How To Study

[saradempsey]

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I will be taking the PCAT for the 3rd 😱 time in June. Hopefully 3rd time is a charm 👍 . I was wanting advice on how to study for this since what I did last time did not work. All of you smarties that got an 80 or 90...help...I need your advice. My weaknesses are definitely chemistry and math. What do you suggest?????? 😕 😕

 

[Carboxilic774]

May I ask: what did you do last time?
This is my first time taking it and I hope I am not doing the same thing that didn't work for you last time 🙂
Thank you

 

[eNOS]

I took the MCAT twice before I took the PCAT. I studied alot for the MCAT (Princeton Review class materials, not the actual class though). Didn't do so well on the MCAT (25), but the PCAT was a breeze compared to it. I got a 94 and studied for two days before the test.

I say get some good MCAT materials and study your brains out.

Good Luck!

 

[saradempsey]

May I ask: what did you do last time?
This is my first time taking it and I hope I am not doing the same thing that didn't work for you last time 🙂
Thank you

I got a 51 😡 👎 😡

 

[Carboxilic774]

I got a 51 😡 👎 😡

I meant, what did you use as you method of study?
What I am doing right now is reading almost every single chapter of the Kaplan book and writing important facts on note cards. I must have used like 1000 note cards already. Maybe this is the wrong way to do it and I should just go over question after question, instead of wasting my time reading and writing things down.
WEll, my plan is to go over the Kaplan book and then next week do as many practice tests as possible.
If you got a 51, what did you do or not do to get that. Did you study at all? I am afraid to burn myself studying and then get a 51 because I am not using the right study method to be able to get a 99%
Thank you

 

[unreality]

I found the Kaplan materials to be more of a good review AFTER reading my genchem text. Unless you're the type of person who understands concepts by seeing 1 or 2 examples, Kaplan is not the greatest as a standalone text imo.

 

[saradempsey]

I meant, what did you use as you method of study?
What I am doing right now is reading almost every single chapter of the Kaplan book and writing important facts on note cards. I must have used like 1000 note cards already. Maybe this is the wrong way to do it and I should just go over question after question, instead of wasting my time reading and writing things down.
WEll, my plan is to go over the Kaplan book and then next week do as many practice tests as possible.
If you got a 51, what did you do or not do to get that. Did you study at all? I am afraid to burn myself studying and then get a 51 because I am not using the right study method to be able to get a 99%
Thank you

I have just bought the Kaplan book, I didn't use it the first 2 times. I took the practice test from the PCAT website once and then tried to review things taht I didn't do so well on.

 

[ajmataz]

i used the kaplan book, and supplemented all areas that i was unsure of with class textbooks. i wrote down only key points that helped me understand a concept (chemistry) or specifics that i totally didn't know (biology).

i didn't do that great the first time with a 73. i was pretty bummed. i didn't have the motivation to study all that much for the second round in january, but scored an 84.

the biggest difference between the two was that i went as fast as i could through the chemistry and math sections, making as many educated guesses and just moving on. literally, as soon as i read a question that i wasn't totally sure i knew how to solve, i bubbled a guess and moved on. it was hard to do, but it bumped up my chem score by about 20 points.