alot of formulas to remember. Did the tests in each book. Honestly though, I practiced this section more for speed than knowledge.

Chem - Read the kaplan review once or twice. Did the practice tests in each book. Focuses mainly on speed. On the actual test, I guess I was lucky that there weren't too many calculations. There was more org chem than what was in the actual review. But Im taking org. chem I right now, so I had a vague idea for some of those questions. Just played alphabet soup with some of the reactions.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)

All 3 of what you mentioned. But just did some of the tests in the Peterson's & Barron's. Mainly studied & read out of the Kaplan's. And the actual org. chem. class Im taking helped.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

2months, 2-3days a week, maybe 3 hours in those days

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

Taking org. chem. I right now, need to take II. Already took A & P I&II, Bio I&II, Chem I&II, Physics I&II, Calc I.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?

Bio major.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?

Just my bio score hehe. But I was expecting chem & quant. to be kinda time oriented. On the test I actually had maybe 4 questions I never got to & just bubbled in whatever. On the quant, maybe 8 questions same thing.

8) Do you have any other advice?

This was my first (& hopefully only) time taking the PCAT. I suggest really paying attention during the actual course, cuz yor not gonna have this stuff ingrained overnight. On the actual test, do the easy problems first & leave the ones with lengthy calculations for last. Kind of the opposite of what I just said, read the passages slowly & try to understand them for the questions. I ended up speeding through them the first time, then luckily having time to reread each one & fix any wrong answers. People said the Kaplan review book was overkill for the test, but I think it was just right if not lacking in the organic part.

Good luck!

 

[Puddingchan]

Wow.. there are so many good grades here.

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Mine:
Verbal: 90
Biology: 91
Reading: 85
Quantitative: 93
Chem: 87
Composite: 94
Writing Score: 3

2) How did you study for each section?
I took a kaplan course for OAT. I did a little studying over the summer. And then studied a lil more during school up until October. I must say that studying was really hard cus I can't concentrate.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
I bought a Peterson's book for PCAT but I mainly studied from my Kaplan course materials from OAT.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
It's hard to say cus even though I started over the summer, I was not very consistent. I just studied a lil bit in all subjects and kept on going back and forth. I should have studied more.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I took my PCAT during OCT 2005 which is my fall senior semester.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
My major is biochemistry.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
Yeah.. I only got a 590 on Verbal ability on sat which shows how bad I am in vocab so Im surprised to see a 90 there for pcat.

8) Do you have any other advice?
PCAT is not that hard compared to other standardized tests. So I guess just study. See where your weaknesses are and work on those. I wish I had more advice.

 

[inocenciotj]

VA 87
BIO 88
RC 79 (err.... heh)
QA 95
CH 84
Composite 92
Writing 4

2) Unfortunately, I took this test for granted and I didn't spend much time studying for it. But when I did study, I just looked over my gen chem book to reacquaint myself with some basic concepts. For the BIO section, skimmed over the BIO book, and paid special attention to things related to the human body. I also tried to at least know what is associated with what, without trying to memorize too much. I spent no time on the reading comprehension section... I overestimated myself in that respect, and if I knew I would do poorly on that section, I would have spent more time on it. For the math section, I just skimmed over some algebra and geometry texts. I didn't spend too much time because since I work as a tutor at my school, I tutor a lot of different kinds of math, so that helped.

3) I used Kaplan to study. It is helpful, and it goes through a LOT of material so it seemed overwhelming. But, it did help me to focus.

4) I started about 2 weeks before the exam.

5) I had just started my sophomore year in college. Currently enrolled in Orgo 1, Calc II, and had finished all of BIO.

6) If I don't get in to Pharm school, I plan on pursuing a biochem major, but I really don't have a major right now.

7) It was actually easier than I had envisioned. I came in with the impression that it was going to be close to impossible, but it isn't. Also, the test really isn't information-heavy. Yes, you do need the information to answer the questions, but it really focuses on testing your logic. If you've gone through tests in your college coursework, you've already been through the worst.

8) Don't freak out. Stay calm and focused. Don't stress. After starting, you might find that it isn't as bad as you had expected. If you don't know the answer, make an educated guess, fill in the answer on the scantron, put a star in the booklet with the one you didn't know, and move on. Then, you can go back and recheck. This way, you can be sure that you will have answered everything. And, don't take this test for granted. I wish I prepared more for this test, because I believe I could've done better. Also, like I said earlier, I tutor a lot of math, which I believe helped me a lot. I'm employed at my university to tutor college students in courses in which I at least received a "B" in. We get a LOT of math students seeking help. So, I'd recommend you doing something of the like at your university.

