how long to study?

Started by tiffany88
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tiffany88

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I was just wondering...for those of you who received a 90%+ on composite...how long did you guys study for? Because I'm taking the one in August and I started studying about 2 weeks ago...=/
 
I'm taking it in August and I'm going to really start studying tomorrow, so don't feel bad.

I think that we have plenty of time, as long as we study smartly and consistently. I'm breaking it down to one subject a week for the next 4 weeks, excluding verbal/reading/writing, for those I'm just trying to memorize about 5-10 words every day or two. And I'm taking off work the week before, so I'll have an entire week to do nothing but study. My last week will be devoted to Organic and also review/practice tests.

Good luck!
 
I studied for about three months, but I took my prereqs 7-8 years ago. Also I work full-time, so I was mainly only studing on Saturdays and Sundays. I think if your prereq classes are all recent and you learned the material, you probably don't need that much time to study.
 
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You are already studying way more than I did and I got a 99 composite. Studying is overrated if you learn in your pre-reqs. I took a couple of Barron practice tests about a week before to get a loose feel for the test and to get back into the school mode... and that's it.
 
I agree - absorbing the material in prerequisite classes is the most important part. Trying to cram two years of undergraduate coursework from a few review books over a few months doesn't work out well for most people. Studying should just be a review of what you've learned.

I started going through my Kaplan book at the beginning of June and finished it just before the test.
 
Like previously noted, knowledge and understanding of the prerequisites is key to doing well on the science portion of the PCAT.

However, if you have been out of college for a while, getting back into the academic mindset is important. I recommend that you review various science study guides. I bought the Kaplan PCAT book. It served me well in most things, excluding calculus & organic chemistry. I took notes on the entire book and reviewed those notes continuously until the test.
 
I studied for about three months, but I took my prereqs 7-8 years ago. Also I work full-time, so I was mainly only studing on Saturdays and Sundays. I think if your prereq classes are all recent and you learned the material, you probably don't need that much time to study.

This is my situation, I started studying for the October exam last week spending about 2-3 weeks per subject and the final few weeks with straight practice tests. Unfortunately, weekends are also the only time I can devote several hours to studying.

During the week, I will drill myself with a few questions/concepts (maybe 30-45 mins), and tie it all together on the weekends.