I need PCAT tips!

[tarmuk14]

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Hi everyone! I just made an account on here since I am in need of some help regarding the PCATs. I have not taken A/P nor Biochem yet in college. I just finished up my sophomore year and I am taking my PCATs for the first time on July 21st. I currently have the Kaplan's PCAT book, and an older Dr. Collins tests/study guides that I got from a friend. I am currently doing about a chapter a day in the Kaplan's book. So far, I've only been getting around 70% of the questions correct for the bio and gen chem material ): I just got the Dr. Collin's material the other day, so I have yet to print out any of the tests or study guides. The school I am planning on going to requires a 50th percentile ranking overall to be considered, and does NOT require a B.S. to get admitted into the Pharm.D program, So I am planning on saving a year of undergrad IF I can get admitted a year early. If not, I'll finish up my degree and take the PCAT the following summer. I really want to get into pharmacy school a year early.

Here are my questions:

What material should I use to study each section of the test: Kaplan and/or Dr. Collins

Is the math part of the gen chem hard and/or time consuming

Is the gen chem mostly math or conceptual?

For the Orgo part, is it mostly reactions or nomenclature or a mix? Also, for the organic reactions, do they give you the pictures of the structures or the names in sentence form? For example, "what happens when Br2 is added to benzene?"

Is the writing section difficult? I don't mean to brag, but I write pretty good essays.

Does anyone know any tips to spot out experimental questions?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[FlexiblePharm]

Hi everyone! I just made an account on here since I am in need of some help regarding the PCATs. I have not taken A/P nor Biochem yet in college. I just finished up my sophomore year and I am taking my PCATs for the first time on July 21st. I currently have the Kaplan's PCAT book, and an older Dr. Collins tests/study guides that I got from a friend. I am currently doing about a chapter a day in the Kaplan's book. So far, I've only been getting around 70% of the questions correct for the bio and gen chem material ): I just got the Dr. Collin's material the other day, so I have yet to print out any of the tests or study guides. The school I am planning on going to requires a 50th percentile ranking overall to be considered, and does NOT require a B.S. to get admitted into the Pharm.D program, So I am planning on saving a year of undergrad IF I can get admitted a year early. If not, I'll finish up my degree and take the PCAT the following summer. I really want to get into pharmacy school a year early.

Here are my questions:

What material should I use to study each section of the test: Kaplan and/or Dr. Collins

Is the math part of the gen chem hard and/or time consuming

Is the gen chem mostly math or conceptual?

For the Orgo part, is it mostly reactions or nomenclature or a mix? Also, for the organic reactions, do they give you the pictures of the structures or the names in sentence form? For example, "what happens when Br2 is added to benzene?"

Is the writing section difficult? I don't mean to brag, but I write pretty good essays.

Does anyone know any tips to spot out experimental questions?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

I used the Kaplan 2014-2015 book for the 2015-2016 PCAT and received a 97th composite. Do the Pearson practice tests as well as the tests provided by Kaplan. Difficulty is subjective but the math section is SAT-like math versus ACT-like math. They're testing less calculus for the new PCAT you'll be taking. Also, review talking points on common U.S. political issues for the writing section and practice writing under a time crunch. The essay itself is argument by formula. I believe you get a calculator now for the chemistry section so expect dimensional analysis and acid-base equilibrium + kinetics. For Orgo, I had exactly one nomenclature question. They can give you both structures and names for organic questions. Additionally, keep in mind the trends of nucleophilicity and electronegativity.