 

[tennismn]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

Verbal 99
Biology 96
Reading Comp 94
Quant 90
Chemistry 90
Composite 98
Writing 4

2) How did you study for each section?
Used the Kaplan PCAT book for everything, and supplemented that with the Kaplan GRE/GMAT math workbook. I also took a couple of online refresher courses at various Organic class websites, and made sure to look up words I didn't know the meanings of when I read the Washington Post and such.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.) All Kaplan, including the math workbook. I'm also taking Anatomy & Physiology right now, so that helped a lot with the biology section, as it was fresh in my mind.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
About two months. I looked through things casually, and took my time with the math. I don't think I went through all of the biology until two weeks before the test - just got left off my list.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I'm four years out from my BS, and a year out from my masters, so I'd taken all the pre-req's except for Anatomy & Physiology, which I'm in now.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BS Chemistry & Microbiology, Masters in Public Health (emphasis on stats)

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
The calculus threw me for a loop. It took me a few minutes to remember the unit circle, which I needed for a question, and it was more difficult than the review books made it out to be. I was also surprised by how much organic was on the chemistry section. Lots of product questions, so I felt slightly unprepared for those.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Review organic like crazy, and study the math and calc all you can. The biology section seemed easier to me, but the chem and quant were both hard, and I found myself guessing while time was running out. Whether I made educated guesses, or was just plain lucky, I don't know, but it seemed to work for me.

 

[rxlynn]

See answers below.

Those of you who scored a composite of 90 or above on the PCAT, if you feel like answering these questions, it would be greatly appreciated. That way we could avoid asking the same things over and over.


1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

VA 97
BIO 98
RC 85
QA 72
CHEM 99
Composite 98
Writing 4

2) How did you study for each section?

Did nothing for the reading and verbal except a little review from the Kaplan book. Nothing for the writing except writing one practice essay to get a sense of how long I would have to write. Chemistry - reread basically the entire freshman book and a large portion of the organic text. Bio - entire freshman book, part of a genetics text, little of the physiology text. QA - some review of the calculus text Made my self home-made flash cards for all the important points, especially the ones I missed on my practice tests.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.) Kaplan's cover to cover (although I think it is lacking in the math, and not just in the calculus part), Barron's cover to cover, in addition to the above text books. I also purchased a copy of TopScore Pro.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

Started in early July - basically spent every waking moment I could, but that's not always a lot when you work 30 hours per week and have a husband and 2 kids.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

Well, I'm what you call a "non-traditional" student, which basically means I'm old. My BA is 1988, so it had been a long time since I had seen this material, especially the math.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BA in Chemistry, minor in bio, MS in Chemistry

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
The chemistry was much easier than I expected. I think that the computer software I used was generally MUCH harder than the actual test. I had problems with the timing of every practice chem test I took, but no problem with the actual test itself. QA was a different story - I thought I had completely bombed it. Math was always my weakest subject, and I had serious time issues - christmas treed a lot of it. I also found it very difficult to find good review materials for the math, so I am THRILLED with this math score. Also, much less anatomy/physiology than I expected on the bio - I overstudied that.

8) Do you have any other advice?

It is very important to do enough practice tests that you feel comfortable with the timing, or at least that you know where your problem areas might be.

 

[SearsTower]

I want to post here but only got 90+ in 2 sections (composite 96).
Very embarrassed about the others sections.

 

[Frank93]

Thanks for the input. It will be of great help to those of us taking the Jan 2006 PCAT.

 

[thaliagoo]

Those of you who scored a composite of 90 or above on the PCAT, if you feel like answering these questions, it would be greatly appreciated. That way we could avoid asking the same things over and over.
(I plagiarized this from a sticky thread in the MCAT section, and thought we needed our own, even if it is kinda late for the Oct 22 people )

Thanks!

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal- 66
Reading- 85
Biology- 82
Math-98
Chem-99
Writing - 4
Overall-96

2) How did you study for each section?
None

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
None

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
0 hours and 0 min

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
In my senior year (hence I don't feel the need to study and I'm lazy as hell)

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BS Biochem

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
YES! They don't give you a lot of time to answer these questions. I didn't find that out til I was at the exam. I mean there were like 70 questions in 30 min? that's crazy!

