For those who scored in the 99% percentile on January's 09 Test...Advice?

[PharmTech8241]

---

Members do not see this ad.

For those who scored in the 99% percentile on January's 09 Test...Advice?

Right now I have collins prep packet, mcgrawhill, examkrackers 101 passages and barron's wordfest. I took the pcat this past june but no scored to get a feel for the test. I used collins packet primarily and the pearson's practice test. I felt I would have did ok but not 90% and above. So any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[homeslice]

I never really understood why people choose the no score option when they could just buy the practice tests from Pearson for a lot cheaper, but that's just me. Anyway, I hope you don't think you need to get above the 90th percentile to get into pharmacy school. Tons of people get in with scores in the 70's and 80's. Two of my future P1 classmates even got in with scores below 50.

Anyway, I didn't score in the 99th percentile, but was close. My best advice is to guess and move on if you don't know the answer to a question fairly quickly (especially on the math section). As for preparation, there's no substitute for having taken the relevant pre-req classes. I really didn't study but had taken most of the pre-req classes and did fine. Also, there's really no effective way to study for the reading and verbal sections, it's the kind of thing that's built up over many years, not a few months.

 

[diastole]

I'm not quite sure how the scoring works but it appears that if you want to do really well, you have to rack up the points in one or more of the subsections. I normally tell people to work on their weak points first but it looks like you can get big gains on your composite if you get a 99 in one or more areas. It might be worth it to study for math, for example, even if you know you are going to ace that section. Don't neglect your weak points but don't blow off learning more about your best subject either.

I'm not sure what other advice I can offer. I took my own watch and set it to 12:00 at the start of each test to help me pace myself. Math wasn't my strong point so I had to decide quickly if I was going to attempt the question or flat out guess. You can guess on a surprising number of questions in that section and still get above a 90. Concentrate on at least seeing all of the questions in that section so you don't leave easy questions on the table. I used a similar strategy with chemistry but I skipped the calculation questions until the end so I could at least get to all the conceptual questions. I later went back and answered the ones I skipped. I knew that I had more time pressure in math so if I skipped it, I marked an answer on my answer sheet.

For me the test felt hard. I was depressed after I took it because I didn't think I did well. I was hoping for at least an 80 and came out with a 99 so don't get despondent until the scores come in. Maybe you did better than you think.

 

[charfdorn]

I got a 99 in August, so I guess you don't want to hear from me.

 

[PharmTech8241]

Thanks guys!...what materials did u guys use to study when you took the pcat? and charfdorn any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

 

[fenderbiz]

There are dozens of pcat material posts already. Check them out. All the info you need is there.

 

[diastole]

I used mostly the Kaplan book but the real secret is how well you learn the pre-reqs in the first place. I was always trying to make connections to my other classes. When was learning about physiology, I would make a mental note when I saw a real world example of Le Chatelier's Principle. Or I would think about the physics behind a Na/K pump. If you really try to understand the whys rather than just try to get a good grade on the next exam then you don't have to study that hard for the PCAT.