Chem I and II classes enough?

[nirveatles]

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I'm planning on taking the PCAT in June or October but by then, I would've only taken Anatomy and Physiology, Chem I and II, Physics, Intro to Microbiology, and Calculus so I'm kind of worried about the biology and biochemistry section.

I might switch Intro to Microbiology with Zoology instead if anyone thinks that might help me more on the biology section. I guess I just need any tips/advice to help me get a good score on the PCAT. I've only completed Chem I and Calculus right now, and I took the shortened 1 and a half hour PCAT test found in Kaplan I got a 48%.... my biology and chemistry is really weak. Any advice? And I would take Biology, but it's not required and I don't have enough room in my schedule to add a class that's not required in. I guess zoology is the same as biology?

 

[highlyfavored]

I'm planning on taking the PCAT in June or October but by then, I would've only taken Anatomy and Physiology, Chem I and II, Physics, Intro to Microbiology, and Calculus so I'm kind of worried about the biology and biochemistry section.

I might switch Intro to Microbiology with Zoology instead if anyone thinks that might help me more on the biology section. I guess I just need any tips/advice to help me get a good score on the PCAT. I've only completed Chem I and Calculus right now, and I took the shortened 1 and a half hour PCAT test found in Kaplan I got a 48%.... my biology and chemistry is really weak. Any advice? And I would take Biology, but it's not required and I don't have enough room in my schedule to add a class that's not required in. I guess zoology is the same as biology?

I think the Kaplan review for Biology was really good. You could get that and maybe some Cliff notes and be fine.

 

[DHG]

The Biology section is heavy on general bio... like the cell, a little genetics, a little phylogeny, ...but mostly cell stuff.... You don't have to take General Bio as one of your pre-reqs? That's weird. There was a little Anatomy/Phys stuff too, but I swear I remember MOST of it being Bio I and II type questions.

 

[rxlynn]

I'm planning on taking the PCAT in June or October but by then, I would've only taken Anatomy and Physiology, Chem I and II, Physics, Intro to Microbiology, and Calculus so I'm kind of worried about the biology and biochemistry section.

I might switch Intro to Microbiology with Zoology instead if anyone thinks that might help me more on the biology section. I guess I just need any tips/advice to help me get a good score on the PCAT. I've only completed Chem I and Calculus right now, and I took the shortened 1 and a half hour PCAT test found in Kaplan I got a 48%.... my biology and chemistry is really weak. Any advice? And I would take Biology, but it's not required and I don't have enough room in my schedule to add a class that's not required in. I guess zoology is the same as biology?

I can't comment on the general bio vs. zoology thing - any biology majors who can explain if they are different or similar courses? I agree with other poster - I think it's odd that you didn't have to take freshman bio as pre-req for your other courses. At my college, you couldn't take micro at any level or anatomy or physiology without the freshman biology sequence. Anyway, you definitely need some exposure to cell theory and structure and more general biology topics. I was surprised at the relative lack of anatomy and physiology on the PCAT - I overstudied those two areas.

 

[Shovingit]

My take on the biology vs zoology is that 1) biology obviously encompasses more than just the animal kingdom. I recall some questions on the PCAT about bacteria or fungi and such. 2) zoology covers aspects such as ecosystems and relationships between species.

IMO the biology class would prepare you much better for the PCAT than the zoology class.

 

[KUMoose]

For the biology section, I found that mammalian (interestingly covered general flora as well) and micro biology worked best. Zoology, at least at my school, wasn't terribly helpful as it's largely based around taxology. However, I would know general biology theory, cell structures, general anatomy and general physiology. From there, read Kaplan and you should do well.

I honestly thought the Chemistry section was really easy. Most of the information on my test came from General Chem I and II, as far as titrations, lewis dot, general reaction equations, etc. If you have not taken Organic Chemsitry prior to your PCAT, I would strongly suggest memorizing the organic groups and the general naming structure. This should get you through most of the organic chemistry in the section. If you are up for it, read the first 3 or 4 chapters worth of equations, that should get you through all the organic chemistry.