8) Do you have any other advice?
YES... Test prep is great, when you have NO IDEA what the answer is! To me, the PCAT is a very basic exam and if you are getting your bachelor's prior to entering pharm school, then you have NOTHING to worry about!

I'm not saying I aced every section of this exam, because you can see I didn't. But I also knew it was NOT worth the effort to spend a TON of time studying to improve my score by 1-2% points.

I think if you are getting a bachelors and you have a decent GPA (3.0+) then dont freak out about PCAT because it's easy!!!!

 

[UTCPharm]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal-72
Biology-94
Reading-85
Quant-98
Chemistry-90
Composite-94

2) How did you study for each section?
I basically just used the Kaplan book. It was especially helpful with the Biology, and just decent in the other section. I also attended this 2-day comprehensive review at UNC for $200. It was helpful, but mostly in giving me tips for taking the test. 2 days just isn't enough for that much material, but still...if anyone has the opportunity to do something like that I would say go for it. They also gave us a ton of material to review that I couldn't have gotten elsewhere.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Kaplan

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
I started about a 2 months before the test, probably only studying a day or two a week, for a couple of hours each day. The week before the test, I took off work and studied everyday.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
As a senior.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Biology

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
They gave us only one tiny little 10 minute break. I knew there was only one break, but dang...that was barely enough time to grab a bite to eat and use the bathroom.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Well, I just have to say that I disagree with thaliagoo on this one. The PCAT will be different for everyone. Obviously, s/he managed to get a great score without studying, which is wonderful. But just because you are a senior in a science major, doesn't mean you are necessarily prepared for the exam. As I said before, I'm a senior bio major, and I have a 3.8 GPA. But I really feel that it was worth my time to go back and review all the stuff I have learned over the last 3 and a half years. Don't let yourself get overly stressed, and just spend an amount of time that lets you feel reasonably comfortable with the information. And good luck!

 

[HNT001]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal-72
Biology-94
Reading-85
Quant-98
Chemistry-90
Composite-94

2) How did you study for each section?
I basically just used the Kaplan book. It was especially helpful with the Biology, and just decent in the other section. I also attended this 2-day comprehensive review at UNC for $200. It was helpful, but mostly in giving me tips for taking the test. 2 days just isn't enough for that much material, but still...if anyone has the opportunity to do something like that I would say go for it. They also gave us a ton of material to review that I couldn't have gotten elsewhere.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Kaplan

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
I started about a 2 months before the test, probably only studying a day or two a week, for a couple of hours each day. The week before the test, I took off work and studied everyday.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
As a senior.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Biology

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
They gave us only one tiny little 10 minute break. I knew there was only one break, but dang...that was barely enough time to grab a bite to eat and use the bathroom.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Well, I just have to say that I disagree with thaliagoo on this one. The PCAT will be different for everyone. Obviously, s/he managed to get a great score without studying, which is wonderful. But just because you are a senior in a science major, doesn't mean you are necessarily prepared for the exam. As I said before, I'm a senior bio major, and I have a 3.8 GPA. But I really feel that it was worth my time to go back and review all the stuff I have learned over the last 3 and a half years. Don't let yourself get overly stressed, and just spend an amount of time that lets you feel reasonably comfortable with the information. And good luck!

Did you really read and do all of the question in the Kaplan... in two months?
Thanks

 

[UTCPharm]

Did you really read and do all of the question in the Kaplan... in two months?
Thanks

The only sections I read through entirely were the Bio and Chem sections. And I did not do all of the questions, but I did do the practice tests. The questions in the Biology section seemed pretty good and helpful, but there were waaaay too many calculation type questions in the Chem section, so I didn't spend a lot of time on those. Anyhow, it seemed like in most cases just reading over the material once was enough to refresh my memory, then I went back and focused on things I had trouble with.

 

[SearsTower]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal- 66
Reading- 85
Biology- 82
Math-98
Chem-99
Writing - 4
Overall-96

2) How did you study for each section?
None

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
None

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
0 hours and 0 min

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
In my senior year (hence I don't feel the need to study and I'm lazy as hell)

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BS Biochem

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
YES! They don't give you a lot of time to answer these questions. I didn't find that out til I was at the exam. I mean there were like 70 questions in 30 min? that's crazy!

