How far in advance did you study?

[mdr8]

To people who have taken the PCAT, done well and are satisfied with their scores... How far in advance did you study for the PCAT? About how many hours/day did you study? And what did you end up with for a score (if you don't mind sharing)?

Edit: What materials did you guys study with?

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[RaneyNi]

I studied for 3 months (the entire summer) for 14 hours a day for 6 days. I took it four times so I had to get serious about it so I took the entire summer off from summer courses and volunteering and focused on the PCAT beast. It was pretty bad though, there were times when I didn't even leave my home for 6 days. I left for work on the 7th day. I made a jump from 49->86. My first three scores were very crappy, it's similar to 49 and lower.


I don't think you need to go to the extreme like I did, but just keep pace with it. Best of luck to you.

 

[roziak]

I studied about 2 months in advanced. About 6 hours a day everyday and got an 80. Good luck

 

[pharmD eighty7]

two weeks. got an 80.

 

[silvervln]

I didn't really have a specific block of time set aside to study for the PCAT everyday because of work and school. I ended up studying in between classes and whenever I can, so I would say I studied maybe 2 - 3 hours everyday for 2 months. The last 2 weeks before the exam, I tried to do as many practice exams as I could, which I found to be the most helpful. I took it for the first time in October and got an 87. It really depends on your study habits.

Good luck!

 

[WhiteSnows]

The day before the test, I got 80.

 

[MrMeowphers]

3 weeks, 5 hours a day around 6pm to 11pm (evenings after work), for 6 days a week (giving Friday off for relaxing, Sunday evenings off for NFL, and Monday night football too).

Got a 95% on first try.

 

[pharm B]

I had just finished taking O-Chem I&II over the summer. I studied for about 8 days and landed an 89. I bombed Biology with a 44, so some more study time probably would have helped.

 

[busyizzy]

I started studying a month before. About 3-4 hours on the weekdays, 1-2 on the weekends. I got a 94.

I used Dr. Collins, my SAT vocab notecards, the biology portion of Examkrakers Audio Osmosis and the Kaplan study guide book.

 

[staffpro]

i didn't study for it and got 90's however im second year uni and practically all the courses i took prepared me for it, verbal/reading in geography/english courses i took, bio in all the bio halfcred's i took, and then im good at chem so... ya

 

[diastole]

You start preparing for this exam before you ever start studying. If you put the material you learn in your prereqs in your long term memory, you don't have to study that much. I took the January exam and didn't start studying in earnest until after Christmas. I can't say how many hours a day I studied because the Internet was my downfall and would suck up my studying time. I did get a 99 so I guess it was enough. But really the bulk of the work came before I even picked up my Kaplan's guide.

 

[Natasha1989]

I prepared for 2 weeks, for an two or three hours a day and then the 2nd week, doing the practice PCATs from Pearson. I received an 87 composite on the October 2009 exam (first time). Honestly, if I hadn't ordered the tests online, I don't think I would have done as well. So, I recommend that you invest ~50 or so bucks on the tests. BTW, I used the Kaplan book, although it wasn't very intensive in orgo chem.

 

[bballa99]

You start preparing for this exam before you ever start studying. If you put the material you learn in your prereqs in your long term memory, you don't have to study that much. I took the January exam and didn't start studying in earnest until after Christmas. I can't say how many hours a day I studied because the Internet was my downfall and would suck up my studying time. I did get a 99 so I guess it was enough. But really the bulk of the work came before I even picked up my Kaplan's guide.

For my prereqs I only have my 1st year chem and 1st bio, physics and calculus. Im worried about the o-chem portion and the upper level bio parts, although it seems I learned about the general outline in grade 12/senior year.. so I still need to look into some in depth bio/o-chem.

 

[Pharmaniac]

I started studying a month before. About 3-4 hours on the weekdays, 1-2 on the weekends. I got a 94.

I used Dr. Collins, my SAT vocab notecards, the biology portion of Examkrakers Audio Osmosis and the Kaplan study guide book.

Where do you get those?

 

[desklamp]

To people who have taken the PCAT, done well and are satisfied with their scores... How far in advance did you study for the PCAT? About how many hours/day did you study? And what did you end up with for a score (if you don't mind sharing)?

Edit: What materials did you guys study with?

3 weeks before, for about 3 hours a day on the weekdays while I was at lab, and occasionally memorized vocab on weekends (I brought the flashcards everywhere). I used Kaplan and Kaplan's GRE verbal flashcards and then bought Barron's guide at the last minute and realized that Kaplan's PCAT book was missing like half of what was going to be on the calc section and organic chem section so I panicked and googled PCATs and found a list of all the PCAT formulas and equations you should know on the internet somewhere.

 

[KitKat123]

Where and which website or book can I find the most frequently tested
vocabulary for the PCAT exam?

Thanks for your help.

 

[desklamp]

Where and which website or book can I find the most frequently tested
vocabulary for the PCAT exam?

Thanks for your help.

I haven't explored all options, but the Kaplan GRE flashcard book (it's on amazon i think) pretty much has never failed me on any verbal section if you memorize almost all of the words (760 on GRE's, 790 on SAT, 99 on PCAT). It also helps to study the root word lists that are included in pretty much all of the study guides for PCATs.