8) Do you have any other advice?
YES... Test prep is great, when you have NO IDEA what the answer is! To me, the PCAT is a very basic exam and if you are getting your bachelor's prior to entering pharm school, then you have NOTHING to worry about!

I'm not saying I aced every section of this exam, because you can see I didn't. But I also knew it was NOT worth the effort to spend a TON of time studying to improve my score by 1-2% points.

I think if you are getting a bachelors and you have a decent GPA (3.0+) then dont freak out about PCAT because it's easy!!!!

Whoa, your score is higher than me in almost every section, yet we have the same score, why?

 

[heaven]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal 99
Biology 99
Reading Comp 98
Quantitative 55
Chemistry 87
Writing 4/5
Composite 98

2) How did you study for each section?
I used Barrons and Listened to AudioLearn in the car for about a month beforehand. I did not study at all for reading comp and verbal. For Bio, Chem, and Quant I reviewed with Barron's practice tests. I also pulled out all my old Chemistry I & II quizzes and reviewd them.

The week before the test, I got hold of a praxis algebra review book, and I wish I had spent all my time on that, because the Quant section was not hard, I just haven't had any of those classes in so long that I couldn't remember a lot of the algebra and geometry stuff. I wish I had spent more time reviewing basic math. I didn't have a chance to review calculus, but I should have. Just the basics, I knew what to study, but never got around to doing it.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Barron's and Audio Learn, and a praxis review

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
About three months in advance, only for about 3 hours per week, but increasing study time as it got closer to the test date.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
Last semester of my BS coursework

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Biochemistry

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
How ill prepared I was with the quant section...as mentioned before, math without a calculator SUCKS. It was a time issue. How long has it been since you've done long division? Yeah. I had about 25 questions left at the 5 min time call. Ouch. I just bubbled them in. The math without a calculator also made the chemistry section a little harder than it really was.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Study hard in your basic Biology and Chemistry classes so that you can retain the info. That's the best advice I can give. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are so you can focus your time studying what you are weak in. I agree with others who said to make sure you have already had MOST of your science prereqs done first. If you do well in them, PCAT will be like a review.
The best preparation for verbal and Reading comp are just to read a lot. It doesn't have to feel like study. Spend a few hours a week reading stuff... The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Newsweek, Short Stories... especially read about stuff that you aren't really interested in, and then think about what you read, or talk about it with a friend. Articles or stories that you wouldn't really pick for fun. Because a lot of the material in standardized test reading comp is really dry and a little boring. It helps if you are practiced in reading stuff that bores you.


Lastly, I am living proof that you can bomb one section and still have a 90+ composite!

what is the full title of the audiolearn?

 

[Rxbound]

After the disaster that was the PCAT for me this year (and everyone else in Little Rock), I can now proudly share the results here!!!!YEAH!

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal 449 97
Biology 426 85
Reading 432 90
Quantitative 402 57 (have not had Calc, and only got a 31 on this last year)
Chemistry 442 94 (got a 69 here last year)
COMPOSITE 430 93 (up from an 80 last year)
Writing 4

2) How did you study for each section?
Used an old textbook for bio...taught myself very basic calculus...

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.) Kaplan's MCAt book (I know, I know).

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
Two weeks, maybe.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I am a post-bac. Been out of full-time school for 3 years. Took it after I had completed both Organic I and II.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
I was a French major, Bio minor.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
Not really.

8) Do you have any other advice?[/QUOTE]
Time management is the key to this test. Don't waste time on what you can't answer. Come back to those later. Make sure you answer EVERY single question, even if it is a guess!
Good luck to all who are taking it in January!

 

[Monarch]

I haven't had time to post my Oct 2005 results, but I am happy to be able to post on my own thread! Yipee!

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

Verbal-99
Bio-99
Reading-94
Quant-95
Chem-99
Composite-99
Writing-4

2) How did you study for each section?

Took practice tests, reviewed information.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)

Kaplan- Too hard but the best I found (I thought on the basis of Kaplan that I would get around a 70!)
Occasional google searches for calculus review, some bio and chem questions.
Peterson's- A piece of crap and a waste of money.
Barron's GRE- Skimmed their huge word list
Harcourt Online test- very close to the real thing. Some questions were even the same I think.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

A few months for 3-5 hours per week.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

After graduating, lacking microbiology and a few nonscience courses only.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?

BS Biochemistry
MS Math and Science Education

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?

Writing section. I pretty much forgot that there would even be one, and I was kind of tired by that point. I think I got a 4 because I didn't carefully address part of the prompt. If I could go back I would have read it more carefully and put a little more effort in ahead of time.

8) Do you have any other advice?[/QUOTE]

Use Kaplan, but remember that it really overshoots. Study frequently over a long time, instead of intensely at the last minute. Don't waste time on things you already know. And good luck!

 

[DHG]

what is the full title of the audiolearn?

MMmm.. not sure. It was given to me by a friend and I have since passed it on to someone else. I think it's just called "PCAT AudioLearn." I think "AudioLearn" is a trademark/brand name, so look for that. Mine was two audio tapes in a case that looked like a VHS cassette case. I think they come in CD's as well as tapes.

 

[Tsedey]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Composite - 99
Chemistry - 87
Biology - 99
Quantative - 81
Verbal - 99
Reading Comprehension - 95
Essay - 4

2) How did you study for each section?
I used a combination of study guides and pcatprofessor.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
I scanned each information section in Kaplan. I took the practice tests in the Petersons and Barrons guides. After I took the practice test on the Harcourt website I knew that I didnt need to worry so much, so I concentrated only on my weakness (math without a calculator).

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
An hour here and there for about three months. Spent some time at work doing pcatprofessor problems on the computer when I could spare a moment. Then about two weeks out I dedicated all the time I could to drilling math problems. Overall I would say I studied about 20 hours.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I had my Masters and was in the middle of finishing up some random prereqs.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
My BS is in Zoology, my MS is in Forensic Chemistry.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
I was surprised by the number of questions that seemed similar.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Dont freak out. A lot of people get test anxiety so they dont do as well as they should. Dont take the test once just to "get a feel", do practice tests for that. Dont be cheap, if you feel you need to buy more than one study guide do it, I got all of mine used off of ebay. Dont drink a lot of water before the test or you will have to pee a million times, I had a semi-large glass of juice that morning and had to get up twice during the test which was annoying to say the least.

Congrats on your scores! Was the PCATprofessor helpful and what did you mean the questions on the PCAT was similar---similar to what?

Thanks

 

[trinnieoh]

I haven't had time to post my Oct 2005 results, but I am happy to be able to post on my own thread! Yipee!

Congrats Monarch!

 

[killer4605]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
verbal 90 432
bio 88 430
reading 90 431
quant 98 457
chem 87 428
composite 96 436
writing 4

2) How did you study for each section?
studied bio for a week straight.. skimmed everything else

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
kaplan

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
1 week... 3-6 hrs a day

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
freshman undergrad

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
n/a

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
how little i knew about chem and bio. I took these in highschool and pulled AP credit out of my ass. They didn't teach me ****.

8) Do you have any other advice?
STUDY, relax, and eat a good meal.

 

[futurepharm.d.?]

thanks all you guys for those great inputs!!!!!! myself and lot of people really appreciate yr time....Again, thanks...

 

[all_or_nothing]

Those of you who scored a composite of 90 or above on the PCAT, if you feel like answering these questions, it would be greatly appreciated. That way we could avoid asking the same things over and over.
(I plagiarized this from a sticky thread in the MCAT section, and thought we needed our own, even if it is kinda late for the Oct 22 people )

Thanks! ?

Oct 22 and Jan 21, PCAT


1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
99.9%

2) How did you study for each section?
Two options: 1) retake all those courses (real class setting)
2) study with friends in group...with the "rite" people, that is


3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Screw all the online, pcat company, out there...they just want your money....they don't know a **** about the pcat..they took a bunch of SAT or review question and slap it together and throw them at you...Kaplan especially is a waste of time! don't advertise when you don't know ****.....why wasit your time on studying question or material never ask on the exam?? yeah rite, flipping through 200 pages searching for a 30 sec problem?...no more comments


4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
Do your homework... ... ...or just review?
study in group ...but study as much as the pcat require
like for instance, if there is 35 minutes per so and so question,
that's much how you should study .....no comments


5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
no comment on this one....



6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
pharmacy technician, subordination.....


7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
...thank you to all the sdn people who posted earlier
---get together and study
...i want to say **** about the practice test...but there's two sides


8) Do you have any other advice?

here's a good one: take the DMV test...easy one first

 

[calrx]

Oct 22 and Jan 21, PCAT


1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
99.9%

2) How did you study for each section?
Two options: 1) retake all those courses (real class setting)
2) study with friends in group...with the "rite" people, that is


3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Screw all the online, pcat company, out there...they just want your money....they don't know a **** about the pcat..they took a bunch of SAT or review question and slap it together and throw them at you...Kaplan especially is a waste of time! don't advertise when you don't know ****.....why wasit your time on studying question or material never ask on the exam?? yeah rite, flipping through 200 pages searching for a 30 sec problem?...no more comments


4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
Do your homework... ... ...or just review?
study in group ...but study as much as the pcat require
like for instance, if there is 35 minutes per so and so question,
that's much how you should study .....no comments


5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
no comment on this one....



6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
pharmacy technician, subordination.....


7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
...thank you to all the sdn people who posted earlier
---get together and study
...i want to say **** about the practice test...but there's two sides


8) Do you have any other advice?

here's a good one: take the DMV test...easy one first

Um, that was the most unhelpful post I've ever read. In the future, please don't bother....

 

[Novasaurus]

Um, that was the most unhelpful post I've ever read. In the future, please don't bother....

Ya, seriously. It must take some talent to be able to write so much without saying anything useful at all.

 

[Rxbound]

Oct 22 and Jan 21, PCAT


1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
99.9%

2) How did you study for each section?
Two options: 1) retake all those courses (real class setting)
2) study with friends in group...with the "rite" people, that is


3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Screw all the online, pcat company, out there...they just want your money....they don't know a **** about the pcat..they took a bunch of SAT or review question and slap it together and throw them at you...Kaplan especially is a waste of time! don't advertise when you don't know ****.....why wasit your time on studying question or material never ask on the exam?? yeah rite, flipping through 200 pages searching for a 30 sec problem?...no more comments


4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
Do your homework... ... ...or just review?
study in group ...but study as much as the pcat require
like for instance, if there is 35 minutes per so and so question,
that's much how you should study .....no comments


5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
no comment on this one....



6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
pharmacy technician, subordination.....


7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
...thank you to all the sdn people who posted earlier
---get together and study
...i want to say **** about the practice test...but there's two sides


8) Do you have any other advice?

here's a good one: take the DMV test...easy one first

Particularly astounding, seeing as the January PCAT hasn't even been scored yet...

 

[all_or_nothing]

Ya, seriously. It must take some talent to be able to write so much without saying anything useful at all.

Oh the price of the FREEDOM of speech?:

hacker paste "Do not discuss any specific PCAT questions as Harcourt Assessment, Inc. takes it very seriously.

By discussing specific questions, you may be giving an unfair advantage to future PCAT examinees. .....(this means?)

The PCAT is a secure examination, protected by U.S. copyright laws, and any unauthorized disclosure of the exam's contents could result in civil liability, criminal penalties, and/or cancellation of test scores."



OR better yet,---" A fool finds NO pleasure in understanding [hidden...], but delights in airing his own opinions..."

 

[Glycerin]

It's one thing to say that you found none of the study materials for PCAT helpful, but do not tell others that these materials are a waste of time. I, and others, have found them useful, and it's completely up to individual studying habits and methods.

Also, it is impossible to score 99.9% on the PCAT, being that there are no decimals within the scores. If you have nothing but mockery to contribute to the thread, please refrain from posting.

 

[ndearwater]

Oh the price of the FREEDOM of speech?:

hacker paste "Do not discuss any specific PCAT questions as Harcourt Assessment, Inc. takes it very seriously.

By discussing specific questions, you may be giving an unfair advantage to future PCAT examinees. .....(this means?)

The PCAT is a secure examination, protected by U.S. copyright laws, and any unauthorized disclosure of the exam's contents could result in civil liability, criminal penalties, and/or cancellation of test scores."



OR better yet,---" A fool finds NO pleasure in understanding [hidden...], but delights in airing his own opinions..."

It means exactly what it says: Discussing specific questions allows future test takers to be more prepared than those who took the test with no knowledge of real examination questions.
Also, please only hit "submit reply" once to avoid multiple posts of the same message. Thanks!

 

[Plowi]

It's one thing to say that you found none of the study materials for PCAT helpful, but do not tell others that these materials are a waste of time. I, and others, have found them useful, and it's completely up to individual studying habits and methods.

Also, it is impossible to score 99.9% on the PCAT, being that there are no decimals within the scores. If you have nothing but mockery to contribute to the thread, please refrain from posting.

I wholly agree. This guy is a real joker. We dont like jokers around here. People come here looking for serious answers, not the words of a fool. I found Kaps and online resources very helpful, a great review to my completed coursework in college. And I know you probably did horrible on the PCAT and came here to mislead others, since your composite is just not possible. Now beat it, punk.

 

[UVaWahoo]

Verbal 95
Biology 98
Reading Comp 79 (yeah engineers dont read)
Quant 98
Chemistry 96
Composite 98

2) How did you study for each section?
i did some RC practice questions...um....hate to think what the score would have been there otherwise, i've never been good at those.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
i got a book with practice tests, forget which one (sorry thats not very useful, but i didnt just it all that much).

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
not that long, just did practice questions when i was procrastinating from real hw

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
1st semester of 4th year.......all subject areas covered.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
BS Biomedical Engineering w/ material science minor......bme was VERY useful - continually using anatomy/physiology stuff in every class, plus math intensive, made the quantitative section look so easy

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
i had a LOT of leftover time in every section except RC, that was both surprising and annoying...

8) Do you have any other advice?
mostly just relax, its not bad

 

[eddavatar]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

2) How did you study for each section?

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?

8) Do you have any other advice?

1)74 verbal
99 bio/chem/math
95 reading comp
4 on writing
99 Composite

2)Just did a lot of questions and go over old textbooks. Did the practice test online. I focused on chem and math because those had been ancient history for me. I knew I would've killed bio anyway so I ignored. Verbal and reading comp I didnt know what to look for anyway.

3)Kaplan and Barron's. Barron's is way out of date.

4)2-3 weeks?

5)Summer after 4th year. Took everything other than microbio.

6) I'm a biochem major.

7)No

8)Relax. Take your time.

 

[patmcd]

1)
Verbal 96
Biology 82
Reading 84
Quantitative 82
Chemistry 87
Composite 92

2) I was very bad and more or less didn't study. I had planned on taking the test once to get a feel for it and my weeknesses and then taking it again. But I never got around to the taking it again part.

3) I used a Kaplan book.

4) About a week ahead, for a total of maybe 5 hours.

5) After I'd completed 2 years of college. But I still hadn't taken anatomy yet, which is part of the 82 in the biology section.

6) Biochemistry

7) Only the essay. However when I took the test it was still experimental and didnt effect my score.

8) Studying is definatly a must.

 

[shoppe]

Anyone who just received their scores and is in the 90s, feel free to comment!

 

[MattPharmD]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal 87
Biology 81
Reading 99
Math 89
Chemistry 72
Composite 93

Writing 5

2) How did you study for each section?
The only section I really studied for was the Math.

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
I worked through the math practice section in the Kaplan book twice. I also listened to the first couple of Biology disks from the Audio Learn set.

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
Total, probably around 4-6 hours.

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
After I was done with most of my prereqs.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
No major, just taking my prereqs.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
How well I did on the reading. And how I ran out of time on the Chemistry.

8) Do you have any other advice?
Your best preparation is prior coursework.
Keep taking it. I went from 73 > 82 > 93.
If your biology score sucks, go back and take Gen Bio, I did and it helped a lot.
Try to focus on the test itself when taking it. Give it your undivided attention - clear your mind of everything else.
Get plently of sleep the 3-4 nights before the test. Get your body in the pattern of getting up at the same time.
Eat a light, nutritious breakfast.

 

[rajan324]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?

Test Date - January 21, 2006
Composite - 99
Verbal - 95
Biology - 97
Chemistry - 99
Quant Ability - 99
Reading Comp - 64 (really dont know what happened here, maybe bubbling errors on my part or everyone did really well on this section and i did just average because I thought I got atleast 80% correct after taking it..cuz it doesnt make sense that I would do so poorly on just one section along with the all 95+ other scores I got)

Writing - 4

2) How did you study for each section?

Math/Reading Comp/Verbal/Writing - None
Biology/Chemistry - Kaplan review, Qs from Kaplan, Barrons, Petersons

3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)

Kaplan (had Qs harder than actual PCAT)
Barrons, Petersons (had Qs easier than PCAT)

4) How long did you study for the PCAT?

Started Tuesday; had PCAT on Saturday...didnt study much those days either since I had class

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?

Beginning of Spring semester junior year; all pre-pharm coursework completed as well as genetics

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?

Major - Biomath
Minors - Economics, Psychology

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?

Bit more organic chemistry than Kaplan reviews; had Math right after break, so I was a bit too relaxed (had 15 min for last 30 Qs since I took my time for first 20 Qs...dunno why, but I answered all but one, which I couldn't think of another way to answer besides some calc 2, which wasnt covered on exam so I had to have been wrong)

8) Do you have any other advice?

Relax. Biology and Chemistry may seem like a lot of info but if you've taken them already, then a lot of comes back as your going over it. Kaplan had some errors so you should keep your old biology and chemistry textbooks (for checking/studying/organic that isnt covered in Kaplan). Plus, PCAT questions themselves aren't too bad (besides Reading Comp...which were not SAT like at all...a good amount of them were opinion Qs, which dont really have a right answer yet they expect you to pick one) (verbal is easier than SAT verbal, while Math is a bit harder than SAT since theres less time and calculus). I took the practice test offered on the harcourt assessment website for $19. I got 100 out of 120 Qs correct while hurrying through. It helped me relax the night before because it gave me a feel for the kind of questions to expect since PCAT doesnt give out old exams so no one (besides those who have taken it) actually knows what the Qs are like (so Barrons, etc... are just trying to cover the main topics and guess the type of Qs). If anyone has anymore Qs, email me or PM me or just respond to this.

 

[evilolive]

1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Composite 95
First time taking it.

2) How did you study for each section?
I only reviewed intro chemistry and a bit of biology over the winter break.



3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
PCAT Prof (though the questions are repetitious and contain noticeable spelling mistakes)
Kaplan book (way too detailed for what you need to know)
I feel that the study materials weren't all that important in doing well on this exam. It was more like what I could recall from 9th grade biology in high school as the material assessed on this exam was NOT what I'm learning in college.


4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
15 hours total maybe?

5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
I've taken all the premed prerequisite courses and about half way through the other stuff.

6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
Bio major.

7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
The biology I thought was really random and had very little reasoning behind many of the answers. Especially when it asked about "which of the following is a homologous structure" and the like - very cursory biology information that I feel is not indicative of what I know. I can't remember nuances of a biome is after 6 years nor do I know that mycology is the study of fungi (which I guessed correctly from some obscure literary reference)

The chemistry was very elementary and the orgo was all nomenclature.

8) Do you have any other advice?
I really think that the PCAT doesn't assess what you learn in school. A great deal of it is a guessing game for the most part, though certain fundamental familiarity is required to answer the "hard" questions. I guess I'm jaded because I really hate this exam.

Learn the material from your classes the first time around and don't rely on studying to prep for the test. I think I would have been better off practicing more verbal and reading comprehension questions because I really haven't touched them since the SAT. Funny how what I thought was my strength ended up being the weakness on my exam. I really didn't manage my time well and haven't taken standardized tests this long in ages, so I was caught off guard. Whatever, I really don't want to take this exam over again.
Edit: I also would like to say that I'm upset that Harcourt would use identical reading passages/questions in examinations on top of recycling analogies. Granted because this is my first examination I have no idea but others have noticed this happening. Honestly, ugh.

 

[JWirawan]

MY GOD!! Look at those 90s and 80s laying around!! Well, here goes nothing ;p


1) What did you score on the individual sections and the composite score?
Verbal: 33
Reading: 58
Biology: 77
Quantitative: 98
Chemistry: 99
Composite: 96

Well, I guess not having english as my 1st language really stumps me there


2) How did you study for each section?
I only studied the vocabulary list, but as you can see... It doesn't help much


3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, Peterson's, Barron's, etc.)
Kaplan!!!


4) How long did you study for the PCAT?
1 week...


5) At what point in your coursework did you take the PCAT?
After I finish O-chem


6) What is/was your major and/or emphasis of study, if applicable?
N/A


7) Did anything catch you by surprise?
Yes... lots of people! Lots of competition!


8) Do you have any other advice?
Don't eat buffet the night before the actual test! As the saying goes, "What goes in must comes out!"